Heroes Return

"The Hunter! The Hunter!" A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the crowd in the square.

After the crowd dispersed, little Lin Mumu was still excited: "Sister, that hunter uncle was so amazing! I saw him take down those bad guys in just a few moves."

“Of course, he’s the strongest superhero in H City. He’s incomparable to these two in front of us.” Lin Wan said to the little girl, “They’re both superheroes, but the difference is huge.”

"Tch, he just didn't match us," Xiao Zhan said dismissively.

“That’s right, he just didn’t run into us, otherwise I could have killed him in one move,” Lin Jie said.

"With your meager skills, you think you can instantly kill the Hunter?" Lin Wan mocked without reservation.

"No, Brother Lin is amazing too," the little girl said.

“That’s because you don’t understand him yet,” Lin Wan said. “He’s a complete waste of talent.”

"Sigh, she used to say 'I love my brother the most, my brother is the best,' but now she belittles me every day. Little sister, your adolescence is going on for way too long," Lin Jie said regretfully.

"You're the one who's young!!" Lin Wan said with dissatisfaction.

"Shall we become superheroes?" the little girl said. "I want to be a superhero like Uncle Hunter."

"..." Xiao Zhan paused for a moment and then said, "If anyone should be a superhero, it should be someone like me."

"To become a superhero like you, wielding a censored stick and poking people everywhere?" Lin Wan looked at Xiao Zhan with disdain, then said to the little girl, "If our Mu Mu is to become a superhero, she should be a superhero like 'Zero'."

"We've had enough fun for today, let's go back," Lin Jie said, his face suddenly turning a little red. "Being idolized by my younger sister when I was going through a chuunibyou phase still feels just as embarrassing."

“Okay, let’s go back. I’ll cook a few of my specialties tonight,” Lin Wan said.

"Okay, okay. Big sister's cooking is the best!" the little girl said happily.

"By the way, do you want to watch a movie when we get back?" Xiao Zhan said at this moment. "Speaking of which, I just bought a new movie when I had some free time."

"What movie is it?" Lin Jie asked.

“Zero: I Am Not a God,” Xiao Zhan said proudly.

"Forget it, I'm not interested." Lin Jie directly rejected Xiao Zhan.

“Great! Come to our house for dinner. I’ve been wanting to see this movie for ages,” Lin Wan said happily.

And so, the group left the amusement park while still talking.

"It seems we've forgotten something..." Lin Jie suddenly said, "Never mind, if we've forgotten, we've forgotten."

……

The bespectacled man stood bewildered in the amusement park plaza: "Huh? What happened? Am I late? Where did they all go?"

Chapter 18

"Sister, why doesn't that Zero brother talk?" the little girl asked while watching the movie.

“I don’t know. Zero’s only line in this movie is also the only line he ever said in public,” Lin Wan said.

"Hey? Isn't that saintess an S-class hero now? Why not invite her to participate in the filming of this movie?" Xiao Zhan asked from the side.

"That just shows how ignorant you are." The bespectacled man pushed up his glasses. "Based on my research and understanding from various sources, the saintess was indeed invited to play that role during the early stages of filming. However, she declined, citing that she was currently fighting against a certain force. So, an actress who looks like her was invited to play her role. But there's also a rumor that she declined because she didn't want to think about what happened with Zero, since Zero has been missing for five years."

“I understand,” Xiao Zhan said. “So it’s a normal reaction after a breakup. Speaking of which, God’s Hand was quite enthusiastic about participating in the filming of this movie.”

“Yes, I really didn’t expect that the ‘Hand of God’ who appears in public as a wise man would have such a foolish past,” the bespectacled man said.

"Is that saintess sister Zero's girlfriend?" the little girl asked curiously.

"I don't know!" Lin Wan said, "But I heard that they did fight together, and Zero was able to kill that evil god only because of the protection of the saintess's magic."

"It seems there must be something going on between them. After all, everyone who experienced that incident said so, and the plot in the movie is based on the firsthand experiences of those who were there at the time," Xiao Zhan said. "Even the Holy Maiden herself hasn't come forward to deny that the movie's plot is different from what happened back then, has it?"

“That makes sense,” Lin Wan said.

"What the hell?!" Lin Jie sighed as he watched the group chattering about his past scandal with the saintess. "They even have the nerve to call it the most historically accurate movie? With the evil god's strength, I could have taken him down with a single sword strike! There was no saintess's protection whatsoever! It's completely fabricated."

"Brother, you don't look too good," Lin Wan said.

"It's nothing, I was just wondering if those people had any problems with their memories back then," Lin Jie said.

“How could that be?” Lin Wan said, “An A-level hero, an S-level hero, and a group of people who personally experienced the events revised the script together. It’s impossible that they all remembered it wrong.”

"That's true." Lin Jie chuckled dryly.

"Did I lose my memory back then? I remember that saintess was dizzy the whole time. What could she possibly remember? And who was that 'Hand of God'? I don't remember anyone standing next to me like that. Speaking of which, that saintess was really pretty; I wish I could have slept with her. This series has five parts now, and I've changed the girl in each one! But why do I have absolutely no recollection of anything like that happening?!"

Just as Lin Jie was agonizing over the gap between reality and the movie, the film came to an end.

Just as the movie ended, an advertisement popped up.

"Thank you for your support of the Great Hero Zero film series. The filming of the sixth installment is currently in preparation. In the sixth film, we will invite an SS-class hero team from another world to participate in the guidance of this filming. Please look forward to the sixth installment of the Zero series, 'The Demon King and the Hero'."

'I never imagined that even this part of history would be unearthed…'

"Is the next story we're filming about the time of the otherworld invasion?" Xiao Zhan asked with delight. "As an excellent RPG player, I've done a lot of research on what happened during that period."

