447. The Same Goal.
447. The Same Goal.
(T/N): Since it's Christmas there is mass release.
Merry Christmas
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"He ate a photographer? Wait... a photographer is a person, right? He ate a person?"
The last time Alex heard such a shocking thing was when he first crossed over and heard from Nick Fury about Captain America eating people during World War II.
Aside from that, he had encountered such grotesque events only in the wasteland or the Supernatural universe. But in those universes, the cannibals were usually non-human monsters. Cannibalism among humans was still a rare occurrence.
Now, hearing something like this in what seemed like a relatively normal, civilized world, Alex couldn't imagine that the man who appeared so human in the video could actually be a monster who ate his own kind.
Butcher, seemingly pleased with Alex's reaction, wore a comfortable smile. "Hard to take in, huh? No wonder. A superhero who started as a survivalist is actually a cannibalistic demon. Most people can't accept this fact."
Lyle Chris, a regular on the Wild Survival show on the Vought streaming platform, wasn't particularly strong in terms of superpowers. His physical abilities were just slightly better than average.
In combat, his skills were no match for someone like Eagle without a bow. But Lyle's uniqueness didn't lie in his strength or combat abilities; it was his body's extreme adaptability to environments.
His powers had modified his bones and cells, allowing him to survive in almost any extreme condition, along with a highly resistant immune system to viruses and bacteria.
This was the main reason he became an adventurer.
In public voting on Vought's platform, Lyle had always been the most popular survival expert, and also the most beloved adventurer, with over seven million fans.
Overall, he was a successful person, having achieved fame and fortune.
"That was a year ago. At that time, he was on a deserted island in the Pacific for his usual survival expedition. It started off fineโthough difficult, there were no major problems.
But then a sudden storm hit, and the extreme weather kept Vought's rescue ship from reaching the island. It also made it impossible for him to find any suitable food."
Butcher spoke slowly, recounting the events. "The island had very few resources, and the storm made fishing impossible. On top of that, this guy needed more food than the average person due to his physical condition.
So after two days of hunger, Lyle, unable to stand it any longer, turned his attention to his accompanying photographer.
Typically, a photographer on such expeditions would carry some emergency rations, but those weren't enough to sustain both of them for long. And that's when the tragedy happened.
After tasting human flesh, this bastard became completely addicted to it. Even after he returned to civilization, he still craved that 'delicious' experience.
Now, the number of people he's killed and eaten is at least five, and that's just the ones I know about."
Listening quietly to Butcher's tale, Alex felt his worldview severely challenged. Although he had mentally prepared for the shocking nature of this world, hearing about the things people did here was still hard to bear.
Once Butcher finished, Alex took a deep breath and calmly asked, "Why are you telling me all this?"
"Because it's interesting."
Butcher responded immediately as though he had anticipated Alex's question.
"Interesting?"
Alex frowned, not understanding Butcher's point.
Butcher laughed coldly and replied, "Don't you find it interesting? Pulling back the mask of those so-called superheroes and letting ordinary people like you see the truth about the world."
"You really have a twisted sense of humor," Alex rolled his eyes, then refocused on the phone screen. He noticed that Emma, incredibly, was interacting with Lyle.
Perhaps recognizing the star of the survival show, Emma looked extremely excited. She eagerly approached Lyle and chatted with him sweetly.
Watching them talk and laugh, it was clear they were getting along well. But Alex couldn't help but frown deeper, because from the angle of the camera, he could see Lyle's face clearly.
The way Lyle was looking at Emma sent chills down Alex's spine. It was as if he couldn't control his desire and was ready to pounce on her, tear her apart, and savor the moment.
"I suspect Lyle is involved in human trafficking or organ trading, and I need to keep an eye on him," Butcher continued his serious explanation, but then noticed Alex's gaze, his expression turning intrigued.
"Oh, look! A poor little girl. I forgot to tell you, Lyle's favorite type of meat is young, tender girls like her."
"Fuck."
Alex's heart sank instantly.
The one thing he didn't want to see had happened. Originally, Alex was just curious about Butcher's objectives and wanted to try and make contact with the other side to see if he could find any clues about the contamination.
