Heroes Return

Ignoring the conversation on the other side, Ren Xiaojie couldn't help but look at the cruise ship slowly approaching in the distance.

"A new supernova battle? I really want to see it! There must be a lot of amazing supernovas emerging!" Ren Xiaojie said excitedly. "I never thought I would have the opportunity to participate in such a competition in person this time."

The Rising Star Ranking at Hero Island is quite famous. Every year, Hero Island holds a Rising Star Ranking Battle to determine the students' performance rankings, and this battle is broadcast worldwide. Consequently, the top ten freshmen naturally receive more social attention and even have the opportunity to become famous early on.

After all, this is an era where heroes are made into celebrities, and almost all famous heroes are given a celebrity-like makeover.

Of course, Ren Xiaojie himself also really likes this competition. He watches these two competitions, the Rising Star Ranking Competition and the Academy Ranking Competition, almost every year! It can be said that he knows the information of the winners from the previous competitions by heart.

Just as Ren Xiaojie was excitedly anticipating the start of the freshman ranking battle and how to take photos on site, the huge cruise ship had already arrived in front of the freshmen of Hero Island.

Side Story (4)

"I never expected to see so many old classmates today." In the top deck bridge of the cruise ship, several adults who looked to be in their twenties were chatting. Their gazes almost simultaneously turned to the new students not far away. One of the smiling women spoke first.

"Old classmates? There are quite a few here! I didn't expect that we would all be team leaders this time." A boy dressed as a mage said to them with a smile, "In that case, we'll probably be competitors from now on."

"Heh, everyone else has advanced to SS rank!" A girl with a giant wrench on her back sneered at the man in the magic robe. "The rest of you are all trash. You'd better work harder, you're already far behind."

"You yourself are an S-rank too!" the man in the magic robe said coldly.

"I'm different from you guys! I'm from the technical development department. Technical personnel don't need any kind of ranking system," he said confidently.

"Tch, your sister was already SS-level when she was your age, wasn't she?" The man in the long robe beside him sneered. "Speaking of which, it seems that the highest achievement in your scientific community this year will be awarded to a dog! Hahahaha! The highest achievement in academia is a dog! They're all finished, aren't they?"

The next second, the man in black robes was knocked to the ground by a wrench...

"Um, I want us all to be classmates, so let's not fight," a man who didn't look like an adult said weakly.

"Speaking of which, it's quite surprising that you didn't become an SS-class hero." Looking at the weak-looking boy, a disgruntled man suddenly walked over and said to him, "You bastard! Were you slacking off? Although you look like a coward, you should be very capable, right? Believe me or not, I'll chop you into eight pieces right now."

"Alright, stop talking about him. Aren't you the same?" The girl who had been smiling earlier stepped forward and said, "He became like this because he drank during a mission, which affected his heroic image. As for you, you didn't become an SS-rank either, did you?"

"Tch! Don't fucking compare me to you guys! If I hadn't attacked the rating team, I'd be SS-rank by now!" The man said, glancing out the window. "A bunch of brats! Just throw them all on Death Island for a few months."

"So you don't use your brain when you do things? That could kill people!" the wrench woman said seriously to him.

"Didn't we get here the same way?" the arrogant man sneered. But the next second, his expression froze. Because among the students, he saw someone who had once left a shadow on him: "Holy crap! What's she doing here? If she wants to level up, she should just become a pro hero."

Hearing his words, the other students also looked out the window. Only one man with red hair and a muscular physique was looking absentmindedly at the coastline on the other side, not listening to what they were saying at all.

The remaining few people almost simultaneously focused their gaze on a cute girl who looked harmless and even a little naive.

"Let me make this clear first, this person definitely doesn't have any mechanical skills, so I don't want him," the wrench woman said first. "You guys figure it out yourselves. They've put us in charge of accepting students from Zone C, but that's clearly not my responsibility."

"She doesn't look like she's cut out for magic," the long-robed man said calmly. "So you guys figure something out."

"I don't want to." Although the smiling woman had a smile on her face, the aura around her suddenly turned cold, and the light in the entire room seemed to bend involuntarily.

“But it’s the teacher’s sister.” The boy-looking man pulled out a bottle of vodka from somewhere. “We can’t let other teachers take over, can we? So, one of us has to take over.”

"Hahahaha! I've got a problem with you guys! Bring it on if you dare!!" The burly man pulled out a chainsaw. The tension in the room instantly escalated.

However, at that very moment, everyone's gaze fell upon a man who was daydreaming and yawning.

"Um, could you please take over this matter?" The woman with the wrench and the smiling woman exchanged a glance. One of them immediately took out a camera, while the other stepped forward and whispered to him.

"Huh? What's wrong?" The man replied instinctively upon hearing their words.

"This is something only you can handle!"

"Huh? Only I can take this on?" Hearing her words, the man finally came to his senses: "What exactly do you mean?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask you for a favor." The smiling woman still had that same smiling expression.

"I understand, I'll help. Just tell me what's wrong. Aren't we old classmates?" The red-haired man said unhappily, "Let me make it clear first, it can't be anything too embarrassing! Heaven knows what you're thinking all day long? Is this another pointless prank?"

"Don't worry, I've grown up and won't play those silly pranks on you anymore. Besides, this is indeed a very important matter." The smiling woman said seriously to the red-haired man, "And this is something that probably only you can handle."

"I understand. Since you've all said so, I'll accept it. What exactly happened?" Hearing their words, the red-haired man finally agreed. Then he noticed a rather adorable, bewildered figure outside the cruise ship: "Holy crap! You guys actually conspired to scam me!!"

As he angrily cursed, he realized the room was empty.

"Hahaha! It's great that that idiot Ward is willing to take it on." The burly man laughed loudly in the corridor.

"Isn't this a bit much? Aren't we going a little too far?" As if he had thought of something, the timid young man finally couldn't help but say.

"Hehe! You guys chat first!" The wrench girl interrupted their conversation at this moment: "I need to go prepare to set up the cruise ship. Let's take this opportunity to see what these students from Zone C are capable of."

……

Ren Xiaojie, of course, had no idea what was about to happen on the cruise ship; at that moment, he was enjoying the luxurious life on the cruise ship.

"Wow, is this what a luxury cruise ship is like? You can order whatever you want! This kind of life is so luxurious." Ren Xiaojie said to Rose beside him while lying on a lounge chair by the pool.

"So this is why you're hanging on to spicy strips and cola, meow?" Rose, now a mechanical cat, lay on Ren Xiaojie's lap, licking the yogurt on the table beside her, and asked.

"Being able to order unlimited spicy snacks and cola, isn't that extravagant enough?" Ren Xiaojie said seriously.

"Maybe, meow." Rose said casually, licking her yogurt as she spoke. Her monotone way of speaking, coupled with a calm meow at the end of each sentence, seemed to have become Rose's standard in her cat form.

"Rose, what do you consider luxury? As a computer, you should be able to find a lot of information about the concept of luxury, right?"

"Luxury, meow? I can drink yogurt without limit, meow~" As she spoke, Rose ran over to a pretty waitress and started rubbing against her leg while meowing continuously.

The waitress was carrying a tray of yogurt at that moment...

Looking at Rose's expression, Ren Xiaojie couldn't help but sigh. But just as he was about to continue enjoying his vacation, a sudden rocking motion from the cruise ship surprised all the students present.

Immediately afterwards, everyone heard a broadcast: "Hello, let me introduce myself. I am Skull. From now on, this is Skull Gang territory. The ship has now reached the open sea, and no one can help you, freshmen of Hero Island! If any of you dare to resist, then your fate will be the same as theirs."

Immediately afterward, the cruise ship's mast rose before everyone's eyes. The captain and other crew members who had previously hosted them were all strapped to the mast after the tremor. Although they didn't know what had happened, they were clearly unconscious. At that moment, Rose instantly transformed into a handyman and snuggled into Ren Xiaojie's arm.

"Furthermore, do not send out distress signals!" As if seeing through what some people on deck were doing, the voice over the loudspeaker suddenly announced, "I have disabled the receivers on the deck and blocked the transmission of external signals. Your distress calls will not receive any response!"

As he spoke, a large group of people wearing skull masks walked over from the deck.

"I advise you not to make any rash moves! You will become our valuable bargaining chips in negotiations with the Hero Association! At least until the negotiations are over, we will not harm you. If you do not resist."

As soon as the broadcast ended, these people immediately aimed their energy cannons at the freshmen in front of them.

What was originally a joyful school cruise ship instantly transformed into a place of life-or-death crisis.

"Hahahaha! Do you think you can stop us with just this few people? We are all the strongest students who started as superheroes!" Just when many students were at a loss, one student stepped forward. While sneering, his whole body seemed to lose weight, and his hair kept floating up.

"Air cannon!" With the boy's shout, a powerful blast of gas shot towards one of the criminals wearing a skull mask. However, to his surprise, the criminal dodged it. Immediately afterward, everyone fired at him simultaneously. Several electric shocks ran through his body, and the boy fell straight to the ground…

Side Story (5)

Looking at the scene on the ship, almost everyone wore an expression of surprise. Clearly, almost everyone who had come here was a well-trained criminal, and it seemed that some of them even possessed superpowers.

“Don’t be afraid! Even if they have that kind of weapon, we’re not necessarily going to lose.” A voice suddenly rang out calmly from the crowd: “They just want us to be afraid.”

"Hmph! Kid, if you're going to speak, then stop beating around the bush." ​​Upon hearing the voice, a masked man immediately pointed his energy gun in a specific direction. And in that direction, a young man was coldly watching them.

Just as the electric gun was fired, an invisible barrier blocked all the current.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you all," the boy said calmly. At that very moment, everyone on the deck began to resist.

A chaotic battle erupted on the deck. What was most surprising was that all of these fighters were superpowered individuals, and their strength was no less than that of the students present. The battle on the deck quickly became extremely difficult.

