Heroes Return

In an instant, Lin Jie's figure disappeared from everyone's sight once again.

……

Looking at the two girls in front of him in the city's underground sewers, Lin Jie asked with some helplessness, "Speaking of which, why did you two get involved in this kind of thing?"

“Kuhuhu, of course it’s because it’s fun! Playing games with Mr. Zero is really interesting!” Alice said, a charming smile on her face. “And I also want to confirm some things.”

"Prove something? What do you want to prove?"

"I think I won the last battle, right?" Alice suddenly said to Lin Jie, "But I didn't feel any sense of victory at all! I didn't even feel the joy of victory! It was more like a feeling of defeat than a feeling of victory! But logically, I should be celebrating my victory."

"Last time? It was obvious you won! I can't believe you managed to come up with a plan to defeat me." Hearing Alice's words, Lin Jie readily admitted defeat: "So don't think about it anymore, you won last time."

"No, I don't think so! After all, I didn't feel any joy in winning! So I don't think I won last time!"

Ming frankly told Lin Jie the number of people, but Alice seemed unwilling to admit it.

"There's no sense of victory." Delis, who was controlling the dead to entangle Lin Jie, chimed in, "I can't feel any victory at all."

"But didn't you win? So let me go. And even if you do think you didn't win, why would you have this illusion when you clearly saw my power being drained?" Lin Jie couldn't help but ask, listening to the two sisters' words.

"It's a girl's intuition!"

"Hey! Is it really okay to rely on intuition alone? You're being too arbitrary."

“Kuhuhu, a woman’s intuition isn’t just some arbitrary thing! You know, women’s intuition has always been very accurate!” Alice said to Lin Jie with a smile. “Besides, I’m actually very curious, have you really completely lost your power? I’m so curious! Why do I feel like you haven’t lost your power?”

"Hey, if I hadn't lost my power, you wouldn't have tied me up with those man-eating plants, would you?" Hearing Alice's words, he instantly felt a sense of foreboding.

"Really?" Hearing Lin Jie's words, Dai Lisi also came to Lin Jie's side, tilting her head and looking at Lin Jie with a look full of doubt: "But a woman's intuition is very accurate."

"Hey, hey, you still look like a little girl! You can't even be considered a woman, can you?"

"Kuhuhu, since you're unwilling to admit it, I don't really care!" Alice laughed again at Lin Jie's reaction. "The more you explain it like that, the more curious I become! Kuhuhu, but it's not difficult to test whether you still have that power! Just wait until you're in a very dangerous position! I'm really looking forward to it! Will you die, or will you unleash your powerful strength?"

"I'm telling you, is this kind of experiment really okay? It's completely pointless, isn't it? Are you planning to cause someone's death?" Lin Jie's face showed a shocked expression upon hearing Alice's words.

Although it's unclear what Alice's true intentions are, it's obvious that she's not thinking anything good. But given the circumstances, Lin Jie has no choice but to continue towards the sewers with Alice's help.

"By the way, where are you planning to take me next?! Why are you so familiar with navigating the sewers?!"

"Before coming to H City, I just studied the underground routes of H City out of boredom. Isn't that a normal thing?"

"No normal person would research this, right? You're not some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!"

“Kuhuhu, we’re definitely not the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! But we might consider setting up a base here like they do!” Alice said, glancing at the electronic map in her hand. “Let me think, how will they find me next? They’ll probably follow the sewers, right? Well then, let’s go up from here! Kuhuhu. Speaking of which, I’ve already left clues along the way, so let’s put all the clues here!”

As Alice spoke, she climbed up the top of the sewer.

"Oh, and don't close the manhole cover later! You know we're being hunted by clever people! And clever people love to be so clever! Such obvious traces of carelessness will only make them suspicious!"

After giving these instructions, Alice led the way up the manhole cover. When Lin Jie was helped up, he realized that they had somehow ended up in the no-man's-land of H City.

