KS man grabbed a few advertising leaflets and crumpled them into the drunk's mouth, removed the drunk's belt, raised his hands up and tied them to the top of his head, and in the process pulled the wound.
The drunk let out a painful moan again, and then KS man used both hands together, and in one breath his underwear and trousers faded to his ankles, revealing the ugly sexual organs in the messy hair. The woman who lives here, her battered body and bruised face bearing the scars of abuse, widened her eyes in disbelief.
Then KS man picked up the fallen fruit knife and poked it between the man's legs, the blade was less than a short distance from the man's sexual organs, and the drunk man felt the weapon against his skin even if he couldn't see clearly, and he was so frightened that he instantly became incontinent, and the light yellow liquid flowed into a puddle.
The hoodie superhero was still wondering whether he should just grab some vinegar or wine to make it work, but now it's a lot simpler.
After the pre-preparation was completed and the target could not and did not dare to move, KS man stepped on the target's chest and drew his signature weapon, taking a picture of the man to document the record.
"The more time I spend on paperwork, the less I feel like reasoning with my target." After KS man finished speaking, he seemed to remember something, turned to the woman and added, "Aren't you going to take a commemorative photo together? When you're scared, you can take it out and be at ease."
The woman was frightened, and subconsciously followed his words and turned on the mobile phone lens to take pictures at her embarrassed husband.
Then KS Man asked the woman to borrow her kitchen counter and some bleach to clean his weapon. She agreed, and KS Man worked quickly, completing the disinfection in less than ten seconds.
The woman, who had endured torment for years, could only stare blankly at this miraculous scene from start to finish.
KS Man pulled her to the front door, lowering his voice to ensure the target couldn't hear their conversation. In fact, the man had been drunk first, then received a beating and threats, and was already in a semi-comatose state.
"Dear Rosemary..." KS Man spoke again.
"I’m not named Rosemary..." the woman instinctively retorted, but then feared this might anger him, shrinking and trembling even more.
"Yes, that’s your name on the Meteor Shower Watchers Forum. You’ll create an account. If the name is already taken, I hope you’ll add today's date and start a thread about the hero you support, preferably not me. If your husband bullies you again, just update a reply in that thread with any content, it doesn’t matter, just send me a message." KS Man was calm throughout, his speech rate unchanged, his every gesture carrying an unyielding authority.
However, the woman could truly sense the difference. KS Man didn't want her to interfere with his actions; he wasn’t trying to make her submit. Every word contained concern for the safety of her and her son.
"I can't promise, but maybe I can come by to help when I have time, until the thread sinks to the bottom. I won’t bother you otherwise. Can we agree on that?" KS Man asked.
"Yes." she covered her face, tears flowing through her fingers.
"By the way, remember to back up the photos. He might ask you to delete them. If something like this happens again and you can't call for help and your life is in danger, but I can’t make it in time, just tell him someone will post the photos on forums across America. This is my final warning." The Eastern hero, who had not shown any special powers, had completely taken control of the situation with simple attacks and unexpected threats.
Usually, people don’t take life threats seriously, but embarrassing photos are more useful. Nemo complained to himself. It's probably the same reason people would rather confess in court than let embarrassing content be exposed.
"If he still doesn’t stop, protect yourself with all your strength, don’t worry about the outcome. No matter when, I will end this." KS Man placed his hand on his chest to indicate.
"Thank you... I don’t know what to say... I have to protect Tommy, my son..." she collapsed to the floor and cried.
"Shh." KS Man quieted her breakdown with a soft sound. "I suggest you go back to the room and tell Tommy everything is fine, that the monster has been defeated. Get him to bed and don’t let him see the dirty things in the living room. It’s bad for a child’s psychological development. Afterward, you can call the police or do whatever you like. Once you’ve cleaned up everything, find a safe place and cry it out."
The woman nodded, choking back her tears.
"I hope we never meet again, dear."
The cold, indifferent voice and the completely different gentle words were like cold snowflakes falling on a searing, painful wound.
※※※
After the first mission ended, Nemo saw a post on a forum from a woman, where she dryly posted a few handsome pictures of Michael and then left no further updates.
Later, Nemo's safe house was filled with piles of dense information, with whiteboards and walls covered in various maps and route plans. His personal intelligence network and informants were gradually being developed.
