ushernet Chapter 17: Friends who frequently kill people know...
Chapter 17: Friends who frequently kill people know...
"I don't want to shake your hand, lest you think I'm twisting your thinking again."
Having learned from past mistakes, Raven felt she needed to allow Superman some space for mutual trust.
However, one cannot easily distort another person's thinking. If one tries to forcibly extinguish such a raging fire of revenge, one will also be burned to ashes.
"Most demons are easy to destroy. Whether they are in the hell dimension or the real universe, once their physical form is destroyed, they will also be destroyed. But beings like my father are not necessarily so."
Raven's hatred for Hell is not much less than Superman's, but she never dared to imagine completely eradicating Hell's existence:
"The [Sangokuma], like the Hell dimension itself, cannot be destroyed. Hell is a dark projection of the real universe; you cannot destroy your own shadow without destroying yourself."
"There must be a way, whether it's your father or hell itself..."
Raven decided not to disturb Superman's thoughts any longer. She covered her entire body with her cloak and gradually disappeared into the air.
"I look forward to the day we find it together."
Superman is getting stuck on another obsession, but at least it's not a bad thing for Raven.
Because what if there really is such a way?
Raven, like her father, is a near-immortal being. She has long been tired of Sannomiya's pursuit of her and wants true freedom.
Deep down, she couldn't help but believe that there must be a way to end this eternal hunt that had lasted for countless eras and through countless worlds.
Perhaps, in essence, I'm no different from Superman and those who believe in bananas.
~~~~
Hughie felt even more awesome than 007 because he actually planted a bugging device on Vought International right under the noses of a group of extremely dangerous superhumans and heavily armed guards, and got away unscathed.
His adrenaline surged only after he got back into Butcher's car, and he started yelling and shouting in the passenger seat like he was on drugs:
"Wow! This feeling is absolutely amazing!"
Butcher drove Hughie back to the electronics store where he worked without saying a word. All his previous advice and reasoning with Hughie was just for this final outcome.
He left Hughie at the store entrance and told him bluntly:
"Child, you go back to work now. I'll let you know if I hear anything."
Butcher wouldn't inform him—it was only a matter of time before Vought discovered the bugging device; what he needed to do now was to cut ties as quickly as possible so that Vought couldn't trace him.
As for Hughie? Butcher could only wish him good luck. After all, informants were meant to be used up, which was his consistent style when working with the CIA.
Hughie reluctantly got out of the car and walked toward the store, but then he suddenly remembered something.
Something of utmost importance, so he called Butcher over:
"Wait a minute, Butcher, let me show you how to make $45,000 disappear in an instant!"
Hughie took out the check he had obtained from Walter's legal staff and tore it in half without hesitation.
Forty-five thousand dollars is not a small sum for someone like him who works in an electronics store, but he would never accept such blood money.
Only then did Butcher take a proper look at Hughie.
He called out to Hughie, his mind churning with thoughts, but unable to speak, he could only say:
"You're a really good person, Hughie."
After watching Butcher drive away, Hughie went into the store. Even though he had just completed a brilliant infiltration that could be made into a movie, he would still be exploited to the fullest by his unscrupulous boss tonight.
As soon as it was time to leave work, Hughie's boss sprang up from his chair and vanished without a trace, leaving Hughie alone to finish up and close the door.
Hughie was preparing to pack up the cabinets, turn off the lights, lock the door, and leave when the doorbell rang from a customer inside the store.
"Sorry, we're closed."
Hughie continued tidying the table without looking up, glancing at the shop door out of the corner of his eye, only to find it empty.
If he ruled out that he was hallucinating or encountering a ghost, Hughie could only think of one possibility.
This possibility quickly became a reality, because the bug he had hidden in the Walter conference room that morning was now floating in front of him, and then Hughie heard a familiar voice:
"Who are you?"
There was a voice but no shadow in front of him. Hughie was already breathing heavily. He knew who had come knocking on his door—the Invisible Man, one of the Seven.
An invisible, translucent figure grabbed Hughie by the collar and slammed him to the floor, followed by a massive memory restoration spell:
"Who was that person you were in the car with just now?!"
If the Invisible Man is furious about piracy and wants to exterminate it, how much more so would he be furious about spies who infiltrate the company to plant listening devices?
He had already decided to beat him half to death first, find out what happened, and then beat him completely to death.
Butcher, who had secretly returned to keep watch outside the store, saw all of this clearly.
Butcher didn't know what had gotten into him today, but ever since his lover, who worked at the Wot Corporation, disappeared, he hadn't had a single day without going crazy.
He had expected Vought to discover the bugging device, but he hadn't anticipated it would be discovered so quickly, or that a member of the Seven would personally come to his door.
He could easily abandon the child as he always has, hide his identity, and then, like this time, find a superhero victim to be his new spy—that would be the safest option.
But he didn't. He decided to continue his madness today and face the Invisible Man of the Seven, one of the most powerful superhero groups, all alone.
He slammed on the gas, and his car charged forward like Don Quixote, smashing through the glass window and crashing solidly into the invisible scumbag who was beating Hughie.
"Hughie, run!"
Butcher kicked open the car door, crowbar in hand, ready to have a go at the Invisible Man.
Following the trail left by the invisible man, he slammed into the spot where the man had fallen, but unexpectedly missed. These superpowered freaks were indeed much stronger than ordinary people.
Then Butcher found himself in a situation where he was almost being beaten up one-sidedly. Even if it's just a lot of random punches, you still need to be able to see the target. Butcher had his own way of dealing with this.
He had been punched countless times in the face, and his mouth was almost full of blood. He seized the opportunity and sprayed blood in the general direction of the invisible man, instantly covering the man in a physical sense.
That's fair—the butcher finally had a target to unleash his fury on, raining down punches on the blurry, blood-red figure before him. But then he realized an objective fact:
Superhumans are indeed far superior to ordinary people like him; the brutal methods he honed during his time in the CIA could not harm them in the slightest.
The fight didn't last long and ended with the Invisible Man gaining a clear advantage, as he wasn't prepared to hand himself over to law enforcement or any other organization.
Butcher knew all too well these kinds of thoughts; the Invisible Man wanted to find out his origins and, incidentally, torture himself for a bit of fun.
Just when Butcher thought his path of revenge was about to end tonight, Hughie, who had slipped away earlier, quietly returned and picked up a broken wire in the blind spot behind the Invisible Man.
Bucheron immediately understood and started talking nonsense to distract the other party, creating an opportunity for Hughie on the other end.
As soon as the end of the wire in Hughie's hand touched the Invisible Man's butt, giving him a lightning-attribute chrysanthemum blow, the Invisible Man, who had just beaten the two brothers to a pulp, lay down and fell asleep.
The idea that the Invisible Man was afraid of electricity was a sudden inspiration Hughie had when he was running away.
He had previously paid close attention to information about superheroes, and only remembered that the Invisible Man mentioned once when he was a guest on the Fallon Show that he could become invisible because of his carbon skin that could deflect light.
Carbon, on the other hand, obviously has extremely good electrical conductivity.
"Is he dead?"
Hughie stared at the blurry figure of the transparent man on the ground, panting heavily, feeling as if he had just experienced a crazy day.
He infiltrated Vought International in the morning and electrocuted the Invisible Man with an electric wire at night; he is one of the world's most powerful superheroes.
Butcher, of course, didn't know whether the Invisible Man was dead or not. In any case, he had given him a good beating just now. He had kicked him a few times, and the man felt about the same as a dead pig.
But then he and Hughie would face a new problem, because as friends who frequently commit murder know:
Murder is easy, but disposing of the body is difficult.