Great, we're doomed now!

The wilderness was windless. Although it was hidden in the forest, the surrounding area was full of gravel and there was hardly any greenery. A gray building without any windows stood out abruptly, like a forgotten boulder, out of place with the flatness of the surroundings.

Deep underground, at the very bottom of the building, lies a monitoring room bathed in cold light. Dr. Genus, pale-faced and wearing thick-rimmed glasses, sits at the control panel, his fingers flying across the virtual keyboard.

The surrounding light screens projected images of S-class heroes fighting monsters. You could see Atomic Samurai's swordsmanship that cut out vacuum waves, and the shocking scene of Superalloy Darkshine withstanding the monster's heavy blows. But the most eye-catching was "Tornado of Trembling" using telekinesis to overturn the entire forest and force out all the monsters.

want to!

I really want these test samples!

With a creak, the metal door slid open slowly, and a man who looked exactly like Genus walked in.

He walked steadily without making any unnecessary movements, picked up a report next to the console, quickly glanced at it, and then turned and left the way he came, without making a sound the whole time, and Genos didn't seem to care.

Following that, more "Kinos" came in one after another, some to organize data, some to check instruments, and some to replace monitoring screens.

They wore identical white lab coats, moved in perfect unison, exchanged no words with each other, yet made not a single mistake; their efficiency was almost unbelievable.

Genus glanced at the busy clones, his eyes unwavering, as if everything before him was perfectly normal. His fingertips paused on the keyboard, and his thoughts drifted back to the past.

—It's strange, he's not usually this sentimental.

This man named Genus was actually over 70 years old and should have been very old, but he was unwilling to die before achieving his ultimate goal, so he needed a young and energetic body.

So, by using his self-developed artificial evolution technology, he forcibly reversed his aging process and maintained a middle-aged appearance.

From a young age, he was obsessed with one subject:

To unlock the genetic limitations of humanity and create the ultimate, perfect life form.

This idea seemed utterly absurd to outsiders; no one understood his fanaticism for "evolution," and even fewer were willing to join forces with him. But the isolated and helpless Genus did not give up; instead, he embarked on a forbidden path—

Cloning experiments.

He created clones of himself, allowing them to work together and eliminate internal communication issues, resulting in highly efficient execution. Sure enough, his research progressed rapidly, quickly surpassing decades of previous work.

Subsequently, the House of Evolution was established, and various powerful experimental subjects were born.

However, a problem arose: his experimental subjects consistently had defects.

Some achieved the required strength, but their reason collapsed, turning them into beasts. Some remained conscious, but their physical abilities fell far short of "ultimate." Some had extremely short lifespans, unable to even complete a full experimental cycle.

This certainly doesn't qualify as "beyond human capabilities"!

In his view, he has yet to create an intelligent life form comparable to "humans," let alone surpass it and evolve it into a perfect life form.

“Lacking crucial samples…” Genos muttered to himself, pushing up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the cold light of the screen.

He turned his attention to S-class heroes, those at the top of the food chain. They were undoubtedly samples close to the limits of human potential, and perhaps clues to breakthroughs could be found in them.

So he hacked into the Hero Association's database and analyzed the combat records of S-class heroes one by one. But to be honest, while each S-class hero had their own strengths, none of them met his needs.

What he wanted was an existence without any weaknesses, one that reached the pinnacle in every area—physical ability, mental strength, rationality, intelligence, and potential.

By this standard, even tornadoes have shortcomings.

But the moment he flipped to Ye Shou's information, Genos felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and his breathing suddenly became rapid.

Wearing some kind of armor, Ye Shou fought against the strange white blood cell, displaying various extraordinary abilities and precise control over power during the battle, which made him instantly realize that this life form was different from others.

He possessed technological capabilities superior to those of the Hero Association, and later even collected environmental samples left behind from the battle between Ye Shou and Vaccine Man, as well as battle records of the Giant Brothers—especially the scene of Ye Shou repairing the city.

