C1 Money I Am Not Interested in It
"Kid, you think you're some kind of hero, coming to the rescue?" taunted a voice on a speeding electric train.
A gang of punks with hair dyed in a rainbow of colors, brandishing fruit knives, had encircled a black-haired youth.
"Clear out now, and you might just save your own skins," the youth's voice was laced with an icy threat.
"Hahaha! Oh, I'm shaking in my boots!" The ringleader, with his brassy yellow hair, guffawed, utterly dismissing the black-haired youth's warning.
Cello Everett shook his head in resignation. If it weren't for the woman he was protecting, these thugs would be no match for him, easily taken down in under five seconds. But since they seemed to have a death wish, he couldn't be blamed for what came next.
Cello had already sealed their fate in his mind.
"Damn it, take him down!" The yellow-haired leader, stung by the disdain in Cello's gaze, lashed out in a mix of anger and humiliation. He lunged at Cello with his knife.
The other passengers averted their eyes, unable to watch. With monsters becoming more common, punks like these had grown bolder. This courageous young man seemed doomed.
But to everyone's surprise...
Cello didn't back down in the face of the oncoming blade; he charged forward, launching a punch that connected first. The yellow-haired leader was sent flying through the train car like a missile.
Before the onlookers could even process what happened, a flurry of punches rained down. In under five seconds, the once-cocky gang lay defeated on the floor, while Cello hadn't broken a sweat.
"Incredible!" Melinde gasped, her eyes wide with awe. Moments ago, she'd been cornered by the gang, close to losing all hope. Then this black-haired youth had burst forth, shielding her. And now, he had dispatched the thugs with swift and decisive blows, like a knight defending his princess.
"I'm Melinde. Thank you for saving me," she said. "What's your name? Where are you from? How old are you?" The questions tumbled out before she could stop them, and her cheeks turned crimson with embarrassment. This wasn't a blind date; such detailed inquiries were oddly out of place.
Seeing the scene unfold, the men aboard the electric car couldn't help but cast envious glances at Cello Everett. Melinde was quite the stunner, after all.
"Cello Everett."
He acknowledged the call with a nod but remained tight-lipped about his origins. After all, he wasn't from this world. Just seven days prior, he had inexplicably crossed over from Earth to this new realm, acquiring the "Universal Gratitude System" in the process. With this system, whenever someone expressed their thanks to him, he would receive a gift box. These boxes ranged in quality from black iron to bronze, silver, and gold, with the contents growing increasingly valuable as the quality improved.
Saving Melinde had been partly motivated by the prospect of a gift box.
"Ding!"
"Received heartfelt thanks from Melinde. A silver gift box has been awarded."
A glint of surprise flickered in Cello Everett's eyes. He hadn't expected Melinde to yield a silver-level gift box. Clearly, there was more to her than met the eye.
To date, the most prestigious gift box he'd received was of the silver variety. He could still vividly recall his first one.
"Mr. Rowen, the wealthiest man in City B, presents: ten billion in cash."
The sheer amount had left Cello Everett gasping with indignation.
"Money, money, money! Does Cello Everett look like he needs money?"
He grumbled as he accessed his system space, a ten-cubic-meter area crammed with mountains of gold and currency from various nations. By his conservative estimates, the total value exceeded ten billion. Since his arrival in this world, the most common form of gratitude he'd encountered was, indeed, money.
In an ordinary world, he could have lived lavishly as a magnate, marrying a dozen wives and flaunting his wealth without a care. But Cello Everett was acutely aware of the reality he faced.
He was in the ONE PUNCH-MAN universe—a world teetering on the brink of chaos. Wolves, tigers, ghosts, dragons, gods—monsters and heroes of every rank waged war upon each other, a relentless battle akin to the clashes of gods and demons.
In such a world, those without superpowers lived in constant peril, their lives as precarious as a thread. He took a sip of hot water, contemplating the tumultuous world around him.
Ordinary folks without superpowers basically risk their lives every day just by getting out of bed.
Take a sip of hot water, and you might be scalded to death by a suddenly mutated hot water monster.
In such an illogical world, what good is money?
Luckily for Cello Everett, he had gained more than just money these days.
He opened his character panel.
Host: Cello Everett.
Physique: 1 (The human limit is 1).
Storage space: 10 cubic meters.
Gathering ability:
[Real-combat Tips from Karate Black Belt Masters], [Well-developed Calf Muscles of Sprinters]...
In just seven days, he had amassed nearly a thousand gift boxes.
With hundreds of abilities stacked up, Cello Everett's physical condition had reached the pinnacle of human potential!
The thugs who had been bothering Melinde didn't stand a chance.
Even armed with a knife, they couldn't land a single blow on Cello Everett.
But still...
It wasn't nearly enough!
Cello Everett's gaze was intense.
His current power was more than enough to handle a few street thugs with ease.
But if a monster showed up...
Forget about a God Level threat like Boros; even the weakest Wolf Level monster had the potential to take him down.
He had to get stronger!
Cello Everett clenched his fists in determination.
"Um, Mr. Everett. If you're free, I know of a café nearby..."
Melinde brushed aside her messy hair, her cheeks glowing with heat.
This was her first time, in front of so many people, asking a guy out.
Upon hearing her...
The men on the train were green with envy, practically seething.
"Talk about bitter!"
"That guy's got some serious luck."
"If I could go on a date with such a beauty, I'd die happy."
Amidst the jealous stares...
Cello Everett rose to his feet, offering a slight smile.
"The train's at the station!"
With that, he stepped off the train, leaving nothing but a dashing silhouette for the onlookers.
The passengers were left in stunned silence.
Did the young man not hear what Melinde had said?
Impossible!
They had all heard it.
Could it be...
She was turned down?
Melinde slowly regained her composure, her face a mix of embarrassment and irritation.
So, she was rejected?
She was actually ignored! Could it be that she, Melinde, was so unattractive that he didn't even want to glance her way?
Stomping her feet and gritting her teeth, she muttered, "Cello Everett, huh? I'll remember you!"
