The Fury Within

Chapter 7

Rather than heading blindly straight to the South Bank District Police Station, Hong Mo first returned to the little room where he had been staying these past few days and changed into some simple clothes. Come to think of it, should he specifically design an outfit for combat?

Hong Mo slapped his forehead. What was he even thinking?

Still, the idea did not seem like mere idle fancy. Hong Mo carefully placed more than a dozen coins into the pockets of his shirt and pants, then checked them over. Ordinary clothes were lacking in both durability and defensive capability. It would be awkward if, halfway through a fight, he wanted to pull out a coin and fire a railgun, only to find that he had already lost them all.

Once everything was ready, Hong Mo left the room, hailed a taxi, and headed for the South Bank District Police Station. While in the cab, he switched on his newly bought phone, his fingers brushing over several names on it.

Dad, Mom, if you were here, would you support my decision?

After resting with his eyes closed for a while, Hong Mo suddenly opened them. "Stop the car."

"But sir, we're still quite far from the South Bank District Police Station," the taxi driver kindly reminded him.

"It's fine. I saw a friend by the roadside. Please pull over first." Hearing the driver's goodwill, Hong Mo's tone was no longer so stiff.

Standing by the road, Hong Mo gazed doubtfully in the direction of the police station. Such a powerful superpower field—it was several times stronger than his own.

Hong Mo looked in that direction and slowly closed his eyes. The superpower field deliberately restrained around his body gradually spread outward. Invisible ripples radiated continuously from Hong Mo at their center.

The superpower field was a type of energy field named by Hong Mo and Mu Siyu. After a superpower awakened, it formed a range of energy fluctuations centered on its user. Due to differences in individual abilities, every person's superpower field carried its own unique imprint.

One, two... five!

At the center of the police station, five superpower fields, some strong and some weak, overlapped. Hong Mo gave a derisive laugh. So that was it—there were five superpowered individuals together. No wonder the superpower field was so strong. He had restrained his own field earlier, so his perception had not been clear.

Still, this group was far too arrogant. They did not restrain their superpower fields at all. To someone like Hong Mo, they stood out as clearly as the only light in the darkness.

Just as Hong Mo released his superpower field and detected the five of them, all five turned to look in his direction.

A rather plump fat man frowned in confusion after sensing Hong Mo's superpower field.

"There's another big brother over there?" A little girl under ten lay sprawled on the sofa, a lollipop in her mouth as she flipped through a comic book.

A burly man dressed in black suddenly rose to his feet, his eyes fixed in Hong Mo's direction.

"What is it?" a mild-looking young man asked calmly.

"His superpower field feels so familiar, as if it comes from the same source as mine."

"Then there's no mistake. He should be the Hong Mo who appeared a few days ago. Like you, he's an electromagnetic-type superpowered individual," the young man said.

On Hong Mo's side, apart from sensing that there were five people, he could not make out much else. After all, the five of them were sitting together, and their overlapping superpower fields caused him considerable interference.

"Go test him," the young man instructed, while covertly giving the burly man a meaningful look.

Among the five, the fat man happened to be facing the young man, so he clearly saw their exchange. Though disdainful inside, he said nothing.

"Okay. I applied to join this mission precisely because I heard an electric-type superpowered individual had appeared here." The burly man laughed loudly, pulled open the door, and charged toward Hong Mo.

He was coming! Sensing a superpower field rapidly moving toward him, Hong Mo's heart stirred. Then he began walking toward the police station at an unhurried pace.

Outside a supermarket, Hong Mo saw his opponent. He was a muscular, sturdy man wearing a black leather jacket, black jeans, and specially made black gloves. His sharp, short hair stood straight up.

"I'm Lei Ao. You're Hong Mo?" The instant he saw Hong Mo, the other man asked calmly. Though phrased as a question, his tone held no doubt.

"Huh, you investigated me pretty thoroughly."

"We represent the state. Doing that is easy. I heard an electromagnetic-type superpowered individual had appeared here too, so I specifically applied to join this mission." Lei Ao stated a fact. Hong Mo neither confirmed nor denied it, but he did more or less agree.

"Oh?" Hong Mo drew out the word, clearly not very interested.

"Hmph, you cunning little rat. If we hadn't found Mu Siyu's younger sister, you would have been really hard to find." Lei Ao raised his brows, clearly angered by Hong Mo's attitude.

"You're not even a pretty woman. There's nothing interesting about meeting you." Hong Mo spread his hands helplessly.

