Heroes Return

"Forget it, I'm not interested in knowing." Lin Jie pouted. "By the way, the last time I came here, I actually landed on a continent in the Fantasy Sea! It was the kingdom of Snow White and the Prince."

"What happened to them later?" Thirteen asked. "After all, I read this fairy tale when I was a child."

"Later," Lin Jie thought for a moment, "it seems that because the prince got a maid pregnant, Snow White and the prince had a falling out, and she went back to the seven dwarfs."

"...Although it feels great, I don't want to believe it!" Thirteen said to Lin Jie, "You must be lying to me."

“Not necessarily,” Gray said. “The era in which Snow White lived was actually a medieval era. As a lord of a land, it was quite common for him to have affairs with his maids.”

"Young man! Wake up, sweetness is only temporary." Lin Jie patted Thirteen on the shoulder and said, "A playboy like that, who makes vows of eternal love to Snow White the moment they meet, would have a problem if he didn't have an affair after marriage. But you can rest assured about one thing: both the prince's country and Snow White's family were affected by the war between the sea tribe and us. I heard they couldn't even last ten minutes before being wiped out by the sea tribe..."

"Destroyed?" Thirteen said in surprise.

“Yes, many kingdoms in fairy tales and legends are on that continent. Later, a war broke out between the sea tribes and us. They believed that all humans deserved to die, so the human kingdoms in the fantasy sea continent all suffered.” Lin Jie said with some regret, “It’s a pity that those were all very peaceful countries.”

"Their demise was inevitable," Gray said dismissively. "Excessive peace might be good for many, but those kingdoms, overly immersed in the atmosphere of peace, became completely complacent and lacked any ambition. Even their soldiers were incompetent. Every time danger arose, a hero would step in to save the day, and the people didn't even have the courage to resist. Beneath their comfortable lives lay societal stagnation, leaving them helpless in the face of danger. Without powerful weapons to deal with unknown threats, such nations simply couldn't survive in this day and age."

“Even so,” Lin Jie said, “I still feel it’s a pity, after all, I met quite a few refugees last time, and they were all very hardworking and friendly people.”

"It's ironic that someone who stayed home for five years and was eventually forced to work by his own sister would feel sorry for those hardworking people," Thirteen said to Lin Jie.

Fourteen nodded repeatedly from the side.

"Damn it! You don't know anything!" Lin Jie said, "If there were no people like this, how would shut-ins survive? Even if they stay at home every day, they still need to eat and buy games and figurines. Without these products, how are we supposed to live? That's why I have great respect for producers and laborers, even though I myself neither produce nor work..."

"Regarding this matter, I'm very curious about who you really are?" Gray looked at Lin Jie with some seriousness. "For someone who's been a shut-in for five years, you know far too much. Especially about the territory of the Divine Kingdom, how do you know all this?"

"That's right, Lin Jie, what exactly did you do before?" Thirteen also asked, "With your strength and knowledge, I really can't imagine why you've stayed at home for so long."

"..." After hearing the two people's questions, Lin Jie couldn't help but fall silent for a moment: "Okay, actually I am Zero."

"..." Thirteen and Gray looked at each other at the same time, and then a look of contempt appeared in their eyes.

"Hey, what's with those expressions on your faces?" Lin Jie couldn't help but get angry when he saw the two of them.

“If you had said that before, I might have considered the possibility.” Thirteen looked down on Lin Jie: “But since that day, I’ve been certain that Zero is not something just anyone can fake.”

"So I'm telling the truth."

“So you can’t be Zero,” Thirteen said. “Even if you don’t want to say it, you don’t need to make up such a ridiculous reason! Zero’s power, which seems to be engraved deep in his soul, is not on the same level as you, a complete idiot.”

“That’s right,” Gray said. “Every year, there are at least eight or ten thousand people who say they have zero.”

"..."

"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask," Thirteen said, looking at Lin Jie. "After all, we're friends, but could you please stop making up such low-IQ lies to test my intelligence?"

"Congratulations, you've exposed your low IQ..." Lin Jie muttered to himself, then said to the two of them, "Have you ever heard of the ancient races?"

When Lin Jie mentioned the ancient clans, Thirteen looked blank, but Gray, standing beside him, showed a surprised expression: "You mean you're from an ancient clan? Which clan are you from? Oh right, your surname is Lin! You're from the Lin clan?"

"I guess so. Seriously, you guys even know that?"

“Don’t underestimate the World Government’s intelligence network,” Gray said.

"If everyone were a goofball like you, I think the intelligence network would be doomed sooner or later." Lin Jie muttered, "Pretty much. They're a race that has been passed down from ancient times. If you have to say, they're the kind of people who are very fertile and whose families have continued to this day. Relatively speaking, the records in their families are quite detailed and ancient."

