Dear Heroes, I really am a Villain-Chapter 46: The End of Red-Vulture

"Hey! Somebody go check the door! Get that f*cker out of here; I’m starting to get annoyed," Red Vulture said as he continued hacking into the local authorities’ database in the Fringe, hoping to find something useful to dupe Maximilian.

"For f*ck’s sake, what does that f*cker want!?" one of the hackers grumbled as he walked over to the weapon locker, pulling out a simple hand shotgun before heading toward the door.

In this day and age, where people had Evolution Factors that could grant higher durability and strength, they needed to be prepared just in case. A cheap pistol was never enough anymore—shotguns were the answer.

The hacker slowly approached the door and looked through the monitor linked to the small pinhole camera on the door to see who was outside.

But what displayed on the screen made his blood run cold—a towering, more than two-meter-tall, muscular man was winding up his fist, ready to punch the door.

"Shit!" The unlucky hacker quickly retreated from the door just before—

Boom!

The punch smashed through the steel door, tearing the metal into the interior. The muscular man was none other than Mauler, who had arrived at the Red Vulture hideout to eliminate the entire team.

Mauler grabbed the torn edges of the door and, with little effort, ripped it wider, creating a gaping hole large enough for him to walk through. But—

Boom!

The sharp blast of a shotgun echoed through the room. The buckshot struck squarely on Mauler’s chest, causing him to flinch backward for a moment before he straightened, glaring at the scrawny hacker who dared to shoot him. The hacker shivered under the fierce gaze of those blood-red eyes.

On Mauler’s chest, aside from the holes torn through his coat, there was no visible injury.

Without hesitation, Mauler rushed inside, grabbed the unlucky hacker by the neck, and crushed it.

Crack!

With a resounding snap, the first casualty fell. Mauler tossed the lifeless body aside and charged further into the hideout, catching Red Vulture and his crew off guard.

"Who are you?!" Red Vulture shouted, scrambling toward the nearest weapon locker. But Mauler was faster.

Despite his large and muscular build, Mauler moved faster than most enhanced individuals—far outpacing the third-rate hacker group, whose trash-tier Evolution Factors made them no better than normal humans.

Red Vulture became the second casualty. Mauler punched him squarely in the head, splattering it against the wall, while the other two hackers tried to flee. But Mauler quickly caught up to them and smashed them against the wall with brutal force.

With the frail bodies of normal humans, none of the hackers could endure the impact. Their ribs cracked, and one of them died due to a rib puncturing his lung, while the other survived—though not for long.

Mauler walked toward the last survivor, who had blood gurgling from his mouth as he tried to beg for mercy. A stomp to the head ended it.

In the end... none of the hackers survived.

Mauler then tossed a few termites into the hideout and left. After a few seconds, the termites exploded, burning down the entire hideout. The tightly clustered buildings in the Fringe quickly caught fire, and within minutes, the flames had spread.

Seeing that his work was done, Mauler turned and walked toward the secret tunnel he had used to travel into the Fringe.

He walked without a care for the chaos unfolding behind him. Sirens blared, and shouting voices echoed through the air, but that wasn’t Mauler’s concern. No, this was the modus operandi of their organization.

If Mauler had only killed and destroyed the Red Vulture hideout, it was highly likely someone would connect the dots and discover the organization’s existence. As things stood, their organization thrived under the UEC’s nose without them being any the wiser.

Mauler continued his slow walk toward the outskirts of the Fringe, where an abandoned military lab stood on a dilapidated plot of land. It had been deserted after a core energy meltdown years ago and had remained untouched since.

Suddenly, a dreadful feeling struck Mauler’s heart. He could feel it—if he took even one more step, something terrible would happen.

Bang!!!

The first thunderous bang rang out, and Mauler quickly moved away from where he had just stood. A bullet whistled past the spot a second later. But before Mauler could feel a sense of relief, the bullet triggered a hidden mine.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The minefield exploded, blasting Mauler at close range. Shrapnel tore into his hard skin. Even though he was many times more durable than a normal human and his rhino-like skin offered protection, he still felt the searing impact.

Bang!!!

