chsdbacks Chapter 73 Association Summary
Chapter 73 Association Summary
The headquarters of the Hero Association in City A, inside a huge circular conference room.
On the holographic projection screen, the key moments of the J City disaster were displayed in a split-screen format: the chaos in the port area, the Deep Sea King's overwhelming advance, the defeat of the A-class hero Stinger, the arduous battle of Sexy Prisoner, Genos's tragic interception, and finally, the decisive yet controversial battle at the Vault.
Data analysts, tactical assessors, public relations consultants, and association executives gathered to conduct a comprehensive review of this sudden, "ghostly" disaster and to make crucial assessments and rankings of the heroes who participated.
"The initial data processing is complete."
An analyst wearing glasses stood up and reported, "This invasion by the Deep Sea Clan has been confirmed to have caused extensive damage to the coastal area of J City, resulting in huge direct economic losses. Fortunately, thanks to the early warning from the S-class hero Iaian, surrounding cities and parts of J City were able to be evacuated in advance, and the number of civilian casualties was kept within a relatively low range."
Association leader Sitch nodded slightly, his gaze sharp: "The merit assessment is the key point, especially regarding the second-ranked C-class hero who ultimately defeated the Deep Sea King—the Bald Cape Man!"
A subtle commotion arose in the conference room upon hearing the name.
The head of the public relations department, a woman with impeccable makeup but a furrowed brow, immediately replied, "Mr. Sitch, this is precisely the most troublesome issue. We have received numerous eyewitness reports and feedback from citizens at the J City disaster shelter, and at the same time, online public opinion has escalated to a very dangerous level."
She switched the projector, and screenshots of headlines from major news websites and social media immediately appeared on the screen:
Who are the true heroes after the Deep Sea King's slaying?
A C-Class Hero's Miracle? Or a Carefully Planned Scam?
Breaking News! Mysterious S-Class Hero Iai-an Makes His Move; Deep Sea King Already Severely Injured?
Hero or Thief? The Mystery of the Bald Cape Man's Promotion
The accompanying images mostly depict Genos's mangled body, holes in the shelter, and a blurry yet striking photograph: Iaian stands silently on the edge of the shelter's dome, the fishing line extending from his rod precisely hooking Deep Sea King's jaw, casting his massive body into the air like a fishing rod. In the corner of the photo, Saitama's figure can be vaguely seen as he runs into the plaza.
"This photo was taken and uploaded by a reporter named 'Numata' inside the shelter."
The public relations manager said in a somber tone, "Right now, mainstream public opinion is almost unanimously against him. The general public believes that it was the S-class hero Genos, the cyborg, who greatly weakened Deep Sea King by sacrificing himself, and then the S-class hero Iaian used a magical method to severely injure Deep Sea King, and finally, the bald cape hero Saitama, who happened to be there, 'snag a bargain'."
She paused, then showed screenshots of numerous complaint emails flooding the association's inbox: "A large number of people, especially survivors from J City, have signed a petition protesting that Saitama's actions constitute 'cheating' and 'stealing' the glory that should belong to Genos and Iaian. They are demanding that the association take serious action and even revoke his hero status. If, under these circumstances, we attribute the credit to Saitama and give him a significant promotion, the association's credibility will suffer a devastating blow."
There was much discussion at the meeting.
Some insist that the facts should be taken into account, and that Saitama did indeed resolve the disaster with a single blow.
However, many people are worried about the backlash from public opinion, believing that the association cannot ignore public opinion.
Sicchi paused for a moment, then looked at the intelligence department: "Do you have a more detailed report on the scene analysis of Saitama defeating Deep Sea King in one blow? Is there a possibility that Deep Sea King has been severely injured by Iaian?"
The intelligence chief pulled up a jumbled surveillance clip and energy readings for analysis: "The internal surveillance system of the shelter was mostly damaged during Genos's battle. Judging from the external footage and energy readings, Mr. Iaian's action of catching Deep Sea King with a fishing line was indeed exquisite, demonstrating astonishing control and strength. However, the energy readings show that the impact of that throw was not enough to cause decisive damage to the Demon-level monster Deep Sea King. After being thrown, Deep Sea King's landing posture shows that it still had great mobility. As for Saitama's punch, the energy reading was abnormal, but the instantaneous peak was extremely high. However, the process was too short to analyze precisely."
This vague report only provided more justification for those who believed in the "bargain hunting" argument.
The resolution was thus made.
……
The association's announcement was released quickly, like cold water being poured into a boiling oil pan, sparking a new wave of heated discussion.
Voices supporting the association's "fair" handling of the case intertwined with a minority of voices expressing their grievances for Saitama, but were quickly drowned out by the mainstream cheers that "justice has been served."
Inside the atomic flow dojo, Iai looked at the official notification sent by the association and the heated discussions online, but there was no joy on his face.
"Saitama-sensei really does have a hidden aura!"
Iai muttered to himself, then shook his head. He didn't care about the so-called first merit or ranking improvement. Whether he was ranked 17th or 18th in the S-class, it made no real difference to him.
Composing himself, he closed the association's notification and turned to walk towards the training ground behind the dojo.
A new round of training has begun, and the image of that punch from that day is still deeply imprinted in Iai's mind.
It's still a long way off!
……
In the uninhabited area of Z City, inside a seemingly ordinary apartment building.
Saitama sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, picking his nose while watching a rerun of a cheap comedy variety show on TV.
Genos sat upright beside him, his electronic eyes flashing as he recorded what he called "analysis of human humor behavior patterns."
"teacher!"
Genos suddenly spoke, breaking the silence in the room, "I believe the Association's assessment of merits this time is unfair. You are the greatest contributor to defeating the Deep Sea King."
"Huh? That..."
Saitama tilted his head, looking nonchalant. "It's okay, as long as the monster is defeated. And now that I've reached Rank B, I finally don't have to participate in the weekly mandatory missions anymore!"
For him, hero rankings were far less appealing than supermarket sales.
Genos, however, could not be so at ease. His internal processor was working at high speed, adding items such as "Association Bureaucracy," "Popular Ignorance," and "We Must Work Harder to Rehabilitate Teachers" to the priority list of the core code of conduct.
At the same time, he also remembered the figure sitting quietly at the top of the shelter—"Iai-an"!
Genos's logic module analysis shows that he remained calm during the incident and seemed to possess some unique insight, but he did not demonstrate the combat power to change the situation. His strength assessment requires further observation.