Starting in The Boys to Become the Ultimate Lifeform.

Beep! Beep! Beep!!! Yet the person on the other end clearly refused to let Billy off the hook. The urgent phone ringtone continued nonstop for five full minutes.

Finally, unable to endure any longer, Billy furiously stood up and grabbed the phone, pressing the call button violently. "If this isn't important, you're dead! I'll shove this damned ringing straight into your skull, then toss you into a washing machine for a spin cycle!"

"Billy Butcher? Is that really you?"

A gentle, familiar voice pierced through like Cupid's arrow, striking Billy's heart directly. As his heart constricted suddenly, all drowsiness vanished instantly from his body. Suppressing his excitement with difficulty, his voice trembled slightly. "Beggar?"

"It's me." Beggar, on the other end, had tears shimmering in her eyes. She excitedly covered her mouth, sobbing. "Ryan has gone missing—he hasn't returned to my side for several nights now. I asked Vice President Jervis at Vought, but he only kept evading me. I know—something must've happened to Ryan."

Hearing his wife repeatedly calling out for Ryan, an inexplicable surge of irritation flared within Billy. "Where are you now?" He frowned slightly, showing clear annoyance.

Through questioning, he learned that Beggar had secretly escaped over the high walls while Vought's surveillance slackened.

Although Beggar continuously emphasized nobody knew about her escape attempt, Billy understood clearly—if not under Edgar's instructions, there was no way she could possibly flee from such heavily guarded premises. Accepting Edgar's compromise, Billy had no intention of breaking their agreement either. For him, Ryan was just a hot potato—too dangerous to hold onto.

If Beggar discovered it was actually Billy who kidnapped her son, massive trouble would follow.

Therefore, after learning Beggar's current location, he immediately hung up. "Stay put. I'll send someone to pick you up right away."

What followed next was precisely what everyone witnessed—the moment Ryan got thrown off the moving vehicle...

...

During Ryan's captivity, don't expect Billy treated him kindly. He remained locked inside a sealed storage room, wrists and ankles bound tightly in iron chains. Except for Kimiko, who delivered meals daily, Billy strictly forbade anyone else approaching the storage room—especially Hughie and Starlight, whose excessive empathy made them particularly suspicious.

Billy maintained strict vigilance against these two individuals, preventing potential backstabbing. He'd seen too much betrayal to ever let his guard down carelessly.

Now focusing on Ryan's perspective.

The pitch-black environment filled him with extreme unease. Surrounding noises amplified his anxiety further. Whether out of fear or courage, he desperately longed for greater power—to protect himself.

Suddenly, a pair of crimson eyes gradually illuminated from the darkness.

In the next instant, intense red light erupted deep within Ryan's pupils!

Hiss! The black burlap sack melted instantly beneath the laser shooting from Ryan's eyes. The beam extended outward relentlessly, even piercing through a bystander's head. Accompanied by sizzling sounds, the victim swayed momentarily as a headless corpse before collapsing with a thud, causing surrounding spectators to scream loudly in horror.

Even more terrifying occurred when Ryan instinctively struggled upright, glancing around wildly.

By the time he fully emerged from the sack, blood already flowed like rivers across the scene. Severed limbs scattered everywhere. Staring blankly at this hellish landscape, Ryan froze in confusion—not realizing he caused all this destruction. The pungent stench invading his nose triggered an automatic urge to flee—from this horrifying place.

"Help! Somebody help!"

"Demon! He's a demon!"

Some fortunate survivors who barely escaped regarded Ryan with devil-like terror. Seeing him approach, they screamed for help while sobbing uncontrollably, begging for mercy. It wasn't that they didn't want to run—it was simply that their legs refused to obey commands, trembling helplessly while feeling unbearably heavy.

"Homelander wouldn't dare kill openly on the streets, yet his own son accomplished this great feat." Witnessing Ryan's massacre firsthand, Xia Shang couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

Meanwhile, sensing the unusual commotion, numerous superheroes gathered beside floor-to-ceiling windows.

Looking downward, the shocking sight of blood-soaked ground instantly turned their faces pale. What happened? Had terrorists attacked near Vought Tower? How many people died to create so many corpses? Their hearts pounded rapidly—shockingly, even Edgar—who normally maintained composure—spoke with slight tremors in his voice.

"Go downstairs—find out exactly what's happening!"

"That's Ryan." Homelander, with sharp eyes, immediately spotted him standing amidst the carnage. The scorched, severed bodies looked extremely familiar—they bore unmistakable signs of heat vision attacks. In other words, Ryan killed all these people.

Observing the bewildered Ryan, Homelander felt both relief and caution—but regardless, this was still his own son.

With one palm smash, he shattered the nearby glass window before flying straight outside.

"Now this should get interesting." Stormfront wore an amused expression, crossing her arms while watching the spectacle unfold.

"Jervis, do you think Vought will protect Ryan no matter what?"

Xia Shang shook his head lightly. "They can't. There's surveillance footage. Some people recorded videos on their phones. Even if you kill everyone present, those videos will soon appear online. At that point, not even Vought—or even the U.S. government—could withstand the tsunami of public outrage unless..."

"Unless what?" Curious, Stormfront turned toward Xia Shang, genuinely unable to imagine any possible solution.

"Unless substantial evidence proves Ryan acted under duress."

Just like how no crime remains perfectly concealed forever, with sufficient methods and influence, even major crimes can shrink into minor incidents. For example, labeling a murderer mentally unstable, swapping identities before execution, arranging medical parole for life imprisonment...

"I could fabricate countless evidences if I wanted to—but why should I help Ryan?" A faint smile curved Xia Shang's lips upward as he exited the meeting room beneath Stormfront's serious gaze.

"This guy..."

For some unknown reason, Xia Shang's smile reminded Stormfront of something eerily familiar—yet try as she might, she couldn't recall where she'd seen it before.

Apologies—I'm traveling on business these two days. Will return tomorrow.

(End of Chapter)