svetikya Page 44
Page 44
Is Edogawa next door like this too...?
In desperation, Lin Mo finally succumbed to a barrage of sweet talk, such as "Uncle King is the best" and "It has to be you."
“…Send me the address.” He said this almost through gritted teeth.
"That's awesome! I knew Uncle KING was the best!" Child Emperor cheered immediately, resuming his normal speaking speed.
"The address has been sent to your car's navigation system: the Seventh Research Institute in Y City! I'll be waiting for you here!"
After hanging up the phone, Lin Mo sighed helplessly and said to the association staff in the front driver's seat, "Change the destination to the Seventh Research Institute in Y City."
"Yes, Mr. King," the driver replied respectfully, and immediately set a new route on the navigation system.
Chapter 61 The Mask of the Ugly Woman
Y City's Seventh Research Institute is located on the city's outskirts. It is a massive, futuristic, silver-white building complex that stands in stark contrast to the surrounding ruins.
This is one of the Hero Association's top technology research and development centers, which is fully managed by Child Emperor.
The car carrying Lin Mo came to a smooth stop at the entrance of the research institute. Before the car door was fully opened, a figure rushed over like a cannonball.
He had a lollipop in his mouth, carried his signature big backpack, and his face was beaming with the excitement of meeting his idol.
"Uncle King! You're finally here! I've been waiting for you for so long!"
Tong Di's voice was clear, loud, and full of enthusiasm.
Lin Mo stepped out of the car and calmly surveyed his surroundings.
He knew that the technology in the One-Punch Man world he had transmigrated into far surpassed that of his original world.
After all, strange people emerge one after another here, which greatly promotes the development of technology.
However, since arriving here, his daily life has been exactly the same as in his original world, from supermarket shopping to apartment utilities, which made him overlook the huge technological gap between the two worlds.
It wasn't until today, when Lin Mo saw this magnificent, futuristic building with his own eyes, that he truly realized that the technology in this world is indeed advanced, but it has not yet been popularized in the lives of ordinary people.
Led by Tong Di, Lin Mo passed through several heavy alloy gates and identity verification checkpoints, entering the core area of the research institute.
This place is like a giant science fiction movie set.
Countless robotic arms waved in the air, and various pieces of information he couldn't understand flashed on the holographic projection screen. All sorts of strange instruments were also emitting a slight buzzing sound.
Wow! King!
A voice that was all too familiar came from not far away.
Lin Mo looked in the direction of the sound, his gaze passing over several robots before finally landing on a bald man wearing an earth-yellow hero uniform.
The man was sitting unceremoniously on a sturdy lab bench, chewing on a piece of beef jerky. When he saw Lin Mo, his face lit up with surprise.
Standing beside him were several heroes whom Lin Mo vaguely remembered.
Snake, ranked 37th in Class A, wears a suit made from the skin of a snake-like monster and has an extremely serious expression; The Great Philosopher, ranked 13th in Class A, looks like he is full of philosophical ideas; and Flame Dragon, ranked 50th in Class B, is a young man wearing heavy armor with a scar on his face.
"Saitama? What are you doing here?" Lin Mo asked, somewhat surprised.
Since the last meteor crisis, both Genos and Saitama have seen a significant rise in hero rankings.
Genos moved up one place from the bottom of the S-class rankings to 16th thanks to his outstanding performance during the crisis.
Saitama, on the other hand, rose from the bottom of the A-class rankings to a meteoric rise, eventually settling at 25th place in the A-class.
"Is he still considered to have taken credit for others' work?" Lin Mo sighed, feeling somewhat sorry for Saitama.
However, this time, Lin Mo misunderstood the Hero Association's higher-ups.
They weren't all blind; the monitoring satellites clearly captured the core footage of Saitama shattering the meteorite with a single punch. Coupled with the personal introduction from "the strongest man on Earth," King, the significance of this event was undeniable.
Although some conservatives still believed that Saitama needed to be observed and reviewed for a longer period of time during the internal promotion meeting, the proposal to promote him to S-class was already being prepared.
The 25-bit Class A designation is merely a stepping stone for transitioning to a more permanent position.
"Ah, I just took Genos to Dr. Quino for repairs when the Hero Association called."
Saitama swallowed the beef jerky in his mouth and explained vaguely, "He said his name was something like... Tongdi? Um... anyway, it was him. He said he had some newly invented combat robots and wanted me to help test their performance, and he'd even provide lunch."
He pointed to the Child Emperor beside him, whose lips twitched slightly because his name had been called by the wrong name, but who was holding back his anger, and said indifferently.
Tong Di took a deep breath and quickly suppressed his displeasure.
One must not lose composure in front of one's idol.
He ran up to KING, tilted his head back again, and proudly pointed to the surrounding equipment, introducing it as follows:
"Uncle King, welcome to my lab! Look, over there is my latest 'Dogman' series combat robot, which boasts superior tracking and cooperative combat capabilities!"
