The man with the slicked-back hair wore an uncertain, shifting expression. His name was Terry Jenkins, and he served as the sector commander of Black Mountain’s West 7 Sector.
“Sir, you’re a Tier 4 Vanguard? From Dustgrain Valley?” Terry changed the way he addressed Finn, switching from “outsider” to “sir.”
Dustgrain Valley lay on the west coast, an immense distance from Black Mountain. It was one of the rare human settlements known for producing abundant fruits, vegetables, and other fresh produce. Word was that everyone there was a master grower.
Yet for the residents of Black Mountain, their only impression of Dustgrain Valley came from the cans of preserved fruit that traveling merchants occasionally brought back. After all, the place was simply too far away.
Lately, however, the city lord seemed to have sent out a great number of envoys, clearly intending to sign trade agreements with other Refuge Cities—including Dustgrain Valley and Ironatom. Faced with this inscrutable young man, Terry knew he had to be cautious.
Finn set the apple down on the table. “Where I come from and where I’m going is none of your business. I regret the loss of your three men. But I advise you to cut your losses right now. If you keep pointing those guns at me, more than three people are going to die.”
Hearing Finn’s words, Terry’s gaze grew even colder. Still, his side was clearly in the wrong—and they were no match for Finn anyway.
Just as Olivia had said, if a fight broke out, the most likely outcome was that all eight of his men would leave their corpses behind right here. It was smarter to take a step back now and give both sides a graceful way out.
There’d be plenty of chances to settle the score with this guy later! A vicious thought flashed through Terry’s mind, but he kept it hidden.
He waved a hand, signaling every gunman from the Refuge Security Force to lower their weapons. Then he pulled a wooden chair up in front of Finn and plopped down with casual swagger.
Terry crossed his legs, folded his hands over one knee, and said, “Maybe there’s been a small misunderstanding between us. But this is still Black Mountain. I suggest you keep yourself in check.”
“No problem at all,” Finn replied with a nod. “I’m a mild-mannered guy who believes in peace. I don’t like brawling or killing, and I especially hate pointing guns at people. In this world, every bullet is already soaked in too much blood. It’s a damn shame.”
When Finn claimed he believed in peace, Jimmy’s face twitched hard, but he didn’t dare utter a word.
“That’s good to hear. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again.” Terry gave Finn one last cold look, stood up from the chair, and led his Security Force men out.
The gunmen filed out one by one, but Olivia Hill stayed behind. She stood with her arms crossed, her body encased in a fitted black combat suit. Her long, shapely legs were casually crossed as she leaned against the wall, looking every bit the valiant warrior.
Bright sunlight poured through the window and slanted across her short golden hair, giving her a vibrant, lively aura.
The girl’s appearance reminded Finn of the female lead from a movie he had seen a long, long time ago—Dredd (2012).
“Got something on your mind?” Finn leaned back in his chair, completely at ease, wondering what this girl was scheming.
“Mind if I ask something bold? What exactly is your special ability?” Olivia stared straight at Finn, as though she were trying to see through every bone in his body.
“It turns gas into solid form to create shields,” Finn answered casually, making it up on the spot. There was no way he could tell her the truth—that he cultivated the Fire Profound Divine Art and wielded mystical power from another world.
“Do you keep that shield active around the clock? Why can’t I see through you?” Olivia asked.
“Is your special ability X-ray vision?” Finn didn’t answer directly and instead threw the question back at her.
“Yes. My ability is X-ray vision. I can see through anything—bones, fabric, flesh, metal, dirt, glass… For the twenty years I’ve been alive, there’s been nothing I couldn’t see through. Until I met you.”
Olivia spoke each word slowly and clearly. She kept her eyes locked on Finn, her gaze sharp as a blade, yet it was as though it had struck an iron wall, unable to pierce through even a fraction.
“An ability that powerful really exists?” Finn pointed at Jimmy. “What color is his underwear?”
