As an S-Class Hero, his income was already considerable. With Qingshui now ranking among the top three most popular heroes in the Hero Association, his potential wealth was immense. Add to that the small but growing businesses he'd casually set up, and while he wasn't among the absolute richest, he certainly wasn't short on money.
At least he didn't have to build a large Particle Accelerator like the original Sand Hidden to equip the Sand Hidden ninja army.
In the One-Punch Man world, if it was just for his personal use, a small, handmade one would suffice.
With his current wealth and technological prowess, it was more than enough.
Qingshui ultimately, and coldly, sent Fubuki away, returning all her gifts as well.
Women would only hinder his progress in becoming stronger.
...
The next day, in the morning.
After filming a commercial, and on his way back, Qingshui dealt with a Tiger-level Monster in the eastern suburbs of City D, as per the Association's notice. He then returned home, ready to continue his training for the day.
He wasn't far from touching the fourth Limiter and didn't want to waste time.
However, he still had a visitor today.
"I have to ask, did you find out where I live by looking it up online? Or did someone tell you? Otherwise, besides people I know, no one should be able to find this remote place."
From his sofa, Qingshui eyed the blond cyborg who had come to visit.
He had moved again, to a villa in a more secluded location, but with a larger footprint, allowing for private labs and training facilities.
Of course, a big reason for living in a remote area was to avoid overly enthusiastic fans.
His popularity was very high now; he was considered a top-tier hero in the One-Punch Man world.
He certainly couldn't compare to Sweet Mask. With Sweet Mask's good looks, professional skills as an idol, singer, and actor, and the added bonus of being the A-Class Rank 1 Hero, no one could surpass him in popularity unless he intentionally caused a scandal.
But below Sweet Mask, Qingshui was in the top tier of popularity, far more so than celebrity singers or popular young stars.
Naturally, the fans' fanaticism was equally, if not more, intense.
This was also one of the negative side effects of him hyping up his own popularity.
Of course, compared to the vast wealth he could acquire in a short time, these negative effects were nothing.
It wasn't as if he couldn't simply block them out, as he was doing now.
"Excuse me, Mr. Qingshui, I calculated your location using big data by searching all available information about you. I apologize for showing up unannounced."
The handsome blond young man sat up straight and spoke earnestly to Qingshui.
"It's fine. Just give me some compensation, Mr. Genos."
"What compensation do you require? If it's reasonable, I will compensate you within my capabilities. But may we discuss it after we finish our main business? This matter is very important to me."
"Alright, go ahead. By the way, tea or coffee?"
"Either is fine, but I prefer motor oil."
Qingshui paused for a moment, then slowly nodded.
He almost forgot, the person in front of him was over ninety-eight percent modified, and apart from his brain, there probably wasn't enough flesh on his entire body to even make a single plate of dumplings.
After drinking a can of motor oil, the "Dumpling Brother" began to recount his past experiences.
It was nothing new: his hometown was attacked when he was fifteen, destroyed by a robot, and he, as the sole survivor, was rescued by Dr. Kuseno and had been tracking the culprit ever since.
He had come to Qingshui this time because Qingshui had demonstrated high technical capabilities, so he wanted to inquire.
"I don't actually have any information on that, but there are other ways I can help you."
Qingshui snapped his fingers, and a holographic projection immediately lit up on the fruit table in front of them.
"Watos, search all incidents related to rogue robots and cyborgs in the past four years. Identify all markings and materials used on any robots and cyborgs that appeared. Link all identified markings and materials to relevant industries and companies. Trace the origins of all companies involved, and conduct a reverse investigation on all personnel who appeared during this process..."
On the holographic screen, directories flashed by rapidly. Genos's golden electronic eyes stared at the screen, quickly copying and recording the information displayed.
"Origin of related raw materials traced. Tracking historical flow of all materials and processed products. Intercepted. Decryption successful. Secondary interception encountered. Breaking through network blockade...
Breakthrough successful. Detected network data tampering. Reverse virus invasion from data packet. Virus successfully isolated. Opponent's tracking severed."
