Z-City. Hero Association Branch.
Tap tap tap tap...
"Team Leader! Team Leader!"
The sound of high heels stopped abruptly in the gleaming marble corridor.
Two long legs in black stockings rose above burgundy heels. Their owner wore a Hero Association custom suit uniform. The fitted pencil skirt outlined a perfect, alluring S-curve. Beneath golden wavy hair sat burgundy glasses matching her heels.
Lanny clutched a stack of documents to her chest with one hand, pushing up her glasses with the other. "Why are you in such a hurry? What's going on?"
"Headquarters just updated the latest hero roster! The hero names and rankings for those two potential candidates we submitted have been confirmed!"
"I see." Lanny nodded, her gaze turning slightly cold. "Those incompetent fools at headquarters are as inefficient as ever. We've emphasized both heroes' combat strength levels repeatedly, but they still dragged it out this long." She sighed. "Never mind. Conference room. Now."
"Mr. Jordan Evans? Are you Jordan Evans?"
Jordan had just stepped out of a bubble tea shop near the police station, straw between his lips, when two sweaty men in black suits blocked his path.
"I'm Jordan Evans. And you two are?"
"Mr. Jordan Evans, we've finally found you!" One young man wearing sunglasses and a headset wiped his brow. "We're staff from the Z-City Hero Association branch, sent to invite you to—"
The earth shook violently.
Violent tremors and thunderous crashes echoed from the distance. Surrounding buildings began swaying. The two Hero Association staff members stumbled. Jordan's telekinesis caught them before they fell.
People ran and shouted in terror on the streets. Panic spread like wildfire. Emergency broadcast systems installed along the roads crackled to life.
"URGENT! URGENT! A giant unidentified monster has attacked Z-City's urban district. Suspected disaster level: DEMON! Citizens in surrounding areas must immediately proceed to the nearest shelter and await rescue under staff guidance!"
"Repeating announcement! Z-City urban district—"
"We'll talk later." Jordan helped both staff members to their feet. His body was already airborne, flying toward the rampaging monster. "Looks like I need to handle this first."
"Wait, but... he's already gone?"
"Out of sight already. So fast! No wonder he's Z-City's first A-rank hero!"
"But we haven't finished the assignment Lady Lanny gave us!"
"Nothing we can do in this situation, right? Maybe the team leader should handle it personally."
Z-City. Shelter Number Seven.
The Hero Association had made various attempts to respond to emergencies and major disasters.
Urban shelters were one of their key projects during this phase.
Relying on the Association's strong financial resources and infrastructure capabilities, they'd built multiple large-scale refuge facilities in major human cities. Each was equipped with powerful defense systems capable of theoretically withstanding all attack types during major disasters.
This served dual purposes: provide time for professional heroes to carry out rescues, while maximizing citizen survival rates.
Today, Z-City's shelters were packed with shaken citizens. Every defense system ran at full capacity.
Which meant disaster had already struck.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Residential buildings collapsed one after another under unknown attacks. Kicked-up sand and dust swept in all directions.
Within moments, several prosperous neighborhoods had become hell on earth.
A gigantic figure emerged from billowing smoke, nearly tall enough to reach the city's overpass. Thick segmented limbs. Sharp mouthparts. Alloy-like carapace. A bizarre, ugly human face growing from its head.
This constituted a giant insect with severely excessive nutrition.
Mysterious Being: "170,000-Year-Old Cicada Larva"
Disaster Level: Demon
Professional heroes active nearby had rushed to the scene. C-Rank #299 "Student." C-Rank #140 "Red Scarf Fighter." B-Rank #64 "Dark Flame Dragon Blade Master," a promising newcomer.
The three young heroes joined forces. After a fierce battle, they finally succeeded in...
Getting completely defeated by the mysterious being.
Fortunately, none lost their lives. Just covered in dust and dirt, they followed the crowd into the shelter.
Seeing heroes usually touted as incredibly powerful in such sorry states, many Hero Association devotees immediately had their faith shaken.
"Hey, hey, HEY! What kind of heroes are you idiots supposed to be?!"
"Are you kidding me? How did you all get in here? What if you attracted that freak?"
"Useless! Utterly useless! I wasted so much money donating to the Hero Association just a few days ago!"
The defeated heroes had no excuse.
Their individual capabilities were limited. Escorting a large number of civilians safely into the shelter already fulfilled their duty.
Many expressed gratitude for exactly this.
Quite a few rational citizens remained present. Any normal person knew that attacks by mysterious beings were no joke.
With the shelter doors now completely sealed, at least those who'd entered were safe.
As for that freak outside who couldn't be scratched even when cut with blades? Not something these ordinary B or C-rank heroes could handle.
Defeating an enemy of this level was impossible. Impossible in this lifetime.
All they could do was hide in the shelter and wait for the mysterious being to die of old age.
When Red Scarf Fighter made this self-deprecating statement, the trapped crowd descended into chaos.
"Bastard! What kind of talk is that?!"
"Are you kidding? How many years would it take for that monster to die of old age?!"
"This is troublesome..." In the crowd, an ordinary-looking young man with black hair listened to the discussion. Sweat gradually appeared on his forehead. "They just said... where is this place again?"
"This is a shelter." A young woman with long straight black hair, clearly an office worker, looked relieved. She smiled, comforting him. "You're safe once you're in the shelter. You're finally saved!"
"It's actually more troublesome..." The black-haired youth scratched his head in frustration under the young woman's puzzled gaze. "I thought I could find the monster by following those self-proclaimed heroes. But I ended up in the shelter instead." He paused. "By the way, can that door be opened?"
"Uh..." The young lady didn't quite follow his train of thought. She hesitated. "Once the other heroes arrive and deal with the monsters destroying the city, it should open, right?"
"Oh, at least it can open!"
The black-haired youth's expression brightened immediately. He pushed through the crowd, walking toward the gate.