Seeing that nobody below him spoke, the man at the head of the table frowned deeply.
"Is there really no one who can think of a solution?!"
"You all know the media will be arriving soon. If we still can't resolve this by then, both the Public Safety Commission and the Pro Heroes will lose all credibility!"
The room fell silent.
Of course they understood that.
But understanding it and having a solution were two entirely different things.
Earlier, they had already sent heroes into the shopping mall to investigate.
But the problem was—
the moment those heroes entered the building, all contact was lost.
None of them returned.
It was as if the mall itself were some giant man-eating monster.
Once swallowed, nobody could escape.
Seeing the helpless silence on everyone's faces, the man leading the meeting sighed heavily.
If possible, he did not want to pressure them either.
But if he did not pressure them—
someone higher up would pressure him instead.
Thinking this, he rubbed his temples and spoke in a weary voice:
"Everyone… don't blame me for forcing the issue."
"You know how serious the situation is."
"There are over a thousand people trapped inside that hellhole!"
"A thousand people!"
"Not dozens. Not hundreds. Thousands!"
"And among them are not only civilians, but also Pro Heroes and law enforcement officers!"
Most importantly—
"All Might is inside."
"The Symbol of Peace is trapped in there."
At those words, the atmosphere in the room instantly became even heavier.
The man paused before continuing:
"The enemy's objective this time is obvious."
"They targeted All Might."
"And if they specifically targeted him, then it means they must have prepared countermeasures against him in advance."
"So we need to prepare ourselves for the worst-case scenario."
He slowly exhaled.
"All Might may lose."
The moment those words left his mouth, the entire conference room exploded into noisy discussion.
Many people instinctively rejected the idea.
After all—
that was All Might.
The Symbol of Peace.
No matter how hard they tried, they simply could not imagine that man being defeated.
But rationally—
they also knew the man speaking was not wrong.
Too many people were trapped inside the mall.
Far too many.
So many that even the combined power of the Public Safety Commission and the Hero Commission could not suppress the situation if things truly spiraled out of control.
They needed a solution immediately.
…
Meanwhile—
while the conference room was still discussing countermeasures, one member of the media had already moved ahead of the main press group and arrived near the shopping mall.
And she had begun a live broadcast.
"Everyone, this is the shopping mall where the abnormal incident was first discovered earlier today."
The speaker was a female reporter.
Beside her stood a cameraman carrying professional recording equipment.
Originally, they had planned to wait for the authorities before coming here.
After all—
this place was extremely dangerous.
Earlier, they had personally witnessed heroes disappear after approaching the building.
If they got too close, they might be swallowed as well.
But in the end—
they chose to stay.
Because they wanted the exclusive story.
And so, despite the danger, they continued reporting from the front lines.
"As you can see behind us," the reporter continued seriously, "from the outside, the shopping mall still appears completely normal."
"There are crowds moving inside, everything appears active and bustling…"
"But in reality, all of those people disappeared hours ago."
"And because of the mall's strange properties, almost nobody realized it."
She took a breath.
"The current theory is that a villain specializing in illusion-type abilities attacked this location, causing the entire shopping center to become distorted."
"At present, both the Public Safety Commission and the Hero Commission are discussing ways to breach the building."
"We can only hope they bring us good news soon."
Then her expression became more serious.
"Also, viewers living nearby should absolutely not approach this area."
"This place is extremely dangerous."
"Anyone who gets too close risks being swallowed by the distorted space."
"But everyone can rest assured."
Her tone suddenly brightened.
"According to information from the authorities, the Symbol of Peace himself—No. 1 Hero All Might—entered the building immediately after the incident began."
"And as everyone knows…"
"There has never been a crisis All Might could not solve."
"I'm sure this incident will be resolved just as easily."
"So everyone only needs to wait patiently at home while All Might defeats these foolish villains and saves everyone inside!"
"Alright, that's all for now. If anything else happens, we'll continue updating—wait…"
Suddenly, the reporter froze.
Her eyes widened as she stared toward the top of the distorted shopping mall.
"There's… something there…"
"Incredible!"
"Two figures just appeared on top of the building!"
Her voice instantly became excited.
"Could those people be the villains responsible for all of this?!"
She immediately slapped the cameraman's shoulder.
"Quick! Zoom in!"
"Get a clear shot!"
"This is exclusive footage!"
The cameraman hurriedly adjusted the lens, enlarging the image of the two distant black dots standing atop the building.
And then—
the blurry figures gradually became clear.
What appeared on the screen were not villains triumphantly overlooking the city—
but two battered, bloodied men covered in injuries.
And those two people were—
Bakugo Katsuki.
And the No. 5 Hero—
Edge Shot.
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