Return to Z City

Up in the sky, the talent for psychic powers he had gained from Tatsumaki began to take effect. The psychic power of his telekinetic system and the soul substance that formed his AT Force Field gradually became one, truly becoming an extension of Josen's will, as easy to control as his own limbs.

With his affinity maxed out, his psychic power seemed limitless. He finally understood how Tatsumaki felt.

With a thought, a suit of red-and-gold armor spread over him like flowing nanomaterial. Brilliant exhaust flames burst from thrusters in his palms, soles, and elsewhere, forming a dazzling trail across the sky above A City.

Under the influence of his psychic power, the originally invisible AT Force Field took on visible colors. Though the Mark Armor formed from the field was only an imitation, it had every function it needed. He could even modify it on the fly and put the changes to immediate use.

Tony Stark would have cried copyright infringement.

If he needed to face an enormous enemy, turning the Mark Armor into a Gundam, Unit-01, or a giant of light would be no problem either.

New ability +1, ×.

Style points +1, √.

Three days later, Z City.

Amid the bustling crowds, Josen walked out of the high-speed railway station.

The city was peaceful in the evening light. He stopped to admire it for a moment, then headed for the subway home.

On the subway, Josen held his luggage and rested with his eyes closed, the events of the past few days still vivid in his mind.

The special unit the Metropolitan Police Department had painstakingly planned to create had nearly been wiped out by a single Demon-level Monster.

After that battle, quite a few of the officers attending the training camp developed psychological problems. They would need prolonged counseling before they could return to duty.

Having witnessed a monster's destructive power firsthand, the ambitious Metropolitan Police Department Leadership realized that ordinary people simply could not stand against such strength, leaving them thoroughly discouraged.

A casual blow from a Demon-level Monster had nearly brought the entire Metropolitan Police Department to a standstill. Disasters of that level were far from rare, and they paled in comparison to Dragon-level Monsters, which could easily destroy several cities at a time.

As a result, the entire training program was scrapped on the spot, coming to an inglorious end.

The officers attending the camp packed their bags and went home.

Josen was not surprised. He had already foreseen this outcome from the grim expression the Director had failed to hide during their meeting.

"Are you really not staying, Josen? With your achievements this time and your powerful psychic powers, I guarantee you can join the leadership within six months and command the entire police force!"

"Thank you for the offer, but I think frontline work suits me better."

"I see... But if you return to Z City, you'll still have to start at the bottom as a Patrol Officer. Have you really thought this through?"

"I have. When the need arises, I think Z City will need an officer like me."

"In that case, I won't try to persuade you any further. However, each city will soon establish a Special Affairs Response Section. Please don't turn down the position of section chief for Z City's Special Affairs Section!"

"Understood."

After his lengthy conversation with the Director, Josen returned with his official rank unchanged, but with the additional position of Special Affairs Section chief, reporting directly to Z City's police commissioner.

In emergencies such as monster disasters, he could even take direct command of all police personnel in Z City, with authority equal to the commissioner's.

Josen had little use for that authority, but it did have its perks.

As section chief, he could assign his own work.

Josen had made up his mind. Once he got back, he would transfer Kyoko over to serve as his secretary.

That way, he would not even have to write his own reports.

Perfect!

Between the "100% Psychic" dropped by Tatsumaki and the unexpected "promotion" promised by the big boss, Josen had gained quite a lot from this trip to A City.

On top of that, the Hero Association had sent him his first month's salary and allowances for several hero activities. When he checked the amount, he found it was more than he made in an entire year as a police officer.

No wonder so many people were desperate to become Heroes.

During his two weeks or so in A City, his daily Fate Draw had continued to yield basic attribute cards. But while wandering around A City the night before his return, his Stand's third ability, Element Pickup, had picked up a rather interesting card.

[Fantasy Card: Black Box Shard]

[Card type: Special Card]

[Rarity: N]

[Description: A fragment of an object created by God. It seems somewhat unstable.]

[Effect 1: Spacetime distortion]

[Travel at random to an unknown otherworld and remain there briefly.]

[Effect 2: Round-trip ticket]

[This card is consumable. Uses remaining: 2/2. The second use will return you to the main world.]

Josen remembered that God in this world had been creating some kind of pitch-black cubes to contact and recruit believers. Once successful, he could even bestow cheats remotely, easily turning a feeble homeless man into the Dragon-level psychic monster "Homeless Emperor" in an instant.

He seemed to have accidentally picked up something extraordinary. Even Josen found it a little thrilling.

However, what this card had imprinted was not a complete Black Box, and its function was to travel between worlds rather than contact God.

Another world?

The adventurous streak in him as a transmigrator began to stir.

Perhaps because of its rarity, the effect description specified only a brief stay.

In that case, there shouldn't be any harm in testing the waters. At worst, I can use up the card early and come back.

"Stop! Don't run!"

"Do you think I'm stupid? Why wouldn't I run?!"

As Josen walked along, lost in thought, two figures chasing each other raced across the intersection ahead, causing a commotion among the pedestrians.

Huh?

What just went past?

At the last moment, his Spider-Sense caught a red-and-yellow figure. With the white cape fluttering behind him, he looked like a running plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

It's Saitama!

Realization dawned on Josen.

Seeing him in that familiar costume actually felt a little strange. It had to be because he was not bald yet.

Locking onto the two with his psychic power, Josen followed them.

After turning down several streets, he saw that Saitama had cornered a Red Monster in an alley and was wrestling with him.

Judging by the monster's appearance, he was actually an oversized carrot as tall as a person.

"Hey, Saitama. Out doing hero work?"

"Huh? Oh, Josen! Long time no see!" Saitama struggled to pin the fiercely resisting Carrot Monster to the ground, turning back to greet Josen. "Give me a minute. I'm a little busy! Let me deal with this guy first!"

Five minutes later.

"My costume's dirty again. It's such a pain to wash!"

Covered in carrot juice, Saitama walked out of the alley with a look of disgust. He had snapped the giant carrot into several pieces and tossed them into a trash bin.

Since the place where they had fought was too filthy, Saitama abandoned the idea of taking a few chunks of carrot home to cook.

Of course, Josen watching from nearby also had something to do with it.

"Josen, where have you been lately? I went to your place to look for you, but nobody was home."

"I was in A City on a work trip. Just got back. Did you need something?"