Why is his holy light red?

Chapter 107 Chaos is about to begin

Tree Roots, 13th Street, "Old George" Discount Community Hospital and Underground Pharmacy.

This place is usually the only place for the elderly, weak, sick and disabled in the slums to survive, but now, in the panic of the countdown to the end of the world, it has been targeted by others.

"Hurry up! Move all the antibiotics, painkillers, and all the valuable medicines in the warehouse to the truck outside! Don't leave a single bottle behind!"

The "Hyena Gang" leader, sporting a mohawk and half his face covered in tattoos, was standing on the chest of clinic owner George.

He carried a large-caliber shotgun in one hand, the muzzle still emitting acrid smoke. In a corner of the clinic, several nurses and civilians seeking treatment huddled together, trembling with fear, while a young man who had just tried to resist lay in a pool of blood on the ground.

"Boss, this old man still won't hand over the password to the medicine vault!" one of the henchmen shouted menacingly, holding a bloodstained crowbar.

"Pah, you old geezer, the world's about to end, and you're still clinging to these worthless drugs waiting to die?" The leader spat bloody saliva in old George's face, laughing arrogantly. "Let's see how long you can keep up this act. Those two pretty nurses, they're your daughters, aren't they? If you don't want to watch me kill them, you'd better tell me the password!"

He skillfully cocked the shotgun and pressed it directly against a nurse's head.

"Three seconds left, what's the password? Trinity."

"boom-!!!"

Before the leader could even utter the word "two," the edge of the clinic's heavy, explosion-proof roller shutter door suddenly lit up with an extremely dazzling, high-heat red light, followed by a deafening bang.

The entire steel door, along with its concrete frame, was forcibly torn apart. The massive steel plate, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, flew into the hall and, with a loud "bang," smashed two gang members who were carrying medicine into a bloody pulp.

Amidst the smoke and still-smoldering embers, a piercing alarm blared wildly.

"Cough cough—Damn it! Who the hell is tired of living?!" The leader was knocked to the ground by the blast wave, scrambled to his feet, and stared intently at the hole in the door with his shotgun raised.

Amidst the billowing dust, two tall figures walked in, stepping on the pebbles.

The man walking in front had his hands in the pockets of his black jacket, surrounded by a halo of dark red holy light; while half a step behind him was a young man with gloomy eyes, his fingertips toying with a cluster of crimson flames that leaped like venomous snakes.

When the leader of the Hyena Gang saw the dark red light emanating from Mercury, his pupils contracted and his expression turned extremely ugly.

These days, he's heard far too much about this red devil.

Although his expression changed drastically, he quickly put on a smug and fearless look.

"Who do we have here? It's just a lackey of the Hero Association, with a kid who's barely grown his hair!" The leader sneered, pointing his gun at the civilian in the corner. "What, instead of working as a security guard for those rich people in the upper city, why are you running back to this backwater to play the savior?"

"I'm warning you, I work for those big shots in the Upper City! If you're here to make a quick buck, I'll give you a share, but if you're going to meddle, be prepared, even the association can't protect you!"

He had used this excuse countless times.

In this messed-up society, even superheroes are subject to the constraints of law and capital. As long as he hints that he has "connections," generally speaking, the members of the Hero Association will not dare to act rashly.

At worst, we can share some of the benefits with the other party. As for the doctors and nurses at the clinic, we can let them go. The important thing is to get rid of those precious antibiotics and painkillers.

Unfortunately, he misread the script today.

"A big shot in the upper district?"

Mercury stopped, tilted his head, and looked at the mohawk leader as if he were an idiot.

"Do you have some misunderstanding about the phrase 'end of the world'?"

Mercury slowly grinned, his gleaming white teeth gleaming in the dim light. He raised his right hand and pointed to the dilapidated ceiling above him.

"That thing in the sky called the moon will be gone in a dozen or so hours. Your high and mighty master is probably hiding in an underground air-raid shelter right now, so scared he's wet his pants while hugging the toilet. You expect him to back you up?"

Before he finished speaking, the red light emanating from Mercury became even more dazzling.

He gave no warning whatsoever, and his figure vanished from the spot in an instant.

"Fire! Fire!!!"

The leader's heart pounded, and he instinctively pulled the trigger.

But there's no point in doing that.

A fist enveloped in red holy light collided directly with the steel balls spewed from the shotgun. The rain of bullets fell on the fist, but the steel was deformed by the impact of flesh and then bounced away.

Mercury's fist landed squarely on the chest of the Hyena gang leader without any resistance.

"Click."

A crisp sound of bones cracking rang out. The leader didn't even have time to scream before Mercury pierced his chest, and his head slumped limply.

Mercury tossed the corpse against the wall like it was trash.

"The boss is dead!"

"Kill him now!"

The dozen or so gang members around them went completely mad, raising their guns and firing wildly towards the doorway.

"Vincent, get to work."

Mercury didn't attack the henchmen, but instead carefully shielded the clinic staff from the stray bullets to prevent them from being accidentally injured.

As for Vincent, he trembled after seeing a living person being shot through the chest by Mercury.

