Starting in The Boys to Become the Ultimate Lifeform.

231. Chapter 231: All-Out Manhunt! Starlight Whitewashed!

After a long pause, Billy finally spoke, "As the President of Vought International, you must be in charge of the research and development of Compound V. Since that's the case, you should be very familiar with Supes. I want to know their weaknesses."

"Supes' weaknesses?" Stan Edgar hesitated slightly.

"They don't have many weaknesses. If they did, why would I go to such lengths to trade Ryan from you?"

Upon hearing this, Billy couldn't help but sneer, "If I'm not mistaken, you should just be an ordinary human. So why do you think you can control them? Aren't you afraid of suffering a backlash?"

He simply didn't believe that Stan Edgar, that old fox, hadn't kept a backup plan.

Unexpectedly, Stan Edgar also sneered, "Heh, that's not something you need to worry about. However, if I had to name a weakness, Supes generally have extremely sensitive hearing. Sounds that ordinary humans can't hear are extremely harsh noise to them."

"Some sounds? Are you referring to ultrasound and infrasound?"

Stan Edgar didn't answer, instead shifting the topic. "Since I've met your demands, shouldn't we talk about the Mysterious Person next? When did he come into contact with you?"

"When Translucent died. He was the one who killed Translucent," Billy said in a calm tone.

"Keep talking." Hearing that the Mysterious Person had killed Translucent, a ripple stirred in Stan Edgar's heart.

Following that, Billy selected some less important things to talk about.

"That's all I know. He's always been very mysterious and hasn't had much contact with us. We don't even know his name."

"As long as he's appeared, he's bound to leave traces. Within a month at most, I can dig him out." Stan Edgar seemed full of confidence. With the power of Vought International, finding a person was extremely easy, with no difficulty whatsoever. After all, Vought's network of connections spread throughout the United States, and Stan Edgar even had his people within the US Government.

But in the following two months, reality slapped him hard.

Although he managed to find Xia Shang by accessing the surveillance footage from the Golf Course, when he sent Xia Shang's photo to departments like the New York State Entry Records Office, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Motor Vehicles, the results left him greatly disappointed. None of the population records contained any information about Xia Shang.

This guy was like he had appeared out of thin air. Aside from a few screenshots from the surveillance footage, he hadn't left any other traces.

On the other side.

Although Hughie extremely disliked cooperation with Vought International, since things had come to this, he couldn't say much more and could only pour all his energy into his work.

"Hughie, come to my office." Victoria Neuman called Hughie to her office.

While browsing the documents on her desk, she said, "Don't be nervous. I called you here just to praise your work attitude, and I'm preparing to appoint you as the leader of Supe Management Team Seven."

"Thank you, I feel extremely honored." While excited, Hughie's attention was drawn to the television on the wall. On the TV screen, Vought's press conference was being livestreamed. The host On Stage was Mr. Jervis, and behind him stood Homelander, Stormfront, Starlight, and a host of other Superheroes.

The flashbulbs at the scene kept flashing. But most of the Superheroes' expressions seemed very unnatural, especially Homelander, who practically had "I'm very unhappy" written all over his face.

"After a rigorous internal review by Vought, we have discovered that the person who leaked and sold Compound V was someone else entirely, a cleaner in the Vought Laboratory. We have currently handed this person over to the relevant departments. Therefore, the charges previously leveled against Ms. Starlight were completely baseless, a most basic error made by Vought.

On behalf of Vought International, I would like to express our most sincere apology to Ms. Starlight and hope to gain her understanding.

In addition, I must announce some sad news. Our Superhero, and indeed America's Superhero, Pure White Witch, was attacked by a Super Terrorist during a mission not long ago. By the time Homelander, Stormfront, and Black Noir arrived, Pure White Witch had unfortunately died a heroic death.

But her fearless spirit is worth remembering forever. Next, I will show everyone the criminal's photo."

Xia Shang pressed the remote button in his hand. His expression didn't change at all.

On the screen behind him, Yuuji's photo appeared prominently. Seeing this, the reporters at the scene quickly pressed their shutter buttons. The constantly flashing white light illuminated the On Stage area like daytime.

"We hope everyone can remember this face. He is an extremely dangerous individual. Any clues about him can be reported to Vought International. Vought will offer a bounty of fifteen million US Dollars for information about him. For any valuable clues, Vought will provide bonuses of varying amounts."

It was the first time he had put a bounty on himself, and Xia Shang felt a bit strange. But Stan Edgar really spared no expense. Fifteen million US Dollars was no small sum; it almost broke the record for a wanted criminal bounty.

"Ms. Neuman, have you ever seen the person on television?" Hughie asked casually.

Victoria Neuman shook her head.

Two months ago, Stan Edgar had found her and asked her to find the person in the photo. But no matter how she searched, she couldn't find the person in the photo. Although there were some individuals with similar appearances, after reviewing them one by one, none of them met the criteria.

"Is there anything else?" Victoria Neuman asked.

"No, I hope you have a pleasant day, Ms. Neuman." Hughie smiled and left Victoria Neuman's office.

Meanwhile, in a Basement not far from Vought Tower.

Frenchie, who was back from vacation, was hunched over a messy workbench, tinkering with the latest Sonic Weapon he was developing.

"It's been two months, and Stan Edgar still hasn't found the Mysterious Person. As expected, the Mysterious Person lives up to his name. Even Vought International, putting in their full effort, can't find him. Look, Vought International has already started using civilian resources." Frenchie looked up at the television, gloating.

"Tsk tsk tsk, fifteen million US Dollars. Just thinking about it makes my heart race. If I had that kind of money, who the hell would still be doing this crappy job?" Frenchie currently could only rely on modifying and repairing firearms for the Gangs to earn living expenses. Kimiko had even become a killer, specifically taking bounty missions for bad people to supplement household expenses.

"Look, this is the Sonic Weapon you wanted."

(end of chapter)