On the way home, Lin Mo and Saitama walked side by side.
Neither of them spoke, yet this silence was not awkward; instead, it held a sense of tranquility.
"Speaking of which, thank you for earlier," Saitama suddenly said.
"Huh? Thank me for what?" Lin Mo was momentarily stunned.
"For helping me out of that situation," Saitama said. "Even though I don't care what they think, it always feels troublesome, and you saved me a lot of bother."
Lin Mo then realized that Saitama thought he was helping him deal with those S-Class Heroes.
"It's nothing," he simply replied.
That was your accomplishment anyway... Saitama-kun... Lin Mo silently added in his heart.
He turned his head, looking at Saitama's profile, which appeared somewhat forlorn in the setting sun.
He then recalled Boros's dying words—"You are truly too strong."
Those words contained shock, admiration, and a hint of mutual appreciation between supreme powerhouses.
Perhaps, only by standing at the same height could they understand each other's loneliness.
And his current self was still too far, far behind.
"What I need is the strength to stand alongside you, or even to fight you, Saitama."
Lin Mo murmured in his heart, this thought had never been as clear and fervent as it was now.
He clenched his fists, his gaze becoming incredibly resolute.
He pursued strength, no longer just for self-preservation, but even more so, to one day truly understand the scenery this man had witnessed, and to respond to his longing for a battle.
— — — — — —
Returning to his apartment, he closed the door, shutting out everything from the outside world.
The room was dim, with only faint light filtering in from the city lights outside the window.
Lin Mo took a deep breath, sat cross-legged on the floor, and immersed all his thoughts into the system.
He didn't turn on the light, just took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.
The various emotions in his chest—nervousness, excitement, lingering fear, and hope—were all expelled with this turbid air.
He sat cross-legged on the floor, immersing his mind into the system bound to his soul.
"System, open the personal panel."
As his thought moved, a translucent panel, glowing with a faint blue aura, visible only to him, floated before him.
["Name: Lin Mo (KING)"]
["Gender: Male"]
["Energy Value: 145,036"]
["Stamina: 90"]
["Strength: 90"]
["Speed: 90"]
["Psychic Power: 90"]
["Skills: Intimidation (Dragon Class), Basic Martial Arts, Energy Blast (Dragon-level)"]
["Items: Basic Stamina Potion × 2, Basic Healing Potion × 2, Basic Mental Recovery Potion..."]
One hundred forty-five thousand and thirty-six!
My goodness!
This number seemed to possess a magical quality, instantly rendering his mind blank.
The next second, an indescribable ecstasy surged from the bottom of his heart!
His eyes even began to bloodshot, filled with fine red veins, due to the extreme excitement.
He's struck it rich! He's really struck it rich this time!
He almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Following Saitama on this trip, risking being vaporized by the aftermath of battle at any moment, was truly worth it!
After a long while, Lin Mo let out a long breath, forcing his heart, which was about to leap out of his chest, to calm down.
Now was not the time to get carried away; how to transform this huge sum into tangible combat power was the most important thing at hand.
He clicked on the skill description for [Energy Blast (Dragon-level)] and studied it carefully.
["Energy Blast (Dragon-level)"]
["Skill Description: Can condense high-density energy light blasts in hand, with immense power, sufficient to pose a significant threat to Dragon-level disasters. The skill enters cooldown after firing, duration is 0.1 seconds."]
["Special Effect: Can consume energy points to charge the Energy Blast. A charged Energy Blast will gain a huge boost in power, and can be imbued with 'penetration' or 'explosive' effects."]
["Upgrade Requirement: Energy Points × 100,000"]
One hundred thousand energy points!
Lin Mo's pupils slightly contracted.
Above Dragon-level, according to this world's disaster classification, was undoubtedly "God" level!
A God-level attack skill, just thinking about it made one's blood boil.
If he upgraded it, perhaps he could truly unleash an attack comparable to the "Star Roaring Cannon."
However, after upgrading the skill, although he would still have nearly forty-five thousand energy points, it would not be enough to elevate his basic stats to the ranks of the strong.
A new dilemma lay before him: should he upgrade one skill to "God" level in one go; or should he use his existing energy points to prioritize improving his basic attributes?
As for the lottery, he temporarily wasn't considering it.
Before, it was because he was dirt poor, pinning his hopes on elusive luck, hoping to "turn a bicycle into a motorcycle."
But now that he held a huge sum, gambling on such a minuscule probability seemed less prudent.
He fell into deep thought.
The allure of a "God" level skill was immense; it represented unparalleled destructive power.
But the drawbacks were equally obvious; his strength wouldn't undergo a qualitative leap until he accumulated enough energy points.
More importantly, he was well aware of the upcoming plot developments.
The Monster Association was about to surface, a period of chaos where all sorts of bizarre monsters would emerge one after another.
If a monster like the "Cockroach Monster" from the original work, whose speed was so fast that even Genos couldn't catch it, or a monster with special abilities suddenly appeared, he might be instantly killed before he even had time to react.
He couldn't possibly be on high alert all the time, could he?
Not to mention the mental fatigue such a situation would cause, he simply couldn't accept that kind of life.
A living hero is far more valuable than a dead person with an unlocked God skill.
One force breaks all methods! Saitama-sensei's path is the most reliable path!
With absolute strength, absolute speed, and absolute stamina, any flashy abilities will become meaningless.
Having understood this, Lin Mo's eyes instantly became clear and resolute.
"System, raise my Stamina, Strength, and Speed all to 500 points!"
Psychic Power would not be upgraded for now; its priority could be slightly lowered in the face of basic survival capabilities.
He wanted to first forge his "physical body" into an indestructible fortress!
["Strength + 410 points, consumes 41000 energy points."]
["Speed + 410 points, consumes 41000 energy points."]
["Stamina + 410 points, consumes 41000 energy points."]
["Total consumed: 123000 points. Confirm?"]
"Confirm!"
The moment he confirmed, an unprecedented, terrifying surge of heat violently erupted from his heart!
This was completely different from the warm sensation he felt during previous point allocations!
This time, Lin Mo felt as if his body had become a volcano on the verge of eruption, every cell burning!
"Ugh ah ah ah!"