At Chu Yang's command, before Fubuki even had time to react, Sonic silently appeared right in front of her.
A pair of strange pupils filled Fubuki's vision.
The illusion was activated!
Fubuki's expression changed drastically. She tried to raise a psychic barrier to defend herself.
Her hand had just lifted and formed the casting gesture when her eyes suddenly turned vacant.
"Not bad."
Chu Yang nodded slightly, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
To be able to master illusions to this degree in just a single month was more than enough to prove that Sonic's talent was indeed impressive.
However, he also had a very obvious weakness.
To trap someone with powerful psychic strength like Fubuki in an illusion, given Sonic's current level of mastery, he had to remain in a constant casting state.
If someone attacked him at that moment, he would have no way to defend himself.
In short, his illusion techniques could only serve as support during battle.
After restraining Fubuki, Chu Yang had Dr. Genus bring out a syringe as thick as an arm and draw a huge tube of blood from her.
Fubuki's originally rosy cheeks quickly turned pale. Her limbs grew weak and powerless, and under Sonic's control she barely managed to remain standing, swaying as if she might collapse at any moment.
Once the blood draw was finished, Armored Gorilla, who was assisting, took the syringe from Dr. Genus and prepared to store it in the laboratory.
As he left, he muttered, "What a ruthless guy… drawing that much blood, isn't that enough to kill someone…?"
Dr. Genus grinned at Chu Yang, smiling like a refined scoundrel.
"What's wrong with you? You used a syringe meant for monsters on her—are you trying to kill her?"
Chu Yang burst out cursing.
Dr. Genus's smile froze, and his embarrassment was obvious. He replied weakly, "You didn't tell me to stop just now…"
Chu Yang said matter-of-factly, "You were the one drawing the blood. What does that have to do with me?"
Dr. Genus: "..."
"Forget it, I'm just joking. You've got no sense of humor at all." Chu Yang shook his head helplessly, then told Sonic to release the illusion.
Fubuki, whose consciousness had sunk into chaos, gradually woke up. An overwhelming sense of weakness followed, as if thousands of pounds had been added to her body.
Her eyelids were so heavy she could barely lift them, yet she still forced herself to raise her head and ask, "What… did you do to me?"
Chu Yang replied, "You fell down on your own. Nobody touched you. Don't try to scam us—this is a society ruled by law."
Fubuki wanted to curse, but she was so weak she couldn't even speak clearly. Using all her strength, she glared at Chu Yang, then her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Sonic and Dr. Genus looked at each other.
Chu Yang smacked his lips. "It was just a tube of blood. What a bad temper. Find her a room, and while you're at it, research some devices to suppress psychic powers."
Dr. Genus immediately nodded. "Understood, sir."
At the same time, the driver waiting outside the building noticed that Fubuki hadn't come out for a long time and realized something was wrong. He hurriedly called the Hero Association headquarters.
"Hello, please help me contact the S-Class Rank 2 hero, Tornado of Terror."
"I know she's very busy, but this is extremely important."
"She's not at headquarters? Then please send other heroes for backup."
"Her sister… something's happened to her!"
After hanging up, the driver looked panicked as he drove away, not daring to linger.
About two hours later.
Three figures appeared at the scene.
A-Class Rank 3 hero, Iaian.
A-Class Rank 4 hero, Okamaitachi.
A-Class Rank 5 hero, Bushidrill.
Because Chu Yang was now ranked A-Class Rank 1, pushing Sweet Mask down to second place, the rankings of these three had all dropped by one.
All three were disciples of the S-Class Rank 4 hero, Atomic Samurai.
By coincidence, the three fellow disciples were carrying out a mission in a nearby city and happened to receive this rescue request.
"Mobilizing the three of us just to rescue a B-Class hero—don't you think that's overkill?"
"Blizzard of Hell may be B-Class Rank 1, but her true strength is absolutely A-Class. Don't underestimate her."
"A hero who relies on forming cliques just to stay at B-Class Rank 1—what's there to praise?"
"By the way, we don't even know who the enemy is. According to the driver's description, the other side doesn't seem to be a monster."
As they talked, the three continued advancing toward the House of Evolution. After passing through more than half the forest, they finally saw the building standing in the darkness.
