Heroes Return

"Why not? Since they've brought trouble, why not just kill them?" As if stating something perfectly natural, Lu Xian calmly said, "If you find it troublesome, just kill them all. I can help you."

"I already said it, no need! So let's just forget about it!! They're all my good friends, after all. I wouldn't kill them. Speaking of which, what era are we living in? How can you still be so bloodthirsty!"

"I am ultimately a sword used to kill." Faced with Lin Jie's question, Lu Xian simply gave a calm answer.

It was during Lin Jie and Lu Xian's conversation that the battle intensified. The entire city of H was shaken by this force, and there was even a faint indication that an earthquake was about to erupt.

"No! We must find a way to stop them quickly!" Lin Jie couldn't help but say, looking at the scene before him.

"If it's inconvenient for you to take action, then leave it to me." Lu Xian's voice rang out once again, and almost simultaneously, Lu Xian's figure appeared in the air.

"Don't kill people indiscriminately!!!" Seeing the appearance of the Immortal Slayer did not make Lin Jie feel saved; instead, it gave him a feeling that things were about to get worse.

As if to fulfill Lin Jie's words, Lu Xian slashed his sword down at Solomon. The blood-red sword light pierced through the entire world at that moment, but the sword was blocked midway by a massive magic array.

For a moment, Solomon, Tristana, and Lu Xian, three beautiful girls, stood facing each other from three different directions, a storm about to erupt across the city. However, Lin Jie, at the heart of this tempest, made a difficult decision upon witnessing the three girls' attack. He decided to run away… That's right, Lin Jie used the opportunity of the three most powerful girls' battle to escape. This might be the only time that Zero, the world's strongest hero, has chosen to flee in the face of crisis.

……

"So, this is your reason for hiding here? Letting those girls fight in the city? You know, it's already caused a huge uproar at the Hero Association. SS seems to have been alerted and is rushing over here." Putting down the experimental equipment in his hand, Xiao Zhan asked Lin Jie helplessly.

"I never thought I'd be in such a sorry state."

"Tch! You really have a problem that makes people jealous! Go to hell, you social butterfly!" Upon hearing Lin Jie's words, Xiao Zhan decisively revealed a contemptuous expression.

Right after Lin Jie escaped, he didn't choose any other escape route. Instead, he slipped into Xiao Zhan's building right under the girls' noses. Xiao Zhan didn't think much of Lin Jie's sudden arrival and let him in. But after Xiao Zhan learned the reason Lin Jie had come to his building…

It seems it's too late to regret it now.

"There's no other way, I have to take refuge here for now." Looking at the radiant energy and explosions in the distance, Lin Jie sighed helplessly.

"That's why I hate people like you harem protagonists. You have so many girls who like you, but you're so indecisive and unwilling to make a choice! Actually, if you just choose one of them, everything will be over, right?" Looking at the scenery outside the window, Xiao Zhan thought for a moment and said to Lin Jie.

"If it were you, what would you choose?" Hearing Xiao Zhan's words, Lin Jie couldn't help but retort, "Think about it carefully, no matter which way you choose, it's a life-or-death question, right?"

Upon hearing Lin Jie's words, Xiao Zhan remained noncommittal.

"If it were up to me," Xiao Zhan said, clenching his fist loosely, in his unique voice, "I want them all!!!"

"Isn't that just scum?"

"You know nothing! No matter the era, a harem is always a man's romance, understand? It's precisely because the harem route is so difficult to achieve that the greatest achievement a man can attain is after conquering the immortal realm through harem conquest." Xiao Zhan said earnestly to Lin Jie, "If I had your conditions and opportunities, I would definitely try to start the harem route no matter what!!"

"Hey! Do you think this is a game? You think you can start a harem just by raising the affection level enough?"

"How will you know if you don't try! You're a man, you have a chance to experience a man's romance!" Xiao Zhan said, looking up at the distant sky. "Maybe you can create a unique era once again. You know, once a man is bound to a woman, his life becomes bleak and colorless!"

"Hey! What's with that 'I've been there' tone of voice? You're probably younger than me, aren't you?"

"Age doesn't define everything!" Xiao Zhan's face showed a sad expression: "Sometimes, only through experience can you understand the misery of being bound to a woman. So! Since you have a chance to start over, don't go into the harem ending with such regrets!! Brother!"

"Although what you said sounds tempting, I absolutely have no intention of leaving." Looking into Xiao Zhan's sincere eyes, Lin Jie's expression remained unchanged: "If I go out now, I'm probably going to die."

