On the way to HQ, Jace's palms were drenched. He kept sneaking glances in the rearview.
King sat motionless.
Lin Mo sensed Jace's nerves and glances, but said nothing, pretending not to notice.
They rode that strange silence into the underground garage.
The moment they stepped from the elevator into the main lobby, the place fell eerily quiet.
"Oh my god… it's Lord King! I'm not dreaming, right?" a young clerk gasped, hand over her mouth.
"He actually came! For an ad?" another veteran staffer pushed up his glasses, equally stunned.
They hadn't expected the "strongest man alive" to accept such a job.
[From Association Staffer A: Awe +3 EP]
[From Association Staffer B: Admiration +4 EP]
[From …]
Big-nosed Sitch was already waiting with several senior members. Seeing Lin Mo, he strode up, gratitude on his face.
"Mr. King, thank you for making time. This really shouldn't trouble you, but—"
Lin Mo dipped his head slightly but stayed silent.
Less talk, fewer mistakes. Playing King meant cold and taciturn was the safest mask.
"Well, King, who knew you'd even come for something like this." A crisp, slightly disdainful voice rang out from within.
All eyes turned. A petite figure drifted into the air.
Short, naturally wavy green hair. A simple black dress. Her whole body glowed with a visible green aura.
S-Class Rank 2—Tornado of Terror.
Lin Mo turned too, surprised to bump into the tsundere "eternal loli."
"Heroes' dignity, ever heard of it? Doing something so beneath you," she said, glaring at Lin Mo. Normally she wouldn't stick her nose in, but she'd been in a foul mood and needed a target. King had walked into range…
Five days earlier.
A towering monster—ten-plus meters of jagged black stone—was rampaging through the streets. Each step shook the ground.
"I am the ultimate lifeform—Myriad Megalith!" it roared, voice like rock grinding rock, bellowing at empty streets.
"I slumbered for a thousand years in the earth's magma, stockpiling power, and now I awaken, a megalith possessed of supreme will!"
"My mission—exterminate you fragile humans!"
The stone brute worked itself up, eyes glowing molten red.
"You pitiful mammals… I'll pound you to paste! Pulverize you to dust! Return the earth to the dominion of stone!"
"Too noisy."
A bored, girlish snort fell from the sky.
Tornado flicked her wrist. With a chorus of crushing, the stony giant compacted into powder and drifted away on the breeze.
The Association staff gaped, then burst into cheers. "Beautiful as always, Lady Tornado! Instant kill! No casualties!"
Tornado touched down, hands on hips in theatrical exasperation. "Sure, there's a monster every day lately, but why does everyone call only me? Someone else should bring in a result or two."
She stretched and sighed, aiming for world-weary. "This is supposed to be a day off. I have plenty to do, you know."
Green light surged around her again as she prepared to fly, then she tossed back, "Well… if it's absolutely impossible without my power, then there's no helping it."
"No helping it!"
She left, and the staff exchanged mute looks.
What she didn't expect was that, starting that day, she wouldn't receive a single dispatch call for days.
The emergency channel stayed dead. Each time she couldn't resist calling to ask, the answer was identical: "Please rest assured, Lady Tornado—the situation's already been handled."
Bored out of her skull, she sipped "height-boosting milk" at home and watched TV.
Eventually she couldn't stand it. She took to the skies to patrol and hunt baddies herself.
Every time she raced to a location based on intel, the fight was already over.
All she found were monster corpses and Association teams doing cleanup.
Most of the corpses showed signs of a single overwhelming blow—like the work of the same person.
Meanwhile, somewhere in City Z, a bald man who'd been eating way too well lately—and had been forced to extend his walks—suddenly sneezed.
"Achoo! …Weird. Someone talking about me?"
With nowhere else to vent her frustration, Tornado flew back to HQ to find something—anything—to do.
And ran head-long into King arriving to shoot an ad.
"It's my choice," Lin Mo answered, eyes on Tornado. He hadn't expected to meet her here. No way she'd be doing an ad too, right?
The thought flashed and died—absolutely not with her personality.
So why the open hostility?
He studied her calmly. She locked her emerald gaze on him.
In that instant, a spark leapt in Tornado's mind.
Rumors among staff. The latest whispers about King. They snapped together like puzzle pieces:
Rumor 1: King, who used to be reclusive, has been active in the abandoned zone of City Z.
Rumor 2: In recent days, monster sightings in City Z have plummeted—especially in the abandoned zone, which is almost swept clean.
Rumor 3: All monster remains found there show signs of being one-shotted by absolute force.
So that's it, King!
Her eyes widened; anger flared.
It was you! You've been poaching my monsters!? No wonder I kept coming up empty in City Z!
"King, I challenge you!"
Tornado had had enough. She pointed at his nose and shouted.
Lin Mo: "…Huh!?"
-------
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