Foster didn't spell it out, but Chu Yang could already guess what the higher-ups of the Hero Association were thinking.
They wanted to treat him as a money-making tool—without paying a corresponding price? How could that be acceptable?
Chu Yang could freeload off others if he wanted, but others freeloading off him? Not a chance.
There were only two choices placed in front of that group of directors.
Either agree to Chu Yang's conditions and cooperate happily.
Or conceal Tornado's crushing defeat and pretend that nothing had happened.
They chose the difficult latter option.
Keeping the news contained within headquarters and preventing it from leaking out required a tremendous amount of effort.
"These people are really greedy… no wonder the Hero Association goes downhill later on."
After seeing Foster off, Chu Yang refocused his attention on his research. Compared to anything else, uncovering the truth behind the limiter was far more important.
Escorted all the way outside by Armored Gorilla, Foster walked with a collapsed expression, as if he'd just lost his father.
The happier he'd been before coming, the more miserable he felt now.
His dream of promotion and wealth shattered into dust in an instant, leaving nothing but fragments of harsh reality.
Watching Foster's departing back, even Armored Gorilla felt a bit emotional.
Chu Yang's refusal of the Hero Association's new contract meant that the relationship between the two sides would be hard to return to what it once was.
In the short term, nothing might seem amiss.
But given enough time, all kinds of dirty business would inevitably follow.
After returning to the House of Evolution, Armored Gorilla saw Chu Yang and Dr. Genus tinkering with a brand-new suit of armor in the main hall.
To be precise—it should be called half a suit…
Only the lower half.
Who would ever wear half a suit of armor?
Armored Gorilla was completely baffled.
"Gorilla, perfect timing. Go to the medical room and bring Mosquito Girl out—she should be almost recovered."
Armored Gorilla immediately understood.
Mosquito Girl, who had taken a punch from Saitama, hadn't died—only her lower body had been blown apart.
When Armored Gorilla brought her back from City Z, she'd already been on the brink of death, and she'd been undergoing emergency treatment in the medical room ever since.
The dying Mosquito Girl had become Chu Yang's second experimental subject after Sonic's successful bloodline-factor transplant.
At the same time, she was also the second "tool" in whom Chu Yang placed great expectations.
Since negotiations with the Hero Association had fallen through, Chu Yang would have to collect monster corpses himself from now on. Increasing manpower was an urgent matter.
Before obtaining higher-grade materials, the Iron Man legion wasn't very useful—it could at most guard the base and raise security levels.
Mosquito Girl's defining trait was bloodsucking.
Before formally transplanting bloodline factors, Chu Yang had fed her his own blood.
Just a few drops were enough to trigger earth-shaking changes in her. Nearly all her injuries healed.
Even her overall form underwent a drastic transformation.
She became more and more humanlike.
Her body size shrank, approaching that of a human woman.
Her appearance softened considerably.
She changed from a queen into the image of a gentle girl-next-door.
But her legs didn't grow back.
So Chu Yang decided to take the opportunity to modify her into a cyborg like Genos.
With stronger vitality, bloodline-factor transplantation would have a much higher margin for error.
Armored Gorilla wheeled Mosquito Girl into the main hall. She looked extremely nervous.
Ever since receiving Chu Yang's blood, Mosquito Girl had understood just how terrifying the man before her truly was.
That vast, boundless vitality was something no human could possibly possess.
Calling him a god wouldn't be an exaggeration.
"We'll start with the modification surgery. After you adapt, we'll proceed to the next round of transplantation."
Chu Yang's voice wasn't loud, but to Mosquito Girl, every word struck her heart, making her whole body tremble.
"I… will obey your command, my lord…"
In front of Chu Yang, Mosquito Girl felt suffocated, as if under bloodline suppression. She kept her head lowered the entire time, not daring to look at him even once.
Dr. Genus then led her away to undergo the modification surgery.
Screams suddenly erupted from the operating room.
"Ahhh—!!!"
It sounded more like dismemberment than surgery.
Chu Yang turned to Armored Gorilla and asked, "Does Genus have a medical license?"
Armored Gorilla shook his head regretfully.
That meant Mosquito Girl would have to endure horrifying torment.
Fortunately, monsters had incredibly strong vitality and weren't as fragile as humans. Even if the procedure was a bit violent, it was fine—the results were what mattered.