"Building a structure in such a desolate place—either the owner's an idiot, or there's something fishy going on."
Okamaitachi sized up the building with disdain.
"Stay alert."
Iaian solemnly warned the other two and took the lead, cautiously entering the building.
Okamaitachi and Bushidrill followed closely behind.
The three carefully searched the empty building but found no signs of human activity.
"The building's empty. There are extremely intense battle traces on the first floor and outside, but they're not from today."
"From the surrounding wreckage, it looks like both sides were at Demon-level, maybe even higher."
"This place feels very wrong. Should we contact headquarters?"
"Hey, hey, aren't you afraid people will laugh at us? We're three of the top five A-Class heroes."
Okamaitachi and Bushidrill started arguing due to their differing opinions.
"The situation isn't clear yet, and you still have the mood to argue? Have you forgotten what Master taught us?"
Iaian scolded them with a stern expression.
Okamaitachi and Bushidrill immediately fell silent. The current situation really wasn't suitable for further arguing.
"Don't rush to notify headquarters. Let's continue investigating. At the very least, we need to find Miss Fubuki's whereabouts and figure out what's going on."
"No matter how strong the enemy is, they shouldn't be able to leave the three of us behind at the same time."
The two agreed with Iaian's assessment, so they split up to search separately, hoping to find some clues.
The reason Fubuki was able to accurately locate the basement entrance was because of her powerful psychic abilities, along with Sonic guiding her from the front.
The trio of swordsmen obviously didn't have such advantages.
Still, their movements ended up alerting Dr. Genus and Chu Yang, who were in the middle of experiments.
Chu Yang had no choice but to call Sonic over and scold him again, ordering him to deal with the three uninvited guests aboveground.
"As a ninja, you're full of holes. You're a disappointment!"
"A tour guide would suit you better."
Chu Yang's criticism completely provoked Sonic. His eyes turned red, killing intent overflowing.
At that moment, Dr. Genus used the computer to identify the three men and immediately tried to dissuade him. "Mr. Sonic, please don't act rashly. All three of them are top-five A-Class heroes."
"And their teacher is an S-Class hero."
"We've already offended one S-Class hero, Tornado of Terror. If we offend another S-Class hero too, I'm afraid—"
Worried about causing trouble for Chu Yang, Sonic silently glanced at him.
"What are you looking at?!"
"Capture all of them and use them for experiments!"
.........
"Found it!"
"There's a door here."
Iaian accidentally kicked a raised section of the floor and discovered a hidden entrance beneath his feet.
Okamaitachi and Bushidrill hurried over when they heard him.
The three looked delighted as they stood at the entrance, discussing how to go down.
Okamaitachi was impatient by nature. With the entrance right in front of him, he couldn't wait any longer and bent down to pull open the basement door.
A gust of wind swept past.
From the darkness came a faint killing intent.
Iaian drew his katana at once and held it defensively in front of him.
Okamaitachi and Bushidrill were still frozen in place.
A cold blade suddenly appeared before their eyes.
A flash of steel burst forth!
"Get back!"
Iaian stepped forward and, at the critical moment, blocked the sneak attack for the other two.
At the instant the two swords clashed, by the faint light of the sparks, Iaian saw the enemy's face.
It was young and handsome.
Not a monster!
"Stop—we're not bad people…"
Before Iaian could finish speaking, the enemy suddenly vanished again.
His pupils shrank sharply, and the hair on his back stood on end!
The vanished katana was now pressed against the back of his armored vest, ready to pierce straight through his heart at any moment!
Defeat!
With just a single exchange, he had been beaten so thoroughly that he had no ability to fight back!
Iaian's face turned ashen.
Only after seeing Iaian held at blade-point did Okamaitachi and Bushidrill belatedly draw their swords.
Iaian let out a muffled groan as the katana behind him easily cut through his armor and stabbed into his flesh.
Okamaitachi and Bushidrill instantly froze in place, not daring to make another move.
Sonic stared at them coldly. "Wandering into someone else's territory so casually—are you prepared to pay the price?"
Enduring the pain in his back, Iaian spoke in a deep voice. "We're here to find someone. You should know where she is…"
"Oh? That idiot woman?" Sonic said indifferently. "She didn't understand the rules either, so I gave her a little punishment."
