Heroes Return

"You're the gay one!" Thirteen couldn't help but retort to Lin Jie's words.

"Then why did you call me here?"

"Thank you!" Seeing Lin Jie's puzzled expression, Thirteen said to Lin Jie earnestly once again, "Thank you! You truly are the greatest hero!"

"Hey, you're suddenly being so cheesy. I can't stand it."

"It's not cheesy. I mean it. At first, I thought my mission was to break the seal on God. It wasn't until recently that I finally understood that my very existence is my mission. Almost everything I've done has been pushing for God's resurrection. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even know how I would have faced the future that might have unfolded! Because I am one of the biggest culprits behind God's resurrection! Thank you! Thank you for helping me defeat God! Thank you! Thank you for preventing all of this from happening!" At this point, Thirteen couldn't continue.

"Hey, it's all just a coincidence. Your existence itself isn't wrong. What's important is what your will is. These days, there are many people who do bad things with good intentions, but most of them aren't unforgivable. From now on, just be yourself." After saying this casually, Lin Jie walked towards the spatial portal.

Epilogue of Chapter 80

Just as everyone was celebrating their victory, three figures appeared in a secret underwater base somewhere deep beneath the sea. This base should have been abandoned.

"I mean, are we really going to live here? There are corpses everywhere!" Looking at the corpses in front of him, Dog Egg asked Dave helplessly, "Speaking of which, isn't this Dad's old cloning lab? I heard the World Government found it a long time ago, right? Will we be in trouble? I don't want to get arrested as soon as I move in!"

"The people who found this place are all on the ground." Dave simply said this to Gou Dan, then picked up a mop and began cleaning up the corpses and bloodstains.

"That meat sauce smells like Dad." Beside Gou Dan, a cute little girl looked at a strange health-preserving pod in the distance with a puzzled expression. Inside the health-preserving pod, several flattened pods appeared before the two young people. Upon seeing this, Gou Dan immediately turned away and couldn't help but vomit.

Because these health-preservation chambers were filled with rotting, mangled corpses. These corpses looked as if they had been squeezed and crushed in a can.

"Are these all Dad's clones? That's really a twisted sense of humor!" Dog Egg said to Dave with a hint of helplessness. "Speaking of which, why didn't Dad let you help him? If you were by his side, the final plan would have a much better chance of success, right?"

“Ivan doesn’t need me to do that,” Dave said calmly. “He wants to enjoy his last moments.”

"And then get killed by Zero? Just like before? Except this time it's for real." Gou Dan said discontentedly, "Dad, really, why did you make us stay here before sending us to our deaths?"

"I don't know," Dave said calmly to Dog Egg, then continued cleaning the lab.

"Alright, let's go. There seem to be quite a few suitable rooms inside." Gou Dan said, pulling the girl's hand and walking towards a hidden room that Dave had opened in the distance. But when Gou Dan entered the hidden room, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "My God, Dad actually has these things!"

As the metal door closed, Gou Dan and the girl finally decided on their rooms and went back to rest. After all, the journey of the past few days had been quite tiring for them.

As for Dave, after seeing the metal door close, his plants had already absorbed Fang Jiangzhong's corpse and bloodstains. At this moment, Dave was tidying up the messy underground base.

After working for a while, Dave finally stopped and looked at the machines he had cleaned. He pressed a few buttons on the control panel, and the previously dusty console lit up again, while the life support chambers in the lab all began to flicker with an eerie light.

As for Dave, he continued to calmly clean the underwater base, just as he did when Ivan was awake.

After sending the cleaned-up cargo back into the sea, Dave said calmly to the water outside the glass barrier, "Goodnight, Ivan."

……

Meanwhile, in a junkyard somewhere else, a young man who had always worked there was trying to find some treasures, as usual. After all, for an orphan, finding work was a normal thing. And for this orphan with a passion for mechanics, this junkyard was clearly his paradise, a place to find materials to build machines.

Because he can often find usable parts here that he can't normally afford.

But today, the boy's haul was exceptionally huge, because he discovered a beautiful girl in the junkyard. Yes, a beautiful girl. However, judging from the mechanical parts on her body, she appeared to be a damaged humanoid robot.

"I never imagined there were such exquisite humanoid robots now!" The boy stared in amazement at the scene before him, and eventually carried the beautiful robot home on his back. He was very curious about what the robot was used for.

Of course, what the boy didn't know was that it was precisely because of the robot he found that his fate would be completely changed.

Of course, that's another story, at least not in this book.

……

Inside Xiao Zhan's building, an unusual celebration banquet was underway. Right in front of Lin Jie, the two sisters, Alice and Delis, were watching him.

"Ivan, is he really dead?"

“He’s dead. I saw him die with my own eyes,” Lin Jie said calmly to Alice.

"..." Upon hearing Lin Jie's words, Alice immediately pulled Delilah away.

"Sister, you shouldn't be happy, right? Our plan failed, we had no chance to kill Ivan." Delis asked Alice, her eyes blurry as she spoke. Tears welled in the girl's eyes, but her face remained expressionless, only a slight smile curved her lips.

