According to the accounts of Armored Gorilla and Ground Dragon, the genius scientist targeting Saitama went by the name of Genus. Not only had he unlocked the secret to reversing aging, but over the years, he had also managed to engineer an array of incredibly formidable monsters.
However, because his experimental data was far too sparse, the best samples he could ever secure were Demon-level threats.
As a result, Genus was currently limited to engineering monsters capped at that exact level.
To take things a step further and achieve his grand vision of forced human evolution—allowing him to finally have true peers instead of a bunch of "monkeys" as his counterparts—Genus had never once halted his progress.
And Saitama, who had effortlessly pulverized Mosquito Girl, was blatantly the next test subject, or rather, the next prime sample for this ultimate goal.
Saitama, however, couldn't care less about the convoluted schemes happening behind his back.
If it weren't for the fact that he had to wait around for Alice to arrive, he wouldn't have even bothered listening to a single word.
Long story short, all he knew was that he needed to head out to M-City to hunt down the mastermind.
Armored Gorilla handed over the exact coordinates of the House of Evolution to Genos, mapping it to a dense, forested mountain ridge on the outskirts of M-City.
While L-A-Citynd Z-City were neighboring areas that allowed for a quick round trip, M-City lay on the complete opposite end of a vast distance. Considering that Genos needed to conserve his energy reserves, a trek out there would take the trio well over three hours.
At this stage, Saitama couldn't bring himself to suggest acting alone anymore.
As for taking a train or a plane... well, even a flight wouldn't match the raw speed of the three of them running on foot. It was simply more efficient to sprint the entire way.
Genos also took this opportunity to realize that Alice's true strength far exceeded his initial impressions.
After all, Armored Gorilla had explicitly stated that his own power was inferior to the Beast King's, yet Alice had managed to finish off the Beast King even faster than Genos had handled his own opponent.
Though the ordeal had left Alice looking a little worse for wear, it was more than enough to prove her capabilities.
Add to that the fact that Alice could effortlessly keep pace with Genos sprinting at full speed without him even needing to overclock, and Genos understood clearer than ever that she was not to be underestimated.
Reflecting on how he had confidently tried to lecture Alice right before being utterly overwhelmed by Mosquito Girl, his past actions now felt remarkably shortsighted.
Fortunately, Genos wasn't the type to shy away from admitting his faults.
On the contrary, he thrived on analyzing his own blunders—after all, only by recognizing your shortcomings could you find a way to make up for them.
Naturally, the trio didn't spend the entire journey in dead silence. Genos earnestly opened up about his inner reflections, earning a warm, friendly response from Alice.
While Saitama initially found little interest in the conversation, the moment Alice steered the topic toward video games, he suddenly found himself with plenty to talk about.
Getting to know each other is a vital step in forging closer bonds. Even though they were rushing to a destination, by the end of those three long hours, the atmosphere between the three of them had grown noticeably closer.
"So this is the House of Evolution?" Saitama muttered, sizing up the massive building towering before them.
Staring at the eight-story structure, Alice's eyes sparkled with sheer excitement. "It looks just like a Demon King's castle! Alice wants to go on an adventure inside!"
Genos, who had initially planned to obliterate the entire facility along with every target inside in one single strike, paused for a moment at her words and lowered his hands.
"The enemy has likely laid numerous traps," he reasoned. "If we proceed inside, it may cost us a significant amount of time."
Finished speaking, he turned his gaze toward Saitama.
Saitama hadn't wanted to waste too much time either, but seeing how high Alice's spirits were, and considering he didn't have much else to do today anyway, he simply went along with it. "Sure, why not?"
As long as he didn't get back too late, it was fine. The late-night anime he was keeping up with lately was turning out to be pretty entertaining.
For a guy like him who didn't have the cash to buy the box sets, he had to rely entirely on home recordings or catching the live broadcast.
"Hooray! Well then, the Demon King's castle adventure of the Hero and her companions begins now!" Alice cheered excitedly.
Thrusting a hand into the air, she confidently took the lead and promptly blasted the front doors wide open with a single shot from the Sword of Light.
Deep within the subterranean research facility, Genus watched their every move through the surveillance monitors. Beads of sweat lined his brow as he turned to look at his clone assistant beside him. "How is the situation with Carnage Kabuto?"
"Sir... we have deployed a substantial number of armed clones to fight him and keep him occupied, along with several of our higher-ranked monsters..."
As the assistant spoke, the monitor displayed footage of Carnage Kabuto in the middle of an absolute slaughter.
Compared to the rampaging original, the clone assistant was visibly drenched in cold sweat.
"Excellent... once he has had his fun, persuade him to eliminate these three intruders!"
Genus was currently in a foul mood, but over on the intruders' side, Alice was experiencing a bit of a letdown herself.
The trio quickly discovered that this so-called Demon King's castle didn't actually have any real monsters for them to fight. Instead, it was filled with nothing but gimmicks and traps.
Even when a few monsters did pop up, they were so incredibly weak that far from hindering the trio's progress, they practically shattered upon the slightest contact.
It was an overwhelmingly fragile defense that anyone could see was just a stall tactic. The enemy's main forces were undoubtedly using this window to handle something else.
Consequently, Genos, being the straightforward type who never minces words, spoke up and voiced this exact conclusion.
Alice could only nod in agreement; after all, she wasn't the type to throw senseless tantrums.
Seeing how well-behaved and cooperative Alice was, Saitama couldn't help but view her with a sort of 'ideal child' admiration.
For someone who usually found kids a massive handful to deal with, a sudden urge to pamper her welled up inside him.
Maybe I should scrape some money together next time and invite Alice over for some sukiyaki... always hosting her with instant powdered drinks really is a bit cheap...
With both Alice and Saitama nodding in approval, Genos blasted a massive hole straight through the side of the building. Once the three of them leaped clear of the structure, he channeled a surge of energy into his palms, unleashing a devastating blast that vaporized the entire building along with dozens of meters of the mountain ridge behind it into nothingness.
"Found it. So this is the escape route they were trying to conceal."
As the smoke and dust cleared, Genos spoke with zero surprise, looking down at an entrance sealed shut by heavy alloy doors.
"An underground dungeon!"
Alice's deflated mood instantly surged back to life.
"Looks pretty interesting," Saitama agreed, nodding along.
Genos had no clue what exactly had triggered their sudden burst of enthusiasm, but seeing both of them so invested, he figured it was simply due to his own lack of knowledge failing to comprehend the appeal.
"In any case, let us head down first," Genos said to the two of them after ripping the alloy doors apart.
Following the stairwell deep underground, they were greeted by the expected dim lighting and a narrow, seemingly endless tunnel.
At a glance, it certainly looked like a secret passage meant for an emergency escape. However, as the trio pressed forward, they began encountering branching paths, various laboratories, and medical equipment, indicating that this place served a purpose far beyond a simple getaway route.
But just as the three of them were pondering where this hidden passage ultimately led, Genos's radar picked up a biological signature rapidly closing in on their position once more.
A rear guard?
Before he could process the thought entirely, the roaring sound of rushing wind blasted directly into his face.
BOOM!
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL