Heroes Return

Everyone present nodded. The consequence of two consecutive mission failures could only be one thing: death.

Chapter 19

Today, two young women arrived at Xiao Zhan's building. One of them was Dong Xue'er, and the other was a petite girl.

"Let me introduce you," the bespectacled man said to Xiao Zhan and Lin Jie. "This is Dong Xiaoye, an A-level hero from City B. She's the famous Ice Fairy."

"Oh? This is the helper Miss Dong invited?" Lin Jie asked, looking at the petite girl.

"You're the Lin Jie that Sister Xue'er was talking about? You look like a useless piece of trash." The girl looked at Lin Jie with dissatisfaction.

"What?" Lin Jie was furious: "You can call me trash! But you can't say I'm useless."

"Tch!" The girl didn't even glance at her, but turned to Dong Xue'er and said, "If these three scumbags are the helpers you're talking about, then I advise you to give up on this operation. It definitely won't succeed."

"Xiao Ye, don't judge a book by its cover," Dong Xue'er said to Dong Xiao Ye. "Don't let Mr. Lin Jie's appearance fool you. He has a record of defeating a B-level hero with a single blow. According to the tester's calculations at the time, he was the only person in H City besides the Hunter who could break through Ouyang Rui's defenses."

"Hmph!" The girl snorted coldly. "Then I'll reluctantly accept you, you piece of trash."

"Hey, don't you guys think this way of talking is going too far? What do you mean by 'looks like this'?" Lin Jie's forehead veins bulged involuntarily.

"You should be grateful that I've accepted you." The girl pointed at Xiao Zhan and the bespectacled guy, "As for you two E-level scumbags, I will never approve of you, especially that four-eyed pervert! I will absolutely, positively never agree with you!"

"That matter has nothing to do with me at all, can you please stop calling me that?" the bespectacled man couldn't help but say to Dong Xiaoye.

"Four-eyed pervert! Four-eyed pervert! Four-eyed pervert! Four-eyed pervert! Four-eyed pervert! Four-eyed pervert!"

"Looks like they have a story," Xiao Zhan said, nudging Lin Jie.

"Based on my years of experience immersed in the world of anime and manga, there's definitely a story behind it," Lin Jie said at this moment.

"Um, could you let me finish explaining the battle plan for tomorrow night?" Dong Xue'er squinted at the people in the room.

At the same time, the temperature inside the room also began to drop sharply.

"..."

The sudden drop in temperature silenced everyone in the room.

"Senior Sister, please stop your magic! My glasses are frozen solid!" Lin Jie said to Dong Xue'er while shivering. "Hurry up and tell me your grand plan. I'm getting impatient."

"That's more like it," Dong Xue'er said with a smile, and the temperature inside the room, which was -60 degrees Celsius, began to rise at that moment.

She then turned on the tablet computer next to her, and a 3D map appeared around everyone.

"Isn't this the peach orchard on the outskirts of the city?" Xiao Zhan said. "Speaking of which, it's peach blossom season again. I remember meeting my ex-girlfriend here when the peach blossoms were in full bloom..."

'Ah! Come to think of it, I used to kill people in the peach grove quite often.' Lin Jie thought to himself.

Unfortunately, Xiao Zhan's memories were not over before he was frozen.

"I told you not to interrupt me." Dong Xue'er smiled and glanced at the ice sculpture in front of her.

"Luckily, I didn't say what I was thinking out loud."

“We’ve confirmed that the transaction between Ouyang Rui and Evolution Company will take place in this Peach Garden.” Dong Xue’er cleared her throat and said, “The time is tomorrow night. The item being traded is a berserker drug called T-3. Once this drug enters Area C, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

What we need to do is stop the deal and at the same time take down Evolution Company and Ouyang Rui.

You can rest assured about Ouyang Rui's bodyguards and men; I've already contacted other heroes who oppose Ouyang Rui. They'll help us handle things. As for Evolution Company, we'll have to leave that to Xiao Ye. But I won't let you deal with them alone; I'll arrange for someone to work with you.

"Lin Jie, our mission is to defeat Ouyang Rui. Another B-rank member and I will try to restrain him, while you must find an opportunity to break through his defenses. We won't have many opportunities, as Ouyang Rui is an A-rank powerhouse. We must simultaneously capture Ouyang Rui and the people from Evolution Company, and obtain decisive evidence."

"Um? What's our mission?" the bespectacled man asked.

"You? Let me think." Dong Xue'er tilted her head and thought for a moment. "How about this, let's go with Xiao Ye's team. As for Xiao... En... let him go and deal with Ouyang Rui's bodyguards."

"I don't want to work with this bespectacled freak," Dong Xiaoye said. "And I don't need the people you arrange to work with me either. Too many people will only hold me back."

"Are you saying you disagree with my opinion?" Dong Xue'er asked, squinting at Dong Xiaoye.

"...Hmph." Dong Xiaoye simply snorted and sat down on the sofa.

"Oh, right, I have some good news for you," Dong Xue'er said. "The little girl you rescued is safe."

"Really?" Lin Jie couldn't help but ask.

"I never imagined that Paradise Island was the headquarters of Evolution Corporation's research team. It was completely exposed in the battle on Paradise Island. In order to salvage the data there, Purification Corporation sacrificed a lot of manpower, but still lost a lot of research results, as well as a lot of researchers." Dong Xue'er said with a smile, "I heard that Shen Jing Gui Tiao also went to Paradise Island. Didn't he tell you?"

“No, I couldn’t get through to Shen Jing Gui Tiao last time,” Lin Jie said.

"Alright, I'll go to Taoyuan first," Xiao Zhan said, now thawed.

