Kingpin's earth-shattering press conference, like a tsunami of ideas, swept across global headlines, social networks, and street corner discussions within just a few hours.
"Hero professionalization? Five social insurances and one housing fund?"
"Is Kingpin crazy or am I crazy?"
"This is a blasphemy against the spirit of heroism!"
"It should have been done this way long ago! Heroes are people too, they need to eat!"
"Fisk wants to be the boss of all superheroes? On what grounds?"
Controversy, doubt, mockery, curiosity, and even a faint hint of support… various voices mingled, pushing the Hero Association and Kingpin himself into the eye of the storm. However, right at the center of this public opinion vortex, Fisk Industries demonstrated its astonishing execution.
Less than twenty-four hours after the press conference ended, while major media outlets were still analyzing, commenting, and endlessly arguing, a more concrete and accessible entity of the Hero Association quietly but irresistibly appeared before the public.
The official Hero Association application (APP) was formally launched.
Without large-scale pre-launch advertising, simply through Fisk Industries' official channels and the early access reviews of a few invited tech bloggers, the news spread like a virus. Countless people, driven by curiosity, skepticism, or simply a desire to join the excitement, flocked to various app stores.
The next moment, they were captivated by this APP, which was extremely well-designed, had an incredibly simple interface, yet possessed an incredibly advanced concept.
The icon was the minimalist shield and star olive branch emblem from the press conference background, and the name was simple and direct—"Hero Association."
Opening the application, there was no cumbersome registration guide, only a prominent slogan floating on the loading screen:
"With great power comes great responsibility? No, with great power, salary and security should also keep up. —Welcome to the Hero Association."
This slightly rebellious and pragmatic slogan instantly captured the hearts of many young people.
Upon entering the main interface, the design style was predominantly cool tech blue and pure white, with a clear and intuitive layout, devoid of any redundancy.
At the very top was a scrolling banner announcement area, currently displaying: "Hero Association Global Recruitment Program officially launched! Regardless of ability, as long as you have a heart for justice, you can submit an application!"
The main area below was divided into several core functional zones:
1. [Mission Hall]: This is the most core and eye-catching part of the entire APP. The interface is designed like a high-level mission bounty platform. Cards representing different events are neatly arranged.
At the top of each card, the threat level is marked in a prominent color: Gray (Daily Assistance), White (Wolf-Class), Blue (tiger-level), Purple (ghost-level), Red (Dragon-level) (the latter two are currently grayed out and marked "Insufficient Permissions").
The center of the card is a mission brief, for example: "[Queens · Wolf-Class] Suspected 'sentient trash can' monster harassing community residents, needs to be expelled or subdued.", "[Manhattan · White] Multiple thugs robbing a convenience store, needs to be stopped and handed over to the police."
The bottom of the card clearly lists the mission reward points. From 1-10 points for gray missions, to dozens or even hundreds of points for White missions. Next to the points, there is also a clear "Accept" button.
Anyone can browse missions, but only hero accounts that have been reviewed and registered can accept missions.
2. [Hero Leaderboard]: Currently empty, with only a prompt: "Hero data is being collected, please look forward to it." But everyone understands that once heroes register and complete missions, a leaderboard will appear here, ranked by points, mission completion rate, and other data. Competition and a sense of honor are silently ignited here.
3. [Association Store]: Open to registered heroes. It lists items that can be exchanged with points. Although the specific content is not visible to visitors, the categories already spark imagination: [Equipment Zone], [Skill Enhancement Zone], [Potion Zone], [Knowledge Base], [Life Welfare Zone]... The words "Life Welfare Zone" further confirmed that Kingpin's promise of "five social insurances and one housing fund" was not empty talk.
4. [Recruitment Channel]: An extremely detailed online application form. It not only requires filling in name and abilities but also includes a detailed background check consent form, an ability assessment appointment, and a dozens-of-pages-long "Hero Code of Conduct and Rights Protection Manual" for applicants to read. Its professionalism and rigor far exceed the recruitment processes of ordinary companies.
5. [News and Announcements]: Publishes official association information, major event notifications, and... some hero-related popular science articles? For example, the title of the first pinned article is: "On the Importance of Standardized Combat Procedures in Reducing Civilian Casualties and Property Damage — Discussing from the Analysis of Combat Losses in Several Famous 'Vigilante' Actions." The article, using detailed data and a calm tone, subtly pointed out the shortcomings of certain lone wolf heroes' methods of operation, which could be described as killing with words.