Every day, he spent a lot of time monitoring various channels and filtering information from different sources, including the bug he had planted at the target's residence.
The safe house was too comfortable in the winter, almost like a squirrel’s den for hibernation, with all sorts of criminal information as his food supply. Nemo’s introverted nature clearly suited staying in one place, quietly investigating and then striking quickly, only to disappear after the job was done.
The agreement to return and spend the night with Tolya was changed because Nemo had been active only at night since his first mission in July. He began staying in his rental apartment during the day to catch up on sleep and avoid the heat, of course, not forgetting to check Tolya's progress on his studies and homework. Heavy rain and fog often enveloped Lone Star City, making the rental apartment feel like an isolated island.
KS Man's ranking had been rising slowly, almost entirely due to the fact that the previous superhero had stopped being active for too long, which allowed KS Man to rise by default.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
After all, KS Man had no other footage except for the debut training videos.
Occasionally, victims who had been saved or witnessed him in action contributed to the urban legends of Lone Star City, making him just as inconspicuous as other up-and-coming rookie heroes.
The high school principal who assaulted students, the company boss who sexually blackmailed subordinates, the pedophile soccer coach, the influencer who recorded sexual assault videos while drugging and coercing, the bullying teenage high school students... only those who had personally experienced pain understood the low profile and terror of KS. Within just a few months, the variety of KS Man's targets became more diverse and harder to categorize.
Due to KS Man's usual agreement with the victims he helps to maintain a low profile, many victims genuinely prefer not to have their experiences linked with superheroes and publicized. They typically report to the police, claiming that a mysterious hero helped them. As for which hero it was, the victim might not recognize them due to the hero's superpowers being too fast or because they were so scared they hid without seeing the hero. In any case, they couldn't identify them.
Nemo was really busy. He didn't even have time to check on the victim he helped two days ago. Today's tasks were still waiting on the shelf. In a way, Nemo's schedule was very similar to his past job as a chef at Westlake Restaurant, preparing ingredients ahead of time before serving dishes.
About half a year after Nemo first acted as a superhero, a new KS Man support post appeared on the forum, posted by a user named "Rosemary0712."
The post was simple, featuring a photo of a man tied up, exposed, and stabbed, with a large red label over the photo reading "Domestic Violence Rapist." The red label deliberately or accidentally covered the area where the man was stabbed in the collarbone.
"To avoid wasting your precious time, I’m leaving out the medical records and that I divorced that man. Now, I’ve moved to a safe place with my child and am looking for a job. I used to think I could never escape, but now I believe everything will be fine. Even if that man comes back, I can handle him. This forum has taught me so much. Thank you, Star friends!"
"Thank you, my hero. I tell my child that you are a gift sent by a shooting star."
"I never followed up on this case after checking the forum ID regularly, since there were too many targets to deal with. A lot happened in the past six months. I thought she might need my help a few more times or that something tragic would happen, but it turns out she handled everything quickly and well." Nemo took down a tattered photo pinned to a board used for target practice. It could be replaced with the new photo now.
Matthew came by to visit the safe house, which Nemo had completely filled with every inch of space being used. Not to mention the surveillance equipment generously sponsored by the richest man, the space was filled with paper documents, missing persons analyses, and victim photos, resembling a mix of a high-end detective's and a serial killer's lair.
"People can be really stubborn, sticking to their views until the end, but they can also change their minds in a heartbeat, especially depending on how strong the drugs they use are. You brought her to the door, showed her that the prison door could be opened. Life is a fairy tale, where the prince rescues the princess from the dragon's mouth, and you also took off her husband’s pants, threatening to let all of America see his subpar, soft, dirty thing. What can I say? Thankfully, she censored it to avoid violating the forum rules," Matthew said.
However, ordinary people's reactions once again surprised both the world’s richest man and KS Man. Beneath Rosemary0712's thank-you post, around thirty plant IDs appeared, some posted just photos, while others included brief statements.
One of the photos showed a well-dressed high school student bound with their hands and feet, placed in a large aquarium full of cockroaches. The target was crying uncontrollably, proving that KS Man still cared about the extent of child nudity. The screenshot was labeled: "Three suicide attempts. I forgave him. Please don't dox the bully. For KS."
