As mid-September arrived, it could be described as a busy yet uneventful month. The "uneventful" part referred to Nemo’s sanity steadily declining every few days during his solo missions—whether he was taking down criminals or narrowly making it through several encounters with the Kingdom’s delegates. KS Man was fully dedicated to investigating and filtering out the lowest-level, most easily overlooked violent crimes. Nemo was truly busy.

During this period, Angie moved into Nemo’s safe house to recuperate from the damage caused by the Sea Giant’s original blood. She witnessed KS Man's steady growth and couldn’t help but marvel at it. She also helped Nemo monitor and screen case records while ensuring that Angie had enough sleep and nutrition.

When Nemo regularly took his partner to the Grimm Group headquarters for check-ups, Angie expressed her desire to become a medic instead of a frontline fighter and asked for professional training and equipment. Matthew agreed.

Though Nemo had suggested that Angie express her desires and needs directly to Matthew, he had already informed the billionaire ahead of time. Matthew saw Nemo as the key to unlocking Salamander’s potential and wanted to make sure he wasn’t wrong about his choice.

"There’s no shortage of superheroes good at attacking, but my plan is for Angie to take on a more difficult role in the team," Nemo said privately to the billionaire.

"Such as?" the man with golden eyes asked, intrigued.

"I want Angie to use the virtual room to practice tactical emergency treatment, and also help her develop an automatic gear pod for carrying injured personnel. She can fight and take hits, has the courage to be on the frontlines, and the ability to infiltrate behind enemy lines. She’ll make the best medic, capable of protecting injured superheroes or key targets during retreat. This is a rare quality, something even Leviathan and Michael can't do," the curly-haired young man said, not as a request.

"Did you sell her on this idea, or is it something Angie genuinely wants to do?" Matthew asked, confirming once again.

"She prefers saving people to fighting. Only the ultimate warriors can fight while carrying their injured comrades to safety. You said she’s a born warrior, and that’s true. She doesn’t shy away from battle, and though she despises killing, she’s very good at it. But Angie can’t even bear to handle animal-tested toxins. When she first became a superhero, she told me she wanted to be an ordinary girl. According to your theory about human nature and the survival of superheroes, isn’t this a good thing?"

"Yes, go ahead and try whatever you and Angie have in mind! I also believe this proposal would greatly benefit our side." Later, Matthew accepted all of Angie's requests without hesitation.

Then, Nemo asked Angie try reducing her weight while transforming, since she would be frequently changing forms during her recuperation to metabolize the Sea Giant's blood's negative effects.

"Superhero transformation isn’t fixed, just look at Leviathan. He won’t carry the weight needed to fight kaiju when flying. Even if your giant lizard form can't change immediately, it’s better to be as agile and quick as possible when facing human opponents."

"If I run as fast as an ambulance, I can buy more time for the injured," Angie caught the key point.

"Not only should you run fast, but you shouldn’t expend too much energy. Also, you need to consider the possibility of underwater rescues," Nemo added. "If you’re light enough, you could even lie on top of a large vehicle or yacht, saving energy during long-distance movement, and still team up with other superheroes. Otherwise, Matthew’s still using military-grade trucks to carry Salamander, and I can’t drive those."

Angie’s weight as a giant lizard had definitely been measured in the Grimm Group's experimental zone, so it had to be moved by specialized trucks.

"That sounds so hard... Even when turning into a giant lizard, I still have to stay slim," Angie said with a bitter expression. The agony of being a professional supermodel—does she have to go through it all over again as a superhero?

"When you transform into Salamander, it’s not because you’re eating too much. It’s probably just the original form focused on attack. I also balance my energy between offense and reconnaissance when using superpowers. Also, your ability likely includes some kind of force field that eliminates the shock and noise from movement, which is why your stealth ability is so good. Otherwise, Salamander would’ve already smashed the ceiling during a jump."Nemo said.

