Sludge!
This slovenly hero codename, with its gloomy and comical appearance, and disheveled image, raises the question: is he meant to be a superhero or a pathetic villain?
Lu Qingjia didn’t bother arguing with the woman on the other end; he simply cut off the connection, interrupting her incessant and sharp-tongued instructions.
The woman on the other end stared incredulously at the terminal after the call was disconnected, her expression about to explode—
“He actually dared to hang up on me? Doesn’t he realize that besides me, who else is going to give him any credit? He must not want to keep this job.”
A young man in a hero uniform beside her chuckled, “Don’t be angry. If he understood the ways of the world, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
“Anyway, his only use now is to take the lead and lose quickly, serving as our stepping stone. Why bother getting upset with him?”
The woman’s expression softened a bit, and she sneered, “Actually, his conditions aren’t bad. If it weren’t for—”
“Forget it, forget it. This time the criminal is a bit tricky; you need to be careful.”
The young man nodded, gave the woman a flirtatious smile, and then opened the car door, heading straight for the crime scene the woman had just mentioned.
He deliberately slowed down his movements, timing it just right to let Sludge lose, arriving at the best moment and in the best posture before the criminal could cause any greater chaos.
Such maneuvers are not uncommon in today’s professional hero circles.
In fact, using an inconspicuous or unpopular hero to take the lead and create an atmosphere for the real main force is not considered a low-level tactic.
At least this time, the criminal activity was real, with no signs of human manipulation, which counts as a relatively genuine rescue, even if it is essentially a show.
More intense are the operations that hijack the achievements of rival heroes; of course, if the popularity and strength are comparable, it inevitably leads to a frenzy of online bickering.
However, as the young hero was timing his approach, a reminder came through the terminal, indicating that the robber was about to escape.
The young hero displayed an impatient and disdainful expression: “Hasn’t Sludge already rushed over? That useless piece of trash can’t even hold them off for a few minutes?”
A confused voice came from the event control center: “Sludge? We haven’t seen Sludge arrive.”
“What?”
After some operations on the other end, they explained, “Sludge is currently located three kilometers away from the crime scene.”
“What? What the hell is he doing? It’s been almost ten minutes; he should have arrived by now.”
There are many people with awakened abilities, but those who meet the hero standards and successfully sign contracts with management companies, even if they are on the eighteen-line, have a mutation level far beyond ordinary people.
Although Sludge’s ability is not appealing, his physical fitness is quite good. A mere three kilometers, if he were to go full speed, would take no more than five minutes.
But judging by the current situation, it was clear that he hadn’t moved at all. Thinking about the abrupt hang-up, the young hero wondered if they had miscalculated.
Could it be that he was sulking and didn’t intend to take the mission?
The control center was urging them urgently, as the situation was about to spiral out of control. If the chaos exceeded expectations, the management company would have to take responsibility, and he wouldn’t come out of it unscathed.
The young hero gritted his teeth and sprinted towards the jewelry store.
A crowd had already gathered around the jewelry store, but no one dared to get too close.
As a recently debuted rising hero, the young man had gained momentum thanks to his impressive ability and handsome appearance.
As soon as he appeared, many women around recognized him: “It’s Bullet Head.”
Bullet Head felt proud of his fame, but his face was filled with concern for the scene.
Ignoring the screams and greetings from fans and passersby who recognized him, he asked a police officer stationed outside, “What’s the situation?”
“The suspect is an ability user who has taken hostages. We can’t rush in recklessly,” the officer replied. “What’s your ability?”
Bullet Head’s eyes flashed with displeasure, but he still humbly said, “It’s super speed. Although I’m called Bullet Head, it’s not that exaggerated—around 200 meters per second.”
That is indeed an impressive ability, and the officer felt reassured upon hearing it.
He opened the terminal, and the situation inside the store was projected in front of them.
To better record heroes’ performances in any environment, the surveillance cameras, miniature drones, and projection technology in this world are quite advanced.
Although the police didn’t dare to rush in, they had already deployed a bee-sized drone camera through a vent, giving them a clear view of the situation inside.