Okamaitachi seemed to recall something and shouted, "I've seen your file! You're the C-Class Rank 198 hero, Speed-o'-Sound Sonic, right?"
"That's right. I am the famous Speed-o'-Sound Sonic." The corner of Sonic's mouth lifted unconsciously, and he even deliberately emphasized the word "ninja."
Bushidrill asked in confusion, "We're all heroes from the Hero Association. Why are you doing this?"
"Hah?" Sonic sneered disdainfully. "What are we, exactly? Don't lump me together with trash like you, okay?"
"Who says heroes have to love each other?"
Bushidrill was left speechless by the retort. He glared angrily at Sonic, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. "You rude bastard."
Standing on the brink of life and death, Iaian remained relatively calm. He took a deep breath and said, "Miss Fubuki came here without any malicious intent. She only wanted to recruit you. We don't have any ill intentions either—we just want to take her back."
"Can you put down your weapon? Let's talk this through properly."
Sonic actually sheathed his blade.
A look of surprise appeared on Iaian's face, but the next instant, pain exploded at the back of his head and his vision went black.
Before the disbelieving eyes of Okamaitachi and Bushidrill, Sonic slammed the pommel of his sword viciously into Iaian's head.
Thud!
Iaian collapsed straight to the ground.
Sonic turned around and crooked his finger at the two stunned men.
"You despicable bastard."
Furious beyond measure, Okamaitachi charged forward. In his view, Sonic had only managed to defeat Iaian through sneak attacks.
In a head-on fight, there was no way this bottom-ranked C-Class guy could be his opponent!
"You have far too many openings in your movements. A dignified top-five A-Class hero—if this is all you've got, I'll be very disappointed."
Sonic brought two fingers together, formed a hand seal with one hand, and said softly, "Shadow Clone Technique."
Three Sonics appeared on the spot, forming a pincer formation that surrounded Okamaitachi.
Okamaitachi panicked, glancing left and right, trying to identify the real Sonic.
What he didn't know was that all three Sonics were solid bodies—there wasn't the slightest flaw to be found.
Sonic himself didn't move. He had the other two shadow clones go forward to fight Okamaitachi, while he turned to face Bushidrill.
"The one who left is the real one! The two in front of me are fakes!"
Okamaitachi turned around in delight, about to chase after Sonic. The next second, however, the katana in a shadow clone's hand pierced straight through his shoulder.
Damn it!
Okamaitachi turned back in horror.
How is this one real?!
Seeing Okamaitachi injured, Bushidrill instinctively ignored the Sonic in front of him and rushed over.
His thinking was similar to Okamaitachi's—if that one was the real body, then the one in front of him had to be fake.
At the moment the two brushed past each other, Bushidrill heard a mocking voice by his ear.
"How stupid."
"You've fought monsters for so many years—haven't you seen abilities like this before?"
Bushidrill was jolted in shock.
Sonic's fist slammed into his abdomen. In an instant, it felt as if his internal organs were being torn apart by excruciating pain.
Bushidrill curled up and slowly collapsed to the ground.
Okamaitachi, who was being beaten by two shadow clones, grit his teeth and held on for a while, but in the end, he lost consciousness from excessive blood loss.
"All three taken care of. That should calm Master down, right?"
Sonic and his two shadow clones hoisted up Iaian and the others and vanished into the entrance to the basement.
Early the next morning.
Hero Association headquarters had already descended into chaos.
Inside the conference room, directors and advisors argued nonstop.
Blizzard of Hell Fubuki, Iaian, Okamaitachi, and Bushidrill—four heroes had gone missing, three of whom were top-five A-Class heroes.
If this news got out, the Hero Association's reputation would take a massive hit!
Even more seriously, these people all had extremely close ties to S-Class heroes.
Disciples of the S-Class Rank 4 hero, Atomic Samurai.
And the younger sister of the S-Class Rank 2 hero, Tornado of Terror.
Atomic Samurai aside, Tornado was the Hero Association's calling card. With the whereabouts of the top hero "Blast" unknown, she was the Association's strongest trump card!
Most of the Dragon-level monsters that had appeared in the news were dealt with by Tornado herself.
The consequences of offending Tornado were easy to imagine.
