Heroes Return

"Hey, don't make me sound like a monster." Lin Jie looked helpless upon hearing the other person's words.

"How about this, have a child with me!" Just as Lin Jie was wondering, the sound of gears suddenly rang out in the room. Not only was Lin Jie stunned, but even Lin Wan, who was standing next to him, was confused by this sudden sentence.

"Although I don't have much experience in this area, I do have a lot of reference materials, which can bring you many wonderful memories. How about it? By today's human aesthetic standards, you should be considered a beauty." Gear smiled and said to Lin Jie, "Don't worry, you don't need to take responsibility! I'll raise the child myself! It's quite interesting to imagine, what kind of things will your offspring be able to research?"

"Hey! Don't treat my future son like a guinea pig!" Lin Jie finally couldn't hold back after hearing Gear's words.

"So you agree? Don't worry, even without love, we can still be great friends with benefits." Gear said, moving closer to Lin Jie.

At that moment, Lin Jie felt a little cocky. This was the first time in his life that a beautiful woman had proactively suggested something like this, and for a moment, Lin Jie's expression began to smirk.

It was at this moment that Gear's communicator suddenly rang.

"Tch, really bad timing." Gear scoffed, then opened the communicator: "Cold Flame, what's up?"

"I remember I told you to bring him here as soon as possible, right?" A cold voice rang out from the other end of the communicator: "If you're not planning to bring him, I can find someone else to pick him up."

"You're usually so cold, I never expected you to be such an impatient man." He said with dissatisfaction, "I know! I'm with him right now, I'll bring him to see you right away, don't worry."

"Get here as fast as you can!!" Leng Yan's voice carried a hint of anger, while Gear abruptly shut down the communicator: "Honestly, what's the rush? That's it, I'm here to pick up Mr. Lin Jie and take him somewhere. Leng Yan seems to want to talk to him alone."

"I understand. Let's go then."

"Wait, what about what we were talking about earlier?" Gear said to Lin Jie as they walked towards the hovercar, "You've probably been single for many years, right? If you're willing, let's have some fun in the car first."

"Forget it, although the offer is tempting, but..." Gear rejected the offer without hesitation: "But your car is a convertible."

"That's such a shame." With a sigh, the gear mounted the hovercar.

After the hovercar left, Lin Wan finally came to her senses: "That woman was terrifying... By the way, is my brother really the kind of scum who can't resist temptation?"

……

The hovercar was incredibly fast, reaching almost the highest speed known to date. In just a few minutes, the two had left the city and reached the sea. Not far away, the Hero Association's newest island headquarters was being built.

However, just when Lin Jie thought the hovercar would enter the island where the Hero Association headquarters was located, to his surprise, the hovercar transformed into a small submarine in just a few seconds.

After diving into the seabed and passing through a hidden underwater passage, Lin Jie finally saw a large technology hall. Inside, a massive cylindrical device stood, surrounded by various pipes and machines. Beneath the device, Leng Yan stood.

After getting off the car, Gear didn't continue to bother Lin Jie, but instead walked towards an upper control panel on its own.

"You've come." Leng Yan looked at Lin Jie and nodded. "I've been waiting for you, Zero."

"You summoned me here just to see this? Come to think of it, the power inside that pillar should belong to me, right?" Lin Jie asked Leng Yan with a puzzled look.

“Zero System,” Leng Yan said calmly. “Only three people in the world know of its existence: you, me, and the Gear.”

"Hmm? Does it really need to be this secretive?"

"First of all, I want to apologize to you. We can't possibly return your power to you." Leng Yan suddenly spoke up when he heard Lin Jie's question.

"Ah! This? I didn't intend to take it back. I'm just curious what you're going to do with this power next?" Lin Jie simply smiled nonchalantly at Leng Yan's words. To him, that power wasn't really that important.

"I've decided to make the Zero System the Hero Association's last trump card and ultimate weapon. We'll only use this power when we encounter an enemy too powerful for the Hero Association to handle." Leng Yan said, pointing to the gears. "Everything here was designed by the gears. By activating the Zero System, we can temporarily gain your power. However, your power is simply too great; even someone with Captain Justice's physical strength can only use it for a few seconds. Therefore, the Hero Association will not use the Zero System unless it's a truly life-or-death situation. In the future, we will distribute a special receiver to some authorized heroes. This will allow them to receive a fraction of your power at crucial moments as a trump card. Of course, the percentage of power they can use and the duration of use will depend on the user."

