And like John Jameson's questioning style just now, it's almost one of the most commonly used methods by all professional journalists.
Often, the less cooperative the interviewee is, the sharper the questions they ask, making it more difficult for you to step down and deal with.
But if the opposite is true, they will appropriately show mercy, leaving a little face for each other.
The Homelander, who is frequently interviewed, naturally knows this very well, but he has never encountered a reporter who dared to deliberately make things difficult for him before, but the "tough guy" John Jameson is definitely not in the above list.
This also made Homelander's goodwill towards John Jameson and the Daily Bugle skyrocket instantly, and he immediately replied with a serious face:
"Okay, buddy, I want to say that what you just said can be regarded as a very serious accusation, and maybe Vought's stock price will plummet tomorrow...
After all, before me, that man was almost the embodiment of Vought, and even now his statue still stands in the group's building square!"
"And during my childhood, I always admired that man. I have watched almost all the movies he starred in, and I never get tired of watching some of them hundreds of times...
But now I must face this sharp question. After my investigation, that person is indeed very likely to be Soldier Boy!!"
"But to be honest, I don't actually know why Vought's senior management made such a stupid decision back then, but this just proves the importance and necessity of my recent liberation of Vought from corruption and lies!!"
"And one more thing, regarding what happened today, I can only say that the timing of its arrival is a bit too perfect..."
"Oh? What do you mean by that?"
The smile on John Jameson's face gradually became intriguing, and he asked bluntly: "Are you implying to us that this terrorist attack is actually a false flag operation against you and Vought?"
(Note: [False flag operation] refers to a special covert operation with misleading source analysis and framing. The process is roughly to mislead the public's vision by using the uniforms, logos, flags, and other means of other organizations, so that they believe that the action was carried out by other organizations. This type of action is very common in espionage activities and is often used in special occasions such as political elections.)
"Oh buddy, you said that, I never said that. It might be . or some other bullshit organization, or Stan Edgar... trying to deliberately create some trouble for me and make me, who just took over Vought, look ridiculous!"
Homelander immediately spread his hands and smiled as he shirked responsibility: "What I want to say is, God knows how many similar things stupid senior executives like Stan Edgar have hidden in the past few years?"
"But please rest assured, before I came to the Daily Bugle, I had already ordered a detailed and comprehensive purge of Vought's past senior management decisions, in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future."
John Jameson naturally would not comment on Homelander's self-aggrandizement, but just nodded slightly, and then imperceptibly led the topic to another hot spot.
"I just received news that the Mayor seems to have decided to implement a full curfew in all districts of New York before that super-powered terrorist is caught. What are your thoughts on this decision?"
Controlling the topic, guiding public opinion, creating hot spots... these are all essential professional skills for a qualified media person.
"Please, what I want to say to the Mayor about this is... as long as I, Homelander, am here, then America will always be the safest country in the world, bar none, okay?"
Homelander put on a look of righteous indignation and said loudly to the camera: "So please don't issue such a stupid order and let everyone go out as they please...
You can go to shopping malls, restaurants, movie theaters like you usually do... bring your family and children and enjoy the warm life outside of work!!"
Speaking of the last, he frowned and solemnly promised: "And your safety will be the responsibility of me and the New Seven!"
"The New Seven?" John Jameson's interest was piqued upon hearing this.
"Yes."
Homelander sighed, a look of reminiscence appeared on his face, and he said in a deep voice: "As we all know, since Invisible and Black Noir died one after another, and Starlight also became a vegetable in the last Seven-City Vampire Crisis and is still in a coma, this has left three core vacancies in the Seven...
And the frequent crises in New York recently have made me deeply aware that the vacancies in the Seven must be filled as soon as possible, so that we can better defend New York and the safety of the American people!!"
"Oh? Then you must already have relevant candidates in mind, right?"
John Jameson asked curiously: "Can you reveal some information to our Daily Bugle fans in advance here?"
"This..."
A look of embarrassment suddenly appeared on Homelander's face, but seeing that the opposite John Jameson seemed to be losing patience and wanted to say 'Since it's not convenient to say, then forget it', he quickly opened his mouth before the other party could say it:
"You know what? If I were being interviewed by other media, I would never reveal these business secrets that are crucial to Vought in advance... but the Daily Bugle is different, I very much appreciate your consistent style of doing things..."
John Jameson interrupted a little displeased: "So what..."
Little brother, I gave you a chance, why are you still playing hard to get with me?
If you want to do this, then don't blame me for not giving you any face!
"Cough cough..."
Homelander naturally would not miss this god-given opportunity to 'warm up' for the new CP, and immediately cut to the chase:
"Actually, in these three shortlisted lists, there is a well-known street hero... oh no, I don't think she can simply be called a street hero anymore, after all, in my opinion, what she has done before is far more like a superhero than those so-called Avengers."
Hearing the other party mention the Avengers, John Jameson's face suddenly improved a lot, and Homelander stopped at the right time, and then continued half-jokingly:
"Do you want to guess her true identity? I think with your clever mind, you will definitely be able to guess it!!"
