Chapter 174: Did I still need a cheat?
This disaster that almost caused human extinction was finally resolved by the Hero Association.
To be precise, it was resolved by the Hero Association's The Strongest Man on Earth, King, and the recently famous "One-Punch Man" Saitama.
The Hero Association naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by and immediately mobilized the PR Department to heavily publicize the incident.
For a time, the Hero Association's reputation in society grew significantly again, even almost surpassing the government.
The craze for the profession of hero in society reached a new level; people began to idolize heroes even more than entertainment stars.
Under the Hero Association's portrayal, The Strongest Man on Earth, King, and the powerful and distinctive "One-Punch Man" Saitama almost became national idols.
At the public's request and due to the great achievements of King and Saitama themselves, the Hero Association decided to promote their rankings.
King, who was S-Class Rank 5, was promoted to s-class rank 1 after discussion, surpassing Blast, who had long occupied the top spot of the S-Class.
This wasn't just a simple achievement; the Hero Association's higher-ups didn't actually dare to do this directly—at most, they would have made King s-class rank 2, taking Tornado's place.
The reason this promotion skipped directly to s-class rank 1 was due to someone's full guarantee.
That's right, the person who gave the personal guarantee was the mysterious powerhouse who returned from space heavily injured, the s-class rank 1, Blast.
He first praised King's terrifying strength before the world, then personally announced his abdication and recommendation of a more worthy successor in front of the cameras, instantly setting the internet ablaze.
King's fame grew even greater, completely leaving the second-place Sweet Mask behind; his popularity reached an undisputed, league-of-his-own number one on the national charts.
People knew that it was this legendary The Strongest Man on Earth who saved the world, and it was he who prevented humanity from the crisis of extinction.
King is great and worthy of praise!
And Saitama, the "One-Punch Man" who also had great achievements, became s-class rank 3, taking the original position of Bang.
As for why he didn't directly become s-class rank 2, the higher-ups of the Hero Association still considered it carefully.
Although Saitama's achievements this time were indeed very dazzling, Tornado, who was s-class rank 2, had after all been fighting diligently on the front lines for many years and also performed remarkably in this incident.
In terms of seniority and achievements, Saitama temporarily couldn't compare to the long-serving Tornado, thus he settled for s-class rank 3.
As Saitama's influence expanded, observant people were surprised to find that there seemed to be more and more bald people on the streets.
Moreover, these bald heads generally tended to be younger; previously, most of those with smooth heads were middle-aged balding men, but now they were mostly teenagers.
They all imitated Saitama's hairstyle, believing that being bald was really cool, and maybe they could even gain power as strong as the "One-Punch Man" Saitama by shaving their heads.
As time passed, Saitama, who was originally happy because of the significant increase in salary and benefits, gradually began to look worried.
He went from frequently going out at the beginning to becoming cautious now; he had to wear a wig and make sure it wouldn't be blown away by the wind before he dared to step out.
But even with such a disguise, he was still often recognized on the spot in the street.
It couldn't be helped; Saitama's iconic features weren't just his shiny bald head, but also those dull eyes and that rounded face that looked like a simple line drawing.
Later on, every time Saitama went out shopping, he would jump directly from his doorstep to his destination, relying on high-altitude jumping to avoid the fanatical crowds... Meanwhile, in a slightly luxurious villa.
King lay on a soft large bed, staring straight at the faint blue data panel in front of him, as the System's prompt sounded in his ears.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully defeating God, heavily wounding God, and driving him back to the higher dimension.]
[Option 1: Violently beat the God in front of you until he kneels, letting this fellow who appeared in the lower dimension and calls himself a higher being see what it means by 'there is always someone better,' and what a super numerical monster with infinite adaptation is!]
[Option 1 Reward: System Item x 2, Random Ability Enhancement x 1]
[Ding! Rewards have been distributed!]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining System Item: "true man duel scroll"]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining System Item: "anywhere door"]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a Random Ability Enhancement. "Adapt to Heaven and Earth" has evolved into "Infinite Evolution".]
Huh?! Such a Heaven-Defying ability was actually enhanced again?!
Now even King himself was a bit overwhelmed.
Am I really using cheats in this stage?