Heroes Return

"He's known as the uncrowned king of H City. Whether it's the underworld or the legitimate world, almost everyone in H City has to watch their step if they're making any big moves. The bodyguards he takes with him are all S-level figures. Anyone who offends him never ends up well," Xiao Zhan said.

"That's amazing?" Lin Jie said, recalling that the handsome guy his sister had thrown out of the room also seemed to have the surname Long.

"Of course he's amazing. If he wanted to be a criminal, the entire city of H would fall in less than a week. But I heard that he's recently gone to any lengths to pursue a secretary, even throwing away all his dignity," Xiao Zhan said.

"Rich, handsome, powerful, and shameless? He's practically invincible!" Lin Jie exclaimed in surprise. At the same time, he silently prayed, 'Please, don't let it be the one my sister threw out!'

"By the way, speaking of which, your sister has some training. How come you're so strong? That spiked club you're holding alone has at least 150 attack power, and you just lifted it with one hand. Can you tell me how you trained?" Xiao Zhan asked.

Are you sure you want to know?

"I'm sure."

“Alright, then let me tell you,” Lin Jie said. “At first, I actually longed for that kind of passionate battle, that collision of souls, so I kept fighting.”

"and then?"

"I went bald, and I became stronger," Lin Jie said. "Later I discovered that being invincible is actually very lonely."

"..." Xiao Zhan was silent for a few seconds, then roared, "Go bald my ass! Your hair is growing perfectly fine on it, isn't it? Believe me or not, I'll really shave you bald. Don't try to fool me with the 'One-Punch Man' meme! Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Tch, he's clearly a goofball, but he can't be fooled."

"You're the idiot! Your whole family are idiots!!"

"Dare you say that again in front of my sister?"

chapter Five

A beautiful woman with silver hair and an elegant demeanor was in an office at the headquarters of the Hero Association in H City.

"Why modify the attack?" The Winter Witch looked at the man in front of her with hostility: "Black Hand has been confirmed to have B-level strength, and according to the on-site surveillance, the Ten Gods' people did not play any role."

“Never mind, Miss Dong. The criminal has been caught anyway,” the man said.

The man in the office is Ouyang Rui, the president of the H City Hero Association.

“That’s not the point,” the Winter Witch said. “Why should the credit be given to the Ten Gods family?”

“It seems you still don’t understand, Miss Dong. Do you know what heroes are these days?” Ouyang Rui said, “Heroes are a type of celebrity these days. Because they are public figures, I hope to select figures that are more suitable for the public’s taste. The young people of the Ten Gods family are good choices. They are young, popular, and have potential for growth.”

“That cannot be a reason for you to interfere with and change the hero rankings,” the Winter Witch said.

“It’s just a minor, insignificant change,” Ouyang Rui said. “I’m just giving those popular guys a chance.”

I disagree.

“Nobody cares about your opinion,” Ouyang Rui said. “As long as I’m still the president, don’t even think about getting involved in these trivial matters.”

As he spoke, Ouyang Rui clearly lost interest in the conversation.

"What you did doesn't make you a hero at all."

“That’s your idea of ​​a hero,” Ouyang Rui said dismissively. “Heroes like ‘Zero’ are outdated. What we should be more concerned about now is the benefits that superheroes can bring. Do you understand? What our Hero Association is doing is planning the actions of those superheroes and using that to create a huge chain of profits.”

"Such behavior is not heroic at all."

"Don't bring up your heroic dreams with me again." Ouyang Rui slammed his hand on the table and stood in front of the Winter Witch. "People like 'Zero' can't survive in this world. Also, who do you think helped you rise to B-rank? If you weren't from the Winter family, do you think I would have said all this to you? I would have killed you long ago. Now go back and think about it carefully."

Ouyang Rui gestured for the guest to leave.

Silently walking out of the president's office, the Winter Witch clenched her fists: "This is not the kind of hero I want to be."

……

At Lin Jie's home, Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan were watching the news on TV.

"Damn it! Is there no justice in this world?!" Xiao Zhan angrily pointed at the news report on TV and said, "This is a cover-up!! It's blatant exploitation of unspoken rules!"

"Calm down," Lin Jie said.

"What's with the calm? We clearly took down the mastermind, but the news says it was the Ten Gods family who did it with all their might." Xiao Zhan said angrily, "Now even the Hero Association is starting to engage in underhanded tactics, damn it."

"Calm down," Lin Jie said.

"How could I possibly stay calm? Those guys from Togami have been lying down the whole time, they really won by doing nothing."

"Looks like you're one of those who win without lifting a finger."

“I am different from them; without me, they would have been killed.”

"What's all the noise about! Can't you see I'm reviewing my lessons?" Lin Wan's voice came from the room.

"Speaking of which, your sister is quite impressive. She's already gotten into graduate school and is even planning to pursue a doctorate," Xiao Zhan said.

"Yes, it's getting harder to get married!" Lin Jie sighed.

"You two, get out of here!!"

……

The next day, though reluctant, Lin Jie went to the top floor of the Xiao's Building.

"You're here, partner!" Xiao Zhan peeked out from behind a workbench.

"It feels so disgusting," Lin Jie said.

