[This Chapter Is Sponsored by T! Everyone, please thank him in the comment!]
"Although J City is currently only under attack by Tiger-level monsters, according to the association's judgment, the disaster level is very likely to escalate again."
In the call, Fang Mo heard a slightly nervous female operator.
"Please, Priest, provide your support to J City as soon as possible."
"Oh, the Sea Clan."
Upon hearing the other party's words, Fang Mo subconsciously touched his head: "Has it already reached this time node?"
To be honest, the plotline of 'One Punch Man' is quite short. It really can't compare with long manga series like 'Naruto' or 'One Piece'. At most, it's about the same length as 'Chainsaw Man'.
Starting with Saitama dealing with the House of Evolution, then the meteor, the invasion of the Deep Sea Clan, followed by the major event of the cosmic overlord Boros' arrival, and later the Monster Association's hero hunting arc—of course, the original also includes parts about the Ninja Village and the Mech God organization.
But Fang Mo hadn't had the chance to watch it before he was killed, so let's leave that aside for now.
And now, the time node of the Deep Sea invasion had already arrived.
Meaning that about a third of the story had already passed.
Honestly, even Fang Mo was a bit slow to react; after all, time had passed so quickly. But regardless, he still had to take on the mission—it was a big event, after all.
"Alright then."
Fang Mo spoke into his phone: "I'll take the mission. I'll head to J City after I finish eating."
"…Priest, could you perhaps eat after you arrive in J City?"
The operator, having heard this, felt a bit of a headache too. J City currently didn't have any high-level heroes guarding it, which meant that any escalation in disaster level would be catastrophic for everyone there: "We can arrange for staff in J City to prepare food for you, would that be acceptable?"
"Let's skip that."
Fang Mo glanced at Ah Xue busy in the kitchen: "Don't bother with the food, let's make this quick and I'll eat when I'm back."
"…Thank you for your understanding."
Hearing this, the operator finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fang Mo didn't continue talking, he casually hung up the phone, then stood up from the sofa and stretched lazily.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Just then, Shoggoth bounced out of the kitchen.
This tiny, pitch-black creature jumped vigorously and landed directly on Fang Mo's thigh, then slid up to his shoulder, stretching out a small tentacle towards him.
At the tip of the soft, shiny tentacle, it held a small piece of freshly fried rabbit dices.
"What a good boy."
Fang Mo laughed and opened his mouth to eat the rabbit dice handed over by Shoggoth.
It had to be said, Ah Xue's cooking skills were getting better and better. Even this half-finished rabbit dice was made very tender and delicious, making Fang Mo a bit reluctant to go to J City.
"No, I need another bite."
Thinking it over, Fang Mo simply walked towards the kitchen.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, Ah Xue was busy in the kitchen, and when she saw Fang Mo approaching, she turned her head and smiled at him: "Are you hungry, Master?"
"I'm full… but I really want to eat the food you make."
As he spoke, Fang Mo casually pinched a piece of chicken and popped it into his mouth.
"Master, dinner will be ready soon," Ah Xue smiled happily: "By the way, how did your phone call go, should I prepare an extra set of tableware?"
"Oh, he can't make it."
Fang Mo shrugged: "And I have to step out for a bit."
"…Eh?"
"Don't worry, I'm just going to complete a mission, it'll be quick," Fang Mo assured her, patting his chest: "I can casually take down a dragon-level monster, let alone a mere demon-level like the Deep Sea King… I guess the food will still be warm when I get back."
"Alright then."
Ah Xue nodded in response: "Then I'll take my time cooking."
"Mm."
Fang Mo responded and then turned to leave the villa.
However, he had only taken a few steps when suddenly the doorbell rang. Glancing at the mini-map, Fang Mo noticed a shiny bald head and a chibi version of Genos standing at the door.
"Saitama?"
Seeing the visitors coming to him, Fang Mo felt a bit strange, but still went to open the door.
"Yo, Fang Mo."
Saitama greeted him naturally: "You're actually home, that's rare."
"You ring my doorbell... and then you're surprised I'm home?" Fang Mo couldn't help but retort: "Are you looking for Ancient One by any chance?"
"You figured that out?"
Saitama seemed a bit surprised.
"I..."
Before Fang Mo could say anything, Genos nearby began to explain: "We saw on the TV news that there's a Sea Clan invasion crisis in J City, so my sensei and I decided to go and stop it. We wanted to ask the Sorcerer Supreme to help us open a portal."
"Oh, I see."
Hearing Genos' explanation, Fang Mo seemed to understand.
Yes, in the original story, Saitama and Genos naturally participated in this event, although they just ran there at the time.
Z City is quite far from J City, probably the two just wanted to take a shortcut.
"I'd also like Ancient One to open a portal."
After realizing this, Fang Mo helplessly spread his hands: "The problem is, this naughty disciple of mine has been away from home for several days now."
"Ah?"
Hearing this, the two at the door were also taken aback: "What's going on?"
"That despicable disciple gave me a nickname."
Speaking of this, Fang Mo got a bit angry: "Of course she knew she was wrong, so she simply hid. She's better at portals than me, I'm too lazy to catch her..."
"A nickname?"
After hearing this, Genos subconsciously said: "Is it the 'Source of All Evil' that we heard about before? Was that the name the Sorcerer Supreme gave you?"
"Little Steel, you're brave."
Fang Mo suddenly displayed a dangerous smile.
"Uh..." Sensing a killing intent, Genos suddenly recalled that Fang Mo really didn't like that title, and was a bit puzzled: "Mr. Fang Mo, don't you like this hero title?"
"Who the hell would want to be called 'Source of All Evil'!"
Fang Mo roared: "I'm not an original ghost video or a corny song, okay!?"