He then pointed to a backpack that was automatically dressing a mannequin:
"And this is the 'fully automatic combat suit storage backpack' that I'm currently developing. Just press a button, and it can complete the donning of combat suits and weapon loading in three seconds, greatly reducing the hero's preparation time for battle!"
As he walked, Tong Di talked incessantly, from the theoretical model of the high-energy particle compression cannon to the latest developments in the single-soldier anti-gravity flight wing, his eyes filled with a passion for technology.
Lin Mo listened "attentively," occasionally responding with "hmm" or "oh," pretending to be deep in thought.
In fact, he didn't understand a single word of those complicated technical terms.
Saitama, meanwhile, yawned widely. These seemingly nonsensical theories were far less appealing to him than the supermarket's special sale day.
Finally, Child Emperor led them to the core area of the laboratory.
Inside a glass case, a strangely shaped mask lay quietly.
It was a rather strangely shaped mask, made of an unknown material, but it had a warm, grayish-white color.
The mask is carved with an ugly, distorted female face, with four pairs of eyes of different sizes symmetrically distributed on the face, and the corners of the mouth slightly upturned, forming an eerie smile.
“This is it!” Child Emperor took it out and proudly announced, “I call it the ‘Ugly Woman Mask’! I invented it a few days ago on a whim.”
"By scanning a person's image with it, it can analyze the person's muscle mass and nerve development, accurately measure the wearer's pure physical strength, and quantify it!"
He paused, excitedly licked his lollipop, turned to look at everyone, his eyes shining brightly.
"The Hero Association's current physical fitness tests are too general and primitive; they're outdated!"
"This invention is for establishing a more accurate combat power data model for the Hero Association! And you were invited by the Association at my request to measure the data! Thank you all for your hard work!"
“That sounds like a lot of trouble…” Saitama picked at his ear and muttered to himself.
“Then, the test begins!” Child Emperor ignored Saitama’s complaints, raised the Ugly Woman Mask, and first aimed it at Snake, whose expression was the most serious.
"Let's start with you, Mr. Snake, ranked 37th in Class A."
Chapter 62: The Numerical Section
As an A-rank hero, Snake has absolute confidence in his abilities.
He stepped forward, stood ramrod straight, and said to the Child Emperor with a serious expression:
"Come on, Child Emperor. My body is my strongest weapon. Let your invention see the power of an A-class hero."
“Yes, Mr. Snake!” Child Emperor’s eyes gleamed.
He held up the "ugly woman mask" and pointed it at Snake.
Of the four eerie eyes on the mask, two of the larger ones suddenly lit up, shooting out two soft green beams that slowly swept across Snake's body from head to toe.
The scan stopped after a few seconds.
In the center of the mask, below the smallest pair of eyes, a tiny holographic screen lights up, displaying a string of bright red numbers:
Physical Strength Value: 1600
“1600!” Child Emperor nodded in satisfaction and recorded the data.
“Very good numbers, Mr. Snake. According to my preliminary model, the average adult male has a number between 5 and 10, while a top world boxing champion has a number around 80.”
Child Emperor licked the lollipop and continued to explain in a professional tone:
"This means that your pure physical strength has far surpassed the range that ordinary humans can achieve, making you a true superhuman. This value is definitely among the top in A-class heroes."
Receiving the affirmation of an S-class hero, Snake's confidence shone even brighter.
He crossed his arms and nodded reservedly, but the smugness in his eyes was impossible to hide.
"Of course, these are just static values and cannot fully represent combat power," Child Emperor added solemnly.
"Combat skills, weapon enhancements, and energy management all have a huge impact on the final outcome. But a strong physique is always the most reliable foundation for a hero."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze to the two heroes on the other side of the room, "Next are these two gentlemen, 'The Great Philosopher' and 'Dark Flame Dragon Blade Master'."
The test continues.
The first to step forward was the "Great Philosopher" ranked 13th in Class A.
Although his title is elegant, he is actually a muscular man who is over two meters tall.
He walked silently to the center of the arena and nodded to the Child Emperor.
The green beam swept across again, and this time, the "buzzing" sound from the mask seemed even louder than before.
A moment later, a new number appeared on the holographic screen, causing Snake's pupils to shrink slightly.
Physical Strength Value: 2442
"2442!" A hint of surprise flashed in Tong Di's eyes. He quickly wrote it down and commented:
"Incredible! Great Philosopher, your physical strength even surpasses that of many A-class heroes known for their power. These muscles are truly the real deal!"
Snake was secretly astonished, never expecting that this burly man, whose ranking wasn't much higher than his own, would have such superior physical abilities.
It seems the Hero Association's rankings do have some basis.
Next up is the "Dark Flame Dragon Blade Master," ranked 50th in B-level.
He was dressed in heavy black armor, a slightly chuunibyou-esque smile on his face. Before the test, he struck what he thought was a cool pose and muttered to himself:
"How could a mortal machine possibly fathom the power of the dark fire dragon slumbering within me..."
Child Emperor ignored his performance and started the scan immediately. The results came out quickly.
Physical Strength Value: 759
"759 is a very good rating for a B-rank hero," Child Emperor said objectively.