Half a day passed.
The screams gradually weakened.
No one knew whether the modification had succeeded, or if Mosquito Girl had simply passed out completely.
"She didn't fail at the first hurdle, did she?"
Chu Yang was worried that his investment might go to waste.
Thankfully, after waiting a short while, Dr. Genus appeared before him with a completely new Mosquito Girl.
A lower-body combat armor made from the Subterranean King's tough hide and high-strength alloy fit her perfectly. The extended exoskeleton protected her vital areas.
They had already tested the armor's defensive capabilities—anything below Dragon-level couldn't break through it.
As for offense—
The improved armor leaned more toward laser-based weaponry. Its firepower was roughly on par with Genos's Incineration Cannons.
After all, it was only a half-suit; it couldn't carry too many weapons.
Chu Yang's original intention was simply to boost Mosquito Girl's mobility by a level, so she wouldn't be taken out so easily in close combat.
Mechanical modification was only the prelude. The real focus lay in the upcoming bloodline-factor transplantation.
"Take her to the lab."
Chu Yang walked up to Mosquito Girl and gently patted her shoulder. "Whether you survive depends on your luck."
Those few words plunged Mosquito Girl into deep terror.
She wanted to refuse, but Chu Yang's indifferent gaze made the words stick in her throat.
If she dared say them, she would die.
"Please rest assured, my lord. I'll do my best."
Mosquito Girl forced a smile, gritting her teeth.
Chu Yang nodded and stepped into the lab first, placing two prepared test tubes into the instrument's slots.
Seeing this, Dr. Genus's expression changed. He leaned over and whispered, "My lord, the experiment has only just begun. Transplanting two bloodline factors at the same time is far too risky, isn't it?"
"Mr. Sonic only transplanted one."
Chu Yang replied matter-of-factly, "Precisely because the experiment has just begun, we need more data as support."
Dr. Genus glanced at Mosquito Girl with pity, then said no more.
She had just barely gotten her life back—now it looked like she'd have to give it up again.
Unaware of any of this, Mosquito Girl entered the device nervously. The moment the chamber door closed, an intense sense of dread surged through her heart.
She lay there in terror, like a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Outside—
Having overheard Chu Yang and Dr. Genus's conversation, Armored Gorilla wore an expression of sympathy, but deep down felt even more a sense of shared doom.
He too was a monster. Sooner or later, he would follow in Mosquito Girl's footsteps.
"She won't die."
Chu Yang suddenly spoke while operating the device.
Dr. Genus and Armored Gorilla both froze. When they looked at Chu Yang again, their expressions softened considerably.
Completely different from when Sonic had undergone his bloodline transplant.
This time, the machine was unusually quiet.
No extreme heat. No loud humming.
After breaking the rules once, the entire transplantation process became much smoother.
The only drawback was the exceptionally long wait.
The transplant lasted the entire night.
Until noon the next day, when the sunlight was at its brightest—
The chamber door opened.
A human woman walked out of the machine.
There wasn't the slightest trace of monster features.
The insect eyes and mouthparts that once marked Mosquito Girl completely disappeared.
From the upper body alone, she looked like an ordinary human.
Mosquito Girl opened her eyes.
Her pupils had turned a deep emerald green, and the wings on her back had become almost transparent.
They gave off a vibrant sense of life.
Chu Yang smiled. "How do you feel?"
Mosquito Girl slowly sensed the changes in her body, took a deep breath, and answered with delight, "Better than ever before."
Chu Yang looked at her with satisfaction.
The two test tubes earlier had contained Tornado's bloodline factor and the Senju clan's bloodline factor.
Chu Yang used Tornado's bloodline factor in hopes that Mosquito Girl would gain psychic powers.
Even if she couldn't reach Tornado's level, with the armor's assistance she could still display considerable combat power.
As for the Senju clan—
Chu Yang had considered that Mosquito Girl had previously consumed his blood and obtained its pure life force.
If the two could react together, it would raise the success rate of the transplant—or at the very least, keep her alive.
That was why Chu Yang had said she wouldn't die.
"Try to see if you can use psychic power."
Chu Yang's tone grew serious. Although Mosquito Girl had walked out of the chamber, whether the transplant had truly succeeded was still unknown.
Following the order, Mosquito Girl concentrated, trying to control the documents and tools on a nearby table.
