"Sure, going out to play for a few days is fine."
The world of One Punch Man is abundant in heroes and monsters. Han Yu had long wanted to explore that world but never found the right opportunity. Now that Saitama had invited him, it was the perfect chance to see whether the monsters Saitama defeated so effortlessly were truly as weak as they seemed.
When they arrived at the door of the convenience store, Han Yu paused before pushing it open. With a single thought, the scenery outside shifted instantly. When he reopened the door, it was no longer New York outside. Instead, he saw a cityscape populated by Asian faces. This was City Z—Saitama's home turf.
"So, this is Saitama's world? Doesn't look all that different," Han Yu remarked, curiously observing his surroundings. The buildings were just buildings, the trees were just trees—everything appeared perfectly normal.
"This is a deserted area. Monsters show up frequently, so we might get interrupted now and then."
Saitama said this in such a casual tone, as if the monsters weren't here to wreak havoc but were merely nosy neighbors dropping by uninvited.
The group chatted as they climbed the stairs. At the door to Saitama's apartment, Han Yu encountered a face that was both unfamiliar and familiar.
Unfamiliar because this was their first face-to-face meeting. Familiar because in his previous life, Han Yu had seen this man countless times in the anime—not in any strange way, of course, just in ordinary episodes.
The man looked fierce, with a lean, angular face and three scars running from his left brow down to his cheek, adding a menacing edge to his appearance. When he narrowed his eyes, it felt like a thousand-pound weight was pressing down, making it hard to breathe.
This was King, the seventh-ranked S-Class hero.
King's story was intriguing. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time—present whenever Saitama took down a monster. This led to King, an ordinary person, being mistakenly hailed as an S-Class hero. His strength? Entirely dependent on how wildly the enemy overestimated him.
He was even rumored to have the so-called "King Engine," a terrifying sound supposedly signaling when he entered combat mode. In reality, it was just his absurdly loud heartbeat caused by sheer panic.
"Saitama, why are you back so late? I've been waiting forever. There were so many monsters nearby—I barely dared to breathe as I passed them... Wait, Saitama, who's this?"
King rattled off his complaints before finally noticing Han Yu standing behind Saitama, smiling calmly. This made King quickly shut his mouth. He didn't realize that Han Yu already knew the truth about his falsely earned S-Class reputation.
"Oh, right, let me introduce you. This is Han Yu, a new friend of mine. Trustworthy, incredibly strong, and a great cook," Saitama said, introducing the two. "And this is King, a good friend of mine. We often play games together, and his gaming skills are top-notch."
Han Yu smiled as he shook King's hand. Judging by the lack of strength in the handshake, it was clear that King had no combat skills whatsoever. For someone like him to survive in such a dangerous world, Han Yu thought, was nothing short of a miracle.
"Let's play some games together," Han Yu said with a warm smile.
His demeanor eased King's nerves. After all, King was just an ordinary guy. His only extraordinary feature was his thunderous heartbeat. Physically, he was entirely average, and his hobbies were no different from those of a typical recluse—he loved action games and dating sims.
The group was about to head inside to play games and later have a hotpot dinner. However, before Han Yu could step over the threshold, a massive explosion sounded in the distance.
"A monster?" Han Yu turned toward the direction of the explosion.
"Probably. This is the deserted area, so monsters show up a lot," Saitama said casually. "But someone will deal with it soon. Let's go in and play games."
Han Yu shook his head. "I'd like to check it out."
Saitama considered this for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, no problem. Let's go take a look."
In the bustling control room of the Hero Association, alarms blared incessantly. Black-suited personnel hurried about, some clutching reports while speaking urgently on phones, others furiously typing away at their consoles.
"What's the situation with the monster that appeared in City Z? What's its disaster level?" a senior executive demanded.
A staff member seated at a console replied, "At least Dragon-level!"
At least.
It was a terrifying phrase. When used to describe a hero—such as "at least capable of defeating a monster of X level"—it brought reassurance.
But hearing it about a monster was chilling. A Dragon-level monster had the potential to annihilate multiple towns. And now, this monster was classified as at least Dragon-level. The implications were horrifying.
"Damn it, a Dragon-level monster. It's been a while since we've seen one of this caliber." The senior executive gritted his teeth. Every Dragon-level monster posed a significant threat, even to heroes. "Have any heroes been dispatched?"
"Yes! Several S-Class heroes have received the alert and are en route to the site."
"Good. Accelerate the evacuation of civilians and deploy additional personnel!"
"Yes, sir!"
In the distance, the aftermath of the monster's attack was clear—countless buildings crumbled and shattered at an alarming speed, visible even to the naked eye.
The source of the destruction was a towering behemoth, standing over ten meters tall. With a single stomp, the giant obliterated dozens of buildings.
"Hahaha! Humans, tremble before me! Bow to the Bat King! Let me show you the taste of being bitten by bats!"
Laughing maniacally, the self-proclaimed Bat King raised his massive right hand. His fingers morphed into a swarm of blood-red-eyed bats that flew in all directions. The already panicked and fleeing civilians screamed louder as chaos erupted.
Where his fingers had disappeared, his body squirmed grotesquely, and the missing digits regrew before their eyes at an unnatural speed.
Anyone observing closely would notice that Bat King's entire body was composed of millions of bats. Countless crimson eyes glared out, creating a horrifying, skin-crawling sight.
The terrified citizens screamed and ran. Some tripped in their desperate flight, only to be immediately swarmed by the bats. Within seconds, ten to twenty bats drained even towering men of nearly six feet into desiccated corpses.
The scene was horrifying enough to make anyone's hair stand on end, prompting the fleeing crowds to run even faster.
"Flash Punch!"
A commanding shout rang out from a distance. Brilliant light followed, scattering the bloodthirsty bats instantly. Moments later, a long-haired man sprinted onto the scene, stopping beside the lifeless corpses. He glanced at them and shook his head solemnly.
"I still arrived too late."
"Flashy Flash, don't let your guard down. We've still got work to do," another voice interjected.
The second arrival was a man clad in a red bodysuit, adorned with yellow briefs worn on the outside, and carrying an enormous sword.
The two heroes' presence brought visible relief to the fleeing civilians. Cheers broke out among the crowd.
"It's Flashy Flash and Smile Man! Two S-Class heroes! We're saved!"
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