D City—a city renowned for its heavy industry. Unlike the bustling prosperity of A City or the seaside charm of M City, D City's sky was always shrouded in a faint gray haze. The air carried a peculiar scent of metal mixed with engine oil.
At this moment, inside and outside the ruins of a large chain supermarket on D City's outskirts, chaos had already erupted.
"Quick—disperse! Their attacks are highly corrosive!"
"AHHH—my hand!!"
"My foot is stuck—damn it!"
"Someone, anyone—please save me!!"
*WARNING *
"Emergency evacuation warning! A cluster of Monsters—the Drink Family—is causing widespread destruction at the D City Madame Supermarket. The disaster level has been determined to be Tiger-level or above! The Hero Association is urgently dispatching patrol heroes to handle the situation. Nearby citizens are advised not to approach the disaster site and to evacuate to a safe location as quickly as possible!"
"Repeat: Emergency evacuation warning…"
*WARNING *
The sharp warning broadcast echoed over the city. Within the supermarket ruins, over a dozen Monsters of various forms rampaged, cackling wildly. They all exhibited distinct beverage characteristics.
Some had heads like bubbly soda cans, their arms two cannon barrels continuously spewing large amounts of viscous, caramel-colored liquid—turning the ground into an impassable quagmire. Others resembled giant glass bottles that had grown limbs; lime-green liquid flowing within them was used as a weapon, gushing at high speed, capable of corroding even thick reinforced concrete into numerous pits.
At the center of the ruins was the largest of them all—a giant orange juice Monster. Its four thick, straw-like limbs seemed hollow but swung like battering rams, each impact making the earth tremble.
"Meh hahahaha! We are the invincible Drink Family!!" The orange juice Monster's muffled roar echoed across the wreckage. "Humans kill countless of our brethren every day—and in the cruelest way: by draining our bodily fluids to death!! We shall avenge all beverages against you humans!! Jie jie jie jie—!!"
The Drink Family had clear divisions of labor: some controlled the battlefield, some attacked from range, some served as tanks. Though their individual disaster levels were only around Tiger-level, when working together, even an ordinary A-Class hero would struggle. Their combined destructive power was on par with a Demon-level disaster.
"Jie jie jie… The human city should be our Monster beverage paradise!" The orange juice Monster swept a straw-like arm sideways, sending a discarded car flying.
Just then, a tall figure dressed in a shirt and trousers—looking like an office worker—slowly emerged from the pervasive smoke and dust.
"Hmm? Another one coming to die?" The soda can Monster spotted the newcomer, its cannon muzzle immediately aimed at him. "Taste my 'Happy Fat Otaku Water Jet'!"
*CHI, CHI, CHI, CHI—! *
High-pressure viscous liquid blasted out like a high-pressure water cannon, forming an orange torrent. The newcomer simply took a casual step to the side, easily dodging. The high-speed liquid struck the wall behind him—the entire wall instantly collapsed, its remnants covered in large, solidified amber patches of hard syrup.
"Don't joke around…" Jack shook his head, a speechless sneer curling his lips. "Aren't drinks just meant for drinking?"
Before his words finished, the handsome young man left a dissipating afterimage in his original spot—and simultaneously appeared before the soda can Monster.
"What—"
The soda can Monster only managed a startled syllable before an iron-vice-like hand clamped onto its round head.
*CRUNCH. CRUNCH. CRUNCH—!! *
Accompanied by the grating sound of twisting metal, the soda can head was forcefully crushed. Bubbly black liquid mixed with metal fragments splattered everywhere.
"AHHH—he killed Soda Can Brother!"
"Tie Mie—!!"
"Bastard! Kill him!"
"Brothers—go for him!!"
The other Drink Monsters were enraged, turning their attack targets and unleashing a furious barrage. In an instant, acidic lime juice, icy orange-flavored slushies, scalding milk tea liquid—various beverage components transformed into torrents of water cannons covering the sky and earth, shooting toward him.
The handsome young man moved through the storm with the grace of a leisurely stroll, dodging all assaults and leaving a series of blurred afterimages within the colorful torrents.
"Too… too strong!"
In the distance, a C-Class hero named Iron Head—who had just struggled free from cola slime—watched in stunned disbelief. He had been fending off the Monsters' encirclement, utterly disheveled. Yet this mysterious handsome man who suddenly appeared seemed to treat the Monsters' siege as nothing.
"B-Boss! This guy…"
The glass bottle Monster discovered in horror that their attacks couldn't even touch the opponent.
"All together! Drown him with 'Juice Hell'!"
The orange juice boss roared, its massive body trembling violently. All its openings simultaneously spewed enormous amounts of orange-yellow juice—instantly forming a viscous swamp—aiming to completely engulf the handsome man.
But the handsome young man didn't even look down at his feet. He simply bent his knees slightly.
*BOOM—!! *
The ground exploded. A dazzling silver electric light shot into the sky. The next moment, a thick bolt of lightning—like a thunder dragon—struck down from the heavens.
*RUMBLE—!!! *
With a deafening roar, the already leaking gas pipelines underground were instantly ignited. The dozen Drink Monsters watched in terror as they were swept away and devoured by explosive lightning and flames. The destructive energy transformed into a rising mushroom cloud—completely obliterating everything in the ruins.
In just one short minute, the Monster group that had repelled several waves of C-Class and B-Class hero expeditions was utterly annihilated by one person.
[Killed Tiger-level Monster group 'Drink Family' | Gained Origin Points × 569!]
"Oh—quite a lot?"
With a soft exclamation, Jack emerged from the ruins shrouded in thick smoke and heat waves. His clean white shirt was spotless—as if he'd only gone in for a one-sided deep cleaning.
In a blink, he understood. Though it was a Tiger-level Monster group, their sheer numbers and destructive power approached a Demon-level disaster. With everything tallied, it made sense for the Origin Points to reach Demon-level range.
At this moment, after over ten seconds of dead silence, the surrounding citizens finally erupted into fervent cheers and relieved discussions. Countless flashes from mobile phones and cameras merged into a continuous stream, frantically aimed at Jack as he walked out of the disaster site.
"Too… too strong!"
"One person… solved all the Monsters!"
"Is he an S-Class hero?!"
"Three minutes—I want all the information on this man!"
A young girl with twin pigtails—looking like an intern reporter—gathered her courage and pushed forward with a microphone. Her large eyes sparkled with excitement and adoration.
"P-Please…!" She stammered. "Excuse me—are you an S-Class hero sent by the Hero Association? Could you please reveal your hero name? The citizens all want to know who saved us!"
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