The jewelry store was a local flagship store of a well-known chain brand, with over three hundred screens displaying countless jewelry pieces. Just the items showcased in the glass counters were worth a fortune.
The store had many display cases, with around twenty to thirty staff members, plus the customers shopping inside, totaling about sixty to seventy hostages.
At this moment, they were forced into a central open area, all drenched in sweat. They weren’t bound by ropes or handcuffs, but no one dared to make a move.
Bullet Head frowned, “Where’s the criminal?”
The officer pointed to a corner, “Over there.”
Looking closely, he noticed that aside from the empty space in the center where the hostages were, there was something else going on.
He saw that the counters filled with gold jewelry had their items neatly pulled from the display cases, as if an invisible hand had gathered them.
But upon closer inspection, it was clear that this wasn’t some invisible or telekinetic trick; several streams of water were entering the display cases, animatedly sweeping away the gold jewelry.
“Is this the criminal’s ability? Where is he?”
Without needing the officer to answer, the screen provided the answer. After gathering the jewelry, the streams of water converged in the center, forming a humanoid shape.
The jewelry was then tossed into a large black box on the ground, which quickly filled up, fortunately sturdy enough not to burst.
Looking at the amount of gold, if sold, it would be enough for an ordinary person’s lifetime.
“Have you identified the suspect?” Bullet Head asked the control center.
“No, the recorded similar ability users don’t match. The suspect hasn’t completely released their water form, deliberately obscuring their facial features. They should be someone who has recently awakened or hasn’t registered their ability.”
“However, water-based abilities are not uncommon. I’ll send you the weaknesses of this type of ability; please receive it.”
Bullet Head glanced at the information, just as the robber emerged with two hostages.
The suspect still maintained a humanoid water form, appearing to have the physique of an adult man, but it was possible they were deliberately misleading.
The criminal didn’t speak but pressed the play button on a recording pen in their hand, and a processed voice, indistinguishable by gender, came through—
“Everyone step back. Police and heroes retreat, leave one police car behind.”
“The suspect is very calculating,” the officer said. “Now that their identity is unknown, even if the police car has a tracker, two kilometers away is XX River. The water is murky, and a box sinking would be hard to detect. Once the suspect reaches the riverbank, it will be difficult to catch them.”
Bullet Head scoffed, “That’s your problem. Don’t use the limited abilities of the police to assess heroes.”
Saying this, he vanished from the officer’s sight.
The officer shouted urgently, “Don’t be reckless! The hostages are covered in gasoline!”
But it was too late. Bullet Head’s speed was beyond what the naked eye could measure. His ability was incredibly strong; if we’re just talking about abilities, he could even compare with the top heroes.
Thus, when the company discovered him, they spared no effort in packaging and promoting him, aiming for the top tier.
Just as the criminal finished speaking, their entire body shattered, transforming into a spray of water.
Bullet Head caught the recording pen and the large box of stolen goods that fell from the disintegrating body. The young man, dressed in a luxurious gold and red hero uniform that highlighted every advantage of his physique, with fair and handsome features, a stylish haircut, and an exuberant expression, was met with cheers from the crowd.
“Bullet Head! Bullet Head! Bullet Head!”
On the hero website’s live broadcast, countless comments flooded in—
“Ah!!!! My husband!”
“Oh my god, the one in front is called ‘Mother-in-law’.”
“To be honest, Bullet Head’s ability is among the top in all heroes today, right?”
“Among all martial arts, speed is unbeatable. This isn’t just talk; there are many speed-based ability users, but he is the fastest. Those behind him have speeds half of his, and before his debut, their abilities were also highly praised.”
“Bullet Head is probably the most monstrous newcomer this year, right? Stellar Company struck gold with this find.”
“Look, it’s not over yet!!”
The scattered water droplets began to gather again, forming a humanoid shape, seemingly unaffected.
But clearly, the criminal, who was overshadowed by Bullet Head’s impressive performance, was filled with aggression.
The water figure lunged at Bullet Head from different directions, the speed of the water whips was not slow; in fact, it was difficult for an ordinary person to evade.
