Chapter 3: Premium Beef!
Saitama stared at the fierce, intimidating face of the man standing before him. He racked his brain, but he couldn't recall ever meeting anyone like this.
Kenji's face was currently smeared with green monster blood, and coupled with the fact that Saitama barely remembered the time he saved the original King, he didn't recognize him at all.
After confirming that this person was indeed a stranger to him, Saitama tentatively asked:
"Um... who are you again?"
Saitama didn't want to waste too much time here. If he lingered any longer, he might miss the discount sales at the supermarket.
Kenji, however, was determined to build a connection with the Caped Baldy. After all, this guy was the strongest existence in the universe. Establishing a friendly relationship with him was definitely the right move.
As for how to build that relationship, Kenji had already thought of the fastest method.
Hearing the confusion in Saitama's voice, Kenji immediately put on a heartbroken expression.
"I can't believe you don't recognize me. We once faced a rampaging monster together back in the day. To think you've forgotten me... what a pity. I heard you became a hero for fun, so I was planning to buy a few boxes of Premium A5 Wagyu Beef and go to your place for a hotpot celebration..."
Premium A5 Wagyu Beef?!
Saitama instantly locked onto the keywords. His eyes sharpened. After a brief moment of intense "thinking," he enthusiastically grabbed Kenji's hand and shook it vigorously.
"Oh! Right! I remember now! You're that guy... that... uh..."
Think, brain, think! Or the premium beef will fly away!
Staring at the face of the man in front of him, a memory from a TV broadcast finally flashed through Saitama's mind.
"You're King, right?! I've heard so much about you! When are we doing the hotpot? It's been so long since we last met!"
In that moment, Saitama's IQ reached its peak.
For the sake of Premium Beef, King was his best friend, no questions asked!
Seeing Saitama's eyes practically glowing, Kenji found it hilarious.
This was a being who could destroy planets with his bare hands, someone who could wipe out galaxies if he got slightly serious. Yet, his greatest weakness was expensive meat.
The two chatted like old buddies for a moment. Saitama gave him his address in the abandoned zone of City Z and waved goodbye.
"Make sure you come, okay? The supermarket sale is about to end, so I gotta go grab some cabbage first. I'll wait for you tonight!"
With that, Saitama anxiously bent his knees and launched himself into the air. The ground beneath him exploded, and he vanished into the horizon as a streak of light.
Both sides felt like they had won.
Kenji felt that for the price of a few boxes of beef, he had secured the friendship of the strongest being in the universe.
Saitama was even happier. He had just gone out to perform some casual justice, and unexpectedly made a new best friend who was going to treat him to premium meat.
Watching Saitama disappear, Kenji suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. His heart began to pound violently, the loud thump-thump-thump of the King Engine echoing through the ruins.
Others might not be able to sense it, but Kenji could feel it clearly.
Standing in front of Saitama, he felt incredibly small—like a speck of dust looking up at a mountain that pierced the heavens.
Kenji was absolutely certain: even if he used "Night Guy," it probably wouldn't even be enough to survive one of the Caped Baldy's casual slaps.
Still a long way to go.
Although surpassing Saitama was nearly impossible, with the System in hand, getting stronger wouldn't be difficult.
Right. Besides the regeneration passive, didn't I get some stat points?
Kenji mentally commanded the System, and a translucent blue data panel appeared before his eyes.
He quickly navigated to his Character Status.
[Name: Kenji]
[Gender: Male]
[Abilities: King Engine, Extreme Regeneration]
[Strength: 10,000]
[Speed: 10,000]
[Stamina: 10,000]
[Defense: 8,000]
[Spirit: 3,000]
[Note: The threshold for Dragon-Level is 1,000 in all stats.]
Seeing his off-the-charts stats, Kenji swallowed hard.
The baseline for a Dragon-level threat was 1,000 points. Except for his Spirit stat, he was essentially crushing the standard Dragon-level by tenfold.
This explained his fight with Vaccine Man. It was a complete numerical stomp.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
A sudden ringtone pulled Kenji back to reality. He fished his phone out of his pocket. The caller ID flashed on the screen.
[Hero Association • Sitch]
The moment he picked up, Sitch's anxious voice came through the line.
"Mr. King! Our sensors indicate that the energy fluctuations from the Dragon-level threat 'Vaccine Man' have vanished. Did you... did you defeat him?"
Back at the Hero Association, Sitch was a nervous wreck. He stared at the main screen, which no longer showed Vaccine Man's signal, a drop of cold sweat rolling down his forehead.
If King had defeated him, everything was fine. But if King hadn't, and the monster had simply fled or hidden its energy signature, they were in big trouble.
It would mean a monster capable of destroying cities was now loose and invisible to their surveillance, ready to strike back at any moment.
DOOM... DOOM... DOOM...
Before answering, the trademark sound of the King Engine transmitted through the phone, shaking the listener's soul with its powerful rhythm.
Kenji's deep voice responded, calm and steady, sounding nothing like someone who had just been in a life-or-death battle.
"Vaccine Man has been dealt with. Send your cleanup crews immediately."
With that, Kenji hung up.
Hearing the confirmation that King had indeed defeated the monster, the heavy rock in Sitch's heart finally crumbled.
Tension left his body instantly, and he practically collapsed into his chair, letting out a long sigh of relief.
This disaster was one of the greatest threats the Hero Association had ever faced. If they had fumbled this, their reputation would have been in the gutter.
As expected of the Strongest Man on Earth...
Just as he was mentally praising King's reliability, a thought struck Sitch, and his face suddenly went pale.
He shot up from his chair and barked orders at the staff in front of him, his voice trembling with urgency.
"Call Tornado of Terror (Tatsumaki) right now! Tell her the Dragon-level threat has been neutralized by Mr. King and that she doesn't need to go there anymore!"
The Association had originally requested Tatsumaki to handle this disaster. The short-tempered, arrogant esper was already halfway there, only to have her kill stolen by King.
Sitch couldn't even imagine the sparks that would fly between the "Strongest Man on Earth" and the Association's "Ultimate Weapon."