Chapter 15: This Gift Is Expired
In any case, king accepted the Hero Association's proposal. He was willing to participate in certain hero promotional activities organized by the association and cooperate with them in shooting promotional advertisements.
However, the hero model project had just been decided, and the related activities and advertisements had not yet been fully planned. The association told king to return to M-City and wait for a few days.
king had no objections to this. He took a roundabout train route back to M-City. By the time he arrived, it was already late. After leaving the train station, he headed home.
"Hm? A post office?"
On his way home, he passed a post office. Seeing it, he couldn't help but think of how Saitama had saved him time and time again, yet he had never once said "thank you" to him. It was quite embarrassing to think about.
"I should mail Saitama a gift as thanks!"
He considered it for a moment. He didn't dare show his face in Z City for the time being, so he couldn't thank Saitama in person. In that case, a proper gift was essential.
What did Saitama lack?
It was obvious. Saitama was very short on money. His poverty made him exceptionally concerned with supermarket sales, to the point that he even developed an incredibly formidable skill—"Secret Technique: Supermarket Sale Punch." It was said that no one had ever escaped from this move alive.
Meanwhile, because king had taken credit for Saitama's achievements, he had a monthly salary of nearly one hundred thousand yuan and lived a carefree life.
Comparing the two, why did he feel like he owed Saitama tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of yuan?
*Sweatdrop.*
He touched his bank card. Inside was the 1.5 million yuan newly deposited by the Hero Association.
Yes, he already knew what gift he should mail to Saitama.
However, the bank was already closed for the day, and the amount of cash he could withdraw from an ATM was limited. For a large withdrawal, he would have to wait until the bank opened tomorrow.
"Oh, the sidewalk is being repaired. That was fast."
After a day of repairs, the sidewalk in front of his door was already being paved with cement. Speaking of which, the construction speed in this world was astonishingly fast. City B and City D had both been completely destroyed before, but the reconstruction work only took a few short months to restore them to their former glory. Such construction speed was enough to put countless modern construction companies to shame.
After returning home, he glanced at the unrepaired second floor, stretched lazily, and felt too lazy to deal with it. He would just call someone tomorrow to sort it out.
He put down his backpack and carefully took out the Vaccine Man egg, placing it on the sofa. It looked completely undamaged. However, the Vaccine Man egg was perfectly still, and he was faced with a difficult problem: how could he make the egg hatch? Smash it directly? Or find a hen to sit on it? Or perhaps use modern technology—like shining a flashlight on it until it hatches?
Sigh, if it couldn't be hatched, then his dream of having Piccolo the Great Demon King would be completely shattered. Wait, that's right! He could ask the almighty netizens online.
A flash of inspiration struck his mind. With a slight smile, he opened his computer, logged into his account on the Tianya Forum, and created a post in the pet section: "Picked up a strange, big egg, bigger than an ostrich egg. May I ask how to hatch this egg?"
The Vaccine Man egg was about twenty centimeters long and ten centimeters wide, quite a bit larger than an ostrich egg.
The moment his post went up, someone replied immediately.
BullfrogLovesToadWoman: "If an egg can't be hatched, then I'll teach you a method: boil it and eat it!"
"..."
king's face darkened. It wasn't a bad idea, but he didn't dare to eat it. That guy Saitama often ate monsters; who knew if he went bald from eating random things? In any case, he wasn't going to risk it.
ButtocksAndYoungerBrotherWillNeverMeet: "The little baby in the egg is unwilling to come out because it lacks a mother's love. Just give it a hug to express some goodwill and it will be fine."
The corner of king's mouth twitched. Big brother, must you be so unreliable?
TellingLiesWithEyesClosed: "If it was born but can't be hatched, perhaps the baby hasn't had enough fun on the slide. Try stuffing it back in and giving birth again."
king slapped his forehead. Damn it, how am I supposed to stuff such a big ball back in? Are you trying to get my chrysanthemum wrecked and splattered all over the ground? And besides, am I in a pet forum? Why does it feel so lewd? From the usernames to the comments, everything's a filthy mess.
Sigh, netizens are completely unreliable!
He closed the forum and searched online for the incubation process of chicken and ostrich eggs. The answer he got was—all you need is an incubator!
Alright then. Tomorrow, he'd go to the bank to withdraw money to mail to Saitama, and buy an incubator on the way back.
The next morning, king woke up early and dragged a leather suitcase out from the storage room. One and a half million was no small sum. If he were to mail it, he'd need a small leather suitcase to fit it all.
He wiped the suitcase clean, took his bank card, and carefully hid the Vaccine Man egg before leaving the house with peace of mind.
The world of One-Punch Man had no distinct countries, only a single United Government, equivalent to a world union, that managed twenty-six cities. Similarly, the banks weren't confusingly divided into construction, agricultural, commercial, and so on. There was only one: ABC World Bank.
king went to the bank to withdraw money. After completing a series of procedures, he successfully withdrew the cash, stuffed it into the suitcase, and then dragged the suitcase to buy an incubator. He also bought some other things to stuff into the suitcase.
Finally, seeing that it was about time, he dragged the suitcase, which he had stuffed to the brim, to the post office.
"Sir, please fill out this shipping form."
"Alright."
king picked up a pen and swiftly wrote down the recipient, Saitama, as well as Saitama's address: Z-City Uninhabited Area...
"It's filled out."
He handed over the package and personally watched the delivery person pack it securely. Only then did he leave, satisfied.
After returning home, he immediately moved the incubator into the storage room, placed the Vaccine Man egg inside, plugged it in, and followed the manual to turn it on. All that was left was to wait.