But what speed did Bullet Head possess? Even with the interwoven water nets, they couldn’t touch him at all.
It was as if he was showing off, and for the onlookers and the cameras faithfully recording the scene, it was a dazzling visual feast of speed and water effects.
The gold and red figure darted around like a nimble hummingbird, exuding beauty and shock.
Perhaps due to the criminal’s helplessness against the hero and Bullet Head’s overwhelming advantage, the crowd had lost all respect for the crime scene, instead treating it like a street performance.
Meanwhile, the police officer frowned.
Although many criminal incidents have become accustomed to the heroes’ rough and direct solutions, the old officer, with years of experience, analyzed the suspect.
Someone who is meticulous to this extent, and has likely devised more than one detailed plan, wouldn’t lose their rationality due to a hero’s provocation, nor would they engage in a show of hero versus villain, especially knowing it would be futile and continuing for so long.
As expected, Bullet Head avoided all of the criminal’s attacks, but it also allowed the suspect to see through his show-off mentality.
If Bullet Head wanted to display his flawless speed and agility, then the criminal would turn the tables, using the trajectory of the water whips to confine him within a certain range.
Suddenly, a woman’s scream came from behind Bullet Head. He turned to see the two female employees who had been taken hostage.
They had somehow been ensnared by the water whips and were flung into the air. Bullet Head couldn’t afford to focus on the criminal anymore and rushed to rescue them.
However, as he charged towards the two hostages, a large puddle of water appeared beneath them.
In mid-air, even with his speed, Bullet Head found it difficult to evade without a point of leverage.
The liquid pouring over him made him immediately realize something was wrong, as he caught a whiff of gasoline.
Looking at the two hostages, their clothes were already dry. Not only could the suspect transform into water, but could they also precisely control liquids to this extent?
Bullet Head’s heart raced, but it was too late. A flame ignited on him, first on his hand, then quickly spreading.
There’s a partner!
Time seemed to stretch. Bullet Head, skilled in speed, understood the situation. He was in mid-air; his speed was fast, but he couldn’t change his gravity. By the time he fell, the flames had already spread across his body in that instant.
His uniform, designed to withstand fire rescue situations, was made of materials that were not easily flammable, but the speed at which the flames spread on his arm indicated that this was not just a reaction from ordinary flames and gasoline; there was a fire-based ability user assisting.
This type of ability user requires certain conditions to start a fire, but extinguishing it is not easy, even with his super speed.
No, he couldn’t catch fire; he couldn’t be burned and ruin his appearance. His ability was outstanding, and more importantly, his image was good. A promising future awaited him.
He couldn’t just end here—
Thoughts raced through his mind, but at that moment, he felt helpless, and despair began to creep in.
Just then, a sudden cold sensation enveloped his arm, wrapping around his entire body and suppressing the spread of the flames, so that aside from the burning pain on his forearm, he didn’t feel the overwhelming heat wave engulfing him.
As he fell to the ground, he breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the Sludge on his hand, and guessed who had intervened.
Just as he was about to search for Sludge, the distinctive uniform was easy to recognize, but he couldn’t find it at first glance.
Suddenly, a body crashed down in front of him.
It was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man, the type that would go unnoticed in a crowd.
At that moment, the man’s eyes were wide open, staring at Bullet Head with a look of unblinking death.
Then a pair of long legs appeared in front of him. As he looked up, he saw a tall, well-dressed man with an outstanding demeanor.
The man reached out with a long arm, effortlessly catching the two hostages.
Gently placing them back on the ground, he smiled and said, “It’s dangerous here; let’s go to a safe place.”
The life-saving grace, the relief after the robbery, the bridge effect, combined with the man’s extraordinarily handsome appearance and gentle gentlemanly demeanor, made the two hostages’ hearts race, their faces flushing as they stammered, “Okay, okay!”
As they spoke, they turned and ran towards the police car.
This unfamiliar handsome man had acted so quickly that everyone around was still in shock.
Just moments ago, they had seen Bullet Head about to be engulfed in flames, and the two girls in peril, but in the blink of an eye, there was now a fallen body, and Bullet Head’s flames had been extinguished, with the hostages unharmed.
