Chapter 5 - Angering the Amazon Queen (1)
Before heading to the house of an Asian woman named Min Eunjeong, I dug deep into how the world really worked these days. What I uncovered was that everything had changed drastically from the days when I was alive and kicking as Mikhail. 'This is insane. What the hell happened while I was dead?'
First off, exactly 22 years had passed since my death—perfectly matching the age of this pint-sized body. That meant this flesh was created on the very day I croaked... though I couldn't say for sure. Whatever. Two full generational shifts later, the world had twisted into something tragic.
The big change? Women's and men's roles had flipped. No clue why, but over the last 20 years or so, women—who used to be generally weaker than men in strength and stamina—had grown overwhelmingly stronger. Men got pushed out, their social status tanking hard. Cops and firefighters, jobs that demand raw power? All women now. Desk jobs that don't need muscle? Men's territory.
Ah, what a tragedy. Men stuck doing housework like fags. A real man handles the outside world; women stick to the home—that's the natural order.
'So that's why I couldn't overpower that convenience store chick with brute force.' Not because my scrawny arms are weak, but because she was the strong one. Harsh reality.
Anyway, male rape reports had skyrocketed. Pathetic, honestly—not very manly. Who reports getting done by a woman? It's not like you're a kid.
'But that's not even the worst part.'
The real kicker: a surge in those goddamn superhumans. Once a one-in-a-million rarity, now one in every ten people awakens a unique ability. Not just newborns—existing adults were suddenly manifesting powers too. Un-fucking-believable.
Superhuman crime rates exploded compared to early days, so they created this Hero outfit to fight back... Not great news for me, since I plan to wipe them all out.
'Time to tweak the goal?'
I can't slaughter every human with potential to awaken. I'm no Hitler-wannabe Nazi punk. I can tell real threats from pipe dreams.
'First, kill that Inspector bitch who boiled me and my brothers alive. Then figure out the rest.'
They say aim low—take her out, then pick the next target. Good plan. No more overthinking.
'Time to pull off that dirty trick in front of her house.'
A modest brick house in a quiet neighborhood. Flower bed by the gate, overgrown with weeds—perfect cover for my scheme.
'Here we go...'
I set down a can of tuna and a bowl of water from the nearby convenience store, right in front of her flower bed. That oughta do it.
Muttering to myself, I activated Sensory Amplification, the ability I got from the gacha draw.
Sensory Amplification
'Range: about 40 meters radius.'
Sensory Amplification covered more ground than I expected. Tested it on the way here—reaches across a whole park. Wide enough that no one escapes the zone before I hit 'em.
'Amplify the sense of smell for every living thing nearby by dozens of times.'
Pah!
I felt something invisible burst from me in all directions. The stench hit my nose like a punch—disgusting.
'Ugh...! My nose stings. This city's filthier than I thought.'
I pinched my nostrils hard, suddenly worried about urban pollution, and leaned against the wall to tough it out.
Then, from afar, tan blobs swarmed in.
"Meow."
Four cats, hooked on the tuna scent, rushed my setup. I'd worried crows or bugs might beat them to it, but luck was on my side.
"Meooow."
"Yeah, yeah..."
Cats are cute, no doubt. Back in my past life, I kept a few purebreds in the office when things were calm. Not mutts like these.
I smirked wickedly. What came next was evil, even by my standards.
I dropped the smell amp, then cranked Hearing Amplification sky-high—but only for this neighborhood.
Hearing Amplification (Neighborhood-Wide, Extreme Intensity)
"Physical stats 100 times normal, right?"
Hearing too, then? Bet she's strutted around lording it over everyone. Time to make her curse that super body.
'Two weeks oughta do it.'
I petted a cat slurping tuna, plotting to round up more.
One week after Ivan hatched his wicked plot—
"Fuck."
Min Eunjeong kicked off the covers again today, cursing under her breath. The culprit? Cats in heat yowling like maniacs right outside her house.
