Chapter 342: Deceiving the World and Stealing a Name (Third Update, Monthly Ticket Bonus Update)

"Ah, it's a Monster!"

A riot broke out in the city center once again; a green giant over four meters tall had suddenly appeared from nowhere, holding a massive club and beginning to swing it wildly.

Boom!

With one swing of the club, a shop's storefront was completely smashed to pieces, and the shop assistant who hadn't managed to run out was crushed into pulp; this scene triggered even more fear and screaming.

The green giant had only one eye, which was slightly reddened at this moment, as if it were becoming increasingly crazed in the slaughter, continuously swinging that huge club about.

In just a moment, dozens of people were crushed to death on the spot.

This tragic scene had long since left many people with legs so weak from terror that, unable to worry about the high costs of hero assistance, they directly began contacting the most reliable Hero Agency they knew.

But after making many calls, the heroes still did not appear; an excessive number of 【Hero Agency】s, and even some shell agencies that only handled business transfers, occupied a large amount of promotional resources.

Truly capable heroes were, as a result, diluted.

Aisha, sitting in her high-end sedan but unable to move because she was hemmed in by cars on all sides, watched in despair as the giant drew closer; she felt deep regret at this moment, wishing she hadn't spent the last two years helping those "Professional Hero"s with massive publicity campaigns for money.

She even more regretted disparaging the heroes of the past.

She was a director at the J City television station, and she had once felt smug about being able to drag those high-and-mighty great heroes down into the dust.

Yet at this moment, she finally realized when people truly need heroes.

"Save me..."

She saw that the giant's single eye had already noticed her; she could already clearly see the flesh and hair stuck to the club, and the stench of death had already permeated her nasal cavity.

The giant bared its teeth, raised the club, and was about to strike down.

"Someone, save me!"

She could barely even make a sound to call for help; her throat felt as if it were blocked by something, tears flowed uncontrollably, and she even became wet beneath her.

Whoosh!

A whistling sound of air being torn apart appeared; it was the sign of something flying at an unimaginable speed. Aisha had once witnessed the scene of 【Tatsumaki】 performing a rescue, and the image of the other party casually breaking through sonic boom clouds while in Flight appeared in her mind at this moment.

Is it a hero?!

Bang!

A white figure crashed down from the sky with a boom.

The next moment, a white cape fluttered in the airflow, and a man wearing a blue and white tight-fitting hero suit stood in front of Aisha's car, holding one hand up to catch the blood-and-flesh-covered club.

Boom!

A shockwave swept through the surroundings; Aisha, sitting inside the car, felt her body shake along with the car and the ground. Her breathing almost stopped, and her vision went dark because her heart was beating too violently.

The high-end car's excellent soundproofing meant she couldn't hear the impact of the airflow outside, nor could she hear if that hero said anything, but at this moment, her eyes were blurred, and her vision was filled entirely with his figure.

"Hero..."

That sense of relief from having crawled out of the abyss of death transformed into the deepest form of worship.

She rolled down the car window, even wanting to open the car door.

Bang!

Subsequently, she saw golden Ripple-like patterns drifting behind the hero like ribbons, accompanied by a large golden spear piercing through the giant; having rolled down the window, she heard a terrifying sonic boom explode.

Pfft!

Green blood and flesh flew everywhere; the monster that had been terrifying just a moment ago had its chest shattered directly and collapsed listlessly.

"It's that... Nameless Hero!"

"It's that hero for fun, he's appeared again!"

Cheers suddenly erupted all around.

The people who had emerged from the vehicles behind along with Aisha, unable to care about the relief of surviving a Calamity, were all jumping and shouting the word "hero" at the top of their lungs.

Aisha stood where she was, her legs still soaked by her own urine, but tears streamed down her face; only at this moment did she fully understand the true value of the word 【Hero】.

"This is... a hero..."

She took a few steps forward, suddenly harboring the thought of wanting to do an in-depth report on him; such a true hero, in this time after the Great Catastrophe, deserved to be praised by everyone.

But when the man just turned his head to look at her, under the sunlight, his face seemed to be filled with light, so dazzling that she couldn't see his features at all.

Then, with a bang, the other party soared into the air, and after changing direction several times in the sky, he stepped onto a blue and white skateboard-like vehicle and disappeared from sight.