Dr. Genus and Armored Gorilla watched nervously.
After about twenty seconds, the papers stirred without wind, slowly floating into the air.
Under Mosquito Girl's control, sheet after sheet of documents rose up, circling the people in the lab.
Joy appeared on Chu Yang's face.
"Good job. Next, try condensing your spiritual energy and physical energy."
Chu Yang brought out the same instructions he had once taught Sonic.
Mosquito Girl struggled to understand.
Compared to Sonic's talent, she was like an ordinary person—no matter how long she practiced, she couldn't grasp the essence.
Chu Yang could only patiently give her time.
Mosquito Girl kept trying, every moment, to condense chakra according to Chu Yang's method.
Another three days passed.
No progress at all.
"Only inherited psychic power…"
"Still, it's not a bad outcome. In the end, I was just too greedy."
"For now, it seems that transplanting only a single bloodline factor has the highest success rate."
Chu Yang quietly recorded all the experimental data, discussing possible issues with Dr. Genus.
Mosquito Girl sensed Chu Yang's disappointment and felt a little miserable. To her, the man who had granted her new life was like a god.
"My lord, although I can't sense the existence of chakra, I've felt another kind of power!"
Mosquito Girl said cautiously.
"Oh? Show me."
Chu Yang immediately perked up, a hint of anticipation appearing in his eyes.
"It might be a bit impolite. I hope you won't mind."
After saying that, Mosquito Girl's moist, rosy lips made a gentle sucking motion.
Then—
Specks of green light flew out from Chu Yang's body and drifted into her mouth.
After swallowing the green light, Mosquito Girl licked her lips, a look of satisfaction appearing on her face.
Chu Yang sensed the loss of vitality. Although it was only a tiny amount, he still caught it.
"She's evolved her original bloodsucking ability into life-force absorption!"
"The Senju bloodline factor didn't fail to transplant—it fused with her innate ability and produced a mutation!"
"Interesting! This is really interesting!"
Chu Yang was extremely excited. Mosquito Girl's mutation provided extremely valuable data, proving another possible direction for bloodline-factor technology.
"You've done an excellent job completing this experiment for me. As a reward, I'll give you the chance to choose a name for yourself."
As one of Dr. Genus's experimental creations, Mosquito Girl only had a designation, not a name.
She had never imagined that one day she would be able to have a name of her own.
"My lord, could you help me choose one?"
Mosquito Girl looked at Chu Yang with hopeful eyes.
"Mia."
Chu Yang thought for a moment before answering.
"I like this name!"
Mia excitedly paced around the room, her steps noticeably lighter.
Later that evening, Sonic returned, bringing back the corpse of a Demon-level monster.
Chu Yang had him spar with Mia to test the limits of her abilities.
When Sonic heard that she was also a subject who had completed transplantation, his interest was immediately piqued.
Because when Tornado had attacked earlier, Sonic happened to be away and had missed the chance to fight a powerful esper, which had become a lingering regret.
So this time, he was especially fired up.
Mia was just as eager, wanting to put on a good performance in front of Chu Yang.
Their sparring location was chosen to be the same room where Saitama had once fought Asura Kabuto.
The battle began.
Sonic struck first, closing in on Mia at extreme speed, planning to end the fight with the close-quarters combat he excelled at.
From his experience, Mia shouldn't be good at dealing with close-range fighting.
And that was indeed the case.
Mia tried to use telekinesis to forcibly control Sonic's body, but she couldn't even capture his movements in her field of vision.
To activate an ability, you at least needed a target.
Chu Yang had already anticipated this situation, which was why he had turned her into a cyborg.
The armor on Mia's lower body activated.
At the moment Sonic launched his attack, the armor erupted with a powerful burst of airflow, pushing Mia back to a safe distance.
The attack missed.
Sonic looked at Mia in surprise. The explosive power she had just displayed far exceeded Genos's.
"Your speed's decent, but compared to me, you're still far behind."
Sonic used the Shadow Clone Technique. Several clones turned into black blurs and charged at Mia simultaneously.
Relying on the armor's high mobility, Mia quickly flew into the air, denying Sonic the chance to surround her.
Then she activated all her laser weapons and aimed them at the ground, preparing a saturation attack.
Sonic had already guessed her plan.
