Harem Streamer System: Every Crime I Broadcast Wins Me a Superheroine - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Hostage Situation, Toxic Buildup, Explosive Conclusion!
Anthony Black placed a trembling finger on his comm device and barked into it. His voice was shaky but loud enough to cut through the murmurs of the terrified crowd.

“Security! Where the hell are you──!”

Before he could finish, Trickshot, who was still resting against his trolley, raised a hand and pointed at him lazily.

Before Anthony could finish, Trickshot, still casually leaning against his trolley, raised one hand and pointed at him lazily.

“Ah-ah, big guy. Be smart. Put it down.”

Anthony froze as his hand hovered over the comm.

Trickshot’s smile widened as he gestured to the crowd.

“And that goes for everyone. If I see a comm device or even a phone in anyone’s hand…”

He lazily tapped his remote.

“… I’ll blow someone’s fucking brains out. Got it?”

The room fell into a tense silence.

The room froze.

Whispers turned to silence as the guests frantically lowered their devices onto tables, the floor… anywhere, as long as they were out of sight.

Then, a soft clatter.

In the back of the room, a woman with trembling hands struggled to put her phone down. It slipped from her grip and landed on the floor with a soft thud that seemed louder in the silence. She froze on the spot, like a lone flower facing the first frost of winter.

Trickshot sighed dramatically and shook his head.

“See, this is why we can’t have nice things.”

His thumb pressed a button on the remote.

From a distant building, another sniper fired.

… click────BANG!!

The phase-bullet zipped across the venue and ripped through the chest of an unsuspecting guest.

Blood splattered as the victim crumpled to the floor.

The room erupted into fresh chaos.

“NOOOO!”

“OH MY GOD!”

“HELP US!”

Trickshot exhaled slowly, like a tired parent scolding misbehaving children.

“Come on, people. I thought I made myself perfectly clear. No devices. You’ re making me do this.”

He spread his arms tiredly.

“Now, let’s try this again. Another screw-up, and one of you rich heads… well, you won’t have one anymore.”

The crowd recoiled and instinctively took small steps back.

They were desperate to put space between themselves and the madman with the remote.

In the throng of terrified guests, Scott moved quietly to blend into the sea of trembling bodies.

His watch vibrated subtly.

[SYSTEM NOTICE: LIVESTREAM INITIATED.]

He sighed as his watch screen displayed the stream feed.

The chat section quickly exploded with activity:

[WTF IS THIS??]

[Holy crap, look at the blood!!]

[Wait… isn’t that Harold Fitz? The real estate tycoon??]

[OMG it IS! He was on Forbes last month!!]

[LMAO RIP HAROLD, MONEY CAN’T SAVE U NOW.]

[Where’s Nightwatch?? Is he even here?!]

[Pretty sure he’s in the crowd, guys ( ˘･з･) No mask = unrecognizable, though.]

[Dude, not the time for philosophy.]

[SHUT UP, THIS IS SERIOUS!]

[Guys, THAT’S TRICKSHOT! He’s 23rd on the UN’s GSI ASSASSIN RANKINGS!]

[No freaking way. Trickshot’s HERE?! We’re screwed.]

[TRICKSHOT IS SO COOL.]

[Are you SICK? He’s KILLING people! ( “･ω･ﾞ)…]

[Oh my god, someone HELP THEM. NIGHTWATCH DO SOMETHING!! ｡ ｡ ゛(ﾉ><)ﾉ]

[Nightwatch is the GOAT. He’s got this!]

[Donation Alert: $10 from @RogueStar22: LET’S GOOOO NIGHTWATCH!! (ツ)]

—

Scott’s lips thinned as he ignored the chat.

His focus returned to Trickshot, who was still grinning as he strolled toward the stage and whistled a jaunty tune.

Anthony Black stood frozen and his face paled the closer Trickshot got.

“Alright, Mr. Fancy CEO…”

Said Trickshot as he tapped the edge of the lab cart that held the technophages.

“I’ll be taking these now. Be good and don’t move, okay?”

Anthony stammered. “Y-, You can’t… those are highly…”

“Shhh~!”

Trickshot pressed a finger to his lips mockingly.

“Let’s not make this harder than it needs to be.”

He turned to the crowd and grinned brightly.

“You lot stay put, yeah? No sudden movements, no heroics. Just sit tight, and maybe you’ll make it out of here.”

Isaac Volkner slipped out of the crowd and hugged the wall until he reached a shadowy corner. Glancing around to ensure he wasn’t seen, he rolled up his sleeve to reveal a high-tech wrist device.

The chat buzzed again:

[OMG DID Y’ALL SEE THAT GUY THAT SNUCK OUT?!]