“Yellow,” Olivia blurted out. “With a cartoon face on them.”
“Hey! Why the hell are you using me as a test dummy?” Jimmy instinctively covered his crotch. “These are my SpongeBob underwear!”
“Since you have X-ray vision, wouldn’t it be way better to become a surgeon instead of a soldier? You wouldn’t even need X-ray machines to operate on patients.”
Finn remembered that Black Mountain had plenty of amputees missing arms and legs. In a wasteland where medical equipment was almost nonexistent, a power like X-ray vision seemed far more useful for saving lives as a doctor, at least in his opinion.
A flicker of melancholy crossed Olivia’s eyes. She said softly, “I’m not an ordinary soldier. I’m the Operations Commander. Truth is, my original dream in life really was to become a doctor and save patients suffering from pain and injury.”
“But later, I realized that picking up a gun to keep order and gunning down the rioting thugs and criminals saves way more lives—several times over—than working as a doctor ever could.”
Finn nodded and fell silent. In a brutal wasteland like this, saving people really wasn’t as useful as killing them. A doctor might bust their ass to save one life, but some thug with a machine gun could drop three in a heartbeat. Might as well grab a gun yourself and put the thugs down.
“What exactly are you after in our city? And where the hell did you pull that apple from?” Olivia asked. “As Operations Commander of West 7 Sector, it’s my job to know.”
“I already told you—it’s none of your business.” Finn shrugged, his face clearly saying, What are you gonna do about it?
“I’ll be keeping my eyes on you,” Olivia said, staring hard at Finn and stressing every single word.
Finn didn’t answer. He could tell the conversation was dead in the water, but Olivia still hadn’t left.
He suspected she was just waiting for his “shield ability” to run out so she could scan him from head to toe. What a twisted woman. Probably some kind of voyeur.
The room fell quiet for a moment. Then Finn suddenly remembered the bullet he had picked up earlier. He pulled it out and let it rest in his open palm.
“Do you know what this bullet is made of?” he asked.
The dented brass bullet lay in Finn’s hand. Embedded in it was a faceted stone, translucent and deep, ghostly blue, sparkling with a brilliant shimmer.
The brass had been smashed flat, but the stone was completely untouched—its hardness was extraordinary. Finn could also sense some kind of energy inside it, the kind that could be used for cultivation.
“Relic Marrow Bullet!” Olivia stared at the bullet, her eyes wide with shock. “Where the hell did you get this?”
“I just picked it up outside Refuge City,” Finn lied smoothly.
In reality, it had happened before he even reached the city. Out in the desert wastes, he had crossed paths with a guy on a heavy motorcycle, his hair dyed wild red and green. The man had started shit, spewing curses, and fired this exact bullet at Finn.
Finn had answered with a single shot from his nuclear rocket launcher and ended the bastard’s life on the spot.
Black Mountain covered a huge area, split into four major districts—East, West, South, and North. The West District alone had eight sectors, and West 7 Sector was by far the most lawless zone. Gangs, blood feuds, refugees, hallucinogenic drugs… violent incidents popped up constantly.
“Was it right outside this West 7 Sector?” Olivia pressed, unable to hide her urgency.
“Maybe,” Finn said with a shrug, neither confirming nor denying. Then he asked, “So what exactly is a Relic Marrow Bullet?”
“It’s a round manufactured by Radiant Path. They claim it’s made from the bones of saints—completely unbreakable, more powerful than the armor-piercing ammo the Columbian Imperium used before the Cataclysm. But the price is insane. Ordinary people couldn’t afford one even if they sold everything they owned.”
Radiant Path? Finn recalled that in the Pioneers’ files, Radiant Path was just a medium-sized sect. The Pioneers barely mentioned them. It looked like the Pioneers had picked a fight with them once, gotten their asses handed to them, and run for it.
But those records were stamped from twenty years ago. A lot could have changed in twenty years.