"You've come at the perfect time. Come and see my latest gear first. I'll get you a set later too, so you can easily pass your hero registration exam," Xiao Zhan said.

"You mean there's going to be an exam?" Lin Jie asked in surprise.

"Of course, physical fitness tests are one aspect, but there are also written exams and papers," Xiao Zhan said.

"It's just like my high school graduation exam."

"Alright, let's take a look at my latest gear." With that, Xiao Zhan took out a pistol.

"gun?"

"Do you think I'm such a shallow person?" Xiao Zhan said, pulling the trigger on himself, and a gust of wind blew his hair: "It's actually a hair dryer. With it, you can not only deter the enemy, but also keep your hairstyle in place in any battle."

"..." Lin Jie glanced at the person drying their hair: "I have a question, is this thing useful in combat?"

"Didn't I tell you? It's about intimidating the enemy, and more importantly, it allows me to maintain my handsome and dashing image at any time. You know, a superhero's image is very important these days. See those useless guys like Togami? They're typical examples of people who rely on their looks to make a living. So, you have to maintain your image no matter what."

"Oh." Lin Jie looked at the other gun: "Is this one also a hairdryer?"

“Of course not, this gun is specifically designed to fire conditioner,” Xiao Zhan said. “I plan to name these two guns Ebony and Ivory.”

"Believe me, someone named Dingding will definitely come and chop you up."

"Oh, right, take another look at this device." As he spoke, Xiao Zhan took out a button.

"What the hell?"

"With this 3D camera, we can capture our heroic actions of punishing evil from every angle, which we can then use to promote my Xiao's Technology Company," Xiao Zhan said proudly.

"Trust me, once the video is released, you'll be bankrupt and have to sell your pants."

After saying that, Lin Jie looked at the pair of steel forks on the table.

"You have a good eye; you immediately took a liking to my Plasma Stain Remover Fork 2.0," Xiao Zhan said.

"I have a question, what is the purpose of this toy?"

"Stain removal! Version 1.0 can only remove dust from your body, but my latest version 2.0 can easily remove any stains, such as oil stains. This way, you can keep your image clean and tidy anytime, anywhere, and at the same time, you can keep your enemy's image clean and tidy."

"Just how much do you care about your image?!" Lin Jie roared.

"So that's why you can't find a girlfriend!" Xiao Zhan said, "It's a society that values ​​looks these days. As long as you're handsome or beautiful, you get special treatment no matter what you do. For example, even if a handsome guy makes all sorts of mistakes, there are still plenty of girls willing to love him and scream for him."

Look at the female villains in anime. As long as they are pretty and have a strong personality, and show even a little bit of kindness, no matter what heinous things they have done in the past, they can usually survive until the last episode.

Conversely, if the villain is really ugly, well... he won't survive three episodes.

"That makes so much sense, I'm speechless."

"Young man, it's not that you don't work hard, it's just a pity that this is a society that judges people by their looks," Xiao Zhan said.

Lin Jie thought about it and realized it made sense. Back when he was still Zero, he covered his face with black mist, so no matter where he appeared, he never received a warm welcome, screams, or girls rushing up to hug him. Then he thought of the Ten Gods family; their selling point was their good looks, so they could attract a bunch of girls' screams wherever they went.

"Oh, right, here you go." Xiao Zhan tossed him a pair of large sunglasses: "This is my latest high-tech product."

"What's the use?"

"We can video chat through sunglasses, which can also add some fun to the boring hero life. He can go online to watch movies, read e-books, and so on. Most importantly, there's a terabyte seed in it."

Xiao Zhan revealed a smile that every man understands.

"You're not lying to me?" Lin Jie gave me a knowing look.

"It's true."

"I admire you, partner." Lin Jie said, shaking hands with Xiao Zhan.

"How about we get you some more equipment?"

"Forget it, I don't need anything except sunglasses. I have my own equipment." As he spoke, Lin Jie took out the spiked club he had used last time from his pocket.

"I've always been curious, how did you manage to hide such a large weapon?"

"Actually, I have a four-dimensional pocket in my arms."

"Get lost. The World Federation hasn't even figured out space technology yet. But this spiked club looks like it's made of something special. Can I borrow it to have it appraised?"

“No way,” Lin Jie said. “Luckily, we didn’t sell them in the past few years, otherwise we would have had to use such a ridiculous weapon as a fork.”

Lin Jie recalled that during his second year of staying at home, he had to sell off the weapons and equipment he had acquired over the years at a low price because of financial problems.

……

"For just 998, you can take the Dragon-Slaying Saber home." Lin Jie said to the person in front of him, holding a genuine Dragon-Slaying Saber in his hand.

"Tch, who would believe that? Can you prove that this is the real Dragon Slayer Sword?" the man replied.

"This one……"

"If you're going to make up a lie, at least make it believable."

"How about this, 998, take the Dragon Slayer Saber home, and I'll give you the Heaven-Reliant Sword as a bonus."

"Too expensive."

"How about this one? The Snow Drinking Saber, only 798, plus a peerless sword for free." With that, Lin Jie took out a saber and a sword.

"This... doesn't look very good. I love this design so much."