Currently, the tourism and leisure industry around the harbor district of Lone Star City is even more prosperous than before the Meteor Shower Event, thanks to Matthew Grimm and a number of celebrities who once played windsurfing and beach volleyball at nearby beaches.
As a result, many restaurants and water activity operators have come to develop along the coastline, and the Lone Star City government is pleased to see this growth.
A figure is walking along the tourist route on the street. He is wearing a light gray sun-protective jacket with a hoodie and a baseball cap, along with jeans, and holding a cellphone in one hand, seemingly chatting with a friend.
"Nemo, aren’t you worried about the sun? Why are you in the harbor district in this heat?" Matthew called after noticing Nemo's location while they were chatting on their secure phones. As expected, the wealthy man was concerned about Nemo appearing in an area he usually didn’t frequent.
"I’m not very familiar with the southern part of Lone Star City, so I came over to survey the area," Nemo replied.
The Westlake Restaurant where he had once worked as a chef and the rental apartments were in the west district. He often went to the Grimm Tower in the city center and had walked through the northern and eastern roads several times during camping trips, but he had never been to the southern harbor district.
The southern harbor district is a hotspot for gang territorial disputes and smuggling crimes, it hadn’t yet been included in KS man’s scope of operations.
For now, Nemo could only gather intelligence about the dark side of the harbor by monitoring police frequencies. As for the bright side, he could only say that out-of-town tourists loved to go to the nearby beaches to swim and visit trendy restaurants. The ambiguous red-light district was also located near the cargo port, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
The southern administrative district, with its convenient transportation, is the second most commercially developed area in Lone Star City after the city center. It has an industrial area near the cargo port, with everything from souvenir shops and traditional markets to five-star hotels and luxury department stores.
The city government, facing the aging issues around the harbor district, has promoted urban renewal policies, which have attracted large real estate developers to buy land in the southern area. Many labor workers and illegal immigrants still gather in cheap housing between the port and the southern commercial district.
After the Meteor Shower Event, the policy was suspended, and citizens who could no longer afford housing in the protein district began to expand their living areas. The mixed-use southern district could be considered the most densely populated area in Lone Star City.
"If you want to target the gangs, it’s too early," Matthew advised.
"I heard a group called the 'Kingdom' a few days ago, and I think I need to prepare in advance," Nemo straightforwardly threw out the keyword to the wealthy man.
"You're doing this again, can't you give me some buildup first?"
"My handicapped roommate at home can get this kind of intelligence from friends back in the homeland. You can’t possibly know less than him, right?"
"Maybe your roommate is only handicapped on one leg, and that’s not enough," Matthew said.
"That comment of yours could easily be misunderstood as a threat. I know you’re just making sure he won’t drag me down. The one who talked to Tolya is his childhood friend with more than ten years of friendship. He can’t refuse her out of both emotional and rational considerations. Tolya believes this information is important to me as well. The 'Kingdom' seems to have communicated with Miss Gromova’s gang territory and was involved in the robbery of Westlake Restaurant. The three robbers who were killed—I never found out the results of the follow-up investigation. Has it turned into a cold case?" He knew that Matthew's intention was to reduce the potential risks associated with Nemo's identity as an ordinary person, with the gang element being one of the priorities.
"The restaurant robbery caused the media to notice the footage of my fight. Now that I’m settled in Lone Star City, it’s possible I’ll be troubled while working in uniform. Not knowing isn’t safer for me. Tolya even suspects that the assassin who shot at me is from the 'Kingdom.' Matthew, I need to raise my state of readiness," Nemo said while doubting the unusually large crowd on the street.
By listening closely to the conversations of passersby, Nemo learned that the Lone Star City government had set up a stage on the nearby beach for a three-day ocean rock music festival. Now, all outdoor activities were not held at night. Today's stage performance ended at 2 p.m., and after the show, the audience, still lingering, continued to enjoy sightseeing and shopping in the area.
"Alright! There is indeed an organization called the 'Kingdom,' but I can’t be sure if the assassin who targeted us is inside. The 'Kingdom's' secrecy habits feel very familiar to me, and I suspect someone you used to know has joined and is expanding your old group's traditions," Matthew said in a somewhat disinterested tone.
As Tolya had said, the Grimm Group was more focused on its own development and global affairs. While they weren’t completely unaware of emerging underground organizations, they didn’t consider the 'Kingdom' a high priority.
Moreover, there were too many people who wanted to kill the world’s richest man, and Matthew, with his need for vengeance, had to slowly prioritize, putting the task of saving the world first.
