New York traffic, as always, upheld its excellent tradition of being a "Universe-class parking lot."
Especially near the Brooklyn Bridge during evening rush hour, the endless lines of vehicles, the blaring horns, the roaring engines, and the impatient curses of drivers intertwined into a uniquely urban symphony of frustration.
Jack was one of the members in this frustrated torrent.
He was an ordinary office worker, and today was particularly unlucky.
In the morning, coffee spilled on his only clean shirt, he was late for work and caught by his supervisor who lectured him for half an hour, at lunch he found out his usual takeout place had raised prices without notice, and now, he had been stuck in this damned traffic for over forty minutes, his bladder was urgent, and his patience was exhausted.
"Move! Damn it! What the hell is going on up ahead!" He slammed the steering wheel, veins bulging in his neck.
He craned his head, trying to see the source of the blockage ahead, but saw nothing but dense car roofs and flashing taillights.
Just then, a dilapidated Pickup Truck in the lane next to him tried to cut in front.
The vehicle looked old, its paint mottled, black smoke spewing from its exhaust pipe, and in the driver's seat was a man wearing a baseball cap, his face obscured.
"Don't even think about it!" Jack, at the peak of his irritation, stomped on the accelerator, using the front of his car to firmly block the other vehicle's path.
The two vehicles scraped against each other, narrowly avoiding a collision, emitting a harsh metallic screech.
This moment seemed to ignite the fuse of a powder keg.
The Pickup Truck Driver suddenly turned his head, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes under his baseball cap, filled with fury and despair.
He glared at Jack, emitting a Beast-like growl, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned White from the effort.
"You... dare... block my way?!" His voice was hoarse and distorted, completely inhuman.
Jack was startled by his crazed gaze, instinctively feeling a chill, but retorted defiantly: "You're trying to cut in! Don't you know the rules!"
"Rules?!" The Pickup Truck Driver roared, "Being stuck here is a rule?! Being fired for being late is a rule?! Not having money for rent is a rule?!"
His emotions completely spiraled out of control, and an invisible, violent energy burst forth from him!
It wasn't a superpower; it was more like a reality distortion triggered by extreme negative emotions.
"Bang! Bang! Crack!"
The dilapidated Pickup Truck beneath him, as if endowed with an evil life, emitted an ear-splitting metallic deformation sound.
The rusty car shell wriggled, stretched, and reinforced itself like a living thing!
The car doors twisted upwards, forming crude metal arms; the hood of the car shattered, revealing the burning, cyclops-like headlights within; the tires spun wildly, emitting blue smoke as they rubbed against the ground, and the entire car body, with an incredible creaking sound, rapidly rose and transformed, turning into a three-meter-tall, crudely assembled mecha made of broken metal, emitting strong exhaust fumes and an ominous aura, all within a mere dozen seconds!
"No one... is getting through!!" The mutated road rage driver, or rather, the "broken-car mecha" monster at this moment, let out a deafening roar.
It wielded its twisted arm, formed from car doors and exhaust pipes, and slammed it down onto an innocent sedan nearby!
"Boom!"
The car roof was instantly flattened, glass flew everywhere, and the driver inside let out a terrified scream.
"Monster! There's a monster!"
"Run!"
"My car!"
The already chaotic traffic instantly turned into a disaster scene.
Screams, cries, and the sound of colliding vehicles erupted in unison.
People abandoned their cars and fled, the scene was extremely chaotic.
The broken-car mecha clearly regarded the entire blocked road as its enemy.
It moved with heavy steps, indiscriminately destroying surrounding vehicles, overturning cars with its twisted metal arms, stomping on hoods with its thick tire legs, attempting to "clear" a path in the most violent way.
"[Brooklyn Bridge South End, abnormal energy reaction detected! Threat level assessment: tiger-level!]
"[Incident type: Emotional mutant (road rage), materialized as a large destructive mechanical construct!]
