Why is his holy light red?

Mercury stared incredulously at his father.

A former workaholic is actually quitting his job?

Al's tone was surprisingly calm: "I've been thinking a lot lately. It's time to take a long vacation and spend more time with you all."

Seeing Mercury hesitate, Al waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to worry: "Don't worry about the money. When I resigned, I sold all those unpublished, rare photos to the Daily Heroes. They'd just gather dust anyway. The money I got will be enough to support the family for a while, and your mother can take a good rest."

Mercury's expression froze instantly.

He swallowed silently. His elderly father was unaware that the so-called rare photos had actually been copied many times by Mercury.

Al, seemingly oblivious to his son's guilty conscience, looked at Mercury with sincere eyes and said earnestly, "I know I've missed out on a lot for the family over the years, but I will try my best to make up for it. I've invited your friends to dinner tonight."

"My friend?" Mercury was taken aback.

"Those two you met at Black Olive Prison, and John," Al said matter-of-factly. "Now that you're a team, as your father, I naturally have to meet you. Besides, you're still not very reliable. That little girl Flora needs a legal guardian, otherwise she'll be forcibly sent to a foster family by welfare agencies sooner or later. I've discussed it with your mother, and we've introduced her to Sister Maria. The nun will act as her guardian, and now you can finally rest assured."

"Sister Maria would agree?" Mercury was somewhat surprised.

Sister Mary is indeed a rare and wonderful person, and one of the very few ruthless individuals in the Root District capable of protecting herself. However, she is an extremely devout believer; if you don't believe in God, she won't care about you. Previously, Mercury sent Emily to seek help from the nun, and as a result, Emily has now become a believer as well.

El smiled. "She's already agreed. Flora is a devout believer, didn't you know that?"

Mercury was momentarily speechless; he hadn't really paid attention to the girl's religious beliefs. He looked at El again and suddenly felt that this long-absent father was like a completely different person.

But Al's arrangements weren't over yet. He patted Mercury on the shoulder, his tone tinged with pride: "You're a registered trainee hero now, it's time to find a formal mentor for you. I'm looking for someone for you. If you have a favorite superhero, you can tell me, and I'll make the contact. After all these years as a reporter, I have quite a few connections."

Magic Eye is at best a special training instructor.

According to the association's rules, for a trainee hero to truly debut, they must be affiliated with a full-fledged hero, like an apprentice, and endure a long probationary period before becoming a full-fledged hero. Mercury's previous use of the trainee hero title to intimidate others was purely a case of using someone else's name for show.

Strictly speaking, he needed an official hero present to supervise his arrest; otherwise, the suspect had the right to refuse. Fortunately, the laws are numerous and complex, and the street thugs were completely unaware of these details.

Looking at El, who was so sincere and meticulous in paving the way for him, Mercury felt a mix of emotions.

If he hadn't known El's other identity, he might have been deeply moved by this belated fatherly love. But the problem was, the man before him was an angel of holy light. "Reporter El" could indeed resign and go home on vacation, but could that high and mighty god on earth also take a vacation?

Previously, Mercury's understanding of the Angels of Light was limited to news reports, but after joining the association, he was able to access a lot of internal information. In reality, the Angels of Light had handled many more crises than reported in the news.

Because there are many things that are not suitable for disclosure, and there are also confidentiality requirements.

This old father is really busy, busy saving the world. He will rush to the scene as quickly as possible no matter what disaster strikes.

Moreover, this world has another really weird aspect: all sorts of strange things exist here, and the frequency of various natural disasters is far higher than on Mercury's previous life's Earth.

Nobody knows which ancient behemoth has awakened at the bottom of the deep sea, or which galaxy has suddenly sent a meteorite half the size of the Federation flying towards us... These world-destroying events have almost become must-see programs of the year.

Are the Holy Light Angels on vacation?

Mercury couldn't imagine it.

However small the possibility may be, Mercury at least felt Al's sincerity.

"There's no rush with finding a mentor; we can take our time." Mercury quickly composed himself and smoothly steered the conversation back on track. "By the way, Dad, I was just about to ask you about something. Six months ago, did Everlasting Technology have any big news? You know, the kind of rumors that were suppressed by PR and didn't make it to the press? Did you hear anything about it back then?"

"Six months ago?" El recalled for a moment, then said, "The current CEO of Eternal Life Technology took office six months ago. Before that, he was apparently the head of some R&D department at Eternal Life Technology. Why are you suddenly asking about this? Are you still investigating Eternal Life Technology?"