Several shadow clones stood together and formed hand seals at the same time, flames faintly flickering in their mouths.
Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song.
Sonic spat out streams of fire, forming multiple flaming dragon heads in the air. The shadow clones used the same ninjutsu, sending a large number of dragon-headed flames toward Mia.
At the same time—
Dense laser beams poured down like a torrential rain.
Flames and lasers collided, triggering violent explosions. The entire underground laboratory shook violently.
Smoke filled the air.
The two fought within the darkness.
Because her weapons entered a cooldown period, Mia quickly fell into a disadvantage, bombarded relentlessly by Sonic's fire-style techniques.
Fortunately, she seized an opportunity to take a sip of Sonic's life force, slowing his offensive as well.
Chu Yang observed the weaknesses they were revealing.
Sonic excelled only against ground-based opponents. Once he couldn't fully leverage his speed, the fight became extremely passive.
Ninjutsu helped alleviate this weakness, but it still wasn't enough—his Sharingan needed further growth.
Mia's telekinesis also had vast room to improve. At her current stage, it couldn't pose too much of a threat to enemies.
However, the potential she displayed exceeded Chu Yang's expectations.
Just as the battle reached a stalemate—
Dr. Genus suddenly appeared and handed Chu Yang a laptop, which was playing the news.
"[Large numbers of monsters suddenly appear along J City's coast; A-Class hero Stinger is trapped in a bitter fight]"
Chu Yang stood up and clapped his hands loudly.
"Put the sparring on hold. It's time to work."
...
The Deep Sea King was a very interesting monster.
Because it had voluntarily left the sea and come onto land, prolonged dehydration forced it into a weakened "dry" state.
In that state, the Deep Sea King defeated the S-Class hero Puri-Puri Prisoner.
Later, when rain fell in J City, the Deep Sea King recovered to its normal state, repelled Sonic, and nearly killed Genos.
With such combat power, although it was rated as Demon-level, it had already set half a foot into the Dragon-level realm.
At the very least, it was far stronger than the Subterranean King.
Given the toughness of the Deep Sea King's body, using it to make armor would massively boost defensive capabilities.
It was also an excellent experimental subject.
"I'll go with you."
Just as Sonic and Mia were preparing to leave, Chu Yang suddenly put down the research materials in his hands.
"Teacher, it's just a Demon-level monster. There's no need to trouble you personally."
Sonic grew a little flustered. He was afraid Chu Yang would think he couldn't handle it, so he wanted to deal with it himself.
Mia was also visibly nervous, not daring to look at Chu Yang.
"There's someone I'm very interested in. I just want to observe him."
Chu Yang gestured for them not to be nervous and smiled as he walked toward the exit.
Curiosity flashed in Sonic's and Mia's eyes as they obediently followed behind him.
On the surface, the ruined building had already been demolished and was under reconstruction. Armored Gorilla was overseeing the work with a group of cybernetic constructs.
Dr. Genus estimated that rebuilding from scratch would take about a week.
The new base would be roughly twenty times larger than the original.
Rather than a building, it was more like a heavily fortified military fortress.
"Driving would be too slow. Let's fly there directly. As for Sonic, Mia can take you."
Neither of them moved.
There was a strong sense of rivalry between Sonic and Mia.
They both turned their heads away disdainfully, not even wanting to look at each other.
Chu Yang couldn't be bothered with them. He flew up into the air, and in the blink of an eye, he was already gone.
Mia panicked and immediately took off after him.
Sonic panicked even more. With quick reflexes, he grabbed Mia by the ankle.
The three of them sped through the sky toward J City.
Meanwhile, on the other side, more and more Deep Sea monsters were appearing in J City. Stinger, fighting alone, was completely unable to look after anyone else.
To save people, he first had to deal with the monsters in front of him.
Fortunately, the average strength of these monsters wasn't high. As an A-Class hero, Stinger wiped out a large wave of them once he went all out.
Though he himself was seriously injured, his face so swollen even his own mother wouldn't recognize him.
Still, the nearby civilians were saved.
Stinger was very happy.
Just as he was riding high, thinking he might be able to challenge for A-Class Rank 10 again—
A bolt of lightning split the sky!
A massive figure appeared behind him.
It was a burly monster with bluish skin, wearing a crown on its head.
Fins jutted from its cheeks, and its mouth was filled with sharp teeth.
