Chapter 71: A Live Broadcast to the Entire World
A-City.
Hero Association Headquarters Operations Room.
"What? The third shelter has already been breached by the Overlord Tyrannosaurus!?"
Sitch listened in shock to the report coming from the shelter's manager. "Wait a minute, didn't Puri-Puri Prisoner get there in time to stop the Dinosaur-man?"
"S-Class Hero, Rank 16—Puri-Puri Prisoner? We didn't see him... Oh, wait, there was a heavily injured hero, but he was beaten beyond recognition by the Dinosaur-man. It was impossible to tell who he was. His only identifying feature was that he was... completely naked!"
The manager replied at a frantic pace.
"Completely naked?"
Sitch fell silent for a moment. Being familiar with the fighting styles of all the major S-Class heroes, he immediately thought of Puri-Puri Prisoner's "Angel Style." That hero who was beaten to a pulp by Hammond must have been Puri-Puri Prisoner!
He was a little shocked and found it hard to believe. Puri-Puri Prisoner was an S-Class hero. Even as the lowest-ranked S-Class hero, he possessed the strength to eliminate a Demon Level Monster on his own. Could Puri-Puri Prisoner truly have been beaten so badly by Hammond that he couldn't even fight back?
This needed to be properly verified.
"Oh, right! Before that heavily injured hero completely collapsed, he had said something strange like, 'I'll never allow you to hurt the boys!'"
Sitch fell silent. It seemed verification was no longer needed. That heavily injured, naked hero was definitely Puri-Puri Prisoner. Among all the heroes, only he would shout such a bizarre slogan.
"What is the situation in the shelter now? Is the Overlord Tyrannosaurus on a killing spree? Don't panic, I'll have Genos close the defense system and open all the exits immediately."
His face was grave. With the shelter breached, he imagined it must have already become a river of blood, a living hell. That old guy Hammond deserves to die!
"Huh!? Uh... um..." the manager stammered. "The shelter is fine for now, and the citizens' lives aren't in immediate danger, but... but..."
"But what?" Sitch asked anxiously. "What exactly is the situation in the shelter right now? Tell me the details quickly."
"The Overlord Tyrannosaurus is guarding the only exit. He told us to notify King to come here within three hours, or else he'll... he'll kill all the citizens in the shelter."
"King?"
Sitch's pupils contracted. So Hammond's target was King. Before, the Hero Association had wondered why Hammond would ignore the closer L-City and charge straight for M-City. Now, the truth was revealed. Hammond's target from the very beginning had been King. Even his wanton destruction of M-City and the attack on the third shelter—it was all to draw King out.
Everyone else in the operations room shuddered, their faces filled with shock. The Dinosaur-man's target was the Strongest Man on Earth—King? Who gave it the courage to challenge King? Was this Dinosaur-man tired of living?
Coulson, his expression solemn, pushed up his glasses. "Director, Hammond's urgency to kill King likely stems from one of two objectives. First, to avenge the fallen Armored Dragon and other dinosaur-men. Second, to remove the main obstacle to the rise of the dinosaur-men. As the publicly acknowledged Strongest Man, King is a thorn in the side of all monsters. King has become a banner of resistance against them. As long as this banner does not fall, all monsters would live in constant dread. Therefore, Hammond is likely trying to topple King, this banner of heroism, to lift the heavy mountain pressing down on all monsters."
Sitch suddenly asked, "If King and Hammond were to fight, who do you think would win?"
Coulson gave a faint smile. "There's no comparison between the two."
Sitch scoffed. "As long as Hammond doesn't harm the citizens, then let him go get himself killed!"
Maria and the others also started to laugh. To specifically challenge King, that monster must be senile.
Everyone in the operations room was filled with confidence in King's strength. It was an absolute faith in King's power, built upon his numerous impressive battle records and the long list of tragically slain monsters.
King equals invincibility!
This was the consensus they had formed over the past three years.
"Reporting, Director, something terrible has happened!"
Just as everyone was laughing lightheartedly, a staff member took a call and his face turned pale. He hurriedly reported to Sitch, "There are reporters from the M-City TV station inside the third shelter! Right now, the M-City TV station is broadcasting the situation at the third shelter live to the entire world, and it has caused a global uproar!"
"What!?"
Sitch's expression changed. He ordered urgently, "Quick, switch the main screen to the M-City Monster Channel!"
"Yes, sir."
Maria knew how serious the situation was. She quickly operated the computer, switching the main screen in the operations room to the M-City TV's Monster Channel.
"To all our viewers, as you can see, I am at the M-City Third Shelter, built with a huge investment from the Hero Association. In their promotional materials, the Association explicitly stated that the shelter's defenses were perfect and flawless. However, as you all can see, the shelter failed to stop the charge of the Demon Level Monster, the Overlord Tyrannosaurus... The Dinosaur-man has demanded that Mr. King arrive on the scene within three hours, or else he will kill all of us! Come, let's interview some of the citizens here."
The reporter for the M-City TV Monster Channel—Mei Lei—spoke eloquently to the camera. It was quite a coincidence. Originally, his team had entered the shelter intending to interview citizens about their views on the monster invasion. They never expected to run into Hammond's attack on the shelter itself.
At first, he and his reporter team were similarly terrified. However, after Hammond made it clear he wasn't interested in them and indeed did not attack any citizens, they gradually calmed down. They even came up with a bold idea: a live broadcast from the scene of a monster invasion.
On one hand, such a thrilling scene would definitely boost the show's ratings. They might even become instant celebrities after this event, with doubled salaries, increased benefits, and bonuses so plentiful their hands would go soft from counting them—reaching the pinnacle of their lives. On the other hand, they could use the live broadcast to call for help from the whole world, notifying Mr. King or other S-Class heroes to come and rescue them. It was killing two birds with one stone.
After a brief discussion, they made a snap decision, set up their equipment, and began their tense and exciting journey of broadcasting a live monster invasion.
"Mr. King, can you see our broadcast? We're begging you, please come and save us quickly!"
"Any hero, it doesn't matter who! Please, we're begging you, come save us soon!"
"Mr. King, please hurry! We're all waiting for you!"
Watching the crying citizens pleading for help on the large screen, Sitch and the others felt a collective tightness in their chests, an indescribable discomfort. This exposed the Hero Association's incompetence to the entire world in the most vivid way possible. The Hero Association had completely lost face.
Ring, ring, ring! Ring, ring, ring! Ring, ring, ring!
Ever since the broadcast began, Sitch's phone had not stopped ringing. The Hero Association's upper management was constantly calling to reprimand him, demanding that he suppress the incident in the shortest possible time and minimize the negative impact on the Association.
(end of chapter)