Nemo first experienced Salamander's extraordinary jumping ability when he climbed onto the giant lizard to cross the tall buildings in Lone Star City. He was worried that the reaction force from Salamander's large movements would throw him and Matthew off, but it seemed as though Newton's third law didn’t apply to Salamander. At times, when jumping onto the roofs of older buildings, he even doubted whether the ground would collapse, but when Salamander landed, there was no sound—no cracks at all.

When Salamander was still, though, she was heavy, indicating Angie hadn't yet fully mastered the hidden power of her other form.

Anyway, knowing that she could focus on rescue missions instead of fighting enemies to the death motivated Angie, who was determined to practice form changes once her energy accumulated enough.

Recently, Nemo often stayed in the safe house for several consecutive days, and when he went home, he didn’t stay long. However, he had already explained to Tolya that he was busy caring for his injured teammate—superhero, after all! Tolya even believed this was a healthier excuse for Nemo than going out to teach some psychotic scumbags a lesson.

Tolya would deliberately call Nemo late at night, asking about English grammar or Chinese words, just to make sure Nemo was staying inside and not running around.

Nemo, meanwhile, cleverly never let Tolya hear a peep from the injured teammate—Tolya didn’t even know if it was a man or a woman. Wait, why did he even consider the possibility of it being a woman? His teammate living with him would obviously be a man! Tolya couldn’t imagine Nemo secretly hiding a woman in the safe house. It was likely due to the deeply ingrained perception of Nemo's celibacy that women, to him, appeared as rare as men—he seemed like an insulator, equally distant from both.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Anyway, Nemo did a great job of protecting his superhero secret identity, and Tolya understood. He even suspected that Nemo was subtly demonstrating how to handle the situation, suggesting that his Russian roommate should do the same.

In September, Lone Star City was hot, humid, and drowsy during the day, but at night, Tolya found that studying was more efficient. When he ran into a writing roadblock and sought Nemo’s help, their conversations would quickly turn into random chitchat.

"Wei? Nemo? You finally picked up the phone!" Tolya said, using the unique Taiwanese exclamation when calling Nemo.

"I was just taking a shower."

"Why are you showering so late? It's almost midnight."

"I took a comrade to the Grimm Group for a check-up and also did some physical training. Just got back to the safe house." In this kind of weather, training followed by a shower didn’t do much—he'd work up a sweat again on his way from the Grimm Tower back to the safe house. Nemo wouldn’t sleep for at least two more hours, with plenty of case files left to read.

"So now it's your comrade's turn to shower? Can I share some secret intel?"

"Feel free. Anything my comrade should know, I’ll share."

"That's fine! Anyway, it's all street gossip I heard from Veronika." Now, Tolya had switched to a new bar where no one recognized him, just drinking beer to pass the time. He still occasionally met his childhood friend at their usual spot when invited.

The Russian was very skilled at pacing the distance, making it seem like his friendship with the female gang leader had only grown stronger, while he deliberately showed weakness to other gang members. After hearing that Tolya’s health check showed problems with his lungs and that he was quitting smoking, those gang members privately laughed half to death.

–– "Anatoly’s afraid for his life after his injury, wants to attend an American university and be an upper-class citizen. Let’s not disturb the fool." The mocking voices passed on.

"That red circle you drew a month ago? At least three strange murder cases came out of it. The victims were all gang members. Of course, they didn’t report the murders, just buried the bodies in the mountains."

"What kind of deaths are so strange that they turn into rumors on the street?" Nemo sat down at his laptop, opening a blank document and taking notes with one hand while listening to Tolya describe the case over the phone.

"One incident had three victims, another four, and the last one had six. At the scene, they were compressed by an invisible force into small chunks, like something you'd see at a junkyard. All the blood and bodily fluids were squeezed out, leaving a gruesome mess. The body clumps weren’t big, but they were even more horrifying, looking like ground meat mixed with bone fragments." Tolya remembered the scene of Nemo preparing ingredients when he was still a chef. For the next period, he didn’t want to go back to the restaurant kitchen to catch up with anyone.

"Are you sure the killer is a superpowered person?" Nemo asked.

"It’s hard to imagine any other explanation unless someone successfully summoned a demon."

