Why is his holy light red?

Loki's face flushed red from being strangled, a fleeting look of panic crossing his expression before turning utterly grim. Faced with Black Egg's questioning, he simply gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Loki only roared, "Who do you think you are to throw a punch at me?!" when Black Egg angrily swung his fist, which was the size of a sandbag.

Loki gripped Black Egg's arms tightly with both hands and shoved him away forcefully.

Despite his astonishing size of over two meters, Black Egg was completely incapable of fighting. When struck by the ferocious force unleashed by this "beast" whose size was far smaller than his, he staggered back half a step, his back slamming heavily against the brick wall.

Black Egg stared at him in disbelief, his anger surging again: "You ask me why?! These cannibals have committed countless atrocities, killing so many people. How can you do such a filthy thing? How can you face my sister?!"

These words were like a match, completely igniting Loki's powder keg.

"You think I wanted this?!"

Loki grabbed his trendy T-shirt and yanked it up hard.

Under the dim streetlights, a gruesome scar, resembling a giant centipede, ran across his torso. It slashed diagonally from his left chest to his lower right abdomen, the flesh twisting and healing in a grotesque manner, a wound that sent chills down one's spine. It was a fatal wound that had ripped him open.

"You think I fucking want this disgusting stuff?!" Loki pointed to the scar on his stomach, then yanked hard on the thick gold chain around his neck, leaving a mark on his skin. "You think I like wearing this dog collar thing?! I got into state school from the worst public high school in Root District! I'm a genius! You know what? A genius!"

Loki's voice was hoarse to the point of cracking, his eyes red as he stared intently at Black Egg: "Just because you, you piece of shit, got locked up in Black Olive! I borrowed money from loan sharks overnight to pay your protection money! If I hadn't bribed them, do you think you could have survived the first week in there?!"

Black Egg froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, his face filled with astonishment and shock.

Loki completely lost control of his emotions. He pressed closer and closer, his fingers almost piercing into Black Egg's chest.

"Your older brother almost had his leg amputated trying to collect insurance money and is now bedridden! Your mother just came out of the ICU and can barely get out of bed! There's a 300,000 yuan debt piling up at the door! Who's going to pay it off? Your father, who works washing dishes at a fast-food restaurant and has developed lumbar muscle strain?!"

Loki was breathing heavily, and all his words turned into desperate roars.

"If it weren't for me, my whole family would have been homeless, scavenging for scraps under bridges! But what could I do? I hadn't even finished paying off my student loans! I hadn't even finished college, and I had to drop out and come back to take care of my family! Fuck you, Leon!"

He screamed Black Egg's real name at the top of his lungs, his voice filled with intense hatred: "If I don't make that kind of dirty money, my girl will be homeless! To feed her bunch of gluttons, she'll have to sell herself! How could I watch your sister do that kind of thing?! Am I even a man?! Then tell me, what kind of legitimate job can I earn 300,000 in two months?!"

"I still owe the cannibals 300,000, and I have no choice but to work for them! Everyone on this street can point their finger at me and call me trash... but you can't!"

Loki pointed at Black Egg's nose, each word like a knife piercing his heart, "Leon, I saved your life. If it weren't for cleaning up after a piece of trash like you, I could have had a completely different life!"

The alley gradually quieted down, leaving only Loki's heavy breathing, like a broken bellows.

Black Egg opened his mouth, but his throat seemed to be blocked by something, and he couldn't say a word.

Just as the two were about to completely break off relations, slow, deliberate footsteps echoed from the alleyway entrance. Mercury, supporting a portly yet imposing Black woman, slowly walked into the shadows.

Farah—Black Egg's biological mother and the backbone of this family.

Even before Loki uttered his first hysterical roar, Mercury had quietly retreated back into the yard. Having grown up in the same Root District, he knew all too well how complicated the mess could be when one was driven to the brink by life. In such family matters, outsiders would only make things worse; only the person in charge could keep things under control.

"Leon, Loki."

Farah's voice was not loud, and even carried a hint of weakness from recovering from a serious illness, but the man who had just been confronting her like two wild beasts now seemed to have had his spine removed, and he lowered his head in panic and guilt.