[Oooooo, maybe it’s Nightwatch!]

[Nah, that’s actually Isaac Volkner, he’s the spoiled son of a bitch that owns Volkner Dynamics (´-ι_-｀)]

[What’s he doing? Is he gonna help?!]

[Bro better not flop.]

[Fr tho, if I had all that money, I’d make a super-powered and kick some damn ass!]

[LMAO, I’m gonna hit some damn ass…]

[Donation Alert: $25 from @MegaFan_X: GO ISAAC GO!!]

—

Meanwhile, Emma, Scott, and Nadia huddled near the middle of the crowd.

Nadia leaned closer to Emma so she could whisper better.

“Hey, Em. Aren’t you gonna like do something? You’ re, kinda, a superhero, or did we forget?”

Emma’s face darkened.

She flexed her hands as she remained heavily frustrated.

“I can’t. My powers… they’re not working.”

Nadia blinked. “Wait, what? How is that even possible?”

“I don’t know!” Emma whispered back harshly.

“I’ve tried everything. Nothing’s happening.”

Nadia turned to Scott with an even more curious face.

“And you?”

“Huh? M-, Me?” Scott replied.

“You don’t need powers, right? I mean… you can handle yourself. You’re Nightwatch after all.”

Scott shot a sharp look at Emma. “You told her?”

Emma looked away like a guilty, little puppy.

“It was… implied?”

Scott sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Great. Just great.”

On stage, Trickshot placed one of the technophages into a reinforced case.

“See?”

He said, smiling at the guests.

“Told you this’d be quick. Now, everybody just stay nice and quiet, and──!”

A faint click from Isaac’s corner cut him off.

Trickshot’s eye scope swiveled toward the noise.

His grin vanished.

“Oh… what’s this?”

Trickshot grinned madly as he angrily held out his remote.

His fingers hovered over the buttons.

“I thought I told you to stay in one fucking place!”

With a simple press, the room seemed to hold its breath.

Trickshot’s eyes scanned the crowd and watched every individual twitch in fear, but it was the corner where Isaac had slipped away that caught his attention.

A slight shift in the shadows, the smallest movement—then the click of the sniper’s trigger!

From 4,000 meters away, another phase-bullet launched.

… click────BANG!!

The bullet hissed as it sliced through the glass wall and unnaturally curved through the room. It twisted, as if breaking the rules of physics, before suddenly changing direction again to head straight for Isaac’s shadowed corner.

… TOOOOOOM!!

A muffled explosion rang out, followed by a cloud of smoke and debris at the edge of the room.

Trickshot didn’t even blink.

“… And that’s that.”

He muttered, as if he were checking off an item on a list.

The room was already shaken to its core.

It now stood in complete silence.

No one dared to move a muscle.

[HOLY SHIT DID YOU SEE THAT BULLET?]

[He phased it THROUGH the glass, then bent it mid-air. What the hell kind of sniper can do that??]

[That’s crazy, where is he even hiding the sniper?? It’s like he’s creating bullets out of nothing!!]

[WAIT, WHAT IF TRICKSHOT CAN CREATE AND MANIPULATE THE BULLETS?!]

[Nah, that’s like the B-tier hero, Deathmark. She’s the real sniper queen, though. Only person logically close to Trickshot’s level.]

[Deathmark’s got nothing on Rope Girl, though. She’s an S-rank, and she’s the best marksman. 🔥]

[Guys, why are we talking about other heroes? Nightwatch’s right there, doing NOTHING!]

[For real, this is a NIGHTWATCH stream! Where’s he at??]

[Donation Alert: $500 from @FuryTech: NIGHTWATCH, DO SOMETHING ALREADY.]

—

Trickshot’s eyes gleamed as he nodded to himself.

“Come on, people. You think this is a game? Don’t make me repeat myself.”

The crowd frosted with eyes wide as some held their breath while others shuddered.

They were afraid they might be the next target.

Scott checked his wristwatch.

[ATAM-5 suit is 80% complete…]

Frustrated, his eyes shot toward Isaac’s corner.

He saw the explosion, the puff of smoke.

Did it get Isaac?

『Trickshot barely misses… so maybe he’s…』

The tension was just too much.

Then, from that same corner—quietly, like a ghost emerging from the shadows—came a man in hyperadvanced nanotech armor.

The crowd collectively gasped.

“It’s Xenon!” someone shouted.

“YES! HE’S HERE!”

“AN A-TIER HERO, WE’RE SAFE!”

Scott’s stomach twisted, but Emma’s face lit up.

Her fist pumped in the air, and her eyes sparkled as she whispered to herself.

