The girl's companion, sitting opposite her, gasped slightly as she looked at the content displayed on her phone.
"Huh? Hero? S-rank? No hero title?"
The long-haired girl asked her best friend.
"It seems that none of the new heroes have hero names."
"Could it be that the black-haired guy also has the ability to eat, just like the Pig God? It would feel really incongruous to give him a title like 'Black-haired Big Eater'!"
"Since he's S-Class Hero, should we go over and ask for his autograph or something?"
Hearing the Meikyō over there, Mingjing couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.
A black-haired glutton?
What is this called?
"Hey, Saitama, what are you laughing at?"
Meikyō looked at Saitama face was flushed and who was trying not to laugh, and said somewhat exasperatedly.
"Ah, it's nothing, it's nothing. I'm just curious about what kind of hero titles we'll get later."
Saitama said, pretending to be nonchalant.
Just then, the sound of brakes came from outside the door.
A tall, handsome man with medium-length blue hair walked in.
"That is..."
The girl's best friend dropped her chopsticks.
"That's... Sweet Mask!"
The proprietress stopped wiping the cloth.
"Sweet, Mr. Sweet Mask! Can I get your autograph?"
The girl's eyes turned into heart-shaped eyes at that moment.
"I never refuse fans' requests, but I can probably only sign one tonight because I have other things to do with others."
Sweet Mask smiled and wrote his signature on the girl's clothes, then looked towards Meikyō and Genos.
"Hey! Meikyō, Genos, maybe this guy is here to teach a newbie a lesson!"
Saitama whispered to Meikyō and Genos.
In Japan culture, workplace BL (Boys' Love) is a common social phenomenon, characterized by seniority-based ranking and strict hierarchical structures.
"I see. Then I'll handle it. I'd like to digest after the meal. Teacher Meikyō, please wait a moment with Mr. Saitama."
Genos stood up and watched Sweet Mask slowly approach.
"No need, he has no hostility."
Meikyō picked up a tissue, wiped her mouth, and stood up.
I happen to have some questions I'd like to ask Sweet Mask.
"I presume you two are Genos and Uchiha Meikyō? I am Sweet Mask, the number one A-rank. I have something I'd like to say to you both."
Sweet Mask, with his hands in his pockets and a faint smile on his face, said...
"There are too many people here, let's go outside to talk."
Meikyō stretched and said.
The three of them walked out of the noodle shop one after the other.
"I have reviewed your information and I am quite impressed with your abilities, especially Mr. Meikyō."
Sweet Mask said with a smile.
He has no tolerance for monsters and evil, and believes that S-Class Hero, as the highest level of combat power in the Hero Association, need to be strictly vetted, which is why he has always remained at the top of A-rank.
Within the Hero Association, Meikyō has a record of defeating Dragon-level monsters twice, which naturally satisfies Sweet Mask's requirements.
Sweet Mask strongly agrees with Genos's actions over the past few years, including Genos ruthless pursuit of justice and indiscriminate extermination of evil.
"Teacher Meikyō's strength is undoubtedly formidable."
Genos maintained his expressionless face as he spoke.
"Teacher? Like the relationship between Atomic Samurai and his three students..."
Sweet Mask glanced at Meikyō with considerable surprise, silently raising his opinion of Meikyō's abilities by a notch.
"In short, I'm here to pay my respects to you both in advance, to get to know each other, and also to inform you that S-Class Hero are not only the Hero Association's highest combat power, but also representatives of justice in the eyes of the world. Therefore, I hope that you will pay more attention to your image and words in your daily lives, and not let justice be tainted."
"You have no right to tell us how to enforce justice."
Perhaps Genos still thinks Sweet Mask is there to educate newcomers, hence his less-than-polite manner.
"Hey, don't be so fierce! Genos, how about this, you go back first, and I'll talk to this Sweet Mask?"
Meikyō patted Genos on the shoulder and laughed.
"Yes, Teacher Meikyō."
Genos said seriously, then glanced at Sweet Mask, turned and walked back to the noodle shop.
"Ah, young man, you're really full of vigor. But Mr. Meikyō, you said you wanted to talk to me?"
"Sweet Mask asked curiously."
"Ahem, you have more experience in this area, so I was planning to ask you for advice. I mean... how can we better expand our influence through our actions to achieve a better effect in promoting justice?"
Meikyō said in a serious tone.
One month later.
The most talked-about topic in the past month has been the two newly promoted S-Class Hero.
