Hero Hack: Reversing Heroes and Raising Harem-Chapter 55: Blink and You Miss It!

The train doors hissed open.

Zain stepped out first, scanning the sector.

CE-3 was a different beast than the cleaner upper zones.

The streets were cracked and half the buildings had scorch marks or collapsed upper floors.

Faint sirens echoed in the distance.

Patrol drones hovered overhead but didn’t stop them.

Stoneclaw walked beside him, flashing his Hero Association test card at a checkpoint guard.

The guard glanced at both IDs, then waved them through without a word.

Zain glanced around. "This place smells like rot."

Stoneclaw chuckled.

"CE-3. Third-level danger zone. Mostly C-Rank villains and mutated creatures."

"A few B-Rank ones hiding in the alleys. Stay sharp."

Zain raised an eyebrow.

"Mutated creatures? You mean monsters?"

Stoneclaw looked at him.

"Yeah. You’ve never run into one?"

Zain shook his head.

"First time hearing about them, actually."

Stoneclaw paused mid-step. "Wait, seriously?"

Zain kept walking. "I’ve been a hero for less than a week."

Stoneclaw stared for a moment, then let out a low laugh.

"That explains it. No wonder you look fresh."

Zain smirked. "Thanks for the compliment."

Stoneclaw walked up beside him again.

"You’re a genius then, huh? Taking B-Rank test after a few days in the field?"

Zain shrugged. "I get by."

Stoneclaw gave a relaxed grin.

"Hey, no problem working with a genius. Makes my job easier."

Zain snorted. "As long as you don’t slow me down."

"I won’t," Stoneclaw said, rolling his shoulder.

"But if something ugly jumps out of a sewer, I’m grabbing it first."

Zain nodded. "Deal."

---

They stepped into the ruined alley near the old transformer tower.

A building wall had been blown inward, the metal siding still scorched black.

Stoneclaw scanned the area, frowning. "This was the spot?"

Zain nodded, eyes moving over the debris.

"Last report said they ambushed a courier team here. Took two C-Rank heroes out before vanishing."

Stoneclaw crouched near a cracked pipe, fingers brushing a half-melted steel.

"It’s old... They’re long gone."

"Not that long," Zain muttered.

He stepped back, hands in his coat pockets.

"System, hack me a tracking ability. Low-tier. Just enough to catch traces."

---

[Hack Initiation: Ability Acquisition]

[Target: Zain]

[Ability Acquired: Trail Sense (Low Tier)]

[Effect: Heightens awareness of physical traces—footprints, disturbed ground, scent trails—making it easier to track targets across natural terrain.]

[Cost Required: 100 Hack Points]

[Status: Executing...]

---

A pulse ran through his temples.

The ground seemed clearer now.

The pressure marks on gravel, the shift in soot on the broken sidewalk.

The smell of burned explosives lingered thicker in one direction.

Zain exhaled once.

He crouched and ran two fingers along a drag mark behind the scorched wall.

"One of them stepped hard here. Big foot, heavy drop. That’s Blunt."

He stood, pivoted left, then smirked.

"This way."

Stoneclaw blinked. "You sure?"

Zain didn’t look back. "Positive."

He moved fast.

Stoneclaw followed, glancing once at the strange way Zain read the ground.

"You got some kind of tracking ability?"

"Something like that," Zain said without stopping.

"Let’s just say I see what most people miss."

Stoneclaw nodded. "Good enough for me."

They rounded a corner, stepping over broken barricades and crushed trash bins.

The deeper they went, the louder the air seemed to hum.

---

Zain slowed his pace as they entered a narrow, wrecked plaza near the edge of CE-3’s utility zone.

The collapsed walls and scorched debris framed a small open space where four people were tied up.

Stoneclaw raised his hand. "We’ve got hostages."

Zain’s eyes narrowed. The ropes were real.

The fear looked real. He stepped closer, scanning the area.

"Wait—" Stoneclaw started.

But Zain kept moving.

The moment his boot scraped over a dislodged wire, their bodies detonated.

Not violently, but with a concussive burst of blinding light and smoke.

BOOM—FLASH!

Stoneclaw immediately dropped to a knee, shielding his eyes. "Damn it!"

The shockwave hit hard. Dust sprayed across the concrete.

But Zain stayed standing.

He didn’t flinch.

He turned slowly, his gaze sweeping through the haze.

His fingers twitched at his side.

Then he pointed.

"There."

Stoneclaw followed his line of sight.

Two figures emerged from the rooftop above, stepping into view through the smoke.

One tall and broad, the other wiry and grinning.

Blast and Blunt.

Blast’s voice echoed down first, laughing.

"So the Hero Association sent us more prey, huh?"

Blunt stood silent beside him, arms folded, looking down like a stone gargoyle.

Zain took a step forward.

"You like calling people prey, huh?"

"Cute. Let’s see how long you last saying it."

Blast twirled something small and metal between his fingers—another tag.

"You should’ve seen the last guy. Thought he was fast too."

Zain smirked.

"Did he scream before or after the tag blew his leg off?"

Blast paused, grin stiffening just slightly. "Tch."

Stoneclaw stood up, dusting off the front of his jacket. freewёbnoνel.com

"You two really enjoy hiding behind bombs and traps?"

Blunt finally spoke, voice deep and slow.

"No one asked your opinion."

Zain cracked his knuckles once. "Let’s stop wasting words."

He pointed upward.

"You," he said to Blast, "come down."

"You," he said to Blunt, "don’t run."

Blast laughed. "You got jokes."

Zain’s eyes sharpened. "I’ve got weapons."

Stoneclaw rolled his shoulders once. "Let’s split them."

Zain’s smirk sharpened. "Already planned to."

He glanced to the left—then vanished.

Mirror Step.

In a blink, he emerged from the side of a shattered glass door behind Blunt.

CRACK—

His boot slammed straight into Blunt’s side.

Blunt’s eyes widened.

His body jerked to the side and hit a rusty metal block with a loud clang.

His body flipped once before hitting the collapsed loading dock wall.

Blast blinked. "What the hell—?!"

Stoneclaw’s brow furrowed. "That was fast."

Blunt groaned as he rose, wiping blood from his mouth.

"I already activated Vitality Boost and Hard Skin..."

Zain dropped down after him, landing lightly, already moving.

"But you didn’t boost your brain," he called.

Blunt barely raised his arms before Zain charged in again.

Stoneclaw stared after them, stunned. "He’s already chasing him down?"

Blast growled. "What kind of rookie hero even is that?"

Stoneclaw sighed, turning to face him. "The kind I have to clean up after."