Z-City, one of the areas hit hardest by monster attacks, had long since lost most of the residents living on its outskirts. But the relatively safe city center was still packed with people. Crowds filled the streets, traffic never stopped, and the city buzzed with the familiar noise of a bustling metropolis.
People talked nonstop. Car horns blared one after another. It was just another ordinary day, the kind of scene you could find in any city.
Only, no one knew that at this very moment, a gigantic meteor was hurtling through space toward them. Before long, it would crash into Z-City and wipe away that ordinary, everyday life in an instant.
'Tap...'
Two figures leaped in from the distance and landed on the rooftop of a tall building. They were Fang Li and Genos.
Genos raised his head and looked toward the sky. His mechanical eyes whirred as they adjusted their focus like a high-powered telescope. After a moment, he spoke.
"It's here."
He didn't need to tell Fang Li. Far above the horizon, a tiny ball of fire had appeared, looking almost like a second sun. But if you watched closely, it was steadily growing larger.
As it expanded, more and more people throughout Z-City noticed it as well.
"Hey... what's that?"
"The sun...?"
"Why does it look like it's getting bigger?"
Similar conversations broke out all over the city. The lively atmosphere gradually faded, replaced by confusion and unease.
Watching the scene unfold, Fang Li muttered to himself, "They should be issuing an emergency evacuation warning about now."
If they waited any longer, the meteor would already be upon them. At that point, no matter how much the Hero Association tried to cover things up, failing to detect such a disaster in advance would become a major scandal and leave them facing public outrage.
Sure enough,
"Emergency evacuation notice! Emergency evacuation notice!"
"A massive meteor has appeared above Z-City! A massive meteor has appeared above Z-City!"
"Experts have determined that the meteor will strike Z-City. The entire city will be destroyed, and surrounding cities will also be affected!"
"Disaster Level: Dragon!"
"All residents of Z-City, evacuate to the nearest shelter immediately! All residents of Z-City, evacuate to the nearest shelter immediately!"
The emergency broadcast echoed across the city. In an instant, all the noise vanished. A deathly silence settled over Z-City.
Then,
"R-Run!" someone screamed from somewhere in the city.
That single cry ignited panic.
"Run!"
"No way!"
"I don't want to die!"
The entire city descended into chaos. Terrified people flooded the streets. Cars sped off in every direction, but fear only made everything worse. Traffic jams, packed crowds, panic spreading from person to person, and even riots broke out. The whole city became a complete mess.
The sounds reaching Fang Li's ears were no longer ordinary city noise, but only cries and screams. There was no blood, nor any pain. Yet this despair was more familiar to Fang Li than anything else.
Then, another familiar mechanical voice echoed inside his mind.
"Serial Number 11273 has triggered B-Rank Side Quest: Defend the City."
"Quest Objective: Destroy the meteor above Z-City and protect the city completely. No casualties and no property damage are permitted."
"Quest Reward: 30,000 Exchange Points."
Listening to the system notification, Fang Li's expression shifted several times. In the end, he simply sighed.
"That's asking the impossible..."
It really was. For him, this quest was ridiculously difficult. Putting aside whether he could even destroy the meteor, guaranteeing that not a single person in Z-City was injured and that not a single building was damaged was practically impossible. After all, even if the meteor shattered, the shockwave and countless fragments would become a second disaster sweeping across the city.
There was nothing Fang Li could do about that. At least, not by himself.
"Good thing I prepared in advance..." He took out his phone and checked the time.
Not knowing what Fang Li was planning, Genos merely raised one hand. Tremendous energy gathered in his palm.
"If you're not making a move, then I'll go first." His eyes remained fixed on the rapidly growing fireball overhead. "I'll use every bit of energy I have to blast that meteor away."
As a cyborg, Genos possessed enormous energy reserves. By converting that energy into heat, he could fire an incredibly powerful wide-area attack from the cannons in his palms, the 'Incineration Cannon'. Its destructive power was enough to incinerate everything within a radius of several hundred meters.
But...
"Your firepower isn't enough to destroy that meteor," Fang Li said calmly. "I'm not looking down on you. Even you aren't confident you can do it, are you?"
"...Then what are you planning?" Genos asked, just as calmly, without taking his eyes off the sky. "If I remember correctly, according to the Hero Association's records, you're a close-combat specialist. You shouldn't have any way of dealing with something like that."
"Who knows?" Fang Li shrugged instead of answering. Then he turned to look toward another part of the sky. "Before that... let me go say hello to someone."
Genos froze for a moment. Then, his sensors picked something up.
"High-energy reaction...!" He immediately turned toward the distant horizon.
'Whoosh, !'
With a sharp, tearing sound, a streak of light shot through the sky at incredible speed.
"That's..." Genos couldn't hide his surprise.
Because the streak of light was actually a robot. It was a large, bulky machine covered entirely in metal, with powerful thrusters mounted on its back, rocketing through the sky at full speed.
Genos instantly guessed its identity. Fang Li already knew as well, and a smile spread across his face.
...
"Hm?" The flying robot suddenly looked up.
'Swish!'
Almost at the same instant, a figure flashed into existence directly in its flight path. The robot's electronic eyes froze.
"Yo," Fang Li greeted it with a faint smile. "How've you been?"
The moment the words left his mouth,
'Boom!'
A dull impact rang out. The metal robot was blasted away as though struck by an overwhelming force, turning into a second meteor as it plummeted straight toward the ground.
(End Of This Chapter)
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