Chapter 83: House of Evolution
"He's dead."
Axel's pupils constricted as he looked at the pile of blood and filth, falling into deep thought. He wasn't surprised that King had killed the Monster; what surprised him was King's method of killing it. Using his psychic powers—using 'glue' to gradually erode the opponent's range of movement—forced the Monster to expose its weakness, eventually leading to its demise. This kind of drawn-out killing method would be normal for others, but for King, it was quite peculiar.
Who was King? The man acclaimed as the strongest on Earth. He usually defeated Monsters with a single punch. When had he ever used such a drawn-out tactic?
Could King's actions imply a deeper meaning?
Snail-Ox Man seemed to realize that the Chameleon Dragon's appearance was unexpected, and he hastily shouted, "Chameleon Dragon, Chameleon Dragon..."
King curled his lips. "Stop shouting. It's already dead."
Snail-Ox Man's shouting voice abruptly stopped, as if someone had choked him by the neck.
After a moment of silence, it shouted even louder, "King, you've already been targeted by our powerful House of Evolution! Even though you defeated the two of us, we're not even ranked among the new humans in the House of Evolution. Our House of Evolution is brimming with powerful individuals! Hmph, hmph, even someone as strong as you will die by our hands..."
Snail-Ox Man's tone was full of confidence.
"House of Evolution?"
King's expression was strange; the organization behind Snail-Ox Man was actually the House of Evolution that appeared in the anime.
Speaking of the House of Evolution, it's also a rather conspicuous antagonistic organization in One-Punch Man. Its founder, Genos, is a scientist who is both insane and brilliant, with his headquarters located in Z City. Since childhood, he despised others due to his exceptionally high intelligence, believing everyone else to be a bunch of idiots and morons. He felt immense pain living in a world surrounded by fools, which led him to develop the idea of single-handedly promoting human evolution. He dedicated himself entirely to scientific research, painstakingly researching projects related to human evolution for decades. He researched numerous cutting-edge biological scientific achievements, and even used artificial technology to help his seventy-year-old self revert to a youthful state. Furthermore, he used cloning technology to create several clones of himself as a contingency.
In the anime, Genos's human evolution experiments produced many experimental results, such as the cultivation of the Dragon-level Monster Disaster, Carnage Kabuto, and the Demon-level Monster Disaster, Mosquito Girl, among other powerful Monsters.
Genos painstakingly researched biological technology, hoping that one day he could break humanity's ultimate limiter and single-handedly catalyze humanity's evolution.
Unfortunately, he met his destined enemy—Saitama. After witnessing Saitama's immense power, he still hoped to use Saitama as a sample for research. He immediately dispatched his elite Monster squad to capture Saitama. However, he failed to capture Saitama; instead, Saitama single-handedly annihilated his elite squad, which he had planned to use for a counterattack against humanity. Afterwards, disillusioned and heartbroken, he abandoned his own dream and opened a takoyaki stand in the bustling city, living a simple life.
King stroked his chin, musing to himself. "Genos, that biological research fanatic, wanted to capture Saitama as an experimental sample after realizing his power. So, this time, he sent people to assassinate me, probably coveting me, 'the strongest man on Earth' (why does that phrase sound so awkward?). He plans to 'invite' me back to the House of Evolution as an experimental sample."
Tsk, I ended up with the same fate as Saitama. How unlucky!
"Oh dear, the House of Evolution has targeted me. This is troublesome."
He furrowed his brows slightly, a headache brewing. The House of Evolution was not weak; it had the Dragon-level Monster Disaster, Carnage Kabuto, and several Demon-level Disaster Monsters. If Genos was determined to tie him back to the House of Evolution for experiments, he probably wouldn't be able to resist!
It seems the trip to Z City is imminent. He needed to find a way to quickly trick Saitama into destroying the House of Evolution, eliminating this huge hidden danger to his own life.
After sorting things out, he also thought of Dr. Hammond, who brought the Dinosaur Man to the world. Hammond and Genos were both mad scientists with firm ideals, and both had made significant breakthroughs in biological technology, cultivating powerful Monsters that severely threatened world peace.
Oh, speaking of mad scientists, there's another particularly outstanding scientist in the anime—Fukegao. This fellow didn't create a whole army of Monsters like Hammond and Genos; he only developed a type of ultimate steroid, which he gave to his younger brother, Marugori. Marugori mutated into a Giant like a Titan, destroying City D with a single strike. The level of disaster was truly terrifying.
"I almost forgot about the Giant and his brother. Hmm, I should remind Sitch to investigate the Research Institute outside City D and see if he can find Fukegao, to prevent a major disaster. While he's at it, I'll have him investigate the location of the House of Evolution."
King finished his thoughts, immediately took out his phone, and dialed the Association Headquarters. Without bothering Axel, who was deep in thought beside him, he directly told Sitch his requests. After a brief chat, he hung up the phone after refusing Sitch's advertising invitation.
"King, don't think you're so arrogant just because you're the strongest man on Earth! Our House of Evolution is not a place to be trifled with. You've offended us, and sooner or later, we'll take your life!"
Snail-Ox Man boasted in vain.
King chuckled softly. Snail-Ox Man was truly a blockhead. The current situation was that it had fallen into King's hands, becoming meat on the chopping block, to be sliced however King pleased. Yet, Snail-Ox Man showed no sign of realizing its predicament, still arrogantly shouting. It probably didn't even know how to write the character for 'cowardice'.
Axel saw Snail-Ox Man's arrogance and instantly couldn't stand it. He couldn't help but ask King, "Mr. King, please allow me to kill this Monster."
"You?" King glanced at Axel, then said noncommittally, "Please proceed." Anyway, no matter who killed the Monster, it wouldn't prevent him from drawing a card.
"Many thanks for Mr. King's permission!"
Axel's spirits lifted. Seizing the opportunity while the glue on the floor had already dried and lost its stickiness, he quickly approached Snail-Ox Man. He circled the roughly one-meter-high snail shell, momentarily unsure where to strike.
The snail shell was as hard as steel. How could he break it with his bare fists?
He frowned tightly, his gaze scanning King's home, hoping to find a usable tool.
"Hahaha, kid, such big words! You, a weak human, dare to kill me, Snail-Ox Lord? Hmph hmph, if your 'baozi' fist can break my bronze-like iron shell, I'll admit defeat."
King looked at Axel's conflicted expression, shaking his head helplessly. From his home, he pulled out a hose, connecting one end to the hot water faucet of the water dispenser and inserting the other end into an opening in the snail shell. Then, he immediately turned on the hot water faucet of the water dispenser.
Sizzle!
Boiling water, hissing and bubbling, poured into the snail shell through the hose, under Axel's stunned gaze.
"Ah~"
"Ding! There's a Monster card available for exchange nearby. Host, please proceed to exchange it."
Thanks for the tips from Chirper Hehehe and Wanna Burst?! Thank you! Also, please forgive me for finishing the new novel I just found, *cough cough*. After that, I'll resume normal updates, and even triple updates aren't a dream (actually, they are)~
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(end of chapter)