Here is your passage with grammatical errors corrected, awkward phrasing improved, and tense consistency fixed — while keeping your tone, style, and narrative voice intact.
"Crimson Drink looks no different from any strawberry-flavoured drink."
The sound of a can hitting the floor from inside the vending machine could be heard. Makoto reached into the vending machine, only to realise the can had gotten stuck.
"But once you've tried it, I can assure you, it tastes really good."
Makoto started kicking the vending machine.
Karen, standing by his side, facepalmed.
Karen walked up to him and pushed him aside.
Under Makoto's eyes, Karen inserted his fingers into the keyhole of the vending machine. The tips of his fingers melted, flowing right into the machine.
Click!
The vending machine finally clicked open. Lo and behold, there were barely any Crimson Snacks left.
A few cans of Crimson Drink, a few Crimson Bars, five Crimson Jellies, and three Crimlies.
"What the hell is this thing?" Karen picked up a bag of Crimly.
From what he could see, it was a translucent package of red paste. On the package, an image of a strawberry with the disgusting face of that woman was plastered on it.
"Crimly, a meal on the go."
"A packet of strawberry-flavoured edible paste."
"These things might look unhealthy at a glance, but they've been approved by the World Health Association. They're filled with essential nutrients. It's even safe enough for kids to have them for lunch every day,"
Makoto said while snacking on a Crimson Bar.
"Try some. Your body needs all that energy, doesn't it?"
Karen unscrewed the top of the packet before hesitantly placing the tube to his mouth.
The scent and taste of strawberry assaulted his senses. It was overwhelming, and that disgusting feeling of a hearty home-cooked meal invaded his taste buds.
Karen blinked and pulled the tube away from his mouth.
"Tastes the same, just more artificial." Karen gagged at the first slurp, his face contorting in disgust.
All the same.
Almost the same.
That texture — that thick paste made from blended strawberries and a few random berries. It was just the jelly version of the broth he used to enjoy as a child.
"I really hate strawberry."
And now that they used artificial flavouring, he hated it even more.
Even then, Karen couldn't help but slurp a few more times from the packet. It tasted disgusting, but oddly warm.
"You'll come to love it eventually," Makoto chuckled, about to unwrap another bar.
Karen immediately snatched the bar from his hand.
Ignoring the boy's protesting look, Karen unwrapped the energy bar and shoved it all into his mouth.
The same disgusting artificial sweeteners. But the taste was almost the same. It was just that the artificial sweeteners had worsened the flavour slightly.
"Weird, it used to taste better," Makoto said as he took a sip from the Crimson Drink.
Karen didn't even bother glancing at him.
Sipping the Crimson Drink, the taste was also slightly worse than he had imagined.
Grabbing a few of the snacks, Karen placed them inside a small box.
The box was placed just beside the vending machine.
"What are you doing?" Makoto asked, confused.
"Just helping the masses."
"You know chances are, someone will just take all the food away without bothering to spare others, right?"
"Then that means I helped one greedy bastard live a little longer," Karen replied.
"Your words make you sound like someone who won't kill," Makoto said, amused. "And such a code only means you'll get killed later on."
"Don't worry. Violence and cruelty run in my blood."
"Well, you did beat a top-ranking hero like Ragdoll just a few hours ago."
Makoto was reminded of the scene from the previous night. All the gang members had been beaten badly, but none of them were dead.
However, right after that, Karen had fought against a top-ranking hero from the United Federation of America. Surprisingly, this kid was strong enough to destroy a set of armour that could multiply the battle power of any hero.
Just last night, he had once again beaten a top-ranking hero. This time, one from Cybercity.
"Samara. I've heard a lot about it."
"A country many have denied sovereignty to because they benefit from the illegal regime occupying the land of the Samarans."
"From what I've heard, bombings, terrorist attacks, and civil wars orchestrated by the occupiers happen quite often."
"In such a country, a boy growing up there possessing strength worthy enough to survive in such a hellish place is only to be expected."
It was then that Makoto finally came to a realisation.
Karen Brandon is strong.
Strong enough to eradicate those gangs from the face of the earth.
Strong enough to heavily injure one of the best Underworld Heroes of the United American Federation.
