God Loves Me More

The local superheroes were quite pragmatic, unlike the capes in the neighboring universe who stubbornly resisted force and only responded to coaxing. Half an hour later, the car was back on the road. This time, Inubaku took the driver's seat of his own accord, not saying a single word about needing to concentrate on tracking scents. Along the way, he had even tossed out the dead dog from the back seat and sprayed air freshener, giving the entire interior a clean slate. If he had been a stray before, he was a domesticated hound now. Qi Li said nothing more, pulling out his phone to browse short videos on his own. And so, stopping and starting along the way, they took several turns. Passing beneath a rusty road sign that read "Welcome to Porter Town," the car finally came to a stop in a small settlement. "His scent is strongest here," Inubaku said, sniffing hard and speaking with certainty. "This is the place!" That said, Inubaku still instinctively glanced at Qi Li, awaiting his orders. "Get out." Qi Li put away his phone, gave the word, and stepped cleanly out of the car. Glancing around, it was as typical an American rural town as could be. There was really only one proper main street, lined with the school, clinic, shops, and the like, while everything else consisted uniformly of two-story wooden houses. Before Qi Li could take a few more looks, a harsh, abrasive voice rang out near him: "Who are you people?!" A white sheriff, right hand resting on his holster, walked over. Looking at Qi Li with a mix of vigilance and disgust, he barked out the unfriendly interrogation. From the moment the two men's car crossed into the town limits, their every move had drawn the scrutiny of the locals, and this lawman had rushed over immediately. Qi Li turned to look at him, gestured to the battle suit he was wearing, and said calmly, "As you can see, superheroes. A very dangerous criminal fled here, and we've come to apprehend him." Hearing this, the white sheriff's expression darkened even further. He denied it flat out: "There's no such criminal here. Everyone in this town is a devout believer who puts their faith in Christ and walks by the Bible. The Lord's light has always watched over this place. Strangers aren't welcome here either! Especially not freaks in goofy costumes—or colored folks!" "Now, turn around and get out of here!" The white sheriff glared intensely at Qi Li's heathen face, issuing an ultimatum. His right hand had already unsnapped his holster, fingers resting steadily on the grip of his gun. Meanwhile, the townsfolk who had been watching from around the street began gathering in. Some of them brazenly held shotguns and modified rifles, their gazes brimming with boldness, defiance, contempt, and even an eager itch to wage a crusade against heretics. Qi Li swept a glance over the crowd. Without exception, every single one of them was white. No wonder. Turns out they had stumbled right into Ku Klux Klan country. Then he might as well sic the dog on them. He wasn't the kind of superhero who would tuck tail and run just because ordinary civilians pushed him around. "Inubaku." Qi Li called out. Inubaku, a white man himself, gave a sinister grin. With a sudden bound, he leaped into the crowd, swinging both fists in a flurry that quickly had a bunch of young men crying for their mommies, venting all the terror he had bottled up in front of Qi Li. *Bang! Bang! Bang!* Gunfire erupted. Gunsmoke drifted from the muzzle of the pistol gripped in the white sheriff's hands; in the blink of an eye, he had expertly emptied the entire magazine. Yet at that moment, he stared at Qi Li with utter disbelief. Seeing the slugs he had fired bounce harmlessly off Qi Li and clatter to the ground all around, he couldn't help but mutter: "Dear God..." Qi Li glanced down at the spent bullets scattered on the ground, then lifted his head and offered the white sheriff a faint smile. "God loves me more than He loves you, doesn't He?" At those words, an unprecedented fury surged in the white sheriff's chest. His face flushed beet red as he shouted in protest: "No! God loves me! How could He love you?! You false believer with poison under your tongue! You evil, Satanic spawn in human skin! You—" Qi Li raised a hand, seizing the white sheriff by the collar, and cut him off with that same smile: "Idiot. The Samaritan Church publicly declared long ago that superhumans are the children of God, and the other churches agreed. So, I am a true son of God. You're the false believer defying a son of God—which means you're going straight to Hell when you die, you know that?" The white sheriff's pupils shrank violently, and he frantically shook his head. "No! That's not true!!" "Oh, but it is. In the name of the son of God, I find you guilty, sentenced to meet Satan in the afterlife." With a face full of 'holy devotion,' Qi Li finished delivering his verdict, then hurled the white sheriff into the sky. "Aaaagh—!" A long, drawn-out shriek ripped through the air. A few breaths later, with a dull, heavy thud, a dark figure plummeted from above and slammed hard into the dirt nearby, turning into an unrecognizable puddle of bloody mush. Qi Li brushed the dust from his hands. The good Lord sure was handy. No wonder so many people loved to keep God on their lips—Qi Li was finally appreciating the charm of it. To kill a man, you had to crush his spirit first. He hadn't lied to the sheriff. That fellow Ezekiel had been preaching for years that superhumans were the children of God. Society at large was remarkably receptive to the idea. After all, if you were distinct from ordinary people and awakened superpowers from childhood, wasn't that proof you were chosen by God? What? You don't believe in God? Child, you don't disbelieve in God; your eyes are merely closed for now, and you haven't awakened yet. Know that all mankind are sheep of the Lord, and you are no exception. The ultra-conservative, racist white folk here had clearly holed up in this small town their whole lives. To maintain their so-called 'purity,' they refused contact with the outside world, abhorred electronic entertainment, stayed self-sufficient, and spent every day reciting scripture in church or by the fireplace. Little did they know that God's update patches were piling up, and the meta was evolving at breakneck speed. And now, running into one of God's strictly chosen sons, he had been sent straight to Hell. *Bang, bang, bang...* A few more gunshots rang out afterward, but they quickly fell silent. Qi Li struck decisively. This wasn't like Inubaku killing those two passersby earlier. What he was doing now was purely self-defense. They had fired first. Besides, these bastards were goddamn white supremacists anyway, so Qi Li showed little restraint. Soon, seeing the gruesome carnage, the remaining townsfolk who hadn't fired finally learned what fear meant. Abandoning all talk of protecting their traditional, noble values, they scattered in terror on trembling legs. Seeing this, Qi Li held back, calling off Inubaku, who had fought even more viciously than him. "Keep going," Qi Li said, jerking his chin forward. Inubaku dropped obediently to the ground at once, sniffing once more. Two minutes later. The front door of a two-story wooden house was kicked clean off its hinges and sent flying inside. With his hands behind his back, Qi Li strolled inside, right in time to see Sam sitting on the couch, holding a tub of popcorn and watching a children's show on television with absolute delight. Beside him sat an elderly white woman. Hearing the commotion, Sam looked over with a blank, bewildered stare. Qi Li gave him a smile: "Found you at last."