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Half an hour later, Y City Suburban Park.
Around the park, yellow and black caution tape stretched for hundreds of meters, isolating curious citizens and media.
Several Hero Association support vehicles, their police lights flashing, were parked by the roadside, their bodies bearing fresh scratches from sharp claws.
The atmosphere was heavy and tense.
Several A-Class Heroes—Springbeard, Golden Ball, and Stinger—were maintaining order with their respective team members.
They were all more or less injured, their neat battle suits covered in dust, and their faces etched with fatigue and difficulty.
Just half an hour ago, their joint encirclement operation ended in failure.
The monsters, which seemed to be merely mutated ordinary beasts, displayed extraordinary cunning and teamwork, causing these battle-hardened heroes considerable trouble.
Just then, a black special car, emblazoned with the highest-level emblem of the Hero Association, drove steadily into view and stopped at the entrance of the caution tape, under everyone's gaze.
Everyone's conversations subconsciously ceased, and their eyes uniformly turned towards it.
Immediately after, a tall and burly figure appeared before them, his iconic three vertical scars across his left face adding an unparalleled sense of Intimidation to his stern countenance.
"It's... it's Mr. KING, S-Class Rank 6!"
"He actually came to deal with a Tiger-level disaster?"
"Silence! Don't disturb Mr. KING!"
Lin Mo ignored the reverent gazes around him and walked directly towards the park entrance.
He could clearly hear fierce roars and low growls coming from the woods deep within the park.
"Mr. KING!" Springbeard quickly stepped forward, and despite his nervousness, he dutifully reported the situation.
"Those beasts are entrenched near the central lawn. Preliminary reconnaissance estimates their number to be around twenty or more."
"They are extremely fast, with sharp claws and teeth, and... their leader is particularly cunning, knowing how to use the terrain and its companions to set traps. Three B-Class Heroes were severely injured because of this."
"No need." Lin Mo coldly interrupted him and walked into the park alone.
If you're going to show off, do it completely.
The moment he stepped into the park, a strong, wild beastly stench assailed him.
In the shadows of the trees, pairs of glowing green eyes stared intently at him, the "intruder."
Here they come!
Lin Mo took a deep breath, and with a thought, activated Intimidation.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!"
In that instant, the Emperor Engine, which had struck fear into countless monsters, roared with an unprecedented and terrifying momentum!
An invisible, terrifying aura, centered on Lin Mo, spread out like a transparent shockwave!
"Owoo...?"
The wild dog pack, which had been roaring, abruptly fell silent.
The next second, cries of lament rose one after another.
"Woof... woof woof..."
The more than twenty ferocious wild dogs, each as large as a lion, looked as if they had seen the most terrifying natural predator in the world. They tucked their tails between their legs, their fur bristled, and they lay limp on the ground, defecating and urinating, their bodies trembling like sieves.
The most cunning leader among them even rolled its eyes, foamed at the mouth, and fainted on the spot.
The entire park fell into a deathly silence, with only the roar of the Emperor Engine echoing through the trees.
Lin Mo himself was startled by the effect. Was it... over just like that?
Outside the park, the heroes and Hero Association staff monitoring the real-time drone footage were completely petrified.
In the footage, Mr. KING simply walked into the park, and then... did nothing.
Then, the Tiger-level monsters that had been troubling the A-Class Heroes all lost their ability to resist, lying on the ground trembling like pet dogs.
"...What happened?" a young hero murmured to himself.
"It's 'aura'..." an A-Class Hero next to him explained with a trembling voice.
"It's pure 'aura'! His very existence shattered the enemy's fighting spirit... Is this... the realm of strongest man on earth (title/epithet)?"
[Detected strong emotional source: A-Class Hero 'Springbeard' (extreme shock)]
[Converted energy points obtained: +120!]
[Detected strong emotional source: Hero Association Executive (awe)]
[Converted energy points obtained: +30!]
[...]
A series of system prompts once again flooded the screen, bringing Lin Mo thousands of points in income.
He walked out of the park, satisfied, leaving behind a group of "廢犬" (useless dogs) that had completely lost their ability to attack... Back home, looking at the newly abundant energy points balance on the system panel, Lin Mo breathed a sigh of relief.
"Strength is fundamental, but luck... seems very important too." He recalled Mr. KING's incredible luck in the original work.
"System, open the gacha pool!"
What appeared in his consciousness was a huge wheel, divided into grades from E to S.
Currently, only E and D grades were lit up; C grade and above were grayed out.
[Hint: Gacha pools of B grade and above require higher authority or special gacha tickets to unlock.]
"Then let's try a ten-pull first." Lin Mo, feeling wealthy, chose the D-grade gacha. After all, he really didn't care for the items in the E-grade.
"System, perform a D-grade ten-pull!"
[Energy points -3000, performing D-grade gacha...]
The wheel spun rapidly, lights flashing.
[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: Energy Points x 500]
[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: Basic Mental Recovery Potion x1]
[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: Skill Fragment 'Martial Arts (Beginner)' x3]
[...]
[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: Special Item 'Coin of Misfortune' x1]
The first nine items were all standard, but only the last one glowed with an ominous purple light.
[Coin of Misfortune]
[Type: One-time consumable]
[Effect: After tossing, you can designate a target (excluding yourself) to suffer a strong 'misfortune' matching their strength within the next hour.]
[Note: What constitutes misfortune is randomly determined by the world's laws. It could be stepping on a banana peel right after leaving the house, choking on water, or even being hit by one's own attack during combat. Use with caution, as karma is unpredictable.]
Hmm!?
Lin Mo had originally just wanted to do a gacha to calm his excitement, as good items in the D-grade gacha pool, while present, had a very low chance of being drawn.
Lin Mo looked at the item description. Hmm... a conceptual weapon? It feels great for ambushing people... He seemed to already envision the comical scene of an arrogant enemy slipping or their weapon flying out of their hand at a critical moment.
Lin Mo's lips curved slightly upwards. This small coin might just save his life at a crucial moment.