Truck kun strikes yet again?

A speeding truck roared past a small town, It's engine echoing through the streets.

Suddenly, the driver spotted a small child darting across the road. In a panic, he slammed on the brakes while attempting to turn.

'Screech'

'Thud'

'Bang'

A sudden impact jolted me, pain coursing through my body, only to slowly dissipate as adrenaline surged.

My head felt hot, and my vision blurred. With wobbly legs, I struggled to rise.

Across the pavement, a hazy silhouette of a child lay a few meters away, wailing inconsolably.

With snot streaming down his face, he continued to cry, but all I could hear was a deafening buzz in my ears.

As I struggled to rise, a wave of relief washed over me when I saw the child was safe. I don't even know how I managed to get up.

"Well, at least you're safe, ki-d," I managed to croak, my voice trembling as I coughed up blood lodged in my throat.

Instantly, I collapsed to the ground.

There I lay, in the middle of the road, surrounded by a small pool of blood.

Unfamiliar, blurry faces gathered around me, their expressions filled with concern.

They were speaking, but their words were drowned out by the ringing in my ears.

It seemed a few sharp objects had scraped me open, likely the reason for the copious amount of blood I was losing.

Crimson blood continued to flow as jagged bones protruded from my now-broken ribs.

The traffic light above flickered hazily, its colors blending into the blue sky and the clouds swaying gently above, sunlight streaming through the tall trees and illuminating the scene.

Everything felt as though it was slowing down, even my vision adjusted to the surreal pace.

My thoughts raced back to the moment I had rushed to save that child from certain death.

Life flashed before my eyes; I felt cold and empty, as if darkness was beginning to swallow me whole.

A wave of loneliness washed over me, filling me with an overwhelming fear of the unknown.

I began to reflect on my life as memories flooded my mind, some happy moments, some sad.

My emotions were in turmoil, and I was filled with regrets.

My name is Ren Nakamura. I was your regular civilian, drifting from one job to another.

With a bland and monotonous life, nothing in particular was special about me.

I didn't have many friends, and the few colleagues I had at work hardly qualified as friends.

Worst of all, I had never dated a woman! Ugh.

Just moments ago, I had seen a speeding truck with no signs of slowing down, and in the middle of the road, a young child with an umbrella had merrily crossed the road.

Blissfully unaware of the impending danger.

I still don't know what compelled me to act. I ran forward and managed to push the child out of harm's way.

But then the truck slammed into me, It felt as if the entire world was spinning.

Gradually, I felt the cold seep in, lost in thought amidst the chaotic noise of the city.

My mind raced; time seemed to lose all meaning as random memories surged forth, dragging me through a whirlwind of emotions.

"Heh, for a moment there, it felt like I was a hero," I chuckled bitterly at my fate.

"Although I'm not a good person, I definitely can't stand by while a kid gets hurt in front of me."

"If they want to die, they can do it far away from my sight for all I care," I thought inwardly.

"Sigh… It's just that I haven't managed to lose my virginity."

"Truck-kun, F**K YOU!"

As my vision blurred, I felt a strange pull, as if I needed to state something. It was an odd sensation.

"If there's a next life, I hope to live carefree, maybe become a billionaire and a superhero for fun."

"Flying through the sky, kicking bad guys' asses, you know, the usual stuff about saving the world."

"Hmmm, a healing factor would be nice, and perhaps I could be smarter than both Reed Richards and Tony Stark."

"Oh, and a tragic childhood backstory, since almost all superheroes have one."

"Confirmed."

"Granting mortal host—superhuman physique, healing factor, telekinesis, blessed with knowledge, and a ticket to reincarnation."

"Initiating…"

I heard a cold, emotionless voice, but I couldn't comprehend anything as my vision faded.

_____

A-City

Inside one of the public hospitals, in a private room, a child lay in bed, wearing a hospital gown, a tube connected to his nose and wires leading to his hand.

'Beep'

The monitor emitted a steady beep—slow and stable—but suddenly, it spiked to 200 heartbeats.

'Beep' 'beep' 'beeeeeep'

A nurse rushed in, panic etched across her face. She checked the machine, her gaze darting to the child, who was grimacing in pain.

Fear gripped her.

Suddenly, the boy sat up straight in bed, clutching his chest.

"Huffs… hufff… hufff."

He breathed heavily, inhaling and exhaling.

As he opened his eyes, blinded by the light, his head felt heavy.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" The nurse's nervous voice rang out as she approached to check his forehead for fever.

'A little warm, but not enough to cause a fever,' she thought inwardly.

After a few seconds, the child gradually adjusted to the light, and the headache began to fade.

He looked around, noticing the nurse beside him, concern etched on her face.

"Who are you?" he asked, bewildered.

"No, who am I?" The child quickly corrected himself, confusion evident.

"Kid, your name is Ren Nakamura. You don't remember? Did you lose your memory?" she asked, her brow furrowed in concern.

"Ren Nakamura…"

"Ren… Ren," he mumbled to himself, his expression puzzled.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" A sharp pain pierced his head, as if a metal shard were digging into his skull.

