Heroes Return

"Why didn't you use such an awesome weapon before!" Xiao Zhan said, "You know, the superheroes who have magical props these days are all very famous figures, like the SS-level God's Child Cross and the SS-level Truth Mage Hat. Oh, and there are also the very famous magical girl groups now. Even if yours isn't as good as theirs, it shouldn't be too far off."

“This is in Zone C,” Lin Jie said. “It would be troublesome if someone recognized us.”

“That makes sense,” Xiao Zhan said after thinking for a moment.

In fact, there are very few mysterious (scientifically inexplicable) superheroes in Zone C. The reason is simple: Zone C used to have very strict management of cultural relics. Many people who were qualified to use those ancient divine weapons were not "qualified" to obtain these things. Now, most of the antiquities are in the hands of museums and families. Therefore, there are only a handful of mysterious superheroes in Zone C.

Generally, after obtaining an ancient artifact with mysterious powers, there are only two possibilities: either a group of nobles will come and buy it, or a group of nobles will come and forcibly take it away.

Of course, there was another possibility six or seven years ago. That person became extremely powerful, their ambition began to swell, and then they were killed by Zero.

“A fine tradition that District C has had since ancient times,” Xiao Zhan exclaimed.

Just as the two were talking, Glasses suddenly ran over.

"I found Thirteen!" the bespectacled man said, and then led Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan towards Thirteen's direction.

At this moment, Thirteen was leaning against the wall, his hands covering his chest.

"Thirteen! Are you alright?" Lin Jie asked quickly.

"Don't worry, she won't die." Thirteen said with difficulty, "Dong Xue'er was taken away by you by someone from the Ouyang family named Ouyang Zihao..."

"What? Someone from the Ouyang family!" Xiao Zhan exclaimed in surprise, "Then he's definitely dead!"

"Let's find a way to save her." Thirteen looked at Lin Jie: "I know you're very strong."

"Of course I'll save her," Lin Jie said. "After all, she's a girl with a strong sense of justice."

“That’s right,” Xiao Zhan added, “How can we let such a beautiful woman fall into a wolf’s den?!”

“That’s what I was thinking too, cough cough…” Thirteen coughed up two mouthfuls of blood as he spoke: “I was originally planning to wait outside their house…”

"Don't say anything!" the bespectacled man quickly stopped Thirteen. "I've already called an ambulance, hang in there a little longer."

Fortunately, the emergency medical team arrived quite quickly.

……

The top floor of the Shaw Building.

"Damn it, if only we had arrived sooner," Xiao Zhan said. "More than a dozen members of the Muscle Association died this time, and the rest were seriously injured."

"You have the nerve to say that?" Lin Jie said to Xiao Zhan, "You'd better not use those anti-gravity shoes of yours, you'll just kill yourself sooner or later."

"You'll see my Iron Man mode sooner or later," Xiao Zhan said.

“Okay, I’ll wait,” Lin Jie said.

"Let's put that aside for now..." the bespectacled man said at this moment, "Are we really going to rescue Dongxue'er?"

"Why do you ask that?" Xiao Zhan asked in surprise.

“The other side is one of the strongest families in District C,” the bespectacled man said. “They easily took down the entire Muscle Alliance with just four robots. Who knows how many more of their troops they have? And do we really want to offend such a powerful force for Dong Xue’er’s sake? Even S-class members can’t afford to offend them.”

"Are you scared?" Lin Jie asked.

"Aren't you two afraid?" the bespectacled man retorted.

“I haven’t felt fear in a long time,” Lin Jie said. “I’ve long forgotten what fear feels like.”

"The word 'fear' doesn't even exist in my dictionary," Xiao Zhan said. "Dong Xue'er is our friend, but now she's in a dangerous situation because she fought against evil. We have no reason not to try to save her, since she can only rely on us now."

"Let's not even talk about whether we can rescue her. The other side is the Ouyang family! One of the most powerful families in District C," the bespectacled man said.

"If we can save her, we will. If not, we will create the conditions to save her." Xiao Zhan said, "We are heroes. Have you ever heard of the saying that the emperor is subject to the same laws as commoners? Besides, there has been no emperor in District C for a long time. We can't just back down whenever someone from a powerful family commits a crime."