"MeeeooOOOOWWW!"
Her super hearing—leagues beyond a normal person's—made the eerie cries hit her like torture.
"Hey! Shut the fuck up?!"
She flung open the window and yelled at her fellow heat-crazed felines. It worked a bit; they scattered.
"Hoo..."
Seventh outburst today. She flopped onto the bed, burying her head in the sheets and plugging her ears with a pillow.
"Meow, meeeeOW, meeeeooowww!"
"Ah, fuck...! You goddamn cat bastards...!"
Her fiery red hair matched her hot-tempered rage. She'd complained to the community center endlessly—no fix.
'Fucking bitches, I pay a shit-ton in taxes!'
Unacceptable treatment. She was pissed.
'If not for that brat, I'd be sleeping fine. Fuuuuck!'
She peeked out the window again. Amid the swarm of tabby cats, a boy feeding them.
Neighbor lady said his name was Ivan or something. That tiny punk was ruining her sleep by feeding strays right in front of her place.
'Already short on sleep with all these villain cases...'
As a B-rank Hero, she handled tons of baddies. Gym, warm milk, deep sleep—that kept her killer body tight.
That Western kid messing with her routine? Unforgivable.
'Wanna beat his ass...'
But yelling at or punching a little boy would trash her hero image. She knew it best, so she endured, gritting her teeth.
'Pin him down and spank him till he says sorry... Ugh! What am I thinking?!'
She shook her head wildly. Blame that Japanese hentai manga she'd downloaded lately.
'Why does the protag look just like him?!'
Her go-to fap material starred a "shota"—tiny boy type. The male lead was a bratty "osagaki," clueless about manners since he was new from the West. He kept crossing lines with the heroine... till she snapped and "educated" him with her pussy.
'Ugh...'
She stared at the boy petting cats outside. Golden hair like a wheat field, sapphire-blue eyes. Dead ringer for the manga protag.
She wasn't some pedo with a thing for real kids. But why? Seeing that brat pull this shit made her crotch tingle and dampen.
'O-okay, just talk to him? Yeah, homeowner's right to complain.'
Self-justifying, she threw on a top and bolted out the door.
There he was, crouched by the gate, feeding cats.
"Meow!"
"Yeah, yeah. Eat up."
"Meow, meooow!"
Stroking heads, popping tuna cans. Animal lover, sure—if not in her yard.
Min Eunjeong scowled and approached.
"Ahem."
Normally she'd cuss him out on sight. But he's a kid—might cry if she snapped. Coughing to clear her throat.
"What, lady?"
"L-lady...? K-kid! You know what 'sis' means?"
Lady?! Where's a hot chick like her "lady"? Unlike flabby peers, she crushed gym and Pilates. Skincare on point—even bartenders carded her!
"Lady" triggered her hard.
"Who's the lady?"
"Ahem, seems the kid doesn't know 'sis's' face, keeps saying that."
Not one to flex rank, revealing herself felt awkward.
"Listen up. Sis is B-rank Hero 'Amazon Queen'. Got it?"
"Amazon Queen...?"
Doesn't look Amazonian. Ivan narrowed his eyes. Red hair—not typical Asian, long and flowing. Mixed blood maybe.
"You're not local, right? People here moved 'cause of sis. Know that?"
"Obviously not, lady. Feeding strays near houses is noisy."
"Yeah, yeah sis—wait, what?!"
The boy grinned like a little devil, petting a cat furiously with one hand while eyeing her.
"Noisy, right?"
"You knew..."
"Heh heh."
Ivan shoved a hand in his pocket. Beeeep!—a blaring noise erupted.
"Nooo! Don't! Stop it!"
"Y-you! What the hell?!"
Emergency bell—kids' panic button for pervy villains. Ring it, and patrolling cops and heroes swarm.
Min Eunjeong realized his game.
"Nyah nyah."
Too late to stop it.