"Can’t rule out that possibility." The mention of supernatural topics instantly piqued Nemo’s interest, and he knew Angie would love this too.

"Those three gangs opposed paying protection fees to the Kingdom, and I heard they even attacked The Kingdom’s delegate." Tolya said.

Nemo remembered the Japanese youth and the leather-clad goon, but he hadn't had any further clashes with them. When Nemo later carried out practical missions in Lone Star City, he encountered other Kingdom delegates, some like the leather-clad goon who deliberately provoked him to test KS man’s abilities, and others who just ignored him.

Nemo ran into the Japanese youth alone a few times during his patrols, but the other party politely invited him for coffee. The remark about wanting to be friends during their first meeting didn’t seem like mere formalities.

Of course, Nemo threw the coffee away, but one time, Hako gave him a small red paper crane, saying it was folded by someone important who prayed for the recipient’s safety. Having experienced Angie’s scale armor charm, Nemo accepted it. His gut told him the red paper crane wasn’t meant with malice, and Hako had genuinely given him a meaningful gesture: acknowledging that there was someone important to him.

Nemo couldn’t deny that he was a little surprised. He had thought that a killer wouldn’t leave such a lethal vulnerability.

"Our neighbor, the bookstore owner, has become quite familiar with Veronika. She’s pretty reckless too, directly asking him if the compression cases of living people were caused by the Kingdom’s people. If it’s to set an example, she wanted him to come clean and intimidate the rebellious gangs. If it’s an outsider villain with superpowers, and the Kingdom doesn’t handle it, people will just start looking down on them." Tolya said.

It was really unlucky for Tolya and Nemo that the Kingdom's delegate for their area opened a bookstore just four streets away from their rented apartment. The Pole lived in the shop, even closer than the Westlake Restaurant restaurant—it was practically a neighbor.

"Did the Pole admit that it was the Kingdom’s people?" Nemo thought about the Japanese youth, Hako, with his superpower. Who said a transparent shield could only have one side? Six sides could make a box, just like the meaning behind his codename Hako (which means "box" in Japanese). Even saving a few sides to make a triangular enclosed space with four transparent walls would work fine.

"Yes, he admitted it. He also said he wasn’t like the younger delegates from other areas who were violent and impulsive. He believes that if both sides talk it out, they can cooperate and achieve a win-win situation. Veronika specifically emphasized that in the area the Polish old man oversees, all the gangs willingly agreed to pay the protection fees. I thought it was a bit shady, but there haven't been any reports of deaths. It’s normal for one or two people to die from a violent gunfight or drug overdose every month," Tolya said, making a comparison from his experience.

"I know a few ways to make people cooperate, traditional but classic," Nemo replied.

"Don’t tell me the Pole is collecting naked photos of gang members! I want to dream about a French schoolteacher tonight!" Tolya protested seriously.

"It’s just like what gangs do to civilians: intimidation. Only the food chain has moved up a level. Even if you're fearless, what about your family?" Nemo said. "Tolya, don’t get too close to that bookstore owner. I’ll keep an eye on him. He’s probably a superpowered individual. All the Kingdom’s delegates I’ve encountered so far have superpowers, especially the Polish man, who seems to be very old and only has one person with him. This likely means he’s hiding some strength that can’t be seen with the naked eye."

"Got it. Veronika worked hard to stabilize the Kingdom’s delegate. I don’t want to cause any trouble for her or us," Tolya replied, understanding the gravity of the situation. He wasn’t foolish enough not to recognize danger.

"If you can’t focus on your reading, just go take a shower and sleep. Your intel was useful, thanks," Nemo said, knowing that Tolya was really just seeking some comfort.

A smug hum came from the phone. "I can’t pry into when your comrade doesn’t need nursing, so I’ll wish him a speedy recovery! You promised to make Taiwanese traditional snacks for me."

"I won’t make you wait too long. Remember, safety comes first."

"Same to you. Who’s the one that’s been worrying people from the start?" The Russian roommate said before hanging up.