"[Mission issued: Immediately stop the "Road Rage Mecha's" destructive behavior, evacuate civilians, and minimize property damage. Mission level: tiger-level. Reward points: 150.]"
The Hero Association APP's mission alert was pushed to all registered heroes and the Association's command center almost the instant the monster completed its transformation.
Fisk Tower, Association Temporary Command Center.
The large screen displayed real-time footage from high-altitude drones and urban surveillance systems (some with system access).
Wesley watched the rampaging broken-car mecha, his brows furrowed: "The target's destructive power is astonishing, but its structure looks very unstable.
Traffic is paralyzed at the scene, and civilian evacuation is difficult."
He looked at Flint Marko, who stood nearby, already changed into a dark brown combat uniform provided by the Association, which offered some protective functions (special material, does not affect Sand transformation).
"Sandman, this is your first official mission.
Are you confident?" Wesley asked, his tone serious.
Flint took a deep breath, looking at the metal monster on the screen, its claws and teeth bared, and nodded vigorously.
He touched his pocket, where Penny's photo from this morning lay, the little girl showing a long-lost, faint smile on her hospital bed.
This smile gave him infinite courage.
"Leave it to me, Mr. Wesley." His eyes were firm, "I know what to do."
A few minutes later, a whirlwind made of sand particles moved at a speed inconsistent with physical common sense, along the outer walls of the high-rise buildings, heading straight for the Brooklyn Bridge incident site.
The scene was already a mess.
At least a dozen cars were destroyed, thick smoke billowed, and cries were incessant.
The broken-car mecha was still rampaging, it grabbed a small sedan and was about to throw it towards the densest crowd!
"Hey! Big guy!" A deep voice sounded.
The broken-car mecha paused, its cyclops-like headlight eye turning towards the source of the sound.
Not far in front of it, in an open space, a strong man in a dark brown uniform had appeared at some point, standing steadily there, it was Sandman Flint.
"Your road ends here," Sandman said in a deep voice.
"Another one blocking my way! I'll crush you!" The broken-car mecha let out a garbled roar, throwing the sedan in its hand like a toy at Sandman!
Facing the roaring car, Sandman neither dodged nor avoided.
His arms instantly turned to sand, transforming into two huge hands, formed by countless sand particles, which he thrust upwards to catch the flying sedan!
"Thump!"
A dull thud.
The car's momentum was steadily caught by the sandy giant hands, and the huge kinetic energy was dispersed and absorbed by countless flowing sand particles.
Sandman's feet sank slightly into the ground, but his body remained motionless.
He controlled the sand hands, carefully and steadily placing the sedan, with its trapped driver still inside, on the relatively safe ground nearby.
This effortless feat instantly drew gasps and cheers from the panicked crowd around.
"It's someone from the Hero Association!"
"He caught that car! Oh my God!"
"Look at his arms!"
Seeing its attack was ineffective, the broken-car mecha became even more enraged.
It took heavy steps, charging towards Sandman like an out-of-control tank, its twisted metal arm swinging down with a menacing whoosh!
Sandman's eyes narrowed, choosing not to confront it head-on.
The moment the metal arm was about to strike, his entire upper body suddenly exploded into a sky full of sand, causing the mecha's attack to completely miss!
The sand dust, like living mist, quickly circled behind the mecha and re-condensed into Sandman's upper body.
He let out a low growl, his right arm transforming and condensing into sand, no longer a crude sand whip, but forming a more solid sand blade with a faint yellow glow flickering along its edge!
"Slash!"
The sand blade cut through an arc of light, fiercely striking the mecha's relatively fragile knee joint connection!
"Screech—!"
An ear-splitting sound of tearing metal erupted.
Although the sand blade failed to completely sever the thick metal structure, it left a deep mark and damaged some of its transmission, causing the mecha's charge to suddenly halt and its body to tilt.
"Roar!" The mecha cried out in pain, sweeping with its other arm.
