Why is his holy light red?

For three days, Mercury practically lived at the training ground.

On the first day, he fell hundreds of times. The twisted balance beam, the swaying rings, the vertical climbing wall—every obstacle was like a malicious mockery, making him, a man who relied solely on brute force, look like a clown.

His back, knees, and elbows slammed countless times on the hard floor, but thanks to the holy light, not a single bruise was left.

His indestructible body is his biggest cheat code.

The next day, he began to get the hang of it. Balance isn't something you develop through mental cognition, but rather something you gradually build up through muscle memory. He learned to adjust his center of gravity the instant he stepped onto the spring balance beam, to use his core strength instead of brute force when swinging on the swing, and to use the feel of his fingers to find the most subtle points of support on the climbing wall.

On the third day, he completed the entire race for the first time.

Although he didn't surpass the robot's one-minute record, as he crossed the finish line, panting with his hands on his knees, he looked back at the challenges he had conquered and felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

The results of hard work are always gratifying.

The training methods of the Magic Eye are simple and brutal, but they are indeed very suitable for Mercury at this stage.

He didn't care about skills and agility before. In his mind, as long as he maxed out his defense and his left and right punches dealt high damage, that would be enough.

But now he understands that this isn't boxing in a ring.

In real combat, the ground may be tilted, your feet may slip, and the enemy may attack from any angle.

A powerful superhuman like Magic Eye only needs to find a weakness to make Mercury spin like a top.

If you can't even control your own body, then even the strongest attack power is just empty talk.

Besides improving his balance and agility, Mercury also arranged some basic combat training for him. At first, Mercury didn't take it seriously, after all, he could punch through a reinforced concrete wall.

But the Magic Eye only did one thing: he made him punch a specially made sandbag, then corrected his posture and made him punch it again.

The second punch was almost twice as powerful as the first.

(Please remember the website 20 ...

Mercury then began to train hard against the fighting robots. Since he didn't have to worry about defense at all, his punching power increased three or four times in just three days.

He can easily beat himself three days ago now.

Even so, it still takes him a full two minutes to complete one obstacle course. Although the training robot is far weaker than Mercury, every movement is perfectly executed, and its transitions are as nimble as a real ninja.

Mercury trained with great enthusiasm, so much so that even the Magic Eye Man was somewhat surprised and had to order Mercury to take a proper rest.

Although Mercury didn't feel tired, he still believed in the advice of his senior.

Having just taken a shower, Mercury, his hair still half-dry, walked into the common room, intending to rummage through the fridge for a late-night snack. He then saw Nora and Rex huddled on the sofa, each holding their phones and muttering to themselves.

What are you doing?

After three days of training, apart from Vincent who was still unable to speak, the other two peers had already developed a relationship where they could easily strike up a conversation.

Upon hearing his voice, Rex immediately made a face and said, "I've been practicing like crazy for the past three days, and I haven't even finished recording this week's vlog yet."

"What Vlog?" Mercury unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and leaned against the refrigerator.

Nora propped her phone up on her lap, swiping her finger across the screen: "It's a promotional video for the association. Trainee heroes are newcomers, the association's main focus for external publicity. We're not signed with an agency yet, we're just working for the association—we have to submit more than an hour of video every week, including footage of their lives, training, and funny moments."

She scrolled up and showed him a few clips in the folder: "The association will cut the footage into a promotional video, give our branch a piece of their mind, and incidentally help us gain recognition in advance."

"There's such a requirement?" Mercury paused in his drinking.

"You didn't read the manual, did you?" Nora raised an eyebrow. "Then you definitely didn't record it. Hurry up, tomorrow's the deadline this week. Forgetting to hand it in isn't a big deal, but it's an important exposure channel—the Hero Association's GG is quite popular."

Mercury quickly pulled out his phone, scrolled through the pile of documents the association had sent out, and actually found this one. Trainee heroes were required to submit a selfie video every week, and newcomers like him also had to record an additional "Embarking on the Hero's Path" speech.

"I haven't recorded a single minute." Mercury quickly asked, "Is there any template? Any special requirements?"

Nora was clearly quite familiar with this, swiping her finger across the screen a few times and sending several videos to Mercury's phone: "These are the materials I recorded before, and this is the version the association edited."

Mercury clicked to take a look. It wasn't anything particularly difficult to pull off, but Nora seemed to be a natural in front of the camera—she looked comfortable just smiling in front of the screen. The prank was simple: use her bubble powers to spray a rainbow of bubbles, take a photo with a child on the street, and pretend to do magic by creating a giant bear-shaped soap bubble to put the child inside.

It's not anything particularly impressive, but the scene is warm and cozy, making it very heartwarming to watch.

It seems that Nora is very clear about her strengths and how to make the most of them.

