Heroes Return

"It seems you're not willing to back down." Togami stared at Lin Jie with an unfriendly expression and said, "Since you want to take this vicious competition to the extreme, I, Togami, will play along."

"What the hell is vicious competition? Do superheroes need to compete? Shouldn't this be a public service job?" Lin Jie realized that his worldview and the handsome guy in front of him were clearly from two different worlds.

"You pretentious bastard!" Togami said, "All those achievements you've made recently should have been mine! They should have been mine."

As he spoke, Shishin rushed towards Lin Jie, his fist, imbued with flowing energy, aimed directly at Lin Jie.

"Since you want to engage in cutthroat competition, then let's have a fight." As Togami spoke, a series of attacks were launched at Lin Jie: "We're both D-rank! The loser should give up being a hero."

"Is this person's worldview messed up?" Lin Jie muttered to himself as he dodged the attacks of the Ten Gods.

Lin Jie had lost his patience. He casually punched the man in front of him in the stomach, and Shishin knelt on the ground clutching his stomach.

"How could this be?" Togami said incredulously, "How could you see through my movements?"

……

Chapter Six

"I didn't expect you to be so strong," Shishin said, looking at Lin Jie.

"It's not that I'm strong, it's just that you're too weak," Lin Jie said.

"Tch, you win. Say what you want." Shishen looked at Lin Jie and said, "At worst, I'll just stop being a hero."

"Speaking of which, you didn't have to be like this, did you? We don't have any grudges against each other." Lin Jie looked at Shi Shen and said, "It doesn't really matter to you anyway."

"Is this how the victor mocks you?" Shishin glared angrily at Lin Jie: "You've been suppressing me all this time."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Lin Jie said, looking at the person in front of him. "Why would I bother to suppress you? It doesn't do me any good, and it's such a hassle."

"Stop pretending to be innocent!" Togami said, "Suppressing those who are competitive at the same level is a common practice in the Hero Association. If a hero wants to be promoted to a higher rank, most heroes will do this if they don't have enough merits."

"Hey!! I had no idea such a thing existed." Lin Jie said, "Seriously, is an association's level really that important?"

“Don’t tell me you don’t know,” said Shishin. “The higher the level, the greater the power, treatment, and prestige that come with it. A high-level hero can bring huge profits to a company.”

"Such a thing actually happens?" Lin Jie looked at the person in front of him in confusion. Back when he was a superhero, there was never such a good thing! Back then, superheroes were all vigilantes hidden among the people, and he had never heard of anyone getting involved with any kind of profit.

"You became a superhero just for something so pointless?" Lin Jie looked at the guy in front of him helplessly.

"Don't tell me you're not."

"I really didn't do it, I was forced by my sister," Lin Jie said.

"Stop talking nonsense. You've already defeated me, so stop pretending to be some kind of righteous hero." Togami said, "You're still pretending now, it's pointless."

"Ah!" A scream rang in their ears.

Lin Jie and Shi Shen simultaneously followed the sound and looked over. They saw a dark, shadowy creature swallowing a girl whole.

"It's a Class A dangerous creature, the Shadow Demon!" Togami exclaimed. "Run! Then contact the association headquarters!"

"Run," Lin Jie said. Then he took out his spiked club and walked towards the Shadow Demon.

"Don't joke around. Do you think you can defeat that guy with your D-rank strength?" Shishen looked at Lin Jie in shock. "You'd better run. Superheroes are given priority to escape when they encounter enemies of a higher rank than themselves. It won't affect your personal record."

"If I run away, that girl will be dead," Lin Jie said calmly. "Besides, why do we have to value levels so much? Does level really represent everything?"

"That's a symbol of a hero's strength, and also an evaluation of that strength." As Togami watched the Shadow Demon walk step by step, his legs couldn't help but feel weak.

"Is rank really that important?" Lin Jie said. "Are people who act for personal gain and to increase their rank truly heroes?"

"What are you still pretending for at a time like this!" Shishen angrily cursed. The more Lin Jie acted this way, the more Shishen felt like a clown.

He was also unwilling to admit what Lin Jie said. Anyone could say such righteous words in front of the public, but what was the truth?

There's an old saying that goes, "With great power comes great responsibility."

People like Togami often say this in public, but when they're alone, they usually jokingly say, "The greater your ability, the greater the benefits you can reap." In fact, Togami has always believed this.

He didn't believe Lin Jie was telling the truth, and at the same time, he didn't want to believe it. But instead of running away, he couldn't help but stop and stare at Lin Jie's back.

This reminded him of the figure in the black robe from seven years ago. The figure who stood alone, facing a technologically advanced alien fleet that had driven humanity to the brink of destruction.

"You can't save that girl, we should call for backup," Shishin shouted to Lin Jie, who had already entered the Shadow Demon.

“Go and call for help. I can’t bear to watch this girl die.” Lin Jie picked up the spiked club in his hand.

The Shadow Demon, who is preparing to enjoy its meal, is extremely annoyed by anyone who disturbs its eating.

Dozens of spikes formed from black energy pierced towards Lin Jie.

Lin Jie merely made a swinging motion with his club. As Lin Jie swung his spiked club, a powerful gust of air easily tore apart the Shadow Demon's spikes.

The next moment, Lin Jie rushed to the Shadow Demon and grabbed the girl who was trapped inside the Shadow Demon's body.

He forcefully pulled her out of the Shadow Demon's body. Lin Jie jumped back a step and casually tossed the girl in his arms to Shishin.

"He's not in mortal danger, he's just unconscious," Lin Jie said to Shi Shen.

