As the city with the largest number and scale of hero companies and evil organizations worldwide, Central City’s disaster response procedures were exceptionally thorough and efficient.
Once a battle ended, specialized cleanup companies would arrive to clear the battlefield, but this time it was relatively easy since the Shadow Soldiers and witches vanished cleanly upon death. All they had to deal with were the ruins of the exhibition hall…
Of course, hero companies, insurance companies, medical teams, relic preservation companies, and a swarm of bothersome media reporters would all rush to the scene immediately, making the aftermath of the battle even livelier.
However, Clara wasn’t in the mood for interviews. She was hiding in the corner of a medical inflatable tent, staying by the side of the injured Lucia, burdened with guilt…
Lucia’s injuries had been treated; it was a small mercy that her spine hadn’t been broken.
Pure White Storm had also been taken away by a Sigma Corporation vehicle. His condition seemed somewhat special—Sigma’s heroes refused to let him receive medical treatment on site.
“Sorry, Fran, I couldn’t get through to Alice…”
Clara lowered her head, adjusting her glasses and rubbing her fingers together as she apologized softly.
To Fran Livka, the top-tier hero “Mechanical Angel Alice” was most likely the enemy who killed her father. Having finally had a chance to get close, letting the other party slip away like this made Clara feel she hadn’t done enough.
Fran sighed helplessly at Clara’s apology. “It’s not your fault. You tried your best. She probably hacked into those glasses and saw me through the network, right?”
After all, Alice was a powerful AI using a bio-computer; such feats were hardly surprising.
Clara wanted to say something comforting, but Fran continued, “However, since she refuses to face me, that means she’s hiding something. It confirms my suspicions… She definitely remembers what happened back then, so there’s even more reason to investigate! I’ll leave the follow-up to you, Clara~”
“Alright, I’ll do my best.”
Recalling the recent events, Clara asked, “But she said she’d wait for me at the Association. Maybe joining the Hero Association will give me a chance to meet her?”
“It’s not that simple. That was just a courtesy from a top-tier hero to a rookie like you. Since she knows about you and me, it won’t be easy to see her again.”
“I see…”
Not knowing how to respond, Clara fell silent.
Empty reassurances were pointless; she could only awkwardly change the subject.
“By the way, I guess this ‘Radiant Hero Festival’ won’t be held again, right?”
Lucia, lying on the bed in front of Clara, smiled wryly beneath her bandages.
“Senpai~ Half the exhibition hall was destroyed, even the ceiling is gone! How can the event continue? Forget the Hero Festival—the Expo Center won’t be open this week either.”
Then she quickly corrected herself, “But it’s not all bad for us, right? Clara Senpai really made a splash today! Your debut fight was pretty much perfect. Once your injuries heal, you can hold a debut press conference~”
“Not really, I wasn’t the one who solved everything in the end.”
According to Nyx, Clara seemed to grow stronger when her emotions were high.
But even with that power, she couldn’t defeat that witch…
“That’s enough! Even those high-level heroes got wiped out in seconds! You held your ground alone until a top-tier hero showed up, and all of it was caught on those drones’ cameras…”
In fact, Clara had exploited one of the witch’s weaknesses, but neither Lucia nor the reporters on-site knew that.
After all, no one could see the weak point inside the witch’s body.
People only knew that Alice killed the witch with a single shot and generally cheered for Clara, not realizing she played any decisive role in the battle.
Of course, the image of a petite masked girl wielding a gun taller than herself was enough to boost Clara’s popularity quite a bit.
“Speaking of which…”
Lucia’s gaze drifted to Clara’s jet-black hair.
“Clara Senpai, do you still have tentacles hidden in your hair?”
“Ugh—”
She had expected to be asked that during combat when she used her tentacles.
At this point, was there any reason to keep hiding it?
Lucia was her irreplaceable little sister. Should she continue to deceive her just out of some trivial embarrassment?
The shocking scar on her back filled Clara with guilt.
As she wrestled with her conscience, a thin tentacle emerged from beneath Clara’s black hair, slowly creeping toward Lucia’s eyes and writhing like a small, agile snake.
“Here…”
“Oh! You really do have them?”
Lucia couldn’t help but reach out and play with it, smiling, “My big brother has tentacles too, but his aren’t as cute as yours, Miss Clara~”
Clara’s tentacles were different from those of the Squid Monster days; their surface had no suckers, so they looked smooth and pink—indeed quite cute.
However, the smooth surface was lined with sensitive nerve endings. When Lucia pinched and toyed with the tentacle in her palm, Clara couldn’t help but squirm.
“…Stop playing, it’s ticklish.”
Lucia finally noticed the rosy flush on the girl’s cheeks and released the tentacle.
“Sorry~ So, Miss Clara, you’ve had modification surgery too?”
“Yes, it was necessary for my previous job…”
Though vague, perhaps Lucia had already guessed.
But Lucia, lying on the bed, didn’t press the matter. She glanced at Clara’s bandaged thigh and after a moment said:
“Since my injury isn’t serious, I’ll just recover back at the dorm.”
She even took the initiative to change the topic, which made Clara breathe a sigh of relief.
“Back to the dorm… not the hospital? Your injuries are quite serious.”
“It’s just flesh wounds~ I can stand with crutches. As long as I don’t bathe or do anything strenuous and apply medicine on time, I’ll probably recover within a week. It’d be a waste to be hospitalized for such a small injury~”
It’s not a small injury.
Even with current medical technology, Lucia’s wounds were still severe.
It all came down to money.
Medical expenses in Central City were truly expensive. Since Lucia just started working, she hadn’t yet paid into worker’s insurance and couldn’t afford hospital fees…
“Don’t worry, Lucia. Medical treatment related to battles is free, and it won’t take much time either.”
Fran reminded them, “You don’t need to worry about the company either. Even though you’re technically on leave, you can apply for work injury compensation to cover medical costs. Though she has a brash personality, the small boss is quite reasonable about these things~”
Lucia asked, “Uh, can the compensation be cashed out?”
Wanting to pocket even that money? That girl must have fallen into a money pit!
Clara twitched her mouth at her sister’s greedy nature. It was a family trait she could do nothing about.
Looking again at the bandages on Lucia’s back, Clara summoned her courage and proposed, “Since you’ve decided to recover at the dorm, I’ll take care of you these days.”
It wasn’t a suggestion but a statement of fact.
“But Senpai~ You’re injured too, right?”
Clara shook her head.
“It’s fine. My wounds heal quickly. Compared to you, I just have a hole drilled in my leg…”
Clara wanted to tell Lucia that she was her big brother.
After all, her little sister had come to the city alone for work and gotten hurt; it was unacceptable for her big brother to ignore it. Although with Lucia’s strong-willed personality, she probably wouldn’t even mention it to the family…
Still, Clara had no idea how to bring it up.
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