"After the Meteor Shower Event, the 'Kingdom' began to develop from the Midwest. They did set up some dark networks in Lone Star City, but one of them I cut off as a little warning. My subordinates found the killer who shot the three robbers, gave him a beating, and contacted the police to take him away. Before the police arrived, someone saved the killer. Now the fugitive is on the FBI's most-wanted list. Let the police handle it," Matthew said, showing some concern about the cases of the robbers Nemo had beaten being inexplicably shot on the street, but in the end, things would be much simpler if the little chef didn't have gang-related factors around him.
"Don’t you want to find members of my former group?" Although this was also the reason Nemo was tortured and lost his memory, while refusing to recover it, he wanted the list of members to remain secret forever. But he thought Matthew's statement meant that the 'Kingdom' was also on his investigation list.
"If your former group members are still alive, have joined the 'Kingdom,' and leaked some of the group's secrets, it means they’ve already quit, so they don’t count. After all, that person was protecting your former companions, ordinary people like you, based on shared ideals and old ties. I’m just a hired hand," Matthew responded.
"Understood."
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"From another angle, I can give you a better understanding of the 'Kingdom,'" Matthew said, enjoying gossiping with the little chef. Especially since Nemo had rarely asked him for information, how could he not satisfy a good friend?
"Make it quick, I plan to head home," Nemo replied.
The more the crowd grew, the less interest he had in surveying the area. Now, even finding a small shop to sit down for a cup of iced tea had become a struggle with so many people around.
"The first villain to release the bloodsucking giant mosquitoes said it wasn’t a lone-wolf operation. It was a synchronized terrorist attack targeting several cities across the U.S. and plans to kidnap and ransom several politicians and powerful figures. Some of them were actually kidnapped," Matthew explained.
Nemo recalled that Matthew had mentioned some villains were too poor to survive and harbored a hatred for the government. Could they have united to carry out terrorist attacks for this reason? Though absurd, it was a plausible development, especially considering they were superpowered beings. Robbing a bank was too low for them—at least they would target the bank’s owner.
"Didn’t you sign a confidentiality agreement?" the curly-haired young man asked, adjusting his baseball cap.
His lips were sunburned and would definitely crack, followed by a scolding from supermodel Angie. Nemo had promised to buy a colorless and odorless lip balm to take care of his lips, one that wouldn’t be embarrassing for men to use. He had procrastinated for months, so today, he figured he’d just stop by a pharmacy or a large supermarket in the southern district to buy a tube of lip balm as a souvenir.
While multitasking, Nemo planned his next move while continuing his spy-style conversation with the wealthiest man.
"So, I didn’t tell you which people were kidnapped, did I? Anyway, everyone who could be rescued was saved," Matthew said. "Interestingly, the 'Kingdom' also stopped superpowered villains from carrying out terrorist attacks in two states. This made things easier for our heroes."
"But that doesn’t mean the 'Kingdom' is on the good side, correct?"
"I think it's just that those two states happened to be the 'Kingdom's' key development territories, so some supervillains just happened to run into them. Also, the 'Kingdom' seems to have gained some gratitude and support from their financial backers," Matthew replied.
"What kind of organization is this?" Given Matthew’s genius, he could assess this situation with some degree of certainty. The billionaire couldn’t possibly ignore the emerging future threat.
"The members range from lawful good to chaotic evil, but they do have one thing in common: they are all anarchists, which is why they call themselves the 'Kingdom,'" Matthew explained.
"Wow, that sounds really edgy," Nemo exclaimed.
"The organization’s style and the personalities of the members currently exposed are also pretty chuunibyou," Matthew admitted, having learned many terms from Nemo.
"You have a close relationship with the U.S. government. I won’t be implicated by you, will I?"
Matthew almost wanted to record that statement to play it for that person. Was this the attitude a superhero should have toward a benefactor?
"My intuition says no, because KS doesn’t just beat up bad guys who bully women and children, but also takes compromising photos of them to threaten them into not repeating their crimes. This kind of ruthless behavior is not only popular with gangsters and hardened criminals, but even with the radical lunatics in the 'Kingdom.' If they invite you to join, don’t forget how well I’ve always treated you." Matthew said, not forgetting to play the sympathy card.
" No worries, I’ve never been into club activities," Nemo replied.
This time, Matthew paused for a long time before responding. Nemo knew he was busy with work and waited patiently. The line was still active, indicating that Matthew wanted him to stay on the line, otherwise, a quick "I have to go, see you later" wouldn’t take long.
