Heroes Return

"I'm sorry, I haven't found Rose yet. It seems the last war against the gods damaged Rose severely. Otherwise, if the computational system lost its detector, Rose should have been able to return on her own." This round shook her head helplessly. Who could have imagined that her masterpiece would disappear after participating in the first war?

However, given Rose's lack of response so far, there are probably only two possibilities. The first is that Rose killed herself. A destroyed robot wouldn't return on its own. The second possibility is that Rose's damage was too severe, so severe that her system suffered serious problems; at least her self-repair and memory systems are definitely broken, and her judgment system is likely also malfunctioning. Otherwise, Rose could still return.

Thinking about it this way, Gear sighed helplessly.

"Forget it, losing Screw must be a huge blow to you," Leng Yan said. "But don't worry, I won't stop looking for Rose."

"Thank you, but I'm sorry, there's only so much I can do to help at this crucial moment," Ci Lun said helplessly. "Also, the new weapon we're preparing will probably take a while longer. Fortunately, the world doesn't seem to lack geniuses. Someone just told me about an interesting plan; perhaps we should give it a try."

"Huh?" Upon hearing Gear's words, Leng Yan immediately turned his head to look at the person outside the room who was about to knock on the door.

Leng Yan recognized this person. After all, he had done something quite significant last time.

“Xiao Zhan?” Looking at the man in front of him, Leng Yan couldn’t help but look at Gear: “Is he the genius you mentioned? But judging from his past achievements, he is indeed a genius.”

"Don't let Xiao Zhan's seemingly unreliable weapon fool you. Believe me, even I am amazed by his skill," Gear said to Leng Yan once again.

"I'm a little embarrassed to say that. Actually, I used to be a researcher of cleaning products." Hearing the praise from Gear, Xiao Zhan scratched his head shyly.

"Alright, I don't have time to talk to you about this. If you really have a suitable plan, then explain it to me and give me detailed information! We're pressed for time! I can't waste any more time," Leng Yan replied impatiently.

Hearing Leng Yan's words, Xiao Zhan didn't waste any more words. He directly took out a storage disk and placed it on Leng Yan's computer: "The detailed data and almost everything are here."

"This is... the ridiculous machine that almost changed the world last time? Are you planning to turn the whole world into a joke again?" Leng Yan's icy gaze fell on Xiao Zhan.

"Of course not, what I want to show you is that byproduct." Xiao Zhan said, glancing at Leng Yan with a somewhat lewd look: "Brother, have you ever heard of the 50/50 barrier?"

third chapter

Seeing Xiao Zhan's lewd expression, Leng Yan's face also revealed a lewd expression. After all, he didn't quite understand what Xiao Zhan was saying.

"This is a byproduct of what I created in the Comical Reactor. Simply put, it uses the power of the Comical Reactor to forcibly transform those inside into people with the same fighting strength. However, because Zero's power is too strong, if we start using the Comical Reactor now, we can probably only sustain continuous combat for about ten minutes." Xiao Zhan thought for a moment and then said, "So we must wait until Zero's strength is reduced to the same level as ours before continuing the fight. Another point is that this reactor can only suppress a limited number of people at the same time, so it's impossible for too many people to enter this barrier, otherwise the barrier will collapse quickly. After all, the rule inside is balance. If there are too many people, the power of the suppressed party will also be increased accordingly based on the number of people present. Simply put, if only ten people go in, then everyone's power will be limited to the weakest of the ten. But if more than eleven people go in, then Zero's power will become the sum of the power of eleven people. Another crucial issue is that no items or advanced weapons can be used inside the 50/50 barrier."

"..." Hearing Xiao Zhan's words, Leng Yan paused for a moment, then asked Xiao Zhan, "If it were a martial arts expert, to what extent would Zero's power be restricted?"

"If it's ten martial arts experts, huh? Then everyone's strength will be the same as the weakest one." Hearing Xiao Zhan's answer, Leng Yan couldn't help but nod: "It seems we have no choice but to try. I will gather ten experts proficient in martial arts and try to defeat Zero as quickly as possible. Also, how long will it take for your comical reactor to be completed?"

“It can be completed tonight, but before that, I have a condition I hope you can agree to.” Xiao Zhan suddenly spoke to Leng Yan: “I hope to participate in this battle.”

"Before that, I want to make sure your stuff really works for zero."

"Of course it works," Xiao Zhan said with a smile. "After all, I've already used it on Zero once. It's just a pity that I lost that one-on-one fight. Otherwise, the whole world would have become a laughing stock."

"..." Upon hearing Xiao Zhan's words, Leng Yan fell silent.