"Hey! Are you sure this is really okay? My power is incredibly violent. A lot of people might die."

“Therefore, it can only be used in life-or-death situations.” Leng Yan said calmly, “I’m sorry that I made such an unfair decision on my own, but we can’t return your power to you. Similarly, if we don’t make use of it, it will only become a major hidden danger.”

"Never mind, you don't need to apologize to me for this. I was just feeling a bit sentimental. I thought that once I stopped being a hero, I wouldn't have to do anything anymore. In the end, it seems that my power will still be used to protect humanity." As he spoke, Lin Jie looked at Leng Yan: "I feel honored to be able to use this power for this kind of thing."

“I should feel honored to have your understanding,” Leng Yan continued to Lin Jie. “The reason I asked you to come here is because I think you have the right to know these things. The construction and all maintenance work here will be done by robots, and after the three of us leave, all the entrances and exits here will be blown up or sealed off.”

Chapter 41

Looking at the enormous machine before him, Lin Jie didn't seem to care much, since those powers were useless to him now. If Leng Yan and the others could actually use them for something good, it might not be such a bad thing for Lin Jie.

Of course, what Lin Jie didn't know was that this very decision would save the Hero Association and its heroes several times over the next decade or so. But that's a story for another time.

"Speaking of which, why are you protecting me?" Looking at Leng Yan, Lin Jie suddenly asked, "I think taking advantage of that time to defeat me is the perfect choice."

"Yes, to announce to the world that we have defeated Zero?" Leng Yan looked at Lin Jie and said calmly, "How aware are you of your other identity?"

"Does it really require any self-awareness?" Hearing Leng Yan's words, Lin Jie became puzzled: "Zero is zero, what's the difference? In my opinion, he's just someone who's a bit stronger."

"That's just your own opinion. For us, Zero is a symbol of an era." Leng Yan said to Lin Jie with a serious expression, "Do you think I would tell the people first, 'We defeated the symbol of the heroic age! And then imprisoned them? Tell them that the people who created the heroic age ended up like this? Do you really think that's a good thing?'"

You are indeed too powerful, far too powerful for the world and humanity. But this influence ultimately remains confined to the upper echelons of the world. After all, only we care what would happen if your thoughts changed one day. Ultimately, this world cannot become a platform for one person, even if that person is a symbol of the times.

But ultimately, for the public, Zero is the greatest hero, the goal and symbol of all superpowered individuals who aspire to heroism. And we cannot simply destroy this goal and symbol.

"So this is actually the best ending? I've lost my power, I'm no longer the overpowered person I once was, and I won't cause great harm to the world in the future because of certain thoughts. At the same time, the symbolic meaning of Zero will continue to be passed down. Along with this power, it will be passed on. Becoming the new pillar of the Hero Association in the future?" Looking at Leng Yan, Lin Jie smiled helplessly: "You're just like those politicians! You don't seem like a hero at all. You act like a cool and handsome guy all day long, but you do the things that middle-aged men with bald patches do."

"Even the grandest ideals must eventually face reality, right?" Looking at the machine in front of him, Leng Yan's expression remained unchanged: "To achieve the ideal world, at least in my opinion, it's impossible with just ideals and passion. You also need meticulous planning and support. Ideals and passion may be important, but they can't escape reality in the end."

“Yes, no matter how much people fantasize, they still have to face reality in the end.” Lin Jie said, then looked at Leng Yan: “You’ve convinced me this time. I seem to have heard about some of the things you did in the past recently. I was thinking of sending you to prison in your final moments as a hero, but I’ll pass. Let someone else do that in the future. I’m also very curious about what the Hero Association will look like under your plan.”

"Send him to prison? I've already reserved a place for myself, waiting for the day the truth comes out." Leng Yan had no doubt about Lin Jie's words, even though he believed Lin Jie had lost all his power. He still had no doubt that Lin Jie was capable of doing so.

