Barry Is Certain

"Barry, what is it? Did you notice something?" Al Swan fixed Barry with his sharp, hawk-like eyes.

The shifting expressions in Barry's eyes and face all seemed to say that he knew something.

"No, nothing. I just thought it was strange that he used entrance music." Barry answered reluctantly, his gaze unfocused and his mind in complete turmoil.

Was that Alex?

Judging by those agile movements and skills, based on what Barry knew about Alex, it really could have been him.

Barry had once seen Alex punch straight through a wall and run up to the roof of a building several stories high in two or three steps. He did not know what kind of qigong or Chinese martial arts technique it was, but it had shocked him beyond belief at the time.

Could the human body really be this powerful?

Compared to that, the blurry black figure in the video was merely a black-clad man with agile skills, deadly throwing knives, and perfect marksmanship. He did not seem as shocking as the Alex Barry had once seen punch through a wall.

But Barry believed that Alex could also become a hero with agile skills, deadly throwing knives, and perfect marksmanship. That would not be difficult for him. Barry believed Alex had more than enough ability.

In a daze, Barry's heart suddenly began pounding faster. Hot blood surged wildly from his heart through his limbs, his blood seeming to burn in his veins. His emotions swelled, and he could not help yearning for it.

Alex had become a hero!

His friend was a hero!

Alex had actually done something so huge for justice, to purge evil. Barry was overwhelmed with excitement and silently cheered for Alex.

The thoughts flashed through Barry's mind in an instant. His eyes, faintly beginning to burn with excitement, inadvertently swept over the scene. He saw corpses everywhere—some with severed hands and feet, some with their heads blown apart and brains splattered, others dead with throwing knives lodged in their throats. The bloodstained scene felt like icy water being poured over his head, chilling him to the bone. His blazing heart froze in an instant.

How many people had Alex killed?

Al Swan stared deeply at Barry, watching the rich changes in his expression and eyes—from contemplation... to suspicion... to fervor... to his pupils contracting as he sucked in a cold breath.

Al Swan had faced plenty of criminals who wanted to conceal the truth. Some of them had even been better actors than Barry. Barry's expressions, the language in his eyes, his stiff body, and the unnatural way his hands wanted to clench into fists before trembling all proved that Barry knew something—or had seen something in the evidence.

"Barry, what do you know?" Al Swan closed his laptop and stared at Barry. His eyes were oppressive, and his voice unconsciously carried the stern severity he used when interrogating criminals.

Barry shook his head. Unease filled his eyes, and he did not dare meet Al Swan's gaze. He turned away, avoiding Al Swan's eyes, and continued collecting evidence at the scene, though his mind was no longer on the task.

Al Swan's hawk-like eyes stared darkly at Barry's back. A moment later, he turned and left.

Barry let out a breath of relief. Al Swan's gaze had felt tangible, like needles stabbing into his back, weighing heavily on him. Especially since Barry had something to hide, the pressure in his heart had only grown.

Barry was glad that Al Swan had not continued pressing him for answers, but then he thought of Alex again.

He did not dare be certain that his guess was right. He desperately wanted this superhero to be Alex, yet he also felt a faint worry, hoping Alex was not someone so cruel, someone who had taken so many lives.

He was happy that Alex had acted for justice, but worried that Alex had killed so many people. He was trapped in a conflict between two extremes.

He continued gathering evidence at the crime scene until evening. Only after the sun had set did Barry finish his work for the day.

Instead of feeling relieved, he felt even more anxious. He wanted to call Alex directly and ask, "Was it you?"

But Barry knew Alex's personality. Without any evidence, Alex would never admit it. And afterward, he might become even more meticulous, hiding his superhero identity without leaving a trace, making sure no one could ever find him.

Of course, Alex might just punch him again, sending him flying and leaving him to scramble up from the ground in embarrassment.

Barry knew that Alex had a wide circle of friends. As far as he knew, Alex had already had quite a few female admirers and friends who respected him in college, and quite a few of Barry's and Alex's friends overlapped.

But in Lower City, Barry knew only one friend of Alex's: Jack.

Jack had also been his high school classmate. Back in high school, he had followed Alex and seemed to serve as one of his men. Later, he had not gone to college and returned to Lower City, where Barry heard he had gotten involved with gangs.

Jack was Alex's subordinate. At the very least, he should have some clues.

Barry should be able to find some leads through Jack.

Thinking that, Barry dialed Jack's number directly. Fortunately, Jack had not changed it.

"Yo, yo, yo, yo! This is Jack, the god of song in Lower City... song, song, song..."

Barry relaxed slightly. Jack still loved that weird hip-hop style.

He considered his words for a moment, then said, "Jack, it's Barry."

"Barry! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow-as-a-snail Barry."

"Yeah. Alex told me to come help you out."

"So the boss really did let you join our big family! Help with what? In two days, I'll unify Lower City! Don't worry, don't worry, it's safe, no problem, whoa, whoa... Hey, hey!"

Barry's heart tightened. Jack was going to unify Lower City? What was going on? Wasn't he just involved with a gang? Wasn't he just some low-level gang member? How had he become a gang boss? Was Jack really this formidable?

Twenty thousand question marks popped into Barry's head. He had never known Jack was so capable. They had not seen each other for only a few years, and Jack had already become the underworld boss of Lower City—and was even about to unify Lower City!

"Right, Alex has already wiped out the Russian Gang in Lower City. Jack, you'll be unifying Lower City soon too." Barry's hands and feet turned ice-cold as another possibility occurred to him.

Alex had helped Jack become the gang boss of Lower City!

What was Alex trying to do?

"That's right... that's right. The boss still won't admit it, but the superhero is him. The boss is seriously amazing—he wiped out the Russian Gang carrying a loudspeaker! Barry, can you ask the boss to play the rap I wrote for him the next time he makes an entrance? I guarantee it sounds great. I'll sing a few lines for you now... In my BGM, no one can defeat me... I'm invincible, invincible..."

After learning this information from Jack with certainty, Barry stood there blankly and listened to Jack finish an entire incoherent rap song. When he came back to himself, he continued guiding Jack into talking about Alex. Only then did Barry learn that after high school, Jack had followed Alex's orders and gone undercover, embedding himself in the Lower City gangs. It was not until Alex graduated from college and entered the Central City Police Department several weeks ago that he had officially had Jack unify Lower City on his behalf.

By the time Barry learned all this, his mind had turned to mush. What Alex wanted to do seemed far more complicated than Barry's simple assumption that Alex had become a superhero.

The chaotic thoughts left Barry unable to guess what his friend truly wanted to do.

How had his friend gone from a superhero to a mastermind behind the scenes?