"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

Just then, a sudden knock at the door broke the atmosphere in the living room.

Neuman, still slumped on the floor, froze.

Who would come looking for her at a time like this?

With those big eyes full of fear and pleading, Neuman carefully looked toward Soldier Boy, who was sitting on the sofa.

Without this man’s permission, she did not even dare breathe too loudly.

It had to be said, with the way Neuman was sitting and that little expression on her face, she looked strangely tempting.

Benjamin leaned back on the sofa.

Then he lifted his chin slightly and jerked it toward the front door.

"Go answer it."

Once she had his permission, Neuman felt like she had been granted a pardon.

She hurriedly climbed up from the floor and fumbled to straighten her slightly disheveled business suit.

After taking two long breaths, Neuman forced herself to calm down and put on the cold mask politicians always wore.

"Click."

The heavy security door opened.

Standing outside was not some high-ranking political official, nor one of Vought’s assassins.

It was a rather awkward-looking young man holding hands with a pretty, delicate-featured girl.

Hughie.

And his girlfriend, Robin.

Seeing who it was, Neuman’s tightly wound nerves eased a little.

Neuman trusted Hughie and Robin. For some reason, she liked these two young, innocent subordinates quite a bit.

That was why she had given them her private address.

"Hey, Hughie."

Neuman looked at him curiously.

"Come in. What brings you here?"

Hughie nodded and came in with Robin behind Neuman. But almost immediately, his gaze went past Neuman’s shoulder and landed on the tall man in the green Supersuit sitting on the living room sofa.

Hughie’s eyes widened at once.

"Oh my God..."

Hughie sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively let go of Robin’s hand.

Joy spread across his face.

"Soldier Boy! Sir, it’s you!"

Hughie was so excited his voice was shaking.

And honestly, who could blame him?

Not long ago, Hughie had still been a die-hard fan who worshipped A-Train as his hero for life.

Until that day on the street, when an out-of-control A-Train tore through at supersonic speed and nearly turned Robin into ground meat right there on the curb.

It was Soldier Boy, who just happened to be passing by, who used lubricant to make A-Train wipe out...

From that moment on, the A-Train poster in Hughie’s home came down.

Soldier Boy had become the one true god in his heart, the superhero who had saved the woman he loved.

Looking at Hughie, who was so excited he did not know what to do with himself, Benjamin raised an eyebrow.

Of course he remembered this skinny little brat who looked like a bamboo pole.

"Hughie, right?"

Benjamin leaned back against the sofa and sized him up.

"If I remember right, you’re that little bastard with the girlfriend who used to fix stereos in some shitty electronics store."

"So what the hell are you doing here?"

Glossing over some of the rougher wording, Hughie’s face flushed with excitement when he heard that his idol actually remembered his name and his job.

He quickly took Robin’s hand again and scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed.

"Uh, sir, some stuff happened."

Hughie coughed twice, trying to cover his awkwardness.

"The store I used to work at got completely wrecked because of, uh, circumstances beyond my control."

"My boss fired me, so I was unemployed for a while."

He could not exactly tell Soldier Boy that Translucent had come to the store looking for trouble, and then he and Butcher had blown the place up.

Still, ever since he had helped kill Translucent, Hughie had not had much contact with Butcher and the others. Butcher and his crew had taken the fall for him.

After all, Butcher had already used Hughie. He had no reason to keep dragging Hughie, who had a perfectly happy life, along with him.

Soon, though, Hughie straightened his chest, a trace of pride entering his voice.

"I’ve joined the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs. I’m currently working as a senior analyst!"

In the original series, Hughie only joined the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs in Season 3, and only then did he start working under Neuman. Unexpectedly, he had joined so much earlier this time.

After those words, the atmosphere in the living room suddenly shifted.

Benjamin, who had still been smiling, slowly lost the curve at the corner of his mouth.

Hughie was only an ordinary person, but even he could clearly tell something was wrong.

"Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs?"

Benjamin gave a cold laugh, his gaze turning razor-sharp.

