death of hope

Chapter 53 "Flying Windfall" (53) Ape Man

Anna and Roy grieve over a bleak future, masked vigilantes quarrel over disagreements, and everything tires him.

The ape-man Syndra, exhausted physically and mentally, was lost in thought;
(Masked vigilantes are a bowl of young people. I am old and should retire. I have some savings and don’t worry about food and clothing. Why do I still do these unpleasant things?

Should've taken a trip to a Mars colony while I was still in shape, instead of having a stupid tea party in this shitty place with a bunch of freaks in tights. )
Fifteen years ago, when the ape-man first escaped from the laboratory, he was not as vulnerable as he is now.
At that time, he didn't have a name yet, and scientists called him Miracle Subject 99,

At that time, his body had been highly modified, his internal organs, muscles, and bones had been strengthened, and he had not suffered from various tormenting diseases. He was a powerful superhero,

He is the Phantom Knight of York City, who wears a mask and acts chivalrously in the streets and alleys. He can be said to be one of the founders of the profession of masked vigilantes.

At that time, he was young, full of vigor, wise enough to prevent the situation from deteriorating, and strong enough to save the weak. He was a glorious urban legend and the patron saint of the children in the slums.

Later, with age, the genetically modified body began to show various symptoms, and the aging speed far exceeded that of ordinary people.

(When on earth did I become weak?

Oh yes, that's the thing,
Four years ago, the shocking case of the mayor of York, Barron's family, was wiped out. Since then,
I just went up and down. )
The situation at that time was not as bad as it is now. At that time, York City had a good mayor who was considerate of the people - Baron Davis,

Barron is an open-minded intellectual of the new school, both upright and intelligent, and if he can be re-elected for several terms, the city will look very different.

However, the good times didn’t last long. One year after he took office, Barron’s environmental protection and welfare policies blocked the way of making money for many giant companies. The other party first bribed him, wanting to use money to smash his conscience, and then turned into persuasion, and he still didn’t care. Use, simply sent a death threat,
Before running for the election, he had already anticipated the current situation. Barron did not give in. He was ready and asked his friends for help. The powerful ape-man Syndra would lead his men to protect his house.

(At that time, I thought I was strong enough, that justice would surely defeat evil, that good people would live long, and then reality slapped me hard.)
A week later, tanks and armored vehicles drove into the city, and hundreds of heavily armed corporate fighters and cyber mercenaries forced their way into the mayor's mansion.

Security guards, military police, and bodyguards took bribes from entrepreneurs and collectively deserted. The heavy responsibility of protecting the mayor fell on the superhero alliance led by the apes—the York City Avengers.

They were in their prime, well equipped, fit and confident.

However, two fists are no match for four hands, the cyber mercenaries killed all the superheroes guarding the door, the ape man himself was seriously injured, and dying, he crawled to the sewer to hide with his last strength, mortals suffered so many shots He died a long time ago, and he lingered on with his strong vitality.

The next day, the front page headline of the "York City Observer" was quite shocking;

"The mayor's family was wiped out." Below is a large color photo of the scene——

Barron and his wife were headshot by bullets. The eldest son Josh, who was bathing in the bathroom, was stabbed in the stomach by a bayonet and woke up by the gunshots. The younger daughter Grace, who came out of the bedroom to check, was strangled to death by a wire rope.

Even in York City, the capital of violence, such a bad situation is extremely rare.

Because they were afraid of offending the investors of big companies, the already commercialized police station was unwilling to investigate too deeply, so the shit basin was put on the masked vigilante who died in battle, and a burglary and murder was randomly ordered, and the case was closed hastily.

Lying in the hospital run by a friend, the badly wounded ape-man, with machines in the intensive care unit ticking and covered in plastic tubes, begged the nurse to turn on the TV and tune to the news station.

In the shot, the mayor's mansion has become a popular spot on the Internet,

Passers-by with dazed expressions stood outside the cordon to watch the excitement, chatting with each other about the murder of the mayor, and a hot dog stand was set up on the side of the road. , A knife pierced the ape-man's heart.

He couldn't move, he could only feel dejected;
Everyone knows the existence of evil, but chooses to pretend not to see it. Those who stand up and resist die, but they don't get the respect they deserve.

(We fought all the way, just for these rabble? Is it all... worth it?)

Half a month later, the female mayor sponsored by entrepreneurs took office. She immediately canceled various environmental protection and welfare policies of her predecessor, and cut the city's public security budget. The sky in York City was gray, and screams of victims came from the dark alleys Crying, all the efforts to get better eventually come to naught.

At this time, the citizens of York City remembered Mr. Barron's kindness a little bit, missed his policies, and heard a few complaints from the drunks in the bar, and nothing else.

As if it was a doomed ending, a freak like the ape-man Syndra who escaped from the genetic laboratory could not defeat the power of the enterprise after all. This is a world ruled by money and full of material desires.

He saw his insignificance clearly, what kind of superhero only exists in comic books.

After being discharged from the hospital, the heartwarming thing for the ape man was that many people went to the mayor's cemetery to mourn. Those who were more affluent bought a bouquet of flowers, and those who were poor put a polished stone. deep impression,

She kissed the tombstone and put a bouquet of plastic fake flowers on the stone cover. This bunch of fake flowers seemed to have been secretly cut from somewhere else, and the girl was Susan.

The apes rebuilt the York City Avengers, and the first member they summoned was Susan. She liked to act at night, wearing a black tights and a cat face mask, and got the nickname of "Black Cat Knight".

When Barron was running for mayor, the ape man asked him this question:
"Your family is so rich, you can't live a good life, but you turned into a seller to become a politician. If you don't have connections, you can't go far. What are you trying to do?"

"I don't have any ambitions, I don't want to be a high official."

Barron opened the curtains and said with a smile: "Look, York City, my hometown, I want to change it, make the sky blue, the water clear, people don't work overtime, restore weekends, I want to rebuild the park, let There is a place for the children to play, and I want to improve security, and at night, everyone dares to come out to visit the night market."

These words moved the ape man and made him swear to follow this good mayor.

(Has his wish come true? Obviously not, but he has lived up to his will, hesitating and hesitating here.)
Thinking of this, he was filled with remorse, pinched his flesh with his nails, and forced himself to wake up with pain.

(End of this chapter)