The clean and decisive action left even the most knowledgeable superhero fans unable to name this newcomer.
“Who is this? A hero?”
“Impossible, right? A hero with such a striking appearance couldn’t be someone I don’t know.”
“He’s not in a uniform; maybe he’s just a passerby with an ability?”
“Strongly demand a debut.”
However, regardless of the online reactions, the battle was not over yet.
The moment the accomplice was exposed, the water figure realized the situation was dire. Alone, without hostages or partners, he couldn’t resist Bullet Head and this newly emerged hero.
Compared to the mindless Bullet Head, he was more wary of this newcomer. The instant action demonstrated that this person was meticulous, decisive, and had combat skills far beyond Bullet Head’s showy antics.
The water figure no longer wished to fight, gathering some of the scattered gold and transforming into a puddle of water, attempting to slip into the storm drain by the street.
However, before he could dive in, he suddenly pulled back, re-forming into a humanoid shape, looking at Lu Qingjia in fear.
Lu Qingjia lamented, “Why not keep going? If you had gone in, we could have both wrapped up.”
As he spoke, Lu Qingjia’s hand revealed a severed hand, clearly a part of the water figure’s body.
He smiled, “So your body isn’t completely free to divide at will.”
“Hmm, still a woman’s hand.”
Seeing this, the water figure realized that there was no way to escape Lu Qingjia’s grasp, so she changed her soft approach from before with Bullet Head, condensing her water form into blades and charging at Lu Qingjia.
Lu Qingjia waved his hand, and a large mass of Sludge appeared in front of him, absorbing the water blades and the opportunistic water whips.
The water figure let out a cold laugh, thinking that this person’s ability was lacking. Although Sludge had some restraint against her water, in blade form, its penetrating power could slice through concrete walls. A mere Sludge—
But the next second, she couldn’t laugh anymore, as she felt no water blades breaking through barriers or cutting flesh; instead, it was as if her attacks had vanished into thin air.
Clearly, the opponent was mud, while she was the water.
After this strike, the water figure lost a third of her volume. This time, she didn’t dare to revert her form; otherwise, she would die instantly.
Determined, the water figure shattered her form, falling to the ground and forming a large puddle, which quickly spread out.
In just a few seconds, it reached the feet of several onlookers, the water ropes extending to bind and trip them, dragging them aside, forming new hostages.
The police, seeing this, had already drawn their guns, but the bullets passed through the puddle, causing chaos among the surrounding crowd.
The water figure felt triumphant, just about to threaten the person to return her body when she realized she couldn’t move at all.
Looking over, she saw that a large mass of Sludge had covered her puddle, diluting it into mud, but the mud was flexibly contracting, beyond her control.
The water figure couldn’t resist this immense force, even being manipulated to release the hostages’ legs, and then the puddle completely converged.
Lu Qingjia also tossed the severed hand into the Sludge, then slowly peeled the Sludge away from the mud.
The Sludge spread across the ground, finally reminding the superhero fans of whose ability this was.
“Sludge? This is Sludge’s ability.”
“Yes, yes, because it’s so bizarre, there’s no second one in the entire hero circle, so it’s memorable.”
“But isn’t Sludge a messy uncle who goes for the comedic route?”
“Damn, then who is this handsome guy?”
Someone online pulled up a photo of Sludge, with long hair covering his face, a scruffy beard, a bright purple, eye-catching uniform, and a fluorescent cape, completely different from the refreshing and stylish super handsome guy in front of them.
“Probably another ability user, right?”
“Definitely, I have to say, looks determine everything.”
“A handsome person can make mud look good; an ugly person playing golf is just shoveling shit.”
“I want to know his information within five minutes.”
“Right, right! When the handsome guy operated the Sludge, his aura was so A, the Sludge on the ground didn’t make him look messy; instead, it appeared as pure as a lotus.”
“I can, I can be wrapped in the handsome guy’s Sludge.”
“Stop dreaming.”
“Just stop bragging; Sludge is a useless ability. If blowing faces isn’t enough, do you want to write a little essay?”
