Anzu picked up the paper cup of hot coffee and took small sips. Her adorable appearance made the young police officer beside her stare in disbelief. Her cheerful smile, which had previously been tinged with maturity and charm, instantly pierced his heart. His pulse raced. His breathing quickened. He even started thinking about which kindergarten their child should attend.
"Could you please retrieve my training results from the system?"
Anzu's soft, sweet voice rang out, startling the young officer from his reverie. He scratched his head sheepishly, blushing, and hurriedly nodded. "Just a moment... just a moment! I'll be right back!"
As he spoke, he fled in a flustered manner toward the control room next door, like an inexperienced young boy suddenly encountering his first love.
A gleam appeared in Anzu's eyes. Certain special knowledge within the superpowers was indeed useful. The results of her initial experiment were quite satisfactory.
Lost in thought, her gaze involuntarily shifted to Jordan beside her. "Section Chief..."
"Tsk tsk tsk. What a femme fatale." Jordan reached out and pressed down on Anzu's head, suppressing his subordinate who wanted to cause trouble with one hand. "But you wouldn't want to use the superpowers I gave you against me, would you?"
"I was just excited about getting superpowers, wasn't I?" Anzu struggled to break free from Jordan's large hand and pouted. "But it shouldn't be like this. It's called a superpower, but it's actually scientific theory formed after in-depth analysis and research on human psychology. Plus, with my natural beauty, it shouldn't have zero effect on you, Section Chief, right?"
"Section Chief, you don't dislike women, do you? Ow..."
After being brutally chopped by Jordan, Anzu covered her reddened forehead with tears in her eyes, presenting a pitiful, heart-wrenching sight.
There was no one around right now. If there had been even a few male creatures nearby, they would probably turn into protectors of the flower and attack Jordan with red eyes.
"Don't try that on me. Slandering your superior like that, I'll sue you for defamation in a heartbeat." Jordan clapped his hands, as if recalling the feeling of the blow. "The effect wasn't bad. At least resilience has improved significantly."
"What do you mean?" Anzu immediately became alert, carefully covering her chest, speaking warily. "Section Chief, is your purpose in strengthening me to find a suitable punching bag? I will absolutely not submit!"
"Stop with your dark thoughts. You're far from being a punching bag." Jordan shook his head in exasperation. "Alright, I have something to do. I'm leaving now. As for you, don't forget to clean up the mess you've made."
Anzu frowned, displeased. "What do you mean by 'the mess I made'..."
A loud shout brimming with masculine hormones came from outside the door. Anzu felt a strange sense of unease.
"I've got the data you requested!" The young officer in charge of the training ground was sweating, voice trembling slightly. "Excuse me... are you free tonight?"
Anzu felt a chill run down her spine, finally understanding what Jordan meant by the mess.
She instinctively turned around. There was no sign of Jordan where he'd been. Anzu's vision went black.
The helpless policewoman sighed and laughed awkwardly, forced to face reality.
The next second, a passionate offensive surged forth. The inexperienced Black Widow appeared to be handling it with ease, but in reality, she was trembling with fear.
I'll never use my colleagues to test superpowers again! She thought tearfully.
Having confirmed that Anzu had adapted well to the character card's abilities, Jordan left the police station satisfied.
To be honest, Black Widow Natasha wasn't a superhero focused on direct combat. But as a support character, her functionality and versatility were undeniable, making her the perfect choice to pair with Anzu, his second-in-command.
At that moment, the electronic screen on a commercial building's ground floor was broadcasting midday news.
"...It is reported that three Wolf-level mysterious being incidents occurred in J-City this morning, all of which were successfully repelled by the recently active C-rank hero 'Mumen Rider.' Although Mumen Rider was seriously injured as a result, his popularity and support rate are rising rapidly. At this rate, he has a high probability of competing for the position of C-Rank #1 hero."
"...Breaking news: The Tiger-level mysterious being 'Debt-ridden Thug' that attacked A-City's commercial street was defeated by the combined efforts of A-rank hero 'Smile Man,' B-rank heroes 'Crying Man' and 'Trap Tengu,' and C-rank heroes 'Angry Man' and 'Studless.' Citizens at the scene rushed to take photos with the heroes..."
Yes, that's right. The head of the Special Affairs Section had once again left work early and was hunting for food in one of Z-City's few food streets.
Looking at the overwhelming news about heroes around him, Jordan seemed deep in thought.
If I have extra character cards in the future, helping heroes with average strength but noble souls become stronger would be a good choice.
First, it allows heroes with lower potential to play a stronger role. Second, the idea of an S-rank hero like 'Mumen Rider' is very appealing.
Those who carry firewood for the masses should not be left to freeze to death in the wilderness.
Similarly, in this world, justice should never be betrayed.
"Hot dogs on clearance sale! Delicious and cheap, only available to the first 100 customers! Hurry and grab yours!"
"Special offer hot dogs..."
The sound from not far away made Jordan stop in his tracks. He'd been planning to enter a nice-looking Western restaurant for lunch. But when he looked in the direction of the sound, he saw a young man wearing a white chef's uniform and chef's hat pushing a food cart and loudly hawking his wares.
"Special hot dogs? I'm starving. Give me one."
"I want one too."
"Can I buy two portions? Okay, I'll take two."
Perhaps because it was lunchtime, people around were attracted by the hawking. Business was quite good.
After waiting for customers surrounding the food cart to disperse, Jordan stepped forward. "Give me a hot dog too, Saitama. What happened? You changed jobs again?"
"Hey, it's Jordan." Saitama skillfully took the banknotes from Jordan and retrieved a hot dog bun covered with cheese and sauce from under the cart. "Remember my old job at the supermarket and my boss leaving. Although I took some usable supplies from the ruins as payment for wages, I still need money to live. So I had to come out and work again."
"Keep at it then." Jordan took a bite of the hot dog. The chewy sausage and well-balanced sauce were surprisingly good. "It's surprisingly delicious! Give me another one."
Saitama chuckled and took out another hot dog. "Okay, thank you for your patronage."