Chapter 44: Radiant Path Radio
It was deep into the night, and the moonlight was cold and bleak. The nuclear winter had ended long ago, leaving the sky clear enough to see the stars.
A shooting star suddenly streaked across the darkness, its long tail wavering behind it.
Finn knew it wasn’t a meteor. It was a Heaven-sent Object. The Radiant Path claimed these falling stars brought divine power to their followers—gifts from the Holy Radiance.
Finn still had no idea what Heaven-sent Objects actually were. If he could find where one had landed, he might discover something valuable.
But every time one descended, the Radiant Path locked down the entire ten-kilometer radius around the site and let no one else near. They clearly intended to keep whatever secrets these objects held to themselves.
Lying in bed, Finn fiddled with the high-energy detector in his hands, checking the readings. The screen remained dead silent. Even when a Heaven-sent Object had fallen, there had been no reaction at all.
He’d once wondered if the detector was broken. Then they launched the nuclear rockets, and the energy from the blasts had shown up clearly on it. That confirmed the device was working fine.
Finn tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Insomnia was rare for him. In the end he grabbed his phone and set The Carol of the Old Ones to loop, hoping the music would help him drift off.
Whenever sleep eluded him, Finn would put this song on repeat as his personal lullaby. It worked like a charm.
Finn had balls of chrome steel and a will to match. He was almost completely immune to fear—his sanity had never taken a single hit. He could stare straight into the abyss and drop his pants right in front of it without hesitation.
The abyss would usually get embarrassed and look away, not daring to meet his eyes.
……
The next morning, Ironatom stirred to life under the first light of dawn. Loudspeakers mounted on the utility poles blared stirring music, calling the workers to their shifts.
The whole city came alive as people went about their jobs.
Ironatom had only about half the population of Black Mountain, but technology more than made up the difference. Though fewer in number, its residents were capable and efficient. Water and food were plentiful, and life here was comfortable and peaceful.
Finn went out for a casual walk and learned that the Cool Prophet Relic Exhibition Hall was currently closed, with none of its exhibits open to outsiders.
With nothing better to do, he returned to the Benson Auto Repair Shop to watch Lambert Benson repair and modify cars.
After cultivating the Fire Profound Divine Art, Finn’s physical attributes had all improved significantly, and even his brain had developed tremendously. His learning and memory were excellent, and he absorbed new knowledge at an astonishing speed.
Although cars were only basic transportation in the Endless Worlds, the technical side of them was still worth learning. Watching Lambert work on the vehicles, Finn quickly picked up the basics of car repair.
Lambert pulled out a brick-sized radio, extended the antenna, and tuned through the stations until he landed on a Radiant Path broadcast.
The station was playing religious music—hymns praising the Holy Radiance and singing the glory of the Holy Pontiff.
Finn couldn’t help feeling surprised. “Why are you listening to a Radiant Path station?” he asked. “I thought you didn’t care much for them.”
“Their songs aren’t bad,” Lambert replied. “Good tunes. A lot easier on the ears than all that noisy electronic stuff.”
Voices and footsteps sounded outside the shop. Three flashy young men and a girl with a cocky swagger and a streak of green-dyed hair, looking irritating enough to make people itch for a fight, walked in.
They were Sylvia Benson’s friends. They greeted Lambert casually. “Morning, Uncle Benson.”
“Morning, Dennis,” Lambert grunted, keeping his attention on the car. He clearly didn’t think much of Sylvia’s questionable friends.
One of the young men, sporting a mohawk, noticed Finn and asked, “Yo, Uncle Benson, who’s this guy?”
“A friend,” Lambert said. “He pulled me out of the wasteland. I’m letting him stay at the house for a few days.”
The girl with the streak of green-dyed hair leaned in close, staring straight at Finn with an arrogant glint in her eyes. “Finn, right? I’m warning you—keep your hands to yourself. Especially don’t get any ideas about Sylvia.”
Finn gave a polite nod but didn’t bother responding.
“Renee, be careful,” Sylvia’s lazy voice called down from the second-floor balcony, carrying a hint of sarcasm. “This is Dad’s mutant friend.”
“You’re a mutant too?” Renee, the green-haired girl, stepped forward and asked. “I’m a Tier 3 Vanguard. What tier are you? What’s your special ability?”
“His special ability is…” Lambert was still trying to think of a reply when Sylvia cut in. “His special ability is riding a bicycle.”
“Riding a bicycle?” The three young men and Renee paused, then burst out laughing. “Riding a bicycle? What kind of joke ability is that? Hahahaha!”
They doubled over with laughter. Up on the balcony, Sylvia rested her chin on one hand while her other arm loosely covered her full chest. A faint smile played on her lips as she watched Finn being put on the spot.
“Bro, you’re joking, right?” one of the young men in ripped jeans said teasingly. He patted Finn on the shoulder. “I’ve got a bike at home. How about showing us a little demonstration?”
Finn let out a cold laugh and brushed the hand off his shoulder without saying a word.
Although Finn looked about the same age as these young men—somewhere in his teens or early twenties from the outside—he had spent centuries roaming the Endless Worlds. Even though he devoted eighty percent of that time to closed-door cultivation, his experience had long matured. He wasn’t about to lose his temper just because a few brats ran their mouths.
Seeing Finn stay silent, the three young men and Renee figured they’d found an easy mark and started closing in to mock him some more.
Lambert gave a few heavy coughs and pulled a long face, his expression turning dark. Only then did the four of them back off reluctantly. After all, Lambert had called Finn a “friend,” and for Sylvia’s sake they didn’t want to make things awkward for him.
On the cluttered workbench, the brick-sized radio kept playing steadily, broadcasting a music program from the Radiant Path station.
As the final note faded from the speaker, the music ended. A cold female voice cut in, starting a Radiant Path announcement.
Lambert reached out to turn the dial and switch stations, but stopped mid-motion.
The female announcer’s voice was icy. “Next, an emergency bulletin. By order of the Holy Pontiff, a bounty of eight thousand dollars is hereby placed on a mutant!”
Eight thousand dollars! The huge sum instantly drew everyone’s attention. Lambert, the three young men, Renee, and Sylvia all leaned in to listen.
“The wanted man’s name is Finn! In the name of the Holy Radiance, anyone who kills him or captures him alive will claim the reward!”