“That’s right, a true hero should not bow down to any evil forces.” A handsome young man walked in at that moment: “Master! I’m here to help you.”

"Ten Gods? What are you doing here?" Lin Jie looked at Ten Gods in surprise.

“I just saw the news, and I know something must have happened to you guys, since you’re all part of Dong Xue’er’s team,” Shi Shen said.

"When did we become part of Dong Xue'er's team?" Lin Jie asked, puzzled.

"That was the last time you dealt with Ouyang Rui, and you labeled her as Dong Xue'er," Shishen said. "Could it be that you and she aren't in cahoots, Master?"

"Forget it, let's talk about this later." Lin Jie said, looking at the guy with glasses: "Just say whether you want to do it or not, don't dawdle like a girl."

The bespectacled man gritted his teeth and said, "Let's do it! So what if we die? To be a hero, you have to be fearless of any force, just like Zero."

“That’s more like it, it would be so much better if it were more straightforward.” Xiao Zhan: “But this superhero registration bill is really harmful! This bill makes most heroes become spineless when facing evil forces with political backing, even Glasses is no exception.”

"There's nothing we can do," the bespectacled man said helplessly. "Before the law, the identities of superheroes were all mysterious. After the law was enacted, the identities of superheroes are now in the hands of those high-ranking officials."

"Forget about all that now, let's think about how to save them," Togami said, raising a crucial question.

"I can just take my spiked club and slaughter my way in and out of the Ouyang family's house seven times over," Lin Jie said. "Tell me where the Ouyang family's headquarters is?"

“Once you go in, you probably won’t be able to get out,” the bespectacled man said. “Besides, even if we know about the Ouyang family’s manor, we still can’t get in.”

"I already said I'm going to just charge in," Lin Jie said with dissatisfaction.

“Indeed, we don’t even know where Dong Xue’er might be locked up.” Xiao Zhan decisively ignored Lin Jie and said.

"We know too little about the Ouyang family," the bespectacled man said.

"Can't you guys even listen to me?!" Lin Jie said impatiently. "Tell me how to get there, and I'll just draw my sword and hack my way in."

"Okay, by the way, DouDou is ready to eat. Lin Jie, could you feed DouDou for me?" Xiao Zhan said to Lin Jie.

"..." Lin Jie, who had been ignored many times, walked helplessly to Dou Dou's side with two bags of spicy strips. At this moment, Dou Dou was licking a stain remover stick that was dripping with milk. When she saw Lin Jie's helpless expression, she pushed the stain remover stick next to her feet toward him.

"Thanks, you can drink it yourself." Lin Jie said to Dou Dou, then took out a spicy snack and stuffed it into his mouth: "Why is it that every time I propose a plan, it gets ignored! The same thing happened with Dong Xue'er."

"Wang Wang..."

Watching Lin Jie go to feed the dogs, Xiao Zhan said, "Alright, let's discuss this here. Oh, and I also want to thank you for your help, Shishin."

“My master’s affairs are my affairs,” Togami said.

"The problem now is that we know absolutely nothing about the Ouyang family, and we don't have any useful intelligence either," the bespectacled man said.

“I can find some intelligence online, but it’s very limited,” Xiao Zhan said. “Damn it, if only there was someone here who was good at intelligence gathering and had worked as a spy.”

"Master, I've prepared the meal. Let's eat together in the kitchen." Bu Feiwu walked in at this moment.

The man with glasses and Xiao Zhan both looked at her at the same time.

"Huh?" Bu Feiwu felt uncomfortable under their sparkling gazes. "Um, is there something strange about me?"

"No, you look absolutely stunning today." Xiao Zhan grabbed her hand. "You've come at just the right time."

"Hey?"

……

Chapter 16

That evening at the Shaw Building.

“According to my investigation, the Ouyang family will be hosting a banquet tomorrow night,” Bu Feiwu said. “We can use this opportunity to find Dong Xue’er, as he is also one of the important guests.”

"Wait, can you tell me how you confirmed this?" Xiao Zhan asked. "It seems that the Ouyang family's computer network is not so easy to hack."

“It’s like an impregnable fortress,” Bu Feiwu said. “But it’s different for people who are closely related to the Ouyang family. After dinner, I practically exposed all the connections within the Ouyang family.”