Although there are buildings and houses all around, there is no one living there. The whole place feels like a ghost town.

"Huh? H City still has this place? Speaking of which, where did all the residents go?" Looking at the scene before him, Lin Jie couldn't help but look at Alice beside him with some doubt.

“Kuhuhu, who knows? It seems like no one has lived here since I arrived in H City! It feels like a haunted area!” Alice said to Lin Jie with a smile. “But don’t worry, nobody here seems to be afraid of ghosts.”

"I'm not afraid of ghosts, but why has this place become like this? I don't remember there being an area like this in the city. That's impossible! I've lived here for so long, I should know this, right?"

“Kuhuhu, H City is quite large, it’s not surprising that you haven’t explored it all, is it?” Alice didn’t seem to care much when she heard Lin Jie’s words: “Besides, I heard you’ve been staying at home for a long time! Actually, the rumors here started after you started staying at home! It’s just that after a while, no one mentioned it anymore. But that’s fine, because it’s a no-man’s land, it’s more convenient for us to do anything.”

Alice spoke almost word by word until the very end.

Before Lin Jie could react, Dai Lisi had already controlled the carnivorous plants to lead Lin Jie toward one of the houses that looked relatively clean.

Have you tidied up this place?

"Of course not! Why would we be so bored as to clean this place? We chose this house simply because it's relatively clean." Alice answered Lin Jie's question directly.

Upon hearing Alice's words, Lin Jie couldn't help but feel a strange sensation.

Although this eerie feeling disappeared after Lin Jie entered the house, he found a mail package in the trash can next to the house, with the address 'Thirteen' on it.

No wonder no one lives here! So Thirteen has been living here all along? Before he moved to the Sea Clan's side?

Chapter nine

Looking at the room's furnishings, Lin Jie couldn't help but sigh. Just a few months ago, Thirteen was still living here; he hadn't expected him to move out now. Thinking about it, it seemed like a lot had happened in the past year.

"Kuhuhu, although I don't know whose room this is, it's perfect to borrow it." Looking at Lin Jie, Alice suddenly sneered: "Then, let me see if your power has really disappeared."

Upon hearing Alice's words, Lin Jie's face once again showed a sense of foreboding.

Right in front of Lin Jie, Dai Lisi produced a potted plant without anyone noticing. She poured a strange green nutrient solution into the pot. Immediately afterward, the plant in the pot began to grow at a visible rate.

"Kuhuhu, if you don't resist, your body will be gradually corroded away by these plants! But if you resist, it means you still have the ability to fight!" Alice's face showed excitement as she watched the plants grow. "Then, let me see! Have you really lost your power?"

"Hey! You're going to kill someone if you do this!! I've really lost my power! You're going to kill someone!!" Hearing the other person's words, Lin Jie finally couldn't help but shout loudly at Alice.

"Wouldn't that be even better? I'd love to see Zero's demise!" Alice's face lit up with excitement once again in response to Lin Jie's shout. "If I could really kill you, wouldn't that be an achievement? I'd love to take you down!"

"I thought you weren't affected by Ivan as much anymore! Why do you still have this thought?"

"Because we're destined to never be good people." Alice's smile remained beautiful, but her gaze was enough to send chills down one's spine. "Although we helped the World Government and the Hero Association in previous battles, we can never join them. In the end, we're just criminals who have done a lot of bad things, and since we're criminals, killing Zero must be the highest achievement in the criminal world, right?"

"You are you! Ivan is Ivan! Don't put yourselves in Ivan's shoes!"

“No, that’s not part of my mind! This is the will of us sisters.” As Alice finished speaking, the vines began to spread unhappily towards Lin Jie. However, just as the vines were about to reach Lin Jie and wrap around his legs, Alice’s expression changed once again. At the same time as Alice’s expression changed, the huge sound of a giant bell rang out outside Alice’s room.