Therefore, Genos understood that Ye Shou did not rely on technology at all, but achieved the miracle through his own power.

—From appearance to inner qualities, isn't this the perfection he pursues?

"It's not just simple physical enhancement, nor is it ordinary superpowers..." Genus was completely absorbed in the screen, his fingertips tracing Ye Shou's combat data. "The switching of energy forms is also incredibly smooth, and there's absolutely no sign of it going out of control. I'm afraid the key to approaching 'perfection' is the synchronization of mindset and power."

He has already dispatched his meticulously modified Lion King, along with the powerful forces of the House of Evolution, with only one goal—to collect more accurate combat data on the [Divine Knight].

Yes, he didn't expect the Beast King to win... Of course, it would be even better if the test subjects cooperated and actually defeated Ye Shou, or obtained blood and skin samples, but his main goal was to analyze Ye Shou's energy waveband.

They're all just weirdos that can be created using resources anyway, so it's not a big loss if they're wiped out.

In the monitoring room, the clones continued their silent work, the battle scenes on the screen constantly changing, but Genus's gaze was firmly locked on Ye Shou's name, his eyes filled with obsessive fanaticism.

"Come back soon, Mole... I'm really looking forward to seeing what you do."

He didn't think much of the Beast King, preferring that the Earth Dragon, which was more cunning and intelligent, was more likely to bring back DNA samples.

...If all else fails, you can always steal his underwear or something from his room!

As long as it's for research, Genos doesn't care whether it's dirty socks or toilet paper!

Then, as he wished, the strange man he sent out finally returned—

Rumble!!!

Thunder roared across the wilderness, and the building of the House of Evolution, which stood on the ground, was as if it had been struck by a giant hammer, and it was broken in half.

The smoke from the explosion, carrying debris, shot into the sky. The remains of the Beast King could be vaguely seen buried deep in the crater, mixed with the broken walls and ruins, their original appearance unrecognizable. Only twisted flesh and tattered mane remained, gradually disappearing into the smoke and dust...

The surrounding weeds were blown away by the shockwave, the ground cracked with spiderweb-like patterns, and even the air was scorching hot.

Why kill it even after it surrendered?

"Because I'm a dog lover."

"……well?"

"Just kidding. It's not very intelligent, and I don't have the time to train weirdos. It's better to get rid of dangerous beasts as soon as possible."

drop!drop!drop!

Inside the underground base, a piercing alarm blared instantly, and red warning lights flashed wildly, illuminating the control room filled with monitoring screens.

Genos sat at the control panel, his eyes behind his glasses suddenly widening, his pupils contracting sharply as he stared intently at the two figures on the screen—

Ye Shou and Chuixue descended from the sky, their superpowers still faintly glowing.

"He actually came to us on his own initiative? Have those guys betrayed us?!" Genos's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible panic, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the edge of the control panel.

But soon, after the initial panic subsided, a hint of smugness crept onto his face, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly: "It's good that he walked right into the trap!"

He quickly switched the screen, which flashed images of chambers holding experimental subjects and neatly arranged high-tech weapon turrets.

"With so many powerful combat forces and weapons in the House of Evolution, I'm not confident outside, but once you're in, you won't be leaving!"

He knew that Ye Shou was quite strong, but according to the energy test, maintaining the transformed form would consume a lot of energy, and what he had in abundance was cannon fodder to buy time.

"Now is the time to showcase the results of my research over the past few decades!"

The clones mobilized en masse!

Weapons were quickly checked, defense systems were activated, and the entire base operated efficiently amidst alarms, ready to receive the intruders!

……

Ye Shou landed beside the broken building ruins, his gaze sweeping over the hidden base entrance below, his eyes calm and unwavering.

Fubuki stood beside him, her pale blue psychic energy quietly gathering around her as she warily scanned her surroundings: "Is this the scientist's lair? It looks heavily guarded."

