Killing a Mutant

Mark knew he only had one chance to strike. If the other side noticed him beforehand, his small frame would have no power to resist.

So even after getting the Electric Shock Gun, he did not act immediately and kept preparing in secret.

Seeing the Mutant prepare to ram the car, Mark knew his chance had come!

"Boom!"

The van began accelerating with a piercing roar.

But wrapped in the outer layer of water bubbles, the sound did not carry outside.

"Bang!"

The van crashed heavily into the police car ahead, knocking it sideways and clearing the road.

Even though Mark had braced himself for the collision, he nearly got flung into the air.

Fortunately, he managed to steady himself and used the opportunity to move closer to the Mutant driving the van.

The Mutant was preparing to accelerate out of the encirclement. Seeing Mark approach in the rearview mirror, he paid no attention, assuming it was just inertia.

Only when Mark came close, raised his hand, and revealed the Electric Shock Gun aimed at him did the Mutant's expression change.

But by then, it was too late for him to dodge.

"Bang!"

Mark decisively pulled the trigger.

The electric round struck the Mutant. A high-voltage current of up to 500 milliamps surged through him, nearly instantly scorching his internal organs.

"Urgh..."

A plume of black smoke rose from his mouth. His head lolled to one side, and he collapsed onto the steering wheel.

The van had already slowed after the earlier collision. It surged forward a little farther, then crashed into the outer wall of a store and stopped.

A large number of police officers quickly surrounded it with their guns raised, aiming at the van.

"Don't move! Police!"

"Hands up!"

"..."

The officers shouted tensely.

From their perspective, a van had suddenly appeared on the empty street and violently rammed into their police car.

The situation was completely beyond their understanding. After all, ordinary police officers still did not know Mutants existed.

Soon, an officer stepped forward and opened the door, confirming the Mutant in the vehicle was dead and finding Mark in the back seat.

By then, Mark had already thrown away the Electric Shock Gun in his hand.

After the collision, Mark felt a little dazed. There were also traces of blood on his face, making him look rather miserable.

"Oh, it's the kidnapped child! Call an ambulance, now!"

After recognizing Mark, the officers hurriedly called for an ambulance.

Sitting on the top floor of Stark Tower, Tony Stark finally felt completely relieved when he saw Mark had been rescued.

"JARVIS, erase all traces of the intrusion into the police dispatch system. Delete every backdoor channel."

He gave JARVIS the order.

"Yes, sir! Overwriting operation logs, erasing packet remnants, destroying intrusion channels, repairing system backdoors..."

News of Mark's successful rescue quickly spread, and the mayor shut down the Amber Alert Emergency Plan again.

When the ambulance took Mark to the hospital, a large crowd of reporters followed after it.

After all, this was the first child successfully rescued after the Amber Alert Emergency Plan had been activated in three years. There was far too much news to dig up about Mark.

However, all the reporters were stopped outside by the hospital.

An hour later, Rosalie, who had received the news, rushed to the hospital with Faith and the other bodyguards.

"Mark, are you all right?"

The moment Rosalie saw Mark lying in the hospital bed, tears immediately streamed down her face. She rushed over and hugged him.

"Mom, I'm fine. The doctor said it's only a mild concussion."

Mark shook his head.

Seeing that Rosalie was safe, the worry he had been carrying finally eased.

"Ms. Payne, I'm sorry! We failed to protect Mark, and that allowed him to be kidnapped."

At that moment, Faith, who had entered the ward with Rosalie, apologized to her with a guilty expression.

"This isn't your fault. You did everything you could."

Rosalie shook her head.

She had seen Faith and the others fighting desperately against so many armed Blackfire Gang members. How could she blame them?

Just then, Mayor Raymond entered Mark's hospital room surrounded by a group of reporters.

Rosalie frowned and was about to drive them out. She did not want these people disturbing Mark's rest.

"Ms. Payne, this is Mayor Raymond. It was precisely because he decisively activated the Amber Alert Emergency Plan that Mark could be rescued in such a short time!"

Raymond's secretary stepped forward and explained to Rosalie.

Rosalie could only swallow the words she had meant to use to chase them away and said gratefully to Raymond, "Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for saving my child!"

"You're too polite, Ms. Payne! I would have done the same for any other child. It is my responsibility as mayor."

Raymond put on a righteous expression.

He then showed concern for Mark's condition before looking at a beautiful blonde, blue-eyed female reporter beside him and introducing her. "This is Miss Nisilei Winters, a CBS news anchor. She would like to invite Ms. Payne and Mark to CBS tomorrow afternoon for an interview program."

