Overpowered

Joe had barely stepped out when he ran into Eddie. The previous two times he had gone with Lin Li to investigate Mardon's whereabouts, he had left Eddie behind, making it seem as though Lin Li was Joe's partner instead. This left Eddie quite dissatisfied.

Before Eddie could voice his displeasure, Joe spoke as he walked.

"Eddie, come on. We have a lead on Mardon."

"Joe, isn't your Eastern kid coming with you?"

Joe caught the strong scent of jealousy and said irritably, "Eddie, don't be such a woman. Lin Li has his own role to play."

Because that power was truly inhuman, Joe did not want to say much. Even if others knew, there was no way they could deal with it. It was better kept secret. The more people who knew, the harder it would be to avoid causing social unrest. Unless forced to, Joe did not want to casually tell others that Central City had people with superpowers.

Eddie followed Joe into the car with an embarrassed expression.

This was a patch of woods in the southern part of the city, only about ten kilometers from the nearest residential area. There was a wooden cabin here, built by hunters as a temporary resting place. This forest had once been wild boar territory, but the boars later multiplied out of control and caused severe damage to nearby settlements. The government had issued a notice calling for everyone to hunt wild boars, and people eagerly took up the entertaining hunting game, killing boars every few days to maintain the ecological balance.

Later, the hunting went too far, and the wild boars were nearly hunted to extinction. Two years ago, the government ordered the hunting to stop.

Joe drove the police car into the woods. This was the outer edge of the forest, so there was a road for cars to enter, though the ground was covered in yellowed fallen leaves that concealed countless potholes, making the drive rather rough.

Eddie sat in the passenger seat, gripping the handle above his head to steady himself amid the jolting ride.

He craned his neck to survey the surroundings. "Joe, your informant told you to meet him here?"

"Yes. He told me Mardon is hiding here, in one of the hunters' cabins."

Joe also looked around. He parked not far from the target location, making sure they could not be seen approaching from there. They got out, drew their pistols, and prepared for action.

"Eddie, if you see Mardon, don't give him a chance. Shoot immediately."

"Why?"

Eddie asked in confusion. This was not procedure. Normally, they gave a warning first. If the suspect resisted after the warning, they would use force to make an arrest. Only if the resistance was too fierce to subdue could they shoot to kill. What Joe was saying amounted to an order to execute him on sight.

The last time, Eddie had been blasted unconscious by an air explosion in the dense fog, so he did not know Mardon possessed superpowers.

Joe said solemnly, "Listen to me, okay? Mardon is an extremely vicious criminal. My last partner died by his hand. I don't want you to be next. Don't give him any chance, okay?"

Eddie nodded seriously, gripping his gun tightly. His palms were beginning to sweat. He was nervous. This was a vicious criminal who had killed several people, even shooting a police officer to death. He breathed slowly to steady his heartbeat. Using the trees as cover, he and Joe advanced carefully, crossing paths and covering each other.

Outside the hunters' cabin stood a large tree stump. A man in black sat on it, with several smaller stumps around him. Fallen leaves, drink bottles, and fast-food containers were strewn everywhere.

The nearby earth had been freshly turned, and metal poles protruded from various places. They were as thick as an arm and as tall as a person. These were electrical grounding rods Mardon had bought and installed around the cabin. Any electrical discharge nearby would be absorbed by them. This was Mardon's way of dealing with Lin Li.

When Joe and Eddie reached the hunters' cabin, they saw a man in a black trench coat with his back to them.

The two raised their guns and aimed.

"Mardon?"

Joe called out loudly. He could not be sure whether this was Mardon, so he did not fire immediately.

The man with his back to them did not answer.

Joe gestured to Eddie, telling him to cover him.

He circled around at an angle, keeping his distance and not daring to approach.

He wanted to confirm whether it was Mardon. If it was, he would shoot immediately. If not, a normal person should have reacted to his shout. Yet the man in the black trench coat remained seated without moving. The situation was strange.

Joe had only taken a few steps around him.

Suddenly, a cloud of white mist emerged from the man in the black trench coat.

Joe recalled the dense fog from that day, when Mardon had hidden within it and attacked Eddie and him.

Without hesitation, he fired at the man in the black trench coat and shouted tensely at Eddie.

"Eddie, fall back! Shoot!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Joe fired three shots. Only Joe fired.

The white mist had only just emerged before dispersing.

The man in the black trench coat was struck by all three of Joe's bullets. He fell to the ground, revealing his face. He looked old, pale-faced, with sagging skin and dark circles around his eyes.

It was Jack.

Joe's heart tightened when he saw Jack.

"Officer, congratulations. You killed a junkie."

Mardon's voice came from behind them.

Joe turned around and saw Mardon holding a gun to Eddie's temple. Cold sweat had broken out across Eddie's forehead, and he held both hands up in surrender.

Joe swiftly raised his gun and aimed it at Mardon, shouting anxiously, "Mardon, what are you doing? Put down the gun."

Mardon asked mockingly, "Officer, shouldn't I be asking what you're doing? Are you going to lose another partner?"

"Okay, okay, Mardon, don't shoot. Please."

Joe immediately threw away his gun and raised his hands in surrender. The death of his former partner, Johnny Sale, remained vivid in his mind.

Eddie's heart clenched. He glanced sideways, trying to see where Mardon was, but he could not. He could only feel the cold pistol pressed tightly against his scalp, making him go numb.

Eddie did not dare move. He asked stiffly, "How did you get here?"

All the way here, he and Joe might not have searched every inch of the surroundings, but they had at least checked every place large enough to hide a person. With police investigative methods, it was absolutely impossible for them to miss a living person and let him threaten them from behind. Much less a robber and murderer—he could not possibly have left no trace at all. It was impossible that two experienced police officers had noticed nothing.

Joe's surrender put Mardon in high spirits. Whenever someone submitted before him, it filled him with pleasure. This was the power and dominion a god should possess. Mortals should submit to gods like this.

Mardon said with a mocking smile, "You want to witness the power of a god? Fine. Are you ready to submit and worship me?"

Eddie did not understand what Mardon meant. He could not grasp the meaning behind those words.

Joe understood, though. Mardon was probably going to kill Eddie. He cried out in panic, "No, Mardon, let him go! Come at me! No, don't do this."

Mardon smiled eerily. "If you don't want him to die, Officer, you'd better stay right where you are."