**Chapter 34: Cards Also Have Expiration Dates (Chicken Leg~)**
**Wang Wang Assassin Group**
"Boss, a simple medical examination revealed that Dark Night's body had been completely mangled by some kind of force. He's already dead."
An assassin, visibly shaken, reported the findings of Dark Night's body examination to the Assassin Commander.
"All his internal organs were churned to bits?"
The Assassin Commander's face was filled with shock. "King, he really is terrifying. This time, who among you saw King make a move?"
The other assassins present, such as Leng Feng and Li Ren, shook their heads.
The Assassin Commander sighed worriedly. "Once again, he killed someone without a trace. He's truly much more terrifying than us assassins."
*Ring! Ring!*
The Assassin Commander's phone suddenly rang.
"Hello, Boss F, how are you? Yes, we failed again, but we managed to preserve most of our combat strength. Please give us another chance. Next time, we will definitely kill King. Okay, thank you for your trust, don't worry, we've already thought of a way to deal with King next. This way, he's dead for sure."
(In the assassin world, to protect employer information, they usually refer to their employers by code names.)
The Assassin Commander hung up the phone.
Leng Feng stepped forward and asked, "Boss, when did we come up with a plan to deal with King?"
The Assassin Commander glared at Leng Feng. "Idiot! How can you make money in business without lying?" He smirked coldly. "Besides, I already have a slight lead on how to deal with King. Everyone, get some good rest. In a few days, we'll take King out in one fell swoop."
"Yes, Boss!"
...
Somewhere in the world.
"Hmph, what right do you wastes have for me to trust you? Chuck, I hear a new assassin star named Sonic has recently risen in the assassin world?"
"Yes, sir."
"Hm, invite him to kill someone for me. The price is one billion."
"Yes, sir."
The room once again fell into silence.
...
"What? The Vaccine Man Card expires in five days?"
Z City, king was dumbfounded in King's home. Just now, he received a warm notification from the System, informing him that Vaccine Man would expire and become useless in five days.
"Ding, each Monster Card has a retention period of one month. It becomes useless upon expiration."
"Wait a minute, System, is there a way to keep the Card?"
That was the Vaccine Man Card, the first four-star Card he owned, and also one of only two Cards he currently possessed. It had immense power; how could it just expire like that?
"Ding, if you wish to extend the duration, please recharge."
"..."
Why does that sentence sound so familiar? Huh, administrator, help me recharge two yuan!
king asked again, "How much do I need to recharge for a four-star Card to become a permanent Card?" He still had over a million in his account, wondering if it was enough.
"Ding, this System's recharge is for Card recharge. Consuming a one-star Card can recharge the target Card for one week. Consuming a two-star Card can recharge the target Card for two weeks... Consuming a five-star Card can recharge the target Card for five weeks."
"Ding, warm reminder: Cards collected by this System cannot be permanently saved!"
"..."
Simply put, it's Card for Card!
If he had a one-star Card, he could recharge the Vaccine Man Card to extend its duration. However... his current assets only consisted of two four-star Cards. He couldn't possibly consume the Desire Decider Card to extend the Vaccine Man Card's duration because it wasn't worth it. The Desire Decider Card's abilities, to some extent, were far more powerful than Vaccine Man's.
Desire Decider:
Background: A Mysterious Being born from the will of the Earth to eliminate humanity and its civilization, due to mankind's ever-growing desires, which constantly destroy the environment to satisfy them.
Skill: Decider: All humans possessing 'appetite,' 'lust (censored),' and 'killer intent' will have their consciousness stripped away, falling into a vegetative state.
Although it only had one meager Skill, this Skill was simply a Bug-like existence for humans. Even the mighty Superalloy Darkshine was instantly affected by it.
Unfortunately, the Bug-like Desire Decider met the Bug-like Saitama and was punched to smithereens by Saitama.
king sighed with emotion, "Saitama, he really is strong enough to break the rules now. Oh, right, how many days have passed? I wonder if the express delivery I sent to Saitama last time has arrived. The express delivery in this world is so slow it makes me want to punch someone!"
He opened his computer to check his mail and found that the gift had already been mailed. He imagined Saitama's expression after opening the package. Hmm, delightful.
Hehe!
After amusing himself, he tidied up and prepared to go out. Sitch had called him, asking him to go to a designated location in M-City to film a set of hero public service announcements.
Of course, he also hoped to encounter a Demon Level Mysterious Being when he went out, to use the Vaccine Man Card to deal with it. This way, he wouldn't waste the Vaccine Man Card and would collect a Mysterious Being Card of a certain strength, allowing him to maintain his resistance against Mysterious Beings.
...
At the same time.
Z City, Uninhabited Area, downstairs from Saitama's apartment building.
*Screech!*
The car braked.
*Thud!*
The package landed.
"Saitama, your delivery has arrived."
The delivery man yelled.
*Vroom! Vroom!*
The car drove off.
This time, it was clearly much smoother than last time. The car stopped for less than half a minute from start to finish. The name 'Ghost Zone' had thoroughly penetrated people's hearts. Every time the delivery man delivered mail to Saitama, he would come with a resolve to die, and while he was at it, he would curse the recipient Saitama and the sender king to die sooner, so he wouldn't have to risk his life to deliver mail every time.
"Huh? Where are they? Who called me? Hey, is anyone there? Who just called me?"
Saitama pushed open his door and looked down the corridor. Downstairs, there was no one, only two tire marks left by braking. "Huh, is that... a package? Is it a delivery for me? Could it be another gift from a fan?"
His deadpan eyes narrowed slightly. He flipped over the corridor railing and jumped down, shuffling in his slippers to the package. Indeed, it read "To Saitama."
"Heh, another fan sent me a gift."
He looked pleased, rushing back into his room with the package. Although he became a hero out of interest, gaining fans also made him happy, because it wasn't just a fan's gift; it was also a heavy form of recognition.
*Click, click!*
He removed the outer shell of the package, revealing a delicate gift box inside. He carefully opened the gift box. Within the exquisite box, several bottles of famous brand shampoos were neatly arranged: Confident Rejoice, long-lasting anti-dandruff Clear, and Head & Shoulders for more outstanding hair...
Saitama's expression went blank. "Sha... shampoo?!"
He felt the muscles on his face twitching, and a "well" character practically burst from his temple, a prelude to going berserk. He forced himself to suppress his collapsing emotions and stiffly picked up the note from the gift box:
"Dear Saitama, how should I put this? I feel I owe you too much, and have no way to repay you. After much thought, I decided to mail you a few bottles of shampoo filled with my sincerest intentions. A man can be without hair, but he must wash his head, because after losing your hair, your dandruff becomes exposed. If you don't take good care of it, people will look down on you. Besides, only by diligently washing your head can a Baldy continue to shine, attract attention, and be a radiant... little sun!"
Sender: The Handsome Guy with Hair!
"Ah! Ah! Ah~"
Saitama transformed into his 'missed a bargain sale' berserk state. He furiously tore the note to shreds, scattering them into the air. So the gift was sent by that handsome guy with hair from last time? Why am I so annoyed? Is having hair such a big deal? I'm bald, but I became strong. Can you become strong by having hair? Can you?!
I'm just a strong Baldy!
(King: Having hair is a big deal! You bald head worked your ass off training for three years to become the strongest, while I became the strongest by eating, drinking, and having fun, just lying around. Hmph, facts prove that those with hair are truly superior!)
Third update: Please collect, please recommend. Er, also, shamelessly asking the list owner to add this to a booklist recommendation. Thanks a lot!
(end of chapter)