Shared talent: Please, countless versions of me!

buzz~

Snapped!

buzz~

Zhang Shan, who was washing vegetables, heard the noise next door and came to the balcony with some confusion, asking, "Qi Yu, what are you up to?"

But what appeared before him was an overwhelming swarm of mosquitoes!

"Fuck!"

Zhang Shan decisively hid at home, his face already covered in sweat.

"The Mosquito Woman is here?"

Feeling his heart pounding wildly, Zhang Shan tried to calm himself down.

At that moment, the sound from the television brought him back to his senses.

"A Dragon-level monster has appeared in City A. So far, several S-class heroes have been defeated by the monster!"

Zhang Shan looked over and saw a purple Piccolo Daimaō (King Piccolo) wreaking havoc on the television screen.

“Vaccine Man!”

Beneath Vaccine Man's feet stand S-class heroes like Metal Bat and Sexy Prisoner.

"So, today is the day the story officially begins?" Zhang Shan said, "Because of me, Saitama didn't take the detour to City A, which is why the Vaccine People are rampaging."

At that moment, the host's voice came through the television again.

"Everyone, please don't worry. As far as we know, Tornado, ranked second in the S-class, is on her way. We believe this crisis will be over soon!"

slap~

Zhang Shan turned off the TV, his feelings complicated.

Having lived in this world for over twenty years, he naturally knew the power of Dragon-level monsters.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Vaccine Man couldn't even last one move against Saitama; for other S-class heroes, Vaccine Man's strength far exceeds their comprehension.

Perhaps a metal baseball bat fueled by rage could rival Vaccine Man, but so far, it seems he failed to build up his rage before being defeated by Vaccine Man.

"Tornado should be able to take care of that guy..."

After adjusting his mood, Zhang Shan noticed that the mosquitoes outside had disappeared.

A few seconds later, an unfamiliar voice came from outside the door.

"Saitama-sensei! Please take me as your apprentice!"

"No."

Saitama pushed open Zhang Shan's door, walked in, and laughed, "Zhang Shan! You have no idea how many annoying mosquitoes I just killed!"

Zhang Shan looked past Saitama and directly at the person behind him.

It's no longer accurate to call them human, because apart from their brains, the rest of their bodies have been completely replaced with mechanical parts.

"And who is this?" Zhang Shan pretended not to recognize Genos.

"Huh?" Saitama turned around and found that Genos had followed him in as well. He immediately got angry. "Hey! What are you doing? Entering someone else's house without permission is so rude!"

Seeing that Saitama was angry, Genos also looked away from Zhang Shan and quickly said to Saitama, "Saitama-sensei!"

"Don't call me teacher!"

“Alright, Mr. Saitama, please tell me the secret to your greatness!” Genos bowed ninety degrees.

"No! You weirdo, get out of here right now!" Saitama said impatiently.

Today, Zhang Shan and I were lucky; we not only managed to snag discounted beef, but we also found some wild vegetables.

It's a rare opportunity to improve our meals, so we can't let this strange guy take advantage of us!

Zhang Shan looked at Genos. If he remembered correctly, Genos was a rich guy.

"This might be a chance to get rich quick!"

Zhang Shan stepped forward, pushed Saitama aside, and smiled at Genos, "Hey, you cyborg, do you want to become Saitama's apprentice?"

Genos nodded decisively: "Yes! Saitama is the strongest person I've ever seen! I want to learn from him how to become stronger! Because I..."

"Alright, alright! You don't need to tell your story anymore!" Zhang Shan quickly interrupted him. Genos's talkative nature was still there, and if he really let him talk freely, he might not be able to resist closing the door.

After letting Genos into the room, Zhang Shan and Saitama took their seats. Zhang Shan said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Zhang Shan, and I'm Saitama's friend. You know, becoming an apprentice isn't as simple as just saying it; you have to show some commitment."

He winked and rubbed his fingers together.

Genos instantly understood Zhang Shan's meaning and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Zhang Shan, I've managed to save some money over the years!"

Immediately, a smile appeared on Saitama's face. He exchanged a glance with Zhang Shan and thought to himself, "Zhang Shan really has a good head for business. If we collect a sum of money every month, our quality of life will be completely different!"

Zhang Shan also gave Saitama a look, and then said, "Actually, your registration fee is a small matter. What we really want is for you to join the Hero Association. In the future, you will have to share 80% of the prize money you receive from the Hero Association with us!"

"The Hero Association?" Genos was taken aback, then asked with some confusion, "By the way, I don't seem to see Saitama's name on the Hero Association's list. Isn't he a hero?"

