Chapter 28: Maybe There's an Opponent Inside Who Can Satisfy Me?
For the first time in nearly a century, Dr. Genus felt utterly lost and helpless.
His genetically modified "New Humans" were the forces he intended to use to overthrow the rule of "Old Humanity."
So why... why were they wiped out instantly when I just sent them to capture a human with slightly unusual physical strength?!
Genus's eyes were bloodshot, crisscrossed with red veins. He clearly refused to accept this result.
Earlier, after watching the footage of Mosquito Girl's defeat, the first thing Genus noticed wasn't the terrifyingly powerful King, but the bald man following behind him.
His intuition as a genius geneticist told him: That bald man is definitely not normal.
Sure enough, a few days later, Genus heard that the bald man had become an S-Class hero of the Hero Association.
To uncover the secrets of Saitama's strength and achieve further breakthroughs in genetics, Genus had dispatched his few remaining elite generals to capture the target.
But to his shock, these so-called "elites" couldn't even last a single round before being totally defeated.
Aside from Carnage Kabuto, Beast King was the strongest entity in the entire House of Evolution. Yet, he was reduced to minced meat with a single punch.
Just then, the laboratory door was pushed open. A clone, identical to Dr. Genus in every way, rushed in with a panicked expression.
"Damn it! According to Armored Gorilla's intel, S-Class Rank 7 King and the capture target are heading this way!"
"What?!"
Another piece of bad news. Dr. Genus's face grew even paler. He clenched his fists so tightly that he didn't even notice his fingernails piercing his palms, drawing blood.
He seemed to make a difficult decision. A drop of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
"Release Carnage Kabuto!"
The clone turned pale with fright, looking even more terrified than he had about the incoming enemies. He waved his hands frantically, trying to dissuade the original.
"You can't! You know Carnage Kabuto's personality defects! He isn't ready yet..."
"ENOUGH!!"
Dr. Genus interrupted the clone sharply, anxiety visible in his own eyes.
"I know the consequences of releasing him. But we have no way out, do we?"
"I understand."
Realizing the original's mind was made up, the clone stopped arguing. He turned to relay the order.
Just as he was turning, Dr. Genus spoke again.
"Also, set up plenty of traps on floors 1 through 8. Wear down the intruders' stamina and mental fortitude. Create a better combat advantage for Carnage Kabuto!"
"Understood!"
In the Sky.
King stared at Saitama, who had been "flying" through the air for several minutes after a single jump, and fell into deep thought.
Is this jumping, or is this flying?
He had tried asking the Caped Baldy, but he only got one answer.
"How can humans fly without superpowers?"
That was Saitama's logic.
Before they arrived at the House of Evolution, King mentally summoned the System. The blue data panel appeared before his eyes.
He wanted to see what two random skills he had pulled.
[Ding! Rewards distributed.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained Passive Skill: Precision Control.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained Active Skill: Energy Mastery.]
Hm?
The effects of these skills seemed self-explanatory from their names, but King clicked on the detailed descriptions just in case there were special effects.
[Precision Control: You can precisely manipulate any power within your body. Whether it is Qi and blood, energy, or raw physical strength, you can control it with pinpoint accuracy.]
[Energy Mastery: By using this skill, you can control surrounding energy and condense it into energy spheres for attacks. You can also transform energy into different forms to adapt to various situations.]
Note: The current limit of energy the host can control is Peak Dragon Level.
Not bad!
King was pleased.
The passive skill came at the perfect time.
As King continued to gain rewards and his stats skyrocketed, his strength was becoming overwhelmingly powerful. However, this brought the issue of control—while he could unleash power freely, applying it with surgical precision was difficult.
The active skill was also solid. King currently lacked a ranged attack method. While it might not match the raw destructive power of his physical body, it was better than having nothing.
His combat power had increased again. Now, King had both melee and ranged capabilities, along with perfect control over his own strength.
Right. The first [Taijutsu Auto-Training Card] seems to have expired. I need to renew it.
Feeling the warm current once again slowly strengthening his body, King nodded in satisfaction.
As the silhouette of the House of Evolution appeared on the horizon, Saitama suddenly remembered something and asked curiously:
"Where's your robot disciple, Genos? Isn't he coming?"
King replied helplessly, "He got wrecked fighting the Titan. He's been sent back to the manufacturer for repairs, so he can't come for now."
"I see."
Chatting casually, the two arrived at the address of the House of Evolution.
Looking at the dilapidated eight-story building in front of them, Saitama was about to walk in through the front door when King threw a punch.
BOOM!
The air in front of him was compressed by terrifying force into an air cannon. Carrying violent momentum, it blasted straight forward, turning the entire building into dust.
Saitama: "..."
He scratched his shiny head, looking at the empty lot where the building used to be, and muttered weakly:
"Isn't that a bit rude? They might have set up lots of traps waiting for us to challenge."
King retracted his fist and pointed at a metal door that had appeared on the now-empty ground.
"It's fine. The upper floors were just traps. The real core area is underground. Let's go."
Saitama reached out, grabbed the gap in the metal doors, and with a tooth-aching screech of metal, tore the entire gate in half.
Staring into the dark tunnel leading down, Saitama suddenly felt a spark of interest.
Why does this feel like an adventure? It's kind of fun.
Maybe there's an opponent inside who can satisfy me?