Bang.
Another door slammed shut.
Jason turned around. It was Saitama.
His expression was a strange mix—three parts calm, three parts helplessness, three parts embarrassment, and one part confusion. In short, it was extremely complicated.
"So, who was that old lady?" Jason asked.
"That old lady? She's my landlord," Saitama said as he sat across from Jason and took a sip of tea. "Because I've been behind on rent for three months, she told me I have to move out by tomorrow."
…By tomorrow?
Seriously? Just say she wants you gone right now.
"But didn't you help her deal with all those problematic tenants? She still won't give you any grace period?"
"That's exactly why," Saitama replied. "Because the police arrested all her tenants, no one is paying rent anymore, so she kicked me out."
"..."
Jason Apartment
Slurp— slurp— x2
Since Saitama hadn't had dinner yet, and Jason himself had also worked up an appetite from helping him pack, cooking was the first thing they did after returning home.
For convenience, the obvious choice was Jason's special upgraded instant noodles.
So the sound of slurping noodles came from the balcony twice.
"Good thing I have you, Jason. Otherwise I definitely wouldn't have found a place today. You really helped me out," Saitama said while chewing large chunks of braised beef. "But don't worry, I'll move out as soon as possible. Sorry for the trouble."
A [Limiter Fragment] formed as a strand of hair fell from the back of Saitama's head. Jason quickly caught it.
"It's fine. My guest room is always empty anyway. You can stay as long as you want."
Saitama turned his head slightly, sensing a breeze behind him, but saw nothing. He didn't think much of it and went back to eating.
The next day.
Jason went to the police station, showed his face to his superiors, handled a backlog of reports, then rode his scooter out on patrol.
Even with special privileges, he couldn't skip work every day.
After finishing a full day's work honestly, Jason returned to his apartment and saw Saitama carrying two large boxes down the stairs.
"Hm? What's going on, Saitama? Did you already find a place?" Jason asked.
"Yeah," Saitama said, stacking the boxes onto an old handcart he somehow found, wiping his sweat. "The clothing store owner said there's an abandoned area in Z City that somehow turned into a no-man's-land, but the water and electricity still work. I figured I'd check it out and see if there are any empty houses to stay in."
Jason understood immediately.
So that's where Saitama moves into the abandoned zone apartments this early.
"Oh, that works. I'll help you."
"Thanks. Sorry for the trouble."
The two of them worked together and quickly finished packing Saitama's few belongings onto the cart.
Just as Saitama was about to say he could handle the rest himself, Jason reached out toward the overloaded cart. A faint blue glow flashed.
The cart vanished like an eraser wiping away a drawing.
Saitama: "..."
[Fantasy Card: Scrap Handcart]
[Card Type: Item Card]
[Rarity: N]
[Description: A handcart full of scrap. On closer inspection, many items are still usable.]
[Effect 1: Mobile Home]
Wherever it goes, home is wherever you are.
[Effect 2: Scrap Recycling]
Selling it to a scrapyard might earn some money.
Jason: "..."
The moment the card formed, both of them fell silent.
Saitama: Superpowers really are convenient.
Jason: Having a stable job really is lucky.
"Let's go check again. Did you forget anything?" Jason asked.
"I don't really remember, but since you said so, let's check again."
They went upstairs again. Saitama checked the guest room and came out holding a red and yellow outfit, with a white cloth bundled in the middle.
Jason looked at it and felt strangely familiar.
"What's this?" Jason asked.
"The clothing store owner knew I was trying to walk the path of a hero, so before closing he gave me a hero costume. Said the material is pretty durable," Saitama said, unfolding it with an embarrassed smile. "Good thing you reminded me, or I would've forgotten it."
A yellow jumpsuit, red gloves, red boots, and a white cape that attaches to the shoulders.
As Saitama held it up, his image gradually overlapped with that bald caped hero figure.
Perfect.
"No problem. Even if you forgot, you could always come back for it later."
"Jason, you're really a good person."
"Stop handing out good person cards. Let's go before it gets dark."
"Ah, okay! But what's a good person card?"
...
On the empty streets, rows of streetlights lit up.
Vroom—
A police-painted scooter sped through the road carrying two men. The wind roared past, occasionally pulling a few strands of hair from the passenger. The driver remained calm, eyes burning with a clear blue glow, telekinetic force silently collecting invisible cards drifting through the air.
[Fantasy Cards: Limiter Fragment] x15
This batch already exceeded ten fragments, but there was still no response from the system indicating "fusion possible."
Jason understood.
Breaking limits wasn't that easy. At this rate, the number of required fragments would only increase.
Looks like tonight calls for Sichuan hotpot again.
Screech—
The brakes screamed.
Saitama lurched forward from inertia, his messy hair covering his eyes.
"Is this…?" he said.
Ahead stood a gray-white residential building. One side of the balcony was reinforced with red brick. It looked worn, but the rooftop antenna and solar panels were still intact, making it one of the best-preserved buildings in the area.
"Is anyone home?" Jason cupped his hands and shouted. The street was empty. Only echoes answered.
"Good. No one's here. We'll take this place."
Saitama: "..."
A very new method of checking occupancy, but surprisingly effective.
Like everywhere else they had seen, the building was abandoned.
Saitama tested the stairwell light. "Ah, the power still works. Then it's fine."
"Wait."
Saitama paused and looked back.
"I didn't say anything," Jason said.
"It's this great lord who told you two idiot humans to wait!"
A nearby streetlight suddenly came alive, ripping itself out of the ground along with a bundle of cables as its body. It flailed wildly and roared:
"This is my territory! Who allowed you to move in without permission?!"