"So you little shit managed to become one of Neuman’s people."

He suddenly sat upright and stared at Hughie.

"And now you’re running around with this woman, working together to fuck with Vought?"

Hughie opened his mouth, then quickly realized he might have just said something he should not have.

Cold sweat broke out across his forehead.

Shit.

Only then did Hughie realize the situation was seriously wrong.

Senator Neuman was Vought International’s sworn enemy.

Every day on TV, she found a new way to rip into superheroes.

So why was Soldier Boy, the oldest and strongest Supe in Vought International, sitting in Neuman’s private apartment?

"No! No, no, no! Sir, you’ve got it wrong!"

Hughie was so scared he waved his hands again and again, and even started stammering.

"The Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs absolutely isn’t trying to take on Vought!"

"We’re just... just trying to keep out-of-control heroes in line better, get them to do more good..."

The more Hughie explained, the less confidence he had, and his voice grew smaller and smaller.

He and Robin looked back and forth between Neuman and Soldier Boy.

Only then did he notice it.

His direct superior, Neuman, looked very wrong today.

Neuman’s clothes were a little messy, and her eyes were red.

Most importantly, around Neuman’s pale neck was an obvious ring of red marks...

In an instant, countless terrifying possibilities flashed through Hughie’s mind. Kidnapping, assassination, interrogation under duress...

Hughie was not stupid. On the contrary, he was very smart. In the original series, he had survived all the way to the finale. Of course, that might also have been because he was the male lead, but either way, he had noticed something was off.

"Uh, sir..."

Hughie worked up his courage and asked cautiously.

"Coming to see my boss this late, is there some urgent official business?"

Looking at Hughie, who was clearly scared shitless but still insisted on asking, Benjamin was almost pissed enough to laugh.

Official business?

He had almost twisted Neuman’s head off just now.

Then Benjamin suddenly grinned.

He stood up from the sofa and walked over to Neuman.

"Ah!"

With a short cry of surprise, Benjamin bluntly reached out, wrapped an arm around Neuman’s slender, soft waist, and yanked her straight into his arms with overwhelming strength.

The two of them were pressed tightly together.

Neuman froze in fear, not daring to resist in the slightest.

She could only press herself against Benjamin’s iron-hard chest, then wrap her arms around him.

"Why am I here? I’m here to fuck this busty woman, obviously."

The second he said that, Hughie and Robin were both stunned.

The highest-ranking official of the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs, an iron-fisted female politician devoted to cracking down on Supes, was secretly hooking up with one of Vought International’s founding-level superheroes?

Hughie felt his entire worldview crumbling.

He stared blankly at the red marks around Neuman’s neck.

Maybe those were not from being strangled. Maybe they were... from getting too wild?

Feeling Hughie’s shocked gaze, Neuman wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

Humiliation.

Absolute humiliation.

She was a top-tier Supe, a high-and-mighty female senator, and now she was being forced to act like some kind of...

But Neuman had no choice.

For her life, for her daughter, Neuman threw herself into it.

And as she rubbed against Soldier Boy’s chest, for some reason, she did not find Soldier Boy all that repulsive...

Of course, she still hated what Soldier Boy was doing.

Soon, Neuman forced out a shy smile and naturally wrapped both arms around Benjamin’s neck.

Under Hughie and Robin’s dumbstruck stares, Neuman rose slightly onto her toes and pressed her rosy lips to him.

"Smack."

She planted a firm kiss on Benjamin’s cheek. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Then Neuman turned her head and put on the bashful look of a woman caught in an affair.

"That’s how it is, Hughie."

Neuman deliberately softened her voice, adding a touch of breathlessness as if she had just finished some "strenuous exercise."

"We just... have a simple mutual attraction.

You know how it is. Adults need some... well, private ways to relax."

Neuman leaned against Benjamin and gave a soft sigh.

"I hope you two can keep this confidential. Please don’t tell the media, okay?"

Hughie and Robin looked at each other, their expressions absolutely priceless.