Qingshui narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Genos, their network capabilities are very strong. While they were at a disadvantage against my Artificial Intelligence, their reaction was very quick, responding almost immediately, and their network defense level is high. I can only help you get these clues.
For more in-depth information, you'll have to investigate in person."
Qingshui tapped his finger, displaying the unedited portion of the acquired information to Genos.
The truth about the opposing organization hadn't been uncovered, but with these clues, if one was willing to investigate and was skilled enough, it should be possible to obtain a lot of relevant information, and it wasn't impossible to follow the trail and find the true culprit.
However, he needed to act quickly, to avoid the opponent making a move and erasing these traces.
"Arigato gozaimasu, Mr. Qingshui!"
Genos stood up from the sofa, straightened his posture, and bowed ninety degrees to Qingshui.
"You're welcome. As long as you don't mind me stirring up trouble, that's fine. Also, as I told you, this isn't free."
Genos asked:
"What do you need me to do?"
"Can you introduce me to Dr. Kuseno? I'm very interested in his technology."
Qingshui stated it frankly.
The technology for robots and cyborgs in the One-Punch Man world, even for Qingshui, held significant value for study and reference.
After Genos's tech was upgraded by Dr. Kuseno, he was at one point transformed into his "Arms Mode" form. In this state, he could even briefly match Sekingar, who had fused with Monster King Orochi, before his energy was depleted.
Even a single Orochi possessed terrifying strength beyond Dragon-level, and after fusing with Sekingar, it became even more powerful.
Although Genos could only maintain his Arms Mode for ten seconds, earning him the nickname "Ten-Second Genos," it still demonstrated the power of Dr. Kuseno's technology.
And coincidentally, when it came to energy, Qingshui had the second-generation Arc Reactor up his sleeve. Combining the two would likely create quite a spectacular spark.
"I can introduce you two. I believe the Doctor will be very interested in a professional hero like yourself, who possesses such high technological prowess."
"Then, I look forward to the good news you bring, Genos."
Qingshui smiled faintly and extended his right hand to Genos.
"Thank you again for your help!"
A metallic hand firmly clasped Qingshui's right hand.
...
...
Genos quickly set off, changing direction based on the information he received from Qingshui and heading to a metal processing plant in City Y to investigate.
He needed to find every possible clue before the other party had a chance to erase the relevant traces.
Meanwhile, Dr. Kuseno had already received the news and agreed to meet Qingshui in a few days.
However, on the second day after Genos left City D, Qingshui received a message from the Hero Association and realized he might have inadvertently disrupted the plot.
"Can you confirm that the Monster is a humanoid type capable of controlling swarms of mosquitoes?"
"Yes, according to reports from A-Class Hero Great Philosopher and Butterfly DX, the target initially appeared in the mountain forests between City B and City Y, then moved towards City Z and City D. Multiple towns and urban areas along the way were destroyed. Butterfly DX used binoculars to scout from the air and observed a suspected humanoid figure at the center of the mosquito swarm. More detailed information cannot be determined at this time.
This disaster has been rated Demon-level. It is currently located at the eastern edge of City Z. The only S-Class Heroes close enough to respond quickly are you and Bang, who is in another suburb of City Z."
The Association staff member on the other end of the phone spoke earnestly.
"I'll be there immediately."
Qingshui hung up the phone and paused for a moment. He swiped his hand, opening a Teleportation Halo, and stepped through, leaving the area.
As expected, the Monster causing trouble this time was Mosquito Girl.
Currently, Genos was far away in City Y, separated from Mosquito Girl's location by half of City Y, all of City B, and all of City Z. By the time he arrived, even if Qingshui and Saitama didn't intervene, Bang could quickly reach her.
With her combat power, which rivaled high-level Dragon-class Monsters and could even briefly contend with peak Dragon-class Monsters when unleashed, Mosquito Girl would be no match.
This meant that the plot Qingshui was familiar with had just begun and already ended.
But it didn't matter. Even without the advantage of knowing the plot, with his current strength, which was at least mid-to-high Dragon-level, along with his established status as an S-Class Hero and considerable financial resources, he could still gain benefits.
