"Big brother Superman! What are you talking about with Uncle Andrew here?" the little heroine asked.
So, Saitama explained once again the trouble he'd run into. He could swear this was the most headache-inducing problem of his life—once women were involved, things always got complicated.
But some women—no, some girls—could be little bundles of good luck.
"This is easy!" the little heroine said. "Superman, you just need to take this pretty onee-san to find the President of the United Kingdom! Leave the rest to us! Look, Uncle Andrew over there, and all those robots with him—they've been itching to do something!"
Only then did Saitama remember: their group still had the original male lead of TF5—Cade.
What could he do? In the original story of TF5, Cade was a middle-aged guy who ran with robots; after a string of coincidences, he met Vivian. But in this changed world, when Vivian escaped from City 1, she happened to run into the overwhelmingly strong Saitama. So the "adventure" that should have gone to Cade ended up in Saitama's hands. If this TF5 world were a movie, Cade now could only be called a companion by the protagonist's side.
Saitama thought it over. Judging by the little heroine's and Cade's personalities, what they'd just said was what everyone was truly thinking. They didn't want to cower under his protection as pitiful weaklings. They wanted to stand up and prove they still had courage and the will to fight.
That spirit was, without a doubt, humanity's most precious quality.
Saitama felt happy to have such a group around him.
"Alright then!" Saitama rubbed the little heroine's head. "If this is really what you want, start moving! But before that, get me a motorcycle."
"A motorcycle?" the little heroine blinked. "Superman-nii, what do you need a motorcycle for?"
"Oh, that's a secret!" Saitama always softened up around kids—especially kids like this little heroine. "Would you help me with this?"
The girl thought for a second and nodded. "Okay… I'll tell Uncle Andrew right now!"
Very soon, everyone procured a motorcycle for Saitama.
The moment he revved it, Saitama felt the beastly power coiled inside the machine. This was a racer that outclassed anything on the market—monstrous horsepower.
Vrrrm—
He motioned for Vivian to sit behind him and handed her a helmet. "Ready? We're heading out!"
Vrrrm—!
Saitama and Vivian shot across the sands like an arrow, hero and beauty trailing a plume of dust across the desert.
"Where are we going?" Vivian asked over the wind.
"You'll know in a minute," Saitama replied.
Talking as they rode, Saitama and Vivian reached City 2. He gunned straight for the city center.
A hulking Transformer stood there, swaggering like a tyrant.
As Saitama passed it, he threw a single Normal Punch—turning the thing into scrap.
A resident who'd just happened to be nearby gaped, jaw hanging. "Th-that… someone just knocked out a robot monster with his fist!"
Curious, he ran over to the smashed machine and took a swing at it himself. A second later, he howled, "Ow! My hand! It hurts!"
Angry now, he kicked the metal heap—only to yelp again. "Damn it, it really is a robot made of steel!"
Saitama and Vivian didn't see any of this.
If Vivian had seen it, she might have chuckled, found it cute, then hugged Saitama's solid waist a little tighter and rested her cheek against his back.
"Are we just passing through City 2?" she asked as they neared the exit.
"No," Saitama said. "I'm going to take another lap and knock down every robot in this city."
Sure enough, with Saitama deliberately sweeping the area, every mechanical monster in City 2 hit the dirt. In his system, another city badge chimed into existence—and his stats ticked up again.
He could feel it—he'd gotten even stronger.
"As expected… liberating the cities Megatron took over is one of the system's hidden quests."
After clearing City 2, Saitama stopped by a gas station to top up, then headed for the next city.
Soon—City 3!
City 4!
City 5!
Across America, the places that had once borne the names of states but had been renamed into numbered cities by Megatron's forces… were being reclaimed one by one—by Saitama.
Inside the Decepticons' intranet, Megatron's lieutenants watched the map bleed red and felt despair gnaw at their cores. They wanted to cry. Only now did they realize: those humans trailing behind Saitama had been buying them time. With those "hostages" freed, they'd lost leverage—and their room to maneuver was shrinking fast.
"Useless rabble!" Megatron snarled, staring at the electronic map as the frontline collapsed. He nearly unleashed his wrath on his own underlings—but forced the rage back down.
In Megatron's optics, Saitama was still just a powerful human—hardly worthy of a personal response. If Megatron moved himself, it would only lower his stature.
"Intranet. Connect me to Barricade."
Beep—beep—beep—
Barricade appeared on screen. "Lord Megatron, what do you require?"
He put on an air of ignorance.
"You imbecile!" Megatron snapped. "I gave you ample time, and you still can't handle one little human!"
"My lord," Barricade answered, "what you're seeing is an illusion. Based on the intel we've gathered, we're certain Saitama is only a strong human. We've formulated a complete plan. This time, we guarantee he'll be eliminated."
"A plan? What plan?" Megatron's voice rasped with contempt.
Ever since Barricade came to Earth, Megatron had felt as if the bot's wits had fallen off a cliff. He no longer showed the ruthless edge he'd had while exterminating other species across the cosmos. And when Megatron thought of Optimus—still missing without a trace—suspicion crept in about Barricade's true intentions…
(End of Chapter)
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