A Hitman's Guide To Becoming A Hero

[BBC HUB]

"With us today are two officials who work closely with the Hero Association and are here to answer some of our questions," the presenter said as the camera tilted toward the two figures. "Good morning, Mr. Larry and Miss Gregory. Thank you for giving us this opportunity."

Larry sat with a warm smile on his face. "It’s my pleasure to be here."

"Moving on to the biggest story right now. Phantom, the superhero and star of the Hero Association, was recently caught on camera attacking—and even killing—civilians. The reasons behind his actions remain unknown, and following the recent events, the backlash could have serious consequences for the Hero Association. Sir Larry, what do you have to say about this?"

The woman maintained a professional smile, but it quickly disappeared when a voice suddenly came through her earpiece.

"A what?... A breach?"

The screens across the city flickered as the connection broke off.

A new live broadcast hijacked the city’s network, forcing itself onto every available screen.

Phantom stood beneath the pouring rain, his dark coat drenched and his black hair matted against his face. His eyes were hidden behind the familiar tinted X-glasses.

At his feet lay the crumpled bodies of three private dock foremen.

The serrated carbon blade in his hand dissolved into particles as he stepped beneath the glare of an overhead halogen light. Then he leaned toward a pinned audio relay.

His raspy voice went through millions of speakers across the continent:

"You despise the heroes for their lies, yet you weep when the truth leaves you helpless. If you aren’t happy with your protectors, then learn to live with us as your villains. Let’s see if your outrage can stop us."

The footage cut to black.

"Was that Phantom? The rumours are true."

"Has Phantom gone crazy?"

"What do we do?! Phantom becomes a villain?!"

The reaction across the city was instantaneous.

Panic quickly spread.

People weren’t just angry at the Association anymore. They were terrified that the monster who had dismantled Malik Vance had decided to turn his blades on ordinary civilians.

Back at the house, Nicholas, Selena, and Katie watched the broadcast Julie had told them to tune into.

"And he sounds exactly like you do... It makes it hard to believe it’s not you." Selena said, her gaze still fixed on the television.

"Who’s that brat pretending to be Big Brother! I’ll beat him up! Hmph." Katie said, anger in her voice.

Nicholas didn’t reply. His gaze remained fixed on the flood of notifications filling his system screen.

His status interface flickered erratically without him even summoning it.

[DING!]

[Your audience has grown displeased with your actions.]

Global Admiration: Rapidly Degrading

Current Charm: 42,680 → 31,450 → 19,200...

Nicholas watched the numbers tumble with a cold, unblinking stare.

His Charm stat wasn’t an abstract number—it was a direct reflection of public perception, fuelled by the awe and respect of billions who had watched him through Julie’s stream, and now he was losing everything with every passing second.

As the manipulated audio and cold-blooded killings spread, the adoring masses were turning into terrified accusers, burning through the massive pool of social capital he had accumulated in a matter of hours.

If the imposter continued killing civilians in his name, his Charm Points would eventually fall back into the negative.

While he was still deep in thought, the news broadcast returned.

Larry stood before the cameras with a stern expression.

This time, he didn’t look like the carefree and unserious councillor Nicholas remembered. He looked completely serious. His face was displayed on every broadcast screen available in the country.

"Citizens of our dear country, please do not be afraid. Until now, we have done our best to keep this matter under control."

Larry’s gaze hardened.

"But following his recent statement, we can no longer remain silent."

"Phantom, wherever you are, hear me clearly.

From this moment onward, you are a public enemy of the Hero Association. If you have truly decided to make yourself an enemy of mankind, then we will stop at nothing to bring you down."

"If you do not wish to escalate this matter further, turn yourself in to the authorities immediately."

"And let me make this absolutely clear. The Hero Association does not, in any way, support this rogue hero."

Larry stared directly into the camera.

"To every hero in America—help us preserve what little dignity remains by bringing him in."

"Anyone who takes down Phantom will receive a reward of fifty million." Just as he finished making the statement, the broadcast went off.

Marina, Katie, and Selena turned toward Nicholas with worried expressions.

A deep frown had settled across his face.

’I knew I should’ve killed all these councillor bastards when I had the chance.’

Nicholas knew exactly how bad this was.

Within minutes, the city would be crawling with heroes, rogue mercenaries, syndicate enforcers, and high-ranking bounty hunters.

All of them would be coming for him.

Larry’s speech and the fifty-million-dollar bounty, those two alone had made sure of that.

’....And to make matters worse, my charm points are dropping massively.’ He thought, looking at the system screen.

[Charm points: 10320]

This was perhaps the worst situation Nicholas had faced since becoming a hero.

He was about to face countless enemies while his abilities were severely limited.

A cold smile slowly appeared on Nicholas’s face.

He could finally see through the game being played.

’So Ronald was only a piece in a much larger game.’

Nicholas’ eyes narrowed, ’Larry... I knew he was a problem, but I completely underestimated just how dangerous he was.’

Nicholas couldn’t quite place his finger on it, but he could tell that Larry was behind this, and the way everything lined up, it would be hard to say that he didn’t.

’Now that the association is facing a public backlash, it’s the perfect time to bring me down. Putting me at the front,’ Nicholas couldn’t hold back his resentful chuckle.

"What’s so funny? This is a really serious issue, what are you going to do about it?"

"I’m going to find the bastard copying me," Nicholas replied with a cold voice.

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