Why is his holy light red?

In this old apartment in Yaliu Tree City, the sounds of knives and forks clattering against porcelain plates mingled with the sound of the television, just like countless ordinary nights.

The Mercury family's dinner was as simple and cozy as ever, except that one family member was missing from the table.

Mercury's father, Al, was not sitting opposite him, but appeared on the screen of the old television.

"Holy Angel, what are your thoughts on the recent repeated attacks on 'Eternal Life Technology' by bio-mutated creatures?"

On the screen, renowned reporter Al is holding a microphone with the station's logo in one hand and handing it to the "Angel of Light," who is hailed as the world's strongest superhero.

The Holy Angel responded formally: "It's clear that Eternal Life Technology is hiding something from us. These bio-monsters have appeared more than once, and their targets have always been Eternal Life Technology's campus. These bio-monsters pose a serious threat to nearby residents, so the matter must be thoroughly investigated. I hope Eternal Life Technology can release the truth as soon as possible, and our Hero Association will continue our investigation."

The two people were standing in the background of a production park of Yong Sheng Technology that had been urgently shut down.

The camera lens swept around, revealing a large number of mutated creature carcasses scattered on the ground that had not yet been cleaned. The incomplete limbs were covered with thick, dark scales, showing obvious reptilian characteristics.

Mercury took a bite of pasta, staring at the screen, his chewing movements gradually slowing down.

No wonder the father had kept his identity hidden for so many years. In front of the world, reporter El and the Holy Angel appeared together on screen.

As the person most familiar with the reporter El and the Holy Angel, Mercury couldn't find a single flaw in either of them; he simply couldn't tell which one was the fake with the naked eye.

If he hadn't witnessed his father switching between different forms without any restraint when he was still in diapers, he would probably be questioning his own origins now.

"Immortal Technology has been attacked by mutated creatures again?" Mercury swallowed his food, turned to look at his mother, and asked, "How many times this has happened this month?"

The mother stopped eating and thought for a moment: "This is the fourth time. It's almost a weekly news story."

Mercury's gaze returned to the television, and he sneered, "Ha, I haven't even had a chance to cause them any trouble, and they're already in a mess themselves."

Since being acquitted and returning home, Mercury's life seemed to have returned to normal on the surface, and he had once again become the well-behaved student and obedient son.

Negotiations regarding an out-of-court settlement are not progressing smoothly.

The core obstacle lies in Mercury's bottom line—he demands that the federal agents involved pay the price. Whether it's Wolf, who led the kidnapping, Smith and Morgan, who engaged in improper interrogation, or the correctional officer at the Black Olive Internment Center who is also named Morgan, these four official henchmen must be punished.

Even if the settlement compensation is significantly reduced, he will never compromise.

He delegated all the troublesome wrangling to John. That top lawyer seemed to truly possess some kind of unlimited "time" resource; Mercury used two rare photos of angels to secure John's wholehearted service, promising to take full responsibility for the case.

But John had also told Mercury beforehand that negotiating with the authorities was simply a waste of time. To receive the first payment, it would take at least six months, and there was a 99% chance it would be paid in installments, dragging the battle out for several years.

After all, this is the federal government's most common tactic—delaying.

The policy could be dragged out until the next president takes office and everything is reshuffled, or it could simply be dragged out until the plaintiff himself "dies unexpectedly." In this country that is already on the verge of collapse, the latter is often much more likely than the former.

Mercury knew very well that he wouldn't die so easily. Since the authorities liked a protracted war, he would naturally play along to the end, but that didn't mean Mercury was idle.

On the contrary, he now has more to do than before.

After all, only the federal authorities have surrendered so far; Eternal Life Technologies has not yet paid the price.

Mercury received a video call from Black Egg right after dinner.

The high-tech phone obtained from the Iron Titan projected the video in front of Mercury, whose large face almost filled the entire screen.

"Boss! The house you asked me to find has been settled. What do you think of this location?" Black Egg's voice was filled with undisguised excitement.

Mercury leaned back in his chair, frowning. "Move the camera further away. Your face is completely blocking the screen. What am I supposed to see?"

"Oh, sorry." The screen suddenly shook violently.

As the camera pans, a neat and tidy community street comes into view. The roadside trees are neatly trimmed, there is no litter on the road, and no homeless people lying haphazardly on the ground.

Ever since Mercury retrieved the black egg from the Black Olive Containment Center, the behemoth had remained loyal to him. With the one million dollars prepaid by the Iron Titan in hand, Mercury's first priority was to improve his family's living conditions.