To do so, Alex had even abandoned his original appearance and used Mystique's abilities to disguise himself, hoping not to be associated with them in this world.
But now, it seemed that Emma had practically walked into his trap herself.
Alex didn't even need to think deeply to figure out what was about to happen to Emma.
Meeting your idol, a fan face-to-face, was supposed to be a joyous experience, but in this situation, it was no different from Little Red Riding Hood meeting the wolf. Emma would ultimately become the lamb being devoured by the wolf.
As for Butcher, with his resources and abilities, it wouldn't be hard for him to get Emma's personal information. After all, she was a blogger, constantly posting videos of her superpowers.
Getting her identity information was practically a piece of cake. Butcher didn't even need to use his connections in the FBI for that.
Given this, once he learned that Emma was also a superpowered person, it was worth questioning whether Butcher would still go all out to save her.
"This is getting more interesting," Butcher said with a slight smile, ready to pull his phone back to focus on the girl in the video talking to Lyle.
But as soon as his hand moved, Alex grabbed his wrist.
Feeling Alex's grip, as tight as a vice, Butcher froze for a moment, then furrowed his brow, an annoyed expression crossing his face.
"What are you doing?"
"This is a question I should be asking you. What are you planning to do?"
Alex locked eyes with Butcher and spoke slowly.
"I don't know who you are or what your goals are, but since you're investigating this cannibal monster, I'll assume you're a good guy for now. I don't believe you told me all this just for your sick amusement. Right now, there's an innocent girl being targeted by that guy, and I don't want her to be your bait."
"You know this girl?" Butcher narrowed his eyes.
"I've seen her livestreams," Alex replied casually.
Hearing this, Butcher's gaze turned strange as he looked at Alex's face.
He carefully sized him up, but couldn't detect any signs of lying. In the end, Butcher snorted and broke free from Alex's grip.
"Listen, kid, this is way more complicated than you think. If I can't find any direct evidence to accuse this guy, he's going to hurt more people in the future."
"But that doesn't mean you should sacrifice someone in the process."
After a brief pause, as if thinking something over, Alex spoke in a low voice. "I can help you solve this problem, thoroughly."
At these words, Butcher leaned back slightly.
"Thoroughly? With you? You don't understand what that means. Right now, he's a major figure in Vought, taking him down isn't going to be easy."
"No, you're misunderstanding."
Alex shook his head lightly, his eyes gradually turning golden.
"What I mean by 'solving it' isn't what you think. Beyond using legal methods, there are more direct ways to deal with scum like him."
As he spoke, the scales on Alex's body shifted in an instant. In the blink of an eye, Alex transformed from a well-dressed white man into a african american man wearing a blue combat suit, complete with tactical goggles.
"What the fuck!?"
Butcher staggered backward several steps, his gaze flickering between disbelief and confusion, frozen in place.
In just two seconds, Butcher's brain short-circuited. He had considered many possibilities, but never this one.
He had to admit that he'd miscalculated. Seeing Alex's powers firsthand made Butcher shiver. A cold chill ran down his spine.
In that moment, he even considered whether he should make a sudden move and kill this superpowered person before things got out of hand.
To Butcher, almost every superpowered individual was a spy or agent of Vought, and his goal was to destroy both Vought and their operatives. Before that, he didn't want to expose himself to their watchful eyes.
So when he realized Alex was a superpowered person, Butcher genuinely considered killing him. After all, only the dead stay silent forever.
But Alex saw right through Butcher's thoughts and simply smiled faintly.
"Don't get too worked up, sir. I can tell you have a natural hatred for superpowered people. It's no big deal."
Butcher swallowed hard, not speaking but quietly observing Alex, his mind calculating how he could subdue or kill him.
"I'll handle that guy down there. Very thoroughly, you won't have to worry about me spilling your secrets. After all, once I take care of him, I won't have clean hands either."
"Why should I trust you?" Butcher furrowed his brow.
"You don't need to trust me, and you shouldn't."
Alex smiled indifferently.
"But at least our goals are the same right now, aren't they?"
.....
30 advanced chapters on p@treaon
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
448. The Cannibal.
449. Deserved Death!
450. Acting.
451. The Truth?!
452. A New Possibility.