However, he also appeared quite nonchalant. Just as Leng Yan himself said, he had already reserved a place for him in prison. Even if Lin Jie didn't send him to prison now, he would eventually be sent there at some point in the future; at least in Leng Yan's view, that would be his final destination.

There is always darkness behind the light, and when the world is truly filled with light, that darkness will no longer matter. Moreover, spending the rest of his life in prison isn't necessarily a bad thing for Leng Yan. He's done many wicked things, even causing the death of upright heroes to cover up information detrimental to the Hero Association, all to gain more support from around the world. He's even had shady secret deals with some politicians.

And in the future, after he's been overthrown and sent to prison, perhaps he can find some redemption there?

A hero? For Leng Yan, that's never something that can be achieved with just a few simple words.

"Didn't you promise Torus you'd work for the Hero Association? I'm sure you'll see it someday." Leng Yan's icy face finally broke into a rare smile after hearing Lin Jie's words.

"Oh, right, before you leave, there's something I need you to do." Leng Yan said, taking out a blank sheet of paper: "Please sign this as proof that you're authorizing this power to us."

"Do I need to sign anything? You're not going to return it anyway, are you?" Lin Jie asked, puzzled by Leng Yan's words.

On the control panel, watching Leng Yan's actions, Gear couldn't help but wonder, "What is he doing?"

Just as Gear was looking at Leng Yan and Lin Jie, he subconsciously reached for the coffee cup beside him, accidentally knocking it over. Seeing this, Gear hurriedly started wiping the control panel, and at the same time, he accidentally pressed several buttons.

So, the laser beam from the ceiling shot down without Lin Jie and Leng Yan noticing.

"Huh?" Feeling the energy rushing towards him from above, Leng Yan instinctively dodged to the side. Immediately afterward, an energy gun grazed his body and landed at his feet.

“Gears!” Turning his gaze to the gears on the control panel, Leng Yan asked coldly, “Do you want to kill me?”

"Ah! Sorry, I spilled coffee on the control panel!" Leng Yan said apologetically to the gears. But her expression immediately turned into one of constipation, as if she was enduring something.

Seeing Gear's expression, Leng Yan realized that his pants had been damaged by the laser at some point. Right in front of Gear, Leng Yan's underwear was exposed.

A pair of black Zero series movie commemorative limited edition underwear appeared in front of Lin Jie and Gear.

"Uh..." Looking at the gear-shaped underwear, Lin Jie couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed: "Although I rarely care about men's underwear, this is the first time I've been attracted to it."

The situation became very awkward.

"Please forget about this." Leng Yan's expression remained cold, but he was already somewhat impatient as he spoke to Lin Jie: "Forget about this, bury this matter and all the secrets of this place."

Upon hearing this, Gear, who was standing nearby, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Haha ...

Hahahaha! And there's nothing shameful about idolizing Zero. You really don't need to hide it like this, you stubborn tsundere..."

As he finished speaking, Leng Yan's figure appeared on the control panel wall, staring intently at the gears.

"Are these your last words?" As he spoke, the surrounding temperature began to drop rapidly.

"Well, although I'm happy to be liked, I still can't accept being liked by a man," Lin Jie couldn't help but say at this moment.

Although there was a brief commotion, after Leng Yan changed his pants, the three of them drove their gear-powered hovercar away from the underwater base. As the gate closed, underwater explosives were simultaneously detonated. The original entrance to the underwater base was completely buried by the collapsed seabed mud.

When everyone arrived at the Hero Association's floating island, Leng Yan's communicator rang.

“Since he’s going to do this, there’s nothing we can do.” Muttering to himself, Leng Yan then looked at Lin Jie and Gear: “Sorry, I have a little thing to take care of here. Let Gear treat you to dinner.”

After saying that, Leng Yan walked towards another hovercar not far away.

……

On the top floor of a building somewhere in Sector N, the Metroid was practicing his heroic smile in front of a mirror.

"Hahaha! That's a great smile! A hero should definitely have a smile like that." With a satisfied smile, the Galactic Warrior began to dress up. At the same time, his gaze fell upon the box beside him.

