"Alice will take you to safety! Are there any shelters around here?"
Seeing that everyone was still in a bit of a daze, Alice proactively spoke up to ask.
They couldn't keep running around outside like this. The rain was freezing, and it added extra weight, draining their body heat while burning through their remaining stamina.
No matter how one looked at it, they needed to find a place large enough to hold as many people as possible, one with food reserves and built to withstand an attack.
"There's a mega-shelter on 13th Street..."
A young man stepped forward and pointed in a certain direction. "Roughly that way. It's a domed building, but it's not exactly close to here..."
As a local, there was no way he wouldn't know this. A shelter was always the first choice for anyone fleeing for their lives, and remembering the route was the absolute bare minimum.
Everyone looked like they were running on empty, but the survivors currently fleeing weren't just the people standing here. Alice couldn't afford to stop.
"In that case, please move toward the shelter. Alice will stay on high alert for the surroundings at all times!"
Glancing at the number of survivors, the young girl flashed a reassuring smile to the crowd. "Don't worry! If there's any danger, Alice will protect everyone right away!"
Without a leader to lean on, seeing the only hero they could rely on say this, the crowd naturally nodded in agreement.
Shortly after, Alice leapt back up onto the high-rises.
She moved back and forth in all directions to expand her field of vision as much as possible, monitoring the streets around the group to ensure no wandering monsters would ambush them.
Of course, she didn't dare venture too far from the line. After all, some monsters would enter buildings just to hunt down humans; quite a few had already lunged out from houses while the group was on the move.
This strategy paid off rather well. During her scouting, Alice discovered two more groups of fleeing survivors and eliminated several wandering Deep Sea Folk.
In one of those groups, there was even a hero covered in wounds who had completely lost consciousness, let alone the ability to move.
It was the unconscious Stinger, spotted by the survivors and carried on their backs through the torrential rain.
Under Alice's busy care, the survivor group expanded significantly, growing to nearly seventy people.
Once she confirmed there were no more stranded victims nearby, the girl finally focused on advancing alongside the group. They had to traverse a distance of three kilometers—undeniably an incredibly grueling challenge for the exhausted survivors.
Forget cars, even animals had gone into hiding. Under these circumstances, relying solely on walking wasn't a viable option.
"Everyone's stamina stats are too low to reach the shelter. We have to find a way to replenish our energy," Alice explained her thought process to the survivors.
It was true. The group included children, the elderly, and women, whose conditions were visibly worse than the young men's.
A few with weaker constitutions had already developed fevers due to the drain on their energy and the drop in body temperature.
Pressing on like this... was just too difficult.
They needed to eat something to regain their strength, and they also needed to find a warm place—or at least somewhere to shield themselves from the wind and rain—to take a brief rest.
"Alice just saw a supermarket. It's enough for everyone to take a temporary break!"
The situation in J-City couldn't be hidden from the outside world.
Although the Tiger-level monster in M-City had previously caused greater property damage and erupted much faster, it was precisely because it happened so quickly that no one had time to react.
This time, the signs of disaster had been brewing since morning.
The A-Class hero Stinger had engaged the monsters by the shore, wiping out quite a few vanguards of the Deep Sea Folk. This feat was witnessed by many and quickly spread.
It wasn't until the monsters kept appearing in an endless stream and the disaster began to spiral out of control that J-City was forced to initiate a citizen evacuation. Forget the civilians, even many low-ranked heroes were instructed by the Hero Association to take shelter.
An event of such massive scale naturally drew the attention of every city, and the public was glued to the developments in J-City.
At that moment, on a live broadcast talk show, Sweet Mask sat on one side of the stage. On the other side were two hosts, one older and one younger. The backdrop of the stage was plastered with Sweet Mask's portrait posters and promotional shots for his latest album.
This was precisely the venue he was using to promote his new release.
However, halfway through discussing the album, the director issued a new instruction to the hosts through their earpieces, seemingly wanting to capitalize on the marketing momentum.
The older host looked at Sweet Mask and threw out a question: "Mr. Sweet Mask, what are your thoughts on the dangerous situation in J-City upgrading from a Tiger-level to a Demon-level threat?"
Sweet Mask glanced sideways at the host, then withdrew his gaze, speaking in a flat tone, "Well, that is a complicated question."
"Oh? Why do you say that?" The host wasn't looking for such a brief answer, so he pressed on. "Is it because of the scene we might witness of three S-Class heroes fighting together? As rookies, both the Hero and Genos—we're really looking forward to their performance."
The hint in his words had practically become an explicit statement.
"As a hero, I only focus on fighting evil when the time comes. At all other times, I am solely devoted to my work in the entertainment industry." However, Sweet Mask's reply didn't take the bait.
His meaning could basically be summarized as: this matter had nothing to do with him when he wasn't currently "fighting evil."
Sweet Mask knew exactly what they wanted to hear.
The hottest topic in this world was naturally heroes, and among them, S-Class heroes were the epicenter of discussion, the very peak of gossip.