Sandman again used the same trick, partially turning his body to sand to dodge the attack, while simultaneously manipulating the dust and debris scattered on the ground from the destruction, causing them to adhere to the mecha's joints and crevices as if attracted, attempting to hinder its movement.
He kept the advice from the evaluation report in mind: utilize the environment, avoid head-on confrontation.
The battle turned into a struggle.
Sandman, like a flickering desert ghost, constantly moved, harassed, and cut around the clumsy mecha.
His Sand transformation ability made him almost immune to most of the mecha's physical attacks, while his condensed sand blade and continuously created sand dust interference made the mecha's movements increasingly sluggish, and the damage to its body grew.
"Annoying... insect!!" The broken-car mecha completely went berserk.
Its hood on its chest suddenly popped open, revealing a structure like a burning core inside, and a scorching hot airflow began to gather!
"[Warning: Target energy reaction is rapidly increasing! Suspected to be preparing for a wide-range energy blast!]" The system's alert sounded in Sandman's ear (via a miniature communicator).
High temperature! This was one of the weaknesses pointed out in the evaluation report!
Sandman's pupils constricted, with no time to think.
He slammed his hands onto the ground, unleashing his full power!
"Rise!"
Centered on him, a large area of the asphalt road ahead violently vibrated and cracked!
Countless sand grains and dust shot up like a fountain, instantly forming a giant sand wall in front of the mecha, incredibly thick and continuously flowing and reinforcing!
Almost simultaneously, a scorching hot breath of Fire, mixed with metal fragments and thick smoke, spewed from the mecha's chest!
"Boom—!!!"
The flames violently struck the sand wall, the high temperature instantly vitrifying the surface sand particles, emitting crackling sounds.
But the inside of the sand wall was continuously flowing and replenishing, firmly blocking this violent blow!
The flames lasted for several seconds before gradually extinguishing.
The sand wall was largely melted, emitting wisps of smoke, but it had ultimately held.
And the broken-car mecha, at this moment, seemed to have exhausted its energy from this full-power blast.
Its massive body swayed, its movements became even stiffer, and the red light in its eye dimmed considerably.
Opportunity!
Sandman didn't hesitate for a moment.
He completely transformed into sand, becoming a surging current of sand, like a desert storm, instantly enveloping the sluggish mecha!
The sand current, like a living giant python, tightly wrapped around the mecha's limbs and torso, countless sand particles frantically drilling into its joint crevices and engine air intakes!
"Creak... snap... bang!"
With its internal structure jammed and damaged by sand particles, coupled with the accumulated damage from before, the broken-car mecha finally couldn't hold on.
Amidst a series of overwhelmed metallic groans and explosive sounds, it disintegrated, collapsing into a pile of twisted, broken metal spewing black smoke.
The driver wearing the baseball cap fell out of the wreckage, unconscious but with stable vital signs.
The sand current re-condensed into the figure of Flint Marko beside the wreckage.
He was slightly breathless, looking at the results of his battle, a look of relief on his face.
Around him, the enthusiastic applause and cheers of the surviving civilians erupted.
"Amazing!"
"Thank you, Hero!"
"The Association's heroes are so reliable!"
Flint listened to these sounds, feeling a warmth surge through him, a sense of recognition and respect he had never experienced before.
He wasn't just doing it for the money and his daughter; he seemed to... be starting to like this feeling.
"[Mission 'Stop the Road Rage Mecha' completed! Reward points 150 have been issued to Hero 'Sandman's' account.]"
"[Hero 'Sandman's' first public mission performance evaluation: Excellent.
Association public credibility +10.]"
"[Hint: Hero 'Sandman' has gained insights into his ability usage through combat, and his sand manipulation precision has slightly improved.]"
Sandman looked at the system prompts and clenched his fists.
Debut, successful!
Points, acquired!
And, he seemed to... have gotten a little stronger.
The Association's first step was very steady.