"Alert! An accident during the battle in City H resulted in the release of an experimental mechanical creature. Its reaction mechanism is currently unstable, and we need someone to handle it immediately." An emergency notification sounded from Lin Jie's hero badge.

Immediately afterwards, another voice rang out.

"Figure it out yourselves! We're out of options! The battle here has affected too much area. We're currently trying to deal with the disaster, and thankfully there have been no casualties."

"Why would it be just one woman fighting? Speaking of which, one of the fighters is an SS-class hero, right?"

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" (Only continuous explosions came through the communicator.)

Just outside Alice and the others' house, a half-biological, half-mechanical humanoid monster was wandering in the no-man's-land, searching for its prey. But as this monster approached Thirteen's house, its gaze fell upon the interior.

Using his electronic eye equipped with a detector, he could clearly see the presence of two human women in the room. As a hungry cyborg, he still felt hunger, and now, the two girls in the room were the perfect lunch.

As for Lin Jie in the room? Sorry, the mechanical sensors on the creature did not detect his presence at all.

Before the two girls in the room could make a move, the monster slammed its enormous hand down on the wall.

Right in front of Lin Jie in the room, a gigantic monster's hand smashed one of the walls of the house to pieces. Immediately afterward, another gigantic hand reached out and grabbed Alice.

However, at the same time, the plants wrapped around Lin Jie also began to coil around the monster's hand. In an instant, they had entangled the monster's arm. Without a word, the sisters Alice and Delis rushed out of the room. Just then, the monster's angry roar echoed from outside. Completely ignoring the corrosive liquid on the plant vines, the monster abruptly raised its arm.

In an instant, the arm, equipped with mechanical parts, violently swung upwards towards the ceiling. This time, the ceiling of the Thirteenth family was completely destroyed. Fortunately, Thirteen had already moved to the Sea Clan; otherwise, he'd probably be crying right now.

Looking at the ceiling of thirteen expense reports, Lin Jie's expression turned serious. It was at this moment that Lin Jie noticed the Alice sisters outside; they were actually fighting the enormous monster before them. However, it was clear that Alice's chainsaw was completely ineffective against the monster.

After the chainsaw destroyed what appeared to be the monster's head—its feet—the internal metal skeleton proved to be far beyond the chainsaw's ability to penetrate. Meanwhile, a large number of vines extended from behind Delis, all wrapping around the monster in front of Lin Jie.

But then, right in front of Lin Jie, an astonishing heat wave began to emanate from the monster's mouth. Immediately afterward, a burst of flames shot out from the monster's mouth, burning away the vines on its body while simultaneously engulfing Delis once again.

The little girl in front of him clearly had no way to escape. It seemed that she would be turned to ashes by the flames in the next second.

It was at this moment that Lin Jie, who had been sitting in the room, finally disappeared. When Lin Jie reappeared, he was already beside Dai Lisi, with one hand wrapped around her waist.

On the other side, the flames suddenly went out just as they were about to reach Lin Jie. It was as if the fuel had run out or something else. The previously fierce flames were now unable to get close to Lin Jie, and all the flames that had advanced to Lin Jie went out directly. The scene looked very strange for a moment.

Seeing that the flames couldn't harm the suddenly appearing person, the monster turned its head directly towards Alice. The flames once again swept towards Alice.

However, Lin Jie's figure vanished again, along with Alice, who was standing at the monster's feet. When he reappeared, the three of them were on the rooftop of a building not far away. Lin Jie was now standing on the rooftop, with a girl on one side of him.

"Kuhuhu, you said you'd lost your power, but now it seems you've been exposed." Right next to Lin Jie, Alice showed no panic, but instead laughed excitedly.

"Hey! Do you know how dangerous that was just now?"

“I know! After all, we were the ones who released that monster.” Alice said to Lin Jie after hearing his words. At the same time, she and Delis got off Lin Jie. “But we can’t get you to expose yourself without doing something dangerous!”

