The udon noodle shop was bustling with people.
Saitama was slurping down his beef udon noodles at an astonishing speed, making sounds of satisfaction.
Genos, on the other hand, sat ramrod straight, his food almost untouched. He was still immersed in the shock brought by Mr. KING's words, repeatedly simulating the energy flow routes from the 'Melee' general principles.
Lin Mo ate unhurriedly, his gaze piercing through the noisy diners and settling on the night view of Z-City outside the window.
Twinkling lights outlined the city, presenting an image of prosperity and peace on the surface.
But Lin Mo knew that beneath this city, a powerful force lay hidden.
The Monster Association, a massive lair entrenched beneath Z-City, was like a ticking time bomb, ready to detonate at any moment.
"Wanna play games later, KING?" Saitama finished the last sip of his soup, patting his stomach contentedly.
"No," Lin Mo put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I still have some matters to attend to."
"Teacher, Mr. KING, I'll escort you both back," Genos stood up and said respectfully.
"No need, Genos," Lin Mo stood up and said to the two, "You two head back first. I'm going to see a friend. Tonight's bill... will be as agreed."
He winked at Saitama, and before the latter could react, he turned and vanished into the night.
"Hey! KING! You're serious!" Saitama's shout echoed through the noodle shop.
Lin Mo's destination was one of the exclusive high-tech research institutes provided by the Hero Association for S-Class Heroes.
And its head was the S-Class Hero ranked fifth—Child Emperor.
When Lin Mo passed through layers of identity verification and entered the laboratory, a small boy wearing his iconic backpack was sitting in a huge gaming chair, intently staring at a row of screens in front of him.
"Intruder identity confirmed... S-Class Hero, KING... Alert canceled."
"Welcome, Mr. KING."
The cold system prompt sounded, and Child Emperor suddenly jumped up from the chair, almost dropping the lollipop in his mouth.
He stiffly turned around, and when he saw who it was, his large eyes were instantly filled with shock, confusion, and joy.
"KING... Uncle KING?!"
As the strategist of the Hero Association, Child Emperor was very curious about KING and somewhat envious of his invincible strength.
Regardless, he had always respected KING.
Child Emperor quickly ran to Lin Mo, looked up, and asked curiously, "What brings Uncle KING to me? Is something wrong?"
"I need your help, Child Emperor," Lin Mo looked at the excited young genius before him and spoke directly.
"Huh!?"
Just one sentence made the casual and curious expression on Child Emperor's face instantly fade, replaced by a gravity and seriousness beyond his years.
His brain immediately entered deep thought.
For The Strongest Man on Earth to personally utter the words "needs help," the level of crisis this represented was beyond his imagination.
Could it be... a premonition of a world-ending disaster? Or another unknown threat from the depths of space?
"Cough."
Lin Mo's light cough forcefully pulled Child Emperor's thoughts, which had drifted to outer space, back.
He saw Child Emperor's instantly changing expression and knew that his objective was halfway achieved.
He continued:
"You and the Association's intelligence department should also know that for the past few months, I, along with S-Class Hero 'Caped Baldy' and 'Demon Cyborg,' have been staying in Z-City."
Child Emperor was Child Emperor after all; his thought process was astonishingly fast.
Lin Mo only provided a hint, and he immediately connected the dots.
He looked up in surprise and said, "You mean, that wasn't an accident..."
"Precisely."
Lin Mo's gaze was intense, fixed on Child Emperor's eyes, as he said word by word:
"Based on our three-person continuous investigation, we discovered that deep beneath Z-City, a well-organized, massive lair is hidden—the 'Monster Association'!"
"Monster Association?!"
These four words exploded like thunder in Child Emperor's mind.
He subconsciously muttered to himself, and a rare expression of mingled horror and dread appeared on his young face.
He knew that given KING's identity and character, he would never joke about such a matter.
Therefore, the truthfulness of this matter was almost one hundred percent!
As the strategist of the Hero Association, he had processed countless data on monster sightings.
The abnormal, continuously rising frequency of monster appearances in Z-City, and several small-scale but highly organized monster attacks, had always been an "anomaly" in his analytical model.
He had hypothesized that a small organization was instigating it, but he never expected its scale to be so vast that it could be called an "Association"!
"No wonder..." Child Emperor's mind raced.
"In recent months, the number of missing person reports in the areas around Z-City has also been rising. The Association has always classified these as accidents caused by scattered monster attacks."
"If there's a Monster Association that's been 'recruiting' or 'creating' monsters, then everything makes sense!"
Lin Mo nodded, expressing his admiration for the young genius's keen insight, and continued with increased emphasis:
"Its scale far exceeds our imagination. It is well-organized, with clear hierarchies, and we even have reason to suspect that there are several Dragon-level, or even above Dragon-level, disasters within it."
"Dragon-level... and above?!"
Child Emperor gasped, feeling a chill run down his spine to his skull.
His small body even trembled uncontrollably.
The weight of this information was too immense.
An organization with monsters above Dragon-level entrenched beneath the city was no longer a simple monster disaster, but a huge threat capable of shaking the very foundations of human society!
"This is why I haven't reported it directly to the Association headquarters."
Lin Mo's eyes deepened.
"Once this news is made public, it will inevitably cause panic among the higher-ups. And the only choice they can make is to gather the S-Class Heroes and launch an all-out assault on the underground of Z-City."
"That won't work!"
Child Emperor immediately retorted, "The underground structure of Z-City is complex. A rash attack, if it forces all the monsters to the surface, will instantly cause Z-City to fall!"
"You're right." Lin Mo looked at him approvingly.
"Stirring the grass and startling the snake is a military taboo. Any large-scale action before thoroughly understanding their true strength is foolish and irresponsible."
"Therefore, I need a pair of eyes that can infiltrate the underground, a scout that won't alert anyone."
Lin Mo's gaze locked onto Child Emperor, and he finally stated his ultimate objective for this visit:
"I need your technology, Child Emperor. To build me a top-tier remote reconnaissance robot."
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