"A hero for fun..."

Aisha was moved by the radiance of such a purely idealistic hero, standing in place with her head tilted back, unable to calm down for a long time.

Half a day later, the J City television station began reporting extensively on topics like 【Nameless Hero】 and 【Hero for fun】, collecting a large amount of video material from the public and directly beginning large-scale promotion.

For a time, topics such as "idealistic hero" and "true hero" began to spark large-scale discussion.

This move drew complaints from many Hero Agency's, but several television stations, including the one in J City, ignored the protests and chose to continue reporting.

This behavior also sparked support from many members of the public.

——

【Asuka】's face was pale; standing on top of a building, he watched the 【Giant Goblin】 that his team had spent a fortune to capture with great difficulty being blasted to death by a single punch from Tao Baibai, and he couldn't even feel the heartache, only fear.

He had thought about running away, but Tao Baibai clearly possessed some kind of ability to lock onto him and the others; after his Cursed Spirit was destroyed by Tao Baibai earlier, he, who had been hiding in the shopping mall, and 【Limo】, who was hiding on the roof, were both directly locked onto and captured.

A moment later, Asuka was picked up by another member driving a car and returned to the temporary camp in the suburbs; Tao Baibai, who had now become a "classic hero" in the eyes of the world, had changed back into that signature pink robe and was standing in front of everyone.

"You all did well; as long as you continue to cooperate with my actions like this, I will naturally set you free."

Limo lowered his head, muttering something under his breath; his Contract beast was an important resource for their team, and now, to cooperate with Tao Baibai's so-called hero activities, it had been casually blasted to death by the other party, which made his heart ache.

But he dared not argue at all; 【Jin Pika】, who had just opened his mouth to retort, had his arm torn off by Tao Baibai with a casual flick; Tao Baibai's strength was too terrifying, making him afraid to resist rashly.

Lilith stood behind Tao Baibai; somehow, looking at this team, which was roughly on the same power level as the team she originally belonged to, she felt a sense of superiority involuntarily.

At least, Tao Baibai hadn't been that rough with her.

She had only cooperated with Tao Baibai to accurately find that television producer named Aisha, a Plot Character with no power at all; finding her had been effortless, and she had received praise from Tao Baibai because of it.

And this group of people, who had paid the price of a decent Contract beast, remained terrified at this moment.

Lilith sized up these people and suddenly understood that she was not cowardly; she was simply weak. In this space, as long as you have power, you can do anything you want to do.

Just like Tao Baibai, who was clearly a heinous villain capable of every evil, yet packaged himself as an unimaginably great hero, searching everywhere to kill those monsters and evil spirits. If there were no monsters to be found, he would have Reincarnators step in to create a "Monster" for him to kill...

Lilith took a deep breath, heard Footwork, and turned back to see the Reincarnator who had also been praised by Tao Baibai rushing back.

The other party's codename was 【Asuka】, a Reincarnator who controlled many Cursed Spirits.

Seeing the severed arm on the ground and 【Jin Pika】, who was pale and bandaged, Asuka understood what had happened in an instant and immediately lowered his head, not daring to speak.

Bai Cangshu, however, raised his hand and patted this timid Reincarnator on the shoulder. The other party was a Reincarnator without aptitude and also an incompetent Cursed User; even with Cursed Spirit Manipulation, such a cowardly personality made it impossible to obtain powerful Cursed Energy.

"Do not be afraid, Asuka, I am not some Demon..."

"You completed your mission beautifully. Not only will I not kill you, but I might even give you some rewards..."

Asuka watched his 【Killer Species】 Milestone nearing completion, but his heart felt no joy.

He was no different from those Plot Characters; he was also just a pawn and a puppet under the hand of someone more powerful...

——

"Teacher, have you seen the news?"

A young man wearing a jacket and a baseball cap arrived at a Supermarket. Here, a bald man wearing a red and white employee uniform was flipping his dead-fish eyes while organizing the shelves.

Seeing that Teacher Saitama had no reaction, Genos walked directly to his side and took out a newspaper. On the newspaper was a tall man wearing a white cape, standing in the sunlight while everyone around him raised their hands high with excited faces.

The newspaper headline was 【Hero for Fun—The True Hero】.

(End of this chapter)