Chapter 160: Floor 31: Lee Do-hee, the Civilian
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 160: Floor 31: Lee Do-hee, the Civilian
Click.
The moment I opened the door to the conference room, a wave of hot, sweaty air hit me.
'Ah... Ahem.'
I steadied myself, nearly dazed by the thick scent of men.
The facility was under repair, so the air conditioning was off and the windows were sealed, making it incredibly stuffy.
As I stepped onto the podium, I saw that the room was, as expected, filled mostly with men. They stared at me so intently, their sparkling eyes full of admiration, that it was almost burdensome.
There were a few female sidekicks, but I wouldn't be fighting alongside them on the front lines, and their looks and figures were just so-so.
'Yeah, my own sidekick is the best of the bunch.'
Brown hair, a slightly wavy bob that reached her neck.
My cute and competent sidekick.
Her only flaw was her slightly small chest, but at least you could tell she was a woman.
"It's good to see you all. As you know, I am Pink Spear. Let's all do our best to protect Sector 5!"
""Yes, ma'am!!!""
They all answered with vigor.
They had probably heard the tales of my exploits, carefully packaged and glorified by the Hero Association.
Inspiring stories about how I wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice my own body for the safety of hostages.
'It pricks my conscience a little, but I'll have to use this to my advantage in this trial.'
I proceeded with the meeting quickly.
I decided to handle only B-rank or higher villains, leaving the rest to these guys.
Since they were still rookies, we agreed that even for a C-rank villain, one A-rank hero and three B-rank heroes would be dispatched.
It was a bit of an over-deployment, but it seemed necessary until they gained more experience and became more proficient.
These guys couldn't die. They were valuable assets who would be needed to stop the villains that would pop up everywhere when the final S-rank villain appeared.
"I expect all of you to do your utmost for the safety of our citizens!"
"Yes, ma'am!!!"
They all replied vigorously, their eyes fixed on Pink Spear's bouncing breasts and the zipper over her pussy.
I quickly concluded the meeting and went outside.
Instead of going straight home, I stopped by a restroom in a nearby building to deactivate my transformation.
When I released the costume, a normal t-shirt and jeans appeared.
"This should be inconspicuous enough, right?"
- Ooh...
- Black Do-hee...
- Jiggle jiggle~
- Look at those tits
- Even if it's not obvious, everyone's gonna stare lol
- Those clothes are too small...
After interacting with the viewers for the first time in a while, I stepped out of the building.
'I've got some time now, so why not take it easy for a bit?'
This was a near-future setting.
Naturally, I expected to see all sorts of new things.
But my expectations were dashed; there wasn't much to see...
Perhaps because of all the villains, there were no drone deliveries—in fact, the very concept of package delivery didn't seem to exist.
To buy something, you had to go in person with cash. The alternative was to hire someone to do it for you.
Tourism? Most of the tourist spots were concentrated in Sector 3, so there was nothing to see here.
There were no landmarks or uniquely shaped buildings, and it was hard to even find a properly maintained park.
Only rows of bleak, desolate skyscrapers stood in their place.
The level of convenience and service was even lower than in the real world.
Having no choice, I went to a bank to withdraw some cash and checked my account balance...
'What the? Wasn't she an A-rank hero before? There's barely any money here.'
Searching my memories, I recalled that this body's original owner had donated every penny she earned to various welfare facilities. Aside from a nice house, she had practically no assets.
'H-How did she live like this...?'
The sheer madness of a true hero made my head spin.
In the end, I withdrew a decent amount of cash and stopped by a supermarket to do some grocery shopping.
Planning to relax and feast at home for the first time in a while, I bought mostly meat: pork, beef, chicken, duck, and so on.
It was much more expensive than vegetables, but it was still an affordable expense.
I browsed through clothing stores, weapon shops, bakeries, jokbal [braised pig's trotters] restaurants, and cafes, spending money freely.
Still, there were some products subtly different from those on Earth, so I grabbed any food item that looked new.
I'd already spent all the cash in my wallet, but holding the heavy bags in both hands filled me with a sense of satisfaction.
There was a guy following me, staring holes into my ass as I shopped, but it was such a common occurrence that I paid him no mind.
'Hmph... It'd be weirder if this didn't happen.'
A large ass and big breasts are symbols of reproduction and breeding.