"Tch! If you don't get out now, I'm probably going to be dead!" Looking at Lin Jie, Xiao Zhan couldn't help but say, "You know, my building was just rebuilt!! I don't want it to be demolished because of this! Ever since my wallet was taken over, Bu Feiwu has been cutting off my allowance. Now I only have a few million left. If there's another problem with the building, there's no way to rebuild it!!"

"What you say seems to make sense. But I refuse! I've decided to stay here until I calm down!"

"There's no other way. Since you insist on hiding, why don't we ask Brother Glasses for help? Think about it carefully, Brother Glasses' abilities should be more than enough to help you hide." Seeing Lin Jie's determined expression, President Han Xia directly proposed the second solution.

This second plan is actually a pretty good idea. Using Glasses Guy's abilities, Lin Jie could run away and hide all over the world. That way, Lin Jie wouldn't have to face these girls.

The two of them thought about it more and more and felt that this method was more effective, so they simply dialed the glasses guy's number.

"Um... you guys were looking for me?" The bespectacled man's puzzled voice came from the other end of the communication line to Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan.

"No time to explain, come to Xiao Zhan's house right now. I need help! It's an emergency!" Looking at the man with glasses, Lin Jie said seriously.

"Are you really coming today?" To Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan's surprise, the bespectacled man hesitated. But then, right in front of them, he suddenly changed his mind: "Um, I understand! I'll use my abilities to come right now!"

After saying these words, before the bewildered Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan could react, the bespectacled man's figure had already appeared on the glass of Xiao Zhan's window.

Gradually, the figures became real, and then two people walked out of the glass.

That's right, two people came out. One of them was naturally the guy with glasses, but to Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan's surprise, another person followed them. This explained why the guy with glasses spoke so strangely over the communicator. He had been coerced. As for why he was coerced, a blood-red spear as tall as a person was pressed against his neck. How could it not be coercion?

"Holy crap! Anya? What are you doing?" Lin Jie couldn't help but ask, looking at Anya who had taken the bespectacled man hostage.

"Of course, it's to find you! And then protect you properly!" Anya gave Lin Jie a sweet smile: "Don't worry, I won't let anyone else hurt you! Even if you lose your power, I still won't abandon you. In fact, it feels even better to see you lose your power and need me to take care of you! Ahh! Just thinking about it makes me excited! Taking care of your life every day! It's okay, even if you lose your power, you just need to continue living like a useless person! I'll take care of everything for you!"

As she spoke, Anya's face flushed with excitement: "I'm sorry, Mr. Xiao Zhan, it seems I'll be bothering you for a while. Do you mind if I spend some time alone with Lin Jie? This really is a perfect hiding spot!"

“No problem, you can stay here as long as you want! I’ll make room for you right away!” Seeing the faint red power emanating from Anya’s back, Xiao Zhan decisively left the room…

Chapter VII

Seeing the dire situation before him, Xiao Zhan ultimately chose the safest option: to leave immediately. Although he sympathized with Lin Jie, adhering to the principle of "better to sacrifice a friend than oneself," Xiao Zhan obediently left.

"I hope you two get along well." Before leaving, Xiao Zhan said sincerely to Lin Jie.

"Damn it! You ungrateful bastard!" Lin Jie couldn't help but exclaim as he watched Xiao Zhan leave the building. But at that moment, his arm was already wrapped around Anya's.

"Luckily I ran fast. Hopefully, this building will be enough for them to mess with." As he retreated, Xiao Zhan breathed a sigh of relief. However, just as Xiao Zhan was about to leave, a voice rang out from behind him.

"I heard you really want to have a harem!" Bu Feiwu's smiling voice reached Xiao Zhan's ears at this moment, and similarly, Xiao Zhan's body involuntarily hardened after hearing this voice.

Before Xiao Zhan could turn around and explain anything, Bu Feiwu's voice rang out again: "Oh right, I almost forgot, it seems that living alone with me is a very sad thing! I'm sorry to have made you suffer, Mr. Xiao Zhan."

"Oh, it's nothing really. Look at me, I'm doing just fine, aren't I? Hahaha!" Turning around in horror to look at the people behind him, Xiao Zhan's face had turned pale. However, to Xiao Zhan's surprise, Bu Feiwu was followed by more than a dozen elderly women for some reason.

"Since you're so eager to have a harem and don't want to be tied down by a woman, I can actually fulfill your wish." Bu Feiwu said, turning to look behind her. "These are all women I've carefully selected, all unmarried and of good character. I'm sure they can satisfy your harem needs, right?"