"Street hero? She?"
John Jameson's face suddenly became a little strange, but this was not because he couldn't guess the result. On the contrary, it was precisely because he guessed the result all at once that he felt this way in his heart.
After all, even if he was "knowledgeable", he couldn't guess why that person would choose to join the Seven and become Homelander's teammate?
Spider-Girl, are you going to fall?
"Are you talking about... Spider-Woman?!"
"Bingo!"
Homelander snapped his fingers and said with a slightly excited expression: "That's right, it's her... I know that many people may doubt or disbelieve this news after hearing it, but this is the truth."
"As a female superhero with many labels such as 'hating evil like an enemy', 'carrying out justice', and 'using violence to control violence', Spider-Woman actually has too many similarities with me... It is precisely because of this consideration that I have repeatedly invited her to join the Seven."
"I believe that only by absorbing more 'upright' and 'righteous' superheroes like Spider-Woman can the New Seven shine even more brightly!!"
"And for this crisis, I am confident that I can lead the members of the New Seven to bring the soldier... cough, I mean the super-powered person who committed the crime to justice."
"But I hope that the general public can contact Vought as soon as they see the whereabouts of this person, and we will reward those citizens who provide useful information..."
"Congratulations, Homelander."
John Jameson nodded noncommittally, "I have to say, this time your vision is really good, and I am also very optimistic about that little Spider... but I hope that when your final decisive battle arrives, you can reserve a live broadcast spot for the Daily Bugle."
Homelander said with a smile: "No problem, I also very much hope that a newspaper like the Daily Bugle, which is excellent and influential, can witness the successful completion of our action in person!!"
The latest novel is first published at Six 9 Books Bar!
……
After the interview, Homelander flew back to Vought excitedly. As soon as he walked into the office, he saw his 'little follower' Ashley Barrett holding a tablet and running over excitedly, saying:
"Sir, it's up, your approval rating is up again, your performance in the Daily Bugle interview just now was simply perfect..."
Homelander grabbed the tablet and looked at the curves that were soaring all the way, and he was overjoyed, "Yes, I knew it would be like this. The Daily Bugle's influence is more awesome than Vought News Network!!"
To be honest, he really didn't expect John Jameson to give him so much face. Every question he asked seemed sharp, but in fact, almost all of them were "siding" with him.
Originally, Homelander was in a very uneasy state of mind before heading to the Daily Bugle.
Because John Jameson's bad temper and tricky interviews are well-known in the industry.
Let me ask you, how many people in the entire media industry dare to confront . head-on... the answer is none except John Jameson!
So Homelander didn't think that the other party would give him any face.
If he didn't actively respond, if things went wrong, this live interview would not only fail to achieve the positive effect he expected, but would also backfire and cause serious adverse effects.
But who would have thought that the entire interview process would be so smooth?
Homelander immediately decided in his heart that from today onwards, the Daily Bugle and John Jameson are his "allies"!!!
However, what he didn't know was that the reason why John Jameson was so "giving face" was not because he was optimistic about him and the New Seven.
It was because John Jameson had already learned the truth behind this terrorist attack from his boss Carl - that is, Nick Fury secretly provided key information to Billy Butcher and others and the [Temporary Compound V cooperation].
That's why he deliberately used Homelander to hype up the popularity of this news first, and then detonate it at the right time!!
What?
How did Carl know that Nick Fury was providing assistance to Billy Butcher and others?
Of course, it was because the hospital where Starlight was located was actually an asset under the Selena-ruled Witch Society.
And after Selena received the report from her subordinates, she immediately reported the relevant news to Carl.
That's why John Jameson broke the sky and didn't directly "spray" Homelander, but left the firepower to Nick Fury and ., who were about to be exposed!!
At this time, Homelander, who was completely unaware that he had become a "person in the game", put his hands on his hips and laughed with high spirits:
"Haha, then next, let's wait and see... I hope that damn old bastard can hurry up and cause some more big troubles during this time!!"
…………
……
In a remote wilderness camp.
After a fight, Billy Butcher, who injected the Temporary Compound V, successfully subdued a woman wearing a crimson leather jacket and with short reddish-brown hair.
"Sorry, Crimson Countess, we're not here to hurt you, but considering your superpowers, I have to do this... at least it will make us both safer."
Billy Butcher fixed the red-haired woman to a chair with thumb-thick iron chains, and then wrapped her hands with pre-prepared tape.
Because this red-haired woman must touch her hands together to release her superpowers.
And she is one of the former Payback members - Crimson Countess!!!
At the same time, it was also the first target that Soldier Boy was going to find next, which Billy Butcher and others learned from the Legend.
That's why Billy Butcher brought Hughie Campbell and Marvin, codenamed Mother's Milk, here in advance, just to take the lead over Soldier Boy, and then use this hostage as a price to discuss cooperation with the other party to eliminate Homelander!
"Madam, I want to tell you something, but I don't want to scare you..."
Marvin, who was on the side, said apologetically: "Your old lover... that is, Soldier Boy, will come here to find you later... that's right, he's still alive!!"