"Be careful," Lin Jie said.

"Don't worry, I'll go wearing my latest combat suit." As he said this, Xiao Zhan turned into a person with his face blurred out.

"What's the point of you doing this!" Lin Jie said.

"You don't know anything. With this equipment, I could go out naked without any problem," Xiao Zhan said.

“You’ve gone too far down this path,” the bespectacled man said at that moment.

……

It was evening at the Xiao's Building.

"How could she make me spend the night in a place like this? That bastard of a cousin!" Dong Xiaoye cursed angrily.

"Still not asleep?" The bespectacled man lying on the sofa saw Dong Xiaoye come out.

"None of your business!" Dong Xiaoye said irritably.

"Aren't you guys asleep either?" Xiao Zhan asked as he walked out of the room.

"Can't sleep either?" the bespectacled man asked Xiao Zhan.

"There's no way around it. After all, there's a big battle tomorrow night, and I'm so excited I can't sleep. You know, I only passed the hero assessment a month ago. Suddenly I'm involved in this kind of mission, and I don't even know how much my ranking will improve," Xiao Zhan said.

"Tch, you're still green. I've been a superhero for two years now," the bespectacled guy said. "If you're nervous, I can teach you some ways to deal with pre-battle anxiety."

"You four-eyed freak?" Dong Xiaoye said disdainfully, "You've been a D-level piece of trash for the past two years and you still have the nerve to teach others?"

"It's like you've been a hero for a long time," the bespectacled man said.

“Ignorant. I’ve been a hero for four years now.” Dong Xiao puffed out her chest and said, “There’s no comparison between me and you weaklings who have neither experience nor strength, okay?”

"How old are you?" Xiao Zhan said.

"Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm already nineteen years old," Dong Xiaoye said.

"Really?! Are you and Dong Xue'er really cousins?" Xiao Zhan was shocked.

Dong Xue'er is in her early twenties, with a sexy and tall figure. Dong Xiaoye, on the other hand, is only a year younger than her, but has a very petite figure, giving the impression of a middle school student.

"Ugh! I just developed a little late!!" Dong Xiaoye was furious, and at the same time made a move as if she was about to pounce on someone and bite them.

"Forget it, I'm not talking to you anymore. I'll just drink some milk and go to sleep." Xiao Zhan said, taking out a stick-shaped object with a pixelated design.

"Wait! What is this?" Dong Xiaoye was genuinely shocked by the weapon Xiao Zhan was holding.

"This is the plasma cleaning rod 3001 that I developed," Xiao Zhan said, activating the weapon in his hand. A series of mechanical vibrations echoed in the room.

"Wait! What are you going to do with this?" Dong Xiaoye's face turned bright red when she saw what Xiao Zhan had taken out. "Don't wave this in front of me!"

"I'm just drinking some milk."

After Xiao Zhan finished speaking, he took out several cups.

"Glasses, would you like a drink?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"Oh, give me a drink, please," the bespectacled man said.

"Wait, you four-eyed pervert! Don't you find it strange to see something like this?" Dong Xiaoye asked in surprise, looking at the bespectacled man who had a calm expression.

"Oh, I've gotten used to it over time," the bespectacled man said calmly.

Then we saw Xiao Zhan skillfully take three glasses of milk and casually hand one to the guy with glasses.

And so, to Dong Xiaoye's astonishment, the bespectacled man and Xiao Zhan clinked glasses and then drank the milky white liquid in one gulp.

"Have a drink too, it's good for your physical development." Xiao Zhan walked towards Dong Xiaoye, holding his stick in one hand and a glass of white liquid in the other. Dong Xiaoye subconsciously took a step back, her hand accidentally touching a light switch in the room.

Suddenly, the wall behind Xiao Zhan flipped open. Behind him appeared a wall of props blurred with mosaics. Against the backdrop of these props, Xiao Zhan approached, holding a glass of white liquid. Dong Xiaoye finally erupted.

"abnormal!"

A hard slap rang out on this floor.

……

"If you don't like milk, then don't drink it. Why hit me?" Xiao Zhan said, touching the handprint on his face.

"Exactly," the bespectacled guy chimed in. "You can hit him all you want, but why did you hit me too?"

"Hmph!" Dong Xiaoye said angrily, "If I ever see that kind of thing again, I'll beat it up every time I see it."

"..."

"..."

After a long while, the bespectacled man finally said, "I saw Lin Jie on the rooftop half an hour ago, why hasn't he come down yet?"

“Let’s go up and take a look,” Xiao Zhan said. “I’m a little curious, what is he doing up on the rooftop so late at night instead of sleeping?”

"Let's go then," the man with glasses said.

"Wait! I'm going too," Dong Xiaoye said from the side. "You're the one who's keeping me awake."

And so the three of them went to the rooftop together.

Just then, a heavy rain started outside, and the three of them were stunned when they saw Lin Jie's appearance.

The rain soaked Lin Jie's clothes, revealing the contours of his muscles. He leaned on the ground, his spiked club resting on his hand. Lin Jie himself gazed silently into the distance.

An aura of weathered history permeated the entire rooftop.

At the same time, a sense of battle-hardened steel permeated the rooftop. It was as if a battle-hardened, unyielding man was gazing at his opponent.

"I never expected him to have such a manly side," Xiao Zhan said softly. Dong Xiaoye and Glasses, who were standing next to him, couldn't help but nod in agreement.

At this moment, Lin Jie exuded the aura of a great hero, drawing everyone's attention.

At this moment, Lin Jie slightly raised his head...

...Then he sneezed, and immediately ran indoors with his arms crossed.