"Um, I was just joking, you didn't have to be so ruthless..." Hearing Bu Feiwu's words, Xiao Zhan broke out in a cold sweat. What a joke! The combined age of people in this world must be at least eight hundred, if not a thousand! The youngest could be his mother's generation!! If he accepted this, he'd be finished. It was obvious Bu Feiwu was messing with him.

However, as a man who has experienced a lot, Xiao Zhan is not one to panic so easily. After the initial panic, Xiao Zhan decisively changed his expression and looked at Bu Feiwu seriously...

At this moment, in the room, Anya smiled and looked at Lin Jie: "Lord Lin Jie, I'm sorry to be bothering you like this, but I can't allow you to be taken away by those women so noblely, so please forgive me. I will stay here with you for the rest of the time! Even if you don't want to, I will stay by your side."

“Anya, haven’t I already told you? I’m not a god. So please stop worshipping me!” Looking at Anya’s expression, Lin Jie sighed helplessly: “I don’t think this is a good thing! I think I should have said that I hope we can get along like ordinary people, not like this.”

“Yes! But I really don’t know what method to use.” Anya thought for a moment, then shook her head and said to Lin Jie, “Speaking of which, it seems that the first time I met Lord Lin Jie, my faith was destroyed by Lord Zero! At that time, as a follower of the evil god, I was raised from childhood to believe that the evil god was the most powerful and orthodox being in the world. Until you appeared, everything changed. Our faith was easily destroyed! At that time, it felt to me as if the world had been destroyed!”

"I'm truly sorry to destroy your faith," Lin Jie said, scratching his head helplessly. Perhaps for Anya and the other cultists at the time, it was their lifelong faith, but to Lin Jie, they were undeniably evil, beings that needed to be eliminated. Terrorism, human sacrifice, religious rule—that was the kind of existence Lin Jie witnessed back then.

"I'm a little sorry, but I won't apologize. After all, I don't believe the cult you were born into is right!"

“Of course I don’t need your apology! On the contrary, I need to thank you! A lot of things happened that you don’t know about! After you left, that cult was destroyed by the World Government, and most of the key members seemed to have been put on trial. But because I was very young and had been forced to live in that kind of space since I was a child, I was unexpectedly forgiven! I was even sent to the special ability user control department by Lin Jie.” Anya said, looking at the city outside the glass: “It was around that time that I learned what a city is, and that there are heroes in the world. I learned that the hero who defeated the strongest being we believe in is named Zero. And then I collected a lot of information about your deeds!”

"So that's what happened? Come to think of it, I was just focused on defeating what I perceived as evil back then, and I never paid any attention to the cleanup!" Lin Jie sighed upon hearing Anya's words.

“So I don’t resent you at all. On the contrary, I am more grateful to you for bringing me a different life.” Anya said, her gaze returning to Lin Jie once again: “Without you, I might have missed many wonderful things. To me, you are like a savior.”

"You'll make me feel embarrassed if you say that."

“So please let me stay by your side! Being able to stay with the person who saved my life is the happiness I’ve been longing for. No matter how many people are around you, I don’t care, as long as I can stay by your side!” Anya said, looking earnestly at Lin Jie: “I’m sorry for being so willful.”

"..." Hearing Anya's words and looking at the girl with her back to the city, Lin Jie was somewhat surprised. This was the first time he had heard Anya talk about her past. Actually, Lin Jie had never understood why Anya, after leaving the cult, still chose to see him as her hope, yet she had made him her new faith. But today, Lin Jie seemed to understand something: it was precisely because of what he had done as a hero that her life had changed.

"But your savior has lost his power! Even so, do you still intend to treat me as your savior?"

“What does it have to do with the amount of power?” Hearing Lin Jie’s words, Anya’s face once again revealed a strange smile: “Do you really think I care about how strong you are now? Rather, wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t have any power right now? That way I could keep you by my side forever.”

"..." As Anya's words became increasingly strange, a strange expression gradually appeared on Lin Jie's face: "Well, I think it's better if we get along like normal people! You know, I don't want you to treat me like a god or anything!"

"Is that so? I understand! Now that I've said it all, I won't worship you like a god anymore. I'll treat you as an important person!" Anya said, moving closer to Lin Jie once more. "You know, gods are always high above and inviolable, but since you're human, things seem different! Ah! We finally have a chance to be alone together, it's wonderful! There are some things I've been dreaming of doing for a long time!"

"Uh, wait! What are you doing?!" Seeing Anya getting closer and closer, Lin Jie started backing away.

"It's nothing that will cause you pain!" Anya said with a smile, then continued to approach Lin Jie. When Lin Jie retreated to the corner, Anya finally closed in on him.