“Yes, we should be angry and upset, because we couldn’t kill him with our own hands,” Alice said to Delis. “But I’m sure I’m filled with joy right now.”

As the girl spoke, a tear inadvertently rolled down her cheek.

“Alright, little sister! We can’t keep making a fool of ourselves! It’s time for us to leave.” Alice said calmly to Delis, then walked outside. She knew everything she wanted to know. Delis followed quietly behind Alice.

"Wait, aren't you planning to stay? Or are you planning to continue being criminals?" Lin Jie's figure suddenly appeared not far from Alice.

"Kuhuhu, we've committed a lot of serious crimes! How about it? Now you can catch us! You'll be a great hero!" Hearing Lin Jie's words, Alice turned around and smiled slightly at him.

"I have no interest in catching you right now, let alone turning you into a hero. I'm just a fool who does whatever he wants right now," Lin Jie said with a hint of helplessness.

"Kuhuhu, no matter who you are, we're still leaving! After all, we've never been good people!"

Watching Alice walk out, Lin Jie finally spoke calmly to her.

"Ivan is beyond saving, but you may still be saved."

"..."

Without any response, the two sisters, Alice and Delis, had vanished before Lin Jie's eyes.

Just as the two sisters disappeared, Xiao Zhan appeared beside Lin Jie: "Did you get dumped?"

"Hehe! It just didn't go very well." Lin Jie shook his head helplessly: "Speaking of which, Xiao Zhan, if a person's personality is already determined, can it still be changed?"

Why are you suddenly asking me this?

"I was just asking out of curiosity."

“Of course it will change.” Xiao Zhan said to Lin Jie without hesitation, “I used to think that a person’s essence would not change. But later, I was changed. Of course, that was due to some of my past experiences. Speaking of which, I was almost changed by some external factor recently.”

"Some external factor?"

"Not just me, but many of the steadfast heroes here were almost swayed by that external factor. It's truly shameful to admit," Xiao Zhan said with some emotion. "You know what? I was almost persuaded by God. If God hadn't been defeated by Zero, perhaps I would have given up resisting and done exactly as God said. After all, that's a being full of lies. Although I initially firmly believed that God was wrong, after seeing those visions he showed me, I hesitated. I even considered giving up on resisting at one point. Isn't that ridiculous!"

"There's nothing funny about it." Lin Jie couldn't laugh at Xiao Zhan's words. Because Lin Jie had the same feeling; when he was trying to kill a god, he always had the illusion that he was trying to kill a good person.

“Yes! He showed me the future of humanity, not one of surviving by plundering planetary energy, but a completely new path of development where we coexist and thrive alongside other planets. And then there's the overall evolution of humanity. The future human world is truly wonderful.” Xiao Zhan said helplessly to Lin Jie, “Seeing that future, I hesitated. Was our rebellion against the gods really the right thing to do?”

“Yes! Are we really right?” Lin Jie said helplessly, “But at least we can’t use human lives as a bargaining chip. I’m sorry for ruining your bright future, but I can’t watch those ordinary people be sacrificed like that, against their will. Maybe the future that God depicted is indeed correct, and it is indeed the most beneficial future for humanity. But in the end, I still stopped him, just like I stopped you back then.”

“Yes, you did manage to stop him in the end. Although there’s a sense of loss. But don’t worry, I’m still optimistic.” Xiao Zhan looked at the wine glass in his hand and smiled slightly at Lin Jie: “People are constantly changing. Everything that ends for him, everything he encounters, will determine the changes in that person. It might even change his personality.”

"Really? So people can change after all?" Lin Jie thought about people for a moment, then said, "Indeed, the most powerful heroes are those who can make criminals repent and become friends."

"Hey, you're starting to deny your own heroic life now. You're the strongest hero who doesn't give criminals a chance to repent." Xiao Zhan was a little surprised to hear Lin Jie's remark.

“Maybe I can give it a try,” Lin Jie said with a smile. “A while ago, the Guanggun Temple caught a rat, but did they play Buddhist scriptures on it non-stop every day? Maybe we can learn from that and give the bad guy some room to repent for his mistakes.”

"Are you sure that's not some kind of torture? Or are you planning to disappear for 24 hours under another identity to lecture some criminal?" Xiao Zhan asked doubtfully.

"Who knows? As for heroes? I might become the biggest criminal in the future."

Volume Twenty-Eight, that's right! This is the Salvation Army!

Chapter One

The world returned to calm once more, the descent of the gods as if it had never happened, or as if it were yesterday's news. The sun shone as usual, and people's lives went on as before. For ordinary people, nothing seemed to have changed. Those going to school went to school, and those going to work went to work.

Of course, there are some differences. Lin Jie is one of them. Due to his injury, Lin Jie doesn't need to participate in any hero activities recently. At least now Lin Jie finally has time to finish all the games he's accumulated over the past few days.

Of course, today was not a good day for the heroes. Aside from those who were injured and unable to attend, almost all the heroes participated in an exceptionally grand funeral.

At the funeral, everyone mourned the soldiers and heroes who died in battle.

