Herman: Oh My God, Is That Really So Amazing?

Looking at Peter, who had himself completely covered up, Herman's mind went blank.

Happiness... or rather, shock, had come far too suddenly.

Work for the Arbiter?

Honestly, Peter's impassioned speech earlier had truly moved him.

But after that rush of excitement, the waves of stabbing pain from his hands forcibly dragged his attention back to reality.

The man before him was temperamental and ruthless. Would following him really lead to a good ending?

Besides... this man had already crippled his hands!

As he was now, he was no different from a useless cripple. What value could he possibly create for him?

Watching Herman stare at his hands with an uncertain expression, Peter easily guessed what he was thinking.

So, after a soft chuckle, he said,

"You still seem to doubt my abilities."

As he spoke, Peter placed his hand over Herman's twisted, deformed hands.

"Watch closely."

Herman instinctively looked over.

The next second, he witnessed a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life.

A gentle, warm white light radiated from Peter's palm.

The light seemed alive, sacred and pure.

Peter gently laid his glowing hand over Herman's left wrist, which had been twisted out of shape, with bones even piercing through the flesh.

Immediately afterward, an indescribable warmth rapidly spread from his hands throughout his entire body.

The agonizing pain that had seeped into his bones was fading at an unbelievable speed!

Under Herman's astonished gaze,

his fingers and wrists, which had been forcibly snapped and twisted into grotesque spirals, were resetting themselves at an astonishing speed!

The broken bones rapidly healed beneath the white light, while the torn flesh swiftly regrew, restoring itself completely!

In just three to five seconds, his crippled hands had miraculously returned to normal.

Herman cautiously flexed his fingers. They were nimble and moved freely, as though the bone-deep pain from moments ago had been nothing more than a nightmare.

"Th-this... this..."

Herman's mouth hung wide enough to fit an egg inside. Meaningless sounds escaped his throat, and it felt as though his brain had completely crashed.

Only after a long while did Herman stammer,

"Are... are you Lord Angel?"

To Herman, who had never seen much of the world, such a miraculous healing method was something only a god could accomplish.

Combined with Peter's earlier claim that he was the "Arbiter," Herman naturally thought of beings like the angels of judgment from Christian legends!

"If I were going to cosplay that thing, I'd probably need to change into a white-and-gold suit."

Peter jokingly remarked, then patted Herman on the shoulder and said,

"Now, Herman, tell me your choice!"

"Do you want to keep being a rat in a filthy gutter, or work for me and become someone far above anything you ever dared dream of being?"

Thud!

Without the slightest hesitation, Herman Schultz dropped to one knee and awkwardly placed a hand over his heart in a gesture of loyalty.

"Boss, thank you for giving me a chance to turn over a new leaf. I'm willing to follow you! As long as you give the order, I'm willing to do anything for you except murder and arson."

"Don't worry. I won't have you commit murder or arson."

Peter extended both hands and helped him up from the ground. That small gesture warmed Herman's heart.

For the first time, this loser, who had always been met with scorn wherever he went, felt what respect was.

Just as Herman was deeply moved, Peter's next words left him utterly dumbfounded.

"Anyone I want dead, I usually kill on the spot. There's no need to make my subordinates take an extra trip."

Herman: ...

If Peter had previously seemed like a saint bathed in golden light, then now, in Herman's eyes, Peter had become a being who was half angel and half demon.

After a brief daze, Herman came back to his senses, swallowed, and asked,

"So, Boss, what are we doing now?"

Peter's ears twitched beneath his hood, faintly catching the sound of a bell coming from Midtown High School—the lunch break was almost over.

After giving it some thought, he took out his wallet, stuffed all the hundred-dollar bills inside into Herman's hands, and said,

"First, find somewhere to clean yourself up. Then...

I'll give you one week to make a new battery of the same size, but with only about twenty percent of the charge of the batteries you're carrying, and hand over all the relevant research materials to me. Can you do it?"

"No problem, Boss!" Herman's eyes reddened again when he received the money. Ever since his parents died, he felt that no one in this world had cared for him like this.

He hurriedly nodded, but after hesitating for a moment, he could not help asking,

"Still, why are we making batteries with less power instead?"

Obviously, how else are you supposed to make money if you don't squeeze out the toothpaste bit by bit?

Peter, deeply familiar with all the underhanded tricks phone manufacturers had used in his previous life, could not help complaining inwardly.

Naturally, he would not tell Herman such a thing, so he merely made up an excuse about how "an ordinary man is innocent, but possessing a treasure makes him guilty," and that he did not want the tech giants setting their sights on them too early.

Though it was only an excuse, it still left Herman utterly impressed.

Otherwise, why was Peter the boss while he could only work for someone else?

After exchanging contact information with Herman, Peter had planned to leave, but after glancing at Herman's suit and metal gloves, he quickly changed his mind.

"Wait! Take off that suit and all your equipment. Who knows whether those witnesses have already described your appearance to the police?

You don't want to get arrested at lightning speed the moment you walk out of this alley, do you?"

"Boss, you're brilliant!" Herman was moved once again. He immediately stripped off his equipment in a few quick motions.

After Herman left the alley, Peter nodded in satisfaction and picked up the equipment from the ground.

The instant his fingers touched it, a system notification sounded in his mind:

[Detected sacrificial dark-green item: Shocker's Tools of the Trade]

[Shocker's work suit and Concussion Gloves. Although they are merely the first set of criminal equipment created by Shocker, they hold extraordinary commemorative value to him]

[Sacrifice reward: 800 points. Sacrifice?]

"Since you're going straight and becoming an honest man from now on, why not let me, your boss, put this equipment to good use?"

After murmuring that, Peter chose to sacrifice it without hesitation.

Watching another 800 Sacrifice Points arrive, Peter could not help feeling delighted.

Not only had he recruited a talented person like Herman, but he had also gained a huge batch of Sacrifice Points. Being a superhero was truly wonderful!