This box contained the recordings of the previous battles. These plans were the result of the Metroid's continuous recordings over the past thirty days. Looking at the box, the Metroid smiled confidently before glancing at his attire and the various high-society photos and advertising videos on the walls. These were all symbols of the Metroid's success, and now, in his view, he seemed poised to reach an even greater peak. And the method to reach that higher peak lay precisely in these recordings before him.

The idea that Zero was a fake was simply unbelievable to the Galactic Warrior who had been involved from the very beginning. After all, he possessed substantial evidence. If he were to release this evidence, Cold Flame would be instantly disgraced, and he would become a true hero for upholding the truth despite the powerful. A hero who would adhere to the principles of justice even if the opponent was Zero! Undoubtedly, he would become a new, iconic hero, gaining unprecedented fame.

Chapter 42 Epilogue

Of course, the Metroid didn't really care about Zero's revenge. After all, in the Metroid's view, Zero was now powerless. It was precisely because Zero had lost his power that he dared to do what he did.

"Looks like it's time I started preparing for a big live stream." The Galactic Warrior mused as he prepared for the broadcast, flipping through the computer in his room. Soon he would become a true hero, fearless in the face of darkness, dedicated to exposing the sordid truth. As for Cold Flame and the others? Their own troubles would be more than enough for them by then. And while he became the most righteous figure in the public eye, they still wouldn't be able to do anything to him.

With that in mind, the Galactic Warrior began preparing for his speech that evening. However, to his surprise, just as he was about to start the live broadcast, someone knocked on his door.

Before the Galactic Warrior could react, a massive fiery explosion blasted his door to smithereens, and a figure engulfed in flames walked in. Without a word, he charged straight at the Galactic Warrior.

However, before he could reach the Galactic Warrior, he was pulled to the wall by a strong force.

"Mr. Flame, an S-class criminal?" Looking at the person in front of him, the Galactic Warrior couldn't help but sneer: "Do you really think that with your S-class strength, you can defeat me, an SS-class hero? Although I don't know why you are in my house, it's perfect, I can use you as the opening of my speech."

As the Galactic Warrior spoke, an energy blast hurtled towards him at incredible speed. However, just as the bullet was about to strike, the Galactic Warrior vanished instantly due to a powerful galactic shift.

On a distant building, the sniper was stunned by what he saw. But the next second, he was already flying towards the Metroid's room. As he smashed through the glass and flew in, his body flew uncontrollably towards Mr. Flame inside.

The two of them were actually sucked together.

Mr. Flame, who was originally preparing to unleash his power, was temporarily unable to use it, since he could not harm his companions.

"It seems you've underestimated me," the Galactic Warrior said with a smile to the two criminals before him. "I don't know why you S-class criminals attacked me! But I'm an SS-class hero, how could I be so easily defeated by you!"

The moment he spoke, an arm suddenly slammed into the wall where the Galactic Warrior was standing, and a punch came hurtling towards him. A very strong man attacked the Galactic Warrior in that instant, but before his fist could hit him, the Galactic Warrior was sent crashing headfirst into the ceiling.

The moment the Galactic warrior spotted the person, he altered the gravity beneath that person's feet, causing the person to 'fall' upwards.

As the man struggled to his feet on the ceiling, gravity shifted once more, returning to its original state. He fell back to the ground, and then gravity shifted again, sending the strong man crashing into the opposite wall.

At that moment, a series of energy blasts were fired at the Galactic Warrior.

By altering its own gravity, the Galactic Warrior achieved a remarkably high speed for a time. In the distance, a man with mechanical arms was firing energy blasts from his arms at the Galactic Warrior. For a moment, explosions filled the building.

The Galactic Warrior, also displeased, extended his hand towards the man before him. Instantly, a chaotic gravitational turbulence appeared at the man's arm. Before the man could react, his mechanical arm had already bent and destroyed.

Although it seems incredibly flamboyant, everyone seems to have forgotten that the Metroid's abilities are actually not as weak as they appear.

Just as the Galactic Warrior was about to make his move, the strong man, who had been immobilized by gravity, forcefully grabbed the wall with one arm. As the wall collapsed, he propelled himself towards the Galactic Warrior, delivering a punch with terrifying power straight at the Warrior's face.