Times Square, the pulsating heart of New York, the city that never sleeps. Giant LED screens, like the digital age's Mount Olympus, where brands, like gods, competed for attention, pouring billions of tons of shimmering light, overwhelming every inch of space and the faces of pedestrians. The air was filled with electronic sound effects, the din of the crowd, and a faint caramel scent, forming an unceasing urban symphony.
However, today, a jarring note was introduced into this symphony.
In the northwest corner of the square, a giant screen that had been playing an advertisement for a luxury brand was suddenly covered in dazzling static. Immediately, a distorted, deformed human face occupied the entire display. The face vaguely showed its original delicate contours, but now it was covered by a morbid fanaticism and digital code-like patterns, with blinding white light, like a mobile phone flash, flickering in the eye sockets.
"Family! Do you see it? This is Times Square! This is the center of the World!"
A sharp, excited voice, with the unique cadence of a live streamer, swept across the entire square like a tsunami through the screen's built-in giant speakers. Pedestrians stopped in their tracks, looking up in astonishment.
"But it's not enough! The heat isn't enough! Where are your little red hearts? Where are your shares?! I want to be a top streamer! A true top streamer!"
Accompanying his roar, the face on the screen suddenly opened its mouth, and an invisible wave, carrying strong mental pollution, spread out from the screen like ripples. Where the wave reached, strange things happened.
Almost everyone who was using a mobile phone found their screens uncontrollably jumping to an unknown live streaming platform interface, with a huge, constantly rotating "Like" icon occupying the center of the screen. No matter how they operated their phones, they were unresponsive, as if controlled by an invisible force.
Even more chilling, the eyes of the affected pedestrians instantly became vacant and fanatical. They stood stiffly in place, their fingers uncontrollably and frantically repeating "swipe up" and "click" actions on their phone screens (or simply in the air), muttering:
"Like... follow... triple tap..."
"Amazing... streamer..."
"Traffic... it's all Traffic..."
Some people even began unconsciously approaching the central screen, like a swarm of bees attracted by nectar, their faces showing a pilgrimage-like intoxicated expression. A corner of the square instantly fell into a bizarre, silent carnival, with only the mad laughter of the strange person on the screen and the unconscious murmurs of the people echoing.
"Yes! That's it! Give me your attention! Your Traffic!"
Hero Association Headquarters, Monitoring Center.
"Alert! High-intensity anomalous mental fluctuations and energy field distortions detected in the New York Times Square area! Incident classification: Supernormal Threat!"
"Energy readings climbing rapidly... already reached tiger-level standard!"
"Target characteristic analysis... 99.8% match with registered user 'Flashy Richie' biosignal. Judged to be an ability out of control mutation!"
"Codename generated: 'Traffic is King'."
On the holographic projection, the real-time footage of Times Square was marked with large red alert zones, and the distorted screen face in the center was highlighted, with data streams scrolling rapidly beside it.
Kingpin stood in front of the control panel, his mountainous body casting a huge Shadow in the flickering lights. There was no expression on his face, but his eyes were sharp as an eagle's.
"Initial assessment of target's ability: Regional mental interference, forcibly acquiring 'attention' and converting it into its own energy. Physical destructiveness unknown, but social order disruption extremely high," the analyst reported quickly.
"Initiate standard response procedures," Kingpin's voice was low and steady, without the slightest ripple, "Notify standby heroes nearby, prioritize civilian evacuation, and attempt to interrupt the target's energy source. Technical Department, analyze its signal transmission mode, and look for weaknesses."
Orders were quickly issued. The Association's efficient machine began to operate.
Minutes later, two black SUVs emblazoned with the Association's logo sped to the scene, stopping outside the cordon. Four C-Class Heroes in standard uniforms jumped out of the vehicles; they were Iron Wall (skilled in defense and barrier construction) and Swift Shadow (possessing superhuman speed) and their team members.
"My goodness..." Swift Shadow looked at the bizarre scene in the center of the square, unable to help but click his tongue, "What new kind of monster is this?"