"Don't worry about it." Ye Shou raised his hand, and dazzling light patterns appeared on his palm. Golden and silver-white light streams quickly converged. "There's no need to waste time."

Before the words were even finished, the stream of light, like a flood, hurtled straight toward the surface structures of the House of Evolution!

"Wait! So direct?" Fubuki exclaimed instinctively, her first reaction being to use her superpowers to protect herself—she already knew very well how loud Ye Shou's battles were.

Where the light streaked across, the air was scorched and distorted, the broken walls and ruins were instantly pierced, and rubble and metal fragments flew like a tide.

With a deafening roar, the buildings on the ground were blasted away by the torrent of heat, and smoke and dust rose into the sky like a mushroom cloud!

All the rubble was ripped away, revealing the dark entrance to the base below... In reality, the entire armored structure had been torn open.

Genus stared at the monitor screen, his smugness instantly freezing, his glasses nearly slipping off: "This... can they unleash such powerful firepower in human form? No, we have to release all the test subjects!"

Ye Shou stood at the edge of the entrance, glanced down at the bottomless passage below, and turned to Fubuki beside him, saying, "There are probably even stronger monsters inside than the Beast King. Although your telekinesis is good, it's too risky to force your way in. It's best not to go in."

Upon hearing this, Fubuki raised an eyebrow, and the light blue psychic energy around her fluctuated slightly: "No matter what, I am a hero. Now that I have found the monster's lair, it would be too embarrassing to turn around and run away."

The dark green skirt swayed slightly under the influence of her superpowers, and Fubuki was clearly prepared for a tough battle.

"Besides, the Fubuki Group members aren't cowards. If they back down when faced with danger, how will they ever be able to stand up in the hero world?"

"Fubuki Group..."

Ye Shou pondered for a moment upon hearing this, as these words reminded him of something. He carefully examined Chuixue for a while, lost in thought.

"W-What's wrong?"

"It's just a suggestion."

Ye Shou, after careful consideration, said calmly, "I came out alone this time and did not bring any subordinates to help me with miscellaneous matters."

The Fubuki Group may not be a particularly powerful faction, but it's quite united and has a decent number of members... I can hire you to handle some meaningless and time-consuming chores for me."

"Are they treating us like errand boys who can be called on at any time?" Fubuki felt a bit resistant after hearing this. Even though Ye Shou had saved her life, she couldn't help but bite her lip, feeling a sense of resentment.

Yes, the Fubuki Group isn't as strong as the S-class, but they still have backbone!

She only wants to be "top 1" and doesn't want to be ordered around by others. Otherwise, she could just follow her older sister instead of creating the Fubuki Group.

Once we agree to Ye Shou's request, it would mean losing the organization's independence... Even if we owe him a favor, we can't change our principles.

"Hired? I'm not a hero for money! Everyone in the Fubuki Group, from me down, has their own principles and code of conduct!"

Fighting side by side relies on conviction, not money. Ye Shou's statement undoubtedly denies the existence of the Fubuki Group—although they are actually banding together to suppress those B-rank heroes who refuse to join, so they are not entirely a positive figure.

But people always have double standards, don't they?

"Lord Ye, please forgive my refusal."

Boom!

Something slammed heavily onto the ground in front of Fubuki, raising a small cloud of dust.

It was an exquisite black leather case, with brass clasps gleaming coldly, bearing the logo of the Kuze Group.

Fubuki, of course, didn't recognize him and looked at Ye Shou suspiciously.

"Oops, it fell by accident... Don't be shy, open it and take a look."

Fubuki hesitated for a moment, then used her telekinesis to open the clasp—

A dazzling array of jewels and precious stones immediately catches your eye!

—It was filled with gemstones and pearl necklaces of all sizes, neatly cut and arranged, reflecting a dazzling light in the sunlight. There were also several heavy gold bars on the other side, which made it clear at a glance that they were very substantial.

"..."