Furthermore, he possessed formidable escape abilities. As long as he wasn't foolish enough to challenge Boros, Monster King Orochi, or Garou after his complete Monsterization, he could ensure his own safety.
Qingshui's Teleportation Halo, unlike the incarnations in the Marvel Universe that utilized Infinity Stones or the power of multiversal deities like Vishanti, had a relatively limited range. Normally, it was confined to his personal sensory range, or to locations whose spatial coordinates had been previously recorded. The latter could be used for assisted targeting, greatly expanding the range.
Qingshui hadn't visited City Z many times before because Saitama, that bald demon king, lived there, as did Bang, who resided in a dojo in the deep mountains of the suburbs, at the border of City Z and City X. High-level Monsters usually didn't need Qingshui to deal with them; they were often resolved shortly after he received the news.
However, he did have spatial coordinates for all twenty-six cities across the One-Punch Man supercontinent, which he used for travel.
From City D at the northernmost point of the supercontinent to City M at the opposite southernmost point, he only needed to open two Portals.
This coordinate system wasn't complex; it was a spatial coordinate similar to the Flying Thunder God mark, developed through the Summoning Jutsu and the Blood Demon Art of his Perfect Demonization body.
In fact, Qingshui had already deciphered even the Flying Thunder God technique based on his understanding of space. Blood was used in it to assist with long-distance positioning and perception.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the Sand Village currently lacked talents with a special aptitude for spatial manipulation, like Minato Namikaze or Tobirama Senju. Even if Qingshui organized and wrote it down on Ninjutsu scrolls, no one there could learn it.
But back to the topic.
The quality of Qingshui's Innate Qi was very high, and his psychic power was also strong. With just a thought, he could open a Teleportation Halo with a slight swipe of his finger, without even needing to lift his arm.
From departure to finding Mosquito Girl, it took only a little over ten seconds.
"Tsk, mosquitoes. They really are disgusting."
Looking at the overwhelming swarm of mosquitoes before him, Qingshui felt a wave of nausea.
Creatures like mosquitoes should be eradicated. Ideally, they should all be bundled up and thrown into the sun to burn to death!
He didn't care if it would have any negative impact on the food chain or the ecosystem.
Since the birth of humanity, countless species on Earth had gone extinct; one more mosquito wouldn't make a difference.
It wasn't as if humans couldn't survive without mosquitoes; they might even thrive better.
The number of people who died each year from various diseases spread by mosquitoes was truly not small.
Nature's ecosystem might seem fragile, but it was actually vast and possessed immense self-regulation capabilities. Even without mosquitoes, life would find other ways to survive.
However, there were too many mosquitoes in this world, and their subspecies numbered in the thousands. Complete eradication was extremely difficult.
But this enormous swarm of mosquitoes in front of him probably gathered all the mosquitoes from City Z, City D, and several surrounding cities.
If he could eliminate them all in one go, he probably wouldn't have mosquitoes buzzing in his ear during summer nights.
"According to the Qi flow at this time and place, with Mosquito Girl as the central point, my position is precisely at the Shock Gate of the Injury Sector. This means I can maximize the effect of lightning-based spells. So then..."
Qingshui paused, formed a hand seal with one hand, and slammed it onto the ground.
"*Bolts of Balthakk!*"
Endless lightning surged from the earth, forming a dense, layered net of electricity that transformed the area into a pool of thunder.
One by one, the mosquitoes instantly turned to ash and scattered everywhere.
"Hmm? Is someone attacking me?"
In the center of the mosquito swarm, the slender, beautiful Mosquito Girl called out in confusion. She looked toward the source of the lightning and met Qingshui's gaze from a distance.
But the very next moment, Qingshui's figure vanished from Mosquito Girl's sight.
"Wind Release: Net Cyclone."
In the sky, above the mosquito swarm, Qingshui pressed his single palm downwards. His palm spun, releasing a furious wind that swept downwards, completely cutting off the mosquitoes' escape routes and disrupting their flight paths.
With a buzzing sound, Mosquito Girl's transparent wings vibrated, and she transformed into a dark blur, darting towards Qingshui
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