Heroes Return

"I'll get you out of here," Lin Jie said, ignoring Dong Xue'er's words. "Don't be so arrogant! Let's go."

“You’re the arrogant one! Your whole family is arrogant,” Dong Xue’er said.

"What a troublesome woman." Lin Jie said, and was about to step forward to pull Dong Xue'er. The next second, his feet were covered with a layer of ice, and the temperature in the room began to drop rapidly.

"Don't come any closer to me, I don't want to go with you," Dong Xue'er said. "If you take another step forward, I won't be polite."

Lin Jie ignored Dong Xue'er's words. He simply lifted his leg, and the ice on his feet shattered. Lin Jie continued walking towards Dong Xue'er, and a cold wind, accompanied by a large number of ice chunks, flew towards him.

"I told you not to come near me, now get out of here right now!" Dong Xue'er shouted at Lin Jie.

Lin Jie continued to move forward despite Dong Xue'er's attacks.

“I told you, I’m here to take you back,” Lin Jie said. “It will be dangerous for you to stay here.”

"I don't need your help!" Dong Xue'er said. "I'm nobody to you. What right do you have to come and save me?"

By this time, Dong Xue'er's face had turned bright red, but her attacks became even more intense. The indoor temperature had dropped below zero under Dong Xue'er's onslaught.

"Of course there's a reason," Lin Jie said. "Because I don't dislike women with a sense of justice like you, so I don't want anything to happen to you!"

Upon hearing Lin Jie's words, tears welled up in Dong Xue'er's eyes: "But if that's the case, then I can't let you take me away even more."

"I have to take you with me," Lin Jie said. "Otherwise, I'll be letting down the people in the Muscle Alliance."

Most of the Muscle Alliance members were seriously injured while trying to save her that day, and more than a dozen died on the spot. Even Thirteen was admitted to the intensive care unit because of this incident.

"Those people made a lot of sacrifices to save you," Lin Jie said. "If we don't bring you back, wouldn't all those people from the Muscle Alliance have sacrificed themselves in vain?"

As Lin Jie spoke, he approached Dong Xue'er step by step. He had been struck by countless ice blocks, but he didn't even blink. On the other hand, Dong Xue'er retreated step by step.

"That's exactly why!" Dong Xue'er cried, "That's exactly why you shouldn't have come! I don't want any more people to sacrifice themselves."

“It’s better to sacrifice something than to sacrifice it in vain.” Lin Jie had already approached Dong Xue’er. “Besides, with me here this time, no one else will have to sacrifice themselves.”

"Impossible!" Dong Xue'er had nowhere left to retreat, so she leaned against the window behind her: "Do you know who you're angering by doing this? The Ouyang family is one of the strongest forces in District C."

"You probably knew that back then," Lin Jie said to Dong Xue'er, "Then why did you still try to deal with Ouyang Rui?"

"..." Upon hearing Lin Jie's words, Dong Xue'er couldn't help but turn her face away.

"Doesn't that mean you're a good person?" Lin Jie grabbed Dong Xue'er's hand. "Since you're a good person, then I won't let anything happen to you."

As he spoke, Lin Jie took Dong Xue'er's hand and walked towards the door: "I'm very strong."

After struggling for a moment while being held by Lin Jie and realizing that she could not break free of his hand, Dong Xue'er helplessly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"He's quite the tough guy, no girl would like that." Dong Xue'er said, taking Lin Jie's hand. "But he's not that annoying either."

"Alright, let's get ready to fight our way back," Lin Jie said to Dong Xue'er.

"Let me make this clear first, you need to protect yourself," Dong Xue'er said. "Also, could you take off that mask? If your performance just now was an eight out of ten when it came to chasing girls, this mask would deduct four points from your score."

“Let’s talk about it when we get back. I don’t know why, but I feel like wearing this mask is a really cool thing.” Lin Jie said, “When I was a kid, I really admired Second Master. He was one of the few people who were still worshipped after he died.”

"Sigh!" Dong Xue'er sighed.

……

The two of them walked out of the room, and what came into Lin Jie's view was a bunch of burly men lying haphazardly on the ground, their faces flushed and panting. Xiao Zhan was squatting in the middle of the group, his muscles now bulging. He was surrounded by a number of robots of the same model as the previous robot bodyguards, each pointing their weapons at Xiao Zhan.