"You're ruthless," Xiao Zhan said. "But I really have to thank you."

"No need to thank me, thank DouDou." Bu Feiwu then picked up DouDou and brought it in front of everyone: "In fact, given a few more hours, it could have broken through the Ouyang family's system."

"When did this dog become so ferocious?" the bespectacled man exclaimed in surprise.

"Let alone computer programs," Xiao Zhan said, "he can even understand quantum mechanics now."

"Damn! How are we mediocre students supposed to cope with this?" Togami exclaimed in shock.

"Alright, can I continue now?" Bu Feiwu asked.

"Please speak..." Xiao Zhan quickly said.

"Look here." Bu Feiwu then opened a 3D image, which showed a manor: "This is the entire view of the Ouyang family."

"You even managed to handle this?" Lin Jie asked in surprise.

“Don’t underestimate the capabilities of the special envoy from Qianjin Chemical Company,” Bu Feiwu said. “I have already presented the internal structure of all the buildings in the video.”

"Could it be that Evolution Corporation is actually a really awesome company?" Lin Jie whispered to Xiao Zhan.

“You’re the only one in the whole world who doesn’t know the power of Evolution Corporation,” Xiao Zhan said.

After saying that, the walls of the 3D manor building became transparent.

“This is the design of the entire manor. Based on my personal experience, the places I marked with red dots on the image are the most likely places to hide the defense system, so we need to be especially careful.” Bu Feiwu continued, pointing to a large hall, “This is the Ouyang family’s banquet hall. Based on my past investigations of the Ouyang family, the Dong family’s guests should be in these rooms, especially Dong Xue’er, who should be the main character of this banquet.”

"Alright, now that I know the location and the structure of the house, I'm going to go to the Ouyang family and kill them seven times over." Lin Jie said, picking up the spiked club in his hand.

"What's the rush? Can't you just listen to the whole plan?" Xiao Zhan said.

"But what if something happens to Dong Xue'er if we don't act quickly?" Lin Jie said.

"No, they won't." Before Xiao Zhan could speak, Bu Feiwu answered Lin Jie's question: "The Ouyang family won't do that. The evidence against Ouyang Rui is conclusive. They won't openly target Dong Xue'er. Otherwise, this matter would become a handle for other families to attack the Ouyang family, and it would also leave a handle for the Dong family."

"Are you sure?" Lin Jie asked.

“Yes, after all, Dong Xue’er is a member of the Dong family, and this engagement ceremony was already scheduled. If something happens to Dong Xue’er at the Ouyang family beforehand, the Ouyang family will be criticized,” Bu Feiwu said. “However, it’s uncertain how they will deal with Dong Xue’er after the engagement.”

"You mean the Ouyang family won't do anything to Dong Xue'er before the engagement?" Lin Jie asked.

“No, they will show everyone how well the Ouyang family treats her, to demonstrate the Ouyang family’s magnanimity,” Bu Feiwu said. “This is what they mean by the face of a great family.”

"Hey, could it be that Feiwu is actually a highly intelligent person with considerable judgment?" Lin Jie said to Xiao Zhan in surprise, "Speaking of which, you managed to win her over with just a few words back then."

"I didn't expect that either!" Xiao Zhan also feigned surprise: "At first, I just wanted her to help me gather some intelligence, but I didn't expect her to be able to analyze so many issues."

"The way you two are talking is really infuriating." Bu Feiwu smiled and took out a laser dagger: "Why don't I just kill you right here?"

"Wait a minute..." Xiao Zhan quickly said, "We just wanted to liven things up a bit."

"Alright, now I'll explain my plan," Bu Feiwu said. "It's extremely dangerous, but it's not entirely without a chance of success."

"Wait a minute, I feel like I can just rush over, cut everyone down, and then bring Dong Xue'er back," Lin Jie said.

“No, even if you’re not afraid of death, you have to consider the lives of others,” Bu Feiwu said. “I admit you have great strength, but even if you’re an S-rank, you won’t stand a chance if you break into the Ouyang family. Besides, let’s not even talk about what will happen to Dong Xue’er after you do this. How are the rest of us going to deal with the Ouyang family’s retaliation?”

"Um... okay, tell me your plan." Lin Jie ran helplessly to Dou Dou's side: "Dou Dou, they don't believe me..."