For Leon, she was his mother who gave him life and raised him; for Loki, she was the benefactor who gave him a hot meal when he was wandering the streets like a stray dog.

"Aunt Farah, I..." Loki's lips trembled violently, his fierce and menacing expression completely vanishing when facing his foster mother. "I'm sorry..."

Farah walked forward unsteadily, his rough, broad hand gently stroking Loki's head: "No need to apologize, child. It's not your fault."

These words became the last straw that broke the camel's back. The young Black man, wearing a large gold chain and bearing a fatal scar across his stomach, suddenly buried his face in Farah's arms and burst into tears, as if trying to pour out all his grievances.

Farah gently patted Loki's trembling back, then turned her head slightly, glancing at the black egg beside her, her tone suddenly turning cold: "Leon, come here."

The giant, who was over two meters tall, trembled in fright and moved over timidly like a bear that had done something wrong, bending down with great skill and obedience.

"Snapped!"

A crisp slap suddenly echoed through the alley as Farah landed a solid blow on Black Egg's face.

"Apologize to Loki!" Farah's eyes held a chilling intensity. "Who gave you the audacity to attack your own people?!"

Blackie covered his burning cheek, his eyes filled with grievance. He was the one who had been pushed against the wall. But in front of his mother, he didn't dare utter a single word of reproach, obediently turning to Loki, head bowed, and muttering, "It's my fault, I'm sorry, brother."

Loki was sobbing uncontrollably, his face covered in tears and snot, and he couldn't even respond.

Farah sighed, reached out her other hand, and pulled Black Egg's rough, large hand over, placing the two men's hands together.

"Loki, you crossed the line too. You shouldn't have said those hurtful things to Leon." Farah's gaze swept over the two bruised children as she spoke gently. "The family's world collapsed. Your eldest brother tried to hold it together, but he went astray and tried to commit insurance fraud. He was unlucky and failed. Leon also tried to make some money by selling those adult films, but he was unlucky too and got locked up in the Black Olive. And you, Loki, you also chose to do dirty work, but you were lucky enough to bring the money back."

Farah paused, looking directly into Loki's tear-reddened eyes: "Listen, I will never blame you for making dirty money. But just as you can't trample on Leon's self-esteem because of his failure."

"You are all my children, and I've always been proud of you. I've always wanted to keep all of you away from those dirty, messy things, but unfortunately..."

Farah himself choked up a little.

In a place like the Roots District, it's a miracle that Farah managed to raise several children. To have supported a licensed carpenter, then a college student who followed the right path, and to prevent any of her children from dying in street fights—she's practically a superwoman.

Farah raised her cloudy eyes to look at Mercury, wiping the corner of her eye with the back of her rough hand: "You saved Leon, and I haven't had a chance to repay you yet. Instead, I've ruined your family's housewarming party today... I'm really sorry."

"Aunt Farah, there's no need to apologize." Mercury took two steps closer and comforted her, "Leon is my friend. I made things clear today not to cause trouble for Loki."

He turned his gaze to Loki, whose emotions had calmed down slightly: "Since you didn't want to get involved in this trouble in the first place, why don't you do me a favor?"

Mercury took out his trainee hero badge, the metallic sheen flashing briefly in the dim alley.

"The 'Ogre' gang is on the Hero Association's internal bounty list." Mercury stared into Loki's eyes. "This means you're involved in more than just ordinary street trading; it's superpowered crime. Loki, have you awakened your superpowers?"

Loki roughly wiped away the tears and snot from his face with the back of his hand, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded: "I'm just an ordinary person. And as far as I know... no one in the gang has superpowers, at least I've never heard of any."

"That's exactly why I'm looking for you." Mercury put away his identification, his tone extremely low. "The cannibals' recent shipments aren't traditional psychoactive contraband, but rather 'superpower drugs' that can cause mutations in ordinary people."

He patted Loki on the shoulder, offering his final bargaining chip: "Loki, you get me the crucial evidence. In exchange, I'll use my connections in the Association to help you apply for witness protection. Also, I need you to confirm whether the recently rumored cannibalistic nightmare is real."