Without a word, Lin Jie charged forward and unleashed a sweeping attack, a cold blade of light slicing through the bodies of the robots. The robots were cut in two by Lin Jie's single strike. Then, Lin Jie followed up with a sweeping attack that sent the robots flying.

The robots that were swept away began to repair themselves at a visible speed, just like the robots we had seen before.

"Are you alright?" Lin Jie asked Xiao Zhan. "Why has your style changed back?"

"Time's up," Xiao Zhan said, standing up from the ground. "I almost died."

At this moment, Lin Jie noticed the new bloody hole on Xiao Zhan's chest: "Your Big Dipper has become eight stars now."

"Don't even mention it, it's all that bastard's fault." Xiao Zhan said, pointing to one end of the corridor.

Lin Jie then noticed a large number of bodyguard robots standing side by side at the other end of the corridor, and a young man standing at the very front of those robots, smiling as he looked at Lin Jie and his companions.

“It’s Ouyang Zihao,” Dong Xue’er said with an unfriendly expression.

"Where do you want to go, Xue'er?" Ouyang Zihao looked at the three of them and said, "In the end, you still chose to run away?"

“My affairs are none of your business,” Dong Xue’er said through gritted teeth.

“Is that so?” Ouyang Zihao said, and the robots around him simultaneously raised their weapons at them: “If you change your mind now, I might consider letting your friends leave safely.”

"..." Dong Xue'er didn't speak. After hearing Ouyang Zihao's words, she hesitated. It was obvious that Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan's plan had failed. The reason she didn't speak was because Lin Jie grabbed her hand again.

Seeing that Dong Xue'er on the other side didn't react, Ouyang Zihao chuckled boredly: "How boring. I thought I was going to see something interesting."

"What do you want?" Dong Xue'er asked Ouyang Zihao.

“I’m not interested in you right now,” Ouyang Zihao said. “I’m more interested in him.”

As Ouyang Zihao spoke, he pointed to Lin Jie, who was wearing a red face mask.

“You must be Lin Jie,” Ouyang Zihao said.

"Damn! You still recognize me after I've turned out like this?" Lin Jie said. "Let me tell you! I have no interest in men."

“I’m not interested in men either,” Ouyang Zihao said. “What I’m interested in is your Fire Spirit Sword, but it looks like you didn’t bring it today.”

"Tch, that's not something you can just see whenever you want," Lin Jie said to Ouyang Zihao.

“Actually, I’m a very magnanimous person.” Ouyang Zihao looked at Lin Jie and the other two and said, “I can completely let go of the fact that you broke in here today and injured my bodyguard. Similarly, I can also let go of the fact that you tried to steal my fiancée at my engagement ceremony.”

"Is this guy crazy?" Lin Jie whispered to Dong Xue'er.

At this moment, Dong Xue'er frowned and said to Ouyang Zihao, "What exactly do you want?"

"I heard that you defeated two A-level fighters who had taken the T-3 banned substance by yourself when you were in H City, and you have also achieved great results in H City recently. You must be very confident in your strength, right?" Ouyang Zihao said to Lin Jie with a smile: "In fact, I am also very confident in my strength."

"You want to fight me one-on-one?" Lin Jie understood after hearing Ouyang Zihao's words.

“That’s exactly right,” Ouyang Zihao said.

"A one-on-one fight is fine, why go through all this trouble?" Lin Jie said, frowning.

“Okay, I’ll just give you a brief explanation.” Ouyang Zihao remained very polite. “Let’s have a contest. If I lose, I’ll let you and Dong Xue’er go.”

"What if you win?" Dong Xue'er asked.

“It’s simple. I will let you two intruders go, but only after you obtain the Fire Spirit Sword from my subordinates,” Ouyang Zihao said.

"Use the Fire Spirit Sword and Xue'er as stakes?" Lin Jie asked.

“Exactly,” Ouyang Zihao said.

“I disagree,” Dong Xue’er said. “This is not fair to us! We can’t trust you.”

"I will have all the guests present witness this match," Ouyang Zihao said.