The design of this APP completely transcended its time. Its smooth experience, clear functional division, and the cold logic it revealed of "projectizing" and "proceduralizing" superhuman events left all users with an inexplicable sense of shock.
"My goodness, this UI/UX design leaves S.H.I.E.L.D.'s official website ten blocks behind!"
"Look at this mission description, 'suspected sentient trash can'... Good heavens, even the monster classification is this unique?"
"Points exchange! You can really exchange things! Look at that preview image, that arm guard looks so cool!"
"And life welfare? Could it really be possible to exchange for paid annual leave?"
The online discussions instantly shifted from "should there be a Hero Association" to "this APP is really awesome" and "what good things can points really be exchanged for."
Queens, in an ordinary apartment building.
Peter Parker had just finished a day of studying (and secretly sneaking out to do good deeds), collapsing tiredly onto his bed, habitually scrolling through his phone. Then, he was inundated with screenshots of the "Hero Association APP" flooding his friend circles and social media.
Curiously, he opened the app store and downloaded this application, which was now at the top of the charts.
A few minutes later, Peter's mouth hung open, the light from his phone screen reflecting on his somewhat dazed face.
"Missions... points... exchange..." he murmured, his finger unconsciously scrolling through the mission list. He saw a White mission to "stop a bank robbery in Brooklyn," with a reward of "80" points.
Eighty points!
He didn't know how many points he would need to exchange for things, but that clearly priced, effort-equals-reward model had a fatal attraction for him, a poor student who often worried about living expenses and couldn't afford to fix his broken camera.
He remembered how last night, to stop that robbery, he had ruined his newly bought (secondhand) backpack, and the scientific calculator inside it, which he had saved up for a long time to buy. If... if he joined the Association and completed missions, could he exchange points for a new one? Or even... exchange for some more advanced materials to upgrade his web-shooters?
As soon as this thought appeared, it wrapped around his heart like a vine. But then he shook his head sharply.
"No, no, Peter! You do it to help others, not for rewards!" he told himself, but his gaze couldn't help but stray back to that point number, and the shadowy, cool-looking equipment preview images in the store.
Midtown High School, classroom hallway.
"Hey, Peter, did you download that 'Hero Association' APP?" His friend Ned Leeds excitedly held up his phone and leaned over, "It's so cool! It's like a game just for superheroes! Look at this mission, 'find a lost cat,' and there's 1 point reward! It's a bit small, but it feels so interesting!"
Peter forced a smile: "Yeah, it's pretty... interesting."
His heart was in turmoil.
Meanwhile, somewhere in New York, at S.H.I.E.L.D. Trident Headquarters.
Nick Fury's single eye stared at the "Hero Association APP" interface displayed on the holographic projection in front of him, his face so grim it could drip water.
"What are the analysis results?" he asked in a deep voice.
The voice of the technical director came through the communicator: "Officer, the technical architecture of this application is very advanced, far exceeding our current civilian technology. The server location cannot be traced, and the data encryption method is unprecedented. More importantly, it seems to have an extremely complex real-time monitoring and evaluation system behind it, capable of quickly identifying, locating, and publishing those... 'anomalous events.'"
Agent Coulson stood by, his brows tightly furrowed: "He not only proposed the concept but also quickly produced such a mature product. Director Fury, the technological resources Kingpin possesses are probably deeper than we imagined. Once this APP becomes widespread, it means he will establish an intelligence and action network independent of us."
Fury said nothing, merely tapping his finger on the table. The blue shield emblem reflected a cold light in his single eye.
He knew that Kingpin's move was far more potent than a mere press conference. He had transformed a vague concept into a tangible, enticing platform. This was not just about recruiting heroes; it was subtly shaping public perception of "heroes" and "crisis management."
A silent war had begun. And in the first round, Kingpin, with this damned, excessively user-friendly APP, had seized an absolute advantage.
Everyone realized that the Hero Association was no longer just a slogan. It had flesh and blood, it had tentacles, and it was embedding itself into the daily life of this World with an unstoppable momentum.
The wheels of time not only turned but had Rocket boosters attached.