"So that's how you know so much?" Thirteen asked.

“Yes, the reason why the Ouyang family hasn’t contacted us again is actually because of the ancient clan,” Lin Jie said.

"So you're actually part of an ancient force?" Thirteen said in surprise. "No wonder you're so strong."

"Why would you say this so easily?" Gray asked, frowning. "According to our intelligence, the ancient clans were forced into hiding by the enemy back then, and they still don't reveal their identities openly."

"Huh? Is that so?" Lin Jie exclaimed in surprise. "How come I don't remember beating up those ancient clans? Wait, come to think of it, I did kill quite a few martial artists before..."

"Um...actually, I still hope you two can keep this a secret." Lin Jie said to Thirteen and Gray, "Especially you, if you're not willing to keep it a secret, believe me, I'll kill you right now."

“Don’t worry, the ancient race and the World Government still have some cooperative relations, and we will keep it a secret even if you don’t tell us,” Gray said.

"Only if you can prove your identity." Lin Jie said, taking out his iron rod. "Otherwise, I'll kill you right now."

“I already told you, you’ll find out when you get to the consulate,” Gray quickly said.

Having dealt with Gray, Lin Jie couldn't help but sigh inwardly: 'Sigh! Nobody believes the truth, but they actually believe the lies I made up... Should I consider doing some sales work?'

Just as Lin Jie was thinking about how to get Lin Wan to help him cover up the lie, a giant octopus tentacle stretched out of the sea and landed on the three people's small boat.

"Dinner's ready for tonight." Lin Jie swallowed hard as he looked at the octopus tentacles. Then, the iron rod in his hand grew longer and he poked it down along the protruding part of the tentacles.

The moment Lin Jie stabbed down with the iron rod, the tentacles released the three people from the small boat.

"Put it in! Ruyi Jingu Bang! Make it bigger!" With Lin Jie's shout, the iron rod in the sea seemed to come alive, one end becoming extremely sharp, and it pierced the giant octopus's body. Then, Lin Jie, holding the other end of the iron rod, jumped into the water as well.

Before the Thirteen Lectures ship had traveled far, a huge iron pillar grew out of the seabed. At the top of the iron pillar was a giant, ferocious octopus.

"Which of you two has a fire on him? We've got our dinners sorted for the next few days." Lin Jie jumped onto the small boat and asked Thirteen and Gray, who were staring blankly at the octopus.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Before either of them could react, Lin Jie had already pushed the entire giant octopus out of the water. One end of the iron rod was pierced into the octopus's body like a harpoon, and the enormous tentacles were still writhing incessantly.

Chapter 17

Seven days passed, and among the creatures of the fantastical sea, a legend of a human warrior began to circulate. It was said that he and his companions embarked on a legendary journey to reach the new capital of the sea tribes. This warrior, wielding an iron rod that reached to the heavens, cut through countless legendary sea monsters.

His fame has now spread across vast seas, and the sea creatures of the fantastical ocean all call this warrior "Warrior".

"Sea Beast Hunter"...

Meanwhile, Lin Jie, completely unaware that he had acquired a new title, was wielding his thick iron rod and roaring from their small boat: "Damn it, after killing so many sea monsters, isn't there a single one that's edible?"

"Forget it, you should restrain yourself. When we get to the capital, I'll have Haina treat you to something nice." Thirteen said as he ate a piece of cold octopus tentacle salad.

"The problem is we've been munching on this stuff for a week already!" Lin Jie said helplessly. "Who knows how much longer it will take us to reach the capital!"

"Alright, stop complaining. Once you get used to it, it's actually quite chewy." Thirteen said as he filled a glass with water from the water purifier and gulped down the food in his mouth. "Look, even though I've been eating this for a week, I still managed to swallow it. Look at Fourteen, he's never picky about food, and he eats it with gusto."

At this moment, the flower was chewing on a tentacle incessantly, looking quite happy.

“You call this swallowing? I’m starting to miss life on the ship!” Lin Jie said, then looked at Gray lying in the small boat: “Look at Gray! He’s already become like this.”

Gray was lying on the boat, eyes closed, a piece of octopus tentacle stuffed in his mouth, but he wasn't eating it at all. His body was writhing incessantly: "Octopus... I don't want an octopus... Help! Octopuses are so scary..."

"There's nothing I can do about this," Thirteen said. "All we have left is octopus meat."

"Damn it, I don't care about anything else, I have to eat some grilled food today." With that, Lin Jie took out his Fire Spirit Sword, aimed at a flying fish that darted out of the sea, and swung his sword.