“Hell yes, Isaac!”

The livestream chat flooded with messages:

[HOLY SHIT IT’S XENON!! THE ICON HIMSELF! 😱]

[Xenon is literally the GOAT. A tech hero with no force-gene and STILL one of the strongest. 🔥]

[GUYS, XENON IS HERE! NIGHTWATCH WHERE YOU AT?]

[Finally, someone stepping up! NIGHTWATCH, WHERE’S YOUR HEROISM NOW?]

[HE’S HERE! I KNEW IT! THE ICON!]

—

Trickshot’s eyes narrowed as he spotted Xenon.

His grin faltered for just a moment.

He didn’t expect to be interrupted.

『Shit. The heroes’ powers are gone… but the same can’t be said for the ones who don’t need it!』

Before Xenon could even take a step forward, Trickshot’s fingers flew to the remote again, and the crowd held its collective breath.

But just as the sniper fired again, Xenon moved faster than anyone could track.

… click────BATUUUUUUNG!

In the blink of an eye, Xenon punched the phase-bullet out of the air, his fist connecting with it as if it were no more than a passing breeze.

The bullet broke apart into sparks, and the energy scattered harmlessly through the air.

Right after, Xenon stood there completely unfazed.

The room erupted.

“XENON!!”

“WE’RE SAVED!”

“Oh my god, he’s invincible!”

The chatter continued to surge:

[LOOK AT THAT!! XENON STOPPED A PHASE-BULLET WITH HIS BARE HAND! 😱]

[He’s literally a living legend. No one’s doing it like Xenon.]

[Man’s got no force-gene and STILL the most OP hero.]

[WAIT. What about Rope Girl? She’s also tech-based! Isn’t she higher ranked though?]

[No, no. Rope Girl’s strong, but Xenon’s on another level. He’s like A-tier, Rope Girl’s B-tier at best.]

[Bro, Rope Girl is an S-tier. Respect.]

[Talking about Xenon and Rope Girl during a NIGHTWATCH stream is mad disrespectful 💀]

[Guys, can you stop for a second? Nightwatch is doing NOTHING. All he’s doing is watching like the rest of us.]

[SHUT UP. He’s got this. He’s just waiting for the right moment.]

—

Meanwhile, in the midst of the crowd, Vincent leaned against the wall, eyes glued to Xenon. A flicker of excitement passed through Pulsar’s eyes as she watched Xenon move with fluid grace.

“Xenon’s a literal icon. He wasn’t born with a force-gene, but he’s one of the strongest heroes of modern times.”

She sounded like an absolute fan girl.

Vincent scoffed and shook his head.

“Forget the legend stuff, Pulsar. We need to focus. We need to take this guy down now, or it’ll be Xenon stealing the spotlight. You want that?”

Pulsar’s eyes narrowed in frustration.

“You really think I don’t get it? Look around, Vincent. The moment the first person died, every superhero wanted to jump into action, but no one else has been able to use their powers. We’ve all been scrambling.”

“Wait… So you can’t use your powers either?”

Vincent’s eyes widened.

Pulsar nodded with a stone-hard expression.

“No one can. And if you’re smart, you’ll figure out that we’re not dealing with some regular guy here. This is Trickshot.”

“So?”

“I, uh… heard about him on Threadit.”

Vincent clicked his tongue.

“Useless!”

He spat and looked back toward the front of the room where Trickshot was still looming.

Pulsar’s face tightened, but she said nothing.

Instead, her eyes never left Xenon.

He was their only hope now.

And maybe, just maybe, if they could all survive this, the world would finally see that even the so-called “heroes” with tech powers could be as strong as any force-gene freak.

『And maybe Scott could become one too…』

Her face went solemn.

Trickshot’s blood boiled with rage.

His fingers clenched around the remote.

“This… this has ruined the whole fucking plan!”

Furiously, he reached for a small gas canister at his belt.

The clink of metal echoed in the dead silence, and then…

Whoosh!

The canister flew across the room then landed with a soft thud before it erupted and spilled its contents in an instant.

Red gas billowed up into the air and filled the room with a pungent, toxic fog.

The guests gasped in horror and clutched their throats and eyes in an effort to saves themselves.

“ACCCHHKKK!”

“I CAN’T BREATHE. FUCK────!!”

“SOMEONE DO SOMETHING ALREADY!”

Coughs turned into dry, ragged hacks.

People staggered and tried to shield themselves, but the gas was already sinking deep into their skin. Their faces flushed red and some broke out in painful, blistering rashes!

Trickshot’s voice rang out, cold and amused.

“Let’s see how you deal with this, heroes.”

He raised a finger to his lips.

