Dr. Genus Was Far Too Naive

The instant the attack struck, Baicang's entire body turned into particles of light. Carnage Kabuto's fist passed straight through him and slammed into the corridor wall.

Genos, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky.

Before he could react, Carnage Kabuto punched his head into the wall. His head was bent back and embedded high in the wall, leaving his limp body dangling beneath it. He had been beaten into a piece of modern abstract art.

"Baicang? Genos?" Saitama turned back and looked at them with some concern.

"I'm fine. Genos should be all right too."

Baicang calmly picked up his fallen underwear and put it on. Behind him, Carnage Kabuto had a face like a big Black guy's, which put him under a fair bit of pressure.

He hurriedly pulled on his trousers and shirt as well, then gave Saitama an OK sign.

He had only meant to transform his upper body, but he hadn't controlled the energy properly. It seemed he should avoid using this in crowded places from now on, lest the police haul him away in cuffs.

"You look pretty good too. Once I've dealt with this baldy, you're next."

Carnage Kabuto bared his pearly whites with a bizarre laugh, giving Baicang a dopey grin before turning toward his target this time, Saitama.

"My name is Carnage Kabuto. I hear you're strong? There's a laboratory in the back specifically for fighting. Want to do this there?"

"After what you did to Genos, you're on."

Saitama dropped his usual laid-back attitude and looked at Carnage Kabuto with a serious expression.

Seeing Saitama's expression, the smile on Carnage Kabuto's broad, dark face grew even more twisted and deranged.

I rarely get to come out. Finally, I can enjoy the pleasure of slaughtering someone! I hope this baldy is as strong as Genus said. Then I can really have some fun.

"Hahaha! Follow me, then!"

Carnage Kabuto vanished from where he stood in an instant, and Saitama disappeared right after him.

Crrrk... smack.

Genos struggled to pull his head out of the wall. Several cracks ran across his face, and he was still dazed. Losing his footing, he toppled straight toward the floor.

Fortunately, Baicang reacted quickly and caught Genos by the shoulder, supporting his slightly battered mechanical body. "How are you doing? Are you all right?"

"Thank you, Senior Brother Baicang. I'm fine." With Baicang's help, Genos leaned against the wall and checked the damage to his body.

"Senior Brother, where's Master Saitama?"

After checking his body, Genos looked around, but neither the creature that had attacked him nor Saitama was anywhere in sight.

"He went up ahead to fight that big bug." Baicang pointed down the corridor.

"What! That creature is dangerous. Master might need our help!"

Genos began to worry about Saitama's safety.

With just one blow, Carnage Kabuto had inflicted fifty percent damage on his upper body, directly causing his systems to stutter. He was a terrifying enemy.

Master Saitama might be in danger on his own!

"...Then you go on ahead. There's still someone dangerous here."

Genos looked at Genus, who was kneeling off to one side, nodded to Baicang, and ran ahead.

Genus was clutching his injured, bleeding right hand and staring at Baicang in disbelief. It wasn't the size Baicang had just exposed that shocked him, but the form he had taken to evade Carnage Kabuto's attack.

"Are you an esper?"

Before Baicang could speak, Genus hurriedly added, "No, you're not."

"I've seen espers. None of them were like you. How on earth did you do that?"

The shock of seeing Baicang turn into light was no less than what Saitama had given him. Even now, he couldn't figure out what Baicang had done or how he had converted flesh and blood directly into energy. That was not something a human could do.

Baicang grinned. Although he had no idea what Genus was thinking, this reaction would make it easier to fool him...

No, to use his personal charisma to draw him in as a loyal lackey.

Baicang slowly walked up to Genus and said solemnly, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Baicang. I'm a C-Class hero and an esper."

"As for you, Dr. Genus, you were once the world's foremost authority on biological genetics, hailed as a scientific genius who appeared only once in a century. Unfortunately, your ideas were far too radical..."

Baicang deliberately paused there and gave Genus a cold sneer.

"...And far too naive. No one accepted them, and everyone else shunned you... As I see it, your dream of evolving all of humanity? You're thinking too small, Doctor."

Genus didn't lose his composure despite being insulted to his face. He had experienced this sort of thing far too often. He forced himself to his feet and stared fixedly at Baicang.

"Dr. Genus, I admire your talent, but your methods and actions are simply too childish."

Baicang shook his head at Genus. Under Genus's astonished gaze, his right hand turned into particles of light and sliced a large gash into the corridor wall like a hot knife through butter.

He swung his right hand around and pointed it straight at Genus. The intense light forced Genus to shut his eyes.

"Your view of humanity is far too one-sided, and your understanding of the world is far too limited."

Baicang's right hand returned to normal, and Genus opened his eyes again, though the glare had left them streaming with involuntary tears.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Rather than answering immediately, Baicang walked toward the place where Saitama and Carnage Kabuto were fighting.

Dragging his badly injured body along, Genus limped after him. Even if he didn't care about Baicang's answer, he still had to see how this battle ended.

He had originally been certain that all his research had been correct, that his path toward human evolution was the right one. But Saitama's appearance and Baicang's words had shaken that conviction.

He wanted to know whether Saitama, an extraordinarily powerful human of the present day, could defeat the ultimate product of artificial evolution: Carnage Kabuto, the House of Evolution's strongest demon, whom he had spent years painstakingly creating.

This was a confrontation between the new generation and the old, as well as a battle that would put his dream to the test.

"Have you ever truly made an effort to understand the world and humanity? You simply treated your own immature ideas as your sole objective and imposed them on all of humanity. How is that anything but foolish?"

Baicang didn't look back. He continued walking at an unhurried pace, speaking to Genus behind him as though talking to himself.

"Did you know that God really exists in this world?"

Baicang dropped that bombshell. Genus's pupils contracted, but he said nothing, believing Baicang was lying.

"The emergence of monsters in this world is connected to him. Aren't you curious?"

"I..." Genus couldn't help speaking up, but Baicang cut him off.

"But! Even God is as helpless as a weak little child before Saitama, before a member of the present-day humanity you believe needs to evolve..."

"Before Saitama, he's nothing more than something to be dealt with in a single punch. And Saitama is just an ordinary human."

By then, they had reached the laboratory. Baicang turned to look at Genus behind him, his eyes shining with a terrifying golden light.

"Witness the power of humanity."