Chapter 60: The Arrogance of the Radiant Path

Finn entered Black Mountain’s West 7 Sector and went to Jimmy’s old residence, but the kid was nowhere to be found. He had no idea where that brat had run off to.

Recently, the entire Refuge City had been in a festive mood. People were dancing in the open squares, their steps light and cheerful. Finn stopped a passerby to ask what was going on, and only then did he learn that Black Mountain’s energy crisis was on the verge of being solved.

The Wilderness Rhino armed caravan had arrived from the wasteland. After a long and grueling journey, they had brought with them an extraordinarily valuable item—a mobile nuclear reactor.

They had unearthed it from the ruins of a pre-Cataclysm military base. It was a rare treasure.

This was military hardware developed by the Columbian Imperium before the Cataclysm. It had been designed to be mounted on power-supply vehicles and provide electricity for high-energy weapons during wartime.

After the nuclear war, the complete technological supply chain had been lost. No one could manufacture such equipment anymore.

The Wilderness Rhino traders said they had no use for the iron lump themselves and were willing to sell it to Refuge City. Black Mountain was facing an energy crisis, so naturally, it paid a high price for it without hesitation.

The shadow of energy scarcity was finally about to lift. The residents were overjoyed. The only discordant voices came from the remaining Radiant Path followers still lingering in Refuge City.

At a crossroads, several armed border soldiers were driving out a group of red-robed Radiant Path believers.

The Radiant Path followers were furious. As the soldiers shoved them along and forced them outward, they shouted in indignation, unwilling to leave quietly:

“Two months and nine days from now, Holy Radiance will descend! The day Holy Radiance descends shall be the beginning of the great judgment. The guilty will fall into hell and be cast into nuclear reactors to burn, suffering eternal torment!”

“Nuclear energy is the power of the devil! How dare you use it! This is a grave blasphemy against Holy Radiance! You sinners shall suffer divine punishment!”

“Holy Radiance will not spare any of you! Just wait and see!”

Under the black mouths of the gun barrels, the cursing Radiant Path followers gradually retreated into the distance. Finn, however, fell into thought.

Did this world truly have gods? The thought stirred Finn’s curiosity.

Finn had always had one particular wish—to slay a god. And not some worthless rural earth god, either. If he was going to kill a god, it had to be one that stood high above all things, arrogant and supreme, possessing complete divinity and godhead. Only a god like that would be worth cutting down.

If Holy Radiance really descended, it would surely be an earth-shaking event. Finn hoped he would get the chance to join the fun and personally take Holy Radiance’s head.

Of course, if he couldn’t win, he would run immediately.

Finn looked around a bit longer but still couldn’t find Jimmy. He decided to go straight to Black Mountain’s administrative center and ask the officials directly.

City Lord Darius Smith had once promised to guarantee Jimmy’s safety.

Now that Finn was on the Radiant Path’s bounty list with a reward as high as eight thousand dollars, there was no telling whether someone might try to capture Jimmy and use him to threaten Finn.

The administrative center’s tall building stood in a plaza, its entire structure pitch-black and imposing. It was like a black mountain range rising from among the surrounding buildings, majestic and impossible to ignore.

As soon as Finn walked through the main entrance, everyone nearby recognized him and hurried off to report his arrival.

“Respected Tier 5 Vanguard Finn, please wait a moment. The City Lord is currently meeting with a Radiant Path apostle,” said a nervous young clerk in a long skirt.

“Finn?!” a startled voice called out from behind.

Finn turned and met a pair of sharp, angry eyes. The anger vanished in an instant.

The man wore black-rimmed glasses and a gray shirt. He was slightly thin, with a book tucked under his arm. He adjusted his glasses with his right hand, giving off a refined, scholarly air.

Finn frowned. He was certain he didn’t know this man, yet in that brief moment of eye contact, he had clearly seen hatred and rage in those eyes.

The man quickly suppressed the strange emotion that had surfaced. His face showed no trace of it, as though the anger just now had never existed.

“Hello,” the man said, stepping forward and extending his hand to Finn. A friendly smile appeared on his face. His expression was calm, and his attitude was humble and amiable.