He checked the duration records; each segment was thirty or forty minutes long. But in the final edited version produced by the association, these shots combined probably only amounted to a few seconds.

Mercury had originally wanted to become an internet celebrity, but he had been too busy training these past few days to think about it. He had planned to use Flora's singing to help him gain fame after she recovered.

Unexpectedly, the Hero Association has another channel to increase its popularity.

That's something I can't miss; I need to think about it carefully.

However, Mercury doesn't have much talent in this area. He can't just copy those internet celebrities he saw in his previous life and do something abstract.

Thinking of this, Mercury humbly asked the two for advice.

Rex jokingly suggested, "With your face, you'd probably be a hit if you dressed as a woman, perfectly riding the wave of LGBT popularity."

Mercury quickly waved his hand.

Other forms of online traffic can be piggybacked on, but this is truly poison. It feels like it can only be a temporary hit before being quickly drowned by toxic online traffic. Moreover, Mercury himself cannot accept this culture; forcibly piggybacking on it will only make people see through it immediately.

Nora also objected, saying, "It's such a waste. You already had a lot of fame after that lawsuit. Why go for LGBT-related fame? You should cultivate a rebellious teenager persona."

"A rebellious teenager?" Mercury pondered for a moment, thinking that the suggestion seemed quite good.

Opinions about Mercury online are polarized. Some people believe that Mercury was simply persecuted and wronged, especially since the case even exposed a scandal involving the jury being mentally controlled.

However, due to the federal government's encouragement and the hiring of a large number of online trolls, many people still believe that Mercury is a born violent maniac.

Even if the Federation is wrong, does that mean he is not wrong?

That's pretty much the argument: regardless of whether he was persecuted or not, the point is to nail Mercury to the image of a violent maniac, and even clamor for him to be sent to a mental hospital.

Mercury has also come across these polarized comments, but in his view, arguments generate buzz, while one-sided opinions make it easy for him to be forgotten.

Now Nora has brought it up, saying that Mercury could actually escalate the conflict.

Mercury was never going to let those scumbags off the hook, so when he reappeared in the public eye, he should have projected an image of dissatisfaction with the corrupt government and a determination to change everything.

The more intense the arguments become, the more he maintains his popularity.

As long as it doesn't violate the Superpowers Act, it's a matter of personal freedom to create any kind of persona online.

Rex became interested upon hearing this. He and Vincent had been having a cold war these past few days, and their former best friend had become like strangers. On the contrary, he felt good about Mercury, his new friend.

First of all, Mercury isn't as childish as Vincent, who is always full of bitterness and resentment, constantly complaining about how difficult his life is.

To be honest, Rex initially felt quite sorry for Vincent, as he himself hadn't had a very good childhood and especially longed for a friend who could understand him.

But as you get to know him, Vincent seems trapped in his childhood, unable to escape it forever.

Even though his superpower is fire, this man's overall demeanor is always somber.

After the big argument, Rex actually felt much more relaxed. Mercury was more mature than Vincent, so he didn't have to worry about accidentally touching Mercury's sensitive nerves with any words.

Friends like these are more comfortable to be around.

Rex said with great interest, "Rebellious teenager? Then you need to change your look. The way you are now, you look like a nerd who can't get invited to parties."

Mercury glanced down at himself; his clothes seemed rather unfashionable, completely lacking any personality.

"Let's go, didn't you want to shoot a vlog? I'll show you a new look and tell you about a nice shop."

Mercury was a little surprised by Rex's enthusiasm: "Aren't we still in training? Is it appropriate to leave the association building?"

He was genuinely afraid that the Magic Eye Man would suddenly appear and give them a failing grade.

Rex seemed to have gone crazy from the intense training these past few days, his only thought was to run away: "What are you afraid of? The training camp didn't say we couldn't go out. Don't worry, the place isn't far from the association..." His voice trailed off, as if he was a little guilty, so he added, "I'll send a message to Magic Eye Man to ask."

A few minutes later, Rex received a reply from Magic Eye and excitedly showed it to everyone.

Mercury stared in surprise at the letters "ok," wondering when this stern and unsmiling drill instructor had become so easy to talk to.

Rex didn't think much of it; after getting permission, he jumped up from the sofa.

"Come on! Let me show you the luxury of the upper town. Tonight's expenses are on me."

Mercury looked at Rex in surprise and tentatively asked, "Rex, you wouldn't happen to be... very rich, would you?"

Rex laughed heartily and said, "It's enough to spend!"

But then Nora asked, "Should we call Vincent?"

Rex hesitated for a moment, then finally sent Vincent a message. A few seconds later, he received a reply, but Rex didn't say anything, just disappointedly put his phone away.

Rex said expressionlessly, "Never mind him, let's go."