Chapter 304: Mutation! A Forbidden Existence
Then—
Chen Ye realized an even bigger problem!
He had received Saitama's dream transmission when his attributes broke past 10,000.
Even back when his attributes hit 7,000, he had already begun dreaming about Saitama's journey to power...
If this applied to Saitama—
What about the other heroes?
Could they be affected the sa way?
If it was just Saitama, that was fine. But if every hero vanished from the pool when soone's attributes surpassed a certain threshold, then things could beco a major issue!
Furthermore—
Now that Saitama had disappeared from the C-rank hero pool, what would happen to those who had previously bonded with his talent?
If Chen Ye publicly revealed Saitama's training thod, could those people rapidly grow stronger?
Chen Ye felt that they probably wouldn't...
Forget it.
The way the hero pool functioned was its own business.
Even if he understood the chanics behind it, there was nothing he could do to change it.
Better to let things take their natural course!
...
"How could a hero suddenly disappear from the hero pool?"
"This has never happened before!"
"Why are you all freaking out? It's just a trash-tier C-rank hero. It doesn't make any difference."
"It doesn't matter now, but what if an S-rank hero disappears next?"
"Exactly! If heroes keep vanishing, we're dood! Without hero talents, how are we supposed to fight against the monsters?"
Online—
The discussion was raging.
By nightfall, the disappearance of the C-rank hero had surged to the top of the trending list.
Everyone was concerned, fearing that this was only the beginning...
However, no one linked the missing hero to Chen Ye.
Mainly because, in today's world, there were too many eccentrics. Plenty of people enjoyed shaving their heads, and bald guys were far from uncommon.
Even though Young Master Chen had publicly bonded with a C-rank hero during a live broadcast, no one thought there was a connection. Nobody believed he could possibly have the power to make a hero vanish from the hero pool.
Only those who truly understood Chen Ye's strength had so suspicions.
But even then, it was just a passing thought.
After all, C-rank heroes were widely regarded as useless. That belief had been deeply ingrained in people's minds for years. Countless individuals had bonded with C-rank heroes before, but none had ever turned out to be exceptional.
Most people still assud that Chen Ye, being as strong as he was, must have bonded with an S-rank hero—possibly even the legendary S1.
Chen Ye carefully monitored the public discourse.
Seeing that no one had drawn any connections to him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Since Saitama had already disappeared from the hero pool, he was even more determined to keep his secret hidden.
It would be best if this mystery vanished along with Saitama's disappearance.
...
Ti passed quickly.
Before long—
It was early June.
The start of a new academic year.
This year, Martial University recruited even more students than the previous year, becoming the top choice among all superpower academies.
The reason for this surge in enrollnt?
The championship victory in the National Secret Realm Tournant.
Although everyone believed that the victory was thanks to Qin Muyin's presence—
The fact that Martial University had been able to recruit her spoke volus about its prestige.
After all—
If Beijing University was so great, why hadn't they managed to recruit a powerhouse like her?
With the arrival of the new students—
Tang Zichen, Chen Ye, and their friends naturally moved up a year, becoming seasoned third-years.
Chen Ye had already decided that his main goal this year would be to lead his friends in conquering the secret realms.
According to Martial University's rules, if they failed to clear Secret Realm #9 this year—
They would be expelled.
Passing three secret realms per year was a strict graduation requirent!
As expected—
The internet had a short mory.
By mid-June—
The whole ordeal about the missing C-rank hero had completely faded from public discussion.
...
Today.
June 15th.
The scorching sun blazed overhead, pushing ground temperatures past 30°C.
Inside the training room—
Chen Ye effortlessly completed all of his exercises without breaking a sweat.
Thanks to his fire-based abilities, his body had an extraordinary heat resistance. Even without air conditioning, he felt no discomfort at all.
After finishing his workout—
He imdiately noticed that his strength had once again increased today.
Chen Ye quickly pulled up his status panel:
Na: Chen Ye
Constitution: 12,360
Spirit: 2,706
Strength: 12,360
Agility: 12,360
Talent: Saitama Physique
Available Potential Points: 0
...