'Will this company ever stop? Is digging up someone's dirty history really that interesting?' Lin Jie thought helplessly. 'Maybe I should go back to zero one day and dismantle that company? Forget it, my clothes are already on display in the World United Museum; getting them back would be too much trouble.'

……

Unlike the relaxed atmosphere at Lin Jie's house, Ouyang Rui was staring at a report on his computer with a gloomy expression in the president's office of the Hero Association.

"A bunch of useless trash!" Ouyang Rui cursed angrily, "They can't even handle two E-level enemies."

Today, he gave a mission to the superheroes in the Hero Association who were affiliated with him: to bring Lin Jie, Xiao Zhan, and that little girl to him, so that he could have a significant bargaining chip when making a deal with Evolution Corporation. But what he didn't expect was that those heroes who accepted his mission are now piled high in the news.

"It seems that when supporting new heroes in the future, we should also consider their strength," Ouyang Rui muttered to himself.

Just then, a knock came into Ouyang Rui's ears.

"Come in," Ouyang Rui said to the doorway.

A mature and sexy office lady walked in: "Sir, this is the latest information about Dong Xue'er's movements."

"Alright, just put it here," Ouyang Rui said.

After watching the secretary leave the office, Ouyang Rui copied the data cards on the table into the computer.

"She actually went to Dong Xiaoye's place!" Ouyang Rui said in surprise. "It seems we need to contact the Hunters."

……

In a strange room, she was bound and unable to move by some unknown object. She struggled with all her might, but to no avail.

Just as she was struggling, a strange humanoid creature appeared in front of her, holding an indescribable, eerie object.

"Have some milk," the humanoid figure said in a lewd voice, as it shoved one end of a pixelated, stick-like object into the shadow's mouth. A large amount of white liquid began to spurt from the shadow's mouth.

"Waaaaaah!!! Waaaaah!!" The shadowy body was still struggling desperately.

"Shooting...shooting...hahaha, shoot more, shoot more..." the lewd voice said.

"Waaaah! Waaah... I can't drink anymore!" Shadow suddenly sat up in bed. She looked around blankly before letting out a sigh of relief: "It was just a dream."

Then she remembered Xiao Zhan's face: "That bastard!"

Shadow quickly rinsed himself off in the room and then left.

She walked down a corridor and arrived at a conference room.

There were two men waiting for her inside.

“You’re late, Miss Shadow,” one of the men said. This was the leader of the buyers who had been caught by Lin Jie and his group when they tried to purchase the little girl.

“Excuse me, Mr. Gan,” the shadow said.

"Now that everyone's here, let's begin the meeting," Mr. Gan said. "Our plan last night failed, and not only that, the evil spirit has vanished, hasn't it?"

“Yes,” the other man said.

"So what's going on with the weapons?" Mr. Gan asked the other man.

“When I arrived at the house of the man with glasses, his whole family had moved away,” the weapon said.

"And what about you, Shadow?" Mr. Gan asked, looking at Shadow beside him.

"I'm sorry, I failed too," you said, bowing your head.

"Tell me the reasons for your failure," Mr. Gan asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” the shadow said through gritted teeth. “I won’t fail again next time.”

"Do you think there will be a next time?" Mr. Gan said.

Upon hearing his words, both the weapon and the shadow in the room were startled.

“I’m sorry, I may have scared you two,” Mr. Gan said. “Because it’s impossible to send you anymore. The life signal in the Evil Fiend’s life detection device has disappeared. That means that the person who rescued that girl has the strength to kill the Evil Fiend who is carrying the T-3 evolution fluid. Even among A-level heroes, there are very few who can do that.”

"What?!" the weapon exclaimed in surprise. "Could it be an S-rank?"

"Not necessarily," Mr. Gan said. "You know, there's no reaction from S-class lifeforms in H City. However, we can't rule out the possibility that they possess some kind of ruthless ability."

"Really?" Shadow said unwillingly, "So, next time we need headquarters to send people to deal with them?"

“Headquarters can’t send anyone to deal with them now,” Mr. Gan said. “The little girl’s plan has to be put on hold for now. Yesterday, we received news that the underground research institute on Paradise Island has been exposed.”

"What!" the weapon exclaimed in surprise.

“That’s right. All the researchers working on this potential development project are dead, and we’ve also lost a lot of research data,” Mr. Gan said.

"How is that possible? How could the underground research institute on Paradise Island possibly be found?" Weapon asked.

“When the sea creatures invaded,” Mr. Gan said, “a hero known as the God-Shocking Demon-Jumper infiltrated our research institute.”

"Did he leak the location of the research institute?"

“No, he was captured,” Mr. Gan said. “But for some reason, a series of mechanical failures occurred in the research institute, right during the battle between the superheroes and the sea creatures, thus exposing the institute to both sides…”

"..."

"Most of the headquarters' combat power is currently involved in the great battle on Paradise Island. After the SS-class hero, the Child of God, appeared on Paradise Island, the headquarters suffered heavy losses. It is estimated that it will take at least several years to restart this project."

"How could this be!" the shadow muttered.

“But our mission in H City is not over yet,” Mr. Gan said. “Tomorrow night, the people from headquarters who are in charge of trading the T-3 Evolution Fluid with the Ouyang family will arrive. The higher-ups attach great importance to this transaction because it is the key to whether we can enter Zone C.”

"So, we're going to be responsible for the security of this transaction together with the people at headquarters?" Weapon asked.

“That’s right, the three of us messed up a mission once. If this deal goes wrong again, I think I don’t need to tell you the consequences,” Mr. Gan said.