Judging by the time, if Saitama had made it before the end of the supermarket sale, he should have emerged by now.
Jordan pressed the brim of his hat and activated his teleportation ability. He vanished instantly.
"Am I seeing things? That young man just disappeared!"
Inside the shop, the old lady peered out in surprise.
The young man supporting his grandmother smiled. "That guy must be a hero."
Jordan "teleported" back to the pedestrian street and immediately encountered a group of panicked citizens fleeing in the opposite direction.
Wait. Is there a monster?
Jordan stood like an iron tower in the middle of the street, cutting the crowd in two like waves parting around a rock.
Even though some people glanced at him multiple times in their panic, none recognized him.
Within the Mind Network, the psychological activities of surrounding citizens appeared crystal clear:
Wow, that person is so tall!
He looks familiar! Is he some hero? Don't recognize him. Better run!
This guy bumped into me? Never mind, he seems like someone I shouldn't mess with...
The baseball cap's special effect activated. Transformation complete with a single accessory.
Outstanding.
Jordan's lips curled slightly as he pulled down the brim of his hat.
This way, I won't have to worry about traveling privately anymore.
"Emergency Disaster Report! A giant octopus monster has appeared in M-City with a disaster level of Tiger! Heroes in the vicinity are requested to proceed immediately to eliminate it!"
"Emergency Disaster Report..."
The faint sound of explosions echoed from ahead, followed by the Hero Association's disaster broadcast on repeat.
As the Mind Network spread outward, Saitama's biomagnetic field signature appeared exactly where the explosion originated.
Sure enough. Saitama's already there.
Then it'll be fine.
Saitama could have easily taken down a mere Tiger-level monster before he'd even started training. It should be trivial for him now.
Even so, Jordan still moved against the flow of fleeing people, heading toward where the monster had appeared.
Ten Minutes Ago
"Ugh—a monster!"
"A weirdo! A weirdo has appeared!"
An octopus-like monster the size of a hot air balloon materialized in the city center. With casual waves of its claw-tipped tentacles, buildings were sliced and destroyed. Sparks ignited severed gas pipes, triggering violent chain explosions.
The city, peaceful just moments ago, now resembled a scene from hell.
A Tiger-level monster—Octopus Claw—had appeared.
"Shine! Shine! Shine!"
"Humanity must die!"
The octopus monster possessed a cynical, bizarre face. It kept muttering to itself while waving tentacles to attack the crowd.
Sharp claws made its appendages extraordinarily aggressive. Civilians caught in its path fell like cut grass. Some flew into the air screaming, blood splattering across pavement.
The monster's voice rang like a death knell.
A tall, thin man with blonde hair lost his footing in panic and fell hard. He turned to look at the giant octopus monster approaching and his face filled with despair.
Am I... am I going to die?!
Thump-thump... thump-thump... thump-thump...
A series of rhythmic pounding sounds gradually grew louder. The octopus monster paused for a second, confused about why the little thing below was suddenly making such loud noise.
But the next moment, a thick tentacle whipped down like a lash, leaving only a blur!
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"
A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the street. Three bloody wounds appeared on the man's left cheek. His eyeballs were nearly shredded by the claw.
Only his eyelids—closed unconsciously—had suffered injury. The eyes themselves remained intact.
Octopus Claw looked at its own appendage in confusion. Had the distance become too short?
The tall, thin man clutched his wound. Blood seeped through his trembling fingers, soaking half his face.
His facial structure was the type that made strangers instinctively keep their distance, but his timid personality and habit of wearing hats had made it less noticeable before.
At this moment, the wounds and blood unexpectedly added a touch of ferocity to the scene.
If only his eyes weren't filled with such obvious fear.
What just happened?
Octopus Claw, now fully transformed into a monster, didn't hesitate long. Driven by destructive urges flooding its mind, it raised the tentacle high again and slammed it down with another powerful strike! This attack would surely cleave the lucky survivor beneath its bulk in two!
The wind pressure nearly forced the man's eyes shut. His entire life flashed before him like a slideshow.
A carefree childhood. An ordinary school life. An ordinary adult experience of being beaten down by society, ultimately turning him into a shut-in who only knew how to play video games.
The thought of not having even met his new waifu in the visual novel he'd just bought finally overwhelmed his reason. Before death, it manifested as a desperate, furious scream:
"I don't want to die! Anyone! Please come and save me!"
Thump-thump-thump... thump-thump-thump...
The deafening drumbeat, accompanied by desperate shouts, successfully brought the giant octopus's killing blow to an abrupt halt.
The expected excruciating pain didn't come.
The tall, thin man, drenched in sweat, struggled to open his eyes. As if in a hallucination, he saw an ordinary figure—not even as tall as himself—blocking his path.
The falling tentacles stopped mid-air. They tried to retract but found themselves bound in place by a force far beyond human capability. The octopus monster had to look down again.
An ordinary human wearing a blue tracksuit was gripping its tentacles tightly with both hands!
But how could human strength possibly contend with monsters?
"Every time I go out to buy groceries, something unpleasant always happens." With feet planted firmly in cracked concrete and head bowed as he wrestled with the giant octopus, Saitama called back to the man behind him. "Hey, if you still have energy left, get out of here! This is about to become a battlefield!"
"I... I know!"
At this moment, Saitama's profile—partially obscured by shadow—resembled that of an angel. His ordinary body, indistinguishable from a normal person's, stood as majestic as a mountain.
The scene branded itself deeply into the man's heart.
Nearly losing control of his bladder from fright, the man dragged his limp legs and scrambled away.
"Consecutive Normal Punches!"
The fleeing man watched in shock as his savior was suddenly knocked flying to his side.
The cooler his stance when blocking the monster, the more pathetic he looked now being sent airborne.
"Ow... I was careless. Didn't dodge!"
Saitama, forehead cut open, instinctively squinted. Blood quickly stained his cheeks red.
Some blood flowed into his eyes, inevitably tinting his vision with a crimson haze.