"I understand. Go and prepare. You'll be one of the ten this time." Leng Yan finished speaking and then looked at the communicator again: "Contact top fighters from all over the world for me. Remember, I need the best fighters!"

After saying this, Xiao Zhan and Gear left Leng Yan's office together.

Watching Xiao Zhan and the others leave, Leng Yan activated his communicator again: "Did the sniper succeed?"

"Sorry, we've tried several sniping methods, but we just can't destroy that bottle. It seems we have to defeat Zero first!" A man on the other end of the communicator said helplessly to Leng Yan, "No matter what kind of attack we use, the bottle is completely unbreakable! It's like it's not even in the same space as us."

Hearing what the other party said, Leng Yan nodded: "Call our sniper back."

"Well, there's actually a bit of a problem." Upon hearing Leng Yan's question, the man on the other side couldn't help but show an embarrassed expression.

"What exactly happened?"

"Well, you'd better watch it yourself," the man said helplessly, and then a 3D image appeared on his communicator.

Several professional snipers were seen sitting with Zero, playing cards. Yes, they were playing cards at that moment.

“Ignoring the pair of Ks, you only have one pair of 3s. Looks like I’ve won this round,” Lin Jie said confidently to the sniper in front of him.

"Really?" the sniper said, revealing his hand: "Sorry, I'm not a pair of 3s, I actually have three 3s."

"Holy crap! Are you some kind of gambling god?" Seeing this, Zero couldn't help but complain, "Okay, you have twenty seconds to try and break the bottle."

Upon hearing Lin Jie's words, the sniper immediately aimed his gun at the bottle. Then, another sniper took over, pretending to play cards with Zero.

"Your card skills are quite good, but I advise you to give up. I've already said it, and everyone watching should listen up: this bottle cannot be destroyed unless you defeat me. Only by defeating me can this bottle be destroyed."

Zero finished speaking. Immediately afterward, a series of gunshots rang out in the video, followed by a series of screams.

"Holy crap! Before, the bullet went through the bottle, but now this bottle has come to life!! Holy crap!!! It can even dance!" The sniper's angry curses rang out at this moment.

Upon seeing this, Leng Yan immediately shut down his communicator. He couldn't help but sigh.

It seems the sniper approach is completely ineffective. Looking at the protesting crowd outside the window, Leng Yan clenched his fist: "Damn it! The thing I feared most has happened! Sure enough, we should speed up the Zero Project in the lab! It's time to let Zero see this, to let him understand that we don't have to rely on him for everything!"

Just then, the communicator on Leng Yan's table suddenly rang. However, this time it wasn't a sentence, but a text message.

"Damn it!" Leng Yan's expression darkened once more upon seeing the text. Just minutes before, the World Government's highest decision-making body had issued a new order: Project Sky Shield had been approved. As one of the most advanced technological weapons prepared by humanity in the distant past, Sky Shield was undoubtedly the first stellar-level strategic weapon in human history! And now, this stellar-level strategic weapon was being used directly against one person—humanity's greatest hero in history.

"Damn it! We're rushing this! Things aren't beyond repair yet! Why are we in such a hurry to use Sky Shield?!" Upon seeing this message, Leng Yan immediately dialed a number, but it was clearly too late. No one was answering the phone.

At the same time, in the desert, the snipers who were playing cards with Lin Jie received orders to evacuate.

Without any hesitation, these people rushed directly towards the transport plane in the distance. As for Zero, he didn't react at all, simply watching calmly as these people charged towards the transport plane. Zero seemed to have no intention of attacking them whatsoever. He simply watched them leave in peace.

Without a doubt, Lin Jie did not want to kill anyone because of this.

As the plane disappeared from view, the sunlight seemed to intensify. Meanwhile, in the universe above Lin Jie, a massive space station floated in space. However, unlike other space stations, this one was shaped more like a sword.

As energy continues to accumulate and erupt within the space station, the energy at the tip of the space station's sword also begins to compress continuously.

If such a terrifying attack were to erupt in the desert, there is no doubt that the desert where Lin Jie is located would be wiped out. At the very least, the power and range of this terrifying explosion would definitely exceed that of dozens of nuclear bombs. In fact, if Zero's location weren't in the very center of an uninhabited desert, the World Government probably wouldn't have dared to use such a terrifying strategic weapon.

A single blast could melt the sand of an entire desert, or even vaporize it in the intense heat. The blast radius would create a crater hundreds of meters deep, enough to be a person in a crater. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to describe it as the world's largest basin. The fact that such a massive superweapon, specifically designed to combat alien fleets, is used has only one purpose: to annihilate them.