Unable to tell whether it was fear or excitement, Vincent felt his vision blurring, as if he couldn't see anything clearly.

But when the gun barrels spat fire and bullets landed on his bulletproof vest, the excruciating pain brought him back to his senses.

Faced with the gun barrels constantly spitting bullets, Vincent's pent-up frustration and madness, which had been suppressed for more than 20 years, finally exploded.

"Go to hell! You scum!"

He let out a hoarse growl, and the flames at his fingertips instantly surged, transforming into a blazing, roaring fire dragon that swept out with overwhelming force.

The gunmen, along with their weapons, were instantly engulfed by the 2,000-degree Celsius heat. Their agonizing screams lasted only half a second before abruptly ceasing, leaving behind a nauseating stench of burning flesh.

In less than ten seconds, the entire hall fell silent again.

The ground was littered with mangled corpses and charred remains emitting blue smoke. These apocalyptic thugs had been sent to hell prematurely.

But at this moment, Vincent's face was ashen.

This was the first time he had truly killed someone. His fingers, holding the lighter, trembled uncontrollably, and his stomach churned. The instinctive fear of taking the life of another man almost made him lose his balance.

Under the stench of burning food, Vincent finally couldn't take it anymore and leaned against the wall, vomiting violently as if he were about to throw up his bile.

Mercury walked over to Vincent, patted him on the back, and asked, "If you can't take it, go back now. Don't worry, I won't laugh at you. When I killed someone for the first time, I was even more pathetic than you."

Vincent felt ashamed. Although he kept telling himself as he walked out of the Hero Association building with Mercury that no matter what happened, he shouldn't take it to heart.

It's just murder, nothing serious.

However, when it came to actually doing it himself and watching living people scream and turn into charred remains in the flames, Vincent still couldn't remain unmoved.

After all, he's only sixteen years old this year, not much older than Mercury.

Vincent wiped the grime from the corner of his mouth and asked curiously, "How old were you when you first killed someone?"

"Twelve years old, or thirteen? I can't quite remember," Mercury said casually.

Vincent: ————

What kind of monster is this person?

The fear and nausea did not lessen with vomiting; Vincent's hands continued to tremble, and he couldn't even bear to look at the corpses again.

Just as Vincent was falling into self-doubt, a noise came from the corner.

Old George, who had been slumped on the ground, stood up shakily with the help of a young nurse. Looking at the charred remains on the ground, he did not show the usual fear that people would avoid when looking at Vincent; instead, tears streamed down his face.

"Thank you—thank you both—" Old George's voice trembled, his eyes red as he looked at Vincent and Mercury, so moved he was almost incoherent. "If it weren't for you two heroes, we would all be dead at the hands of these beasts today. The medicine here—"

Every single box could save a life—thank you so much!

The young nurse who had initially been terrified now looked at Vincent with gratitude and respect, and even bowed deeply to him.

Vincent froze on the spot.

From childhood to adulthood, because of his heinous father, he was always subjected to scorn, suspicion, and scorn. Even within the association, people looked at him as if he were a ticking time bomb.

This was the first time in his life that someone had looked into his eyes so sincerely, without fear of his flames, and called him a "hero" with tears in their eyes.

Seeing the look of relief in the eyes of the civilians, Vincent's chest heaved violently. He looked down at his hands, then clenched his fists tightly.

The trembling that had been uncontrollable has now miraculously subsided.

Mercury noticed Vincent's change but didn't say much. Everyone's experiences and personalities are different, and whether or not one can overcome their inner struggles depends entirely on themselves.

He walked up to old George, helped him up, and said, "There are two trucks outside the door. The keys should be in that dead boss's pocket." Mercury casually pointed to the rotting flesh in the corner.

"The first tsunami is coming soon. Our Tree Root District is downstream and is very likely to be flooded. Call all the neighbors out, collect as many supplies as possible, and then evacuate to higher ground. There are many abandoned factories in our Tree Root District, so try to hide on higher floors."

If you encounter any trouble, try to tell Sister Mary.

The root area is mostly filled with dilapidated wooden houses, each with its own entrance; the only high-rise reinforced concrete buildings are those in factories.

Thanks to the economic downturn in recent years, countless factories have gone bankrupt and been liquidated, resulting in massive unemployment. However, this has also led to a large number of these factory areas being vacant, making them ideal places to hide.

Old George grabbed Mercury's hand and said, "No, we can't retreat to the factory! They took over these places from the start. They have guns and cars, and after seizing those abandoned factories, they started looting everywhere. This group is just a few of the Hyena Gang members; they'll have many more coming."

Mercury frowned and asked, "So what are you planning to do?"

"Help me tear this place down and make it look like it's been robbed. My children and I will hide in the underground medicine vault and seal the door. Maybe then no one will come here to rob us again."

Mercury shook his head and said, "When the flood comes, you will all perish."

Old George said helplessly, "There's nothing we can do about it. There are too many of them, and too many guns."

Mercury said, "Don't worry, go ahead and gather supplies. I'll clean up all the malignant growths in these root zones before the flood comes."

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