To put it bluntly, the Hero Association could lose half its power because of this.
"What's going on with this House of Evolution? Didn't we already send people to wipe it out last time? How are there still accomplices?"
"These 'accomplices' seem to be the heroes we sent last time…"
"What do you mean?"
"The report says that the hero 'Yang,' who has been stationed in City D for a long time, appears to have taken the House of Evolution as his new base."
"Miss Fubuki seems to have gone there to recruit him—and ended up missing."
"A hero kidnapping heroes? That's the biggest joke I've heard all year!"
"For now, don't let the news leak out!"
"Hurry and send someone to negotiate. Let's see what he's really up to."
"If even A-Class heroes were wiped out, I'm afraid only S-Class heroes will be able to handle this…"
"S-Class heroes all have their own missions. Some of them don't even want to leave their own cities. Unless it's an extremely urgent situation, it's very hard to mobilize them."
Bang!!!
The conference room doors were violently slammed open.
A small girl in a green dress walked in with a cold expression.
"No need to trouble anyone else!"
"I'll go personally!"
......…
House of Evolution.
Dr. Genus was holding a stack of materials, his face full of helplessness.
"My lord, the bloodline factors of those three swordsmen aren't anything special. They don't have any research value."
"We should just let them go."
"They've got quite the appetite too—almost on par with Armored Gorilla. Our food reserves are dropping rapidly."
The more he spoke, the more Dr. Genus felt like this was a huge loss.
Chu Yang seemed not to hear him at all. He lowered his head, staring at the experimental data, lost in thought.
Those three swordsmen were clearly far stronger than ordinary people, so why did their genetic data show no obvious changes?
On the contrary, Fubuki, who possessed psychic powers, displayed genetic traits similar to those of monsters.
"The swordsmen gained their power through their own training, while the psychic abilities of Fubuki and Tornado are more like mutations?"
"Only mutation-like paths would cause genetic expressions that differ from normal people—and even be heritable…"
"Monsterization can indirectly alter the upper limit of a species' limiter."
"That indirectly proves that a being's limiter has a preset ceiling."
"Who set it? 'God'?"
"Probably not…"
"If it were that powerful, it wouldn't be so wary of Blast and Saitama."
"'God' seems more like a monster that broke its limiter, but because of some flaw, it can't grow infinitely stronger like Saitama."
"There's also the possibility that it's an extraterrestrial species. The emergence of monsters feels like a kind of 'infection.'"
"If this line of thinking continues, the One Punch Man world would turn into a Cthulhu-style setting." Chu Yang sighed. His mind felt exhausted—there was too little information, and all these conjectures felt like baseless speculation.
"My lord, what I just said…"
Dr. Genus smiled awkwardly.
"Oh, let them go. There's no need to keep Fubuki either—her psychic abilities have already been mostly analyzed."
Chu Yang stood up, preparing to release them together with Dr. Genus.
"Can the materials provided by the Subterranean King be used to make a suit of battle armor?"
While walking down the corridor, Chu Yang suddenly asked,
"It can be done, but the strength won't be as high as originally expected. It's more than enough to deal with A-Class heroes or Demon-level monsters, but beyond that it becomes difficult."
"Even if rare metals are added, it probably still wouldn't be able to withstand attacks from S-Class heroes or Dragon-level monsters."
"If you want to reach the combat power you preset, I'm afraid we'll still need Dragon-level monsters as materials."
With the complete design blueprints in hand, Dr. Genus spent just one night creating an entry-level Iron Man–style suit of armor.
"Oh, right. The artificial intelligence system I gave you also needs to be developed in parallel. Those suits aren't meant for you alone to wear."
Chu Yang reminded Dr. Genus seriously. What he wanted to build was a steel legion, powerful enough to guard all the research data in the laboratory.
He didn't want to step out for a trip one day and come back to find the entire place looted clean.
Besides, relying on Sonic alone to gather experimental materials was far too inefficient.
With a powerful force at hand, everything would be much more convenient.
The three swordsmen and Fubuki were all held in separate small rooms, and Fubuki's room even had devices to suppress psychic powers.
After having such a large amount of blood drawn, even if she were locked in an ordinary room, Fubuki wouldn't have the strength to escape.
