Heroes Return

"Alright! This exam is over!!!" At that moment, the loudspeaker blared again, and almost simultaneously, all the masked figures in the banquet hall removed their masks. They revealed young faces. And from the shadows, many adults emerged, dressed in the formal attire of island academy teachers.

"Huh? What's going on, Tifa?" Looking at these people, Mumu couldn't help but ask Tifa with some confusion.

"Of course, it's the entrance exam. It's to understand the new students' combat abilities, and to thoroughly observe their skills and their ability to respond to crises." Tifa smiled and said to Mumu, "The teachers record all of this, which makes it easier to train them more effectively and in a targeted manner. It's also to prevent them from hiding their strength. In recent years, for some reason, there have always been some chuunibyou students who try to hide their strength in the academy, pretending to be weak while actually being strong. But if they really hide their power, there's no way to give them the best targeted instruction."

At this moment, the broadcast also began to announce the news: "Of course, all of these people who made the move are second-year students. This is also related to their entrance exams, and this kind of competition is used to test their training results over the past year. We will score their performance afterwards. As for the three who made you the cake, it seems they will need to attend a make-up exam training camp."

"..." Upon hearing Tifa's words, the three masked men who had previously fawned over her all removed their masks, their faces covered in cold sweat...

Although all three of them were handsome men, and even the kind who looked like professional gigolos, their expressions at this moment were anything but pleasant.

At that moment, a large number of engineering robots behind Tifa began to move. In a short time, the entire cruise ship was restored to its original state, and the controlled and defeated freshmen were easily restored to their feet by these autonomous machines.

……

Inside the ship's hold, the moment the announcement came over the loudspeaker, the scythe-wielding man stopped his pursuit, looking annoyed. Ren Xiaojie and the fat man exchanged a surprised glance. But then they saw that the other man had removed his hood, revealing a beautiful face and flowing blonde hair.

"Looks like I can't take you down! You dare to kick a pretty girl in the face, you fatso, you've got guts." The girl said, walking towards the two of them. "Don't worry, once the exam is over, I won't attack you anymore! You're really getting off easy."

"Wait! What's going on?" Ren Xiaojie asked in surprise upon hearing the other person's words.

"Do you even need to ask? Of course it's an exam! I'm your senior!" the pretty girl said, glaring at the fat guy. "This is a welcome ceremony for the new students, and it's also the second-year exam."

"Hey! This doesn't look like a welcoming ceremony at all!" Ren Xiaojie complained helplessly upon hearing her words. Meanwhile, the fat man was unexpectedly distracted. He was staring intently at the beautiful woman in front of him.

"I'll remember you, you fatso! Don't let me get my chance, or I'll make you pay!" Bloodstain suddenly said coldly to the fat man, then looked at Ren Xiaojie: "You too, I'll find a chance to take you both down."

"Wait! This fat guy kicked you! Why did he kill me too? I'm innocent!" Hearing her words, Ren Xiaojie shook the fat guy helplessly, but it was too late, because the other party had already walked out of the cabin.

"Should I kick her? I really want to be stepped on by my senior, with her long legs and pretty face." The chubby guy muttered to himself while staring at her back.

"What the hell! Are you a masochist? Wake up!!"

……

Finally, when all the new students were gathered in the banquet hall, everything was explained, and the welcome ceremony for the extraordinary new students truly began. What surprised Ren Xiaojie the most was that this time, the welcome ceremony for the new students had invited Miss Kuror, the most famous female star in the world!

Although Miss Chrollo was already twenty-seven years old, she looked no different from a seventeen-year-old girl. Her beautiful singing voice left Ren Xiaojie momentarily stunned. He finally understood why Chrollo had so many admirers worldwide. Although there had been reports in the past two years of Chrollo being seen with men ten years his senior, upon closer inspection, it was probably just a rumor. After all, how could a goddess as beautiful as Chrollo possibly be interested in a man nearing forty?

Amidst Chrollo's singing and the students' cheers, the cruise ship sailed toward Hero Academy Island.

In a daze, Ren Xiaojie accidentally bumped into someone.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" He turned around instinctively, only to be surprised to see a girl covered in spilled drink. It was Qingqing.

"Never mind! With the goddess Kuroro here, it's normal for this to happen. I was also lost in thought when I heard her singing just now." Qingqing was quite agreeable. Seeing Ren Xiaojie apologize and extend his hand, she was really about to reach out, but the next second she saw something sticking out of Ren Xiaojie's pocket.

Previously, I quietly included a lavish collection of AV actresses from all eras...

As Qingqing withdrew her hand, she noticed her clothes and immediately took a large step back. As she stood up, her gaze turned hostile. Ren Xiaojie recognized that look; he'd seen it before at the garbage dump—the look people gave when they saw trash…

"You've misunderstood!" At this moment, Ren Xiaojie also noticed his pocket: "Actually, this was a complete accident! This thing was forced on me by that fatso! I was just about to return it to him..."

Despite Ren Xiaojie's desperate attempts to explain, the girl had already run out quickly...

After a day's journey, the cruise ship finally arrived at Hero Academy Island. As the world's largest artificial island, it mimics the terrain and environments of various parts of the world. And the moment Ren Xiaojie set foot on the island's soil, he understood! His path to heroism would begin here.

……

Meanwhile, in a secluded underwater base somewhere, a strange laugh suddenly rang out.

"Hahahaha! A new era? A new era! A new representative of justice! THE ONE? Never heard of it before! Hahahaha! A symbol of peace? A symbol of justice? Is this really interesting? Doesn't it just make the world so boring? Where did Zero go? Was he defeated? Hahahaha! How could that be? No matter what I think, let's destroy this THE ONE thing first! The world doesn't need any symbol of peace, but maybe this will be interesting! Letting humanity's criminal desires, suppressed for ten years, erupt all at once, maybe it will be quite something! Hahahahaha!!"

……

That concludes all the side stories for "Heroes." Starting tomorrow, I will begin updating the prequel daily. This is something I promised readers a long time ago. Only after completing the prequel will the book "Heroes" truly be complete. As for the story following these side stories, I will start a new, irregularly updated story called "Strike Heroes" in a while—a completely shonen (mainstream) action story. Those interested can check it out then.