Hibava waved her hand painfully, refusing the glass of water. Tremblingly, she picked out a lemon-flavored throat lozenge from the candy box and popped it into her mouth without a second thought.
A cool sweetness instantly relieved the burning sensation in her throat. Her taut nerves relaxed slightly, and her assistant also breathed a sigh of relief.
However, in the very next second!
Hibava's eyes suddenly bulged, and her wrinkled, withered face turned a visible liver-red!
She clutched her neck tightly with both hands, making a 'gurgling' sound in her throat, but couldn't utter a single word.
"M-Madam?!"
The assistant was stunned, completely unaware of what was happening.
After a mere ten-odd seconds, the light in the old woman's eyes rapidly dimmed, finally rolling back completely.
But in the last moment before losing consciousness, with her final shred of will, she shakily grabbed a pen and paper nearby and, with all her remaining strength, scribbled a few words onto the paper.
Immediately after, her head hit the table with a 'thud'.
The large crystal ball, jolted by the impact, rolled off the table and landed on the carpet with a muffled thud.
But Hibava's body was already completely stiff and motionless.
"Madam Hibava! Madam! Wake up!!"
The assistant finally reacted, letting out a piercing scream and throwing herself onto the cold body, shaking it desperately.
However, only dead silence answered her.
A few minutes later, Sitch, an Executive of the Hero Association who had rushed over upon hearing the news, was completely numb as he looked at the autopsy report handed to him by the forensic doctor, his expression a sight to behold.
"Cause of death... confirmed to be... choked on a throat lozenge?" Sitch's eye twitched uncontrollably; he could barely believe his ears.
The forensic doctor emotionlessly pushed up his glasses and replied in a calm tone, "Yes, Mr. Sitch. A whole throat lozenge was precisely lodged between the glottis and the trachea, causing acute asphyxiation."
"By the time we arrived, it was too late."
Sitch: "..."
What was this?
A work-related injury?
Or was it... the price that had to be paid for prophesying the future, to be taken by an ordinary throat lozenge?
He had no time for grief, nor for complaining about what could only be described as the most absurd death in history.
His gaze fell upon the paper that the assistant had pulled from under Hibava's hand, his expression more solemn than ever before.
This great prophet had never failed; her past predictions had a 100% accuracy rate. Although she couldn't cover all disasters, each time she helped humanity reduce too many losses.
Her words were equivalent to the reality that was about to descend.
And at this moment, on that thin piece of paper, only a few words were written in distorted handwriting—
The Earth is doomed... Z-City, uninhabited area.
Saitama, dressed in striped home pajamas, sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, his brows slightly furrowed, intently flipping through a colorful supermarket flyer for special offers.
His concentration was so intense, it was as if he were studying some peerless martial arts secret manual.
He mumbled, "Oh, oh! Pork belly half price! Must buy this! And this cabbage, buy one get one free..."
"Tonight's hotpot ingredients are sorted! Genos, write it down, we must go later!"
Beside him, Genos, the loyal cyborg for justice, sat upright, his pen writing so fast in his notebook that it left afterimages.
[Teacher's Sayings · Life Chapter 321: Maintaining a keen sense for special offers is an important practice for the strong to be frugal, manage their household, and temper their character in ordinary life; its significance is no less than a battle between evenly matched opponents.]
Just then, Genos's special communicator in his pant pocket emitted an urgent buzzing sound.
He quickly connected, data streams rapidly flashing across his golden electronic eyes, and his expression instantly became extremely serious.
"Received. Teacher Saitama and I will attend on time."
After hanging up the communication, he immediately turned to Saitama, his tone grave: "Teacher! The Hero Association has issued a highest-level emergency summons, requiring all S-Class Heroes to immediately proceed to A-City headquarters for a joint conference!"
"Oh." Saitama didn't even lift his head, his finger steadily pointing at the egg section of the flyer, his face full of regret, "But today's eggs are the lowest price this month, and they're limited supply."
"Hmm..."
Genos paused at his words, then entered high-speed calculation mode, thinking seriously.
"According to past data, such emergency meetings usually last 1-2 hours. It takes 15 minutes to get from here to the supermarket. If the meeting ends on time, we might still catch the last bus for the egg special."
"Or... I can immediately contact the Association and ask if the meeting can be postponed by a day."
"Well, never mind, never mind..."
Saitama magnanimously waved his hand, closed the flyer, like an enlightened monk who had seen through the mundane world (referring to his bald head).
"Anyway, I've finally saved up some money recently, missing one special offer shouldn't... be a big problem."
As he spoke, he stretched and stood up, his bones cracking with a series of "crackle, pop" sounds.
"By the way, will there be food at the meeting?"
Genos immediately said solemnly, "I will immediately submit an application to the staff, explaining that you, Teacher, need to replenish a large amount of energy in between saving the world, and ask them to provide the highest standard of meals!"
"You can do that? Then let's get ready to go."
Saitama nodded in satisfaction, walking towards the wardrobe to get his classic yellow suit with a red cape, while inadvertently glancing at the living room.
The scene in the living room formed a stark contrast with this simple bedroom.
On the soft sofa, Hansen was leaning back languidly.
And in his arms, a petite figure was completely nestled.
It was Terrible Tornado.
At this moment, she showed none of the terrifying prestige of the S-Class Rank 2 Hero, but rather resembled a cat kept by its owner.
She was completely curled up against Hansen's broad chest, her two smooth, slender long legs slightly bent due to her sitting posture.
The high slit design of her skirt's hem revealed glimpses of her fair, creamy thighs, creating an extreme visual impact and exuding breathtaking sexiness.
At this time, Terrible Tornado tightly clutched a game controller.
Green Psychokinesis surged restlessly around her, and her iconic green curly hair also fluttered slightly with her exasperated emotions.
On the screen, dazzling light and shadow effects continuously exploded.
"Damn it! You must be cheating!"
Terrible Tornado stared at her character on the screen being infinitely combo'd in the corner, her small face flushed with anger, and she couldn't help but roar at the blond, scarred man next to her.
"Why is it that my attacks are always perfectly defended by you?! This isn't scientific!"
King, sitting on the carpet on the other side, held potato chips in one hand and operated the controller with the other, his emotions stable.
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