What Zero originally intended to do might not have been enough to warrant such a strong decision from the World Government, but as global public opinion became increasingly chaotic, the Sky Sword system was finally activated under the impetus of a few extremists.

However, just as the world's most powerful weapon was activated, many believed they could defeat Zero. But today, Zero is destined to teach the world a lesson, and show them just what kind of power exists beyond the god-like level!

The sun in the sky grew increasingly scorching, and then a beam of light, enough to illuminate half the world, descended from the sky, shooting directly towards the center of the desert.

"This is somewhat interesting." Looking at the scene before him, Lin Jie suddenly laughed. At this moment, the Immortal Slaughtering Sword in his hand emitted a blank red light.

As the sky grew increasingly intense with heat, a red light began to illuminate the desert.

"Zero Type - Judgment!"

Just as everyone was blinded by the dazzling light, to everyone's astonishment, the world and the sky went completely dark. Right before their eyes, the light vanished.

As the light faded and the world turned pitch black, a blood-red sword aura shot straight into the sky.

All the heroes and combat observers who witnessed this scene couldn't help but gasp. A chill ran through their bodies.

The soaring red sword light collided directly with the dazzling pillar of light in the sky at that moment.

However, what happened next shocked everyone, as the crimson sword light completely shattered the 'Sky Shield,' considered humanity's most powerful strategic weapon to date. Accompanied by a soaring red light, a terrifying sword aura broke through the energy attack's burst, piercing the edge of the space station and flying into space. All the space station staff who witnessed this breathed a sigh of relief; for a moment, they thought they were doomed.

The desert remained calm, as if nothing had happened. The attack from the sky was destroyed by Zero's sword light before it could even land.

In an instant, Zero's figure reappeared on the surveillance cameras of all World Governments and the Hero Association.

"Stop trying to attack from a distance or destroy the bottle directly! Use all your strength to defeat me!" Zero's cold voice reached the ears of everyone present.

Chapter Four

Seeing Zero's image, almost everyone present broke out in a cold sweat. It was at this moment that Dong Xue'er appeared in Leng Yan's office.

"What do you want with me?" Leng Yan asked, looking at the scene before him as Dong Xue'er entered the office.

"I want to learn reverse freezing." Without any preamble, Dong Xue'er cut straight to the point.

“That’s not a technique you should learn.” Leng Yan also refused Dong Xue’er without hesitation: “Your freezing technique is very dangerous. Once used, the user will die. The reason I survived last time was just luck.”

“I know, but right now, I can only rely on Reverse Freezing. Please, no matter what, give it to me.” Hearing Leng Yan’s words, Dong Xue’er’s expression remained firm: “He helped me, so I can’t watch him do something wrong. No matter what his reasons are, I can’t stop him!”

"..." Seeing Dong Xue'er's determined eyes, Leng Yan finally nodded: "I understand, I will teach you how to reverse freezing. However, with your strength, even if you use your freezing ability, it probably won't have much of an impact on him. So even if you want to use it, you must wait for the most appropriate time. Also, since you've decided to stop him, you can't let your emotions get the better of you. I know a little about what happened between you two."

Hearing Leng Yan's words, Dong Xue'er gritted her teeth: "I understand. Please teach me how to use Reverse Freeze!"

While Leng Yan was talking with the others, on the other side of the world, Kuroru watched the news about Zero on television with worry. She still remembered the figure that had saved her. When he guessed Zero's true identity, Kuroru was overjoyed, but now, she simply couldn't believe that Zero would do such a thing.

During the days Zero disappeared, all of Chrollo's concerts were canceled. During this time, Chrollo has been locking herself in her room. Mr. Lin Jie must have encountered something, right? But she can't help him at all! She's been receiving all of Mr. Lin Jie's care.

Thinking this, Chrollo's gaze involuntarily fell on the television again. Watching the live broadcast about Zero and the communications from various media outlets, Chrollo couldn't help but smile wryly.

At that very moment, a ball of light suddenly appeared beside Chrollo in the room.

"Clow, can you hear me, Chloe?" A slightly childish voice appeared in Chloe's ear. Startled by the voice, Chloe sat up abruptly. At this moment, Chloe, who had been focused on the television, finally looked at the ball of light in front of her.

As the light from the orb faded, a tiny figure, resembling an infant, appeared before Chrollo. This infant held a pink bow and arrow in its hand. A pair of small wings fluttered behind it, making it look incredibly cute.

"you are?"

"I am Cupid!" the little boy said in a childish voice when he heard Kuror's question. "You should be able to guess just by looking at my appearance, right?"