Chu Yang opened the door and happened to see Fubuki holding a large bag of red dates, eating with great relish.
When she saw Chu Yang, the bit of color she had finally regained in her face instantly drained away.
"What are you trying to do now?"
Fubuki's lips trembled like a startled deer.
"In the end, we didn't do anything strange to you, okay? Don't make such a fuss."
"I'm here to tell you that you can leave."
Chu Yang didn't even step into the room or say anything more to her before walking straight toward the next room.
Fubuki stared blankly at his departing figure.
Dr. Genus was more gentlemanly. Before leaving, he quietly reminded her, "Miss Fubuki, if you don't leave now, my lord might change his mind."
Fubuki shuddered violently. She stood up and hurried out. Once outside the room, she said coldly, "You not only rejected my recruitment, but treated me like this. Next time we meet, the unlucky ones will be you."
Dr. Genus's expression darkened. "If my lord heard what you just said, you probably really wouldn't be able to leave."
Fubuki's face went pale. She didn't dare continue talking back and immediately lowered her head and fled outside.
The remaining three swordsmen were much the same. Even as they left, they couldn't resist throwing out a few taunts.
However, they didn't have Fubuki's luck. They were directly beaten up by Chu Yang and left the gates of the House of Evolution with bruised and swollen faces.
The moment the three stepped outside, they saw another figure standing beside Fubuki.
The same hair color, the same outfit, similar facial features—the only difference was their stature.
One was tall and voluptuous, the other looked like an elementary schooler.
"S-Class Rank 2 hero… Tornado of Terror."
Iaian stared at the newcomer in shock. Aside from the rarely seen top hero Blast, she was the strongest hero on Earth.
"Ranked even higher than Master…"
Okamaitachi and Bushidrill swallowed hard, their mouths dry.
"You escaped from the House of Evolution?"
Tornado slowly floated up above their heads, her gaze frighteningly cold.
"No… we were released."
Iaian answered haltingly.
"What did the people inside do to you?"
Tornado glanced at Fubuki. The relationship between the sisters wasn't good, and Fubuki hadn't mentioned anything about what she experienced inside.
"Just got beaten a bit… and had some blood drawn…"
"That's enough. I'm not interested in hearing the rest."
With that, Tornado leaped upward, flying above the entire building. She waved her finger, and psychic power rapidly spread over the structure.
The whole building shook violently!
Even the ground itself trembled.
Iaian and the others were thrown off balance, completely unable to stand steady.
The next second—
Before their horrified eyes, the House of Evolution was ripped straight out of the ground, as if someone had forcibly torn it free.
"What a terrifying ability!"
The three stared up at Tornado in the sky, their faces pale, awe rising from the depths of their hearts. Faced with such overwhelming power, one could only feel insignificant.
Fubuki watched the scene with mixed emotions.
The sisters possessed the same type of power, yet Tornado crushed Fubuki in every way. Deep in her heart, her feelings toward Tornado were extremely complicated.
Tornado looked down coldly. "If you don't want to be caught in the aftermath, hurry up and leave, you A-Class heroes."
Iaian's expression changed. He immediately led the other two toward the forest, while Fubuki had already left ahead of them.
Tornado waved her hand toward the ground. The building, already floating high in the air, suddenly plummeted downward. With psychic power reinforcing it, it fell like a meteor smashing toward the earth.
From a distance, Fubuki and the others stood frozen, staring at the apocalyptic scene.
Just as the building was less than a meter from the ground, it abruptly froze in midair!
A lazy voice rang out.
"Why does someone always want to mess with my building?"
Chu Yang sounded utterly exasperated.
Last time Genos came, he wanted to blow this place flat.
After finally protecting it—
This time someone went and yanked the whole building up.
Are you people sick? Why are you always picking on my building?
The core of the House of Evolution lay directly beneath it. Losing the building was no different from a person walking around naked.
"Damn it all."
Chu Yang spat on the ground and looked up at Tornado, his expression turning unfriendly.
Equally massive magical power spread across the entire building, competing with Tornado's psychic power for control.
Magic versus psychic power.
Chu Yang's magic, influenced by Wood Release, had undergone mutation, its growth nearly limitless.
