Heroes Return

Delis looked at Alice with a blank expression, her usual indifference turning into a slight blush. It was indeed a slight blush, and her large, adorable eyes blinked as she stared at Alice. Alice got goosebumps all over.

"Big sister... what's wrong?" Dailis asked as she walked towards Alice.

"Aaaaaah! Stop screaming!!" Alice suddenly seemed to have been struck by a blow, frantically backing away: "This isn't Delis! This isn't Delis! What's with this guy's eyes, which are both gay and have a hint of lesbianism?!"

"What's wrong? Didn't you call me, Big Sister?" Daisy looked at Alice with a blank expression, tilting her head slightly. "Big Sister is acting so strange today! Did you catch a cold?"

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't you realize you're acting really strange right now? Kuhoo... why have your attributes changed? Our Delis should be a emotionless little loli, not this kind of innocent little loli!!" Alice carefully observed Delis's reaction.

Alice originally thought her nerves were perfectly capable of handling any unexpected situation, but today she found herself somewhat mentally confused by Delis's address of "Big Sister".

"Me?" Hearing Evan's words, Delis tilted her head and thought for a moment, then slammed her hand down as if she had just realized something. "I get it! It's because of you, Big Sister, isn't it? Hmm? Speaking of which, why do I call you Big Sister?"

After hearing Delis call her "Big Sister" twice, Alice got goosebumps all over again.

Faced with the little girl's watery gaze, Alice inexplicably conjured up images of yuri (lesbian) scenes in her mind. But the next second, the scene transformed into a gay scene between Evan and Dave.

"Damn it!" Alice shook her head vigorously, only regaining her composure after clearing her mind of all distracting thoughts. "Kuhuhu, women's bodies are such a hassle! I've unknowingly been affected by female hormones and developed a lot of female psychological states!"

As she spoke, Alice moved closer to Delis once again.

"Big sister?" Delis looked at Alice's strange behavior with some oddity.

As soon as Alice got close to Delis, she was once again forced back several steps by the word "Big Sister".

"Kuhuhu, that's truly terrifying destructive power!" Alice looked at Delis with some surprise. "Never mind, I'll talk to you here, Kuhuhu. What exactly did you see in that dream environment?"

“Hmm… there were houses, manors, beautiful gardens, and my older sister and me… I even saw my older sister make a flower wreath and put it on my head…” Dalis tried hard to recall everything she saw when she was in that environment.

“Kuhuhu, it seems I roughly understand what happened.” Alice thought for a moment and then asked, “So, do you remember what we’ve been doing lately?”

“Of course I remember,” Delis said. “We just got defeated by that Ivan, didn’t we? And that Ivan even said…”

“Kuhuhu, our past memories were actually implanted memories.” Alice returned to her original state once more: “It seems this illusion is not just an ordinary illusion... In the end, all of Ivan were tricked by that so-called god, including me. Kuhuhu, this is truly the first time I’ve been outmaneuvered by someone other than Zero!”

"Huh? What are you talking about, big sister?" Alice asked, somewhat puzzled.

“All you need to know is that we’ve been tricked.” Alice said, then looked at Delis. “What you saw in the illusion was our past, Kuhuhu.”

"Are those my past memories?" Delis asked, somewhat surprised.

“Speaking of which, you really want to know your past memories! You’ve been affected ever since you found out you weren’t actually Dave,” Alice said with a smile. “So, do you blame me now? Because I refused to restore our memories back then.”

“Sister must have her own reasons.” Daisy shook her head. “Besides, I’ve already obtained a little bit. Although it’s not all the memories, I’m already very satisfied.”

"Kuhuhu, you really trust me!" Alice said as she walked forward. "In my opinion, past memories are not important. On the contrary, having past memories can bring us unspeakable trouble."

"Is it troublesome?" Delis looked at Alice with some confusion.

“Aren’t we like this now?” Alice said, walking towards the gathering of heroes. “If we had the memories of the past, maybe we would be completely different from who we are now. Kuhu, at least for a frail girl whose family was wiped out, I prefer the way we are now!”

“But we are not the real Evan and Dave.”

"Why don't we just take the real one and replace it? Kuhuhu." Alice's smile turned bloodthirsty at that moment: "You know what? The most interesting thing in this world is actually a big plot twist. Kuhuhu."

"Weren't all of Ivan dead?"

"Kuhuhu, if it were that easy to kill Ivan, he would have been killed by Zero long ago! Even we are all imposters, so do you really think that Ivan is the real one?"

"I don't understand."

"Kuhuhu, it's hard for me to explain to you, you're above me. Just stay by my side and act cute." Alice said with a smile. "Huh? Why did I say 'act cute'? I shouldn't usually say that... Kuhuhu, speaking of which, I've been acting a bit strange since just now. It seems I've been influenced by it myself without even realizing it. Kuhuhu."

Immediately afterward, the cringe-worthy image of Evan and Dave flashed through Alice's mind again, and at the same time, Alice shook her head violently once more: "Kuhu, why am I thinking about this again? Was I actually a fujoshi in the past? Kuhu, if that's the case, maybe next time I can consider turning all the men in the world into gay men? Kuhu, that's quite an interesting plan."