Strong enough to kill all the members of the hero group Ascengers.
"The kid's been holding back," Wak Tolak, who had been told everything that happened, said while cleaning the wine glasses.
Saranjana Bar was, as usual, lacking customers at this hour, making the place completely silent.
In the distance, Makoto leaned back against his chair while resting his legs on the round table.
"Holding back?" Makoto tilted his head.
"Don't think too much about it. You idiots can consider yourselves lucky. If not for the mental block placed on his mind, all the heroes of Cybercity would be hunting him down for killing the entirety of Undercity the moment he stepped foot into this city."
"Is this related to his adoptive father?"
"We don't talk about him. You kids are still too young."
Makoto rolled his eyes.
Wak Tolak sneered. "By the way, where's the kid?"
"Karen? He's been stuck inside his room for the past few days. He hasn't even bothered to come out to eat. Who knows, he's probably dead inside."
As for our protagonist, he was currently sitting inside his room.
Saranjana Bar itself wasn't that big.
On the ground floor was the bar, alongside the kitchen and the entrance to the underground basement. On the second floor, there were multiple rooms that Wak Tolak occasionally rented out. Some of these rooms were now occupied by him, Makoto, and the old man.
It could be said that the room was quite small.
Just a wardrobe, a bed, a small desk, and a chair.
For the last few days, Karen hadn't gotten any sleep.
He had been busy inside his room, trying to prove his theory correct.
"Too much energy…"
"It'll short-circuit if this goes on…"
"Too much…"
"How? How do I make the energy last longer…?"
On the desk, a messy blueprint was stretched across the surface. Pieces of the batteries that he and Makoto had stolen littered the desk, creating quite a mess.
Karen took a sip from the Crimson Drink. God knew how many cans of the carbonated drink he had consumed.
It was quite ironic.
"I am now one of her biggest customers," Karen smiled mockingly.
The can was thrown to the floor. The sound of metal clanking against the floorboards resounded inside the tiny room like thunder.
On the floor, there were already piles of these cans and wrappers of Crimson Snacks scattered everywhere.
Karen continued his work.
It was tiring, but he was already used to it.
Being raised in an environment that required him to constantly stay on edge had its benefits, if viewed from another perspective.
However, no matter how nutritious these snacks were, there was still a limit to the human body. Nutrients were useless if the body barely got any rest.
Karen's body finally gave in. He collapsed to the floor and fell asleep just like that.
A while later, a figure entered his room. The figure stood looming over Karen's unconscious body, his eyes drilling into his back.
A finger stretched out, checking the boy's pulse.
The man walked to his side, watching in amusement the white-haired boy.
Right now, Karen wasn't wearing any mask, and in his sleep, he looked no different from any ordinary child.
"What are you doing here, Trixtan?" A cold voice suddenly interrupted the man's quiet moment.
"Just visiting my 'nephew'," the man named Trixtan said with a smile.
However, there was something unsettling about that smile.
He glanced at the middle-aged man standing by the doorframe.
Wak Tolak leaned his muscular figure against the frame, arms crossed.
"You broke into my bar in the middle of the night and say you're visiting a 'nephew'?" Wak Tolak glared at him.
The man mused, "Come on, we used to be family."
"After manipulating my student into smuggling you into this city, did you really think I would just let it be?" Wak Tolak retorted.
"Tolak, my man, that was necessary," the man said, amused by the middle-aged man's reaction.
"What could possibly be so necessary that even the best hacker in the world had to personally enter this city illegally?" Wak Tolak stated matter-of-factly.
"Didn't the kid also enter the city illegally?" the man replied just as matter-of-factly.
At that, Wak Tolak was left speechless.
Casually, the man lifted Karen's head from the desk and slipped the blueprint out. He then placed a pillow beneath his head before gently laying him down on the mattress, tucking him in properly.
The man flipped the blueprint open, smiling as he praised, "Quite talented, the boy is. A self-sustaining energy source that could power a few blocks. A genius… but naive."
Then, picking up a pen, the man started writing notes all over the blueprint.
"Don't worry. The consciousness inside the boy's head will make sure to protect these little secrets of ours."