As the number of his incarnations across different worlds continued to increase, under shared amplification, his current magic reserves had reached an utterly terrifying level.
He didn't even need to use his full strength to easily fix the building in place.
By contrast, Tornado gradually began to feel immense pressure.
"Hey, little one, tearing down someone else's building the first time you meet them is a bit rude, don't you think?"
"Cut the crap!"
Tornado roared and continued increasing her psychic output. The thing she hated most in her life was being called a "little one."
"Looks like someone's embarrassed and angry."
Chu Yang chuckled and likewise began to pour in more magic.
The clash of the two supernatural forces caused the world to change color. Dark clouds gathered overhead, thunder rumbled, and the entire space shook violently.
"You've got to be kidding… isn't this guy supposed to be an A-Class hero? Why does he look this strong?"
Fubuki lost control of her emotions. In her heart, Tornado had always been the strongest hero, yet now she seemed to be at a disadvantage.
Iaian and the others watched the scene in terror as well.
"I heard that the reason the hero called 'Yang' became an A-Class hero was because he eliminated a monster rated as Demon-level."
"But that Demon-level monster—Master once saw it on TV and said its destructive power was absolutely Dragon-level."
Okamaitachi gradually recalled more intelligence. Among the four present, he was the only one who had thoroughly studied Chu Yang's background.
"Being able to solo a Dragon-level monster—that's combat power only an S-Class hero should have, isn't it?!"
Bushidrill clutched his stomach in regret. If he'd known, he would never have waded into this mess.
Cracks began to appear across the building's surface. If the two forces continued pulling against each other, it would likely shatter completely.
Noticing this, Chu Yang forcibly pressed the building back to the ground, using massive amounts of magic to squeeze Tornado's psychic power out.
As the psychic power dissipated, Tornado gasped heavily, sweat pouring down like rain. An unprecedented exhaustion washed over her, leaving her dazed.
Of everyone present, no one was more shocked than she was.
"You're the one who provoked me first!"
How could someone as proud as Tornado possibly admit defeat?
Her figure rose even higher as a storm gathered around her. Her powerful psychic power almost became visible to the naked eye.
Dense whistling sounds came from within the clouds.
One massive meteor after another, drawn by psychic force, flew in from outer space. Each was wrapped in blazing flames, turning into gigantic fireballs that hurtled toward the location of the House of Evolution.
"A meteor shower—quite spectacular."
Chu Yang let out a sigh of admiration, appreciating the magnificent sight before him.
"This is bad… everything around here will be destroyed!"
Fubuki clenched her teeth, trembling, beads of sweat sliding down her forehead. With so many meteors crashing down, not only would the House of Evolution be annihilated—even the entire mountain range and forest would be wiped off the map!
"…This place is remote enough that there shouldn't be any civilians around, right?"
The more Iaian spoke, the more frightened he became, his voice growing softer and softer. In a situation like this, even they could barely look after themselves.
Then—
The four of them simultaneously saw Chu Yang fly up into the sky, rising until he was roughly level with Tornado.
Tornado stared at Chu Yang and asked, "Are you an esper too?"
Chu Yang shook his head. "I've got quite a few professions, but this really isn't one of them."
Tornado felt he was mocking her, and her expression grew increasingly ugly.
"The scenery is spectacular, but this is where it ends. I don't have the time to build a second laboratory."
Chu Yang raised both hands. The falling meteor swarm froze in place at the same instant. This time, he wasn't just using magic—he had also added Earth Release: Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique.
The meteors floated quietly in midair, unable to descend even a single centimeter.
For the first time in her life, Tornado experienced the same sense of powerlessness Fubuki often felt.
This man she had never met before almost completely suppressed her abilities in every aspect.
"Don't think I'll admit defeat just because of this!"
Tornado roared, unleashing all of her psychic power, which surged outward like a tsunami.
"You're pretty annoying too."
Chu Yang snorted coldly. He didn't use magic to counter the psychic wave. Instead, he released all of his Conqueror's Haki at once.
An endless golden tide instantly swallowed the green psychic power Tornado had released.
Haki was invisible to ordinary people.
But in the eyes of Tornado and Fubuki, it was undeniably real. The sisters both saw a vast, overwhelming golden ocean spreading across the sky.
