"Ah, it's a monster!"
Chaos erupted again in the city center. A green giant, over four meters tall, suddenly appeared from nowhere, wielding a massive club and swinging it wildly.
Boom!
With one swing, the storefront was completely shattered, and the shop assistant who hadn't managed to escape was instantly smashed into a bloody pulp. This scene triggered even more fear and screams.
The green giant had only one eye, which was now slightly red, as if it was becoming increasingly frenzied in its killing, continuously swinging the massive club erratically.
In just a moment, dozens of people were smashed to death on the spot.
This horrific scene had long since made many people's legs turn to jelly. Disregarding the high cost of hero assistance, they immediately began contacting the most reliable Hero Offices they knew.
But many calls were made, and the heroes still didn't appear. Too many Hero Offices, and even some shell offices that only did business transfers, occupied a large amount of publicity resources.
Truly capable heroes were thus diluted.
Trapped in her luxury car, unable to move due to the surrounding traffic, Aisha watched in despair as the giant drew closer. She deeply regretted helping those "professional heroes" with extensive publicity for money over the past two years.
She also regretted slandering the heroes of the past.
She was a director at J City TV, and she had once been smug about being able to bring those high and mighty heroes down to earth.
But at this moment, she realized when people truly needed heroes.
"Save me…"
She saw that the giant's single eye had noticed her. She could clearly see the blood, flesh, and hair clinging to the club, and the stench of death filled her nostrils.
The giant bared its teeth, raised its club, and was about to bring it down.
"Someone save me!"
She couldn't even utter a cry for help; her throat felt as if something was blocking it. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, and even her pants became wet.
Whoosh!
The whistling sound of air being torn appeared, a sign of something flying at an unimaginable speed. Aisha had witnessed Tornado of Terror's rescue scenes before, and the image of her casually breaking the sound barrier while flying now appeared in her mind.
Is it a hero?!
Bang!
A white figure crashed down from the sky.
The next moment, a white cape billowed in the airflow, and a man in a blue and white tight-fitting hero suit stood in front of Aisha's car, raising one hand to catch the blood-soaked club.
Boom!
A shockwave swept through the surroundings. Aisha, sitting in the car, trembled with the vibrations of the car and the ground. Her breathing almost stopped, and her eyes blurred due to her rapidly pounding heart.
The excellent soundproofing of the luxury car prevented her from hearing the impact of the airflow outside, nor could she hear if the hero said anything. But at this moment, her eyes were blurry, filled only with his figure.
"Hero…"
The relief of crawling out of the abyss of death transformed into the deepest admiration.
She rolled down the car window, even wanting to open the car door.
Bang!
Then, she saw golden ripples floating like ribbons from behind the hero, accompanied by a golden spear piercing through the giant. With her window rolled down, she heard a terrifying sonic boom explode.
Puff!
Green blood and flesh flew everywhere. The monster, which had just been terrifying, had its chest completely obliterated and collapsed weakly.
"It's that… nameless hero!"
"It's that Interest-Driven Hero, he's appeared again!"
Cheers suddenly erupted from all around.
People who emerged from the vehicles behind Aisha, along with her, disregarded the relief of surviving the disaster and jumped and cheered the word "hero" loudly.
Aisha stood rooted to the spot, her legs still wet from her own urine, but tears streamed down her face. At this moment, she fully understood the true value of the word "hero."
"This is… a hero…"
She took a few steps forward, suddenly having the idea of doing an in-depth report on him. This kind of true hero, in the aftermath of the Great Cataclysm, deserved to be praised by everyone.
When the person merely glanced back at her, his face in the sunlight seemed to be bathed in light, too dazzling for her to clearly see.
Then, with a bang, he ascended into the air, changed direction several times, and then stepped onto a blue and white skateboard-like vehicle and disappeared.
"Interest-Driven Hero…"
Aisha was moved by the pure idealism of this hero's brilliance, standing there with her head tilted back, unable to calm down for a long time.
