Why is his holy light red?

Chapter 83 Suspect X

In this industry, if you register as a hero and don't take the influencer route to get commercial orders, you're basically out of luck.

While granting superheroes absolute privileges, the Superpowers Act also imposes severe economic constraints. While working part-time as a plumber or carpenter is fine, professions with significant social influence—such as lawyers, doctors, police officers, firefighters, and government employees—are defined by the Act as conflicting with the roles of superheroes.

Because superheroes belong to a profession that requires them to be on standby at all times and respond instantly.

Lawyers, doctors, police officers, and firefighters are also included.

You can't imagine a lawyer defending someone, then suddenly taking off his suit and flying out of the courthouse, or a doctor performing surgery and being told to put down his scalpel and go somewhere else to provide emergency care.

As for government civil servants, that's a different issue altogether.

Registered superheroes are prohibited from engaging in politics or pursuing political careers in any country; this is the strictest, unwritten rule.

Just like that Force lady, once she took the position of warden of Black Olive Ward, she was no longer a registered superhero and could not enjoy the related privileges.

Of course, if you're capable of keeping your other identity completely hidden, then no one will bother you. But Mercury has been essentially "online under his real name" since the day he debuted; his entire family has been thoroughly investigated, making it impossible for him to maintain any secret identity.

Since he can't play the dual role like his father, he can only choose to make a living by gaining online traffic.

Superheroes are walking trending topics. If the monetization of this massive amount of traffic is forcibly cut off, these people who possess supernatural powers will flip the table and go solo in no time, turning the Hero Association into an empty shell that no one cares about.

Ultimately, not everyone can live like the Angel of Light, relying on solar energy and a sense of morality; even heroes have to pay rent.

Thus, a product of compromise was born.

Publicly acknowledged private political donations are absolutely forbidden, but acting as a spokesperson for GG is considered legitimate work. However, the association's public relations department has implemented a tedious and rigorous vetting process: the endorsed products must undergo strict quality background checks; and strict adherence to international and regional customs and taboos is required—for example, you absolutely cannot distribute steak GG in parishes where beef is forbidden.

Of course, all of this is based on the most fundamental bottom line: the association must take a cut.

As long as you're still on the roster and earning that meager weekly wage, no matter which multinational giant you sign with, you'll have to dutifully pay tribute to your former employer.

Fortunately, this tiered commission system is slightly more ethical than those exploitative MCN agencies: 5% commission is charged for orders under 10,000 Federal Coins, 10% for orders over 10,000, 20% for orders over 100,000, and the highest tier is 40%.

However, for Mercury right now, worrying about the highest level of "wealth tax" is simply overthinking things. His immediate priority is to build up his own account.

Nora is right. Because the Holy Light Angel is trending again, people are starting to pay attention to related information. It's the perfect time for Mercury to be in the spotlight.

The story of the cannibalistic succubus has also been unearthed.

Thirty years ago, the Tree Root District of Ariel Tree City wasn't the muddy mess it is now. Back then, superpowered individuals existed almost exclusively in cheap fiction, and there wasn't even a Hero Association. Naturally, the police in Elm Street were responsible for investigating this series of murders.

Mercury slid open the transparent tactical phone in his hand and began searching for relevant information.

Thanks to the branch leader who rewarded them first before putting them in solitary confinement, Mercury's points have skyrocketed, and he has also obtained a Level 2 Hero Medal. As a result, his personal privileges have been upgraded several levels, allowing him to access more top-secret information.

The top-secret files about the cannibalistic nightmare from over thirty years ago can now be accessed with just a few taps on a screen.

Mercury promptly turned on the projector, and a beam of pale blue light shone onto the pristine white wall, spreading out the densely packed electronic files. The three huddled together, quickly scanning the scanned documents on the screen.

After reading only two pages, Mercury couldn't help but sneer: "Incredible. The method of framing them is so crude that they can't even be bothered to cover it up. Isn't this a complete miscarriage of justice?"

Rex and Nora stared at the file for a moment, then both nodded in agreement.

The suspect's photo in the file is of a Black male, and the old file also specifically notes his "gay" identity.

In the federal system decades ago, being Black and his homosexuality were two debuffs that, combined, were essentially a death sentence in advance.

The police's case report read like third-rate tabloid literature: the suspect first drugged the victim, then used complicated "magic props" to suspend the person in mid-air, and finally dismembered the body alive.

At first glance, it seems logically consistent, but when you turn to the forensic autopsy report, it clearly states: a large amount of missing body tissue was not found. According to the police's logic, if the murderer used a device to remotely dismember the person, why would the suspect go to the trouble of running back to the scene and packing up the pieces of flesh to take away?

That's completely pointless.

The court proceedings were even more absurd and outrageous. The prosecution was completely unable to replicate the "remote killing" effect using magic tricks in court. However, the judge and jury, citing that "the police demonstration was too clumsy, but these tricks are theoretically feasible," determined that the magic trick was the modus operandi in this serial murder case.

The suspect claimed he knew nothing about magic, but the court's response was even more absurd: Who knows if you've been secretly practicing for over a decade?

