Chapter 7: The Manuscript Collector

Try to imagine the awkwardness of the scene when you take your wife and children to the mall on a nice midday day, your wife is beautiful, your children are adorable, you are discussing dinner and new household appliances, and right in the middle of this cozy, happy moment, two unclothed men suddenly appear.

"Daddy, why is that brother's crotch bulging."

A five or six year old little girl, while biting a lollipop, asked his father in a milky voice.

The father frowned, a cold aura flashed in his eyes, a plan came to his mind, in today's society, the Mutant's attack on the city caused the government's credibility to drop, the crime rate increased dramatically, and some people with abnormal sexual orientation who liked children were emboldened, he felt the need to popularize this knowledge to his own daughter, so as to avoid a tragedy that would regret his entire life.

"Wen Wen, dad told you, boys and girls are different, that place is that brother's reproductive ..."

Before the father could finish his words, the little girl's mom directly slapped the child's father in the face.

"Mommy, why are you hitting daddy? Did daddy do something wrong?"

"Well, because your dad is a big fool."

The little girl's father covered his face and secretly spat in his mind, thinking to himself, womanizer.

Both passersby and shopkeepers in the mall looked at the duo of Raven and Blueira with extreme curiosity, suspecting that the two were supposed to be doing some kind of performance art.

Blueira had a cardboard box over his head, one of those cardboard boxes that were part of the Scrap Man's three-piece suit, radio, dog, cardboard box.

Blueira had cut two holes in the cardboard box as a way of allowing herself to see her way around, and I have to say that wearing this cardboard headgear really made her feel a lot better, but it was nothing more than a cover up as her hot body had already sent a number of males in the mall into a state of sexual arousal.

"Walk slower, wait for me!"

Blueira was completely at a loss for words with Raven, the man was as dumb as gold and had no idea how to communicate.

Raven entered a designer clothing store, where the cheapest clothing, which started at two hundred Huiyao coins, was just a sports headband.

Wearing OL professional clothes female shopkeeper saw the two people came in, silently picked up the cell phone to call security, anyone who saw this naked two people will feel uneasy.

"I ... we don't have any money on us ugh ..."

Blueira said weakly to Raven.

Raven completely ignored Blueira as he quickly found a costume that fit him.

It was a red leather coat with a collar and cuffs shaped to Raven's liking, and most importantly, Raven's fighting style tended to involve self-mutilation, and he used flesh and blood as a means of attack, so it would require a piece of clothing that didn't show dirt.

What's more, if the clothes were made of fabric, blood would quickly soak in and it would be a pain in the ass to clean, so a leather one was needed, and if it got dirty, just take a towel soaked in water and wipe it off.

"My apologies, but we do not offer credit here."

The saleswoman had already summoned the security, who would probably arrive in about two minutes. Seeing the two of them without any belongings, she wondered where they would produce money from.

Raven coldly glanced at the saleswoman, his hand quickly gripping her neck. He said emotionlessly,"Stay out of this. Everyone has just one life."

Pushing the saleswoman aside, Raven began to dress himself. Apart from a red leather coat, he equipped all other pieces of attire he found.

Seeing Raven's ruthless behavior, Blueira suddenly realized something. Her projection ring mentioned that if one joined the Mutant Response Bureau, they'd be granted complete criminal immunity. Does that mean one can commit crimes at will on the Arcas Continent?

Blueira, not one to be slow on the uptake, chose a simple shirt and jeans for herself and began to dress.

Raven approached the fitting room mirror, impassively looking at his reflection. He finally remembered what he looked like.

"So... this is how I look."

A long time ago, Raven was a writer. Despite having no significant income or fame, calling him a writer might even be generous; it'd be more accurate to call him a perpetual draft writer.

Even though no publishing house was willing to print his books, he still actively submitted short stories to various magazines.

Raven's works were niche cult novels, deeply individualistic, and filled with absurd and bizarre elements. Every time they were published in a magazine, readers heavily criticized them. Many claimed that apart from causing physical discomfort and mental pollution, Raven's writings were worthless.

