Chapter 151: There's an MMP That Must Be Said
Hero Association Hospital in C-City.
Yamason looked anxiously at Child Emperor. "Child Emperor, when is King coming?"
Child Emperor shook his head. "King isn't coming anymore." He furrowed his brows. "He must be tied up with something and can't get away. We'll have to rely on ourselves."
"Sigh, it's all my fault. If I hadn't stepped away for a moment, the Young Miss wouldn't have been taken."
Yamason's old face was filled with remorse. Half an hour ago, Yali, who had regained consciousness last night, said she was craving fresh shrimp porridge. He had readily agreed and stepped out the door to call the five-star chef from Elegant Estate to give instructions. Who would have known that when he returned to the hospital room, Yali was already gone? In a panic, he turned the room upside down but still couldn't find Yali. When he pulled open the curtains, he discovered a climbing rope dangling outside the window. It was then that he understood: Yali had been kidnapped.
"Chain Toad, Gunman, you two were guarding the door... Did you not hear any unusual sounds at the time?"
For Yali's safety, after she was admitted, the Hero Association had arranged for the unoccupied Chain Toad and Gunman to stand guard. An A-Class hero plus a B-Class hero should have been enough to deal with most culprits. Unexpectedly, from beginning to end, they had been utterly useless.
Gunman said shamefully, "It was dead silent inside at the time. We really didn't hear anything."
Chain Toad pointed at his own toad headgear and said in a muffled voice, "Don't expect me to hear anything."
"Alright then!"
Child Emperor shook his head helplessly. "We can only hope the detectives can find some clues from their crime scene investigation."
The detectives had already entered the hospital room to investigate. The one leading the team was not their acquaintance, Mei Lei. Apparently, yesterday, Mei Lei had been careless and dripped a few drops outside the toilet bowl while using the restroom. The chief, citing that this damaged the image of the police, dismissed him from the force.
It had gotten to the point where the detective uncles now had to hold a thin water pipe when they went to the restroom, terrified that peeing outside the bowl would tarnish the detectives' image.
After another ten minutes or so, the detectives finally finished their on-site investigation and found a few clues: several strands of hair were discovered on the windowsill. A preliminary judgment determined they didn't belong to Yali, meaning they were left by the culprit. The kidnapper was either a woman or a man with long hair. At the same time, traces of ether were detected in the room. It was suspected that Yali had been drugged before being taken away.
These clues were almost useless at the moment.
Child Emperor's eyes gleamed, and he declared decisively, "Then we'll use the brute-force method. Check every single vehicle that has entered or exited through the gate today and see if there are any suspicious ones."
He lowered his head in thought. The news of Yali being hospitalized at the Association Hospital was very discreet; not many people knew. Where did the information leak from? The Hero Association? The hospital? Or... Elegant Estate? And was the culprit really the Romantic Killer? This time, although it was confirmed that the rose and multiple rings were left by the culprit, the different modus operandi made it impossible for anyone to be certain it was the work of the Romantic Killer.
Child Emperor searched around the hospital room, looking for any missed clues, while the detectives worked overtime to check the vehicles entering and leaving the hospital, but they still had no leads.
Who on earth had kidnapped Yali without anyone noticing?
*Ring ring ring!*
A phone rang, and Child Emperor and the others gathered in the hospital room tensed up. Puri-Puri Prisoner and Bang, who had not yet left Z-City, had also come over to help. Superalloy Darkshine had already returned to his own O-City.
The caller ID showed... King!
"Hello? King, have you finished your business? Are you preparing to come over?"
"Yeah, I already know Yali's whereabouts. She's in an unfinished building on the east side of Z-City. Oh, and the person who kidnapped her is Ainansi."
"Ainansi?!"
Yamason exclaimed in disbelief. Ainansi was Yali's capable assistant, her most trusted secretary. How could she kidnap Yali?
"I get it now. Ainansi is actually the Romantic Killer."