The reason this disaster had been upgraded to Demon-level was precisely because the S-Class Puri-Puri Prisoner had been defeated, forcing the Hero Association to temporarily raise the threat level.
Sweet Mask had sharply criticized heroes on plenty of occasions, and the director clearly wanted to use his mouth to push the show's engagement and ratings to the next level.
Catching the underlying meaning, the director felt it was a pity but didn't push his luck any further.
Seeing no next instruction, the host kept a straight face, nodded, and steered the topic back on track. "I see. In that case, let us move right into introducing the new song."
"Except."
However, just when both the director and the host thought Sweet Mask's response to the matter had concluded, he suddenly spoke up.
"If I were to summarize it in one sentence: to dispel the public's anxiety, a hero must be a resilient, powerful, handsome, swift, and magnificent existence that eradicates evil."
A faint, cold smile played on his face, the disappointment in his eyes plain to see. "Therefore, I express my deepest regrets over the crushing defeat of the heroes at the hands of the forces of evil this time."
Then, his words grew sharp and piercing. "To ensure that heroes do not throw their lives away for nothing in the future, I hope everyone who calls themselves a hero will intensify their training."
"—Oh!"
Gasps of various volumes instantly erupted from the audience below. This was practically calling out Puri-Puri Prisoner by name for criticism.
Sweet Mask smiled at the audience, then looked back at the host. Following the host's lead, a few quick questions and answers seamlessly pulled the conversation back to the song's promotion.
His golden eyes darkened slightly as two figures surfaced in his mind.
Whether it was Alice or Genos, both were individuals he kept a constant eye on. As for Alice heading to J-City to provide backup, Sweet Mask was naturally at ease; he thought very highly of this rookie hero.
Every day when he saw posts on the internet about Alice helping others, a heartfelt smile would appear on his face.
From dealing with monsters down to helping a child retrieve a balloon caught in a tree, she earnestly carried out every heroic activity within her power, looking just like he used to.
This was the ideal form a hero should take in Sweet Mask's heart; a hero ought to be exactly like this.
As for Genos... he had taken notice of the cyborg even earlier, even before Genos officially became a hero.
It was because Genos had demolished quite a few criminal organizations and dens that he had entered Sweet Mask's radar.
In Sweet Mask's view, Genos likewise possessed a powerful sense of justice, so he was quite looking forward to Genos's performance this time.
--+--
"Thank you... I feel much better..."
Conveniently, there was a pharmacy right next to the supermarket. Under the effects of the medicine, the unconscious hero finally opened his eyes.
"Stinger! It's great that you're okay!" A boy barely over ten years old saw him wake up, his face filled with relief and joy. As one of the most famous heroes in their city, Stinger had quite a few fans.
"Sorry for making you all worry... and for letting you see my least cool side." Stinger's face was still covered in bruises, and his expression carried a fair amount of shame and embarrassment.
Facing a child who idolized him right after waking up from a crushing defeat, Stinger clearly felt he lacked the face to confront him. He could only turn his head toward the adults beside him. "Did you guys carry me here? What's the situation look like now?"
This place appeared to be a supermarket. The not-so-large store was currently packed with people, everyone stuffing food into their mouths as fast as they could. The water dripping from their hair and clothes showed they had just been drenched by a heavy downpour.
"Are you all right now?"
Before the adults could answer, a young, crisp voice rang out. The voice, completely devoid of trembling or any sense of crisis, drew Stinger's attention.
"You...! You are! The S-Class Hero!?" Stinger stared open-mouthed at the tiny "big shot" in front of him, surprised by her appearance here yet finding it somewhat making sense.
"As I thought... was that monster who defeated me a Demon-level?"
Recalling how he hadn't even lasted a single exchange, Stinger let out a sigh. "Since you've arrived, the crisis must have been resolved, right?"
"Not yet." However, the young girl shook her head. "Alice just arrived here and hasn't encountered that Demon-level monster yet."
Huh? Then what's going on right now?
Seeing that he still looked completely bewildered, Alice explained the current situation to him.
The evacuation of J-City's citizens was mostly complete. Because the S-Class Puri-Puri Prisoner failed to resolve the crisis, the threat level had been elevated to Demon.
Subsequently, the Hero Alice had followed the guidance of the Hero Association and arrived here.
Of course, she wasn't the only one who came to reinforce the area; the newly promoted S-Class Genos had also come along.
She spoke as if she were merely introducing a background story, but Stinger listened with a dumbfounded expression.
What do you mean an S-Class hero failed to resolve the disaster? Is this disaster something even an S-Class finds difficult to handle? And I actually survived facing an enemy like that?
Alice felt inclined to offer him some comfort, but unfortunately, now was not the time.
Her gaze shifted outside the massive floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Because the supermarket was the only place on the entire street with its lights on, two or three monsters with hideous expressions had already gathered on the rooftops outside.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL