Harem Streamer System: Every Crime I Broadcast Wins Me a Superheroine - Chapter 88

Chapter 88: High-level Disaster
Green Box Convention Center…

Among the fiery chaos stood Judy Cho.

“We’re live here at the scene of what appears to be an unprecedented attack during the SMPE…”

Judy tightened her grip on her mic and managed to remain calm regardless of the disaster around him.

The camera panned over burning debris and haggard civilians being carried to safety.

“As of now, we have no concrete details about the situation inside. However, early reports suggest a monstrous threat has emerged, and a number of our heroes are engaged in combat to neutralize it.”

Nearby, rival reporters ambushed bloodied and exhausted civilians being carried on stretchers and thrust microphones into their faces.

“Did you see what happened up there?”

“Are there still people trapped inside?”

“Do you think the heroes are doing their job?”

Too dazed and traumatized to respond properly, the victims could only shake their heads or mumble incoherently.

Their exhaustion was clear as day, but the relentless reporters pushed on.

However, Judy remained steadfast.

She maintained that professional poise and gave the camera a firm, knowledgeable smile.

“While details remain unclear, it seems that several rookie heroes are stepping up admirably in this crisis. Rhinoman has been seen carrying both civilians and wounded heroes to safety, demonstrating his more than incredible strength and endurance.

“Ruse, with his unique energy card abilities, is providing a steady stream of platforms to float survivors safely to the ground. Gadget Girl, ever resourceful, has constructed an emergency slide on the east side of the building, allowing others to escape more efficiently.

“These heroes may be new, but their actions tonight are proving their worth.”

The cameraman gave Judy a silent thumbs-up, but the faint buzz of her earpiece quickly soured her mood.

She pressed a finger to her comm.

“Miss Infinity?”

Her voice came out as a whisper.

“But I haven’t seen her do anything yet—what do you mean I have to talk about her? I’m not reporting fake—”

A sharp voice cut her off. “Say it, or you’re fired, Judy. Plenty of others would kill for your spot.”

Judy’s jaw tightened.

She exhaled as she carefully hid her frustration behind a tight-lipped smile.

“We’ve just received word that Miss Infinity, the prodigy of Russia’s Skyfort Academy, is also on-site and contributing in her own incredible way. With her unmatched training, she’s more than capable of handling this crisis singlehandedly. Stay tuned as we gather more updates.”

The cameraman blinked and lowered his lens briefly to give Judy a look. She avoided his eyes and sighed softly as let the heat of the burning building distract her from the heat of her employer’s demands.

･･･

Inside the inferno…

The tension was suffocating.

A barely breathing The Peak had been tossed aside like a broken doll. He lay slumped against a collapsed wall and muttered incoherent apologies as he tried—and failed—to crawl further away.

Surrounding Red were four rookie heroes.

There was the man in a cracked and dented rhinoceros-like armor who pawed at the ground angrily.

Calm and collected, Ruse shuffled a glowing deck of energy cards between his fingers.

Gadget Girl adjusted her metallic gauntlets as she tried desperately to drown the deep fear written in her eyes.

Finally, Mr. Sphere, ever composed, levitated two shimmering anti-gravity orbs above his palms.

Rhinoman growled as his nostrils flared.

“Tch. I can’t believe The Peak is such a fraud. An S-Tier hero, and this is all he can do? Pathetic!”

Ruse gave his comrade a side-eye.

“Now’s really not the time, Rhino. Focus.”

“Of course it’s the time!”

Rhinoman snapped as his massive fist smashed into the nearby rubble.

“Do you see what this bastard did to Psyche?! She’s barely older than Gadget Girl, and he tore her apart like she was like those S-tier heroes who really deserve a beating!”

Gadget Girl’s lips quivered, but she kept her stance firm.

“I… I feel bad for Psyche too, but… we can’t lose focus now. We have to stop him.”

“Enough!”

Mr. Sphere’s voice cut through the argument.

The glowing orbs in his hands expanded slightly and crackled with energy.

“We deal with all that later. Right now, we finish this.”