Another bang rang out, and Mauler felt a sharp, searing pain in his leg. He instantly realized it—the large-caliber bullet was an experimental UEC anti-tank round, specially designed. The super-heated bullet head melted through armor first, and then nanite drones inside the bullet opened wide holes to kill the target inside.

His right leg was torn off as the nanites devoured flesh and bone.

"Grrrrgggh!"

Mauler grunted as he fell forward, using his arm to soften the impact, but...

Bang!!

Another gunshot thundered. Still struggling for balance, Mauler gritted his teeth as a bullet tore through his right arm, blasting it off below the elbow. Blood splattered across the ground, riddled with holes from the mine explosions.

Now, with only one arm and one leg left, unable to stand, Mauler lay helplessly on the ground. Blood covered his body, his trench coat shredded to reveal his iron-like muscles and rhino-hide skin. Gritting his teeth, he tried to spot his attacker.

He still had one card left—his incredible regeneration. He planned to lie still, wait for the attacker to come close, regenerate his arm and leg, then smash the bastard’s head! Judging from the attack style, the enemy didn’t seem strong in close combat. If that was the case, Mauler might still have a chance to turn the tables!

Minutes passed. A black silhouette slowly approached from afar. The figure wore black infiltrator armor, the experimental kind that offered both stealth and moderate combat protection.

The red visor flared the moment the man spotted Mauler, then he steadily walked closer.

{Just a little closer... just a little more, you bastard,} Mauler prayed in his heart, watching the armored man approach.

With every step, Mauler’s heart pounded faster in anticipation.

Pft!

The man suddenly fired a dart at Mauler’s exposed severed arm. The dart injected regeneration-inhibiting nanites into Mauler’s body, immediately halting any chance of recovery.

"You!" Mauler wanted to curse and rip the man apart, but he knew now he couldn’t do anything. His healing capabilities were no different from a human’s now.

"Who are you?" Mauler asked through gritted teeth, agony tearing through his body every second.

The black-armored man didn’t respond. He silently produced a plasma blade—and swiftly severed Mauler’s remaining arm and leg.

"Arrrrrrrrrrrrggghhh! You bastard! Don’t let me get my hands on you!" Mauler screamed. Rage boiled inside him; he desperately wanted to tear this man to pieces.

But with no arms or legs left, Mauler could only curse him, hoping the armored man would get angry enough to finish him off.

"Where is Rebecca Lane?" the man asked through a voice modulator, making his voice unsettling and terrifying.

"Go to hell!!" Mauler snapped back. In response, the man in black armor punched him.

Seeing the punch, Mauler smirked. Even though his regeneration was crippled, his tough skin, dense bones, and muscle strength would easily absorb that kind of blunt pain—

Zaaaapppp!

"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgghhhhh!"

Mauler cried out in agony. The punch wasn’t a simple blow—it was a high-voltage shock delivered through knuckles wired for electric discharge!

The current zapped him for several agonizing seconds before the armored man withdrew his fist, standing silently above Mauler.

"I’ll ask you again... where is Rebecca Lane?" the man repeated.

Now, Mauler didn’t dare do anything reckless. This guy... knew exactly how to counter him. The initial ambush was no accident: the bullet wasn’t just a shot, it was a calculated strike.

If it missed, it would trigger a mine. Then, when Mauler lost balance and tried to recover, the next shot blasted his leg the moment his leg touced the ground. When he tried to soften his fall using his arm, the third shot blew off his arm.

Even when Mauler thought he could bait him into close combat and rely on regeneration to turn the fight around, the man shot him with regeneration-inhibiting nanites, crushing all hope.

This level of precision and helplessness was maddening. But based on all these clues... and the fact he was asking for Rebecca Lane... there was only one possibility.

"Blood Mongoose... is that you? Is this your trap to lure us out!? Aren’t you supposed to be dead ten years ago!?" Mauler fired several questions at the man in black armor.

"I’m not him... Now, answer my question. Where is Rebecca Lane!?" the man in black armor asked again. Then he produced a device that looked like a half-helmet, with various jagged spikes inside designed to pierce into the skull.

"Let me introduce you to this... wonderful device," the black-armored man began. "It’s called... the Neuron Scrambler. Have you ever heard of it?" he asked, his voice distorted into something terrifying by the voice modulator in his helmet.