Of course, the fighting wasn't limited to the decks; similar battles were unfolding in the cruise ship's banquet halls as well. It could be said that the entire cruise ship was in a state of chaotic combat.

Terrorists wearing skull masks and new students are constantly fighting around the cruise ship.

Of course, there was one exception: Lin Mumu. When the criminals told her not to move, she obediently sat there without moving. She was simply enjoying the expensive food on the table, completely unaware of the chaotic scene around her.

"Help me, Mu Mu!" Qingqing shouted, sending someone flying. Then, she grabbed Mu Mu, who was eating, and shook her helplessly.

"But they told us not to move, didn't they? They must be trying to treat us to something nice, right?" Mu Mu couldn't help but say after hearing Qingqing's words.

"I'd never treat you to anything good! They're dangerous criminals!" Qingqing said seriously to Mumu.

"But they seem like nice people." At that moment, several people wearing skull masks were fawning over Mu Mu right next to Qingqing.

"Miss, your Merry-Go-Round Cake is ready."

"This is our special grilled meat, made with the finest premium beef. Please enjoy."

"Would you like black tea or juice? We also have green tea to choose from." Another person said earnestly to Mu Mu, "We've specially prepared a deluxe set meal for you, please enjoy! There will also be a song and dance performance later."

"A deluxe set meal? That's fantastic! I love it." Hearing their words, Mu Mu's face lit up with a happy smile: "I want to see the deluxe set meal, and the food tastes great too."

"Hey, what are you trying to do to our Mu Mu?!" Not far away, Su Jiu's arm stretched out and shot towards the three people in front of him at an extremely fast speed. However, at this moment, he was hit head-on by a punch, and his entire body was instantly shattered.

"Ugh! This is troublesome." The burly man with the skull mask opposite him said helplessly, "What kind of enemy is this? Come to think of it, enemies immune to physical attacks seem to be my nemesis. But wouldn't it be embarrassing if I couldn't take them down?"

Thinking this, the muscular man chased after the wound. Meanwhile, Su Jiu charged directly towards the three men wearing skull masks.

Mu Mu didn't seem to care about any of this, since such chaotic situations often occurred in her home...

After happily taking a bite of cake, Mu Mu's gaze fell on the person whose head was being repeatedly slammed against the table: "Su Jiu, do you want some cake?"

"No—I—will—take—down—the—few—perverts—right—and—protect—you!" The reason he spoke each word so deliberately was because he was almost slammed hard against the table with each syllable. Surprisingly, however, Su Jiu seemed to be like liquid; no matter how his body was deformed, it would always return to its original shape.

When the masked man pressed him down on the table again, he discovered that he was actually pressing down on one of his companions.

"That kid ran away! You pressed me down!!" his companion said seriously.

"Ah! Sorry." Hearing his words, the burly man in the skull mask subconsciously released his grip. Then he was punched hard, and immediately his shotgun was snatched from his hand. His accomplice then fired a shot directly at him.

"Didn't I apologize?" The muscular man was still a little confused as he was being questioned.

"Who's your accomplice?!" Su Jiu calmly asked, holding the energy gun. Just then, the companion in the skull mask began to transform, eventually reverting to Su Jiu's appearance.

"You bastard!!" Seeing this, the muscular man in the skull mask finally showed an angry expression and charged directly at Su Jiu.

"Hey! Why are you completely unharmed after being shot?"

"Our clothes are immune to this weapon's attacks." The muscular man sneered, then protected Su Jiu once more, but this time the opponent had transformed into an octopus...

"Ah! Is this the performance you were talking about? So Su Jiu is going to participate too!" Looking at the scene before her, Mu Mu's smile remained unchanged: "Brother said this is called tentacle play!"

"I told you not to let that cute boy go out with that greasy middle-aged pervert!" Hearing Mu Mu's words, Qingqing angrily retorted. Almost simultaneously, she gracefully leaped to the side, quickly dodging the attacks from everyone present.

Of course, what these students didn't know was that in the monitoring room and various hidden rooms throughout the cruise ship, a group of people wearing skull masks were coldly observing the battle on the six-wheeled vehicle, constantly recording something on their tablets. There were more than twenty people in the monitoring room alone.

"Haha, these students are pretty good! That student who used the barrier was able to block the ray gun directly. That's quite surprising! The others seem pretty good too." He was commenting on the freshmen who were constantly fighting under surveillance, as if giving them a critique.

"By the way, what's with those freshmen eating over there?" a person wearing a skull mask suddenly said. "I'll go remind those three idiots that it's about time to make a move! We didn't bring them here to be a joke!"

"Wait! Let them be! This is not only a chance to see the level of these new students, but also a test for them," the leader of the skull-masked men said calmly. "Besides, it's best not to mess with that girl."

"Is that freshman really that amazing?" Hearing them say this, everyone looked at Mu Mu, who was enjoying her meal on the monitor, with surprised expressions. It was really hard to imagine what was going on with this seemingly cute girl.