Red watched their back-and-forth as his monstrous grin split his face unnaturally wide.

“Done bickering? Good. I was getting bored.”

He stretched his grotesque arms and the sound of cracking bones and hissing steam sparked.

“So, you’re actually going to fight me? Finally.”

Rhinoman snorted and his nostrils flared with anger as he scraped his massive feet against the ground.

“I’ve had enough of your smug face!”

He roared fiercely.

Without waiting for a signal, he charged and his horn gleamed in the flickering light of the flames. The ground trembled under his weight and his raw power left cracks in the floor as he barreled forward.

Unflinching, Red let out a low, menacing chuckle.

“Oh, you’re coming to me? Perfect.”

His right arm twisted grotesquely, bone and machinery fusing together in a sickening biomechanical mutation. The appendage expanded into a hulking, high-tech battering ram as propulsion engines near his elbow roared to life.

“Let’s dance.”

The collision was explosive.

Rhinoman’s horn met Red’s battering ram with a deafening BOOOOM! For a brief moment, it seemed like Rhinoman might hold his ground. But then Red’s battering ram ignited with a burst of kinetic energy and moved faster than the eye could follow.

Rhinoman’s skull cracked under the force.

Blood sprayed as his massive body was hurled backward like a cannonball, tearing through walls as if they were paper. He didn’t even have time to process the pain; his world was a blur of rubble and blood before he crashed into a billboard outside the building.

The impact was brutal.

Steel beams from the billboard pierced through his abdomen and chest and locked him in place like a grotesque piece of modern art.

“RAAAAAAARGH!!”

Rhinoman screamed with raw pain.

He instinctively reached for the jagged poles jutting out of his body but stopped himself, biting down on his lip so hard it bled. His vision swam as he gasped for air and the flaming building below him blurred into a red haze.

Back inside the inferno, Red flexed his mutated arm.

Steam hissed as the battering ram retracted slightly.

His wide grin returned… full of nothing but malice.

“Well, that was fun.”

He turned to the remaining heroes as his bloodshot eyes narrowed with excitement.

“Who’s next?”

Before he could finish his taunt, Ruse acted.

“Shut the hell up!”

A flurry of glowing energy cards shot out of his hands, slicing through the air like bullets. The first wave detonated against Red’s chest, sending small bursts of light and smoke.

But Ruse didn’t stop.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!!”

He flicked card after card to create a cascade of explosions that forced Red to take a step back.

“Sphere! Do it!”

Ruse yelled.

Mr. Sphere didn’t need to be told twice. He thrust his hands forward, and the anti-gravity orbs above his palms merged into a shimmering dome that engulfed Red.

The air around Red distorted as the sphere expanded to lock him in place and slow his every movement.

“Now, Gadget Girl!”

Mr. Sphere barked.

Trembling, but still determined, Gadget Girl slapped a button on her backpack.

Six metallic spider legs shot out and whirred fiercely.

“Alright. I-, I can do this──!”

She squeezed her fists tight and took a deep breath.

The spider legs moved with synchronization and carried her across the rubble-strewn room with inhuman agility.

Red’s sensors activated to lock onto her rapid movements.

“Cute toys…” he sneered.

Before he could react, four of the spider legs fired concentrated energy beams. The blasts tore through the anti-gravity sphere and struck Red’s body to leave smoking holes in his torso.

Still, Red didn’t scream.

“Tch,” Mr. Sphere muttered. “He’s tougher than I thought.”

Gadget Girl grinned nervously.

She patted one of her spider legs like it was a little dog.

“Good job, guys. You’ re doing great.”

Red’s eyes narrowed.

[Anti-gravity technology analyzed. Countermeasures prepared. Replicating design specs.]

Red smirked.

“Wonderful.”

The anti-gravity sphere around him began to warp and twist as red, fleshy tendrils spread across its surface and corrupted it entirely.

“No.”

Mr. Sphere’s voice wavered.

Slowly, he took steps back.

“He-, He’s taking control!”

Before he could react, the corrupted sphere reversed and instantly locked him in place.

“NO!”

Mr. Sphere shouted as he struggled against the energy field, but it was useless.

Red turned his gaze to Ruse, who was already launching another wave of cards.

“You’re annoying…” Red growled.

With a single motion, Red’s arm extended grotesquely and stretched across the room like a whip. His massive hand latched onto Ruse and slammed him into the ground.

“Stop struggling!”

Red muttered, then pressed Ruse through wall after wall like a hammer driving a nail.

By the time Ruse’s limp body hit the ground six walls away, he was unconscious and covered in blood.

“RUSE──!!”

Gadget Girl screamed and her voice cracked as she clasped her hands over her mouth.

Her spider legs faltered.

What they got from the presence of Red, they didn’t sense danger… they felt fear.

Red turned his gaze to her and his grin widened.

“Well, little spider…”

He took two heavy steps forward.

“No…”

Mr. Sphere finally spoke up.

The anti-gravity still had him locked in place.

He pounded his fists against the invisible barrier as his voice turned raw with desperation.

“RED! LEAVE HER ALONE!”

He let out a scream that sounded like he was the one about to die.

In a way, it felt like he would.

Gadget Girl was only 19, barely more than a kid. The thought of her being killed just because she had no other choice but to risk her life as a superhero was too much for him to handle.

Red’s monstrous laughter echoed in the ruined room.

He tilted his head and sadistically ended his tyrannous laugh with a low, fearsome chuckle.

“Leave her alone?”

Red shook his head slowly.

“You’re not really helping her case, old man. If anything, that just makes me want to kill her all the more.”

Mr. Sphere thrashed against the confines of the corrupted sphere as his usually calm demeanor crumbled.

“GADGET GIRL, RUUUUUUUN!!”

The metallic spider legs sprung to life to propel Gadget Girl across the destroyed room and toward the shattered wall. Her movements were erratic, truly fueled by sheer panic as the spider legs carried her down the side of the building at breakneck speed.

… tap, tap, tap────CRINK!!

She didn’t stop, not even once.

However, would that be enough?

Red’s grotesque arm morphed again.

The flesh peeled back to reveal a four-barreled plasma cannon with glowing blue tips.

He leveled it at Gadget Girl with precision.

“NOOOOOOO!”

Mr. Sphere’s voice echoed.

The plasma cannon roared and a blinding beam of energy ripped through the air. The blast slammed into Gadget Girl mid-crawl and engulfed her in a wave of searing heat.

“AAAAAARRGHHHHH!!”

Her screams pierced the night.

Her small, fragile body convulsed as the plasma melted through her suit and flesh.

Smoke and the acrid stench of burning flesh covered everywhere.

Onlookers outside the building gasped in horror, some screaming, others covering their faces. Even the most hardened heroes felt a wave of nausea as the cries of this young lady haunted their souls.

“ARRREGHHH! AAACCKH!!”

Gadget Girl clawed at her hair as she pulled out strands in a futile attempt to alleviate the unbearable pain. She collapsed onto the pavement below, then wriggled and screeched like a worm caught in a fire.

━ ━ ━ ━

During this time…

A few blocks away, Nightwatch soared through the night sky as his grappling hooks propelled him from one building to the next.

The minimal glow of his holoscope illuminated his right eye to display a constant stream of chat messages from his viewers.

Normally, he wouldn’t bother listening to them too closely.

But this time, he focused on their words as he tried to piece together a clear picture of the situation he was about to face.

[Bro, can’t you go any faster? People are getting roasted alive in there!]

└ [Uh-huh… says the guy eating Doritos in his mom’s basement. Chill, dude. 💀]

[Fr tho, y’all really be acting like he’s Superman or sum shit like that. Let the man work.]

[Nah, fr, these viewers be wild. Bet they got Chatterbox mod builds talkin’ like this.]

└ [Fr, be saying shit like “if my girl ain’t built like Mewtwo I don’t want her” man shut yo ass up. 💀]

—

Nightwatch smirked under his mask.

He performed an aerial roll before landing on a rooftop where crouched low then glanced at the chat.

“What’s this about A-tier heroes?”

He was calm but curious.