And then he fell unconscious.

The panicked nurse rushed out to call the doctor.

Meanwhile, Ren, still unconscious, sank deep into his memories.

Hearing his name from the nurse triggered recollections of his past life. In both worlds, he bore the same name.

After saving a child and meeting his end at the hands of Truck-kun, he had reincarnated into this new reality.

Given a second chance, he quickly adapted to his new surroundings, enjoying his time playing, exploring, and studying.

Gradually he figured out it's the One punch man world.

He was smarter than most, so he believed he could lead a successful life, even without superpowers.

But at the age of four, while accompanying his parents to their new lab, a catastrophic experiment went wrong, unleashing gamma radiation that claimed the lives of everyone within the laboratory's radius.

'I don't know how I survived, though.'

'I hope I can transform into the Hulk or something.'

'I mean, a man can have dreams, right?'

"O merciful Lord Creator God, I beseech thee, please grant me the power of the Hulk," he thought, filled with hope.

_____

Morning light streamed through the window, rays of sunlight warming his face.

With a twitching expression, he groggily opened his eyes.

He attempted to rise, but his body felt weak and frail.

Looking at his skinny arms and body, he realized he was far too thin, a stark contrast to the energetic child from his memories.

A squeaking sound filled the air as the door opened, and a doctor entered, carrying a clipboard.

"Ren-chan, I see you're getting better," he said, checking the monitor before approaching Ren, unsure how to console him.

"Doctor, umm… is everyone in the lab dead?" Ren asked, though he already knew the answer.

The doctor paused, his expression somber. "It seems you've regained your memories. To answer your question, I'm afraid so. No one survived except you."

"Then how did I survive? It's impossible to survive exposure to radiation," Ren pressed, curiosity piqued.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Ren-kun. After analyzing your condition with many specialists, we cannot pinpoint the cause of your survival. We only have a rough guess."

"I checked your files before the radiation incident and found no abnormalities in your DNA. However, after the event, it began to change.

"We've been studying your case for over a year now, but it remains a mystery. The radiation is weakening your immune system."

"But your body seems to heal sporadically, making you resistant to it. I can't say how long that will last, though," the doctor explained, his mind racing with the unexplainable situation.

"Huh? What? I've been asleep for a year?" Ren exclaimed, disbelief washing over him as he tried to sit up, his heartbeat rising.

The doctor gently pushed him back down.

"Ren-chan, your body is still weak. You need to transition your diet slowly. Only when you regain enough strength can you leave this hospital," the doctor said in a soft reprimanding tone.

Seeing that struggling was futile, Ren relented.

"Wait, you said the radiation started affecting my DNA, but how can my body heal from it?" he asked, eager to understand every detail about his condition.

"I don't know," the doctor replied helplessly.

"Okay then, what happens to me now?" Ren asked, his tone grumpy.

The doctor snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, I'm sorry, Ren-chan. Ugh, sorry again, little guy. Don't worry; we've contacted your relatives."

"If you'd like, you can stay in one of our research centers. Many brilliant scientists will be interested in your case," he said, heading out of the room to fetch nutritious food for Ren.

The doctor felt guilty, he shouldn't have revealed so much to the child. Telling a kid that his parents were dead and that he might die with no available cure was simply wrong.

But the doctor failed to notice Ren's emotional state, even after hearing about his parents' demise.

_____

Ren's POV.

Back in the room, Ren thought, 'So everyone is dead, huh? Well, I don't really care; we didn't spend enough time together to develop any strong feelings. They were always busy with their work.'

'My gosh, why did I have to reincarnate in One punch man world? Would have been nice if it was Earth-Land.'

'It seems my memory is still incomplete.'

"Haizz, I guess I can't turn into the Hulk, huh?"

He attempted to transform into the Hulk, increasing his heartbeat as he forced himself to get up while the doctor was nearby, but he felt no change, only exhaustion.

"This sucks."

_____

Outside the A-City Public Hospital

An unusually skinny child with black hair, around 100 cm tall, emerged from the hospital entrance, accompanied by a mature woman dressed in black and white, slightly less formal than business attire, wearing sunglasses.

After two weeks of a healthy diet, Ren could finally walk properly, but he still looked emaciated and had little appetite due to his ongoing condition, which included frequent headaches.

His appearance was sickly, with sunken cheeks that made him resemble a starved zombie.

A black Mercedes-Benz S-Class pulled up in front of him, and his aunt opened the door.

"Ren-kun, come on, get inside. You can't stay outdoors too long," she urged, gently pulling him into the car.

Ren's Aunt Aki Nakamura, had come as soon as he woke up a week ago and had stayed by his side, helping him piece together his lost memories.

_____

Author's Note.

Normally, I use the web novel app for typing all the chapters and I don't like to re-read my chapters.

But since you've shown me the mistake, I just can't ignore it.

I just re-edited this chapter.

If you spot any mistakes, big or small, please let me know. I'm going to try to maintain 1,500 words per chapter.