Chapter 96: The Security Team with Hidden Agendas

If Henry thought that Brian Mills and these security personnel had ulterior motives toward the faded movie queen, he was mistaken. He was far more convinced that this group was using Audrey as a cover to carry out their own missions, just like those "diplomatic" personnel of the United Nations.

And for an American agency eager to stir up trouble abroad, three letters immediately spring to mind without needing deep thought—CIA.

In short, the entire team visiting Somalia, except for Henry himself and Audrey He Ben, the naive and sweet figurehead, were all harboring ill intentions. The level of chaos could be described as a hundred ghosts marching by night and a crowd of demons dancing wildly.

Even on this night when Henry was holed up in his room writing his visitation records, under the surveillance of his super-vision and super-hearing, aside from Audrey He Ben in the next room who had retired early, everyone else was busy.

Some were contacting local warlords, others were sending messages with radio transmitters, and still others were maintaining and inventorying their weapons.

Henry did not believe his luck was that good; that Audrey's previous activities had not involved such matters was merely a coincidence that he happened to stumble upon this commotion.

He was even more convinced that, in fact, every time Audrey He Ben visited a certain place, the activities behind the scenes were exactly this kind of mess. But the matters never exploded, nor did they burn themselves, and every trip ended peacefully.

Actually, from the standpoint of these people, maintaining the movie queen's persona and image was also a good thing for them.

Otherwise, if this umbrella of protection were to leak, and their actions were exposed, it would mean they could no longer use Audrey He Ben as a cover to carry out their off-the-books missions.

So Henry had no intention of disturbing what those people were doing. As long as his employer was safe and sound, why not let her live in a fairytale-like dream world, doing what she loved and wanted to do.

It's just that this time Henry couldn't resist his curiosity. One could also say that since these people were operating right under his nose, not looking would feel like letting himself down.

So during his leisure time, using X-ray vision to see through the documents these people carried was Henry's way of passing the time. He had even trained himself to be able to read page by page while using X-ray vision to see through, examining everything.

The content was nothing more than contacting various local warlords, plotting to overthrow the current president, Mohamed Siad Barre. And thoroughly investigating the strength of various warlords, including military power, degree of mechanization, and so on.

It was unknown whether this content would be handed over to the current president of Somalia, causing this African nation to be cooked into a pot of chaos. Or whether the CIA intended to use this information to stir up trouble elsewhere, plotting for greater gains.

Anyway, the vulture-like United States still had that familiar scent; this world had not become more peaceful because of the existence of superheroes and various supernatural abilities, and conspiracies still existed in corners invisible to ordinary people.

Or rather, those people had become even more extreme because of it.

Just like the world Henry knew well, everything, even medicine and virtual digital products, could be turned into a sharp blade to strike at enemies. The more powerful it was, the more painful the killing.

The difference lay in the eyes of those who held these sharp blades: who was the enemy?

Henry did not interfere in these matters. After all, this was a country of black brothers, not his; this was a universe with mutants, Captain America, and Tony Stark, which was also not his...

Having experienced those twenty years of imprisonment, whether described as blank or miserable, Henry was always very careful to avoid those points that might trigger his emotions.

Because he knew very clearly that once certain things crossed that line, there was no going back.

If he were to turn dark and use Kryptonian abilities to do as he pleased, then the ending would be either him destroying the world or destroying himself.

Of course, there might also be a third ending that many readers love to see, where he became so powerful that he ruled everything, manipulating the multiverse in the palm of his hand. Then he could decide who lived and who died.

The reason for stepping onto this one-way road of no return was mainly because there was no anchor in this world, no harbor for the soul to dock. Or to put it in more common terms—a home.

Having no place to land easily makes one walk a path to the end in the dark, even if the sky collapses and the earth cracks at the very end, one would still press on without hesitation.

Even if one wanted to give up midway, the cause and effect caused by stepping out would push one forward, regardless of whether there was a ten-thousand-foot abyss ahead.

Such a person is the most terrifying to the entire world and human society, because he has no worries behind him.

Moreover, what he does will force him to continue doing it, because once he stops, the cause and effect sown before will inevitably return to him, very likely leading to an ending of death and the dissolution of his Dao.

If, during the Alaska period, watching the classic black-and-white movies on the old TV's movie channel was a spiritual redemption for Henry,

then serving the lady sleeping in the next room was, for Henry, no less than the first anchor to fix him down in this world's life.

Henry had not revealed his past after arriving in this world to anyone. Even so, some people keenly captured certain messages and made corresponding reactions.

The two ladies, Audrey and Catherine He Ben, treated Henry just like their most common form of address for him—child. Catherine had no children, but Audrey was a mother who had raised two children.

Although no one emphasized this point, Henry still felt that he was being treated like a child.

Especially the look in Audrey He Ben's eyes when looking at Henry; it was neither looking at a man, nor at a life partner, nor simply at an assistant hired by her.

That look was like looking at her two sons who were no longer by her side, looking at this boy who needed care and perhaps also protection.

Henry certainly never thought about adopting a mother, nor did he have any sexual thoughts toward a sixty-year-old faded beauty. But he had to admit that having someone around to ask about his well-being and care for him usually felt different.

It was as if there was a place belonging to him in this world, and someone remembered him.

Such a mood, of course, would not allow others to defile it. For the sake of that lady, Henry even felt that the rules he had set for himself could be broken.

This did not mean he would go on a killing spree. As long as what those people did did not endanger Audrey He Ben, he would turn a blind eye.

Anyway, no matter how recklessly this world messed around, it should not be Henry, a Kryptonian who traveled here, who was responsible. The noble sentiment of Superman shouldering the entire Earth alone was something Henry did not have even a trace of.

Looking out the window, the occasional barking of dogs broke the silence of the deep night.

As the African continent was the first time in two lifetimes that Henry had set foot there, he did not have any special feelings.

The night was still that night; whether it was the hot wind or the annoying mosquitoes, for Henry with his Kryptonian physique, these were not big problems. Not only was he immune to cold and heat, but mosquitoes could not even pierce the skin of a Kryptonian.

However, the conspiracies lurking in the darkness would not stop their steps because of the existence of a Kryptonian.

Henry just watched coldly from the sidelines, unless these conspiracies turned into huge waves crashing toward himself or that lady.

(End of this chapter)