A ferocious grin spread across its face.
Then it punched Stinger from behind, sending him flying.
Stinger's smile froze as he completely lost consciousness in a corner.
Upon monitoring this scene, the Hero Association immediately raised the disaster level!
Emergency broadcasts rang throughout the entire city.
Large numbers of civilians began evacuating.
In areas closer to the coastline, evacuation wasn't possible in time, so people could only seek shelter nearby.
Among the evacuation crowds, figures of professional heroes could also be seen.
Suddenly—
Everyone noticed a figure moving against the flow, heading toward the area where the monsters had appeared.
It was a man riding a bicycle.
"Hey! Mumen Rider, don't go any farther! Didn't you hear the disaster level was raised?"
"This isn't something we C-Class heroes can get involved in!"
"Hurry up and evacuate with us. Leave the rest to higher-ranked heroes."
Several C-Class heroes sitting in a pickup truck tried to persuade Mumen Rider to leave with the group when they spotted him.
Mumen Rider only exchanged a few brief words with them. After learning the exact location where the monsters had appeared, he hurried off.
"What an idiot—does he really think he's a hero?"
"Forget it. If he wants to throw his life away, let him."
They complained as they spoke, yet their expressions were complicated as they watched Mumen Rider ride off.
The rain began to pour.
Saitama and Genos, rushing over from City D, heard the broadcast announcing the disaster level escalation.
At the same time—
The Deep Sea King was strolling through the city streets.
Two more heroes lay at its feet.
A-Class hero Lightning Max, ranked twentieth.
And S-Class hero Puri-Puri Prisoner, ranked seventeenth—the lowest-ranked among the S-Class heroes.
The Deep Sea King's defeat of an S-Class hero meant the severity of the disaster was still rising.
Suddenly—
The Deep Sea King spotted a shelter.
A cruel smile spread across its face. It leapt from the ground and landed directly on top of the shelter, smashing through the ceiling.
Amid the terrified screams of civilians, it jumped inside.
The rain grew heavier.
Mumen Rider pedaled furiously, racing toward the shelter.
"Hey! Riding that fast in this kind of weather can cause an accident!"
A sudden unfamiliar voice sounded from behind, startling him.
In his panic, the bicycle skidded. Mumen Rider lost control and was thrown forward.
Just as he was about to crash into a nearby building, his body abruptly halted in midair, as if seized by an invisible pair of hands.
"Oh—sorry about that. I hope I didn't scare you."
A beautiful girl appeared before him. Mumen Rider glanced at her, and his cheeks immediately turned red.
The girl drew a circle in the air with her finger.
Mumen Rider slowly descended to the ground, then felt the invisible force around him dissipate.
"Judging by his outfit, he should be a hero too. Why does he look no different from an ordinary person?"
The boy standing beside the girl spoke in a tone that made others uncomfortable.
Mia and Sonic.
They hadn't caught up to Chu Yang, so they entered the city first to look for monsters and happened to run into Mumen Rider.
Mumen Rider recognized Sonic. "You're the second-to-last-ranked C-Class hero, right? Your title is… Speed-o'-Sound Ninja?"
The corners of Sonic's mouth lifted as he nodded. "That's right—it's me!"
Mia curled her lip. She knew Sonic loved being called a ninja, and the more pleased he looked, the more irritated she felt.
"Do you know where the city's shelter is?"
Mia cut him off without hesitation.
Sonic's expression darkened.
"I was heading there myself."
Mumen Rider nodded.
"Tell us the location and go back. It's dangerous here," Sonic said matter-of-factly.
Mumen Rider froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Don't judge me by appearances. I'm at least C-Class Rank 1—I won't be a burden."
Only then did Sonic realize he himself was second from last. His face sank, and he fell silent.
"Then let's go together."
With Mumen Rider leading, the three headed toward the shelter.
Elsewhere—
The Deep Sea King had already dealt with several heroes hiding inside the shelter.
It slowly advanced toward the crowd.
At the critical moment—
A blazing beam of light descended from the sky.
...
Long before Sonic and Mia arrived in City J, Chu Yang had already entered the shelter with the civilians.
He stood quietly to one side, watching heroes fall to the Deep Sea King, then watching Genos descend from above and clash fiercely with it.
Like a dutiful spectator.
