With the hero incident over, Z-City returned to a peaceful evening.
Hands in his pockets, Jordan Evans headed toward the nearby food street for a late-night snack.
Suddenly, his long-dormant spider-sense emitted a locked-on signal.
Jordan didn't stop walking. As he turned his head, a bullet whizzed past his ear with a sharp whistle.
BANG!
A dull impact sounded behind him. He activated telekinesis, sensing a deep crater in the asphalt road within his field of vision. At the bottom of the nearly half-meter-deep hole lay shattered stone chips. Wisps of smoke from high-speed friction drifted into the air.
In other words, what had attacked him was just a pebble the size of a thumb.
Giving a small stone kinetic energy to break through asphalt required power beyond ordinary people.
Combined with the fleeting blue light he'd just sensed, Jordan had already made a preliminary judgment about the attacker's identity.
First: pass on Tatsumaki. That green-haired loli could be wicked, not knowing her own strength. She was capable of something as horrific as accidentally killing a colleague.
But if it were really her attacking, the intensity would be at least ten times greater.
If it wasn't Tatsumaki, and similar telekinetic force appeared, then the answer was quite obvious.
Tatsumaki's younger sister. An esper hero whose figure could make her older sister envious for a whole year. Hellish Blizzard, Fubuki.
After sorting out his thoughts, three question marks appeared above Jordan's head.
That's strange. When did I offend her?
We've never even met!
A series of sharp whistling sounds filled the air. In Jordan's perception, countless prism-shaped rocks the size of arms, shaped by psychic powers, hurtled down from the sky like cannonballs. All aimed directly at him.
"Is this never going to end?!"
Deep blue spiritual flames ignited. Jordan swung his right hand forward like a blade. A wisp of azure psychic power transformed into a force field that sliced through the sky.
The barrage of rock projectiles was intercepted by the force field blade he unleashed, instantly compressed and deformed. They exploded mid-air as psychic powers collided, turning to dust and dissipating like smoke.
"Come out, Blizzard." Jordan's gaze locked onto a specific spot in the dark sky. "How long will you keep playing these boring tricks? Attacking a fellow hero—if reported to the Association, this will look very bad on your record."
"As expected of the man I've chosen."
Fubuki's perfect figure, outlined in a dark green dress, slowly emerged from the darkness. She stared intently at Jordan. "I acknowledge your strength. Join me, and I'll make you vice-leader of the Fubuki Group. An absolute core member!"
Jordan was speechless for a long moment before finally sighing. "Being good-looking isn't a reason to be unreasonable, miss. I have no interest in being someone's subordinate. And..."
He shook his head. "Let me give you advice: you won't recruit subordinates this way. Goodbye."
Jordan turned and left.
"Hmph. Of course I know the normal recruitment process." Fubuki sneered, eyes sharp. "But you stood me up for an entire day first. You're the one who should apologize!"
Jordan paused, suddenly recalling the scene from the office that morning.
"Our section chief isn't here!"
"Huh? Anzu, someone's looking for me? What do you mean I'm not here?"
"Hmph. Just a nuisance call."
Jordan clicked his tongue. Sure enough, the boss paid for the subordinate's actions. Seemed Anzu had been asking for trouble lately, daring to keep quiet about important matters.
He'd have to find an opportunity to discipline... no, to have a serious talk with her later.
"Hmph. Admitting it now? At least you have some sense of responsibility." Fubuki crossed her arms, maintaining her usual haughty demeanor. "Then treat me to dinner as an apology."
Just as Jordan was about to retort, his far superior sensory system keenly detected Fubuki's slightly trembling legs beneath her aloof facade. At the same time, he faintly heard strange sounds.
Grumble... grumble...
The night sky was clear, stars sparse. Not a single pigeon flew by within ten miles.
The sound came from Fubuki's flat, almost sunken belly.
Jordan immediately understood.
Look how hungry this kid is.
She probably hasn't eaten all day?
He imagined a scenario where, after Fubuki starved herself, a certain hairy green-haired loli showed up at her door.
In order to protect Z-City from destruction, Jordan decided to treat her to a meal.
"Alright, come with me. I was just about to grab a late-night snack anyway."
Fubuki instinctively wanted to retort, but her stomach, already cramping, couldn't take it anymore. She had no choice but to obediently follow along.
Half an hour later.
"Mmm... it's so good..."
At a roadside izakaya in the food street, Jordan and Fubuki sat side by side before the counter.
Each had a small hot pot. Fubuki ate a special sukiyaki while Jordan ordered extra spicy Sichuan-style hot pot.
"Can't even handle spicy food, yet you want to recruit me into your so-called Fubuki Group?" Jordan smirked. "How weak."
"Are you kidding me?! I just... I just don't want my skin ruined by that kind of spice!"
"Weak."
"What did you say?!"
"Weak."
"Say that again and I'll fight you to the death!"
For the first time in her life, Fubuki was relentlessly mocked for her spice tolerance. Also the first time she'd encountered a male who treated her this way. Her emotions, just soothed by food, were thrown into chaos again.
Green psychic energy gradually enveloped their surroundings. The instigator, Jordan, wasn't afraid at all. He continued eating while glancing sideways. "Hey, hey, hey. Don't fight in front of someone's shop. If you break something, the owner will suffer, right?"
The izakaya owner watched the flirtatious young couple with a smile, as if recalling his own youth. His deeply lined face filled with kindness. "Ah, miss with superpowers. Whatever makes you happy."
Seeing the exquisite dishes before her, Fubuki immediately gave up.
"Let's discuss this after we finish eating!"
"Please. I'm treating! Don't you know the saying about being beholden to whoever feeds you?"
"Stop with the nonsense! This is your apology!"
The lively meal didn't end until late at night. Fubuki, who'd been starving all day, was completely satisfied. Even Jordan, who'd treated her, seemed much more agreeable now.
Despite this, she remained true to her original purpose, explaining her philosophy to Jordan and the importance of building a hero group.
"Jordan, you're one of the fastest-rising heroes recently. But you should know this is only temporary."
"The number of registered heroes in the Hero Association keeps rising, but the Association's resources and daily exposure through various channels are always limited. If you continue operating alone, there will always be newcomers who suddenly emerge and take your place, stealing attention from the outside world."