Hopper

Nathan searched around for the more popular heroes in Avalio. He didn't find any worthwhile information. He did discover something interesting, though. Rotgi, the Demon of Dusk Street, had a nemesis. The hero, Duster, was famous for repeatedly stopping the Demon every time he showed up.

However, the Demon had been laying low for almost a year, so Duster was actively looking for people who knew anything or had any possible clues.

Nathan couldn't know if Rotgi was lying low because he was afraid of Duster, if they were both working with the Syndicate, or if Rotgi didn't want to expose the operation. But it didn't matter.

Nathan could find out at least a couple of things by setting a trap for Duster.

Unfortunately, Duster was a top-class hero in Avalio. It would take more than a few words to get him to listen. He also wouldn't move rashly, even if Nathan had proof. And if he did move, Nathan would still be in trouble.

Rotgi had held back to a certain degree since he was wary of collapsing the tunnel and exposing the bunker and the Syndicate. Duster could fight on equal footing with Rotgi when they both went all out.

Duster was also infamous for unintentionally wrecking his surroundings. But he was famous for offering more than enough compensation to anyone affected, and he supposedly never had any human casualties.

That was good for everyone except his opponent.

Nathan wasn't confident he could take Duster in a head-on fight. It would also be difficult to set up a trap that would work.

Still, Nathan was tempted to say 'fuck it' and try. After all, his odds with Sky Piercer Force weren't too shabby. But that wasn't enough.

Unlike going up against the Vijang Syndicate in the shadows, openly attacking a famous hero like Duster would splash over to his parents, too. The success of the restaurant would dwindle and fall to the bottom almost as soon as it became known that the son of the owner was a villain.

In the best-case scenario, Nathan would get the information he wanted without Duster or anyone knowing he was the one who ambushed one of the most famous heroes in the city. But Nathan had lived long enough to know not to bet on best-case scenarios.

It usually led to a more fun and exciting life. But Nathan didn't need to look for such a lifestyle anymore now that he had regressed.

Instead, it would be better to try and find someone he could use to enter the Triangle.

'Was it Hopper?'

Nathan leaned back in his chair and looked at the image of a person in a blue tracksuit carrying someone under their arm.

Out of the heroes that were famous enough to have their own pages on the forums, Hopper seemed like the most useful one. Their reputation was also small enough that they should be willing to tag along on an investigative trip to the Triangle.

The problem was that they weren't easy to contact. Hopper didn't have a nemesis they were asking the public for clues about. They also didn't have a base or anything since they were a third-tier hero, who seemed to be doing it as an unpaid part-time job.

Nathan sighed. It looked like he would have to stress his brain a little by using Peerless Perception to spread a wide net with his senses.

Hopefully, something would happen that would prompt Hopper to make a move. Nathan could then track them down and get in touch with them before getting them to hop and bring him along to the Triangle.

'Do I need to orchestrate something?'

Hopper was a small-time utility hero who prioritized using her mobility to save people. It shouldn't be difficult to set up an accident where her skill would be handy.

'Maybe a fire?'

Nathan left the house to start wandering the city. Maybe he would get lucky. Maybe he would stumble upon a location or situation he could use to draw out Hopper. It was both a shame and fortunate that Hopper didn't have a territory. They operated all over the city with seemingly no pattern.

What was even more unfortunate was that there also wasn't a pattern to the time of Hopper's hero activities. Somedays, they skipped around during the day, saving cats stuck in trees, children falling from roofs, and catching escaping balloons. Other times, she was gone for several days at a time.

That was why Nathan didn't wait for morning to dawn. Although most people stayed inside during the night, that didn't prevent accidents from happening.

Hopper also had a reputation for helping victims get to the hospital with her skill.

Considering the level of safety most people felt in the city, there were more than one or two people out in the dark night, doing whatever.

Nathan frowned as he looked around, identifying the others he sensed as couples.

Since most stores closed this late, there wasn't much to do in that manner.

However, with everyone else at home, going out at night would feel like having the entire city for oneself.

Coupled with the slight thrill of doing something everyone considered unnecessarily risky, it was the perfect situation for romantic couples to deepen their bonds.

Nathan closed his eyes and extended his hearing as far as he could. He heard some giggles and chuckles mixed in with boring conversation. He heard a couple of shrill screams.

None of that was what Nathan wanted to hear.

Eventually, he heard a faint scuffling sound and the muffled noises of a muted struggle.

More importantly, after that, he heard a sound so low that he would have never registered it even before his regression. He wasn't even sure if it was a sound or if his ears picked up an inconsistency in the air and soundwaves from a certain skill being used.

Nathan was lucky.

Well, until he confirmed the owner of that skill, he couldn't be sure. But it sounded like what Hopper's skill looked like in the videos of their heroics.

Nathan turned in the direction the sound had come from before finding where the source was headed and going there as quickly as possible. It would be a shame if he missed Hopper when he was lucky enough to find them on the first night.