Z City – Industrial Park
This place had already transformed into a living hell.
Thick smoke billowed from the explosion's center. Surrounding factories detonated one after another. A flowing sea of fire consumed the streets, while black smoke obscured the sky. The pungent smell of rust, the acrid odor of chemical leaks, and the thick, unyielding stench of blood mixed together, forming highly toxic air that could instantly poison an ordinary person to death.
On the streets further away, panicked crowds ran everywhere. Screams, cries, and the occasional roar of explosions rose and fell—weaving together a symphony of doomsday.
Against this backdrop of chaos and despair, a streak of azure light descended, revealing a tall figure who moved against the flow of people, stepping into the death zone where the explosion originated.
It was Jack.
The hellish, toxic, high-temperature death environment was, for him, a delightful experience. He observed the scene before him with interest, his gaze immediately locking onto the disaster's source—
The hard-hatted giant made of grudges and industrial waste, and the large group of Grudge Corpses wandering around it like puppets on strings.
[Monster: Grudge Overtime Ghost]
[Disaster Level: Dragon (Low)
]**
[Ability 1: 'Grudge Proliferation (SSR)'
]** : Able to absorb negative emotions and grudges toward work and exploitation from the surrounding environment, continuously strengthening itself. The stronger the grudge, the stronger its power and the larger its size.]
[Ability 2: 'Grudge Corpse Manipulation (SSR)'
]** : Able to transform corpses into 'Grudge Corpses'—undead warriors under its control. 'Grudge Corpses' share the main body's grudge energy and some power, and are fearless in death.]
"A growth-type Monster—decent abilities." Jack's eyes narrowed slightly. "But its appearance is too villainous. It looks like a mere extra who won't survive a single chapter."
His gaze swept over the wandering Grudge Corpses. These Monsters, transformed from workers' corpses, moved swiftly and possessed astonishing strength. Under the continuous nourishment of black mist, each one exuded energy fluctuations comparable to a Demon-level Monster. Aside from the gunman hero One-Shot—who observed from a distance and dared not approach—several reckless low-level heroes who had rushed to rescue had already died tragically under their siege, only to rise again as new Grudge Corpses.
"What a pity—they're all derivatives. Probably won't drop Origin Points."
No system ability information popped up from the Grudge Corpses, indicating that they were merely extensions of the Grudge Overtime Ghost's power—serving only as carriers for power and grudges. Jack secretly thought it was a shame, but he wasn't too disappointed.
After all, this five-meter-tall main Monster, the Grudge Overtime Ghost, was a rare Dragon-level Monster. Its strength at the lower end of Dragon-level was quite noticeable—but no matter how weak it was, it was still enough to handle the even more exceptional Elder Centipede.
(A certain hairy martial artist: ???)
This guy's true power lay in his potential. His current weakness was due to his recent birth. If he were allowed to kill and absorb enough grudges, he might even reach Dragon-level peak overnight.
Jack stretched his fingers, his knuckles cracking in a series of pops. A hunter-like smile curved his lips.
"Forget about you—even if Elder Centipede came today, he'd have to lie down obediently for me."
Noticing Jack's presence, the five-meter-tall Grudge Overtime Ghost turned around. Its two eyes on its body and the massive, ominous single eye on its chest all locked onto him simultaneously.
"Human… are you a hero?"
A pause.
"I… am the 'Grudge Overtime Ghost'—mutated because I couldn't bear the endless work!! I hate work!! Work is endless exploitation! I worked day and night, yet I only made my boss richer! I… hate it so much!! So much!!"
A classic Monster monologue. The single eye on its chest glowed fiercely red. A cold, resentful energy swept toward Jack like a tide, attempting to erode his mind and drag him into the same despair.
"Hero… are you here to save me?"
Listening to the Monster's eerie, alluring tone, Jack met its gaze with a strange expression.
Bro—are you sick? You're trying to perform mind invasion on me, a mental-type Monster in a mascot costume? Are you blind and can't see that ominous black mist floating over?
After nearly ten seconds of staring at each other, the Grudge Overtime Ghost's three eyes stiffened slightly. It discovered that the moment its released grudge energy touched this handsome human, it vanished without a trace—like a mud ox entering the sea.
—This guy… why does he have no sympathy or negative emotions whatsoever?!
"Oh—are you looking for your grudge energy?"
Just as the Monster was about to intensify its efforts, Jack casually raised a hand. In his palm, a cellular-level clone wriggled into appearance. It opened its mouth and spat out a mass of grudge black mist—compressed to the extreme and solid as ink—then quickly retracted, transforming back into cytoplasm and disappearing.
"It's all here, you sly old dog."
As a hexagon warrior with maxed-out stats, the opponent's little tricks were, in his eyes, even clumsier than a three-year-old's antics. I'm supposed to cooperate with your performance by pretending not to see—but you actually took yourself seriously.
That's a bit rude.
*BOOM—! *
A wisp of Phoenix Fire—with a sacred aura—ignited out of thin air. The golden flames instantly surged, like a miniature sun, completely incinerating the mass of grudge black mist, leaving not even a wisp of smoke.
"AH, AH, AH, AH—MY POWER!!"
Feeling a part of its power source being completely obliterated, the Grudge Overtime Ghost let out a roar of extreme shame and fury. Black mist surged around its entire body. Its muscled arm swung violently, issuing the command for a full assault.
"Go! Go! TEAR HIM APART!!"
*ROAR—!!! * × N
Hundreds of Grudge Corpses collectively let out ear-piercing roars. The ground beneath their feet cracked inch by inch, and they transformed into streaks of black lightning, rushing toward Jack from all directions with the speed of escaping rabbits. The speed and strength of each Grudge Corpse were firmly at Demon-level standard. Such a vast undead army was enough to turn a city to ruins in a short amount of time.
"Heh—so you're showing your true colors now?"
Jack sneered. Facing a tide of corpses that would make even an ordinary S-Class hero's scalp tingle, he didn't even bother to raise an eyelid.
The next moment, his movements paused slightly. His eyes—far surpassing human limits—caught sight of a tiny colored speck rapidly approaching at supersonic speed at the edge of the cloudless sky.
"That is…!"
Recognizing the Hero Association's dedicated transport plane, Jack immediately realized the identity of the incoming person. Immediately, he stopped wasting words with the Monster, quickly raising his right hand, palm facing skyward.
Terrifying energy—hot as the sun—began to condense at high speed. The blinding white light was so dazzling it even overshadowed the surrounding flames.
SSR+ Prince's Combat Style—
"Scorching Split Shot"!!!
Hundreds of dazzling, searing white meteors shot forth from his hand, trailing brilliant tails of flame, arcing gracefully toward the heavens. These death-dealing light trails were distinct and did not interfere with each other. The moment they ascended to their highest point, they seemed to receive a unified command—all simultaneously changing direction.
Transforming into a deathly rain that covered the entire industrial park—pouring down!!!