The next day, after morning classes concluded, everyone received a notification on their smartwatches.
"100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, 100 frog leaps, 10 pull-ups, plus a 10km run, all to be completed within two hours? Doesn't seem that hard?"
This was clearly the assessment task for Class D.
"Not hard? Keep dreaming," someone said, throwing cold water on the idea. "Go try it and see for yourself."
"I'll do just that!"
The Class C students were also huddled together, comparing their assignments.
"I have to go to Z-City. That's so remote."
"Haha, A-City! Nice, I don't have to travel far."
"The assessments are in pairs, right? Is it too late to switch to a better partner?"
"Nope. Goodbye."
Amidst the heated discussion, the expressions of Mumen Rider and Glasses were stiff, completely out of sync with the surrounding atmosphere.
Tanktop Black Hole noticed something was wrong. He swaggered over, throwing an arm around each of their shoulders. "What's with you two? Did you get sent to some backwater like Z-City too?"
"No, it's... it's not that." Mumen Rider shook his head slowly and handed over his smartwatch. "Tanktop Black Hole, help me look at this. What does it say?"
"What is it? Being all mysterious..."
Tanktop Black Hole leaned in to look, reading word for word: "Hello, you are assigned a special assessment task. Please report to Chairman Aomori as soon as possible to receive it."
Only as he finished reading did it register. He shouted, "Ao— mmmph!"
Mumen Rider and Glasses worked together to clamp his mouth shut, forcing the rest of the name back down his throat.
"Shhh! Not so loud!"
"Pah!" Tanktop Black Hole wrenched himself free and hissed under his breath, "Why do you two have a special mission? And why do you have to get it from Chairman Aomori himself?"
The envy in his voice was thick and undisguised.
"I don't know. I just happened to run into Chairman Aomori once a few days ago," Mumen Rider explained, recounting the accidental meeting.
"That makes no sense. Could it be that Chairman Aomori took a liking to you and set a special task just for you?"
"No idea," both Mumen Rider and Glasses looked utterly bewildered.
Seeing them still dazed, Tanktop Black Hole snapped irritably, "The notice said 'as soon as possible.' If you don't leave now, are you planning to make Chairman Aomori wait for you?"
"Oh! Right!"
Snapping out of it, the two scrambled to their feet and began running, not forgetting to thank him as they left.
Tanktop Black Hole watched their retreating figures, pounding his chest in frustration. "It's not fair! Why wasn't I the one favored by Chairman Aomori?!"
…
A new office building had been erected in the camp. Mumen Rider and Glasses found Aomori in the Chairman's office.
"Chairman Aomori!"
"Ah, you're here. Have a seat."
"Yes, sir!"
The office contained only one desk with two chairs in front of it. As they sat down, Mumen Rider spoke up. "Chairman Aomori, why is our assessment task different from everyone else's?"
Aomori offered a faint smile. "What do you think?"
"Is it because you value us?" Glasses ventured, gathering his courage. "But I can't think of anything about me that's worth your attention."
"Don't belittle yourself. What I value isn't your strength, but your spirit, or rather, your will."
"Spirit? Will?"
"You can ponder what that specifically means later. For now, let me explain your tasks."
"Understood!"
"First, Glasses." Aomori handed him a photo. "The address is on the back. Find the man in this photo at that location. Shadow him, and write an observation diary for me."
"Huh?" Glasses took the photo. It showed a somewhat handsome man. He was baffled by the mission. "What are the grading criteria for this?"
"Don't worry about that. Just do as I say. You can apply for special funds for the mission through the Logistics Department. Also, do not spread information about him. If there are no questions, you may go and prepare."
There were questions, mountains of them, but there were so many he didn't even know where to start.
"Oh... okay." Glasses glanced at Mumen Rider, stood up, and left the office.
Now alone with Aomori, Mumen Rider was just as confused after hearing the details of Glasses' task. He could only pray his own mission wasn't as bizarre.
"Don't worry, yours is much simpler." Aomori stood up. "Follow me. Your assessment is outside."
"Okay..." The sense of foreboding grew.
They walked to the outer corridor, which was lined with a waist-high wall.
Aomori asked, "Are you afraid of heights?"
Mumen Rider shook his head. "No."
"Good."
"?"
