Land of Light: I am Supermodel Tiga, One-Punch King

However, the protective shell, which would take the cutting machine quite a while to cut, was torn apart as if by some claw, and the alloy was all messed up like a crumpled ball of paper.

This made Horii think of the monster's claws.

Tap tap, tap tap—

Footsteps sounded behind me, along with the bright beam of a flashlight.

"Excuse me, who is there?"

A familiar voice rang out, and Horii squinted as he looked in the direction of the light, a mixture of delight and surprise in his eyes. "Is that Ryosuke?"

"You are... Horii!?"

Ryosuke Sanada, dressed in a suit and shirt and carrying a repair kit, was also quite surprised to see Horii there.

"Ah, it's me. Long time no see. What's wrong?" Horii looked at Ryosuke with delight, but didn't think he looked seriously ill.

"As you know, my parents required me to learn various skills from a young age."

“I also know how to do electrical repairs, and with the repeated power outages, I simply asked the repair department for their tools and came over to help.”

Ryosuke took out his tools, his gaze sweeping over the torn shell, his face full of surprise, "This mark..."

"This is certainly unusual. Ryosuke, since you've been staying here, have you noticed anything unusual?"

"You're a member of the Victory Team now, so what's going on at the Seaside Hotel? Are you here to investigate?"

“Yes, but actually…” Horii was about to say that he had come to visit Ryosuke because he remembered him, but Ryosuke interrupted him.

"I failed the audition for the Victory Team a few years ago, and I'm still not satisfied with that. But I've heard you've done a good job."

"Well, there are only a few positions available, and sometimes selection is a matter of luck. Your scientific level is above mine. And I heard you've become the director of the Space Development Center."

“I would prefer to join the Victory Team and fight on the front lines rather than do research. But I have to admit, you are a better fit than me.”

Although Sanada Ryosuke is competitive, there is one thing he will never admit: he is not as good as others.

"Is there something wrong with your health? I heard you've been recuperating here for a long time."

Horii thought of Ryosuke's health problems and asked with concern, while also changing the subject.

"It's alright, the doctor told me to rest here for a while longer. Oh, and Sayaka is here with me too."

As Sanada Ryosuke spoke, he began to pack up his tools. The wiring was now connected, the damaged parts had been replaced, and the lights gradually began to come on.

"I see." Horii understood. It seemed that Sayaka had taken leave to take care of Ryosuke.

Although they broke up, they still had feelings for each other, and they were good friends before.

"It's late today, shall we get together again tomorrow?"

Ryosuke wore a perfectly elegant smile.

"Okay, no problem!"

Although he really wanted to go and talk to Ryosuke, Horii agreed because of Ryosuke's health problems.

After returning to room 713, Ryosuke Sanada's smile vanished, leaving him expressionless.

"Horii, the Victory Team has noticed this place."

"It seems we can't draw electricity for now, but, ahhhhhh!"

"The Ebron cells are acting up again!"

Ryosuke clutched his heart in pain, looking at the red, swollen bumps that had appeared on his arm, which looked like a terrifying monster.

Ryosuke's bloodshot eyes were fixed on his arm, and he occasionally let out a roar that sounded inhuman.

In the darkest hour before dawn, Ryosuke left the seaside hotel.

Chapter 52 The Talent Project, Son of Prometheus

"You've arrived quite early."

Just as dawn was breaking, Horii was woken up by PDI and picked up Daigo and Shinjo under a pedestrian bridge near the hotel.

"After all, it involves monsters, so we can only feel at ease if we confirm it sooner." Shinjo handed the safe containing the monster tracker bullets to Horii.

Horii was smiling and about to say something when suddenly the earth trembled.

"there!"

Daigo listened carefully and immediately pointed out the direction.

"Oh no, that's the location of the new development center's energy center!"

The three of them drew their Victory Hyper guns and got into Draco's car, quickly heading over.

No sooner had Horii finished speaking than the energy center building exploded in midst of reality.

A huge monster with multiple horns rose from the broken building; its appearance had clearly caused the building to collapse.

"That's the monster! Perfect timing to use the monster tracker!"

Horii opened the safe and handed the monster tracker to Shinjo, the shooter.

Daigo opened the PDI: "Headquarters, monster detected!"

Whoosh! boom!

Just as they set off from the command center, Shinjo had already hit the monster that was lingering in place with a single shot.

A cluster of sparks exploded, and the monster looked towards the new city.

Tsk! Tsk!

Blue-green electricity leaped and flashed across the monster's body. Just as Shinjo and his two companions were about to attack, the monster vanished into the electricity in a flash.

"Disappeared again!" Horii's eyes widened.

"Let's see if your monster tracker works." Shinjo looked at the small radar in Horii's hand.

"Heh, how could there be a problem with my invention?"

"You guys go and evacuate the people and maintain order. I'll call you when I find the monster."

Horii, brimming with confidence, waved the radar over his hand.

Daigo and Shinjo exchanged a glance and ran toward the shattered building of the energy center.

"Strange, how could a monster that big appear here at the seaside hotel?"

Horii traveled from the energy center to the outside of the seaside hotel, looking at the information displayed on the radar with a mind full of doubts.

"You are... Horii?"

A dignified and beautiful woman walked towards him, looked at Horii carefully, and then asked him with some uncertainty.

"Ah, Sayaka!" Horii looked up and immediately recognized Sayaka.

"Horii, it's been a long time. Did you come because of the monster that appeared earlier?" Sayaka looked towards the energy center, her face full of lingering fear.

"Yes, it's my duty to fight monsters."

Horii glanced at the radar. "By the way, you're here with Ryosuke, right? What exactly is Ryosuke sick with?"

“He didn’t tell me; he just suddenly came to find me three months ago…”

Sayaka described how Ryosuke looked when he had an attack: difficulty breathing and angina, which resembled a heart attack.

The two chatted as they walked and soon spotted Ryosuke lying by the pool.

Drip!Drip!

Horii's radar emitted a warning tone, clearly pointing towards Ryosuke.

"The monster tracker is on Ryosuke? How is that possible? Could something have gone wrong?"

Horii's pupils contracted.

He had never doubted his own invention, Horii, and at this moment he desperately wished that his device had malfunctioned.

However, Horii vaguely sensed that there must be some kind of connection between Ryosuke and the monster.

"Sayaka, I'm so sorry. I made plans with Ryosuke to get together today, but a monster appeared today, so I'm afraid I won't have time."

Horii turned off the notification sound and smiled at Sayaka.

"It's nothing. It looks like Ryosuke will be staying here for a long time. You can come anytime," Sayaka said with a gentle smile.

Once they reached a secluded spot, Horii's expression turned serious, and he activated the PDI to contact the command center.

"Yorui, can you help me investigate why Sanada Ryosuke from the Space Development Center is on a long vacation?"

Ryosuke is an all-around healthy and strong person since childhood. TPC also has advanced medical technology and regularly organizes physical examinations. Why would he take a three-month leave?

"Ryosuke Sanada, is that right?"

Ye Rui quickly found the information using the Victory Team's access privileges.

"Ryosuke Sanada became the research director of the D Agency's Talent Project in 04."

"The Talent Program is a plan to dramatically enhance the astronauts' bodies for future planetary exploration missions."

"However, this plan uses a type of cosmic cell called Ebloon."