"Big sister?" At this moment, Delis also looked at Alice from the side. In her eyes, Alice was very different from before.

……

In a base somewhere underwater, Dave was quietly cleaning the hall all by himself.

Just then, the floor in the center of the hall suddenly opened, and a health pod slowly rose up. Dave stopped what he was doing and walked directly towards the health pod.

"Long time no see, Dave. I can't believe all my clones have been wiped out! Hahahaha! And this time I was outmaneuvered too!" Evan greeted Dave and then turned to walk forward.

Dave remained silent. The moment Evan opened the health capsule, Dave suddenly produced a shovel and shoveled it directly into Evan's stomach.

"Cough cough..." The sudden change left Ivan with no time to react before a shovel pierced his abdomen.

"Huh? So that's how it is? As expected of me, hahahaha!" As Dave hit him, Ivan laughed as if he had just realized something.

At the same moment Ivan smiled, another health chamber rose up beneath him, and this one was pushed directly to the ceiling, instantly turning into a flattened soda can.

But this wasn't the end. Before Evan could emerge from the newly risen health chamber, another health chamber rose beneath him. Instantly, this second health chamber also became a pressure plate, like an aluminum can.

And this kind of health-preserving cabin has not stopped.

After crushing seven or eight health chambers in one go, the bottommost health chamber finally appeared before Dave's eyes.

This final health-preserving chamber was fundamentally different from the others. At this point, large amounts of blood and bits of flesh dripped from it, giving the metal chamber a bloody appearance.

“It’s been a long time, Dave.” The door to the life pod opened at that moment, and Ivan stepped out. Completely ignoring the bloodshed at the scene, he cheerfully greeted Dave.

"Long time no see," Dave said to Evan in a muffled voice.

"Hahahaha! I'm so tired of this self-cloning game!" Ivan said to Dave. "As expected, a defective product is a defective product! Not a single Ivan noticed, hahahaha!"

"What did you find?"

"Every Ivan thinks that one Ivan in the world is enough, but don't they find it strange? If that's the case, why are there so many Ivans? Hahahaha! Because that's actually an attribute I added to them. After all, life without Zero is just too boring!"

"So that's how it is. You left them a weakness?"

"That's exactly it, hahaha!" Ivan laughed as he and Dave walked out of the hall. "Speaking of which, I originally thought I could take this opportunity to see Zero's true identity, but unfortunately I didn't! Those replicas were definitely defective! They didn't even discover such a simple divine conspiracy. So I've decided that it'll be more interesting to take matters into my own hands from now on, hahaha!"

"So here?" Dave looked in the direction of the hall.

"Let it explode, just like fireworks celebrating my triumphant return."

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Epilogue

"Hey, hey, hey? How did you shrink so much?" Dong Xiaoye looked at Lin Jie in disbelief, while Lin Jie was still in the form of a three-year-old child. Although she really wanted to change back, the energy this time was just too damn strange. She couldn't believe that even Lin Jie himself couldn't easily break the curse.

"How did you become like this?" Dong Xiaoye asked in shock. From the very beginning of the battle, she had been defeated by the Bored Master along with Torus's group, so she hadn't seen the comical scene from the sky.

"It's all because of Xiao Zhan's ridiculous balls! Not only did he not keep them safe, but one of them, Ivan, even managed to collect them all!" Lin Jie said, annoyed. In fact, Lin Jie had already decided to give Xiao Zhan a good beating when he got back.

He had just gone to great lengths to convince Dong Xiaoye that he really was Lin Jie.

At that moment, Lin Jie was suddenly lifted up from behind by a pair of arms, and at the same time he felt a pair of full breasts.

“Darling, I already know what happened. That woman told me everything.” Anya’s voice rang out at this moment: “But don’t worry, even if you are like this, I’m still willing to marry you.”

Lin Jie, who was immersed in that fatal softness, immediately shuddered.

"Did Ling Yu explain everything to you?" Lin Jie asked, somewhat surprised.

“Of course.” Anya said, intending to pick up Lin Jie and carry him away: “Come back with me, we can have our wedding on my private island.”

"Are you kidding me?!" Lin Jie immediately jumped off Anya. "I'm afraid you'll find a chance to kill me before the wedding is even halfway over!"

"Ugh, darling, what are you thinking! Even if I'm going to kill you, I'll wait until after we're married! If things go well for us, maybe I'll wait until we have a baby before I kill you!" Anya said, as she tried to grab Lin Jie again.

"What a joke! You're still planning to kill me, aren't you? Who would marry a woman who could kill them at any moment!" Lin Jie said as he dodged behind him.

The attack on the Holy City by Ivan ended after a day and a night of fighting. Although all the Ivans were confirmed to have been killed, the entire Holy City suffered a devastating blow.

The city is now in a state remarkably similar to one that has been bombed by an atomic bomb; it essentially needs to be completely rebuilt. From this day forward, the world lost another city with a thousand-year history.

