Strongest Superhuman System - Chapter 426

Chapter 426: Destroying One For The Sake of Another
[Styxwater’s Discernment] has detected a lie!

[The Superhuman Alliance is not keeping Salazar alive to ensure the law is passed; they are keeping him alive for their own personal gains.]

Mark felt a surge of anger rise from inside him once he saw this prompt. He stepped towards Henry and spat out his next words in disgust.

“What fucking bullshit are you trying to say to me right now? You want justice to be served? Do you think I don’t know how fucking twisted the government is? You don’t give a fuck about the people that were hurt. You only care about how this affects you.”

Henry’s eyes narrowed for a second once he heard Mark say this, but it wasn’t long before Henry’s stare softened, and his usual smile returned as he spoke up.

“Why, I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mr. Vanitas. I’m sure you’ll learn eventually that everything we do is for the betterment of the nation at large. Whether it involves getting rid of criminal organizations or ensuring that those same organizations face the proper punishment for their crimes.”

Mark glared at Henry when he heard this. He was pissed that they were trying to use this whole thing for their own personal gains, but something Henry just said stuck with him. Henry said “criminal organizations” instead of “criminals”, as if he was talking about the NSA as a whole. Mark frowned in realization.

“You’re using this as a publicity stunt, aren’t you? You want to use the NSA’s crimes to paint yourselves as heroes. Throwing one government agency under the bus for the sake of another. Aren’t you fucking ashamed of yourself, you old bastard?”

Henry’s smile finally died out as his eyes narrowed dangerously. He stood up and fixed his suit jacket before putting his hands behind him and standing right in front of Mark. Henry was extremely tall, but Mark did not lose out to him in height, and both of them were left glaring at each other without either one gaining the upper hand. Henry spoke calmly, but there was an undertone of spite laced in his words.

“And what if we are using this to our advantage? What of it?”

Henry would never say it to Mark, but Mark was right. The recent actions of the NSA painted the government in a very bad light, and they couldn’t leave their image in such a bad state when they knew it could lead to more trouble down the line. So, in order to make themselves seem more diplomatic, they were going to make a show out of all this. The people loved having a villain, and if the government left things as they were now, that villain was going to be the government itself.

But if the government stretched this out for a few days, or maybe even a month, they could change the public’s viewpoint and paint Salazar as the villain, pinning all the public hate and anger on him. That way, the moment they killed Salazar, they would be killing all the hate directed at him along with him, and once they disband the American branch of the NSA, the people’s anger would be mostly diffused. It sounded twisted and manipulative, but it was just the way the government did its dirty work to control public opinion.

Mark’s hand twitched, and he caught Henry’s shoulder tensing in response. Both of them were ready to throw down at any moment, but they were both holding back because they knew that a single move from either of them would reduce the entire building to dust.

After a while, Henry finally sighed and put his hand on his forehead to massage it. He put one hand in his pocket and pointed a finger at Mark.

“This is pointless. Think what you want, Mark Vanitas, but I stand by my point. We are trying our best to do what is right for this nation at large. Whether that paints us in a better light should not be a concern of yours. And I think you should consider your current position before barging into the office of the deputy director of the association presiding over you. With what Salazar and Gunter just did, every superhuman, especially the SOVERIGN, is on thin ice. People look very negatively at anything we do now because they no longer trust us. And yet, here you are, throwing your power around like a madman.

“You see, I don’t like your attitude, Mark Vanitas. You believe that having some power is enough reason for you to act any way you wish. You had better delude yourself of that presumption. Salazar is an international criminal, and so he shall be tried and sentenced as such. You have no say over how the Superhuman Alliance runs its affairs. That will be all, Mark Vanitas.”

Mark glared at Henry in anger, and he was about to say more, but he stopped himself with a lot of effort. Mark knew that saying anything here would be useless. It was obvious that Henry did not want to touch Salazar until they were done parading him for their own gains. Mark took a step closer to Henry and seethed in his face angrily.

“You better hope to God that this doesn’t end up going south. Because if I hear, even by accident, that you end up giving that bastard anything less than the death penalty, he’ll be the very least of your problems.”

With his piece said, Mark turned to leave the office, but George spoke up and stopped him.

“Uh… Mr. Vanitas. A-About that Eldritch that you captured. The Shark has been kept in solitary confinement like you asked, but we won’t be able to hold onto it for very long before killing it for its parts. I hope you’ll be able to conclude whatever business you have with it before long.”

Mark frowned as he heard this. The Shark that he and Luna defeated was still alive when they finished that fight, and Mark gave the Shark to the Superhuman Alliance along with the Octopus. The Superhuman Alliance would compensate both Mark and Luna for their efforts in defeating the monster, and they would also get paid after the SA finished selling the parts from the monster’s corpse, but Mark told them to hold up on dismantling the Shark because he wanted to talk with it.

Mark wanted to see if he could reason with the Shark and find out more about the anima and why they were all after him. A talking anima was very rare, and Mark didn’t want to lose an opportunity like this.

“I’ll come around to talk to it before long, just hold onto it for me. If handling an anima that large is too taxing on your finances, then send me the bill for whatever you need to get.”

George nodded gratefully. He was thankful that Mark understood the real issue here. Keeping the anima wasn’t the problem since the Superhuman Alliance had more than enough space, but the amount of money they would need to secure a living Elder Eldritch was just too much. They would spend millions every day just to keep that thing alive and also to make sure it doesn’t break out from the underground facility. Mark helping out with the finances would allow them to hold onto it for as long as he wanted.