Seeing these numbers, Chen Ye's eyes widened in excitent.
He clearly rembered that his Constitution, Strength, and Agility had all been 12,320 before. Now, each had increased by 40 points—his gains for the day.
Before this, each training session had only increased his attributes by 20 points.
But today, they had doubled to 40!
"Forty points a day? That's 1,200 points per month! 14,600 per year!"
"At this rate, I'll be parting the planet like a middle school haircut in no ti!"
It wasn't unusual for his attribute growth to slightly increase during the sumr...
But for it to double like this? That had never happened before.
Chen Ye wasn't entirely sure why.
But he didn't care.
As long as he was getting stronger, that was all that mattered.
...
anwhile...
A young man arrived at the gates of Martial University.
His appearance was unremarkable, but his deanor was sharp and cold, his gaze piercing like an eagle's.
He glanced at the university entrance but didn't linger. Instead, he crossed the street and spent several hours securing a temporary rental apartnt in a residential complex facing the university.
The apartnt overlooked the main entrance of Martial University perfectly.
Once the landlord left, the young man pulled out his phone and contacted soone.
Thirty minutes later—
A middle-aged man in a white lab coat arrived at the apartnt and stepped inside.
As soon as the young man saw him, he spoke urgently.
"Captain, I've confird it. The target that the Master issued a warrant for—the bald one—is inside that university across the street!"
It seed like there was a forbidden na, sothing so taboo that the young man didn't dare speak it aloud.
The "Captain" didn't respond imdiately.
Instead, he stood by the window, gazing down at the bustling streets, before sighing.
"This world... is quite similar to ours."
The young man remained silent.
Only then did the Captain turn to him.
"Xiao Dao, do you know why I chose to bring you along instead of the others, like Old Dog?"
Before the young man could reply, the Captain's tone suddenly turned harsh.
"Because you're cautious. You handle things carefully!"
"But just now—you almost got us killed! I told you before, in this world, we must never speak that word aloud! If you do, there's a chance we'll be detected—and if that happens, we're dead!"
"If we die, fine. But if we ruin his plans, not only will we die—our families won't survive either! Do you understand?"
"Rember—this is not our territory!"
The young man looked ashad and bowed his head.
"I understand, Captain. I'm sorry."
The Captain didn't press the issue further.
He simply waved a hand.
"Tell everything you've gathered so far."
Xiao Dao exhaled in relief before continuing.
"Our target is twenty years old. His current identity is that of a university student across the street. He keeps a low profile. His family background is simple—his father is a well-known vice president of the Superpower Association, with strength approaching S-rank. His mother is just a regular businesswoman."
"The target is also in a relationship with a prodigy-level female student—her potential is imnse. She's almost guaranteed to beco an S-rank powerhouse in the future."
"Captain, the most fascinating thing is this world itself!"
"Every individual here, at around eighteen years old, gets to choose a hero to 'bond' with. If they succeed, they inherit that hero's talent, then gain strength by exploring secret realms. It's incredibly similar to our system back ho."
"But this world is much more peaceful than ours. The level of conflict here is far lower..."
"And get this—the heroes they bond with? Every single one of them cos from the world of One Punch Man!"
"For example, their most coveted S2-ranked hero is actually—Tatsumaki!"
"In this world, there is no One Punch Man ani or manga. No one knows that the true strongest hero is actually Saitama—the Bald Demon King."
"On top of that, Saitama was classified as a C-rank hero, making him extrely easy to bond with."
Hearing this, the Captain's face twisted in shock.
"So you're telling ... our target has inherited the Bald Demon King's talent?"
"It seems that way!" Xiao Dao nodded. "Otherwise, there's no explanation for how he beca an S-rank powerhouse in just over a year."
The Captain hesitated before asking, "Can we still bond with the Bald Demon King's talent?"
If they could obtain Saitama's monstrous physique, then once they returned ho—
They wouldn't have to work for the overlords anymore.