Finn had no intention of shaking hands. With both hands still in his pockets, he asked, “Who are you?”

“I am…” The man pushed up his glasses. Faced with Finn’s unfriendly attitude, he suddenly seemed somewhat at a loss.

The young clerk sensed the awkward atmosphere and quickly stepped in to explain, “This is Jared Hall, a technical expert from the Wilderness Rhino armed caravan. He’s responsible for the technical work on the mobile nuclear reactor.”

“Didn’t the Wilderness Rhino armed caravan already leave Refuge City?” Finn asked. Just the night before last, their massive convoy had departed from Black Mountain.

The young clerk continued, “He didn’t want to keep living a wandering life with the caravan, so he decided to stay and settle in Black Mountain. He’s helping us handle the nuclear reactor issues and set up a power generation hub.”

“Technical support,” Finn said with a nod, understanding now. Jared Hall had left the caravan behind and stayed to handle the technical work on the mobile nuclear reactor.

“Mr. Finn, I’ve heard a great deal about you,” Jared said. His smile looked a little stiff. “I heard you killed seven or eight Tier 4 Vanguards all by yourself. I’ve admired you for a long time and have always wanted to meet you.”

“Is that so?” Finn replied with a slight smile and said no more. The overwhelming anger he had seen in Jared’s eyes earlier had seemed almost unreal. But Finn was certain he had never met the man before.

After waiting half an hour, Finn grew impatient. The young clerk quickly led him toward the City Lord’s office.

Before they reached the door, they could already hear someone inside shouting loudly:

“Darius Smith! As the City Lord of Black Mountain, you remain stubborn and blind! Not only do you insist on using nuclear energy and refuse to submit to our divine kingdom on earth, but you have also expelled our missionaries!

“Holy Radiance will surely bring down punishment! You and your Refuge City will suffer the divine wrath of Holy Radiance!

“This is my final warning—submit to the Radiant Path! Do your part in building the divine kingdom on earth and welcoming the descent of Holy Radiance. Otherwise, you will regret it!”

Bang!

A violent crash of shattering glass erupted from inside the office, cutting off the shouting.

The oak door opened. A red-robed Radiant Path follower staggered out, clutching the doorframe for support. Blood spilled from his mouth and nose, and his steps were unsteady. He had clearly been hit hard by the shock.

The man who had just staggered out was the apostle the Radiant Path had sent to persuade Black Mountain to submit. The negotiations had clearly collapsed.

Finn entered the office. Darius was leaning back in a wooden chair, his chest rising and falling, his anger not yet gone. Shards of a shattered glass cup lay scattered across the desk, and the outer shell of the incandescent lamp on the ceiling had exploded, leaving only the filament behind.

“Radiant Path! They’re far too arrogant!” Darius said indignantly.

“Why didn’t you just kill him?” Finn asked. The Radiant Path apostle’s tone just now had been outright provocative, practically shoving his arrogance in their faces.

“He’s an emissary of the Radiant Path, and a high priest besides. If I killed him, it would completely escalate the conflict between the Radiant Path and Refuge City.” Darius sighed, covering his face with one hand.

He gave a bitter smile. “If I were still young, I would have acted already. But the Radiant Path’s influence keeps growing stronger. For Black Mountain’s sake, I can’t afford to make them an enemy.”

“What about Jimmy?” Finn asked bluntly.

“Don’t worry. He’s well protected. No one can harm him. Just a few days ago, I saw him teaching other people how to dance. He was full of life.”

Finn relaxed at that. Teaching others to dance sounded exactly like something Jimmy would do.

Darius let out a long, deep sigh, and his once-robust chest seemed to sink. At eighty-six years old, he was already deep into his twilight years and only kept going thanks to his mutant physiology. After dealing with so many troubles, he looked as if he had aged several more years.

He slowly stood up and walked over to Finn. When he spoke again, his voice was steady and powerful, but beneath it was the weight of an old father’s exhaustion.

“I’d like to speak with you as a father—about Olivia Hill.”