"This crystal…" He weighed it in his hand. "It should be worth more than eggs, right? Not sure if Director Fury will actually keep his word…"
Muttering to himself, he stuffed the crystal into his pocket (the bodysuit's pockets were surprisingly deep). His eyes swept over the townspeople, who were hugging each other and crying with joy. His face showed no particular emotion.
"Alright." He turned around and headed toward the outskirts of town. "Time to go ask if the supermarket discount got extended… Hope I'm not too late."
However, not long after Saitama left, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cleanup unit arrived in town. While clearing the church ruins, they discovered something at the edge of the altar crater—
Some fragmented runes carved in an ancient language that pointed to the next location, and… a faint residual spatial coordinate signal.
A new omen of crisis quietly surfaced again like a shadow. Saitama's "vacation" still seemed very far away.
With the purified, smooth, deep-blue crystal tucked away, Saitama walked out of Glenmore Town with an easy stride. Sunlight fell on his shiny bald head, reflecting a tiny glint. What circled in his mind wasn't the dark showdown that had nearly destroyed the town, but the supermarket's beef sale sign that read: "Today Only—Last Day!"
"Hope I can still make it…" he muttered, unconsciously quickening his pace.
But a hero's "vacation" was always short—especially after getting listed on Fury's "professional hero" roster.
Just as Saitama stepped beyond the town's ruined edge and onto the highway leading to the nearest city, a sharp tearing sound cut through the sky. A Quinjet painted with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s eagle emblem swept in low like a hunting hawk and hovered steadily not far in front of him. The hatch opened, and a well-equipped, stern-faced rapid response team fast-roped down.
At the front was Agent Phil Coulson. Beneath his trademark gentle smile, there was a heaviness he didn't quite manage to hide.
"Saitama-san!" Coulson strode up, his eyes flicking over the wrecked town behind Saitama and the massive collapsed crater by the church. A flash of amazement crossed his gaze, but his tone remained steady. "Thank you for saving innocent lives again. Director Fury asked me to convey his highest-level gratitude."
"Oh, it's Coulson." Saitama stopped and nodded. "It's fine. Just happened to be there. I got the crystal." He reached into the bodysuit pocket that looked small but somehow held a lot, pulled out the nebula-glowing blue crystal, and casually handed it over. "Here."
Coulson accepted it carefully. It was cool to the touch, and he could feel the pure, vast energy contained within—completely different from the dark-corroded state described in earlier reports.
"Incredible… You not only eliminated the threat, you purified it?" he couldn't help asking.
"Yeah. Cleaned it up while I was punching that monster." Saitama's tone was as flat as if he'd just swatted a fly. "We done here? I'm in a hurry to get to the supermarket."
The corner of Coulson's mouth twitched slightly. He was already used to this overwhelmingly powerful hero's "practicality."
"I'm afraid… there's still a bit of follow-up work that requires your assistance, Saitama-san." He turned slightly and gestured toward the open hatch of the Quinjet.
(End of Chapter)
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