"..." Upon hearing the other party's words, Lin Jie's gaze immediately turned to Alice beside him: "Alright, now that you've realized it, then from now on, don't gamble with your lives like this again! If I really lose my power, both of you will be in mortal danger!"

"So what?" Alice's face still held a malicious smile after hearing Lin Jie's words: "We are ultimately just copies of Ivan. From the moment we were brainwashed and implanted with his memories, we have been your enemies, haven't we? As enemies, isn't it normal to test each other's strengths and weaknesses? Especially with Zero's power? Besides, it seems like you won't lose anything if we lose the bet and are killed! It's just losing two enemies."

“Zero is no longer the strongest, and we have no reason to live,” Delis added from the side.

"Forget it, I've never considered you enemies. You yourselves know you've just been implanted with false memories by Ivan. So you're not Ivan at all, are you? And the reason you live isn't to kill me, is it? That's just Ivan's desire." Hearing Alice and Delis's words, Lin Jie suddenly extended his hand to them: "If you're willing, I'd prefer to be your friend."

"Become friends? Are you going to say that to me before you die?" Alice seemed a little bewildered upon hearing Lin Jie's words. The agent, whose name was next to Lin Jie's, immediately hid behind a water tank, crouching down with his head in his hands: "Zero! Do you want to be friends with me?"

"Is there any reason not to?" Hearing Alice's words, Lin Jie suddenly smiled and said, "By the way, didn't you want to play games with me? I can continue to play games with you guys in the future! As long as you agree to two conditions."

"Kuhuhu, want to continue playing the game? This is really fun! So, what condition do you want me to grant you?"

"First, do it without committing a crime. Second, don't let yourself get hurt again."

"..."

"If you enjoy challenges, wouldn't this be more suitable?"

"Kuhuhu, the game we're playing might very well be named after you!"

"There are plenty of people in the world who want me dead, so what difference does it make if I have a couple more lovely girls? As long as you agree to these two things, I'm available anytime."

"Wow, this development really caught me off guard!" Hearing Lin Jie's words, Alice's expression became somewhat conflicted, but she finally said, "Okay, I promise you! But you have to play with us anytime we want! And even if we kill you in the game, don't regret it!"

"Of course, as long as I'm alive, I'll keep you company." As Lin Jie spoke, he grabbed the fist of the monster that was reaching out from not far away. The huge fist lost all its power when it touched Lin Jie's palm.

chapter Ten

A cyborg-like life form, several stories tall, strangely moved a step after Lin Jie's hand grasped it. No matter how hard the monster tried, it couldn't move Lin Jie an inch; it couldn't even muster the strength to lift Lin Jie.

He was such a tiny human being, yet he seemed to possess an immeasurable weight, impossible to lift. The ground beneath the monster's feet had cracked from the force he exerted, but Lin Jie remained unscathed in his position.

"Before I tell you all this, let's solve this first." Lin Jie turned to Alice and the Deli sisters and said this, then grabbed the monster's finger.

The monster was lifted up by Lin Jie with one hand, as if it were floating on air.

Indeed, Lin Jie merely raised his hand, and the monster was sent flying into the air by his power. Before the monster could react, Lin Jie flicked his hand to the side. The enormous figure was simply flung away.

Even more bizarrely, despite the monster's immense weight, not a single plaster tile fell from the building beneath Lin Jie's feet. It was as if Newton's coffin lid had been flung away along with the monster by Lin Jie. Moreover, given Lin Jie's height, even raising his arm shouldn't have been enough to throw such a towering monster so high. After all, the monster's arm's height alone would have exceeded Lin Jie's arm's length.

However, based on this series of illogical imaginings, the monster actually flew into the sky. It was even sent flying dozens of meters away.

Lin Jie then jumped down from the building and walked towards the monster.

This time, the monster's electronic eyes finally confirmed Lin Jie's location, and dozens of missiles were fired from behind the monster, flying towards Lin Jie at the same time.