Starting in The Boys to Become the Ultimate Lifeform.

216. Chapter 216 The Difficult Choice Facing Homelander

Mallory said gloatingly from the other end of the phone.

"Is that so? Then you'd best set up a large net under every building in advance, to avoid too many people jumping off and causing social panic." Stan Edgar's expression perfectly embodied a fake smile. His tone was chilling, yet his face wore a smile.

"You have five minutes to prepare. If the time is up and we still haven't seen Ryan, the group of police gathered under Vought Tower will kick open Vought's main door, put a gun to your head, and invite you to be a guest at the CIA."

Mallory didn't intend to waste more words with Stan Edgar. With a cold face, she directly issued the ultimatum.

"The CIA demands that we hand over Ryan in five minutes."

"In five minutes, Mr. Jervis will personally escort Ryan out of Vought Tower." Stan Edgar turned around and announced the latest command.

Meanwhile.

Major news media outlets, like sharks that smelled blood, rushed to send their reporters to Vought. Although there were still bloodstains at the scene, it didn't affect the reporters' "enthusiasm" in the slightest. They held up their cameras and microphones, livestreaming while giving on-scene explanations to viewers who didn't understand the situation.

Among them was Becca, who tuned into the channel.

Inside the basement, a few people had just finished a hearty lunch and came before the television, chatting with each other.

Actually, it was mainly Becca asking, and Billy and the others answering. But after only a couple of sentences of chat, Becca brought the topic back to Ryan. One could see the atmosphere inside the house suddenly fell silent. Frenchie and the others, feeling guilty, simultaneously closed their mouths tightly and looked at Billy, exchanging glances to seek Billy's opinion.

And Billy, seeing this situation, hurriedly smiled and changed the topic.

"Ryan is a Supe, who can do anything to him? Vought probably hid him. After all, Ryan's feelings for you are too deep, which is not conducive to Homelander cultivating father-son affection with him. That's why they wanted to use this method, to make Ryan leave you for a while."

Billy's guess was reasonable and well-founded. If Frenchie hadn't personally participated in the kidnapping operation, he probably would have believed Billy's nonsense.

"Then how long are they planning to keep Ryan locked up? No, I must confirm whether Ryan is safe,"

Just at this moment, the sound coming from the television attracted everyone's attention.

"According to police statistics, the number of victims in this incident reached thirteen, with three seriously injured and one lightly injured. Based on the testimony of witnesses and evidence such as video, it can basically be confirmed that the killer is Homelander's son, Ryan.

No one knows why he suddenly started slaughtering passersby, but the severity of this incident is likely also a warning to us. After Compound V is legalized, will it lead to more such tragedies? We do not know, but one thing is certain: Supes need supervision, they need supervision from the US Government."

"Ryan!" Becca, sitting on the sofa, stood up in disbelief. She suspected she had misheard. How could her own son possibly slaughter passersby? It must be a misunderstanding. She rushed to the television, staring intently at the image on the screen.

But the following images truly made her collapse.

One could see the victims' families crowded outside the police cordon, holding signs printed with Ryan's portrait, constantly shouting "A life for a life!" At the same time, the signs also had the words "He is the Devil" printed on them.

Becca plopped down onto the ground, murmuring with lifeless eyes, "This can't be real, this can't be real." On the other side, Billy, who had taken out his mobile phone, had already learned the whole story online. To be honest, he was trying his best to suppress the corners of his mouth and thought about sad things again, but even so, his relaxed eyebrows still exposed his true feelings at this moment.

"It's okay, Vought is a huge corporation, they will definitely do everything possible to protect Ryan. When the storm passes, everything will be forgotten." Billy, feigning sadness, came to Becca's side, put his arm around her shoulder, and comforted her insincerely.

However, as soon as he finished speaking.

They saw Xia Shang bringing Ryan, slowly walking out of Vought Tower on the television screen.

"Vought International Vice President, Mr. Jervis, is that right?" Officer Edward, who had been waiting for a long time on the side, immediately hurried forward to meet Xia Shang after seeing him come out.

"That's me." Xia Shang nodded.

Obviously, Homelander chose the former between his own glory and his son.

Xia Shang inadvertently turned his head to look, only seeing a figure with his hands behind his back, fully showing a defeated figure.

"Ryan, I am arresting you for intentional homicide, please come with me." Considering that Ryan and his father were both dangerous individuals, Officer Edward didn't intend to handcuff Ryan, to avoid provoking him and thus causing a greater tragedy. Therefore, his attitude was relatively gentle.

"Damn it! Where is Homelander? He's the big selling point of this news! Isn't he going to do something for his son?"

A reporter, seeing Ryan being put into the police car and nothing happening, couldn't help but complain. This also voiced the feelings of the other reporters. As reporters, they never thought the incident was too big, only disliked news that lacked a highlight. How could it attract eyeballs without a highlight!

So they wished Homelander would fight the police to protect his son, so there would be more buzz. Of course, the current buzz wasn't small either, but since they came all this way, they naturally wanted to see some more explosive images.

"Mr. Jervis, are you available for an interview?" Seeing Xia Shang preparing to leave, a reporter, unwilling to give up, wanted to keep Xia Shang there for a moment.

They originally thought Xia Shang would pretend not to hear. However, unexpectedly, Xia Shang actually stopped.

Watching the Vought Vice President walk towards that reporter, the other reporters were filled with regret. If they had known Mr. Jervis was so easy to talk to, they should have shouted out too.

"Excuse me, do you have a question?" Xia Shang took the microphone the other party handed over and smiled slightly.

The reporter who was hit by surprise was still a bit dizzy at this moment.

In his eyes, Xia Shang was not just the Vought International Vice President, but also a walking pile of US dollars.

"Mr. Jervis, please forgive me for being a bit distracted just now. My question is, as Homelander's son, why did Ryan start slaughtering people on the street? Does he have some psychological problems? Or is there another reason?"

The reporter asked, suppressing his inner excitement.

(end of chapter)