**Chapter 80: Summarize What You Want to Say in Under 30 Words**
M-City.
Hero Association Headquarters.
"Report, Chairman, that unknown team has killed another Tiger-level Mysterious Being. So far, they have successively killed three Tiger-level Mysterious Beings. However, they've also suffered considerable casualties."
Maria reported truthfully. During this Terror Dragon invasion incident, they were surprised to discover that, in addition to the professional heroes of the Hero Association, another strong team was hunting Mysterious Beings.
After their investigation, they learned that this team was called the Hunter Self-Sacrifice Squad. Its leader was Axel, and all members were victims of Mysterious Being disasters. Their loved ones had, more or less, all died at the hands of Mysterious Beings, so they harbored deep hatred for Mysterious Beings. They spontaneously formed a Hunter Self-Sacrifice Squad, hunting Mysterious Beings with no regard for their own lives.
"The Hunter Self-Sacrifice Squad?"
Sitch mused. When the Hero Association was first established, most human elites yearned to join. However, as time passed, the Association exposed more and more problems and scandals. Recently, this had led many outstanding talents to decline the Association's invitations, revealing an attitude of distrust that was worrying.
"Continue to observe them. Contact and recruit them when the time is right, to see if they can be integrated into the Association's power system."
"Understood." Cole, who was in charge of hero affairs, adjusted his glasses and nodded gravely.
Maria reported again, "Right, Director, most of the Terror Dragons in M-City have been eliminated. A small portion were apprehended by heroes and are now confined in M-City's Hero Association Monster Prison. The Terror Dragon disaster is fundamentally resolved. Additionally, as of now, among the five perfected Terror Dragons, four, including the Ankylosaurus, have been confirmed dead, but the Quetzalcoatlus Terror Dragon has been missing, its whereabouts unknown."
"Missing?"
Sitch furrowed his brow deeply. "Have M-City's skies and outskirts been searched?"
"We requested satellite surveillance from the government. No flying objects were detected in M-City's airspace. As for the outskirts, Director, the range of M-City's suburban area is too vast to be thoroughly searched all at once."
"Hmm, continue the search. At the same time, announce to the whole world that, thanks to the efforts of our Association, the Terror Dragon invasion incident has been perfectly resolved."
Sitch said. Whether this disaster was truly handled perfectly was up to individual interpretation.
"Yes."
Genos immediately followed up, asking Sitch, "Director, should we take advantage of resolving the Terror Dragon incident to simultaneously announce our plan to enslave Mysterious Beings?"
Sitch paused, then waved his hand dismissively. "Sigh, no need. King's Mysterious Being pet and the subsequently surrendered Allosauruses all had incidents of violent killings, causing public disgust. Through these few events, it's clear that ordinary citizens still cannot accept living alongside Mysterious Beings. It's a long road ahead!"
Sitch had originally planned to announce the Association's plan to whitewash King. However, after this Terror Dragon invasion, King's reputation not only didn't decline; it exploded beyond recognition. Many young people worshipped King as an idol, and countless young women even called him their husband.
King no longer needed them to whitewash him. Furthermore, the public currently could not widely accept Mysterious Beings appearing on the streets. Besides, the Association's experiments to enslave Mysterious Beings hadn't achieved any breakthrough progress at the moment. Let's temporarily put this matter aside and revisit it when a better opportunity arises.
...
King completely disregarded how the Hero Association handled and publicized the Terror Dragon invasion of M-City. He was even less bothered by the citizens' surging enthusiasm and adoration.
He had long been "honored and glorified" for three years, accustomed to all sorts of public praise and adoration. This time, it was just a little more fervent than usual, nothing significant. He'd rather just stay home and play a few games. After the Terror Dragon commotion died down in a few days, he could go to Z City to find Saitama and duplicate a Dragon-level Mysterious Being Card to use as a trump card.
The thought of having the chance to experience Saitama's extraordinary power sent a thrill through King's entire body. He played King of Fighters with even greater vigor, unleashing a five-minute combo on his opponent. He didn't even stop when the opponent's character had already died, enthusiastically "whipping the corpse."
