Hero or the Next Tyrant

The screech of twisting metal.

The packed bus slammed into his red-gloved hand as if it had hit an immovable mountain.

The front of the bus rapidly crumpled before the naked eye, its engine instantly wrecked, while Wu Yanzu... didn't even have a hair out of place.

He even had the leisure to flash the terrified passengers inside a standard eight-tooth smile.

"Is everyone all right?"

He casually "ripped open" the bus door, lifted the driver out like a chick, and set him on the ground.

"Ding! Popularity gained +54!"

"Ding! Popularity gained +31!"

"Ding! Popularity gained +36!"

Better than nothing... Wu Yanzu inwardly curled his lip.

Three more days passed. Two in the afternoon.

"Robbery! Someone's robbing a bank!!"

A black Dodge Charger roared out from the bank entrance. The robbers inside sprayed automatic gunfire wildly, suppressing the arriving NYPD officers.

"Get out of the way! Get the fuck out of the way!"

"We've got heavy firepower! If you don't want to die, then..."

Boom—!!!

A deafening blast rang out.

The three robbers did not even see what had happened.

"Boss... what's that in the sky?"

The lead robber looked up in confusion, then immediately cursed. "Shit! It's that caped freak! Open fire! Take him down!"

"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!!!"

Three AR-15s spat fire at once, dense 5.56-millimeter rounds pouring down like rain toward the figure descending from above.

"Ding... ding... clang... clang..."

The instant every bullet touched Azu's body, it ricocheted away and dropped feebly to the ground.

"D... devil..."

"Keep going." Wu Yanzu smiled and crooked a finger at them.

"Fuck!! Die!!" The lead robber broke down, pulling the trigger in an attempt to empty every last round.

"Zzz—"

A faint red glow lit up in Wu Yanzu's eyes.

The next second, two precise beams of heat vision flashed across the weapons in the three robbers' hands.

"Sizzle—!"

The intense heat instantly turned the guns' metal components red-hot.

"Aaaahhhhh—!!!"

The lead robber let out a scream that barely sounded human.

That AR-15 melted on the spot under the heat vision! Molten steel and plastic directly... stuck to his hand!

"My hand! My hand!!!" Robber A stared at the hand that had become a mixture of charred flesh and metal, rolling madly on the ground.

The other two robbers were scared out of their wits. They threw their half-melted guns to the ground, raised both hands, and dropped to their knees.

"Don't kill us! We surrender! We surrender!!"

Wu Yanzu withdrew his gaze in satisfaction.

"That's more like it."

He drifted down from the air, his Stars and Stripes cape spreading elegantly behind him.

Only then did the police arrive, staring at the scene in shock.

"Homelander!!"

"Oh my God! He's so cool!"

"I love you, Homelander!!"

Fans and reporters from all around swarmed forward.

"Please keep order, everyone." Wu Yanzu immediately switched back into "perfect hero" mode, wearing a warm, gentle smile.

He skillfully struck a hands-on-hips pose and took photos with several excited female fans.

"Mr. Homelander! What do you think of this robbery?" A reporter squeezed forward.

"I'm glad no New York City residents were harmed." Wu Yanzu faced the camera, his tone righteous. "But I must also remind any potential criminals... with me here, your good days are over."

"Ding! Popularity gained +1250!"

"Ding! Popularity gained +825!"

"Ding! Popularity gained +762!"

"Ding! Strength slightly increased!"

Feeling another warm current flow into his body, Wu Yanzu narrowed his eyes in comfort.

Four in the afternoon, Queens.

"Meow... meow..."

Up in a tall oak tree, a tabby cat clung to a branch, trembling.

Below the tree, a little girl with pigtails was so anxious she was about to cry.

"Mimi! Come down! Mimi!"

"Sweetheart, don't cry. We'll find a firefighter..."

"That won't be necessary, ma'am."

A gentle voice came from overhead.

The mother and daughter looked up and saw a godlike figure bathed in sunlight.

Azu slowly descended and extended his hand. Mimi, who had been struggling desperately moments ago, obediently crawled onto it and licked his glove.

Holding the cat, he landed in front of the little girl and crouched down with his tall body.

"Is this yours, sweetie?"

"...Yes." The little girl was spellbound.

"Here you go." He handed her the cat. "Keep a close eye on it from now on. It's very scared."

"...Thank you, Mr. Homelander!" The little girl looked at him with worship in her eyes.

"Wow, he even saves kittens!"

"Now that's a hero!"

The neighbors around them immediately started snapping pictures with their phones again.

Ding! Popularity gained +920!

Ding! Popularity gained +1152!

Ding! Popularity gained +1163!

Wu Yanzu thought, Fucking cat! I even have to farm popularity from this trash. But... it seems pretty effective. The popularity is actually on par with taking down robbers? What a magical country.

However, just as Wu Yanzu thought he was about to become New York's most popular figure, negative numbers began appearing one after another in the system notifications.

"Ding! Popularity gained -15."

"Ding! Popularity gained -40."

"Ding! Popularity gained -22."

At the rooftop pool of his apartment building, Wu Yanzu was enjoying the sun when he abruptly opened his eyes.

"Hmm?"

"My popularity is dropping... not by much, but steadily."

He frowned. This was not a good sign.

He opened his phone and casually scrolled through social media. Before long, he found the source...

Wu Yanzu looked at the headlines on his tablet and laughed in anger.

Daily Bugle: "Is Homelander a Hero or the Next Tyrant?"

New York Post: "A Demon Draped in Stars and Stripes: Does Homelander's Power Need Oversight?"

Fox News (Guest Commentator): "We Don't Need a God Telling Us How to Cross the Street! When He Put Out a Fire Yesterday, He Destroyed Half a Floor! Who's Paying for That?"

He picked up the remote and turned on the television.

On the screen, a man with a square little mustache and an agitated expression was roaring on TV:

"...He's a threat! A threat wearing the flag!!"

The man's left hand pointed at a high-definition photograph.

It showed the robber whose hand had been "welded" by heat vision being carried away by medical personnel. That hand was already completely ruined.

"Look at this! A hero?!" Jameson's spittle seemed ready to spray through the screen. "Would a real hero do this?! This is vigilante justice! This is torture! This is abuse!"

"And this!"