Then the flying fish burned to ashes...

"What a useless weapon! It can't even grill a fish!" Lin Jie angrily sheathed the Fire Spirit Sword.

"Your method of defining divine weapons will probably infuriate a lot of master forgers, right?" Thirteen said, picking up a piece of standing octopus and handing it to Lin Jie: "You should eat this instead."

"I won't eat it! I'm fasting!" Lin Jie felt nauseous just looking at the octopus meat.

……

Meanwhile, in the sea, a force of sea creatures was secretly following the small boat carrying Lin Jie and his companions.

"General, should we just go and kill those three humans?" A sea creature piloting a strange thruster transmitted his voice to the sea creature general beside him, who was also piloting a thruster. "The Reverse Scale must be in their hands."

"Let's wait for the main force to arrive!" the sea creature general said. "Don't forget, that man is the infamous sea beast hunter who's been all over the news lately! We've witnessed quite a few of his sea beast hunts along the way! The number of us is probably no match for him!"

“I understand!” the sea creature replied.

"Once our main force arrives, no matter if he's a sea monster hunter or something else, we'll be able to take him down!" the sea monster general said, looking at the small boat that was moving forward steadily above him.

Just then, he was surprised to see that the small boat began to slow down, and many of the sea creature soldiers also began to slow down little by little. In the end, the small boat came to a stop on the sea.

At this moment, Lin Jie once again took out the Fire Spirit Sword from the small boat.

"What are you trying to do now?" Thirteen asked Lin Jie. "Do you know we're in a hurry? You even stopped the boat."

"Since we can't eat grilled fish, boiled fish will do!" With that, Lin Jie plunged his Fire Spirit Sword into the water. The instant steam sent Thirteen tumbling over.

Gray, who had been lying on the boat in a half-asleep state, instantly woke up: "Damn! Are we in the volcanic zone?" Gray sat up in shock!

After he and Thirteen had gradually adapted to the steam, Lin Jie had already taken the Fire Spirit Sword back.

Although he pulled the Fire Spirit Sword out of the sea, bubbles were still rising to the surface, and many sea fish were floating on the surface.

Lin Jie picked up a cooked fish, looked at it, and then threw it back into the sea.

"As expected, untreated sea fish looks disgusting after being boiled in seawater!" Lin Jie couldn't help but exclaim.

"You think it's disgusting, yet you still did it?! We almost got steamed alive!" Thirteen and Gray roared at Lin Jie at the same time!

"I'm doing this so that we can have more food to eat! You two don't understand me at all!" Lin Jie said. "You have no idea how many lives our ancestors sacrificed to identify food. You two are yelling at me for such a great attempt."

"Alright, let's hurry up and set sail. We're in a rush," Gray said, patting Thirteen on the shoulder.

"I knew I shouldn't have agreed to stop," Thirteen said to Lin Jie irritably before returning to the driver's seat.

Then Thirteen pressed the start button on the console several times, but nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" Lin Jie asked.

"It's probably the steam you were using that caused the power system to malfunction," Thirteen said to Lin Jie.

"Can it be fixed?"

"We don't even know the principles behind the things produced by the sea creatures, how are we supposed to repair them!" Thirteen said helplessly.

Underwater, the sea general was talking to his assistant, and he had obvious burn marks on his body.

"It looks like the sea monster hunters have discovered us!" the sea monster general said to his assistant.

"Then what do we do, General?"

"What else can we do? Let's keep our distance!" the sea tribe general said. "Tell me about our troop losses."

"Fortunately, General, you reacted quickly and we retreated in time. Most of the injuries were burns, and there were no casualties."

“Very good. Notify all soldiers to follow them at a distance! That sea creature hunter has probably already spotted us, otherwise he wouldn’t have used such a bizarre attack method.” The sea creature general said, “That is very likely a powerful weapon specifically developed to target our underwater forces.”

"Understood." The assistant couldn't finish his sentence because a huge shadow suddenly appeared in their line of sight.

"How is this possible! Hasn't he been asleep for over a thousand years? Why has he suddenly awakened!" The sea tribe general also saw the enormous, terrifying figure at this moment: "Damn it, everyone retreat immediately!"

……

On the sea, Lin Jie and Thirteen were arguing.

"I told you to eat some octopus to make do, but you wouldn't listen! You insisted on getting something else! Now look what happened! We're stuck in the sea!" Thirteen said to Lin Jie.

"Damn! Is that something a human could eat?" Lin Jie said, handing a piece of octopus meat to Gray. Upon seeing the octopus meat, Gray immediately vomited in horror. "Look, I had no choice. Besides, it's not necessarily because I damaged the ship. Maybe your good character played a part in it too."