However, before he could leave to find Saitama, Child Emperor called him, inviting him to do an experiment at the "Elementary Student" Research Institute in the suburbs of City Y.
He initially refused outright, stating he had no time to play around with Child Emperor. He needed to find Saitama to duplicate a No-Star-level Card.
However, after Child Emperor's persistent pleading, King hesitated. He figured he could make a trip to City Y. After all, City Y and Z City were adjacent, so after helping Child Emperor finish his experiment, he could detour to Z City.
He then agreed to go to City Y tomorrow.
"Ding dong!"
Just as he hung up Child Emperor's call, the doorbell suddenly rang.
"Hm?"
His expression was slightly puzzled. Who would be looking for him at this hour? The number of people in the world who knew his address could be counted on one's fingers. Usually, only Hero Association staff members would come to his door.
"Is the Association distributing benefits? Or did someone just come to the wrong door?"
Through the peephole, he saw a heroic-looking man carrying a bag of apples. He wore a black long-sleeved T-shirt, a white vest over it, white gloves, and white knee-padded combat pants.
Unsure who was at the door, he simply called out, "Who are you looking for?" He certainly didn't want his address revealed; otherwise, the next day, he'd surely be surrounded by throngs of citizens, three layers deep inside and three layers deep outside.
The heroic-looking man politely said, "I'm here to see Mr. King. Is Mr. King home?"
"Hm, he specifically knows this is my home? Is he really from the Association?"
King felt slightly puzzled, then opened the door.
Click!
Upon seeing King, the heroic-looking man's face lit up with joy. He then respectfully handed over the apples and said, "Mr. King, long time no see. After what happened last time, I've been thinking of you, so I made a special visit today. I hope I haven't disturbed your rest."
"Huh? Who are you?"
King scanned the heroic-looking man skeptically. He genuinely couldn't recall where he had seen him before. "Last time?" Which "last time" was he referring to?
The heroic-looking man smiled. "Mr. King might not recognize me. After all, I didn't show my true face last time. Allow me to formally introduce myself: I am Axel, currently serving as the leader of the Hunter Self-Sacrifice Squad."
King raised an eyebrow. "Hunter Self-Sacrifice Squad? Never heard of them."
Axel's expression darkened as he explained, "The Hunter Self-Sacrifice Squad is a newly formed Mysterious Being resistance force. In the decade or so that Mysterious Beings have run rampant, many, many humans have lost their homes, lost their loved ones, becoming lonely orphans, living tragically in this world, spending each day in a daze. Whenever Mysterious Beings attack, the pain of losing their dearest loved ones always tears at their hearts, causing them unbearable suffering, yet they have no choice but to endure that desolation from hell..."
King watched Axel eloquently recount a bunch of convoluted tragic stories. The more he listened, the more fed up he became. *I know you live hard, live tragically, live miserably, but what does that have to do with me? I'm just a shut-in who plays video games all day. I have no ability to soothe the pain in your hearts.*
"All members of the Hunter Self-Sacrifice Squad are tragic individuals, and I am no exception. Once, I had a beautiful family: a virtuous wife, obedient and filial children. Our home was filled with laughter and joy every day. But ever since that Mysterious Being appeared, all that beauty came to an abrupt end – it was destined that my first half of life would be happy and complete, and my latter half lonely and sorrowful..."
Axel didn't notice King's increasingly dark expression, immersed in his own sorrowful past, eloquently recounting his past.
Slam!
King's mouth twitched. With a swift movement, he closed the door, blocking the dumbfounded Axel outside.
"If you want to come in, please summarize what you want to say in under 30 words. I don't have the time to ramble with you; I... I still have games to play!"
"Play games?"
Axel was dumbfounded. Was King's daily life just playing games? Shouldn't he be intensely training?
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*Author's Note: Thanks to Otaku's Conjecture, Bigger Ant, G-Dust Settled, Tang Dynasty's Universe 2, and everyone who tipped a few days ago. Thank you for your support. Your support is my motivation for writing... Never mind, I'm currently reflecting.*
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(end of chapter)