"This... Mark needs to rest."

Rosalie spoke hesitantly.

"Ms. Payne, New York City has spent a great deal of manpower and resources to rescue Mark this time."

Raymond's tone grew heavier. "The citizens of New York are all concerned about Mark's current condition. I think it would be better for him to make an appearance on television so everyone can be reassured."

"Mark, what do you think?"

Rosalie looked at Mark in the hospital bed and asked.

Mark had not really wanted to show himself at first.

After all, he did not know whether the Mutant had other accomplices. That person did not seem to be from the Blackfire Gang.

But Mark already knew New York had activated the Amber Alert Emergency Plan because of him. It was too late for him to keep a low profile now.

Besides, he had borrowed Raymond's help this time and had only been able to kill that Mutant in the end because of it.

"All right. I'll go when the time comes."

After thinking it over, Mark agreed.

Raymond then smiled, said goodbye, and left the ward with everyone else.

"Mr. Mayor, thanks to you stepping in, I was able to arrange this interview."

After leaving the hospital, Nisilei smiled and invited Raymond. "To show my gratitude, I'd like to treat you to dinner tonight. I wonder if you're free?"

"It would be my honor, Miss Winters."

Mark had not been seriously injured in the first place.

After applying some ointment to his forehead, he left the hospital with Rosalie and returned to the Hilton Hotel.

"Mark, are you all right?"

When Caleb saw Mark return, he immediately came over with a concerned expression.

The rest of the crew also came forward to show their concern.

After spending this time together, aside from Rachel and a few others, most of the crew had come to like Mark, a child who looked adorable and was well-behaved and sensible.

"Thank you all for your concern. I'm fine now."

Mark nodded and replied politely.

"Then can you still take part in the rest of the filming?"

Caleb asked anxiously.

"Of course! I won't affect the crew's filming, Director. Don't worry."

Mark answered firmly.

Back then, he and Rosalie had accepted the role to improve their family's living conditions, and he was grateful to Caleb for giving them the opportunity.

Now that Stardew Valley had become a huge hit, the pay from making this movie no longer meant much to Mark.

But he could not just quit halfway through because of that. Wouldn't that be letting down Caleb, who had recognized his talent?

"That's good, that's good!"

Only after receiving Mark's assurance did Caleb finally relax.

After finishing his conversation with the crew, Mark and Rosalie returned to their room.

"Alice, what happened after I was kidnapped?"

Mark immediately asked Alice.

Rosalie had briefly told him about what happened after his kidnapping at the hospital, but it had not been detailed enough.

"All right, Mark."

After Alice answered, the display screen in front of Mark lit up.

It showed footage captured by drones.

The police had arrived soon after Mark was kidnapped.

Those gang members had not dared fight the police and immediately chose to flee. None of the crew had been hurt.

In addition, JARVIS had found Alice and taken control of the drone she had originally been controlling, the one that had been following Mark the whole time.

"So JARVIS was the one who helped me earlier!"

Mark suddenly understood. Only then did he realize why the police had been able to precisely block the route of that invisible Mutant.

Then another thought quickly came to him. "Could it be that New York activated the Amber Alert Emergency Plan this time because Tony Stark stepped in?"

Mark had already found it strange. Given his status, New York could not possibly have made such a huge commotion for him.

But if Tony Stark had acted behind the scenes, then it all made sense.

"But why would Tony Stark help me?"

That was what truly puzzled Mark.

Tony Stark did not acknowledge having any connection to him.

Back then, Stark Group had even sent legal staff to the clinic specifically to warn Rosalie.

"I'll ask him face-to-face if I ever get the chance to meet Tony Stark in the future!"

Mark stopped dwelling on the matter and merely remembered the favor.

"Hmm, not bad! It looks like Stardew Valley's sales have reached new highs again during this time."

Mark went online to check the balance of his bank card and found that after only a few days, his savings had once again exceeded one million dollars.

This satisfied Mark. He decided that once Stardew Valley's popularity faded, he would make more games to earn money.

Mark then opened the military supplies website from last time and ordered five Electric Shock Guns.

He also ordered five of the latest high-energy batteries, high-pressure nitrogen sprayers, and various other electronic components from Stark Group's official website.

"This time, I'm going to modify a more powerful weapon!"

After spending all the money on his bank card in one go, Mark's gaze became increasingly resolute.

This experience had made him truly realize the dangers of the Marvel Universe.

Mark would never allow himself to fall into such a dangerous situation again!