If I ever came to a world where I wasn't being visually raped, it would surely be a bizarre place with twisted common sense.
And that was the end of my tour of Sector 5.
There wasn't much to see, but I bought a ton of food.
'I guess this is an era where only hero-related technology has advanced. Oh well, going home and grilling some meat is a vacation in itself.'
Feeling a little disappointed, I started heading home...
[BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!!!]
[Pink Spear!! It's a B-rank villain. He's alone, but he's taken hostages and is making threats!]
"Goddammit..."
'Ugh... My groceries...'
Stop by the house to drop this off? Who knows what could happen in that time. Plus, it would be a problem for the transformed Pink Spear to be seen carrying grocery bags home.
Someone could obviously see me and take a picture. I couldn't just advertise 'this is my house~', and if citizens saw me heading home instead of to the hostage situation, they'd be disappointed.
'Hmm... I'll just be quick, right?'
I quickly ducked into a nearby deserted alley with no CCTV. I set my grocery bags down for a moment, hiding them in a corner, and transformed.
Then, I scaled the walls to the roof and began leaping across rooftops, speeding toward the scene of the incident.
"What's the target's ability?"
[He's a newly Awakened villain, so we have no intel! Judging by the way he's holding the hostages in the air with his hands behind his back, it's psychokinesis. A direct form of it, it seems!!]
It meant his ability was like the one the prison warden had back on the 11th floor of the Tower.
It wasn't simple telekinesis; it was more like an invisible, materialized hand with a physical presence.
'In the past, this would have been a real pain, but now it's a piece of cake.'
I spotted the target from a distance.
He had six hostages floating about twenty meters in the air, as if to say he'd kill them even if he died.
'Idiot. It's time to bring out a new skill.'
Pink Spear's known abilities were healing and superior physical prowess. But my powers didn't end there.
I decided to save my stealth skill for later and handle this a different way.
A skill book that cost a whopping 700 million.
It was a skill I'd picked up on the side while learning Heal and Area Heal.
<Divine Shield Lv.1>
Envelops the target in a sacred barrier for protection.
Divine Shield, a skill a cut above a normal mana shield. I would try using it this time.
First, from a blind spot on a building about 200 meters away, I threw my spear and killed the villain.
Thwack!!
The instant it pierced his neck, I retrieved the spear and cast Divine Shield on the citizens falling from the sky.
'Good, it's working well.'
And to make it clear I was the one who did it, I swooped in and caught a pretty-looking woman in a princess carry.
"Pink Spear?"
"Uh oh..."
"Th-They're falling! Catch them!!"
The police and civilians rushed forward, but they were still some distance away.
The other five hostages plummeted toward the ground, but...
Thooom~!
The Divine Shields completely absorbed the impact, allowing them to land safely on the ground.
"Huh?"
"They're alive?"
"What just happened?"
While everyone was bewildered.
This was my moment to step in.
"Everyone, do not worry! As long as I, Pink Spear, am here, the villains will not be able to harm you!!"
"Oh? Could it be!!"
"Now that you mention it, there's a thin pink film covering the hostages!"
"It's Pink Spear's power! She has an ability to protect hostages, too!!"
This was a sort of display, and a warning.
A warning to stop trying to use hostages, because a half-assed hostage situation like this wouldn't work on me anyway.
Although I couldn't do anything if hundreds were involved at once like last time, shielding a small number of people like this was no problem.
"Villain neutralized. Hostages are safe."
[A-Amazing, Pink Spear!! So you gained more than one new ability!!]
"Hmph... That's right."
"Waaaaah!!! Pink Spear saved the hostages safely again!"
"That's our Pink Spear!"
"Our hero!!"
Once again, I basked in the cheers of the citizens.
And the woman I had personally saved.
"Th-Thank you, Pink Spear..."
Mwah!
She shyly gave me a kiss on the cheek, blushing.
"Ahem... I was only doing my duty."
'Haaah... Is this the scent of a woman?'
Smelling her body scent up close, I barely managed to suppress the urge to kiss her.
I gave her another tight hug, rubbing my chest against hers, before we parted.
"Rest assured, everyone! I, Pink Spear, will take responsibility for your safety!!!"
I wanted to say something more attention-grabbing, but the thought of the meat I'd left in the alley made me hurry back.
'My meat...'