"Don't get distracted!" Iron Wall barked, placing his hands on the ground. A translucent energy barrier quickly rose, attempting to block the spread of the invisible mental fluctuations and isolate the controlled civilians unconsciously approaching the screen.
However, the mental fluctuations did not seem to be purely physical or energy attacks; the energy barrier's blocking effect was limited, and some fluctuations still permeated, making the heroes near the barrier themselves feel a momentary unease, instinctively wanting to pull out their communicators to check.
"No! This thing isn't quite like electromagnetic waves; it's more like a... conceptual pollution!" Iron Wall's forehead was sweating, maintaining the barrier was becoming extremely difficult.
Swift Shadow attempted to use his speed to charge in and directly attack the giant screen. But as soon as his figure entered the core area, his movements noticeably slowed, and his eyes showed a momentary daze, almost bumping into a pedestrian who was mechanically "liking" nearby.
"Be careful! The closer to the center, the stronger the mental interference!" He quickly retreated, still shaken.
At the same time, the Association's Technical Department's remote analysis also encountered obstacles.
"Director! The target signal source is not purely an electronic signal; it's mixed with strong bio-electrical waves and psychic energy! Our standard electronic jamming methods are barely effective!"
"Try to locate his main body! The screen might just be a medium!"
"Unable to pinpoint! His biosignal is entangled with the entire area's wireless network and data streams! It's like... it's like a virus!"
The head of the Technical Department, Leo Fitz, looked at the chaotic data on the screen, scratching his already disheveled hair: "Damn it! Has this guy 'uploaded' himself to the network? Physical attacks don't work, electronic jamming is ineffective, how do we deal with this?"
The chaos in Times Square was escalating. The controlled crowd began to push and shove, some experiencing inexplicable anger because they "couldn't get to the front row," and their previously mechanical actions began to become aggressive. Traffic was completely paralyzed, and the piercing horn sounds intertwined with the monster's mad laughter and the crowd's murmurs, composing a grotesque lament of the digital age.
The internet also exploded. Although the signal in the core area was interfered with, clips and photos taken by peripheral eyewitnesses had already spread like a virus.
"Holy crap! Times Square was hacked?"
"Is that a monster? Its ability is to force people to swipe their phones?"
"Hero Association people are here! Seems a bit tricky?"
"Hahaha, this monster is every influencer's ultimate dream!"
Kingpin calmly watched all of this through the surveillance footage. He saw the heroes being obstructed, the helplessness of the Technical Department, and the rapidly climbing "heat" on the internet that was, in turn, nourishing the monster.
"Target's ability characteristics are clear: feeds on 'attention' and 'network Traffic', mental pollution type, physical defense unknown, extremely high resistance to conventional technological methods," he said slowly, as if stating a fact unrelated to himself.
He connected to the internal communication with the Technical Department: "Fitz, stop the ineffective electronic countermeasures. Concentrate resources on analyzing the core frequency and propagation patterns of his mental fluctuations."
"Understood, boss!" Fitz immediately responded. Although the direction had changed, at least there were clear instructions.
Next, Kingpin retrieved the real-time status list of the Association's heroes. His gaze swept over names and avatars, finally settling on a C-Class Hero's file marked "Non-Combat Support Personnel" with an ability assessment of "Psychic Perception and Emotional Soothing."
"Notify The Silent Heart Master Lin," Kingpin ordered, "Prepare to intervene. Mission objective: construct a localized silent field, isolate mental pollution, and assist front-line teams in evacuating civilians."
He did not choose to immediately deploy higher-ranking combat heroes but opted for the most targeted ability. This was both efficiency and a statement—the Hero Association possessed diverse means to deal with various unconventional threats.
The farce in Times Square continued, "Traffic is King" let out even more triumphant and delirious laughter from the screen, enjoying this twisted "top streamer" moment.
But he did not know that a net, specifically designed for his ability's characteristics, had already begun to quietly tighten. The Association's response, from initial probing, shifted to precise, specialized deconstruction. This bizarre crisis occurring at the crossroads of the World was about to face its true challenge.