While he was still puzzled, the next second, Aomori grabbed him by the shoulder and leaped off the seven-story building.
"Ahhhhhh!" Mumen Rider closed his eyes and screamed in terror.
However, the sensation of weightlessness soon vanished. He opened his eyes to find himself standing on the back of a giant bird. Aomori was beside him, smiling.
"What a huge bird!"
"This is Pidgeot. Hold on tight."
Mumen Rider immediately realized the danger, but there was nothing to grab onto!
He had no choice but to crouch low and wrap his arms around the giant bird's neck. The experience that followed made him mentally applaud his own quick thinking.
A powerful gale buffeted them from the front. Mumen Rider felt as though he were strapped to the outside of a plane. The pressure made him feel like he wanted to vomit but couldn't.
Fortunately, the flight lasted less than a minute.
"We're here. This is the spot."
Aomori lifted him and set him down on the ground.
Mumen Rider's legs were like jelly. Unable to stand, he sat awkwardly on the grass and surveyed his surroundings.
"This is..." He realized this was the lakeside where he and Glasses usually ran.
"Looks familiar, doesn't it? It's not far from where we last met." Aomori spoke as he raised his hand.
A Healing Spell washed over Mumen Rider, restoring him instantly.
"Thank you, Chairman!"
"You're welcome."
Aomori walked over to a massive boulder, at least four meters high. Steeling his focus, he threw a single punch.
Lightning erupted, and the giant rock disintegrated into a pile of small stones.
"So strong!" Mumen Rider gasped.
"Did you see that? Your assessment task is to shatter that boulder over there using nothing but your own physical strength." Aomori pointed to a nearby rock.
"This..." Mumen Rider looked in the direction Aomori pointed. He saw a boulder taller than himself and wider than two Tanktop Black Holes.
"It's impossible... How could I possibly do that?" Mumen Rider shook his head repeatedly.
"So, do you want to give up?"
"I..."
"In the future, if you encounter a monster you can't beat, will you also say it's impossible and run away from the people who need you?"
"No! I won't!" Mumen Rider answered decisively this time.
"Then treat this boulder as that monster and work hard to defeat it!"
"Yes! I understand!"
…
Leaving Mumen Rider to figure it out on his own, Aomori returned to the office building.
Inside a second-floor meeting room, several people were already waiting.
"Chairman, you're finally here." Superalloy Darkshine stood behind the door, like a wall blocking the view of those behind him.
"Sorry, sorry, just finished up." Aomori walked around Darkshine, stepped onto the podium, and looked at the Class A heroes sitting in various postures.
"Suiryu, Zeburou, Drive Knight, Amai Mask, Tanktop Master, Pig God, Puri-Puri Prisoner, and Zombieman. It looks like everyone is here. Let's listen to the assessment details."
Zombieman had originally been in Class B, but due to his performance, he had been promoted to Class A just in time for this assessment.
"Listening together... Does this mean it's a large-scale cooperative mission?" Zombieman asked.
"Doesn't matter. As long as I'm there, any mission will be a breeze," Suiryu chuckled.
"No need to rush. Let the Chairman announce it," Puri-Puri Prisoner interjected.
The others fell silent.
Ignoring the suggestive wink from Puri-Puri Prisoner, Aomori said calmly, "As Zombieman suggested, this assessment task does indeed require you to work together as a team."
As he spoke, he turned on the multimedia projector to show them a picture.
The image showed a building with silver exterior walls hidden deep within a mountainous forest.
"The target of your mission is right there: the House of Evolution."
"The House of Evolution?!"
With a loud thud, a chair tipped over. Zombieman stood up abruptly, his expression shifting violently. "Chairman Aomori, are you saying this House of Evolution belongs to Dr. Genus?"
"Oh, you know of it? Yes, the actual controller of the House of Evolution is Dr. Genus. His life story is available online; those interested can look it up. Currently, we suspect him of performing illegal human experimentation and artificially creating monsters. He is an atrocious villain who disregards the sanctity of life."
Aomori pulled up a photo of Dr. Genus and tapped the man's head with a pointer. "Your mission is to destroy the House of Evolution and arrest Dr. Genus."
"Wait a moment, Chairman Aomori." Zombieman's expression was grim. "No one knows the horror of the House of Evolution better than I do. To put it bluntly, expecting this handful of people to destroy the House of Evolution is nothing but a pipe dream."
