Witch Special

Although the situation had changed from before, and it was far worse, even if Hayashi Maki explained this to Saitama, he probably wouldn't understand. He was just a simple-minded person who would fight injustice. Explaining these profound and mysterious things to him would be like talking to a cow. Hayashi Maki was too lazy to bother with the conversation. Saitama just had to be her summoned beast and be left alone when she didn't need him.

But now is when Saitama is needed. Baizhi's staff have already laid two sets of cables, one primary and one backup, from the main city to the area Lin Zhenxi has chosen, directly above the underground rift where the Monster Association is located. Next, she will lead the construction of the main structure of the signal amplifier tower, a massive undertaking that will not only take a while to complete but will also be very noisy. If there are any remnants of the Monster Association left... well, they're bound to exist, after all, Wildhammer and Blood Rat haven't completely scoured the Monster Association; they've simply killed any monsters they come across. ...they'll undoubtedly appear and disrupt Lin Zhenxi's construction of the signal amplifier tower. Lin Zhenxi will then be left with no weapons to counterattack or evade the enemy's attacks. Without protection, she could easily be doomed.

Of course, Hayashi Maki will also summon some familiars to protect herself, but her familiars are still too fragile compared to the monsters in this world, and it is a stretch for them to even be cannon fodder, so Saitama will be her strongest shield and an indispensable part of the plan.

Saitama was probably currently on his daily duty, which meant, to put it bluntly, wandering the streets and taking care of any injustices he saw. After all, his registered rank with the Hero Association was only C-rank. To maintain their status as registered heroes, C-rank heroes had to perform a publicly visible heroic act every week. This wasn't a high requirement, considering that in a world where crises were the norm, anyone who was out and about, rather than stuck at home playing games, was bound to encounter situations where a hero was needed. Simply by being seen performing heroic acts, their weekly quota was considered fulfilled.

The problem is that Saitama's range of activities is limited to the abandoned city area, a place with no residents. Without residents, no one would call for help, and Saitama would not receive any commissions from the Hero Association. In order to maintain his registered hero status, Saitama must constantly search for monsters in a large area and then hand over the defeated monsters to the Hero Association for certification. However, Saitama often smashes the monsters and the background wall behind them with one punch, leaving weaker monsters to be completely destroyed. Such a record is naturally not recognized by the Hero Association, and Saitama can only look for stronger monsters that can't be destroyed by his punch.

How to find it? When you see a monster, walk up to it and "gently" punch it. Just make sure there's some body tissue left that's recognizable as the monster's.

But such monsters were far from easy to find. Any monster that could withstand Saitama's punch without shattering into pieces had to be at least Demon-level. A Tiger-level monster would explode like a balloon at the slightest touch, not to mention the crappy Wolf-level monsters. In a place like Z City's abandoned district, with its rich and diverse population, there simply weren't any Wolf-level monsters. Monsters weren't like leeks in a field, cat grass on a windowsill, or mushrooms in a corner. Cut one crop today and new ones would sprout the next. Even though there were so many monsters in this world, and even humans were forced to live in big cities, this was a cumulative effect. If other cities could clear out monsters with Saitama's efficiency, humans would probably be forced to visit zoos. Who knows, there would even be some sanctimonious bitches standing in front of government buildings holding handwritten signs demanding legislation to protect monsters. After all, if they weren't protected, they would be extinct.

In any case, in this area of ​​the abandoned city, after Saitama's day-to-day cleaning and sweeping, there are fewer and fewer monsters who dare to wander around the streets openly. In order to search for monsters and complete his performance, Saitama's range of activities is becoming larger and larger, and there is even a trend of covering the entire abandoned city.

So at this time, we just need to call Saitama, and the bald man who is still wandering aimlessly among the ruins in the abandoned city should come over soon.

Thinking of this, Lin Zhenxi confidently dialed the number, but no one answered.

Lin Zhenxi:? ? ?

"Yanyan, Yanyan～～～" Lin Zhenxi began to greet her silly cat.

After shouting for a while, a sleepy black cat wearing a small conical nightcap finally flew over from the doorway. It floated unsteadily in the air, rubbing its face with its paws while asking, "What are you doing, meow, so loud? Daytime is cats' sleep time, Maki, don't you know, meow?"