“And this is only the beginning.”

[HOLY SHIT! WHAT IS THIS GAS?!]

[CAN’T SEE SHIT! IT’S TOO MUCH! WUT’S HAPPENING?!]

[WHAT IS THAT SMELL? IT’S BURNING MY LUNGS! PEOPLE ARE DROPPING LIKE FLIES! HELP!]

└ [Bruh, you’re not even there with them 💀]

└ [Okay, Karen…]

└ [He missed the joke fr ( º﹃º )…]

└ [Joking while watching people die is crazy work 💀]

[XENON, WHERE ARE YOU?]

[I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING, PLEASE CHANGE THE ANGLE! I’M PANICKING!]

[Is this part of the script? Is everyone gonna die?!]

[SOMEONE GET OUT AND HELP THEM!!]

—

The livestream was flooded with frantic comments, but the thick gas made it hard to focus on anything except the overwhelming feeling of suffocation in the air.

The cloud seemed to stretch on forever.

Just as the panic was about to take over, a calm, female voice echoed to them.

“Calm down people, Xenon will save us!”

It was Pulsar’s.

If only that was Xenon’s focus at the moment.

[Thermal Vision Mode activated!]

The crisp voice came from Xenon’s HUD.

The dark fog around him turned transparent through his thermal vision and exposed the heat signatures of everyone in the room.

He scanned.

Quickly, he pinpointed the target.

A figure sprinted toward the exit while clutching something like a big case. It wasn’t the usual terrified survivor—this was a man on a mission.

Isaac’s heart skipped a beat as recognition hit.

It was Trickshot.

Without a second thought, Isaac slid his left wrist across his belt to pull out a specialized cartridge.

He slotted it into his wrist device.

The AI’s voice rang out in his helmet.

[Flight Mode initiated.]

The moment the words left the system, the suit around Isaac’s body rippled.

Translucent wings, accented with electric blue LEDs, unfurled from his back with a soft whirr of machinery.

In the blink of an eye, he shot through the air and cut through the dense smoke like a bird of prey.

—

Meanwhile…

Trickshot was already making his escape.

His mind was already five steps ahead.

He tapped on his earpiece as he ran down the stairs.

“Grave. Change of plans. Xenon’s here. The A-tier bastard’s an issue now. Get your people on it.”

Grave’s calm voice crackled over the comms.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got eyes on Elena Vargas. She’s somewhere in the building. We’ll send the men after her. I’ve already told our clients to use the gas as cover to escape. You’ve got enough time to make your exit.”

A grin slowly spread across Trickshot’s face.

“Perfect. Just perfect.”

He tapped a button on the remote and chuckled as the trolley back at the event room began to beep loudly.

… beep! beep!────BEEP!

—

Back in the event hall, the red gas had started to dissipate, but the damage was done. People were still gasping for air, coughing violently, and scratching at their bodies as rashes spread like wildfire.

Emma staggered into Scott’s arms, her face pale as she convulsed violently.

Blood flecked from her lips.

Scott’s eyes darted around as he panicked harder.

“We need to break open the windows!”

Scott shouted, trying to hold Emma up.

“The gas won’t clear unless we can get some airflow! We’ll choke to death in here if we don’t—”

“Impossible,” someone croaked from the crowd. “Those windows are reinforced. They won’t budge!”

Scott coughed as his own vision started to blur as the poison continued to seep into his skin.

His wristwatch pinged with an incoming message.

Nadia’s hand was pressed against Emma’s cheek, but Emma was barely responding.

Even Nadia herself was barely alright.

Her breath came in ragged gasps as she scratched at the rashes forming along her neck.

[WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??]

[CAN’T SEE SHIT, WHY ARE THE CAMERAS JUST STAYING STILL? THIS IS INSANE!]

[I THINK XENON LEFT!! WHAT A JOKE!!]

└ [Xenon, you just left them all?! What a loser!!]

└ [Guys, why is no one doing anything?]

└ [Wait, does anyone hear the beeping sound?]

Scott’s eyes widened as he read the comment.

He looked up to see the trolley beeping louder with every passing second.

A cold sweat ran down his back.

“What the hell…?”

Someone else shouted, “That trolley’s carrying a bomb!”

The panic in the room escalated.

Scott’s heart pounded as the System analyzed the trolley.

A warning blared in his ear.

[Warning: The trolley is not carrying a bomb. The trolley is the bomb. Its explosive force will tear the building in half. Immediate evacuation is advised. Disarm the trolley to prevent detonation.]

Scott’s face turned white.

“How the fuck am I supposed to do that?!”

He shouted, his voice cracking with desperation.

“How do I remove a bomb that big?!”