Shishin took the girl and shouted to Lin Jie, "The girl's been rescued, let's run!"

But as soon as Shishen finished speaking, the Shadow Demon, whose food had been snatched from its mouth, let out an angry roar. Thousands of tentacles formed from black energy surged from its body, enveloping Lin Jie and Shishen.

"We're doomed now." Togami collapsed to the ground.

"It's nothing," Lin Jie said.

"Don't try to comfort me. Nothing good has happened to me since you came along," Togami said dejectedly.

"I'm telling the truth," Lin Jie said, and then, to the astonishment of Shi Shen, he swung the spiked club in his hand. With the high-speed swing of the spiked club, the thousands of tentacles did not last more than three seconds in Lin Jie's hands before being smashed to pieces.

"You..." Togami was so shocked he didn't know what to say. He couldn't believe that he had just provoked such a monster.

Lin Jie's body appeared before the Shadow Demon's true form, much to the astonishment of the Ten Gods. With a swift movement, the monster formed from black power crumbled under Lin Jie's attack. A person entirely bluish-black flew out from the Shadow Demon's body.

"This is the monster's true form? It's even suitable for humans!" After a long while without any reaction, Togami finally mustered up the courage to step forward and examine the person who was covered in bluish-black skin.

"This thing is actually called Black Demon. It's a product of some dangerous experiment from the past. Because it can accumulate in the human body, it's almost impossible to tell them apart unless they manifest themselves," Lin Jie said.

"Then let's report to the association right away," Togami said excitedly. "This would be a great achievement!"

"Go and report it," Lin Jie said. "The primary task is still to get this girl to the hospital."

"Wait, this is a huge achievement! Don't you want it?" Shishen looked at him, puzzled. "We can wait until the association's certification personnel arrive before we leave. The girl isn't in any danger. We can also use this opportunity to promote ourselves in front of reporters. What a great chance!"

"I'm not interested," Lin Jie said, picking up the girl and walking out of the park.

It seemed he was telling the truth. Shishin looked at Lin Jie in surprise. To be honest, the impact Lin Jie had had on him tonight was enormous.

He never believed that the superheroes in those associations didn't care about profit; some of them certainly didn't. But they were all risking their lives to maintain their fame.

But Lin Jie was completely different; he seemed completely unconcerned about promoting himself in front of the crowd. Come to think of it, Lin Jie always left immediately after defeating the enemy, never showing off in front of the public.

Looking at his strength, he can easily defeat A-rank monsters. What terrifying power that is! If he wanted to, he could easily become an A-rank hero.

In other words, the malicious suppression Lin Jie had been targeting him that he had been thinking about was a complete joke. Thinking this way, Shishin couldn't help but admire Lin Jie.

Lin Jie is so much like the person who led him down the path of heroism seven years ago.

"Wait, I'm coming too." Shishin ran towards Lin Jie.

At the hospital, Lin Jie and Shi Shen received thanks from the girl's family.

“My daughter hopes to meet both of you,” the girl’s father said.

"Oh? Has she already woken up?" Lin Jie asked.

"Yes."

“Let’s go see her,” Shishen said to Lin Jie.

"Okay." Lin Jie said and entered the ward with Shishin.

The girl was sitting on the hospital bed, her body wrapped in bandages in several places, looking at the two people in front of her.

"I'm sorry!" The first thing the girl said to Lin Jie and Shi Shen was not gratitude, but an apology.

"Why should I apologize?" Lin Jie asked.

"Actually, I'm a reporter for the Hero Daily, in the 'Unique Highlights' column," the girl said. "My presence in the park was because I was following Mr. Togami beforehand."

"What? You're that reporter who digs up superhero scandals?" Togami said in surprise.

“Yes, actually I’ve been following you for a few days now,” the girl said. “I was thinking of reporting your conversation.”

"What?" Togami was startled.

"But don't worry, I won't report this," the girl said. "Because you saved me."

"Phew." Togami breathed a sigh of relief.

"But I have one condition," the girl said, looking at Togami. "After I'm discharged from the hospital, you have to go on a date with me! Otherwise, I'll release the recording."

"What the hell?! Are you kidding me?! I was the one who saved you, okay? Why is the girl going on a date with this loser?!" Lin Jie, who was listening nearby, was furious: "I was the one who defeated the monster! And you're going on a date with this guy?! Have you even seen the standard hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress plot?!"

“But Mr. Togami is so handsome!” the girl said. “He’s handsome, rich, famous, and I have something on him. It would be so prestigious to take him out.”

"Damn it!" Lin Jie gave Shi Shen the middle finger: "I really can't understand girls these days."

After saying that, Lin Jie left the girl's hospital room.

He had barely left the hospital when Shishen, who had reluctantly left his contact information with the girl, chased after him.

"Wait!" Shishin shouted to Lin Jie.

"What are you doing?" Lin Jie turned around.

"I'd like to ask, given your immense strength, why are you content to remain a D-rank hero?" Togami asked curiously.

"Does rank really matter? I didn't come out to fight crime for that reason." Lin Jie said to Shishen, "But you, I still don't understand, are you an idol or a superhero?"

After saying goodbye to the people in front of him, Lin Jie returned to the Xiao Group Building.

"To run into such trouble just by going out to feed the dog, what bad luck!" Lin Jie picked up the little girl who was already asleep on the sofa: "Let's go home and sleep."

……

The next day, when Lin Jie appeared on the street, he saw Shi Shen running over.

"I've figured it out! I'd rather be a hero than an idol!" Togami said as he ran over. "So I've decided, I want to become your apprentice! I want to learn from you how to get stronger!"

"What?"

……