Mercury looked directly into his father's eyes and nodded. "I can't pretend nothing happened. You know about the Beast Gang's notebook, and the shady things that Immortal Technology and the Federal government did behind the scenes. We can't just let it go like that."

This time, Al did not refute. On this issue, he shared Mercury's position.

"Eternal Life Technologies has destroyed most of the evidence, and we are still investigating. Federal officials are trying to sell out Eternal Life Technologies, but it is clear that Eternal Life Technologies was also prepared. They destroyed the evidence so thoroughly that even when Robert hacked into their company system, he couldn't find any evidence of their wrongdoing."

"Do they also have superpowered individuals who are proficient in this area?" Mercury frowned.

"Yes." El nodded, his expression grave. "They've completely destroyed the electronic data. I believe they've also destroyed most of the physical evidence. I'm worried they've even erased the memories of most of the people who knew about it, leaving only a few key figures who still know what happened."

Mercury sneered: "Let me guess, the angels of light aren't going to just barge in, arrest people, and then read their minds to extract evidence, are they?"

El smiled wryly and said, "The Federation is waiting for us to do that."

"Will he use this excuse to limit the authority of the Superpowers Act?"

“No,” El shook his head, “they are waiting for the Holy Angels to personally shatter the rules of ‘procedural justice.’ Once the gods take the lead in ignoring the law… those superhumans nurtured by the Federation will immediately follow suit. They can fabricate any excuse to violently hack into the minds of any corporation or political figure in other countries, and in the end, they will get everything they want.”

"Isn't that what these politicians are doing now?" Mercury scoffed. "Since it's such a nuisance, why not just change the federal president?"

"At least they're still operating under a legal guise, and the association can still intervene within the rules. As for changing presidents..." Al sighed. "Silly child, do you really think the president has the final say? This country is controlled by two major parties, and whoever comes to power will make the same choices. They represent the vested interests of half the Federation, and the vast majority of people in this country are actively or passively enjoying the benefits of plundering others. In fact, most countries in the world are like this; the Federation is just a bit more powerful."

El's voice lowered, filled with deep helplessness: "The Holy Angels do indeed have the ability to wipe out this country. But you have no idea how many doomsday plans the Federation's top brass has prepared to guard against this 'god's' rampage. At least five hundred nuclear warheads have been deployed in secret, untraceable bases."

"The Holy Angel isn't the only superpowered individual in this world. The Federation has a vast number of various superpowered individuals, and those politicians are ruthless enough to drag everyone down with them. How many children Sylvia's age do you think there are in the world? Do you want them all to be dragged down with them for this mess of immortality technology?"

"That sounds like an excuse to shirk responsibility," Mercury said, unmoved.

Al was silent for a long time. He reached out and ruffled Mercury's hair, just like he did when they were children.

"It's not an excuse, it's helplessness," El said in a complicated tone. "The Holy Angel's current power is enough to destroy the world, but not enough to 'protect' it. He loves all humanity, which is his greatest weakness, because humanity is too fragile. However, he is growing stronger."

El paused for a moment, then continued, "Twenty years ago, he fought almost with all his might against Volcanic Rock. Twenty years later, he only borrowed a little bit of your holy light, and he was able to render Volcanic Rock powerless."

"One day, he will be powerful enough to disregard any threat of mutual destruction. He will ensure that every inch of this fragile world, every vibrant life, is protected by the Holy Light." El's voice was soft but firm. "On that day, he will be able to surgically remove these malignant tumors with precision."

Mercury looked quietly at his father.

It was as if Al was about to give up the act; Mercury suspected he was about to reveal his identity at any moment. Mercury even slowed his breathing, waiting for this old man to admit that he was the supreme god.

However, after a few seconds of emotional buildup, El reverted to his composed fatherly self, patting Mercury firmly on the shoulder: "Son, you have great talent. The reason the Angel of Light lent you his power was because he saw your potential. He needs someone to help him shoulder this goal... Perhaps in a few years, your shoulders will be strong enough to support half the world, and the true Judgment Day will come sooner."

Mercury remained silent, unsure whether his father was making up another story to fool him.

But, should the world be enveloped in red holy light?

That sounds pretty exciting.

But now is not the time to think about such things. Mercury said to his beloved father, "Dad, you're right. I should strive to become a hero who holds up half the sky. I happen to have something I need your help with."

Mercury took out his phone, opened the association's bounty system, and said, "Could you help me see which bounty post here you know any relevant information about, or be able to find relevant information about? I'll go back and exchange it for points... oh, no, I mean punish evil and promote good, and uphold justice."