"There have been a large number of mosquitoes this year..."
"The cause is unknown..."
"But this year's mosquitoes are unusual. They're a completely new species. According to reports, large swarms have appeared in Z City, and many of the livestock they've attacked have been sucked dry, leaving behind mummified corpses."
"Experts urge the public to stay calm and alert if they encounter mosquitoes. If necessary, please flee as quickly as possible..."
"Keep your doors and windows closed, and try not to go outside..."
An urgent news report about Z City was playing on the television, but no one was watching. It was simply left to play.
"Ah!"
"That's..."
Ignoring the television blaring inside, the bald Saitama had just come out of his apartment—the one where he didn't need to pay rent or utilities—with a green, elephant-shaped watering can full of water. Before he could water the plant he'd been growing for some time, he was startled to see:
The wooden, detached house next door, separated from his apartment building by just one wall and complete with a garden, had somehow been tidied up until everything looked neat and beautiful. It was a completely different sight from before, when it had been so run-down that the weeds grew nearly as tall as a person.
"How...?"
"Did someone move in last night? And fix the place up overnight?"
Saitama felt a little puzzled. He remembered that the house hadn't looked like this yesterday.
This was an uninhabited area. Since anyone who stepped outside their door here could run into a Demon-level monster, the family next to the apartment building he "rented" had moved away long ago. The only people who ever showed up around here were the occasional fearless vagrants. He certainly didn't believe the original family had moved back.
"Hmm?"
"So