Sandman had just reached a place he believed was safe. He poured out all the money from his bag and carefully counted it. This was all life-saving money for his daughter.
"Even if you're desperate, robbery is still illegal."
"Who?!" Flint spun around instantly, only to see a cloaked figure standing in the doorway.
"Why is it that someone always tries to stop me? Don't these people know what death means?" Flint's anger surged. He only wanted to save his daughter—what had he done wrong? Since someone had come looking for trouble, he decided to deal with him.
"Ah!" Flint transformed the sand into a massive hand, grabbing Renzo and slamming him into the ground.
Renzo sighed helplessly. Why did so many villains believe they were justified? And why did everyone insist on attacking him at full force? Did he really look that easy to bully?
Lying there, Renzo didn't even bother resisting, allowing Sandman to strike him several times. It wasn't like Flint could break his defenses anyway—he might as well let him vent.
Sandman furiously pummeled him again and again, but it did no damage.
"Hah… try harder! Even those zero-dollar shoplifters in Brooklyn hit harder than you."
Flint paused, confused. Even Spider-Man couldn't take blows like that—how had the world become filled with so many freaks while he was in prison?
Deciding he'd had enough, Renzo slowly floated into the air. "I understand your situation. I can even sympathize with your actions. But breaking the law is still breaking the law. I'll give you two choices."
"One—get beaten up and sent back to prison. Two—join my team."
"Are all young people this naive nowadays?" Flint sneered. There was no way he was going to trust this strange man.
"What is this, a circus? Or did some zoo exhibit break loose?"
"You refuse to repent." Renzo sighed. Since persuasion wasn't working, force would have to do.
A laser beam shot out instantly, striking Flint and scattering him into loose sand across the ground.
"Ahhh!" Flint roared in fury. In the blink of an eye, the scattered sand gathered into a massive sphere, then reshaped into a towering sand giant. With a palm large enough to blot out the sky, he slammed down on Renzo, driving him into the ground.
Renzo stood motionless within the swirling sand, his expression unchanged. He even let out a lazy yawn.
"Do you think you're some kind of Crocodile? Fighting everyone on equal footing?" Renzo mocked. Knowing physical attacks were useless, he unleashed a barrage of laser strikes. The relentless assault turned Flint into a massive target, his body breaking apart piece by piece.
Soon, Flint collapsed into a heap of loose sand and reverted to his human form, lying on the ground. He stared in horror as Renzo approached step by step.
Flint raised his hands over his head, bracing himself for the next blow.
But none came.
Slowly, he opened his eyes to see Renzo standing before him, a faint smile on his lips, extending a hand.
"The world needs heroes, Flint Marco. I might need your help." Renzo's tone was calm, almost gentle.
"And if I say no?" Flint had been hardened by life—betrayed, beaten, and abandoned too many times to trust easily. Even now, he believed that if he truly wanted to escape, not even this man could stop him.
"Then I'll have no choice but to let you go." Renzo chuckled and stepped aside, giving him a clear path.
Flint looked at him in surprise, frowning. After a moment's thought, he realized… Renzo really wasn't stopping him.
He gave Renzo a long, searching look. Whatever this man's intentions were, Flint couldn't figure them out. Still, seeing no attempt to stop him, his body dissolved into drifting sand, preparing to leave.
"It's a pity… I could have saved your daughter."
Renzo's casual voice drifted from behind him.
The swirling sand froze midair, hovering as if caught in hesitation.
Slowly, it fell back to the ground, gathering once more into human form.
Flint stared at him, disbelief written across his face. "What you just said… is it true? You can cure my daughter?"
A stranger's words were hard to trust. But when those words struck at his deepest weakness, doubt gave way to desperate hope.
Penny… his daughter was everything to him.
Renzo's simple words were like a blade. Flint could endure any physical wound without complaint—but a strike to the heart, even the strongest man could not ignore.
In the end, Flint chose to believe. Not because the claim was certain—but because it concerned his daughter. And that fragile belief was nothing more than a father's love.
"I can't guarantee a full cure," Renzo said quietly, "but there's at least a seventy percent chance. Flint, I know you've done terrible things—but a man who cares about his daughter can't be completely irredeemable. Join my team. Don't you want her to grow up without hearing people say, 'Your father is a murderer'?"
"Enough!" Flint cut him off, his eyes blazing. "I'll join your so-called team. But if I find out you lied to me…"
He stepped forward and pointed directly at Renzo. "I'll make sure you understand what it feels like to lose someone you love."
Renzo said nothing. He only smiled.
...
At that moment, on the outskirts of the city, a streak of light suddenly tore across the sky and slammed into the ground like a meteor, leaving a medium-sized crater in the forest.
"Roar!"
A black figure was drawn to the impact. If Renzo and the others had seen it, they would immediately recognize it as the same type of monster that had once rampaged through the streets.
After prolonged extermination efforts, most of those creatures had been eliminated by Renzo's team. But a few had survived. Over time, they developed a degree of intelligence—learning to hide in the shadows, waiting patiently.
They had also developed a craving for food.
And that "food"… might very well include their own kind.
The figure before the crater was the final survivor—the victor of countless brutal struggles.
The shadow slowly opened its grotesque mouth, forming an unnatural grin. It raised its hand, drawing the black, viscous substance on the ground toward itself until it completely enveloped its body.
On its raised hand, a black ring gleamed ominously…
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