The most discussed was one of the plant IDs, which posted five different photos of the victim in varying clothes, dates, and positions, followed by three photos of cookies.
"Vannilan1003: I’m here to apologize to KS. I’m sorry for bothering him so many times. After the third time, I tried baking some snacks to thank him. He even suggested I change the baking temperature and time. But he prefers not to eat my cookies anymore."
"Unfortunately, I didn’t make it in time for the divorce. I regret pretending that a gay marriage could be as happy as a normal one, silently enduring years of private abuse and infidelity. KS told me this isn’t about orientation or faith; many married women go through the same thing."
"My husband hates me more and more. He came at me with a knife and gasoline, but in the end, I survived. I guess that’s the unfairness of being a man! I successfully fought back. Sorry, sisters! I’m at the police station now, ready to turn myself in. I hope we can all have coffee together after I’m out."
Nemo couldn’t help but sigh after reading Vannilan1003's confession.
The Meteor Shower Watchers Forum, spurred by Rosemary0712's post, triggered a "ME TOO" wave, with some even starting a fundraising campaign to hire the best defense lawyer for Vannilan1003.
KS Man’s tendency to target ordinary villains raised discussions about whether his approach, which used the advantage of fighting the weak, was acceptable. Was his act of humiliating the perpetrators heroic or vigilante? Would this low-key superhero be the only exception without superpowers—truly a ninja expert? These topics continued to spark heated debates.
The superhero ranking had reached over a thousand entries, and within a week, KS Man had risen into the top 100. It was clear that the vast majority of voters felt that KS Man’s creativity and hard work deserved recognition.
"KS Man’s inbox has been flooded with requests from all over the country. What are you going to do about it?" Matthew asked, with a laptop on his lap.
"Forward those emails to other heroes or superpowered individuals applying to you. Just tell them KS doesn't claim any method patents and welcomes like-minded people to join in." Nemo pinned a new practice photo to the board with a throwing star and sipped his steaming hot tea.
"No problem. By the way, why are you only pouring one cup of tea for yourself?" Matthew, concerned about Nemo getting cold in the storm, the wealthy benefactor brought a stack of disaster movie DVDs and a Hawaiian pizza to show his care.
"You like coffee, so I prepared instant coffee packs in your dedicated mug. If you don’t want it, it won’t go to waste. You can make it yourself, Mr. Grimm." Nemo always had a reason ready.
"Alright, thanks for the thoughtful gesture." Matthew had grown accustomed to it. If Nemo ever served him too well, he’d probably suspect the little chef was possessed by an evil spirit.
"The kettle just boiled, and after I made tea, there's still some hot water left. You can use it to brew coffee. Also, thank you for the pizza; it's my favorite flavor. " Nemo pointed to a table with snacks and drink packets, where the kettle and mugs were placed.
"You've exceeded the number of times you've sent equipment and weapons for repairs. I hope you don't need any repairs yourself. How about we slack off and have a movie night together tonight?" After Matthew made his instant coffee, he closed his laptop, saying that even the CEO needed to clock off and rest.
"Sure, the one buying the meal decides," Nemo said, putting down his materials and grabbing a slice of pizza.
After a while, Matthew curiously asked, "I thought you’d invite Angie? She doesn’t have any missions or special training tonight and is still in Lone Star City."
"But this is the safe house. It’s not meant for entertainment. Also, I’m too busy and don’t feel like tidying up the room," Nemo replied. He had the modesty typical of Taiwanese men and didn’t want a girl to see his untidy private space.
"It’s messy, but at least it doesn’t stink," Matthew commented. It was probably because Nemo always took the trash with him when he left. "I guess I'll have to sit on the pile of reports?"
Nemo put down his tea cup, quickly assembling a portable moon chair from the room and unrolling a sleeping bag on it. Matthew’s throne was born.
"Wow, today I finally beat your Russian roommate, right?"
"Thanks to the snowstorm, I was going to go back, but Tolya told me it was safer to stay here in the safe house." Nemo said.
The world’s richest man snuggled comfortably in the seat Nemo prepared for him. It was cramped and not soft enough, but Matthew urged Nemo to move the computer chair beside him so they could watch the movie on the desktop screen together.
"Godzilla or The Day After Tomorrow?"
Nemo pulled out his own collection. "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies."
"Your mood is really hard to read."
--- End of Episode 2