An indescribable immensity, a terrifying pressure, made them feel as though they were suffocating.
The instant her body was engulfed by Conqueror's Haki, Tornado's spirit and soul suffered an unprecedented shock.
She was the person who lasted the longest under Chu Yang's Haki so far.
Only after ten seconds did Tornado completely lose consciousness, falling from the sky.
Fubuki collapsed weakly to the ground, staring blankly at the heavens as she murmured, "My sister… actually lost…"
Chu Yang used the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique to support Tornado as she slowly descended, placed her on the ground, then habitually took out a syringe and stabbed it straight into her.
"Looking at how malnourished she is, I'd better draw a bit less."
As he drew her blood, Chu Yang shook his head helplessly and smiled. "Sigh, I'm really too kind."
In the monitoring room, Dr. Genus's mouth twitched.
Worried about her sister's safety, Fubuki forced herself to run over. When she saw Chu Yang drawing blood, her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Iaian and the other two were the same. They could only stand there silently, watching Chu Yang draw a full, large tube of blood, their scalps tingling.
After finishing the blood draw, Chu Yang cast a levitation spell on Tornado's body. She slowly floated over to Fubuki and was caught in her arms.
"If you dare come again next time, I'll conduct more in-depth research. When that happens, don't blame me if you're missing an arm or a leg…"
Chu Yang stared at them with a smiling expression.
The hair on their bodies stood on end!
Without a word, the four of them turned and bolted at full speed, fleeing for their lives, tears welling up in their eyes as they ran.
Too terrifying!
"Tsk, tsk."
Chu Yang turned his head and looked at the building, now battered and tattered from the clash between magic and psychic power, and could only shake his head helplessly.
No matter how he looked at it, it would need to be rebuilt.
"How about copying the Avengers Base and building one like that? After all, we'll need to store a lot of Iron Man suits in the future."
"The security will need an upgrade too. Otherwise, anyone can just wander in."
"I sent Tornado packing this time—will Blast be the one who comes next?"
"Why does it feel like I'm going further and further down the path of a villain…"
...
The S-Class Rank 2 hero, Tornado, was carried back.
She remained unconscious the entire time.
The entire Hero Association headquarters—from the directors to the heads of various departments—anyone with sufficient rank had more or less received the news.
That was Tornado of Terror!
The strongest existence aside from the top hero, Blast.
Yet she had been defeated without any suspense.
The Hero Association plunged into unprecedented chaos.
There was no need to deliberately convene a meeting—crowds had already gathered outside the conference room.
"How did even Tornado get taken out?"
"If this gets out, the Hero Association's reputation will hit rock bottom!"
"What exactly is this House of Evolution?"
"That's the wrong question. The real issue is the hero who knocked Tornado unconscious, isn't it?"
"Hurry up and pull his file!"
Secretaries hurried back and forth through the corridors. After a while, Chu Yang's registration information was placed on the conference table.
The rating column read: A-Class.
The conference room instantly fell silent.
Everyone looked at one another.
"He's only been a hero for a few months?"
"Not selected… he became a hero through recommendation? Who was his recommender?"
The directors whispered among themselves, all wearing puzzled expressions. None of them remembered recommending such a hero.
In a corner, someone tremblingly raised a hand.
"I was his recommender… and also his liaison officer…"
Foster was on the verge of tears.
He had hoped that one day Chu Yang would become a high-ranking hero, raising his own status and treatment at headquarters as well.
But he had never imagined that Chu Yang would make his name in this way.
"Since you're his liaison officer, you should understand him. Tell everyone—what kind of person is this hero who defeated Tornado?"
All eyes in the room focused on Foster.
Foster's heart was practically in his throat. With no choice, he steeled himself, stepped forward, and vividly recounted the process of Chu Yang joining the Hero Association.
After gaining a preliminary understanding, one of the directors asked, "Foster, in your opinion, does the hero Yang hold any hostility toward us?"
Foster shook his head. "I've never seen him go out of his way to cause trouble. Under normal circumstances, as long as you don't provoke him, he won't provoke you. Yang is a very principled person."
The directors fell into contemplation.
In truth, it had been Fubuki who entered someone else's territory without warning, followed by Tornado storming in and causing utter chaos.