"That thing..."
However, after hearing this, Saitama suddenly raised his hand and said: "Actually, your name is quite okay, right? Although it sounds a bit strange, it's still much better than my title."
"…Cape Baldy?"
Hearing Saitama's words, Fang Mo suddenly calmed down: "Indeed, if the association gave me such a brain-dead name, I'd probably have to switch to the Monster Association."
"You guy..."
Saitama felt his blood pressure rise after hearing this.
"Saitama-sensei, Mr. Fang Mo, please calm down." In the end, Genos had to smooth things over: "The most important thing right now is to save J City. Since the Sorcerer Supreme isn't here, we'll have to find our own way there."
"No choice, then we'll just run there."
Saitama shrugged, not saying much else: "Genos, keep up, okay?"
"Please rest assured, Sensei."
Genos nodded: "I recently upgraded my power module, and my speed has significantly increased."
"That's good."
Saitama responded, then turned to look at Fang Mo: "Are you coming with us?"
"Oh, you guys go ahead."
As he spoke, Fang Mo pulled out a dark green stick from behind: "Here, Genos, take this, and remember not to give it to Saitama."
"What is this?"
Genos took the stick, puzzled.
"The Staff of Rakshas."
Fang Mo casually mentioned: "Just bring it with you, it doesn't matter if you throw it on the ground when you fight."
"I understand."
Genos solemnly accepted the stick.
"No, Genos, what exactly do you understand?" However, Saitama was confused: "Why can't I understand what this thing is for?"
"Maybe it's one of Mr. Fang Mo's finishing moves."
As Genos spoke, he was already in a ready-to-run stance: "Sensei, let's hurry to J City first."
"I..."
Saitama sighed: "Alright, let's go then."
As soon as Saitama finished speaking, jets of flame shot out from behind Genos, propelling him rapidly forward, and in the next second, Saitama's figure also vanished from the spot.
"Alright, bluffing success."
Seeing Genos carrying the Ender Handle and sprinting out, Fang Mo happily clapped his hands, then turned around and went back inside the villa.
"Huh?"
Ah Xue, who was stir-frying in the kitchen, looked out the door in surprise: "Master? Why are coming so soon..."
"Cough, cough, Ah Xue, it's not even evening yet."
Fang Mo coughed twice: "Let's be a bit more careful with our words..."
"I didn't mean that!" Ah Xue blushed slightly: "Master, didn't you say you were going out to deal with the monster?"
"Oh, the journey was too far, so I simply called for a substitute driver."
Fang Mo waved his hand, then sat down at the dining table: "They still need some time to run there, let's have a meal first, Shoggoth, go wash your hands..."
"Chirp?"
...
It turned out that the distance between J City and Z City was indeed quite far.
Fang Mo waited in the villa for over half an hour, then ate a meal of Sichuan cuisine with Ah Xue, Shoggoth, and others before leisurely activating the Ender Teleport.
However, what he didn't expect was that when he teleported over, Genos had just arrived in J City.
At that moment, the sky over J City was not looking good; heavy clouds almost completely obscured the city, and occasional thunder rumbled ominously, giving a sense of an impending storm.
"...Mr. Fang Mo?"
Seeing the suddenly appearing Fang Mo, Genos was clearly stunned: "When did you arrive? Did the Sorcerer Supreme open a portal for you?"
"Oh, this is the Flying Thunder God."
Fang Mo briefly explained, then casually tossed a berry into his mouth as a post-meal dessert: "Speaking of which, where's Saitama? Aren't you two together?"
"Hmm?"
Hearing Fang Mo's question, Genos seemed a bit surprised.
He quickly looked around, but soon Genos came to a conclusion, somewhat helplessly saying to Fang Mo: "Sorry... it seems the sensei got lost."
However, while they were talking.
Suddenly, an explosion sounded not far away.
"Enemy life response detected!" Genos, hearing this sound, immediately tensed up, and a stream of data flashed across his eyes: "There are many heroes fighting enemies around us, the situation looks grim... Has the disaster level increased as the association said?"
"Yeah."
Fang Mo chewed on the berry and said: "It should already be a demon-level disaster now."
"That's troublesome, I can't wait for Saitama-sensei any longer."
Hearing this, Genos immediately made a decision, turning to look at Fang Mo: "Mr. Fang Mo, let's split up and try to deal with these monsters as much as possible."
After saying this, Genos didn't wait for Fang Mo's nod, his entire figure dashed forward and vanished.
And soon.
A shout came from not far away.
"Scorch!"
Along with this sound, a loud boom erupted, and a large ball of fire burst out from a nearby building cluster, blowing a bunch of strange limbs and tentacles into the air.
Even a cooked octopus tentacle fell right in front of Fang Mo, making a "plop" sound.
"...This kid is really straightforward."
Fang Mo sighed, then glanced at his mini-map.
J City was indeed bustling now, the mini-map was filled with various types of monsters, as the citizens had evacuated, making these crab-men, jellyhead monsters, clam spirits, squid women, and shrimp-headed men especially noticeable.
Although the original story didn't describe much, the appearance of these Deep Sea Clan members could truly be called grotesque. Fang Mo even saw a sea creature that looked like a chibi version of Bumblebee.
Fang Mo glanced at the mini-map for a while.
Then he chose a spot with the most monsters and headed there.
Since the current disaster event was an invasion by the Deep Sea Clan, the place with the most monsters was obviously the coastline, and Fang Mo saw a lot of seafood continuously advancing inland.
Of course, there were also a few heroes' icons there, probably engaged in fierce combat with these sea creatures.
"Phew."
As Fang Mo walked, he casually pulled out a cleaver and rested it on his shoulder.
"Full and refreshed, time to get some work done."