City A, Hero Association Headquarters.
In the vast operations command room, countless staff members in uniforms hurried back and forth, a cacophony of noise filling the air.
“The latest battle report—the Monster ‘Jiu Cai Wang’ has already defeated B-Class Hero Shan Dian Ying. A-Class Hero ‘Shi Bai De Man’ is still holding on but is locked in a bitter struggle. He needs more support.”
“Send an urgent channel request immediately…”
“No, that Monster is too powerful. The Heroes who have responded so far are no match for it. The disaster zone is expanding.”
“Call for more Heroes immediately… Damn it, our assessment of this Monster was wrong. It’s not a third-level Monster at all!”
The man who appeared to be a high-ranking official slammed the table, his anger boiling over.
“What the hell are you people doing? How can the simulated Monster level be so different from the actual one?”
The nearest staff member immediately lowered his head, putting on the bitter expression of a typical working stiff.
“Sir, it’s not that we misjudged the Monster’s level. It’s that this Monster is growing way too fast.”
“Just when it first appeared, its Magic Energy Level was indeed third-level—that’s a fact from the instrument readings, no mistake. But only ten minutes have passed, and its Magic Energy has multiplied several times. We really don’t have a solution.”
“I don’t want to hear excuses!”
The high-ranking Hero Association official slammed the table again, steam practically coming out of his nose in anger.
But with a major threat at hand, he couldn’t assign blame on the spot—dealing with this troublesome Monster was the priority.
“Listen to my orders. Raise the Monster disaster warning level to Fourth and sound the Orange Disaster Warning.”
“Immediately issue a summons for S-Class Heroes. We need more powerful combat strength now.”
“Understood. The summons has been sent to S-Class Heroes. Waiting for response.”
…
During this brief lull, the high-ranking official leaned back in his chair, visibly exhausted, a tired look on his face.
Even though he had issued countermeasures, the worry in his eyes wouldn’t fade.
‘S-Class Heroes…’
‘Those freaks aren’t so easy to call…’
…
After two minutes like this, the high-ranking official couldn’t wait any longer.
He directly went to a communications operator and asked:
“Any S-Class Hero responding yet? Find the nearest one.”
The operator was a young woman.
Facing the anxious leader, she couldn’t help but sound timid:
“The four S-Class Heroes currently stationed in City A haven’t responded yet… However, just now, A-Class rank 210, ‘Pure White Valkyrie,’ has answered the call and is heading to the battlefield.”
The high-ranking official’s heart sank.
He couldn’t help but sigh.
‘A low-ranked A-Class Hero—at best, they could buy a little time, completely useless…’
‘If this didn’t work, the only option would be to request support from S-Class Heroes in nearby cities, even though that would cause the Monster disaster to expand to a severe level…’
“In that case, we can’t wait any longer. Have the B-Class and A-Class Heroes on site hold out a bit longer, and have C-Class assist the police in evacuating civilians… Damn it… How does our city not have a single strong Hero who can step up in time…”
“Understood. Right away… wait, sir…”
At that moment, the operator’s eyes suddenly widened as she pulled up new information.
“Just now, S-Class rank 13 Hero ‘Mei Shen’ has answered the call and is heading to the battlefield immediately.”
“Is it her? That’s great…”
The high-ranking official let out a relieved sigh, wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead.
“Since an S-Class Hero is entering the field, we don’t need to worry so much… Start preparing for the press conference later…”
…
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Su Yu and Lin Mo had landed near a vantage point overlooking the front lines of Chenghua Street.
As soon as they touched down, they saw the green Monster below spinning some Spider-Man-like guy like a top.
“What… what kind of monster is that? Did a leek become a spirit?”
She rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
‘That thing is definitely a leek… All green, just one look makes me sick.’
“It’s the same as the one you encountered last time—a Grudge Monster. Hard to deal with.”
Lin Mo’s voice was more serious than usual.
He said to Su Yu:
“Also, according to my latest scan, its Magic Energy Level has already broken through the fourth level… and this value is still rising.”
“At this level… logically, it’s not something an A-Class Hero can handle.”
“Ah…”
Su Yu let out a reluctant groan.
She turned to Lin Mo and asked uncertainly:
“Then… do you think I can still beat it?”
“Go up and try. After all, you’re immune to external magic. I estimate it will have a hard time hurting you. But on the flip side, your current magic level probably won’t do much damage to it either.”
“Then what do we do?”
Su Yu asked anxiously, looking down.
The Spider-Man’s spin speed was about to break the sky.
“Don’t worry. Just go ahead. Even if you can’t win, treat it as gaining practical combat experience. When necessary, I’ll step in.”
Lin Mo aimed his camera at the Monster below, his expression largely calm.
‘A mere fourth-level Monster—as an S-Class Hero, he hadn’t even considered it a threat.’
‘Let Su Yu exchange a few moves with it. If she wins, great. If not, he could still gather some combat data. No loss either way.’
“Alright, I’m going in.”
Su Yu was eager to try.
She cracked her knuckles and took a quick step, leaping down from the height.
‘King descends from heaven, glaring fiercely!’
That was the only thought in her mind as she jumped.
She just thought it would look cool, without considering anything else.
This bizarre scene left Lin Mo dumbfounded.
The warning was already on his lips:
“Wait…”
Before he could stop her, the girl closed her eyes and jumped straight down without any hesitation, leaving only the stunned robot standing there with one hand outstretched, plunged into deafening silence.
In the distance, Lin Mo, sitting in front of the monitoring screen, unconsciously leaned forward.
He felt like his brain was about to burn out.
No matter how he tried to imagine, he couldn’t understand what reason Su Yu had for doing this.
‘Jumping from the sixth floor… Even if she knew Mystic Armor, jumping straight down would probably break her legs…’
‘What reason did she have? Why would she do that?’
Lin Mo’s mind was now filled with these two questions, spiraling into an infinite loop.
…
“Hee hee hee, foolish humans. So weak and incompetent, yet you still call yourselves Heroes. Not a single one of you can fight.”
The oddly shaped plant Monster waved its countless branches like dancing seaweed, laughing triumphantly.
Beneath it lay the already knocked-out A-Class Hero, Shi Bai De Man, and nearby were several B-Class Heroes who had lost all will to fight.
“Since that’s the case, allow me, Jiu Cai Wang, to send you on your final journey! Hee hee hee!”
With that, its thick branches were about to smash down.
If nothing unexpected happened, that one blow would turn the A-Class Hero into a meat paste.
But at that critical moment, a white figure shot down like a missile, slamming heavily into the ground with a whoosh, creating a crater in the asphalt road.
Everyone present was drawn to this sudden scene.
The Monster even assumed a defensive posture as if facing a formidable enemy.
“Who are you? State your name!”