My Hero Academia: The Age of Ultimate Darkness
Chapter 7

A Sudden Enlightenment

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"I've got a useless ability too—just a body that glows. Combat power is zero." Yang Xiao put on a bitter smile as he spoke. He couldn't exactly tell a stranger that his ability was actually pretty good, even excellent.

"No, no, how can you call that useless?" The Glasses Man countered after hearing Yang Xiao's words. "Think about it—if your body glows, at least you won't be scared walking at night. And if you run into a bad guy, you can focus that light into a single point, blind their 24K titanium-alloy dog eyes, and make your escape. This ability's uses go way beyond that. You're just selling yourself short."

Yang Xiao froze for a moment, as if something suddenly clicked. Right—concentrating power into a single point would absolutely max out the attack force. His wasn't just a glow-in-the-dark ability; it had serious combat potential.

Today hadn't been a waste after all. Something he hadn't figured out on his own had been pointed out by a bystander. Yang Xiao's mood lifted, and he even felt the stench of the sewage wasn't so bad anymore.

Passersby walked past, pinching their noses as they watched Yang Xiao dredge the sewer. They couldn't figure out what could be in there worth all this effort.

But none of them asked. They just stood there silently watching Yang Xiao dig, until a few couldn't take the smell and left.

"Found it!" After groping around for a while, Yang Xiao finally located the Glasses Man's phone. He had Holy Light's glow to thank for that—without it, finding it so quickly would've been tough.

"Seriously, all that for a crappy phone? I thought it was a diamond ring or a necklace!" A man in his twenties shook his head and walked off, speechless.

The rest of the crowd dispersed too. What a letdown.

"Thanks. Go wash your hands first. Since Problem Solver isn't far, clean the phone up too before you give it back." The Glasses Man was relieved. Spending a bit of money to get his phone back so smoothly was no big deal—it had important data he couldn't afford to lose.

Once back at Problem Solver, Yang Xiao and the others immediately started washing up, scrubbing the Glasses Man's phone clean with plenty of soap to get rid of the stench.

Yang Xiao learned that the Glasses Man's name was Tachikawa Bun, a university student. With his strong computational skills and the nature of his school, he ranked pretty high there.

After the matter was settled, Tachikawa Bun left. The first job was complete—smooth sailing.

"Tough first day, huh? Working hard and digging through a sewer. Food'll be here soon. Make do with it for now. If business picks up, I'll add some extras." Wu Shiyin said with a grin, feeling like Problem Solver was about to set sail again and reclaim its peak.

"I don't mind the hard work. I just don't want to take on random junk jobs." Yang Xiao suddenly remembered something and looked at Wu Shiyin. "Hey, Gin-san, you can't just have me here alone. You need to hire more people to share the load. What happens when orders pile up? I can't handle everything by myself."

"That's the plan. I'm actively recruiting. Maybe in a few days, someone will show up to apply. Don't rush it. Now that Problem Solver's open again, people will come. When they're fighting to get in, I'll only keep three. You're a must-keep, don't worry. I'll even bump your pay." Wu Shiyin said with certainty.

Yang Xiao wasn't entirely convinced. People fighting to get in? That didn't sound realistic. But he was the boss—whatever made him happy. As long as the pay came on time and the benefits were good, Yang Xiao was fine with it.

Lunch arrived right on time. The delivery boss dropped off the food and left.

Yang Xiao looked at the meal and found it a bit sparse. Three dishes—two veggie, one meat. The meat dish was sushi with a bit of salmon, and only two pieces had salmon filling; the rest were vegetarian.

Whatever. Edible was enough. Yang Xiao wasn't too picky about food yet, since he didn't have much money. Once he started earning enough to cover daily expenses and save a little, he could try some of the island nation's delicacies.

After all, this was a country with plenty of great food, rivaling Huaxia. Of course, Huaxia was still the best—few countries could beat it in culinary arts.

It sounded a bit like self-recommendation, but Yang Xiao was telling the truth.

After lunch, another order came in. This time, it was an elderly woman. She'd been anxious for a while but couldn't find anyone to help. Problem Solver had been closed every day, and the entrance smelled bad, so she had no one to turn to.

Today, she happened to pass by and saw the shop open. She walked right in and explained her situation.

It turned out her pet dog had gone missing a week ago. After searching for a whole week with no news, she came here. Problem Solver could take on this kind of job too. The odds of finding it weren't high, but at least it gave her some hope.

"Ma'am, we can take this order, but right now Problem Solver only has one person on staff. Finding your dog might take a while. If we get any leads, we'll notify you right away." Wu Shiyin handed the price list to the old woman.

She waved her hand and said, "I know the prices. As long as you can find my Huahua, I'm fine with paying a bit more."

The dog's name was Huahua. She pulled out a few photos to show Wu Shiyin and Yang Xiao. After settling on an initial price, the job was accepted.

After the old woman left, Wu Shiyin looked at Yang Xiao and said, "This isn't an urgent order. We can take our time, but we still need to put in some effort. Memorize what the dog looks like. If you see it, bring it back. If anything comes up, call me. I don't have many tricks, but I know a few people in this city."

"Got it." Yang Xiao committed the dog's appearance to memory. He could take a stroll around the area when he had free time—maybe he'd stumble onto a clue.

The afternoon flew by. Only two orders came in that day. Wu Shiyin said it was normal for a new opening—things would pick up in a few days.

But Yang Xiao didn't want to be too busy. If it ate up too much of his time, he wouldn't have room to train his ability and body. That was his real goal—the part-time job was just to cover food and rent.

Dinner was ramen, and it tasted pretty good. That made Yang Xiao curious—how did the delivery boss handle all three meals? Breakfast was Chinese-style, lunch was sushi (a unique island-nation specialty), and dinner ramen was also an island-nation staple.

At 8 p.m., work ended on the dot. Wu Shiyin didn't try to keep Yang Xiao a second longer. As soon as the time came, he sent him off to rest. That was something Yang Xiao really appreciated.

No overtime—who wouldn't be happy about that?

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