"Matthew?" A minute later, Nemo tentatively called his name, hoping Matthew hadn’t suddenly been ambushed or suffered a heart attack.
"Nemo! Leave Lone Star Harbor immediately! A kaiju is coming from the sea! The U.S. military has already launched an operation, and the city government will soon send evacuation messages. I have to contact and pick up the heroes who can fight! Take care! Don’t do anything reckless!" Matthew hurriedly ended the call.
Nemo stared at his completely disconnected secure phone. Three seconds later, he put the phone back into his chest bag and took out a palm-sized mini monocular to scan the distant sea surface. The horizon was as calm as ever, shimmering brightly under the scorching sun. But Nemo knew the sea could be deceiving—the danger lay beneath the surface.
Lone Star City had a population of two million, but with the transient population in the southern district, it accounted for almost half. Many refugees had brought their families to the port district to work illegally. If a new kaiju truly landed, the consequences would be unthinkable.
It seemed the situation was indeed urgent. The detail-oriented billionaire had rarely been caught in a slip of the tongue by Nemo. He had never been "in the port" but rather above it, on the sloped commercial streets of the port district. Technically, Nemo had already left the port area.
As a superhero, how could Nemo leave without seeing the kaiju's appearance? He looked around, realized no one was paying attention to him, took out a mask, put it on, and then walked into a fire escape alley. He activated his superpower and jumped on the spot, skillfully grabbing an iron window and starting to climb. Nemo stayed within the bounds of parkour techniques, making sure that even if someone saw him, it wouldn’t be alarming.
Nemo climbed to the rooftop of a five-story building, temporarily escaping the crowd’s attention. From the high vantage point, he could continue to observe the sea surface outside the port with his monocular.
Two torpedoes exploded near the surface of the water, sending up fountain-like splashes. At the same time, a battle helicopter hovered above the area, alert and on guard. There were no surface ships in sight—could the U.S. military have deployed a submarine?
To accommodate large ships, the water depth inside and outside the port was much greater than a tourist beach. The torpedoes were naturally aimed at critical targets.
What kind of kaiju’s vital spots would be so close to the surface? Nemo couldn’t imagine, but the intuitive danger of the creature being nearby made his skin crawl.
From the height of the water explosion, Nemo deduced that they were heavy torpedoes. The U.S. military was dealing with a single massive creature, not a swarm of medium or small monsters. In such a case, they would first deploy underwater mines from the air to seal off the port, since they were in the city area. A mass landing of sea monsters wasn’t something to take lightly.
The explosions and splashes from the torpedoes outside the port caught the attention of the crowd. Some more alert tourists had already started fleeing the port area, while others remained in place, watching. Dock workers paused their work and whispered amongst themselves.
Nemo’s other phone, a regular VV mobile, rang with a text alert. He, along with many people on the ground, took out their phones and looked at the messages.
A giant kaiju was about to land at Lone Star Harbor. The federal government requested all local residents to immediately leave the seaside area and quickly distance themselves from the southern district of Lone Star City. People were advised to either evacuate via the highways to a neighboring state or head inland to the mountains. The National Guard was rushing to major intersections to help evacuate civilians and control traffic. The southern district would be cleared out to serve as the battleground between the U.S. military and the kaiju.
Nemo hazily remembered something important. It seemed that apart from the angel-like Michael and the occasionally parachuting Leviathan, none of the well-known heroes on the superhuman rankings had been observed flying.
How long would the U.S. military have to hold out before enough superheroes arrived at the scene? Superheroes were used to hiding their identities, and Matthew had just mentioned the word "pick-up," so it was clear he had made arrangements for some superheroes to move quickly. But this time, they were up against a deep-sea kaiju, not the bloodsucking mosquitoes.
When the East Coast Kaiju caused chaos near the Statue of Liberty, there were only six top superheroes actually able to fight back. He couldn’t be sure all of them would show up this time, so Nemo just hoped some new, unexpected heroes would step up to take on the giant Kaiju. Of course, Nemo was self-aware enough to erase "KS man" from his thoughts.
The sirens for an air raid went off in Lone Star Harbor, warning those who hadn’t seen the message or didn’t pay attention to their phones to evacuate immediately.
The alarm wasn’t wrong—military aircraft had indeed appeared, preparing to launch a missile saturation attack as soon as the kaiju surfaced.
It had been half a year since the East Coast Kaiju landed. Now, a second mysterious kaiju had appeared off the coast of Lone Star Harbor. The kaiju incident in China’s Bohai Bay couldn’t be allowed to repeat on American soil!