Just three traffic lights away, this area also belongs to the Tree Roots district of the City of Pomegranates, but the environment of this community is obviously much better than the neighborhood where Mercury lives.

Under the federal "community segregation system," even a distance of just one street often creates two separate worlds.

Mercury's current residence is considered upper-middle class in the Roots district. Calling the police at least gets him a patrol officer to drive by and give him a perfunctory look around. But those slum neighborhoods that have become completely unclaimed are areas where you can shout yourself hoarse and no one will care. They were also the lawless places where he used to "moonlight" to make money.

Black Egg is currently in what is clearly a prime location where high community security fees have been paid and police officers conduct daily patrols.

"180,000 for the whole set, including renovation and all furniture." Black Egg turned the camera around, enthusiastically acting as a real estate agent. "Although it's a second-hand house, this price is definitely a bargain in this area."

Mercury looked at the brightly colored building exterior in the picture and considered it in his mind. The price was reasonable, and most importantly, it was close to their original residence, so his parents' daily commute and social circle wouldn't be completely cut off.

"What about Flora? What's the situation there?"

Compared to the first-degree felony he was carrying, Black Egg's "illegal internet access" and Flora's "first-time theft" were insignificant. After John intervened and pulled some strings, the authorities weighed the pros and cons and released them without hesitation.

But Flora's situation is much worse than Black Egg's.

Black Egg is a very rare Black man with both parents alive. He has many siblings and a large number of relatives. Although they are poor, his family is quite large. After being released from prison, Black Egg naturally returned to his family.

Flora's only relative was her bedridden mother, who died in the apartment while she was imprisoned in Black Olive due to lack of care.

Mercury paid for her funeral expenses and, incidentally, bought out her future—Flora's superpowers were useless in combat, but far more valuable than those superpowers that could break down walls and demolish buildings; they were a cash cow that Mercury had to hold onto.

"She's in trouble." Black Egg's voice lowered. "Her mother just passed away, and suddenly some so-called distant relative appeared out of nowhere, insisting on getting adoption rights to her. Now the two sides are arguing. Flora is still a minor, so legally she needs a guardian. If that person can prove the blood relationship, they might actually be able to go through the process and take her away."

Mercury let out a cold, emotionless laugh: "Relatives? Their eyelids are probably only focused on the monthly adoption benefits."

"That's right!" Black Egg sighed. "Where do you get so many good people in this godforsaken place? If there were truly kind people, they wouldn't wait until someone is dead to come back to life."

This is a very common operation.

Depending on the state, legal adoptive families can apply for federal subsidies ranging from several hundred to two thousand dollars per month, and can also have a large amount of federal tax deducted at the end of the year. As long as the child is still able to take care of himself, a bunch of "family members" will appear, drawn by the quota and the money. Whether they treat the adopted child as a human or as a dog is another matter entirely.

This policy, which appears to provide more orphans with family warmth, is actually another form of human trafficking, and it's legal.

“Perfect, I’ll take over this,” Mercury said.

Black Egg on the screen scratched his head, looking bewildered: "Boss, aren't you a minor yourself? Does the law allow you to adopt another minor?"

Mercury looked at this head lacking common sense and felt a headache coming on: "Who told you I was going to adopt in my own name?"

"If we don't adopt, how are we going to compete with those vampires for children?"

"Read more books." Mercury tapped the edge of the table with his fingers. "According to the special provisions of the Superpower Management Act, minors who awaken superpowers are not subject to regular state adoption regulations. They must first undergo a danger level assessment by the Hero Association's professional intervention team, and then the Association will forcibly assign them to qualified exclusive families for adoption."

"The Hero Association?" Black Egg's suspicion deepened. "It's just a decoration. When I was getting beaten up, I didn't see them send anyone down to enforce the law."

"You're right. In this country, if you have no money and no power, nobody will even look at you." Mercury didn't deny that the Hero Association was essentially a monopolistic management organization with violent and coercive elements, mainly for maintaining order rather than providing benefits to superpowered individuals.

When ordinary superpowered individuals go to the association, they usually only get a perfunctory reply.

But Mercury is different. The "spirit messenger" who tried to hypnotize the jury is still awaiting the association's final verdict, and Mercury will be the key to that.

He didn't explain these complicated details to Heidan, only saying "Wait for me to handle it" before cutting off the communication.

After hanging up, Mercury immediately sent a message to another number: "Mr. Robert, I'm sorry to bother you so late. But, about that 'superhero influencer incubation program' we discussed before, can we officially launch it now?"