Chapter 53: Playing the Hero

“Only two months and twenty-six days remain until Holy Radiance leaves Heaven and descends upon Earth. On the day Holy Radiance arrives, the great judgment will begin. The sinful will be cast into hell—thrown into nuclear reactors to burn for eternity….”

A small group of Radiant Path followers had gathered at the crossroads, preaching the coming of Holy Radiance.

Finn stood off to the side, watching with detached indifference. He tilted his head back and took a long swig from a chilled bottle of Nuka-Cola.

In this scorching, drought-stricken summer, the crisp sweetness sliding down his throat made every pore in his body feel like it had opened at once. A faint electric-like tingling spread through him, lifting his spirits.

Ever since he began cultivating the Fire Profound Divine Art and wandering the Endless Worlds, Finn had noticed his emotions growing increasingly distant. Perhaps he had simply seen too much. Even his capacity for empathy had taken a noticeable hit.

If his emotional state were an ECG, it would mostly be a flat line. Only major events—or good food—could make it flicker for a moment.

That was why Finn took his appetite seriously. Wherever he went, he made it a point to try the local food.

With his high resistance, he could drink straight from nuclear wastewater and still be fine. Because of that, he never hesitated to try strange or exotic things.

Ironatom, as a technologically advanced city, offered far more variety than Black Mountain. Nuka-Cola came in all models and flavors imaginable—though there was no Yellow Nuka-Cola. They had also developed nuclear ice cream, nuclear popsicles, and even chocolates and hot cocoa with unusual flavors.

Anyway, the dollars in his pocket were more than he could ever spend. Once he left this desolate world, money would be nothing but scrap. So Finn decided to splurge for once and bought a large-capacity freezer.

The unit ran on high-voltage storage batteries and used Ironatom’s advanced insulation technology. A single full charge could last two years. These freezers were normally used by armed merchant caravans.

Numerous armed caravans roamed the wasteland, driving armored trucks, heavily armed pickups, and Jeeps. They crossed barren mountains and irradiated canyons, linking the various Refuge Cities.

Finn bought a large stock of Nuka-Cola and nuclear ice cream and stored everything in the freezer. He also picked up olive candy, centrifuge-processed chocolate, beef jerky, and cheese pies for travel snacks.

On top of that, he purchased several maps. After scanning the data into his phone, he compiled it into a more complete real-time 3D map.

Alderon Sea was an ocean in the northern part of the continent. Finn marked it on the map. He planned to return to Black Mountain to pick up Jimmy, then head straight for Alderon Sea.

According to the territorial map, going further north would bring him into Radiant Path territory. Cool Prophet had once been blocked by the Radiant Path and failed to reach Alderon Sea.

Decades had passed since then, yet the Radiant Path’s territory hadn’t shrunk at all—in fact, it had doubled. Finn knew a clash with them was inevitable.

For situations like this, Finn’s solution was simple: blast straight through with nuclear rockets.

“Only two months and twenty-six days left until Holy Radiance descends. Sinners will repent in hell! Nuclear energy is the devil’s power…!”

The Radiant Path followers continued their tireless preaching.

When parting ways with Congreve Murphy, he had warned Finn that the Radiant Path had already begun actively hunting him.

Their Southwest Diocese had even issued an official telegram offering an 8,000-dollar bounty, demanding Ironatom issue a city-wide arrest notice for Finn, along with his portrait.

Ironatom, of course, ignored the request and suppressed the message.

“Maybe when I run out of money, I’ll go collect that bounty myself,” Finn thought.

He glanced at the Radiant Path followers, swung onto his mountain bike, and rode toward the city exit.

He sped along the asphalt road, crossed the overpass spanning Ironatom, even raced a tram—and won—before reaching the exit checkpoint.

Two military police officers were conducting routine inspections. After Finn passed through, he suddenly heard a girl’s pained cry.

“Ah!”

A blonde beauty was sent flying by a punch and collapsed to the ground, not getting up.

Her camouflage uniform was covered in dust, the front slightly open, her figure striking and exaggerated. She lay there miserably, emerald eyes filled with tears, looking pitiful.

The man who hit her was tall and powerfully built, a crooked cap on his head, muscles bulging.

He showed no intention of holding back. Another brutal kick sent the blonde woman rolling a full circle through the air, landing directly in Finn’s path.

Finn frowned slightly. A woman with a body like that was being beaten this badly, yet no one stepped in.

Even the two military police at the gate acted as if they saw nothing, rifles in hand, completely indifferent.

The man grabbed her by the collar, hauled her up, and drove a heavy punch into her stomach.

“Ah!” she cried out as she was sent flying again.

He sprinted after her and kicked her like a ball, sending her rolling until she stopped right in front of Finn.

This society was truly indifferent! Morals had sunk so low! A delicate woman was being beaten in the street, and no one stepped forward to uphold justice. Finn felt deeply disappointed. He crossed his arms and stood there, content to watch the show.

“Ah!” Another scream rang out as the man punched her two meters away. He grabbed her again, threw her back, and she landed in front of Finn once more.

“Ah!” A slap sent her spinning away.

He dragged her up again and slapped her once more.

The blonde woman spun like a top before crashing down again in front of Finn.

The man took a running start and drove his knee into her chest. She flew back two meters with another cry.

Finn’s eyes widened slightly.

This woman… could actually take a beating like that!

By his medical judgment, an ordinary person taking that kind of punishment would have already had multiple broken ribs. Yet she was still screaming loudly and seemed oddly energetic—clearly not seriously injured.

On top of that, the people of Ironatom were completely indifferent. Finn felt a faint disappointment. Even a technologically advanced city was no different. It seemed Cool Prophet’s efforts had all been for nothing.

The blonde woman was kicked back in front of Finn again. This time, Finn decided he couldn’t just stand by. He raised a hand, stopping the man.

“Kid, trying to play the hero?” the man sneered.

“That’s right,” Finn said flatly.

The man towered over him by nearly two heads, staring down coldly. “I’ll warn you—this is Ironatom territory. No killing allowed!”

He pointed at the two military police. “If you kill someone, they won’t just stand there. Remember this: every life is priceless. If you take one, you’ll pay with yours.”

Finn: “???”

Was that supposed to be a warning?

The man looked like he was about to continue his lecture, but Finn grew impatient and threw a punch straight into his chest.

With a sharp crack of breaking ribs, the man was sent flying five meters and hit the ground hard, unmoving.

“Thank you!”

The blonde woman sat weakly on the ground, her torn collar revealing a stretch of pale skin.

Her emerald eyes shimmered with tears as she trembled and reached out her hand toward him, clearly hoping he would help her up.

Finn only glanced at her once, then mounted his bike and rode away without a word.

Watching his back disappear into the distance, Sophia Gerard remained sitting there for a long moment before slowly getting up.

A medical team rushed out from a nearby house, lifted the unconscious man with shattered ribs and a ruptured liver onto a stretcher, inserted a breathing tube, and began emergency treatment on the spot.