However, this action has been divided into two opinions in public discourse.

One group of media outlets and journalists believes that the Hero Association completely failed in this incident, betraying the public's expectations. As the symbol of world justice and the home of the world's strongest heroes, the World Hero Association was destroyed. Rebuilding an advanced headquarters requires a massive amount of money, all of which comes from the public and taxpayers. Therefore, most people believe that the Hero Association has utterly failed this time.

Their battle not only failed to salvage their reputation, but also destroyed the ancient capital city with a thousand-year history. Most importantly, all the citizens who couldn't escape in time perished in the attack. The Hero Association's operation failed to save a single survivor.

This has put the Hero Association in a very awkward position, with some media outlets even using slogans suggesting that superpowered individuals don't care about the lives of ordinary people. Some media outlets have even used similar slogans regarding the outcome of this incident.

“We spend money to provide them with the best treatment, but we cannot get their protection.”

This series of media opinions resonated with many people around the world, including many who hate people with superpowers, who took the opportunity to fan the flames.

In this incident, everyone has to admit that it was absolutely the deadliest in recent years, with hundreds of thousands of civilians in the capital. However, only the tens of thousands who initially escaped survived.

The second viewpoint, however, offers a more objective assessment of the incident. They argue that the Hero Association is not to blame at all; their opponents were simply too cunning.

After all, Ivan was a formidable opponent that even Zero found troublesome back then, and the incident happened very suddenly, like a natural disaster without warning. While the Hero Association members are all powerful, they lack the ability to foresee the future. Therefore, this cannot be entirely blamed on them.

Furthermore, since the killer was Ivan, the Hero Association shouldn't be blamed by the public. In fact, if the Hero Association hadn't defeated Ivan, something even more horrific would likely have happened. After all, every appearance of that madman Ivan inevitably brought bloodshed.

Furthermore, all 300 Ivan clones have been killed by the heroes of the Hero Association. Therefore, the Hero Association should be considered to have won this battle.

These two viewpoints sparked a heated debate online. Even many prominent figures worldwide voiced their opinions, and the world's online communities were flooded with criticism. Verbal battles erupted almost everywhere.

At this critical juncture, the World Government, which should have been the most vocal in expressing its views and guiding public opinion, remained silent. They merely held an awards ceremony for the Hero Association and a memorial service for the dead in Sanctuary, after which they made no further statements. This demonstrated a complete lack of control over the spread of online discourse.

At this time, many voices from around the world also emerged criticizing the Hero Association for its inadequacy.

Of course, these online arguments had absolutely nothing to do with Lin Jie, because after returning home, he became completely engrossed in Xiao Zhan's latest game. (Visiting **...)

Although Lin Jie's place was as safe as a mountain, the outside world was in complete chaos.

The conflict between ordinary people and those with superpowers has been exacerbated by this incident and the influence of online public opinion. Anti-superpowered protests are erupting almost daily around the world.

However, the Hero Association, which was already in the spotlight, has also undergone changes. The Son of God, who was originally ranked third, announced that he had given up his status as a hero in the Hero Association. This is because he has become the new Pope of the Holy See, and the third-ranked position of the Hero Association's superhero has been taken over by Po Jun, a superpowered individual selected by the World Government's military.

As for Area O, which suffered the most damage this time, many families in Area O were attacked by Ivan because he was collecting antiques to summon heroes.

To this day, the Christmas tree standing in the village still lingers in people's minds. And because many large families perished, many previously suppressed smaller families seized the opportunity to rise to power. In a short time, the entire power structure of District O faced a major reshuffle.

Ivan's mere appearance caused a slight disturbance in the otherwise peaceful world.

Meanwhile, the Hero Association was holding a party to welcome the new SS-class hero. And surprisingly, all the SS-class heroes of the Holy Capital, except for the Child of God, were present that day.

"Who exactly is that Po Jun?" Captain Justice asked Torus, who was standing to the side with his arms crossed, with some puzzlement.

“Who knew? We hadn’t even heard of this person before,” Torus said, glancing toward the doorway.

"Is the World Government planning to spy on us?" Master of Miracles suddenly said. "Recently, we seem to have had quite a bit of a clash with those guys. Speaking of which, should we really continue investigating?"

Recently, due to the leak of hero information, Captain Justice Torus and Master of Miracles have been investigating corruption and shady dealings hidden within the World Government. However, their investigation of the World Government's council members has drawn their dissatisfaction, which explains the World Government's indifferent attitude in the face of public criticism of the Heroes Association.

This is essentially a veiled warning to the heroes of the Hero Association.

"We won't stop the investigation," Torus said coldly. "If I were to stop just because of a warning from the World Government's higher-ups, I might as well not be a hero!"

“That’s right. Although we cooperate with the World Government, we absolutely cannot allow the corrupt elements within it to betray us!” Captain Justice said to Master of Miracles. “The people who came this time are very likely sent by the military to monitor us, so it’s better to be careful.”