Chapter 213 : Super Alloy Black Light
"What's going on? Is the Association on holiday today?"
Saitama stood in the lobby of the Hero Association's A-City headquarters, hands in his pockets, looking bewildered.
"Is changing a name really that hard..." he muttered under his breath, his tone full of disappointment.
As the central hub of the Hero Association, this place was usually bustling with heroes coming and going, reporting missions or collecting rewards.
A scene like today, where even the receptionist was nowhere to be seen, was truly unprecedented.
"It doesn't look like a holiday," Lin Mo surveyed his surroundings, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
Based on his understanding of the Hero Association's operations, it was impossible for this place to be so deserted unless an ultimate disaster had occurred, one capable of paralyzing the headquarters' functions.
And now, the building was intact, with no signs of battle, which meant the situation was not like that.
"Could it be a company outing? Like a beach barbecue or something?"
Saitama offered an even more unreliable guess, walking to the front desk and knocking on the empty counter.
"Hello? Is anyone here? The buy-one-get-one-free supermarket sale info is about to expire!"
His only answer was his own dull echo.
"It's no use," Lin Mo sighed.
He walked over to Saitama, patted his shoulder, "It seems some emergency we don't know about has happened, and everyone has been called to a certain place."
He instinctively reached into his pocket, wanting to pull out his phone to contact the Association, or at least check the news.
However, the screen was completely black, and no matter how many times he pressed the power button, there was no response.
A-City was already far from Z-City, and the subway they were on had been delayed for a long time due to track maintenance.
To pass the long and boring journey, Saitama suggested playing games on their phones.
The result was predictable: after dozens of intense battles, the phone's battery had long been drained, a glorious sacrifice.
"..." Lin Mo looked at this "brick" with a sense of helplessness.
"Does heaven really want this guy to be the Caped Baldy for his entire life?"
He glanced at Saitama's shiny bald head, and a mischievous thought flashed through his mind.
Just as the two were at a loss, even starting to consider whether to go home or find a place to eat first, a steady footsteps sounded from outside the main door, approaching from a distance.
Both of them turned their heads in unison.
They saw a man with bulging muscles and bronzed skin walking towards them.
It was Superalloy Darkshine, the S-Class Hero Rank 11.
"Oh, it's that shiny muscular guy," Saitama said casually.
Lin Mo's gaze, however, narrowed slightly, then curved into a smile.
He keenly noticed that Superalloy Darkshine, standing before him, was a completely different person from when they last met at the hot spring inn.
He was somewhat similar to the confident Darkshine of the past, but his demeanor was entirely different.
His steps were still steady, but the proud sheen of his body was much more restrained, no longer so ostentatious.
More importantly, the unprecedented confidence that used to fill his eyes was gone, replaced by a hint of contemplation and self-reflection.
Superalloy Darkshine had clearly also seen the two people in the lobby.
When his gaze swept over Saitama's iconic bald head and cape, finally resting on Mr. KING, an indescribable light of excitement instantly burst forth in his eyes.
He quickened his pace, came before the two, and bowed solemnly to Lin Mo.
"Mr. KING!"
This gesture made even Saitama, standing nearby, pause in surprise; he scratched his head, not understanding why this muscular man was so polite to Mr. KING.
"Long time no see, Darkshine," Lin Mo greeted with a smile.
"Indeed..." Superalloy Darkshine straightened up, as if responding, and as if recalling something, a complex emotion flashed in his eyes.
He opened his mouth, seemingly deliberating over his words in his mind, wanting to express his journey of the heart during this period with the most precise language.
After a long moment, he finally spoke in an unprecedentedly sincere tone:
"Mr. KING, you were right. I was too fixated on the 'luster' of the physical body, but I forgot what truly should support these muscles."
Superalloy Darkshine's eyes gleamed as he looked intently at Lin Mo, saying:
"After that incident, I fell into darkness for a time; my confidence was shattered. Your words enlightened me."
"Since then, I have begun to search, to ponder, what is the true meaning of my fight as a hero.
"I've been to many places, seen many things. Although I can't say I fully understand yet, but... but I do understand a little..."
Lin Mo listened quietly, not interrupting him.
He could feel the sincerity and struggle in Darkshine's words.
He knew that for a pure person like Darkshine, rebuilding belief was thousands of times harder than training muscles.
"Searching for the meaning of battle is inherently more meaningful than battle itself, isn't it?"
Lin Mo's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached Darkshine's ears.
Darkshine's whole body trembled, and the light in his eyes grew even brighter.
Lin Mo continued, "There are countless paths for heroes, and everyone's reasons for becoming a hero are not entirely the same."
"The fact that you can emerge from your confusion and begin to think about your own path is already quite remarkable."
A simple affirmation made Superalloy Darkshine's muscles tremble slightly with excitement.
This gave him more strength than anyone's praise.
Mr. KING is indeed a strong person who can see into the soul!
Saitama, on the other hand, was completely out of the loop.
He listened to their conversation about "luster," "meaning," and "paths," feeling a bit bewildered.
He just felt a bit hungry and was still bothered by his hero name.
"By the way, why are you two here?" Superalloy Darkshine asked curiously after calming himself down.
"The Association issued a highest-level emergency summons; all S-Class Heroes are to attend a meeting. I thought you two had already arrived."
"Emergency summons?" Saitama was startled, finally hearing a word he could understand.
"No one notified us. I just came to change my hero name, but there's no one here."
"Our communication devices had a bit of a problem."
Lin Mo explained concisely, subtly tucking his dead phone further into his pocket.
"I see," Superalloy Darkshine suddenly understood, "Then come with me quickly; the meeting has probably already started."
"Looking at the Association's posture, something big must have happened."
"Ah, so it's a meeting. How troublesome," Saitama scratched his bald head, looking unenthusiastic.
Lin Mo nodded, "Alright, let's go up together then."
The three of them stepped into the private elevator leading to the top-floor conference room.
The elevator doors slowly closed and ascended smoothly.
Inside the small space, the atmosphere was a bit subtle.
Saitama was still a little dejected about failing to change his name, while Superalloy Darkshine was excited about seeing all his S-Class colleagues and fighting alongside Mr. KING.
As for Lin Mo, he stood slightly behind Saitama and Darkshine, looking at Darkshine's broad, mountain-like back, a hint of curiosity rising in his heart.
What had he experienced after that hot spring incident that his mindset began to change so quickly?
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