As for the evidence you mentioned, it was merely a magic show flyer found in the suspect's pocket; that's what you call "evidence."

What does watching a magic show have to do with having practiced magic yourself? It doesn't matter, because the jurors at the time believed that.

Based on this nonsensical chain of evidence, the unfortunate man was unwittingly forced into the electric chair.

This was a complete miscarriage of justice, not even staged, but the most bizarre turning point in this case was that from the day the scapegoat was arrested and imprisoned, there really was no more cases of "cannibalistic nightmares" in the city of Aru.

"What a coincidence?" Rex looked at the timeline on the wall, stroking his chin. "So, those cops just got lucky and arrested the right person?"

"Impossible." Mercury shook his head, his gaze fixed on the yellowed prison photo on the wall. "If he really were that monster who could devour people in his dreams, the prison bars wouldn't be able to contain his superpowers. Think about it, the police arrested him and announced it was a murder committed by a magical device. If it were you, you could just sleep comfortably in your cell, then kill someone remotely, instantly clearing your name and making the police look bad."

Mercury stroked his chin, concluding like a detective: "Therefore, regardless of whether he is the real culprit, the killing should not stop. The sudden disappearance of the cannibalistic succubus is definitely for some other reason, not because this scapegoat was caught."

Mercury's reasoning was airtight, and neither Rex nor Nora could find any flaws in it.

But this leads to another dead end: if the case back then was a complete miscarriage of justice, what necessary connection is there between it and the current "cannibalistic nightmare"?

If the two are completely unrelated, then investigating these old files seems pointless.

"The most human-like explanation is," Nora said, hugging the sofa cushion and following the logic, "that the real monster back then saw the scapegoat get into the electric chair, so he simply went along with it and comfortably disappeared into the shadows."

"So, instead of digging into old grievances from thirty years ago, we should think about another question: what exactly triggered him to re-emerge and commit crimes after so many years?"

"Slap!" Rex slapped his thigh excitedly, looking confident that he already knew the killer. "A serial killer who has been dormant for thirty years suddenly resurfaces; it must have encountered a major upheaval! Judging by the timeline, the real killer is at least in his forties or fifties, maybe even in his early sixties. A middle-aged person suddenly suffering a devastating blow to their life—anyone who fits these two conditions is definitely a suspect! See, the scope has been narrowed down all of a sudden!"

Mercury didn't reply, but leaned against the wall, silently staring at Rex with the eyes of someone observing a rare species.

The air in the isolation room was silent for two seconds.

Rex's smile gradually froze, and he asked somewhat excitedly, "No—where did my logic go wrong? This reasoning is quite reasonable, isn't it?"

"The logic is perfect." Mercury nodded, but his tone was full of helplessness. "But the scope hasn't narrowed at all. Middle-aged people, suffering a major blow, their lives hitting rock bottom—Rex, do you know how many people in the Root District fit this description?"

He paused for a moment, then cruelly revealed his hand: "According to the city hall's minimum estimate, the homeless population in the Tree Root District is conservatively estimated at 80,000. Every single one of them has suffered a devastating blow, their lives plummeting to rock bottom. And even excluding those whose ages don't match, the conservative estimate is still 50,000 to 60,000."

Rex's eyes widened little by little. For this young master who ate, drank, and relieved himself in the upper city, it was truly unimaginable what life at the bottom of society was like.

"We're not even sure if the killer is the original one from back then," Mercury rubbed his temples, his tone somewhat irritated. "The association previously suspected that a batch of banned drugs from Immortal Technology had induced a mutation similar to the cannibalistic succubus. But now that Old Neil is dead, the only lead has completely disappeared. The worst part is that the three of us are still locked in this room, unable to go out and investigate."

His gaze swept irritably over the projected materials on the wall, then suddenly stopped on a yellowed scanned document.

"Wait a minute—" Mercury narrowed his eyes, pointing to the prison records on the screen, "Look, isn't the last name of this black man who was dragged into this mess a little strange?"

Following the direction of his finger, Rex and Nora looked at the name field. There, bold letters were prominently displayed: Marco X.

"X?" Nora frowned, quickly searching her memory, and finally shook her head. "Using a single letter as a legal surname? That's really rare. I don't remember ever meeting anyone with a name like that."

"Because this wasn't a conventional surname to begin with, but rather a historical symbol." Mercury stared at the screen, his eyes slightly darkening. "During the federal civil rights movement decades ago, a small group of African Americans voluntarily changed their surnames to X, representing the unknown."

Seeing the slightly bewildered looks in their eyes, Mercury explained in the simplest terms: "Their ancestors were black slaves who were forcibly loaded onto ships and sold here. Their true bloodline and surnames were erased by the white slave owners and forcibly given other surnames. Changing their surnames to X is to tear off this mark of enslavement and to find their true roots anew."

Mercury gave a meaningful smile: "Surnames with such strong historical connotations of conflict are extremely rare to have survived to this day. But coincidentally—as far as I know, there is a very prominent Black woman in the Roots district whose surname is X."