I returned to the vicinity of the alley, deactivated my transformation, and approached at a quick pace.
'Nah, who would take it?'
Right, if this were Korea, it probably would have been left untouched.
But this was Raven City, a place teeming with villains and crime.
Someone was already taking it.
Perhaps because of the considerable weight, someone had even parked a black van nearby and was loading my grocery bags into the trunk!!
"Wh-What are you people doing?! That's mine!!"
I rushed over, but my groceries were already gone. The bag they had just loaded was the last one.
Using a bit of my hero power, I quickly moved to block the van as it was about to drive off.
"I said that's mine! Hey!"
The driver's side window rolled down, and a man with the look of a gangster scowled and retorted.
"Ah, shit... It's yours? Don't make me laugh. You got any proof?"
"Wh-What kind of shameless thing is that to say! I bought all of this! It's not like you bought it!"
In the real world, I could just show them my card statement and receipts, but I paid for everything in cash, so I had nothing. Come to think of it, I'd thrown away all the receipts because they were a hassle.
"We found it. So it's ours. Get lost now if you don't want to see something ugly!"
Looking closer, I saw there were four men in the black van.
These bastards were suspicious.
But I couldn't just transform into a hero and beat up some petty thieves. More importantly, my identity would be revealed.
The biggest reason heroes had to hide their identities was because of hacker villains. They said if you exposed your bare face, a hacker villain would dox you for money, revealing everything down to your address.
So,
"I'm calling the police. Stay right there."
At my words, I could hear a stir from inside the van.
And a moment later,
"H-Hey, wait, we'll give it back. But we need to verify your claim, too. You could be a thief just like us, couldn't you?"
"What are you talking about..."
"I'm saying we could be in the same boat. So, if we go to the store where you bought the stuff and ask the owner, it'll be proven easily, right? Let's go ask together in the van."
The thieves seemed to soften up a bit when I mentioned the police.
But while their tone was nicer, the content of what they were saying was strange.
"Go with you...?"
'Something's fishy. They're giving up this easily? Aren't they going to try something if I get in the van?'
"Yeah, but in return, give us a small reward, enough to buy some bread. Our little brothers have been starving since yesterday."
"Why should I give you a reward?"
"We kept it safe so no one else would steal it, right? And if you make a fuss and call the police, we'll be arguing for an hour and all your frozen food will melt. You made the mistake of leaving it here, too, so let's just settle this cleanly."
'Damn... How cheap, threatening me with my dumplings and ice cream...'
They were even shamelessly demanding a reward.
Truthfully, I could just buy them again next time.
But my attention was focused on something else.
'I can feel a very faint psychic energy from two of them. Aren't these bastards F-rank or E-rank villains?'
It was getting more and more suspicious.
I glanced inside the van and saw a familiar-looking hood.
'It's the same kind those guys who took the entire apartment building hostage were using.'
My mind started racing.
These guys were obviously low-level grunts in a villain organization.
They must have been wandering around, scouting for a place to commit a crime.
This was an opportunity.
A great chance to wipe out a villain organization in one fell swoop.
There was no way they would obediently take me to the store.
When I'd briefly overheard them talking earlier, I thought I'd heard them mention taking me to their hideout.
'Oh...?'
A good idea popped into my head.
'Yes, that's it!! I'll let myself get caught on purpose!'
Isn't it a perfect plan, even if I do say so myself?
I thought I was having a bad day, but it turns out my luck is amazing.
I have juniors now, so I have plenty of free time, and since I'm in civilian mode and not Pink Spear, I don't have to worry about tarnishing my hero reputation!
This is absolutely not because I'm curious what it would feel like to be kidnapped and raped in a vehicle and am willing to take the risk.
It's all to lower their guard so I can wipe them out in one go and get to the mastermind behind them!!!
Mmm! Mmm!
Nod, nod.
Whirrrrr~
Rationalization complete.
"Alright. Let's go quickly."
The moment I opened the van door,
"Hehehe, get over here, you bitch!!"
A villain inside grabbed me and pulled me in.
In an instant, my body was in the villain's arms, and the van door slammed shut.
"W-Wait... Kyaaah!?"
Squeeze!!
As if they'd been waiting for this, they grabbed my breasts and groped my body.
"H-Hyaah...! Let go!"
'E-Everything is going according to plan...♡'