“I thought this was just a regular fire.”

[Lmao, regular fire? Nah, man. Reports are saying it’s a high-level disaster.]

[Yeah, dude, they’re saying it might’ve been planned.]

[brooooo, could it be Grave again? Last time that dude showed up, half of NYC got leveled.]

└ [No it didn’t… 💀]

└ [Fr, these people be gassing up Grave like crazy. 💀]

[Grave is mid-tier at best. This sounds bigger. Maybe a Lady Fortress villain? 👀…]

Nightwatch sighed under his high-tech mask.

“Red, huh? Great. Just what I need.”

He leaped off the building as his grappling hooks fired in quick succession.

As he approached the Green Box Convention Center, the dying glow of fire illuminated the streets.

His holoscope pinged as more messages rolled in.

[OMG, is that Rhinoman??]

[No way! Bro looks like shish kebab. 💀]

[Someone help him! He’s still alive, right??]

[Bro got folded like a lawn chair. RIP Rhinoman.]

└ [He’s probably dead. 😳]

└ [Yeah, along with his career. 💀]

└ [Bro stop this… I wanna make heaven 😭]

—

Nightwatch landed on a nearby rooftop.

Quickly, his holoscope did a zoom-in and spotted the ruined billboard below.

Rhinoman’s massive body hung from the steel beams, skewered like a piece of meat. Blood dripped steadily onto the ground and pooled in thick red puddles. Steam even hissed from his wounds, and faint groans escaped his lips.

“Damn it…”

Nightwatch clenched his fists.

His holoscope pinged again.

[$100 for Rhinoman. He was a good dude. 🙏]

└ [Wait, was? 💀]

[$5. LMFAO, bro got yeeted.]

[Yeah, I also dropped $300 for his health.]

└ [You did NOT drop $300. Shut yo lying ass up before I spread your juicy cheeks, lil bro 😭🙏]

└ [I swear you guys can’t take anything seriously.]

[Have some respect! He’s literally dying!]

[💀💀💀 mans got horn-checked into next week.]

—

Nightwatch shook his head.

“Now’s not the time…”

He muted the chat for a moment.

━ ━ ━ ━

Also…

A golden and blue expanse swirled around Scott and Denise like a living aurora as threads of light danced and merged to form shapes and fractals that felt alive.

Scott stumbled forward and his hand clutched his chest as veins of crackling blue surged to the surface of his skin like living wires trying to escape.

He groaned as his breath hitched.

“No… the blue technophage is reacting. It’s about to happen. I have to stop it—”

His sentence was cut off by a violent cough.

The blue technophage squeezed out of his veins more.

Denise gave Scott a side-eye.

“Even if we get there in time, you can’t stop it.”

Scott staggered but met her eyes.

“You don’t understand—”

“No, you don’t understand…”

Denise wanted to show how worried she was, but the man standing in front of her wasn’t the same person she once knew, let alone the one she had fallen in love with.

They had come here to save the Scott from the past, but deep down, all she really wanted was to see the man who could make someone as cold as her smile like an innocent child.

It was selfish, sure—but it was also love.

“This has to happen. The past you needs to lose his humanity, even if just for a moment. Without that, you’ll never grow into the person you need to be—the person you are now.”

She tightened her grip on her scythe.

『And as much as I hate that… it has to happen…』

Scott gritted his teeth and his jaw tightened as his hand pressed harder against his chest, as if he could force the technophage back. The blue veins pulsed angrily to match the frantic pace of his heartbeat.

“And what about everyone in the city, Denise? You’re asking me to let him turn into a monster and gamble that he doesn’t wipe out thousands of innocent people!”

Denise sighed and brushed a strand of her black hair behind her ear as she looked forward.

There was that unreadable expression on her whitish face again.

“That’s the point of this trip. To make sure he doesn’t. But whether you like it or not, this is the only way. You can’t grow without falling first. You know that better than anyone.”

Scott’s fist clenched as he stared at her.

She was right──he knew it.

･･･

Note: Merry Christmas, guys!! Also, Scott’s sister appears in the next chapter.