The cheers thundered straight into the sky.
The roar lasted so long that the interview, which was supposed to follow without missing a beat, had to be pushed back again and again.
Over in the interview zone.
Cameron Coleman wiped the hot sweat from his forehead. Abandoning his script, he exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "That was the craziest opening I have ever seen!"
Qi Li nodded in empathetic agreement.
His fans had never possessed such terrifying fervor before.
Was this the true clout granted by the title of "the Super Seven"?
"All right!" Cameron Coleman quickly gathered himself.
Once everything was back in place.
Following the pre-scripted routine, he raised his microphone, beamed a brilliant smile, angled himself toward the camera, and officially began interviewing Qi Li.
"Bronze, as the newest and youngest member of the Super Seven, you just experienced the crowd's peerless passion firsthand. Right now, could you share your feelings with us?"
Qi Li desperately wanted to scoff at how clichéd the question was.
Yet on every occasion, in every single interview, it was an indispensable formality.
What else could he say?
Putting on a face mixed with excitement and apprehension, he said, "I'm thrilled! It feels like a dream!"
"A dream?" Cameron Coleman asked curiously.
Qi Li nodded heavily. "It just feels like none of this is real. From the moment I received the notice telling me I had joined the Super Seven, I felt as though I'd been living in one long, beautiful dream."
"And yet it has truly come to pass, hasn't it?"
Cameron Coleman looked at Qi Li with an expression full of praise.
"I believe that not just myself, but everyone here and watching through the screens agrees on one point: Bronze, your addition to the Super Seven is entirely well deserved!"
The moment his words fell.
The venue erupted once more.
Cheers, applause, and encouraging shouts poured relentlessly toward the young hero who, in their eyes, seemed somewhat shy right now.
"Keep it up!!"
"Bronze! You're the best!"
"Well deserved!!!"
"Thank you! Thank you!" Qi Li offered repeated thanks to the fans surrounding him.
Inadvertently, his gaze drifted up toward Vought Tower.
Floor by floor.
As his gaze traveled steadily higher, it finally reached the very top.
On the ninety-ninth floor of Vought Tower.
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Super Seven conference room, Homelander felt the corner of his eye twitch slightly.
His eyes, which had been fixed on the dense, almost endless sea of people below, darted erratically for a few moments before he ultimately couldn't resist looking back down again.
The automatic doors to the conference room slid open silently.
Queen Maeve walked in, rubbing her right wrist. She was about to head straight for her seat when the corner of her eye caught that all-too-familiar star-spangled cape.
Her steps halted, and she called out in surprise, "Homelander?"
Without turning his head, Homelander answered casually, "Maeve."
"Don't tell me you've been standing right there, locked in that exact pose, ever since the meeting ended an hour ago."
As Maeve spoke, she resumed walking toward her chair, leaning down to search for something.
"There it is."
She picked up the phone that had slipped between the seat cushions, curling her lip slightly.
Homelander didn't respond.
Maeve straightened up, pocketed her phone, and glanced at him.
Knowing Homelander as she did, silence was as good as an admission.
Seeing this, Maeve walked over to his side, followed his gaze down, and came to a sudden realization:
"I almost forgot, today is the rookie's welcoming gala. That's quite a crowd down there. Looks like he really is popular. I heard he's only eighteen? So young. Truly incredible."
Hearing that, Homelander finally turned his head to glance at Maeve, then turned back.
Soon, he glanced at Maeve again, and turned back once more.
As he darted a third glance at Maeve and prepared to look away again—
His cheeks suddenly puffed out as he let out a long breath. Unable to bottle it up any longer, he vented to Maeve:
"Do you know? For tonight's welcoming gala, I was supposed to be the guest host!"
Maeve froze for a moment. After racking her brain, she uttered a single word: "And?"
Homelander shook his head, his face darkening.
"Such a great media opportunity, and it belonged to me! But... in this company, there are always people plotting against me. They're constantly looking for ways to keep me down. Why? Because my approval rating is permanently number one! Nowadays, whenever anyone mentions Vought, the first person they think of is always me! Homelander! They've always been terrified—terrified that I'll take over completely. Just like now, handing my publicity opportunity over to Starlight."
"I am the captain of the Super Seven! Am I not qualified to be the guest, the host, or the mentor for a new member?"
Maeve: "..."
She didn't know what to say.
At first, seeing Homelander standing there like that, she had assumed he harbored a major grudge against the rookie.
Turns out, he did have a grievance.
Except it wasn't directed at the new recruit named Bronze, but rather at the fact that he wasn't the guest host at Bronze's welcoming gala.
More precisely, he had lost an opportunity that seemed primed to boost his fame and approval rating.
Maeve roasted him fiercely in her mind.
At that moment, Homelander looked over with burning eyes.
She twitched her lips, gave a flat "Wow," then put her hands on her hips and shrugged.
"Maybe... they thought Starlight and that new kid, Bronze, made a better fit. They're both young, and pairing a guy and a girl creates more buzz."
"No!"
Homelander wagged an index finger from side to side, his tone emphatic.
"We aren't one of those fourth-rate superhero teams that spend all day gossiping, having love triangles, and sleeping around. We are the Super Seven! What could be more touching and appealing to the public than the friendship between teammates? Especially between myself as the captain and my squad."
Having said this, Homelander pondered it seriously, then looked at Maeve.
"Maeve, what do you think about leaning my next PR campaign toward warm, caring moments with my teammates? I've overlooked that in the past. After all, people are used to my strength, my omnipotence. But my teammates aren't me. They work so hard to follow in my footsteps, under tremendous pressure all the time."
"It's a fantastic angle. Highlighting the little ways I look back and lift up my teammates. It might even draw in a whole new demographic of fans for me."
Maeve: "...Whatever makes you happy."
Meanwhile, downstairs, the high-profile interview was drawing to a close.
Cameron Coleman asked his final question: "Bronze, is there anything else you'd like to say to everyone?"
Qi Li recited his prepared lines dutifully: "I'd like to say... as the first Asian member of the Super Seven, and its youngest, my very presence proves one thing above all else. Vought has always been a diverse, equal, free, innovative, and warm family."
"Just as I stand here today, I also welcome more like-minded friends in the future to come here and join the Vought famil—"
*Click.*
The television screen went black.
Butcher lowered the remote control, turned toward his companions, and pulled his lips into an exaggerated grin.
"Oi, scumbags! You heard that? Time to go tear their bloody house down!"
Chapter 81