The person Chu Yang was interested in wasn't Genos, nor the Deep Sea King—it was Mumen Rider.
That was why he had come: to observe this man.
Mumen Rider was a very special character.
His courage, his sense of justice, his determination to protect the weak—
In another world, a character like him would undoubtedly be the protagonist.
Chu Yang felt he might possess a trace of protagonist's luck.
If anyone in this world could become the second ordinary person to break the limiter after Saitama—
Chu Yang believed Mumen Rider had a very high chance.
So—
Chu Yang had a bold idea.
He wanted to try transplanting Saitama's bloodline factor into Mumen Rider and see what kind of result it would produce.
The extracted bloodline factor could be backed up; it wouldn't be wasted. Even if something went wrong, he could always go find Saitama and "borrow a bit more."
Compared to potential losses, the data revealed during the experiment was what truly mattered.
It might even become the key to breaking the limiter.
Of course, before transplanting Saitama's bloodline factor, a bit of groundwork was needed—Mumen Rider would need to experience more growth first.
As Chu Yang was thinking about all this, Genos had already had his arm torn off by the Deep Sea King.
Realizing he might lose, Genos shouted for the civilians to retreat, then positioned himself in front of everyone, using his own body as a shield.
"Good luck, mister!"
A little girl's single word of encouragement suddenly changed the course of the battle.
The Deep Sea King flashed in front of the girl.
A chaotic situation unfolded.
The little girl, being pulled by her parents, happened to end up standing beside Chu Yang, placing him directly between her and the Deep Sea King.
The Deep Sea King prepared to spit acid at them both.
Before Genos could reach them, Chu Yang instinctively reached out and clamped the monster's mouth shut.
The Deep Sea King froze.
Genos froze.
The fleeing crowd stopped dead in their tracks.
The acid jammed inside its mouth—far more uncomfortable than phlegm stuck in one's throat.
Its jaws throbbed with pain, as if they might be crushed at any second.
It grabbed Chu Yang's arm with both hands, trying to pry it open, its face flushed red with exertion—but Chu Yang didn't budge.
Everyone stared in stunned disbelief!
The scene became bizarre.
Abandoning the attempt to pry his arm away, the Deep Sea King swung a punch at Chu Yang's face.
A blinding flash of sword light erupted.
Civilians instinctively shut their eyes. When they opened them again, one of the Deep Sea King's arms lay at their feet.
At the same time, Chu Yang released its mouth, wiping his hand with a look of disgust.
To be honest—it was pretty gross.
The Deep Sea King stared at Chu Yang in terror. That strike—forget reacting, it hadn't even seen where the blade came from.
"As expected of Sonic's master. He's incredibly strong—the monster didn't have the slightest chance to fight back."
"There's no way he's just an A-Class hero."
In a corner, Genos sat amid sparking wreckage. Several circuits were shorting out, leaving him unable to move.
"You dare sneak-attack me!"
Having an arm severed in front of everyone drove the Deep Sea King into a rage so intense it drowned out its fear.
Seeking to vent its fury, it charged Chu Yang again.
The crowd held its breath, watching the clash in tense silence.
With only one arm left, the Deep Sea King's attacks grew even faster, its punches leaving afterimages in the air.
"Monsters share a common flaw. In battle, they're easily ruled by emotion and lose their rationality. Once they stop thinking, death isn't far behind."
A terrifying aura burst from Chu Yang—fleeting, yet unmistakable to both Genos and the Deep Sea King.
Another flash of sword light followed.
The Deep Sea King's punching motion faltered for an instant, and its remaining arm flew high into the air.
Losing the second arm finally cooled its frenzy.
It staggered back a few steps, wary. The human before it was clearly not an opponent it could defeat.
"Watch out—it's trying to escape! Don't let it get away!"
Genos read the Deep Sea King's intent, but before he could say more, the monster turned and leapt through the shattered wall.
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
Chu Yang didn't pursue. He stood calmly where he was.
Because he saw Sonic outside—and Mumen Rider had already encountered the Deep Sea King.
Sonic and Mia also noticed Chu Yang inside the shelter.
Chu Yang signaled for them not to interfere and to watch Mumen Rider's fight with the Deep Sea King from the sidelines.
Both were confused. Mumen Rider looked like an ordinary person—what could he possibly use to fight the Deep Sea King?