After that, he called the relevant company to have the house cleaned up. As for the second-floor floorboards, there was no need to fix them. For one, it was a hassle, and for two, he was alone and didn't need two floors. He might as well just live on the first floor to save trouble.
Of course, he had already put away any materials that could reveal his identity. Otherwise, if people found out that this was King's residence, wouldn't he be harassed daily?
...
Five days passed in a flash.
Z City, Uninhabited Street, in front of a certain apartment building.
*Screeech!*
The sound of a car braking sharply rang out.
*Click!*
A car door opened.
*Thud!*
A heavy package was thrown out.
"Saitama, your package is here!" the delivery man shouted.
*Vroom!*
The car engine started. *Whoosh!* With a stomp on the gas pedal, the post office car sped away.
From stopping to leaving, they didn't linger for more than a minute, as if the place was haunted.
"Ah, huh!?"
Saitama heard someone call his name. He pushed open the door to look, but the person was long gone. Below his apartment, there was only a package, still swaying slightly.
"My mail?"
He scratched his face with a finger. His head, as bald as a lightbulb, glinted. He leaped down from the third floor and walked over to the package, seeing "Recipient: Saitama" written on it.
"Who sent me a package?"
He stared with his dead-fish eyes, lost in thought. Half a second later, he gave up. He had always been alone, with no friends and no relatives. How could he possibly guess who the sender was?
Speaking of which, in this respect, he and King were very similar. Both were lonely individuals, and both stood at the pinnacle of humanity. King was at the pinnacle of fame, while Saitama was at the pinnacle of strength. Both experienced the cold that comes with being at the top. No wonder they would later come to cherish each other and become such close companions.
*Whoosh!*
He tore off the outer wrapping of the package, revealing the bulging leather suitcase inside. Curiously, he pulled open the suitcase zipper and lifted the outer shell.
"Huh, this is... supermarket sale flyers?"
Saitama was dumbfounded. That's right, the suitcase was stuffed to the brim with a pile of supermarket sale flyers. On top of the flyers, there was a note.
The note read: Dear Saitama, thank you so much for saving my life time and again. This money is what you deserve. Please forgive me for not being able to thank you in person for the time being. When I have the chance in the future, I'll definitely treat you to hot pot. Oh, the kind with kombu, because I heard kombu helps with hair growth. Lastly, thank you again for the grace of saving my life so many times.
Signed: A handsome guy with hair.
"Is it from a fan?"
Saitama's eyes lit up. He savored the letter, reading it several times. He said to himself with delight, "If it weren't for the signature and that line about 'kombu helps with hair growth,' this thank-you letter would be perfect."
He carefully put the note away. This was the first thank-you letter he had ever received in his life. Even though "kombu helps with hair growth" and the signature "A handsome guy with hair" were a bit jarring, it still held great sentimental value.
"Hm? Supermarket sale flyers..." Saitama picked up a supermarket sale flyer and glanced at it a few times before sighing. "They're expired. If only this had arrived a day earlier." He reluctantly closed the suitcase. He had looked at a few of the flyers, which featured special sales on chicken legs, cabbage, and lobster. To his dismay, the sales event on the flyer was only valid until yesterday, which meant the promotion was already over.
*Zip!*
He zipped the suitcase back up and placed it in a corner. Although the supermarket sale flyers were expired, it was still the first thank-you gift he had received in his three years of hero activities. He couldn't bear to throw it away, so he might as well keep it as a collectible.
"Hmm, speaking of which... does kombu really help with hair growth? Hehe, next time I'll pay attention to which supermarket has kombu on sale."
...
"Eh? The package finally reached Saitama. The post office's delivery efficiency is really too low. A half-day journey took five days to deliver. This turtle's speed is killing me!"
king, bored at home, logged into the post office's official website, entered the tracking number, and saw that the package had been signed for. The corner of his mouth twitched. "This... it's been five days. The supermarket sale flyers must be expired by now, right?"
Sigh. When he went to withdraw the money that day, he hadn't expected the bank's regulation limiting daily withdrawals to a maximum of fifty thousand yuan. Left with no choice and wanting to avoid looking awkward, he had specifically collected some supermarket sale flyers from various major cities and stuffed them into the suitcase. He also placed the fifty thousand yuan he withdrew under the flyers. The reason he put the cash at the bottom was to prevent the delivery person from seeing it and getting greedy.
"Although the supermarket sale flyers are expired, that fifty thousand yuan should be enough for Saitama to live on for a while."
king breathed a sigh of relief and got up, preparing to go out.
The Hero Association's hero promotional advertisement filming plan was now on the agenda. king received a call informing him that the filming location had been chosen as M-City, and the film crew had already arrived to meet him. They told him to get ready.
He had no objection. He was bored anyway, so he might as well do something meaningful. According to Sitch, they would mainly be shooting two hero-themed advertisements this time, one focusing on hot-blooded action and the other on passion.
Thinking about it carefully, he felt an inexplicable bit of excitement.
...
"Ah... choo..."
Saitama, who was putting on his yellow hero suit, suddenly sneezed. He touched his nose and shook his head in confusion. "Is someone thinking of me?"
He glanced at the leather suitcase in the corner, and his heart was instantly filled with motivation.
"I... I have a fan now too."
(Suitcase: You... you really don't plan on looking at me again? Fifty Thousand Yuan: Big bro, I respect you as a true man, for actually treating money like dirt. Later, after Saitama learned the truth about the suitcase, he stared blankly with his dead-fish eyes: Damn it all to hell!)
(end of chapter)