Uchiha Meikyō, in particular, was very active and earned the nickname "Scarlet Ninja" because of his distinctive Mangekyō Sharingan.
It's not great, but it's not bad compared to other hero names either. Like Genos's "Cybernetic Freaks," it's a rather ordinary hero name.
At least, compared to Saitama's "Caped Baldy," other hero names like "Red Nose Clown," "Perverted Doctor," and "Wig Warrior" are far superior.
This might be considered a hidden perk of S-Class Hero: your hero name won't sound too bad.
For nearly a month, Meikyō has mainly done three things: actively carrying out hero missions, killing monsters, and incidentally replenishing Bruce's energy, who has just finished digesting the energy of the Carnage Kabuto.
As a hero of the Hero Association, being active in the public eye and upholding justice is the best way to increase popularity.
While minimizing potential personnel and property losses, Meikyō is also trying to make a grand spectacle of itself.
Another thing is that Meikyō uses some of its spare time to make money through entertainment media and other channels.
Other S-Class Hero are often full of their own unique personalities; some are difficult to get along with, while others, like the Puri-Puri Prisoner, are people who dare not be around them.
However, Uchiha Meikyō was different; he would often give interviews to local reporters after defeating monsters.
His handsome face, powerful strength, easy-going personality, gorgeous Ninjutsu, and various other cool abilities caused his fame to skyrocket.
Many people believe he has the potential to become the next Sweet Mask.
Various agents promoted Mingjing, and she received numerous offers for artist contracts, advertising endorsements, and variety shows. There were also invitations for Meikyō to enter the entertainment industry to make movies and TV series.
The vast majority of these were rejected by Meikyō.
He's here to make quick money, not to become a tycoon. He doesn't need an agent, doesn't want to be tied to any entertainment company, and doesn't want to spend a lot of time filming TV series and movies.
She only accepted some well-paid advertising endorsements and variety show appearances.
These things can also help Meikyō quickly increase its fame and bring in a considerable amount of wealth.
Meikyō is not short of money. Although he doesn't mind having more, he only needs enough money for his needs. Moreover, earning this money is just a pretext for his extra wealth.
Finally, during this month, with the help of Genus, Meikyō made preliminary modifications to the genes in some of her body's cells to allow her body to adapt.
If adverse reactions occur, this part can be removed and replaced with new cells cultivated by Genus based on the original cells, restoring it to its original state.
Besides these, something else happened.
Genos contacted Dr. Kronos and consulted him about the supercomputer that Meikyō needed to borrow.
"Teacher Meikyō! This is my benefactor, Dr. Kusuno!"
In a spacious laboratory, Genos respectfully pointed to an old man wearing a straw hat.
For Genos, Dr. Kuseno was the one who gave him a second life, almost like a second father.
"You must be Genos's teacher, the S-Class Hero Scarlet Ninja. I've heard so much about you. I'm Dr. Kusuno."
Dr. Kusuno said with a gentle smile.
"Ah, thank you for granting my unreasonable request."
Meikyō and Dr. Kusuno shook hands.
Through Genos's connections, Meikyō successfully made contact with Dr. Kusuno.
This person, who enjoys a high reputation in the scientific community, is a world-class scientist and a well-known mechanical engineer, and is fully capable of renting a supercomputer at a very low cost.
"By the way, this person looks somewhat familiar. Would you be so kind as to introduce him? Perhaps he is a colleague of one of my scientists."
"Hello, Dr. Kusuno, it is indeed a long time since we last met. The last time we met was at an academic conference fifty years ago. You and I were both rising stars in the scientific research community at that time, but our research fields did not overlap much back then, so we did not have much contact."
Dr. Kusuno's face immediately showed a look of confusion.
Fifty years ago, he had indeed risen to fame, but now he was old and frail, while the man in front of him looked exceptionally young, at most thirty years old.
"I forgot to introduce myself. I am Dr. Genos, and I am currently the attending physician in charge of treating Uchiha Meikyō's genetic disease."
Genus delivered the prepared speech to Dr. Kuseno.
Dr. Kuseno's expression changed immediately. He looked at Genus, then at Meikyō, his expression becoming even more puzzled.
"Genus? I remember fifty years ago, you were expelled from the scientific community for your overly radical thinking and illegal human experiments. Your current appearance... Did you modify yourself to extend your lifespan? Or did you simply replace your appearance with that of your younger self?"