However, nothing that would have made her blush or have her heart race happened. Anya simply nestled on Lin Jie's lap like a cat and fell asleep. It seemed that resting her head on Lin Jie's lap was a very comfortable feeling.

"Hmm? This... isn't it reversed? Shouldn't it be the girl with the guy's lap pillow or something?" He casually patted Anya's head, then looked back at the city outside the window. His gaze then met that of another girl.

Solomon was watching Lin Jie's actions coldly at that moment.

Before Lin Jie could react, the glass in the window had already disappeared under Solomon's touch.

"Shouldn't you be fighting?" Looking at the ongoing battle in the city outside the window, Lin Jie couldn't help but show a puzzled expression.

"A clone! You can create clones using magic." Solomon didn't hide anything from Lin Jie at this point: "Speaking of which, you seem to be quite comfortable right now! While we were fighting tooth and nail for you, you were having a great time! Lin Jie, no, I should say, the great hero of humanity, Zero!"

"That's actually..."

"That's right! We're having a great time right now! Don't bother me! You devil!" Just as Lin Jie was about to say something, Anya suddenly looked up at him and said, "What a clueless woman! Why did you have to bother us at a time like this?!"

"I'm sorry! Demons never read the room." As he spoke, magical fluctuations echoed around Xiao Zhan's building, and almost simultaneously, all the windows shattered! Not only that, the entire building shook violently. Accompanied by an alarm blaring, the walls of Xiao Zhan's building began to crack continuously.

At the same time, several enormous blood-red spears suddenly appeared in the surrounding space beside Anya. However, what was striking was that one of the spears was the color of colorless glass.

Without any hesitation, all the spears shot straight at Lin Jie Solomon.

Faced with these spears, Solomon merely sneered: "What use is your power to me?"

As he spoke, a black energy explosion erupted within the building, and Xiao Zhan's rooftop vanished. A long spear, seemingly made of glass, pierced through the explosion and aimed directly at Solomon, but was caught firmly by Solomon's single hand in the next instant.

Faced with Solomon's overwhelming power, Anya was ultimately a bit too weak.

But just as they were looking at each other, a vine suddenly stretched out from downstairs and wrapped itself around Lin Jie.

chapter eight

If all things have a spirit, then the spirit of Xiao Zhan's building must be weeping right now. The reason for its weeping is quite simple. Heaven knows how many times it has been vandalized in just over a year. This building has undergone several renovations in that short period.

This time, Xiao Zhan's building was undoubtedly destroyed again, along with many of his personal collections!

As for compensation, Xiao Zhan had never even considered it. What a joke! Who is Solomon? He's a super being recorded in the world's mythological system. And Anya? Given Xiao Zhan's personality, he wouldn't dare ask Anya for any compensation.

Just as the building exploded, Xiao Zhan skillfully pinned Bu Feiwu against a wall. The wall then cracked open, and the ceiling above their heads vanished. A series of explosions followed. The people in the building seemed unfazed by the explosions; the moment the alarm sounded, everyone rushed out through the emergency exits.

"That Lin Jie guy, he's definitely trying to get revenge on me!!" Seeing the scene before him, Xiao Zhan couldn't help but exclaim. However, his movements were not fast; he picked up Qi Feiwu and immediately activated the anti-gravity shoes beneath his feet, and the two of them flew directly into the sky.

At that moment, a vine suddenly broke through the reinforced concrete floor beneath Lin Jie's feet and wrapped around his leg. Before Lin Jie could react, it had already dragged him down the building.

"Hehe, I didn't expect someone would actually come looking for trouble here!" Solomon sneered as he looked at the vines that had stretched out of the ground and carried Lin Jie away.

"Kuhuhu, I need to take this person with me for a while!" Alice's voice rang out at that moment. Almost simultaneously, the city's giant screen began displaying images of Solomon's supposed location.

Before Solomon could react, a crimson sword light slashed straight towards them from the other side of the city. Facing this powerful and incredibly fast strike, Solomon simply raised his magic book with one hand. A massive amount of black power erupted from the book, indicating that it had collided with the crimson sword light.

As red and black explosions rose into the sky above H City, Lin Jie had already vanished into the building. When Solomon turned back to look at the building again, both Alice and Lin Jie had disappeared. Angela, meanwhile, was pinned to the ground and unable to move due to Solomon's magic.

Upon discovering that Solomon was also near the building, Alice used some means to notify Chrollo and Tristy, who were fighting Solomon's clone.

What surprised Solomon most was that she should have secretly placed the final spell on Lin Jie. However, almost all the magic applied to Lin Jie had failed. Solomon hadn't expected her powerful magic to lose its effect on Lin Jie, especially without any deliberate interference.