"You'll soon find out whether it's interesting or not. The higher-ups intend to recruit you into the organization, but you're not one of us yet. As a senior, it's only natural for me to teach a newcomer a lesson." As Lei Ao spoke, he prepared to make a move.

"I never said I was joining the state's organization." Hong Mo sneered.

Lei Ao froze, then suddenly burst into wild laughter. "Hahaha, that's hilarious."

"What's so funny?" Hong Mo raised a brow faintly.

"I'm laughing at your ignorance."

"..."

"You don't seriously think that just because you have superpowers, you can fight the state, do you? How childish. Never mind how many superpowered individuals the state has—what can you even do against ordinary technological weapons?"

"You're right, I can't fight them. Actually, I don't want things to be this way either." Hong Mo spoke slowly, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Looks like you know something?" Lei Ao's expression immediately darkened as he stared at Hong Mo, carefully observing his reaction.

On the surface, the state intended to recruit Hong Mo and Mu Siyu into its superpower organization. Even though Mu Siyu had gone berserk and killed many people, that was no problem as long as the state stepped in. However, Mao Shaohui, who had taken over this mission, had secretly issued an order for them to find an opportunity to directly kill Hong Mo and Mu Siyu. The reason was unknown.

"Fine. I'm not used to playing those conspiracy games either." Seeing that Hong Mo remained silent, Lei Ao stopped wasting words. His right fist swung out, violent lightning coursing around it as he attacked Hong Mo directly.

Hong Mo neither dodged nor evaded. This was only his second time fighting another superpowered individual, and his luck was so good that he had actually encountered another electric-type superpowered individual. Still, judging from what this guy had said earlier, he seemed to have come specifically for him.

In that case!

Hong Mo grabbed at the air, and an identical mass of lightning condensed around his right fist.

The two masses of lightning collided violently. The overflowing current passed through the nearby supermarket, plunging its brightly lit hall into darkness. The people lining up to pay quickly retreated, afraid of being caught in the crossfire, though there was no shortage of bold onlookers staring excitedly at Hong Mo and Lei Ao.

What a pity, Hong Mo thought. The other guy was indeed an electricity-type esper too; the current had barely affected him. Still, judging by his slight trembling, it was not completely useless. Increasing the voltage might change things, but Hong Mo did not want to waste it like that. There were still four more guys waiting behind him.

Lei Ao's heart secretly skipped a beat as well, though he could not tell whether it was because of the shock or because his electrical output was slightly weaker than Hong Mo's. Since he could not match Hong Mo in voltage, then he would use hand-to-hand combat.

In the instant the thought passed through his mind, he pulled back his right fist and prepared to throw himself forward.

At that moment, Hong Mo's right fist opened into a claw, and a tremendous suction force surged from his hand. Caught off guard by the enormous pull, Lei Ao's entire body was dragged toward Hong Mo.

?

As Lei Ao hesitated in confusion, Hong Mo had already raised his right leg. A vicious roundhouse kick slammed hard into the big man's waist. Under the violent impact, the man was sent flying at an angle, crashing with a bang into an approaching minibus.

A sharp crack rang out from where the minibus had been struck, and shattered window glass sprayed everywhere. Piercing brakes and screams echoed across the wide highway.

Hong Mo lowered his right foot and slowly walked toward the big man. At the same time, the man embedded in the vehicle suddenly exerted himself, pushed aside an iron plate pinning him down, and staggered to his feet.

"What was that just now?" As the big man spoke, he glanced at his lower back. Some unknown vehicle part had been driven deep into his body, and even the slightest movement sent numbingly painful jolts through him.

He was actually asking why? Hong Mo was so surprised he nearly laughed. This Lei Ao was far too naive. Did he think this was some shonen manga, where after making a move, you had to explain to your opponent why?

Hong Mo burst forward and unleashed another roundhouse kick. Dragged down by his injuries, Lei Ao only had time to raise both hands in defense before Hong Mo sent him flying again.

Instant Activation!

Hong Mo shouted inwardly. The currents throughout his body began circulating at high speed, and a pair of wings formed from jets of electricity appeared behind his shoulder blades. With a soft hum, Hong Mo vanished. When he reappeared, he was already beside Lei Ao in midair.

As Lei Ao flew backward, he suddenly felt darkness descend over his head. A powerful hand had already seized his skull in a fierce grip.

In that instant, Hong Mo's eyes turned red with brutality. With a thunderous boom, the ground itself trembled faintly. Starting from his head, Lei Ao's entire body was slammed into the asphalt beneath Hong Mo's hand.

A mixture of red and white spread from Hong Mo's right hand where it pressed against the ground, splattering all over the place.