"Tch! Don't even mention that shitty association!" Zhang Shan curled his lip. "It's just the weak banding together for warmth. Anyway, if you want to become Saitama's apprentice, you have to fulfill the conditions I mentioned before, otherwise forget it!"

Genos glanced at Saitama, who nodded slightly: "That's right, what Zhang Shan said is exactly what I was thinking!"

"I understand! I will join the Hero Association as soon as possible!" Genos said earnestly. "Then, Saitama-sensei, I will visit you again tomorrow!"

After Genos finished speaking, he got up to leave.

Zhang Shan urged, "Aren't you going to stay for lunch?"

Genos was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, thank you for the treat!"

Click~

Zhang Shan and Saitama were petrified on the spot.

Genos is an honest kid. After having hotpot at Zhang Shan's place, he immediately flew to the Hero Association to apply to become a hero.

Just like in the original work, Genos became an S-class hero, standing directly at the top of the world.

Zhang Shan nodded in satisfaction as he watched the announcement on television.

"The Hero Association is indeed only targeting Saitama. For others, even if they don't have any achievements in the past, they will take into account their overall level."

Back when Saitama had just started going bald, Zhang Shan took him to participate in the Hero Association's evaluation test.

Saitama easily broke all the association's physical limits, but he failed miserably in the written test, losing a lot of points. In the end, the other party eliminated Saitama directly on the grounds that he failed the written test and the physical testing machine was malfunctioning.

That's right, it didn't even get a C grade, it was eliminated directly!

Although Zhang Shan himself received a C-rank hero rating, he gave up on becoming a professional hero because Saitama was eliminated.

After all, C-level heroes earn very little; they'd be better off handing out flyers.

Saitama is also very dissatisfied with the Hero Association because of that incident, and now he doesn't like that organization at all.

However, Saitama also knew that the heroes in the association would receive a considerable reward after defeating monsters, which is why he did not stop Zhang Shan.

Because he also understood Zhang Shan's thoughts.

Given Genos's Demon-level strength, he'll definitely need to take action himself in the future.

When the time comes, that money should be his own. Giving Genos 20% is already being merciful!

"Hmm, if it's 80%, Zhang Shan and I will each get 40%, which can be considered as making up for me hindering his progress in strength~" Saitama thought to himself.

That evening, Zhang Shan watched the news and heard that the tornado had killed the vaccine recipient, at the cost of destroying the entire city of A.

"Tsk tsk tsk~ How tragic~" Zhang Shan clicked his tongue. In the original work, Vaccine Man was defeated by Saitama with a single punch, without even having time to destroy a building.

Now that Saitama is gone, City A is gone...

"Stay strong, you monsters, because Saitama the Great Demon King is about to emerge!"

The next day.

Early in the morning, Zhang Shan heard Saitama's angry voice coming from next door.

"Damn it! Do you even know what time it is?"

"Saitama-sensei! It's already seven o'clock!"

"It's only seven o'clock! Today is a rare day off!"

Click~

"What are you two shouting about so early in the morning?" Zhang Shan opened the door and protested to the two of them.

"Mr. Zhang Shan!" Genos greeted him politely. "I'm here today to formally become your apprentice. By the way, I'll be staying at Saitama-sensei's house from now on. Please take good care of me!"

Before Zhang Shan could even speak, Saitama had already lost his temper!

"What? Live in my house? No way! Absolutely not! Have you even considered how big my house is? It's already a tight space for one person, how could there be another one!"

Zhang Shan understood the whole story and laughed, "No one lives in this building. If Genos wants to stay, he can just choose a room next door. Of course, if you're still not satisfied, you can knock down the wall and expand it into a suite yourself!"

"Oh! So there's another way!" Genos's eyes lit up immediately, and he clapped his hands, saying, "I'll start construction right away and try to finish the suite before noon!"

Saitama sighed, but didn't stop Genos any further.

Saitama is okay with anything as long as it's not a cramped little house he has to squeeze into.

Before long, the sound of Genos starting construction could be heard from the side.

Zhang Shan was no longer sleepy and decided to get up and move around a bit, and maybe watch some TV.

They currently live in City Z, which has no internet access; the only thing they can watch is television.

"The reconstruction of City A has been put on the agenda..."

Tuk-tuk-tuk!

"Zhang Shan! Genos just gave me a lot of money, let's discuss how to plan it out!" Saitama's excited, slightly smug laugh rang out, clearly indicating that Genos had given him a considerable sum!

Zhang Shan opened the door and asked with some curiosity, "How much did Genos pay as an apprentice?"

“One million!” Saitama said.

"What?"

"one million."