"You, how are you here?" Psykos's voice trembled uncontrollably, and she subconsciously shielded the petri dish behind her.
Allen did not answer, only slowly walked closer.
With each step he took, Psykos felt the air around her solidify a little more.
His crimson eyes were so dazzling in the darkness that she couldn't tear her gaze away.
Allen's gaze fell on the petri dish in her hand, "I only asked you to research Monster cells."
Psykos forced herself to remain calm: "As a collaborator, understanding your physique helps refine the Monsterfication process."
Allen suddenly reached out, moving so fast that Psykos had no time to react.
The petri dish was already in his hand, the drop of dark red blood suspended and rotating at his fingertip.
"Collaboration requires trust." Allen's voice was calm but carried an undeniable authority, "Yet you were secretly investigating me."
Psykos felt a suffocating pressure.
She tried to activate her Psychokinesis but found her ability was like a stone sinking into the sea, completely unable to be used.
"Don't waste your energy." Allen said indifferently, "In front of me, your abilities are ineffective."
Psykos finally understood how terrifying the man before her was. She gritted her teeth: "What do you want?"
The blood at Allen's fingertip suddenly split into two drops, one of which slowly flew towards Psykos.
"Drink it." Allen commanded, "This is your only choice."
Psykos looked at the drop of blood suspended before her, her heart struggling violently. She could feel the immense energy contained within it, but she also knew what it implied.
"What if I refuse?" she asked with difficulty.
"Then you will never again have the chance to witness the birth of a perfect Monster." Allen's tone showed no fluctuation, "And I will have a new collaborator."
Psykos knew this wasn't a threat, but a simple statement of fact.
She took a deep breath, finally opened her mouth, and let the drop of blood fall into her throat.
Instantly, a scorching energy swept through her entire body. Psykos fell to her knees, curling up in pain.
She could feel every cell being transformed, and a will that could not be defied appeared deep within her consciousness.
A few minutes later, the pain gradually subsided.
Psykos slowly got up, the resistance in her eyes gone, replaced by absolute obedience.
"Lord Allen." She bowed respectfully.
Allen absorbed the other drop of blood back into his body: "From now on, you must obey my orders at all times."
"Accelerate the research progress. I want to complete perfect Monsterfication in the shortest possible time."
"Yes." Psykos immediately walked to the control panel and restarted the system. Lights came on, and the instruments returned to normal operation.
"The Hero Association has noticed our actions." Allen continued, "After completing the research, we will launch an offensive."
A hint of excitement flashed in Psykos's eyes: "Are we finally going to declare war on the Hero Association?"
Allen did not answer, only looked at her indifferently: "Do what you need to do, and report any progress to me at any time."
With that, his figure slowly merged into the shadows and disappeared.
Psykos stood in place, feeling the newly acquired power within her and the premonition that disloyalty to Allen would result in death.
She quickly got to work, beginning a deep analysis of Allen's blood… Hero Association Headquarters, conference room.
The heavy alloy doors slowly closed, cutting off all external noise.
The light inside the room was cold, reflecting off solemn faces.
Around the oval conference table, almost all of the Hero Association's existing S-Class Heroes were present, and an unprecedented oppressive atmosphere filled the air.
Sitch, at the head of the table, was pale, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table. The holographic projection screen in front of him repeatedly played the combat footage from Z-City Stadium.
Allen, fighting one against ten, his final punch that shattered the dome was replayed in slow motion, each replay making the atmosphere in the room heavier.
"Have you all seen enough?" Metal Bat was the first to break the silence. He slammed his bat heavily on the ground, making a dull thud, "I've watched this footage until I'm sick of it. Did you call us here just to repeatedly watch how this Monster abuses us?"
His tone was irritable, but deep in his eyes, there was a subtle, almost imperceptible anxiety about Allen's situation.
"Mind your words, Metal Bat." Superalloy Darkshine's deep voice rang out. He sat with his arms crossed, his bronze skin gleaming with a metallic luster under the cold light, but his slightly tensed muscles betrayed his inner turmoil.
Could his muscles truly withstand such terrifying power?
"He's right." Drive Knight's cold electronic voice analyzed, "Target Allen has displayed physical capabilities, energy levels, and combat skills that far exceed any Monster or Hero recorded in the database."
"Including… Boros. The energy blast he unleashed at the end, initially estimated, would be enough to instantly vaporize one-third of Z-City. He clearly wasn't using his full power when he fought us before." His words caused the temperature in the conference room to plummet.
Child Emperor pushed up his glasses, his youthful face displaying an unprecedented seriousness: "What's more troublesome is his growth potential. The footage shows that during combat, he was almost learning and optimizing his opponents' techniques in real-time."
"Teacher Bang's Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, Atomic Samurai's sword arts essence, Flash's movement techniques. He could even see through and guide Tatsumaki's Psychokinesis usage. This learning ability and adaptability, I believe, are more terrifying than mere power."
The S-Class Heroes who were named did not look pleased. Bang closed his eyes, slowly stroking his beard, but the corners of his mouth slightly curved upwards, lost in thought.
Atomic Samurai "tsk"ed irritably, his hand resting on the hilt of his replacement sword. Flash's face was like ice; after all, being directly called out in such a setting was quite a loss of face.
Tatsumaki floated in the air, her green curly hair moving without a breeze. She glared fiercely at Allen on the screen, muttering, "This presumptuous idiot." But her tone contained more worry than anger.
"So, what does the Hero Association plan to do?" Zombieman lit a cigarette, breaking the brief silence, "Issue a higher bounty? Or, are you finally going to admit that any one of us, or even several of us combined, can no longer deal with him?" His words pointed out the current situation.
Sitch took a deep breath and spoke with difficulty: "Calling you all here is precisely to discuss countermeasures."
"The Hero Association believes that any individual action is unwise. We need a new, coordinated response strategy."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, "And, we need to re-evaluate our relationship with Muzan and his demons. They showed restraint during the Z-City incident, even assisting with evacuation, which seems to contradict Allen's actions."
"So it's certain they are not with Allen. The Hero Association wants to recruit them to add new combat power. What do you all think?"
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