"Cupid?" Upon hearing the other's words, Kuroru couldn't help but show a shocked expression, but she immediately looked at Cupid again: "What an adorable child."

“Alright, I don’t have time to waste with you. You have to get moving now, Chloe. Otherwise, this world will be in trouble.” Cupid said to Chloe in a mature tone.

"Trouble? Is it only Mr. Zero's business?"

“That’s right, it’s about Zero! It seems you’ve been asleep for far too long; you’ve even lost some of your memories!” Cupid sighed helplessly. “Do you know what Zero is doing? He’s planning to activate that bottle directly! If Zero successfully activates that bottle, then we’re both doomed!”

"Huh? What exactly is that bottle?"

“You probably already know what they said on TV, right? But actually, what they said on TV isn’t entirely accurate. To be precise, Zero plans to extract the Dawn Starlight that suddenly descended upon Earth last time. That wasn’t Earth’s original miraculous power, but rather a miraculous power that suddenly descended from outer space. However, it is precisely because of that that Earth possesses more miracles compared to other planets. Originally, on Earth, according to the original trajectory, the Cataclysm of the End Times might have lasted for billions of years, or even until the extinction of humanity, until humanity descended again in the next era. But unfortunately, because of the arrival of those miraculous powers, Earth’s Cataclysm of the End Times ended prematurely. It is precisely because of this that your power was able to revive, and the gods had the opportunity to descend again.” Cupid said earnestly to Kuroru, “And this time, if Zero uses those miraculous powers, then the Cataclysm of the End Times will undoubtedly descend once more.”

"Um, what exactly is the Cataclysm of the End Times?" Kuror asked, puzzled by Cupid's words.

"It seems you've truly forgotten. The reason you were reincarnated as a human is because of the Cataclysm of the End of Dharma. During the Cataclysm, all powerful beings will gradually lose their power. The more powerful a being, the greater the chance of its demise. Simply put, the Cataclysm of the End of Dharma is equivalent to the Supreme Will's means of eliminating gods and demons." Cupid said earnestly, "If the Cataclysm of the End of Dharma were to descend again, then the remaining gods would have no choice but to fall into slumber once more. I also apologize to you for this, and judging from the timing of the Cataclysm of the End of Dharma, we will remain asleep until the moment we disappear."

"..." Upon hearing Cupid's words, Kuror couldn't help but say, "So, if the cataclysm of the end times comes again, we won't disappear immediately, but will gradually disappear? If that's the case, I'd rather not help, after all, the gods seemed to have done a lot of bad things last time they descended."

“That’s just the view of a portion of the gods,” Cupid said self-satisfiedly. “At least last time, I was on the opposing side, as were many gods, including you. They were all peace-loving gods. It’s just that our power wasn’t as great as theirs. And this time, all the gods might perish because of this. In fact, many gods are benevolent; after all, not all gods are the kind with a strong desire for control. Most gods are peace-loving, and we have, in a sense, helped many humans. Do you really think it’s good for those benevolent gods to disappear in the cataclysm of the end times?”

Hearing Cupid's words, Chloe couldn't help but ask again, "If Mr. Zero really succeeds, what will the world become?"

"No one knows what the world will become! After all, this has never happened before. This is the first time it has ever happened. Besides, thinking about it, a world without miracles can't possibly be better than a world with miracles, right?" Cupid said to Kuror as if he had suddenly thought of something, "By the way, do you know why Zero activated the barrier?"

“I don’t know. It seems like something happened to Mr. Zero. I felt he was acting strange when we last met,” Kuroru replied after thinking for a moment.

"He did it for his love. He had a woman he loved who died, and her soul dissipated. It's safe to say that even the gods couldn't resurrect her," Cupid suddenly said. "That's why he decided to do this. But if he really does, as the most powerful being in the world, Zero cultivates ancient Eastern mystical powers. He can't possibly escape the impact of the end-of-days catastrophe. In other words, Zero himself will be in danger!"

"What?! Will the cataclysmic end of time harm Zero?"

"The more powerful a person is, the deeper their connection with the world. When such a person is suddenly cut off from the world, and loses both the methods of cultivation and the means to restore their power, how can they possibly fare well? What they're doing is essentially a slow suicide in order to see their lover!"

"I understand! We must stop Mr. Zero! Mr. Cupid, what should we do next?" Upon hearing the words "slow suicide," Kuror had already made up her mind. This time, she was determined to stop Mr. Zero. She didn't want Mr. Zero to do such a thing for his lover, and if his lover really knew what Mr. Zero had done, he certainly wouldn't be happy, would he?