Chapter 30: A Not-So-Successful Diversion
Setting aside Lu Zheng and Ye Qin, who were off training in the training room, just meters away from the Hero Association, the man known as Enemy A was hiding in a dark corner.
He repeatedly checked the time on his phone, then suspiciously peered into the Hero Association building.
It was already the time when Dr. Alien usually caused trouble—why hadn’t the Hero Association alarm gone off yet?
Could it be that the alarm was broken?
That couldn’t be, right?
Those alarms were one of the Hero Association’s daily inspection priorities—how could they just break without reason?
He couldn’t make sense of it.
Could it be… Dr. Alien flaked out today?
That possibility crept into his mind, and the longer time passed, the more certain he felt about it.
Who slacks off during working hours?
Annoyed, he stomped on a passing innocent ant and even ground it into the ground with his foot.
What was going on?
His plan had been so perfect—why wouldn’t the world just follow his script?
Enemy A felt his blood boil.
He had put in great effort to silently capture Ye Qin and use his ability to turn her into a human bomb and send her back to the Hero Association.
So long as Branch Director Qiu Yu followed his instructions and brought those three worthless prisoners to an abandoned factory, and Pixel Mask followed his usual pattern and went to handle Dr. Alien, the Hero Association would be nearly empty for about an hour.
It would be the perfect time to sneak into the Spiritual Veins hidden within and steal all of D-City’s spiritual energy undetected!
Qiu Yu was the only active magic user in the D-City branch, but she was a pure combat type—not skilled in arrays or spell formations.
The defensive formations and spells used in the Hero Association were all standardized—an easy target for Enemy A.
So why?
Why did such a perfect plan always get derailed?
To avoid having his spying detected while Qiu Yu was around, Enemy A had specifically waited until she left before coming close.
But upon arrival, he found Ye Qin—whom he’d turned into a bomb—alive and kicking.
Was it Pixel Mask’s doing?
What were the intel guys even good for?
Why hadn’t his brief mentioned that Pixel Mask had that kind of power?
And not a word about his combat strength?
Enemy A had always been confident—no one in D-City should’ve been able to defuse one of his bombs. But reality gave him a hard lesson: there’s always someone stronger.
Useless fools!
He grew increasingly furious at the intel team and had already begun imagining how he’d punish them once he got back.
If only he hadn’t tried to show off by sending Ye Qin back...
He was starting to regret it.
But that alone wouldn’t have made him so angry.
After all, so what if Ye Qin had been rescued?
Qiu Yu still had to show up at the designated spot with the prisoners, and Pixel Mask would still be lured away by Dr. Alien. The Hero Association would be left with a harmless Ye Qin he’d already captured once.
It shouldn’t affect the plan.
But why did Dr. Alien flake today of all days?
Leaving Pixel Mask still inside the Hero Association...
How was he supposed to sneak into the Spiritual Veins now?
If he got caught and Pixel Mask stalled him until Qiu Yu returned, his fate would be sealed.
He’d be captured and thrown in prison.
Like hell that was happening!
He was the chosen one personally scouted by the Freedom Alliance leader! A man destined for the top!
He’d clawed his way up from nothing, cleaning out countless pests—not just to end up in prison!
Enemy A took a deep breath and canceled the spell he was using to spy on the Hero Association.
Better to play it safe.
Forget it.
The Spiritual Veins weren’t going anywhere.
And he still had other plans.
There was no need to risk exposure and arrest by forcing his way into the Hero Association.
He turned and left the alley, searched for Dr. Alien’s Evil Lab on his phone, found a shared bike on the roadside, and pedaled off using the navigation.
Though today’s plan had failed thanks to Dr. Alien’s flaking, she was still a villain intent on conquering D-City—someone he might be able to rope in.
She’d failed so many times. Seeing a savior like him appear might leave her speechless with excitement, right?
“Heh... hehehe...”
As he fantasized about Dr. Alien kneeling at his feet, Enemy A pedaled away, laughing twistedly.
But he had no use for a failure like her.
Even if she submitted, he wouldn’t lift a finger for her.
She was just a decoy—bait meant to lure the heroes away, like a pebble tossed to distract a guard during a theft.
As he fantasized about siphoning D-City’s Spiritual Veins, rising to the top ranks of the Freedom Alliance, reaching the peak of life, and eventually ruling the world—Enemy A even found some joy in his annoying bike ride.
After a while, he arrived at Dr. Alien’s Evil Lab.
He dismounted, pulled out his phone to return the bike—
“What? No return station here?”
He stared at the screen, eyes wide.
Gripping his phone tightly, cracks appeared on the screen.
But needing it later, he swallowed his rage and checked the nearest return spot.
“Five kilometers away?!”
He inhaled sharply, stuffed his phone in his pocket, and angrily kicked the nearby shared bike.
“Damn it! What’re you gonna do if I don’t return you? Five bucks for such a short ride?!”
The innocent bike was kicked and slammed into a nearby tree.
Having vented his anger, he deleted the bike app and walked to the Evil Lab’s front gate.
Ding-dong.
He rang the doorbell.
After all, he was about to become her boss. He didn’t mind showing a little courtesy.
But after waiting, no one came to answer.
Ding-dong.
He rang again.
Still no response.
He was starting to get impatient.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
He spammed the doorbell, all the while mentally drafting how he’d punish Dr. Alien once he succeeded.
How dare she leave him out in the cold? Even licking his boots wouldn’t be enough to forgive her.
Perhaps from pressing it too much, the doorbell retracted into the wall, and a screen emerged:
[“I Love Savory Tofu Pudding Association” D-City Branch — Dr. Alien’s Evil Lab. Business Hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on weekdays. Do not disturb outside business hours. No soliciting.]
Enemy A checked the time on his phone.
4:25 P.M.
“Dr. Alien, you’re not even in your stupid Evil Lab?! Where the hell are you?!”
He shouted and kicked the door hard.
A powerful force shot back.
Unprepared, he was sent flying into the tree near the shared bike he’d kicked earlier.
The bent bike frame looked like a laughing face, endlessly mocking him.