But since it was Chu Yang's order, they complied.
As the crowd moved toward the breach to watch, Chu Yang sealed every opening with Earth Release.
The human heart was a complex thing. No one could know what kind of malice it might give rise to.
Would they feel gratitude toward the heroes who had fallen for them?
Not necessarily…
But they would certainly blame the heroes who failed to protect them.
Mumen Rider's battle would not lose its brilliance even without an audience.
He was simply doing… what he believed was right.
Chu Yang sat atop the shelter, silently observing Mumen Rider's tenacity and resilience.
In contrast, the Deep Sea King was already on the verge of going insane.
Sonic was watching it.
Mia was watching it.
Chu Yang was watching it.
The combined pressure of those three gazes bore down on it all at once.
As a result, Mumen Rider suffered terribly—within just a few breaths, he was beaten until he looked like a rag doll.
"You take the civilians and evacuate first. I'll find a way to hold it back."
Gravely injured, Mumen Rider was already coughing up blood as he spoke, yet he didn't ask Sonic or Mia for help. Instead, he told them to leave first.
He was on the brink of death and still thinking about others.
Brother, someone like you not being the protagonist is such a waste.
Chu Yang sighed inwardly.
The timing was about right.
If it went on any longer, he really might die.
Chu Yang quietly appeared beside Mumen Rider and placed a hand on his shoulder. Pure life energy poured continuously into his body.
The Deep Sea King was about to finish him off, but upon seeing Chu Yang suddenly appear, its expression changed drastically, and it instantly retreated more than ten meters away.
"You handle the rest. Try to keep it alive."
Chu Yang lifted Mumen Rider and left the battlefield, running straight into Saitama, who was approaching from the opposite direction.
Saitama stopped in his tracks, his face stiffening as memories of the torment inside the illusion space suddenly resurfaced.
"You guys carry on. I've got something to do, so I'll head out first."
It wasn't that Saitama couldn't beat Chu Yang—he simply didn't want to fight someone like that.
In Saitama's eyes, fighting Chu Yang meant he would be the one taking losses unilaterally.
"Genos is in that shelter. His condition isn't very good—you'd better take him away."
Chu Yang reminded him.
Saitama halted his departure, turned around, and jogged toward the shelter.
At that moment—
The Deep Sea King was being besieged by Sonic and Mia.
One was so fast it couldn't even be touched, while the other stayed airborne the entire time.
It could only take a beating from one side.
If Chu Yang hadn't demanded it be captured alive, the Deep Sea King would already be a corpse.
Saitama glanced at it with a bit of sympathy.
He jogged into the shelter, searching for the scrap heap that Genos had become.
With his life force replenished, Mumen Rider's condition gradually improved. Seeing this, Chu Yang set him down.
"Thank you…"
"I thought you were all just C-Class heroes."
Mumen Rider laughed at himself.
"Do you think you're weak?"
Chu Yang asked calmly.
"Someone like me—using 'weak' to describe me seems appropriate, doesn't it?"
"A truly weak person wouldn't stand in front of a monster to shield others."
"But I still lost. I couldn't stop the monster at all."
"No one always wins, and no one always loses."
"Maybe…"
Mumen Rider took a deep breath, a smile returning to his face. He had always been an incredibly resilient person.
"Thank you. I really enjoyed talking with you. May I ask your name?"
"Yang."
"Ah! I know you—A-Class Rank 1 hero! You're amazing, actually pushing Sweet Mask down."
"He came to challenge me once. I beat him up, and only then did he acknowledge my ranking."
Mumen Rider looked at Chu Yang in astonishment. He had never heard such insider information before.
Chu Yang smiled. He rarely mentioned it to others—he had only said a bit more because the person in front of him was Mumen Rider.
"Do you want to become stronger?"
Chu Yang suddenly asked.
Mumen Rider froze for a moment, then nodded with a light laugh. "I don't think anyone would refuse becoming stronger."
"I can help you become stronger. Do you want to try?"
Chu Yang continued.
Mumen Rider instinctively assumed Chu Yang was some kind of ill-intentioned scammer.
"They're both my creations."
Chu Yang pointed at Sonic and Mia.
Those two were utterly tormenting the Deep Sea King—neither killing it nor letting it escape. Pure suffering was the goal.
"Hahahaha!!!!"