The gears in Child Emperor's little head turned, and his eyes lit up, shining with the light of wisdom. He analyzed with a calm expression, "When Yali went missing before, we judged that the Romantic Killer might be the culprit based on the rose and multiple rings left on Yali's jacket. However, after Ainansi arrived, she suggested the rose and multiple rings might be gifts from one of Yali's suitors. At the time, we assumed that because Ainansi was familiar with Yali, she knew about some of her private affairs, so we didn't suspect her. Looking at it now, Ainansi knew from the beginning that it wasn't the Romantic Killer. She had only one purpose for coming to Elegant Estate... to clear the Romantic Killer of suspicion and divert our attention. Furthermore, she was also the first to know that Yali was in the Association Hospital. It's very likely she started planning this yesterday after getting the news."
"King, am I right? You suspected Ainansi from the start, didn't you? And you could confirm it was her once Miss Yali went missing again. Oh, but King, how did you deduce Ainansi's hiding place?"
"..."
Because Child Emperor hadn't hung up during his whole analysis, King heard everything clearly. He felt quite helpless about it. *I don't know anything about any Ainansi or Romantic Killer. I only know that as long as she hasn't taken Yali out of Z-City, she can't escape the range of my locator tracking. No matter where she hides, in my eyes, it's as if she's stark naked, completely exposed.*
"Hey, saving her is urgent. We'll talk about the other things later."
King hung up the phone.
Child Emperor and the others looked at each other. "Let's go! The unfinished building on the east side of Z-City."
In fact, King had already arrived at the unfinished building and had successfully rescued Yali. Ainansi, the kidnapper, was stuck to the wall by his "Strong Glue" skill. She was like a fly caught in a spider's web, her hair disheveled, a far cry from her previous glamorous appearance.
However, if Ainansi was a B-Class wanted criminal, then she was far too weak. Her strength was no different from an ordinary person's. King had subdued her with ease.
"King? I'm sure I didn't leave any flaws. Why were you able to discover and find me so quickly?"
Ainansi struggled a few times, only to find that the milky-white liquid was extremely sticky. It was difficult for her to move her body even an inch.
King didn't answer, truly not knowing how to reply. *Should I tell her I cheated?*
"King, I know you are recognized as the Strongest Man on Earth, possessing supreme glory in front of others. But what about behind the scenes? You've been the 'Strongest Man' for over two years... and you're still single? Do you have any spare money? As the Strongest Man, you still need to be secretive and hide when you go out, not daring to show your face boldly. What's the difference between you and a rat scurrying across the street? You bear the troubles of a celebrity, yet you don't possess a celebrity's wealth or sex life. Do you think that's fair? Do you think it's worth it?"
Seeing that escape was impossible, Ainansi decided to provoke King with her words, trying to sow discord.
King quietly watched the agitated Ainansi, thinking about what gift he should bring Saitama tomorrow. Cabbage? Hmm, too cheap. An adult magazine? That's not something you can give someone face-to-face...
For a moment, his thoughts drifted, and his expression turned vacant.
Seeing King's expression seem to soften, Ainansi was delighted and struck while the iron was hot. "King, do you see the unconscious Yali over there? She's a world-famous, super-beautiful, rich woman. Right now, she's lying behind you, completely defenseless. Haven't you ever thought about conquering her? Just imagine... what would it feel like to pin one of the world's rare beauties and rich women beneath you? Aren't you tempted?"
*I'll give him a high-tech induction cooktop tomorrow! Saitama likes hot pot. Pairing it with a high-tech induction cooktop will surely lead to a better quality of life.*
King's expression firmed up, and he nodded in satisfaction.
"King, let me go, and we can join forces... we can definitely conquer the world."
Seeing King nod in agreement with her views, Ainansi was overjoyed. A trace of seductiveness appeared on her beautiful face. "And... and I can also serve you..."
Having solved the problem of Saitama's gift, King saw that Child Emperor and the others still hadn't arrived. He frowned slightly, took out his phone to check the time, and muttered, "Why aren't Child Emperor and the others here yet? Aren't they too slow?"
Ainansi: "...MMP! Have you even been listening to me?!"
(end of chapter)