"This is really troublesome," Lin Jie said, scratching his head. "Alright, I'll take your bet."

“Wait a minute…” Dong Xue’er said, “This guy is extremely strong, and it’s hard to guarantee that what he’s saying is true…”

"Don't worry, he's been a joke ever since he challenged me," Lin Jie said confidently.

"You're really confident," Ouyang Zihao said with a smile. "Then the bet is settled."

"Alright, the bet is settled." Lin Jie said, pointing at Ouyang Zihao, "You know what? People like you who talk nonsense and are really good at pretending usually don't even survive past the opening credits in the world of anime!"

……

Chapter 21

In a secluded corner of the manor, Dong Xiaoye was chatting with Shangguan Shuai.

"Get away from Xiaoye!" The bespectacled guy ran over from a distance and rushed in front of Dong Xiaoye.

"Glasses? What are you doing here?" Dong Xiaoye asked, looking at the man with glasses.

"Never mind that, Xiao Ye, let me tell you, never be fooled by this seemingly gentle and handsome guy who's actually a dark-hearted person!" The bespectacled man pointed at Shangguan Shuai as he spoke: "A man who looks 'impotent' like this must have a lot of women outside!"

"He's my friend!!" Dong Xiaoye said, stomping hard on the bespectacled man's foot.

"Xiao Ye, is this your friend?" Shangguan Shuai was not angry at the bespectacled man's reckless behavior. He still maintained his dashing demeanor and looked at the bespectacled man: "He is quite an interesting person."

"That's just how he is, don't be angry." Dong Xiaoye said, rolling her eyes at the guy with glasses: "Shangguan Shuai is my childhood friend, you better watch your mouth, or I'll teach you a lesson!!"

"Okay, but I will absolutely not agree to this guy marrying you!" the bespectacled man said, pointing at Shangguan Shuai. The latter's eyes clearly changed when he heard this.

"Huh? Marry me?" Dong Xiaoye was clearly confused by the bespectacled man's words: "What are you talking about?"

"What? He brought you here so he could propose to you?" the bespectacled man said to Dong Xiaoye. "Our department received reliable information that he plans to propose to you today."

"He's proposing to me?" Dong Xiaoye looked at Shangguan Shuai in surprise. "Is he serious??"

"Yes." Shangguan Shuai nodded, and then took out an exquisite box: "I was planning to propose to you later, but I didn't expect this person to suddenly appear."

"You haven't proposed yet! That's great!" the bespectacled man said with a sigh of relief.

"Hehe..." Dong Xiaoye couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Is that why you came all the way here?"

"Well, actually, the main purpose was to help save Dong Xue'er..." the bespectacled man said, but the next second his foot was stomped on again: "Then what are you still doing here? Hurry up and go help."

“But… I don’t want to lie to you,” the man with glasses said. “My most important purpose in coming here is still for this matter.”

"Xiao Ye," Shangguan Shuai said at this moment, "it seems this person is one of your suitors."

"What did you say?!" Dong Xiaoye blushed. "I haven't known him for very long..."

"Since that's the case, are you willing to give it to me?" Shangguan Shuai knelt down on one knee and looked at Dong Xiaoye. He opened the box in his hand, and a valuable ring was placed in front of Dong Xiaoye.

"Huh?" Dong Xiaoye was caught off guard by Shangguan Shuai's sudden action and didn't react for a moment.

However, the bespectacled guy next to him realized what was going on: "Xiao Ye would never marry you!"

As he spoke, the bespectacled man grabbed Dong Xiaoye and forcibly pulled her behind him.

"Huh?" Dong Xiaoye, who was still in a daze from what had just happened, was forcibly pulled away by the bespectacled guy, and her brain was hit with a second shock.

“That’s not what a gentleman should do,” Shangguan Shuai said. “Shouldn’t we wait for the girl to make her own choice?”

"I've never been a gentleman," the bespectacled man said to Shangguan Shuai. "Even if you force me, I won't make her agree to your request."

"Is that so?" Shangguan Shuai stood up. "It seems we have no choice but to solve this problem in a manly way."

“That’s exactly what I wanted,” the bespectacled man said.