"Stop talking nonsense. You can fall asleep in ten seconds anyway. It doesn't matter when you sleep. Hurry up. I can't contact Saitama. Where did he go?" Lin Zhenxi asked, holding up the black cat.

"How would I know that, meow, but I kind of know why you can't contact him, Maki, meow."

"Then tell me quickly."

"Because he often forgets to bring his phone. I've seen him forget his phone at home several times."

Ah, this… Hayashi Maki put on the frowning face of an elderly man on the subway. Saitama, even as a registered hero, actually forgot his phone.

You know, the cell phones used to register heroes are specially issued by the Hero Association and also serve as a communication device. Whether it's accepting missions or notifying the Hero Association for verification, that phone is indispensable. Yet, Saitama hasn't made a habit of carrying that phone around with him. Isn't he afraid of missing out on important information?

Oh, that's right, he is just a C-level hero. Even if something of huge impact happens, it will not be notified to low-level heroes of his level.

"Oh, forget it, I'll go find him myself." Lin Zhenxi stood up and prepared to go to the room in Liulitan. But the black cat grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Ok?"

"Maki! Are you stupid? It's almost dark now, it's time for dinner."

"Really..." Lin Zhenxi was just thinking about calling Saitama and didn't even check the time on her phone. When she picked up her phone and looked at the time, it was almost 4:60 in the afternoon. This time was really not suitable for any activities.

Despite the peace and tranquility of the Wasteland, aside from the occasional explosion (caused by Saitama spotting a solitary, unlucky monster), there were no monsters or other human villains to be seen. However, since the stereotypes surrounding this area were difficult to change anytime soon, the people of the main city hadn't considered moving to the Wasteland.

After all, City Z wasn't some boomtown with a rapidly expanding population. Quite the opposite. Had Lin Zhenxi not arrived with Bai Zhi and reversed its slow death, City Z would have sooner or later, threatened by monsters, seen its people's livelihoods wither and its population dwindle, leaving only the incapable elderly and infirm. Ultimately, it would have been abandoned by the World Government and faded into the depths of history. Even with Bai Zhi's rise, City Z's downstream raw material suppliers experienced a surge in growth. However, outside of the Bai Zhi-related supply chain, other industries remained sluggish, unable to attract an influx of newcomers. Even the main urban area couldn't hold its full population, let alone rebuild the abandoned area and relocate people there.

Incidentally, due to Saitama's excessive drive to maintain his performance, the Wasteland District gradually gained a reputation among the monster community. Of course, it wasn't a good one. After all, it was a terrifying place where even walking down the street without doing anything could result in a blast from a yellow-red ghostly figure. Monsters could accept being defeated by heroes, after all, they and humans were in a mutually exclusive competition, a life-or-death struggle, but they couldn't accept being killed in an unclear manner without even being able to see the person they were facing. Over time, the Wasteland District became known as "a monster-free zone," "someone's capturing monsters for experiments," "never enter the Wasteland District if you want to survive," and "approaching will bring misfortune"—all of which gradually spread among the monster community around City Z.

So, a strange phenomenon emerged in the abandoned city: not only were there no people, no homeless people, no vibrant groups, but even the strange people who had once provided the abandoned city with a vibrant atmosphere had gradually vanished. At night, the entire abandoned city was completely dark, save for the lighted road leading from Baizhi to the main city. It was like a dark forest made of reinforced concrete.

It is not worth going out in the abandoned city at night.

Lin Zhenxi clutched his phone and looked at the time. After a moment's thought, he finally gave up the idea of ​​doing anything else. The sacrificial ritual had distorted Lin Zhenxi's sense of time, and before he knew it, he had wasted the entire afternoon.

The power of time... Lin Zhenxi thought about the Time Witch class template recorded in her witch book. That page of template had the ability to freeze time, even reverse it and create a new timeline. Perhaps she could try it?

After all, her ability to manipulate time is really too poor. It can only accelerate and decelerate, and has no practical application value at all.

Emmm, forget it. The career templates in the Witch Book are not only Lin Zhenxi's trump card, but also a considerable burden for her. Especially that embarrassing side effect, which makes Lin Zhenxi subconsciously resist using career templates.

At least, in a different world where safety is uncertain, it's still best to focus on the original body. It won't be too late to research again once we return to the safety of the main world.

"Forget it, let's eat. Yanyan, go tell Saitama not to rush to patrol the streets tomorrow. I need his help with something."

"Hi~ meow."