The magazine's editor kept accepting Raven's pieces thinking that such CULT-level articles might give the publication a more sophisticated edge. Yet even the editor himself was repelled by what Raven produced.

After being featured in more than ten issues, the magazine stopped accepting Raven's pieces due to the poor reception.

Post this, Raven spiraled into despair. Prolonged alcohol abuse and a chaotic personal life drastically changed him.

One of Raven's ex-girlfriends was a model engaged in stage presentations. Naturally striking and captivating, her reason for dating Raven was his handsome appearance, model-like physique, and unique literary temperament. However, when Raven's artistic career suffered, he became a mess. His skin turned as pale as someone on drugs, losing his former allure and instead taking on a sinister, fearsome look.

Thus, Raven's ex-girlfriend cheated on him, and her lover was none other than the chairman of the pest control company Raven worked for.

Of course, that very chairman was also on that doomed flight.

For the first time in eighteen years, Raven looked at his own reflection. Apart from his eyeballs turning blood-red, the rest seemed as he remembered.

Raven took a few more glimpses at the fitting room mirror, reinforcing his impression of his appearance, before heading towards the exit of the clothing store.

By then, the mall's security personnel had received communication from the shop assistant. Two guards, equipped with pistols, positioned themselves outside the store.

The saleswoman, who Raven had previously choked, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the guards. She ran to them, fearfully saying,"These two are trying to rob the store. The man even threatened to kill me."

The two guards, upon hearing this, were on high alert and were about to draw their guns when a cold voice sounded from nearby.

"Stand down. This is beyond your capacity to handle."

The beautiful woman who had died outside the mall was quickly discovered by a passerby, who immediately reported the incident to the police. Her death was unnaturally eerie; the cuts on her body were incredibly smooth, as if she'd been sliced by a laser. Suspecting the work of a Mutant, the riot squad arrived on the scene promptly. Based on eyewitness accounts, all suspicions pointed towards the scantily clad duo. Following the leads, the riot squad traced them to this clothing store.

At the exit of the clothing store, nearly thirty armed personnel with weapons surrounded the area, raising their riot shields in unison, forming a steel barricade.

Two security guards and a female shop assistant, seeing such a display, instinctively distanced themselves.

"At least I don't have to be embarrassed anymore..."

Blueira muttered, turning around only to nearly faint from the sight before her: about thirty fully-armed personnel were uniformly aiming their guns at her.

"There have been reports of a Mutant carrying out terrorist attacks in this vicinity, and you are highly suspicious. Please show valid identification."

The leader of the riot squad raised his weapon, aiming at Raven's head, but his mind was occupied with other matters.

The establishment of the Mutant Response Bureau was intended for effective actions against Mutants. Over the past few days, some individuals claiming to be from the Time-Space Strategy Bureau had arrived, supposedly to assist the Arcas Continent in suppressing the Mutants. However, these visitors from other dimensions proved to be even more ruthless and formidable than the Mutants. Because of this, these outsiders, effective against the Mutants, were seen as the dawn's light for the Arcas Continent. People welcomed them as heroes. Hence, they not only had complete criminal immunity but also possessed the political immunity granted to level-ten officials.

However, their actions proved even more outrageous than those of the Mutants. They didn't help at all; on the contrary, they plunged society into greater chaos. In the end, only humans could deal with the situation, relying solely on their own military to handle the Mutants.

Nearly thirty fully-armed personnel surrounded Raven, but he appeared nonchalant, heading straight for the exit of the clothing store.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, the muzzle bursting with brilliant fireworks. A lethal bullet sprayed forth, and the lead armed personnel shot it directly into Raven's forehead with pinpoint accuracy. The impact of the large-caliber rifle was immense, knocking Raven instantly to the ground.

Thud!

Raven lay motionless on the ground, a pool of blood forming on the floor from the bullet hole in his forehead.