From beginning to end, there was no legitimate justification on their side. Instead, Chu Yang seemed more like he was acting in self-defense.
Perhaps a bit excessive… but still.
"Ahem, how about this—Foster, you'll represent the Hero Association and go negotiate with Yang, conveying our apology."
"That's right! Not just an apology—we should also raise his ranking!"
"A hero who can defeat Tornado—how can he be just A-Class? That's far too disrespectful!"
"Everyone, calm down. This kind of matter should be discussed with him personally. If he's dissatisfied with the new ranking, it could become troublesome instead."
Seeing the directors' attitudes make a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn, Foster couldn't help but feel excited.
From their reactions, he could sense that they were considering pushing Chu Yang as the new figurehead!
A hero even stronger than Tornado—perhaps even able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Blast.
If successful, the Hero Association's influence would rise to another level.
What would follow would be massive investments and advertising. With a bit of promotion, they could make a fortune.
As the saying goes, when one person attains the Dao, even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.
If Chu Yang truly became a top-ranked S-Class hero, then at the very least, Foster could secure a supervisory position.
Just imagining his future days made Foster grin from ear to ear.
Foster left the conference room, preparing to find Chu Yang. As he closed the door, listening to the laughter inside, his mood suddenly became strange.
Inside that room, not a single person cared about Tornado's injuries.
Everyone was simply happy about the emergence of a new money-making pillar.
A chill rose from the depths of Foster's heart.
...
Having learned from previous experience, Foster called Chu Yang before heading to the House of Evolution. When he arrived, someone was already waiting to greet him at the entrance.
Calling it a "someone" wasn't quite accurate.
It was an armored gorilla.
"A monster…"
Foster stared blankly, mouth agape.
"Come with me. My lord is waiting for you downstairs."
Armored Gorilla scratched his head. He had already anticipated this reaction. Staying by Chu Yang's side, he would encounter many more awkward moments like this in the future.
Foster followed Armored Gorilla into the underground laboratory.
Chu Yang was waiting for him in a room filled with strange instruments.
Foster cleared his throat and walked over to exchange pleasantries with Chu Yang.
Before long, Armored Gorilla came over carrying coffee.
"This scene is very similar to when we first met."
Chu Yang took the coffee from its hands, turned, and handed it to Foster, joking, "You're here to bring me a contract again?"
Chu Yang was as amicable as ever, easing the weight in Foster's heart. He chuckled. "More or less."
Then he explained his purpose, repeating the contents of today's meeting.
"You know, I've never really cared about rankings—honestly, I don't even care much about being a hero."
"Whether my ranking goes up or down doesn't matter to me. As long as you're happy."
When Chu Yang had first become a hero stationed in City D, it had only been to get in contact with Saitama.
Now that he had already obtained Saitama's blood sample, the profession of hero had become even less important to him.
"You can state any conditions you want. Headquarters will try its best to meet them."
Foster smiled awkwardly and rubbed his hands together. What he feared most was Chu Yang's indifferent attitude.
After all, when they first met, Chu Yang had decisively rejected the Hero Association's contract due to dissatisfaction with the terms.
"Conditions…"
After pondering for a moment, Chu Yang smiled meaningfully. "My conditions might be quite harsh. Are you sure you want to hear them?"
Foster's heart skipped a beat, but he forced a smile. "Please, go ahead."
Chu Yang said, "First, regarding mission execution, I want absolute autonomy."
Which meant: I'll do it if I feel like it; if I don't, I won't.
Foster let out a sigh of relief. He didn't think this demand was excessive at all.
There were plenty of S-Class heroes who ignored summons.
Foster nodded. "No problem."
"Second." Chu Yang's expression grew serious. "I need a large number of monster corpses for research—especially Demon-level or Dragon-level monster corpses."
Foster froze, then hurriedly explained, "Monster corpses—especially Dragon-level ones—are important assets of the Hero Association. I've never seen them taken out for transactions."
Chu Yang stared at him without speaking.
"Please wait a moment."
Foster stood up, took out his phone, and walked to a corner. After making a call, he spoke anxiously for a while.
A moment later, he returned with a face full of regret and shook his head at Chu Yang.
Chu Yang's calm face showed no emotion.
"In that case, I refuse this contract."
(End of Chapter)