Jordan put down his newspaper without getting up. "Please sit down. And the two gentlemen behind you, would you like something to drink?"
"No need. It's just a brief meeting."
Edgar looked at the handsome, indifferent young face beneath the baseball cap and sighed inwardly.
Superhumans are all the same.
With the ability to confront Homelander head-on, this young man certainly had reason to be proud.
Indeed, can a young person be called young if they're not impetuous?
"Then tell me, Mr. President. What instructions did you have by suddenly asking me to come out?"
The CEO interlaced his fingers, trying to make his words more convincing. "I've come here for two purposes. One is to meet the most powerful superhero in the current Seven—"
Edgar was interrupted by Jordan "politely" halfway through his sentence.
"You've got the wrong person. Homelander isn't here right now."
"I'm a huge fan of his!"
Seeing that Jordan wouldn't admit it, Edgar smiled and continued patiently.
"Of course, the strength of Homelander is beyond doubt."
"Let's put that aside for now. The second thing I'm here for is to find out your thoughts, or rather, how you view the current Seven?"
Jordan flashed the same smile as Edgar. The two foxes, one big and one small, stared at each other.
"The CEO is blaming me for taking it upon myself to eliminate the Deep."
He used a declarative tone.
"No, no, no. Substandard products must be recalled or returned to the factory as soon as possible to prevent greater losses."
Edgar displayed remarkable composure, remaining unperturbed by Jordan's questioning. His tone was full of sincerity.
"On behalf of Vought Corporation, I thank you for helping us solve a major problem in a timely manner."
"Inferior quality goods? That's an accurate description."
Jordan asked with a playful expression. "Is this how you define superhumans?"
"I'm sorry. I used the wrong words," Edgar's eye twitched. "I'm used to looking at things from a business perspective, and this was an inappropriate description. I apologize if it offended you."
"Alright, Mr. Edgar, you don't need to explain. I'm not angry."
Jordan mimicked the affected manner of the old CEO and asked with utmost sincerity. "Back to the previous topic, was it just to express gratitude...?"
"Your account should have received a new payment. It's the reward for what happened last night."
Jordan was taken aback. He picked up his phone and glanced at it. Sure enough, there was an unread payment message.
The amount went straight up to eight figures.
They were so well prepared!
He couldn't help but glance at the old fox again.
Nobody disliked money, and the booming Vought Corporation had plenty of it.
If I were truly a native of this world, I'm afraid it wouldn't be long before I completely sided with this old man.
"Since the president is so sincere, I'll just be frank."
Jordan put down his phone and looked at the newspaper on the table.
The front-page headline was about the suicide of the Deep.
"I'm very dissatisfied with the Seven. No, to be precise, I'm dissatisfied with the current superhero ecosystem."
"It's not the fault of these idiots that they became superhuman, but they shouldn't tarnish the name of 'hero.'"
"Do you understand what I mean, Mr. President?"
Edgar's heart skipped a beat. He silently let out a long breath, giving himself time to think.
Jordan's sudden confrontation did catch him off guard, but after decades of navigating the ups and downs of the business world, he'd long been accustomed to keeping his emotions hidden.
After quickly weighing the pros and cons, Edgar spoke again. "I completely understand. Some things went wrong from the beginning, and it would be a blessing for me—no, for the entire Vought Corporation—if someone were willing to step forward and correct them."
"To be honest, we discovered a long time ago that Homelander is secretly abusing Compound V to create terrorists, which has deviated from our original intentions."
"The board has been considering spinning off the superhero business, and in my opinion, Mr. Flash, your arrival would be a great opportunity."
"Therefore, I fully support your efforts. If you're willing to take over, I'll ensure that the entire corporation cooperates fully."
After saying all that in one breath, Edgar remained calm and composed, displaying perfect grace.
In reality, the CEO's heart was pounding in his throat.
If a superhuman of this caliber wanted to suddenly kill someone, it wouldn't even take a second.
"The president is quite decisive."
Jordan smiled, gaining a new appreciation for Edgar's decisiveness.
However, he knew very well that the old man wasn't as honest as he appeared.
It seemed like they were having a heart-to-heart talk, but in reality, Edgar hadn't mentioned a single important piece of information.
Currently, the top priority for Vought Corporation was to enter the U.S. defense and military system.
To this end, they frequently dispatched the Seven to combat crime and carry out various rescue operations, but progress was still not ideal.
This was destined to be a difficult road, because those profits had always been in the hands of a few military-industrial complex giants, and they would absolutely not want any newcomers to come in and take a share.
It was seeing Madelyn constantly groveling before the Senate on this matter that gave Homelander his own ideas.
Since superheroes can do most of the things modern armies can do, then create some problems that the military can't solve.
With this purpose in mind, Homelander had secretly ordered A-Train to transport Compound V to various parts of the world for the purpose of creating super terrorists—this was how Kimiko in the original story became a superhuman.
These terrorists had to be powerful enough that the military couldn't deal with them, or that it would require tremendous effort.
At that point, those high-ranking legislators would appreciate the value of superheroes.
Putting aside the facts, Homelander did this entirely for the sake of Vought Corporation, which could be described as selfless and well-intentioned.
That old bastard is wicked! He dared to hide such important information. Absolutely malicious!
However, this was also where Edgar's brilliance lay.
It was obvious that he wanted to use Jordan as a pawn, but he also gave him plenty of respect, making the promises sound incredibly appealing.
"Okay, so be it."
Having understood Edgar's intentions, Jordan was somewhat disheartened.
The game of capital was always dark and unscrupulous. Homelander certainly couldn't understand why, even though he was wholeheartedly devoted to Vought Corporation, Vought was still plotting to betray him.
In the past, Vought International could have exploited Homelander's character weaknesses and controlled him through various subtle means.
Now, he'd crossed the line.
A good product was good as long as it made money. Once it had its own ideas, it meant there was a possibility it could get out of control.