“Bullet Head fans, please be modest. Your steaming pot almost turned into a roasted sweet potato; he didn’t let him ruin his looks. If you had any conscience, you wouldn’t be hating.”
“Dragging down Bullet Head, if you didn’t know, you’d think your steaming ability had already surpassed the top three.”
“The criminal who could take down Bullet Head has been dealt with by him; how infuriating is that?”
“Um, I’ll weakly say, I just called the hero registration management headquarters, and they said the terminal signal shows that is indeed Sludge.”
“???”
“?????”
“?????????”
“Damn, I’ll kick you all; that handsome guy is Sludge?”
“Isn’t Sludge a forty-year-old uncle? When did he get a makeover?”
“I’m actually a bit moved; where did he get it done?”
“Sludge’s information has come out; he’s only twenty-five.”
“But is that the issue? The question is when did he change his look?”
“I asked, and the headquarters replied that the task was too sudden; he didn’t have time to change into his uniform and was wearing casual clothes.”
“???”
“Climb, stop spamming question marks. Let me say this first: the Stellar Company is getting a beating.”
“Is this how heroes are made? Even without professional ethics, one should at least adhere to the basic laws.”
The online uproar was deafening, but the situation was progressing smoothly; the water-man was quickly subdued, and the police placed a gene restraint collar on the suspect before transporting him away.
Due to the twists and turns of the incident and the sudden surge of online attention, nearby news media rushed to the scene.
Bullet Head had already stood up, wanting to say something, but was quickly surrounded by reporters—
“Sludge Master, are you really the Sludge Master?”
“What are your thoughts on the Stellar Company’s tarnished image?”
“Your performance today was stunning, but what do you think about Bullet Head’s failure, which the company heavily promoted?”
“Do you think the allocation of company resources is fair?”
“Sludge Master, Sludge Master, there are many urgent questions online that need your answers.”
“The most pressing question is, are you really that filthy Sludge Master? The netizens want to hear your exact statement.”
Lu Qingjia turned around to face the camera; this was a live interview, so the footage was being broadcast directly on the hero website and the large screen in the square.
Lu Qingjia’s gaze seemed to pierce through the screen, directly connecting with the audience watching.
Many female viewers were already feeling dizzy and entranced.
They saw a hint of barely noticeable hurt on his handsome face, his eyes seemingly carrying the weight of the galaxy, his brow slightly furrowed, and a breath-taking melancholy mixed with his gentle elegance.
He answered the question, “Do people really think I’m filthy?”
Those watching the scene felt a moment of suffocation, a sudden pang of guilt rising within them, which, along with the astonishment, fermented into madness.
“No, no, darling, you’re the cleanest. You’re a pure angel.”
“Ability doesn’t have a hierarchy; it’s the prejudiced who should be condemned.”
“Don’t be sad, don’t be sad. When you frown, my heart breaks. It’s the Stellar Company that’s in the wrong.”
“Ladies, prepare the torches, let’s burn Stellar down.”
In an instant, the Stellar Company’s official website was under a barrage of attacks, with people cursing them for wasting talent and questioning their professionalism.
There were speculations that perhaps the Sludge Master had offended the higher-ups, which led to this treatment, but this was simply inhumane. Even if they didn’t package him well, they shouldn’t treat him this poorly, right?
The complaint lines were overwhelmed, and the office was in chaos.
The agents of the Sludge Master and Bullet Head saw the shift in public sentiment and were furious, their faces contorted with anger. Once the higher-ups understood the situation, they were also infuriated and ordered her to conduct interviews.
Meanwhile, Lu Qingjia and the others had already shaken off the reporters and boarded the nanny van—
Strictly speaking, it was Bullet Head’s nanny van; Lu Qingjia didn’t have such treatment. The agent called, frantically roaring to bring the Sludge Master back.
Throughout the ride, Bullet Head looked at Lu Qingjia, his expression complex, wanting to say something but hesitating.
Once they got out of the car, he quickly blurted out, “Just be careful.”
As expected, upon entering, they saw the agent sitting in the office chair, his face dark as ink, glaring intensely at Lu Qingjia.
