Sitch pushed aside the bodyguards beside him and rushed forward in a few strides.
"Why didn't you tell us in advance that you were coming to headquarters? We could have arranged a top-tier welcoming ceremony!"
The other executives also realized what was happening and swarmed forward, their faces beaming with smiles.
"Exactly, exactly! Mr. King's arrival truly brings honor to our headquarters!"
"The system alarm just now gave us a fright; we thought it was some major crisis, but seeing it was you, we're relieved!"
Lin Mo looked at this overly enthusiastic bunch, pointed at the scrap metal on the ground, and emphasized again, "Um, regarding the compensation for these robots..."
"Compensation? What compensation?"
Sitch blinked, looking bewildered.
Then, as if suddenly "understanding" something, he turned his head sharply toward the wreckage on the ground, his expression turning extremely indignant.
"Mr. King, what kind of joke are you making! How could this possibly be your fault?"
Sitch suddenly erupted, kicking the still-smoking robot head with a loud "clang."
"This bunch of blind pieces of junk! How dare they block Mr. King's path? This is practically rebellion!"
Sitch shouted, observing King's expression unobtrusively, as if demonstrating his stance.
A supervisor nearby also got the hint and immediately chimed in, "That's right! I told Metal Knight a long time ago that the identification module of this defense system has major flaws!"
"How could it fail to even identify Mr. King? This is nothing but a pile of industrial trash!"
As they spoke, these usually pampered executives actually began kicking and stomping on the wreckage with righteous indignation, as if these robots were their mortal enemies.
"This broken robot! It almost hurt Mr. King! Damn it!"
"Putting this kind of junk at the entrance is a disgrace to our association! Good thing it's broken! It's wonderful that it's broken!"
"Mr. King is not only faultless, but he also helped us test the vulnerabilities of our security system! We should be thanking you!"
Saitama, standing behind, watched in astonishment, his grip on Rover loosening slightly.
"Hey, hey, are you serious?" Saitama muttered, "That was laser fire everywhere just a moment ago..."
At this moment, Sitch seemed to notice Saitama standing behind King.
"Ah, is this Mr. One-Punch Man?"
Sitch wiped the sweat from his forehead, still wearing a smile, "s-class rank 14, Mr. Saitama, you are here too. Please, come in, come in!"
Although Saitama's ranking had risen to S-Class, in the eyes of these executives, even among S-Class Heroes, there were hierarchies.
And King was clearly the "special class" that transcended all levels.
Why were these executives so subservient?
There was no other reason than the Z-City battle that had just ended.
After that battle, the legend of King had fermented to a near-mythical level globally.
Especially those two moves recorded in the top-secret files—
[Purgatory Matchless Exploding Heat Wave Cannon]
[Imperial Dimensional Slash]
Although most surveillance footage was blurry, a satellite happened to capture that pillar of light shooting into the sky.
According to statistics, at the moment that pillar of light lit up, psychiatric and psychological departments all over the world received hundreds of millions of distress calls simultaneously.
Researchers in the Arctic, tourists sunbathing at the equator, and even soldiers in deep-sea submarines...
"That feeling was as if the world would end in the next second."
Sitch thought silently while looking at King.
What did this mean?
It meant that it wasn't an attack aimed at a Monster at all; it was a blow capable of destroying the planet!
Never mind these tens of billions of robots; even if he were to blow up the entire A-City headquarters building, the association would likely just say the "building foundation was unstable."
Furthermore, compared to King's immeasurable strategic value, a few mere robots meant nothing!
"Are you sure I don't need to pay for it?" Lin Mo looked at Sitch, raising an eyebrow slightly, "If one does something wrong, one must take responsibility; that is a principle."
"I do not wish to receive special treatment because of my status."
These words from King, when heard by the executives, were like the sagely quotes of a saint.
Look! Look!
This is the demeanor of the strong! This is the style of a king!
Possessing the power to destroy the world, yet still strictly adhering to the simplest moral principles!
"It's... it's too moving!" A female executive was so touched that she even took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes.
Sitch was so excited that he trembled all over; he hurriedly waved his hands, his tone firm:
"Absolutely not! Mr. King, please, you must not bring up compensation again; this is practically slapping us in the face!
"If it was your fault, then it must be the world that is wrong, or the program's algorithm that is wrong; in any case, you are absolutely not wrong!"
Lin Mo was silent for two seconds, then sighed softly.
"Since you insist..."
He turned his head and glanced at Saitama, who had already started whistling behind him, a flash of helplessness appearing in his eyes.
He had originally wanted to take this opportunity to make Saitama learn his lesson and, incidentally, make him lose some money.
Who told him to break his game console.
"Alright, then I'll trouble you to handle the aftermath."
"No trouble! Not a bit of trouble!" Sitch hurriedly stepped aside, making a "please" gesture.
"Your S-Class exclusive suite is always cleaned by dedicated staff; it's on the top floor, the one with the best view. We will also immediately arrange for Mr. Saitama's room to be right next to yours."
Huh? I have an exclusive suite?
Lin Mo raised an eyebrow slightly, feeling a bit surprised.
He rarely came to the association headquarters, so he really didn't know there was an exclusive suite for him here.
But thinking about it, as the association's ace, having an exclusive suite was reasonable.
Lin Mo nodded.
"Let's go."
Saitama immediately followed along, his expression beaming: "Hehe, saved ten billion..."
And Black Sperm, who was being carried in Saitama's hand, was dangling like a dried salted fish at this moment.
It looked at the bowing and scraping executives on both sides, a storm surging in its heart.
"Terrifying... too terrifying..."
"Is this the status of King in this world?"
"He clearly smashed all their gatekeepers, yet this group of human executives not only doesn't dare to be angry, but actually thanks him instead?"
However, just as Lin Mo was passing by Sitch, he suddenly stopped.
Sitch's heart shrank: "K... Mr. King? Do you have any other instructions?"
Lin Mo's hand reached into his pocket.
Everyone's gaze focused on his hand.
He pulled out a black card and handed it to Sitch.
"Although you said no compensation is needed, this did cause damage after all. This card contains this quarter's bonus and salary; the password is six zeros."
Lin Mo's voice was calm and serious.
"Take it; repairing the gate and the ground also costs money. If it's not enough, we can deduct the rest from my... or Saitama's salary later."
"This is my bottom line as a hero."
After speaking, Lin Mo ignored the dumbfounded crowd, stuffed the card directly into Sitch's pocket, and then, with his hands in his pockets, strode into the headquarters building.
Sunlight shone on his back, as if gilding him with a golden edge.
Saitama scratched his head, watching Lin Mo's back, and muttered, "Eh? This guy King, sometimes he's really stubbornly cute."
Having said that, he also quickly followed.
Leaving a group of executives standing in place.
Sitch touched the card in his pocket with trembling hands, his eyes moist.
"Did you see that?"
Sitch turned his head to the crowd behind him, his voice choked with emotion.
"This is the strongest man! This is King!"
"Possessing god-like power, yet having a character nobler than any mortal!"
"Quick! Contact the PR department immediately! I want the whole world to know about Mr. King's good deed today!"
"I've already thought of the headline—'Return of the King: To avoid harming the innocent, King had to painfully destroy the out-of-control defense system and insisted on paying for the repairs himself!'"
"Yes!!!"
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