"Hold on, you pale-faced fellow," Suiryu stood up. "Don't go speaking for me. I don't see myself losing to some 'House of Evolution' thing."
"Exactly," Tanktop Master chimed in. "Everyone here is a standout in the Hero Association. My Tanktop Power won't be defeated easily."
"That's exactly it! You people have no idea what the House of Evolution represents! In my eyes, it is an evil existence capable of causing the extinction of humanity. I suggest we immediately dispatch all S-Class heroes to destroy it," Zombieman said with absolute gravity.
"Extinction of humanity?"
"Whoa, you're joking, right?"
The room stirred at those words.
"Calm down," Aomori said to soothe them. "Zombieman isn't exaggerating. If we let Dr. Genus continue his research, he might indeed eventually destroy humanity, but he hasn't reached that level of power yet. Based on my intelligence, there are multiple monsters within the House of Evolution, the strongest of which likely possesses Dragon-level disaster capabilities."
"Therefore, on the day of your operation, Darkshine and I will accompany you. However, we will only intervene if you encounter an enemy you cannot handle yourselves."
"Don't be afraid! I will protect you all!" Darkshine struck a muscle-flaunting pose on cue.
"If that's the case, I agree." In Zombieman's eyes, Chairman Aomori was an even more powerful existence than Darkshine. His personal involvement signaled the Hero Association's serious commitment to this operation, so he relented.
"The address is on the screen. We will not participate in the tactical planning; that is for you to decide. However, I have one suggestion: before discussing the plan, elect a leader, even if just a nominal one."
With that, Aomori and Darkshine left the meeting room.
Silence fell over the room once the door closed.
Tanktop Master looked around and said, "As the Chairman suggested, let's pick a leader. Anyone want the job?"
"Not me," the taciturn Zeburou was the first to refuse.
"Me neither," Suiryu said, raising a hand. "I don't mind following orders, but there has to be a reason that convinces me. Otherwise, I'll just work alone."
"Same here," Drive Knight added.
"What about the rest of you?" Tanktop Master's gaze skipped over Pig God, who was busy snacking, and a certain eccentric, landing on the silent Amai Mask. "How about you, Amai Mask?"
"I don't care, as long as evil is purged," Amai Mask replied in a raspy voice, finally withdrawing his gaze from the door.
Sigh.
Tanktop Master sighed silently and turned to Zombieman. "You seem to know the House of Evolution well, and it looks like you have some deep-seated grudge. Are you willing to be the leader and lead us to destroy it?"
"I'll do it," Zombieman nodded. "Since no one else wants to, I'll take on the responsibility."
"Wait. I think you should explain your history with the target first. Otherwise, I can't trust you," Amai Mask said.
Drive Knight's single eye glowed. "Indeed. I am also very curious."
"Don't worry. No matter who is leader, I was planning to tell you everything."
Gazing out the window at the green sprouts, Zombieman began to recall the past.
"It was over ten years ago... back then, I was still human."
"What do you mean? You're not human now?" someone asked.
"Yes. I was once Subject No. 66 of the House of Evolution. I am a biological human created through evil human experimentation."
"A biological human?"
"Do you know why my hero name is Zombieman? Because no matter what kind of injury I take, I can regenerate." As he spoke, Zombieman took out a small hatchet he carried and cleanly chopped off a finger.
Under the shocked gazes of everyone, the severed finger grew back at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"I am an immortal being."
"Can you survive if your head is cut off?" Suiryu asked, looking fascinated.
"Of course. Now you know why I view the House of Evolution this way. Any place that can create someone like me is more terrifying than you can imagine," Zombieman said.
"Ten years ago, I escaped the House of Evolution with great difficulty. I've been trying to find them ever since, but there was never any news. I didn't expect this to become our assessment task. It must be fate."
"OK!" Suiryu suddenly gave a thumbs-up. "I get the gist. An evil organization like that definitely needs the Hero Association to step in. Let's take them down."
"Exactly! Get 'em!" Puri-Puri Prisoner said, tears welling in his eyes.
"In that case, I can't just stand by," Amai Mask said.
Looking at the people around him, Zombieman felt for the first time that perhaps the House of Evolution wasn't so terrifying after all.
"Alright. This time, we destroy the House of Evolution!"
————
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