At least in this battle, three SS-class heroes died: Blast, Sonic, and Loki. These three were undoubtedly the highest-ranking heroes to perish in this fight. Originally, Loki wasn't considered a member of the Hero Association, but he was ultimately classified as a top-ranking hero by the association's members.

This time, not only the Hero Association, but everyone on the floating island participated in the funeral. After many years, the heroes who had fought each other due to their differing stances and had eventually stopped speaking to each other finally stood together again to commemorate the fallen heroes and warriors.

This war dealt a devastating blow to both heroes and the World Government. The government's elite mecha legion was almost completely wiped out, and the newly formed space fleet was temporarily rendered combat ineffective. On the Hero Association's side, dozens of S-class espers were lost, with the remaining members suffering heavy losses. However, the only saving grace was that most of the world's major criminals, who had joined Ivan's rebellion, were eliminated in the previous battle. For a time, the world appeared remarkably peaceful.

But without a doubt, after such a fierce battle, the world's hero rankings and superpowered individuals' rankings will need to be reshuffled.

However, one thing is undeniable: the Hero Association is now incredibly powerful. With the return of time and space, the Hero Association now possesses a formidable number of top-tier heroes.

Fenrir and Time Travel, along with Cold Flame, did not die in the battle. In fact, the current Hero Association's top combat strength is quite excellent. Although Sonic died in the battle, his wife rejoined the Hero Association under a new name, albeit with the word "Burning" added before her name. This is because when she moves at the same speed, her entire body is accompanied by intense flames.

In fact, Sonic's death was something Lin Jie hadn't expected. When Lin Jie first met Sonic, he was clearly not the kind of hero willing to risk his life for justice. In fact, with Sonic's speed, surviving this war shouldn't have been difficult. But unexpectedly, in order to stop the angels trying to break through, he launched an extremely powerful attack at maximum acceleration. But ultimately, he died at the hands of a true god with that dog's head.

Upon learning of Sonic's death, Lin Jie couldn't help but sigh, "Perhaps contact and encounters really can change a person? I say I don't want anyone to be killed, but I still can't protect everyone."

For humanity, this war was far from easy; it could even be described as brutal. But this brutality was not without its costs. In fact, as the gods perished in the war, the human world was subtly and gradually changing.

The new rankings of the Association of British Scientists have finally been confirmed.

NO.1 Fenrir, who fought against the attacks of several gods alone in that battle.

In the second timeline, on the battlefield of the Gods' Destruction, one person blocked an entire legion of true gods.

NO.3 Leng Yan, the only hero the Hero Association has ever fought, single-handedly killed a main god on the battlefield against the gods. In fact, Leng Yan was already dead at that time, but the god only took his collapsing body before he breathed his last.

NO.4 Po Jun, fought against the Angel Legion on the battlefield of God Destruction, and participated in many battles of world-class disasters.

No. 5 Master of Miracles, the magic advisor to the Hero Association, is responsible for resolving most magic-related issues and has been involved in almost all world-class disasters related to magic.

No. 6 Berserker Torus, a powerful veteran hero. He has been involved in almost all world-class disasters.

NO.7 Gear, the inventor of Rose, and the Hero Association's science and technology advisor. Currently, she is the only SS-class hero without superpowers. Rose was originally qualified to be ranked in the SS-class, after all, she killed several main gods, making her the undisputed strongest weapon of the Hero Association. However, unfortunately, after killing the enemy commander in the God-Slaying Battlefield, Rose has been missing. But Gear has always maintained that Rose is not dead, at most something on her body is damaged.

Unfortunately, due to the damage to the positioning device, Gear still couldn't find Rose in the days following the battle.

No. 8 Metroid, ranked higher for protecting all citizens from the gods before the arrival of Zero. Although many despise him and insist he's just a coward, the Metroid himself claims in his report that he knelt down to buy time and protect the lives of the people, etc…

Despite the controversy, it was ultimately improved in the rankings.

No. 9 Bai Yu, the only hero in the Hero Association whose profession is a doctor. He is proficient in both traditional Chinese and Western medicine and possesses the ability to regulate human hormones. He also understands ancient Eastern martial arts, making him a rare all-rounder. The only pity is that he was forced to withdraw from the God-Slaying War early due to a groin injury.

No. 10, the Swift Light Girl, has participated in numerous world-class rescue wars and possesses the ability to absorb and release energy.

NO.11 Barrier Sisters, the latest SS-class heroes, namely the sisters Isabella and Isabelle.

NO.12 Sky King, a powerful veteran hero. He has participated in many major events and performed well in each one.

NO.13 Tristan, a newly emerged hero with immense power and a mysterious origin. Her recent performances have been outstanding.

NO.14 Flame Sonic, currently has no hero battle record, but due to his sonic speed, Cold Flame has exceptionally promoted him to SS-level hero.

If Rose were to return, the Hero Association would undoubtedly be the strongest it has ever been. Despite a slight drop in ranking, Leng Yan seemed to be in a very good mood.

……

Meanwhile, at Lin Jie's home, a special guest arrived.