Chapter 94: The Belief of a Hero Is Born in the Reality of the Unlicensed Rider

In the live stream, viewers saw this scene and gradually regained their rationality.

“I already anticipated this would be the end—aside from Zhong Lao and Ye Xuan, the strongest in Greater Xia could at most reach Stage Three; they stood no chance against the Deep Sea King. But seeing no one dare challenge him anymore, I still couldn’t help feeling disappointed.”

“The Capital’s Tian Shu Headquarters had already issued a notice: Zhong Lao is now in Bibo City, so there’s no need to worry about safety. But I never expected that under these circumstances, only forty psychics would step forward.”

“There’s no way around it—reality isn’t a game. In a game, you can respawn after death, but in reality, even if you don’t die, the pain is real; many people feel a moment of fear just from getting a shot, let alone near-fatal injuries.”

“.”

In truth, everyone knew that among all of Greater Xia, only Zhong Lao and Ye Xuan could defeat the Deep Sea King; other psychics and holders of celestial artifacts, even the strongest among them, were at most Stage Three—no one had reached Stage Four.

So as more challengers fell one after another, it was inevitable that no one would dare step forward.

They simply hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

Excluding Tian Shu’s official members already severely wounded by the Deep Sea King, only forty civilian psychics had dared to step forward—how could there be only forty non-Tian Shu psychics in Bibo City?

But put yourself in their shoes—it’s reality, not a game.

Even with Zhong Lao secretly guarding them to ensure no one died, the agony of severe injuries in battle was undeniably real.

Fear of pain is humanity’s most primal instinct.

The Deep Sea King scanned the silent crowd around him, a mocking smile curling at his lips.

“What?”

“Is this all humanity in this world can offer?”

“Since you no longer have the courage to challenge me, may I interpret this as—”

“You’ve been conquered, and now submit to my power, Deep Sea King?!”

The Deep Sea King spread his arms; though his crimson cloak had long been torn, it now flapped fiercely in the wind.

The naked mockery stabbed into every heart—ordinary people without psychic abilities instinctively glanced at the psychics around them; weaker psychics turned their eyes toward stronger ones, those at Stage Two;

and those Stage Two psychics, too, instinctively looked around, hoping someone even stronger would step forward.

Everyone placed their hope on others, never considering that they themselves could step forward and become the hope of the crowd.

Silence spread like a plague.

Just as the Deep Sea King was about to speak again—

“It’s not over!”

A clear voice rang through the air; everyone instinctively turned toward its source, and a figure slowly stepped forward.

He wore a slightly worn bicycle helmet, its visor faintly reflecting light, obscuring his eyes; he was dressed in lightweight cycling gear, dark brown fabric clinging to his frame for mobility, with simple armor plating covering key areas.

Amidst the crowd’s stunned gazes, he firmly stopped before the Deep Sea King.

The moment he stepped forward, the entire square erupted in deafening cheers—they didn’t know who he was, but his courage to face the Deep Sea King alone was enough to earn everyone’s respect.

Yet those in the crowd who recognized his outfit all wore expressions of disbelief.

“Wait… that outfit… no way?”

“The Unlicensed Rider?! Are you kidding? Does he even know what he’s doing?”

“A streamer? Trying to gain views with this extreme stunt? Aside from that, I can’t imagine any other reason—surely he’s not actually an Unlicensed Rider template holder?”

“If he really is a Unlicensed Rider template holder, that’s just tragic—even if his compatibility reached one hundred percent, he’s still just an ordinary person.”

“Either way, even if it’s just for views, pulling off something this extreme—I respect him.”

The live stream’s comments exploded.

Everyone who had watched One Punch Man knew who the Unlicensed Rider was.

Though ranked first among C-Class heroes, unlike other heroes, he possessed no special abilities or formidable combat power—his only asset was a body slightly stronger than an ordinary human’s, yet still within human limits.

The only thing worthy of praise was his belief as a hero: unyielding courage and perseverance.

No matter how strong the enemy, he stepped forward without hesitation; no matter how many times he was knocked down, he rose again and fought on.

In terms of heroic will, even One Punch Man himself could hardly surpass the Unlicensed Rider—few in all the multiverse could outmatch him; but in terms of power to protect others, the Unlicensed Rider was utterly ordinary.

They didn’t know why this man dressed as the Unlicensed Rider to fight—whether he admired the Unlicensed Rider’s heroic belief and sought to embody and spread it, or simply wanted to create a stunt for attention.

But regardless, his stepping forward at this moment already made him braver than the vast majority.

The Deep Sea King regarded this sudden human with interest, his lips curling into a cruel smile:

“Fascinating. Truly fascinating.”

“Your energy is weaker than any challenger before you—such feeble power couldn’t even withstand one of my punches.”

“Yet you, so weak, still dared to challenge me. Humanity truly has no one left.”

“Let me see how many seconds you can last.”

The Unlicensed Rider adopted a standard fighting stance, his gaze fixed firmly on the Deep Sea King, then charged forward with full force—a straight punch aimed straight at the Deep Sea King’s abdomen.

The Deep Sea King stood motionless until the fist was mere inches from his body, then lazily raised a hand and effortlessly caught the wrist.

“That’s it?”

Though he’d already sensed the human was weak, actually fighting revealed he was even weaker than expected—the Deep Sea King’s initial anticipation turned to boredom as she casually swung his arm, as if twirling a ragdoll.

The Unlicensed Rider’s body was helplessly lifted by the Deep Sea King’s terrifying strength, then slammed violently into the ground, yanked up, and slammed down again.

“Crash! Crash! Crash!”

Amid flying debris, people clearly saw the Unlicensed Rider’s armor cracking, his helmet developing fissures—but astonishingly, he never uttered a single cry of pain.

(End of Chapter)