Free Web NovelChapter 4: 04: Let’s fcking go, boys! Time to speed this sh*t up!
Chance favours the prepared mind.
~ Louis Pasteur
____
He was already mentally mapping out his next moves.
Best bet was to pay Hughie a visit.
He needed to fuck with the fates of the key players as much as possible. His gut said that’s where the real point rewards were hiding.
On top of that, Vought would definitely come knocking soon.
Someone like Madelyn Stillwell wasn’t about to let some random supe steal headlines right under their nose. She’d either try to recruit him or send Homelander to handle the problem.
With his current Level 1 strength, if Vought sicced Homelander on him, he probably wouldn’t stand a chance.
Homelander’s normal speed was supersonic. He was still stuck at subsonic.
Homelander could toss a twenty-ton with one hand. His strength was several times higher.
The gap was still massive.
So before hitting Level 2, he had to avoid a straight-up fight with Homelander.
Play it safe. Stay low-key. No stupid risks.
A new notification popped up quietly on his panel.
[In about 8 hours (11:00 AM), the video will hit mainstream media circulation and you’ll rake in a big chunk of Ability Points.]
[Within 24 hours, online channels alone should net you 2,000-4,000 Ability Points.]
Hillel stared at the numbers and his eyes lit up.
If online gave him two to four thousand on top of the 3,741 he already had...
...plus whatever he picked up from patrolling the streets during the day...
He could hit Level 2 in a single day.
As a Viltrumite Soldier, his combat power would jump several times over. That should put him around the level of a Viltrum infant.
But at that point, even if Homelander showed up, he could hold his own.
Let’s fucking go, boys!
Time to speed this shit up!
...
Seven hours later.
New York, early morning.
The original owner’s beat-up old phone was blowing up with notifications, jerking Hillel awake. The screen was packed with news alerts.
[NBC: Mysterious Supe "The Guardian" appears in Brooklyn, stopping at least nine crimes in one night!]
[CNN: No record in the Vought database—who the hell is The Guardian?]
[Fox: Does The Guardian pose a threat to national security? Experts are split.]
[New York Times: Brooklyn crime rate drops 12% overnight.]
Hillel checked his panel.
[Current Ability Points: 5,903 / 10,000]
He’d picked up over two thousand points overnight, all from passive online sentiment.
And the points were still rolling in nonstop, like they were multiplying on their own.
With this mainstream media push, daytime traffic was going to blow last night’s numbers out of the water.
He stood up and looked down from the rooftop edge.
The streets below were already busy. The TV in the corner breakfast shop was playing last night’s footage of him.
A bunch of people eating inside were all staring up at the screen.
"Those Vought assholes in The Seven are fucking useless. All they do is package themselves and pose for cameras."
"Exactly. Now this is a real superhero!"
"Hey, you think Vought’s gonna recruit this guy?"
The panel ticked up a bit more.
+23
Hillel pulled his eyes away.
He threw on a hoodie and slipped into the morning rush hour crowd.
Twenty minutes later.
Hillel stood outside an electronics store.
The sign read "Bob’s Electronics—Professional Audio and Home Theater."
Through the glass door he saw a skinny young guy behind the counter, looking half-dead while fiddling with an old stereo.
Hughie Campbell.
The dude looked even skinnier than he did on the show, with dark circles under his eyes like he hadn’t slept at all last night.
A panel notification popped up:
[Key Character Confirmed: Hughie Campbell]
[Current Emotional State: Indifferent, Weary]
[Potential Ability Point Value: Extremely High]
Hillel pushed open the glass door.
Hughie glanced up and gave a standard customer-service smile. "Hey, welcome. Is there anyt..."
His smile faltered for a second. He felt like he’d seen the guy in front of him somewhere before.
"...anything I can help you with?"
Hillel walked up to the counter and casually picked up a pair of headphones to check them out.
"I want to buy a stereo. Budget’s not huge. Got any recommendations?"
"Uh... what kind are you looking for? Bluetooth or wired?"
"Which one do you think is better?"
Hughie paused for a second. It looked like it had been a while since any customer actually asked for his opinion.
"Personally, I prefer wired. The sound quality is way better, and Bluetooth always has that annoying lag..."
Hillel listened while he sized the guy up.
On the panel, Hughie’s emotional state shifted to something like pleased. Probably because a customer was finally listening to him for once.
This kid was basically a soft-hearted pushover.
Kind, spineless, and not exactly overflowing with confidence.
In the original show, he only really grew through getting his ass handed to him over and over. Even in the latest season he was still playing the nice guy.
But good people weren’t dangerous. Stupid ones were.
"By the way," Hillel asked casually, "does your girlfriend work here with you?"
Hughie’s hand froze.
"How do you know I have a girlfriend?"
"Just a guess. You’ve got a red string and a hair tie on your wrist. Those are for a girl, right? That red string looks like it was braided pretty carefully."
Hughie glanced down at the red string on his wrist, his face turning a little shy.
"Robin.. eh, my girlfriend made that. Her handiwork is kinda rough, but... you know how it is. Better to let sleeping dogs lie."
"Smart man, brother. You’ve already figured out the basic rules of relationships."
Hughie scratched his head. "Thanks for the compliment. But why’d you ask that out of nowhere?"
Hillel just smiled and didn’t answer.
He had the info he needed. Robin wasn’t with Hughie today.
That meant the A-Train incident on the street shouldn’t happen. Today was safe.
"I’ll come back for the stereo another time," Hillel said, putting the headphones back on the shelf. "By the way, anything good to eat around here? I just moved in."
"Oh!" Hughie’s eyes lit up. "The sandwich place on the corner is solid. Old Italian guy runs it and he piles on the cheese..."
They shot the shit for a few minutes.
When Hillel stepped out of the electronics store, Hughie called after him, "Hey, come back anytime!"
[Key Character · Hughie Campbell]
[Emotional Change: Indifferent → Slightly Pleased → Initial Goodwill Established]
[Ability Points Gained: +156]
[Current Ability Points: 6,059 / 10,000]
One hundred fifty-six... just like that? ƒrēewebnovel.com
Just from chatting for a few minutes and putting the guy in a better mood, he scored one hundred fifty-six points.
Key NPCs really did get special treatment compared to regular ones.
If he saved Robin and completely changed Hughie’s fate, the rewards should be huge.
Hillel was walking down the streets of Brooklyn when his phone buzzed again.
He pulled it out and checked. Another news alert.
[Breaking News: A-Train will participate in the Brooklyn Community Run event tomorrow!]
Hillel stopped in his tracks.
Brooklyn.
Community Run?
A-Train?
Heh~
It really was that easy. He’d just been wondering how to nail down the exact date Robin got killed, and this popped up right on cue.