Half a day later, J City TV began extensively reporting on topics such as "Nameless Hero" and "Interest-Driven Hero," collecting a large amount of video footage from the public and directly pushing it out on a large scale.
For a time, topics like "Idealistic Hero" and "True Hero" began to spark widespread discussion.
This action drew complaints from many Hero Offices, but several TV stations, including J City, ignored the protests and chose to continue reporting.
This behavior also garnered much public support.
—
Asuka's face was pale. Standing atop a building, he watched as his team's hard-won Giant Goblin, which they had spent a fortune to capture, was obliterated by a single punch from Tao Bai Bai. He didn't care about the loss, only feeling fear.
He had thought about escaping, but Tao Bai Bai clearly possessed some ability to pinpoint him and his teammates. After his Cursed Spirit was eliminated by Tao Bai Bai, he, hidden in the mall, and Li Mo, hiding on the rooftop, were both directly located and captured.
A moment later, Asuka was picked up by another team member and driven back to their temporary camp in the suburbs. Tao Bai Bai, who was now regarded by the world as a "classical hero," had changed back into his iconic pink robe and was standing in front of everyone.
"You all did well. As long as you continue to cooperate with me, I will naturally set you free."
Li Mo lowered his head, muttering twice. Their contracted beast was an important resource for their team, and now it had been casually obliterated by Tao Bai Bai to facilitate his so-called hero activities, which pained him greatly.
But he dared not argue at all. Just a moment ago, Jinpika, who had merely uttered a single word of rebuttal, had his arm torn off by Tao Bai Bai. Tao Bai Bai's strength was too terrifying, making him afraid to resist rashly.
Lilith stood behind Tao Bai Bai. Somehow, as she looked at this team, which was probably similar in strength to her original team, she unconsciously felt a sense of superiority.
At least, Tao Bai Bai hadn't been so rough with her.
She had merely assisted Tao Bai Bai in precisely locating the TV producer named Aisha, a powerless plot character who was easy to find, and she had received Tao Bai Bai's praise for it.
Meanwhile, this group of people, who had sacrificed a decent contracted beast, were still on edge.
Lilith observed these people and suddenly understood that she wasn't cowardly; she was merely weak. In this space, as long as you had power, you could do anything you wanted.
Just like Tao Bai Bai, who was clearly a great villain who committed all sorts of evil deeds, yet packaged himself as an unimaginably great hero, constantly seeking out and killing monsters and evil spirits. If there were no monsters, he would have Reincarnators create "monsters" for him to kill…
Lilith took a deep breath. Hearing footsteps, she turned to see the Reincarnator who had also received Tao Bai Bai's praise rushing back.
His codename was Asuka, a Reincarnator who controlled many Cursed Spirits.
Asuka saw the severed arm on the ground and the pale, bandaged Jinpika, instantly understanding what had happened, and immediately lowered his head, not daring to speak.
Bai Cangshu, however, raised his hand and patted the timid Reincarnator's shoulder. The person was a Reincarnator without aptitude, and also an unaccomplished Cursed Energy user. Even with Cursed Spirit Manipulation, such a cowardly personality made it impossible to gain strong Cursed Energy.
"Don't be afraid, Asuka, I'm not some kind of devil…"
"You completed your task beautifully. Not only will I not kill you, but I might even give you some rewards…"
Asuka looked at his killing species milestone, which was about to be achieved, but felt no joy.
He was no different from those plot characters, merely a pawn and puppet under the control of someone more powerful…
—
"Teacher, have you seen the news?"
A young man in a jacket and baseball cap entered a convenience store. There, a bald man in a red and white employee uniform, with deadpan eyes, was arranging shelves.
Seeing that Saitama had no reaction, Genos walked directly to him and pulled out a newspaper. The newspaper featured a tall man in a white cape, standing in the sunlight, with everyone around him raising their hands, their faces full of excitement.
The newspaper headline read: "Interest-Driven Hero — The True Hero."