He tossed the empty frozen dumpling package into the trash can beside him. The lid wasn't properly closed, and from the gap you could see it was stuffed full of half-price stickers and torn cardboard packaging.
Just as he was about to lie down and end this quiet night that had been temporarily soothed by supermarket discounts, a sound suddenly tore through the distant night sky—
An extremely sharp screech, like fingernails scraping a metal plate, amplified countless times.
The sound had terrifying penetration, carrying a frequency that made even the soul feel unbearably uncomfortable. In an instant it ripped open the night. Across the river, among the lights on the opposite bank, some of the lamps seemed to flicker abnormally for a moment.
"Mm?"
Saitama's half-squinted dead-fish eyes snapped fully open.
This sound… was weird. Definitely not normal.
It didn't sound like a car horn, didn't sound like machinery roaring. It was more like… some kind of living thing making a noise loaded with pure, instinctive malice.
Almost at the same time, the crude special communicator S.H.I.E.L.D. had issued him—the little black square with buttons that Natasha had forced into his hands before—suddenly lit up bright red where it had been tossed on top of the pile of flyers.
The screen flashed as it started to vibrate violently, emitting a series of urgent, bee-like buzzes.
Saitama frowned, glanced at the communicator that wouldn't stop flashing, then tilted his head and listened carefully to the noise in the night sky—the shriek had weakened a bit, but still drilled into eardrums and nerves.
He hesitated for a second or two, as if weighing his annoyance at being disturbed against the trouble that strange sound might bring if he ignored it.
"…So noisy."
He muttered under his breath. In the end, still not very willing, he reached out, picked up the buzzing communicator, and pressed the only glowing green call button.
There was no holographic projection, just Natasha's urgent but clear voice coming from inside, laced with a static hiss from full-spectrum interference.
"...Mr. Saitama! Long Island… Greenwood District… abnormal incident just broke out! An unidentified giant creature has appeared! Its abilities are… strange! Strong sonic output and mental interference! The affected range is huge! Civilians are panicking and in chaos! Steve is leading a team there now, but the creature is moving… its heading is toward your side! East… Riv—"
Ksshhh—
Her voice was completely swallowed by a stronger wave of noise, leaving nothing but a dead, busy tone.
East River? Greenwood District…
Saitama's gaze immediately shifted to the surging river outside the bridge underpass. That was the direction Natasha probably meant.
Wasn't that… basically right across the river?
He stood up and walked to the edge of the bridge underpass.
The piercing noise seemed to have weakened somewhat, but the air was filled with an indescribable sense of oppression that made his skin prickle and his mood grow inexplicably irritable.
In the direction of the Greenwood District in the distance, there seemed to be strange flickers in the night sky—nothing like firelight; the color was tinged with green.
The supermarket specials weekly lay forgotten on the rug.
Saitama lifted his head to glance at the pitch-black sky, then lowered his eyes to the cheap digital watch on his wrist—the one that still had a supermarket discount sticker with "903" slapped on the face.
There was nothing particularly different about his expression, but his brows were furrowed just a little deeper than usual.
"…Guess I'd better go take a look."
He spoke to himself, his voice trailing off into the damp night wind.
"If they wreck the supermarkets over here too… the next sale's gonna be a real pain."
A yellow figure lightly leapt out from under the bridge and landed on the cold rocks along the riverbank below.
The next second, he bent his knees slightly.
Boom!
The rock beneath his feet shattered instantly. His figure turned into a streak of golden light, racing along the rushing riverbank, shooting straight toward the sky above the Greenwood District on the opposite shore—a sky now shrouded in abnormal noise and eerie flashes.
(End of Chapter)
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