"Hehehehehe!!!!"
Their deranged laughter echoed in Mumen Rider's ears. He fell silent for a long moment before replying solemnly, "If that's the price of becoming stronger, then forget it."
Chu Yang: "..."
"They were like this to begin with. Don't take it to heart—I guarantee there are no side effects."
Chu Yang gave an awkward laugh and quickly explained.
"Becoming stronger is something I'd rather achieve through my own effort."
Mumen Rider gently refused again.
Chu Yang sighed and nodded. "If one day you change your mind, you can come find me at the House of Evolution."
Chu Yang didn't want to force him, because unknown problems could arise during the process of breaking the limiter.
Still, Chu Yang believed Mumen Rider would come to him sooner or later.
When the day came that he could save nothing because of his own powerlessness, he would definitely come.
Mumen Rider left.
He was no longer needed here.
Meanwhile, the Deep Sea King had reached its limit—both mentally and physically, it had been tormented beyond recognition.
Seeing this, Sonic immediately used his Sharingan to drag it into the illusion space for the final round of torment.
A short while later—
The Deep Sea King let out a wail, tears streaming down its face, before passing out completely.
Chu Yang gave the two of them a thumbs-up.
Not bad.
You've truly inherited my teachings!
Using telekinesis, Mia lifted the Deep Sea King's body, and the three prepared to leave City J.
Not far away, surveillance cameras transmitted the battle in real time back to Hero Association headquarters.
At that moment, a group of people sat before the screen, silently watching.
"From now on, they probably won't leave a single monster corpse for the Association."
"He was willing to refuse becoming an S-Class hero over this—we should've been prepared."
"Any news from Blast yet?"
"Someone has to rein him in. If this continues, does the Hero Association even need to exist anymore?"
After returning to the House of Evolution, Chu Yang first extracted the Deep Sea King's bloodline factor, then impatiently carried out transplantation surgery together with Genus.
Since Mia had previously accepted two bloodline factors, Chu Yang decided to further increase the number this time.
He wanted to see just how high the upper limit was.
What was the probability of bloodline factor mutation?
And what exactly triggered those mutations?
After the Deep Sea King was placed into the device, Chu Yang inserted five test tubes into the slots in one go—representing five different bloodline factors being transplanted into its body.
Everyone waited excitedly for the result.
The result…
The machine exploded!
It exploded without any warning at all!
The blast even destroyed more than half the laboratory.
Genus was almost killed on the spot.
Fortunately, Mia reacted quickly and erected a telekinetic barrier around him.
Even so, Genus was seriously injured and would require a long period of recovery.
Chu Yang's expression was grim. The earlier transplants had gone too smoothly, giving him an unwarranted sense of certainty about success.
Reality slapped him hard in the face.
"It's fine. When Boros arrives, there'll be plenty of new materials."
After comforting himself, Chu Yang began organizing manpower to repair the destroyed laboratory.
At that moment—
In a daze, a thick mist rolled in.
By the time Chu Yang reacted, he had already appeared in the Soul Palace.
Familiar figures appeared one after another.
"Who cleared a world?"
One Punch Chu Yang shouted.
Everyone looked at each other, but no one answered.
A stranger suddenly stepped out from a corner.
Magic Chu Yang's eyes lit up. "A newcomer!"
The others quickly gathered around.
The newly arrived Chu Yang was clearly unaccustomed to the situation, crouching on the ground and trembling.
After everyone synchronized their recent memories, they learned that the newcomer came from the world of Feng Yun.
A high-martial world with one foot stepping into the realm of xianxia.
After synchronizing memories, Feng Yun Chu Yang understood everything about the Soul Palace.
He stood quietly to the side, listening as everyone discussed bloodline factor data.
No one knew how much time passed.
The mist returned.
When they opened their eyes again, they had returned to their respective worlds.
…
The Feng Yun world.
Wushuang City.
Chu Yang transmigrated into this world and became a servant in Wushuang City. The master he served was named Mingyue.
Mingyue was an exceptionally kind girl. When Chu Yang first arrived, he was nearly beaten to death—it was Mingyue who saved him.
However—
The fate of this kind girl was not a good one.
She met a man named Nie Feng, found her true love, and changed her destiny.
Mingyue was about to die.
What Chu Yang had to do was ensure that she lived.
(End of Chapter)