They could beco the new overlords!
However, Xiao Dao shook his head regretfully.
"We're too late. About a month ago, people here discovered that Saitama had mysteriously disappeared from the hero pool. No one knows why."
"I suspect that Saitama's disappearance has sothing to do with that bald guy."
The captain was surprised. "Is that possible?"
The young man nodded. "This information is easy to find online. Captain, if you're not in a hurry to return, you should check out the local internet here."
The captain glanced at the ti and said, "I have three more hours... Do you have a computer?"
The young man pulled out a brand-new laptop and handed it to him.
Two hours later—
The sky had darkened.
The captain finally looked away from the screen and let out a deep sigh.
"This kid's background seems normal. Since he knew to bond with Saitama, he must be from our side. Could he, like us, have arrived as a soul?"
The young man nodded. "I think so!"
The captain said, "It's been two years, and this kid still hasn't exposed his strength. Playing the long ga, acting weak while hiding his true power... He's got patience!"
The young man added, "So people here must know about his strength. The capital city once faced an unprecedented Beast King crisis. He was probably the one who resolved it."
The captain frowned. "That ans he's far beyond just S-rank."
The young man said nothing.
The captain fell into deep thought for a while before asking, "How much ti do you have left?"
The young man checked his wrist and replied, "The indicator has turned green. I have about three days left."
"Three days, huh..."
The captain pondered.
The young man suddenly had an idea. "Captain, should I make a post online exposing his secret? It might cause him so trouble."
The captain thought for a mont but then shook his head. "No need! Since Saitama has already vanished from the hero pool, it ans he is now the sole inheritor of Saitama's power. Even if we expose his secret, it will only affect his reputation at most. It won't actually harm him, and we'd just alert him to our presence."
The young man considered it and realized that his plan wouldn't actually do much against the bald guy.
"Just keep observing him," the captain ordered.
"I understand, Captain," the young man responded.
The captain glanced at the ti and then reminded him, "Is the identity of this body secure? Don't leave any traces behind after you leave."
"Don't worry, Captain," the young man assured him. "Everything is set up properly. There won't be any loose ends."
"Good. My ti is running out—I'm leaving now."
...
After leaving the apartnt complex, the captain hailed a taxi and headed to a well-known hospital.
By now, night had fallen.
At the hospital entrance, a security guard saw the captain approaching and imdiately nodded and bowed.
"Director Wang, it's your turn for the night shift?"
The captain simply nodded and smiled without saying a word, continuing toward the hospital.
As he walked away, the security guard spat on the ground behind him and muttered, "Hmph! Acting all high and mighty just because you got a promotion. One day, you'll get what's coming to you!"
The captain didn't hear the insult.
Even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.
He walked quickly, frequently checking the ti.
Along the way—
Doctors and nurses greeted him, but he only nodded and smiled before hurrying off.
He needed to return to "his" office before his ti ran out.
Finally, in the last few minutes—
The captain arrived at an office door.
Just as he was about to push it open, a doctor suddenly rushed over and grabbed him.
"Lao Wang! You're just in ti! There's a tricky surgery—we need your help. I'll buy you a drink later!"
The speaker was also a middle-aged doctor.
The captain's expression changed imdiately. "Sorry, I'm not feeling well. I—"
"Co on! Stop stalling and just help !"
The doctor grabbed his arm, trying to pull him away.
The captain struggled, but the body he was occupying wasn't strong enough to break free.
Ti was running out.
He glanced around and spotted a restroom nearby.
Desperate, he shouted, "Wait! Let use the bathroom first. It'll be quick."
Without waiting for a response, he rushed inside.
The mont he entered—
His body went completely limp, collapsing to the floor.
A purple phantom-like figure erged from him and dissipated into the air.
Outside, the middle-aged doctor grew impatient.
"Lao Wang! What's taking so long? Are you having trouble peeing?"
There was no response from inside.
Suspicious, the doctor stepped in—
And was shocked to find Lao Wang lying motionless on the floor.
"Lao Wang?"
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