Heroes Return

"Stop talking nonsense! It's obvious the ship broke down because of you!" Thirteen said. "I'm in a hurry, you know?"

"Then there's no other way! I'll carry you all and run, find another small island, and then we'll get a new boat," Lin Jie said to Thirteen.

"That's the only way." Thirteen nodded.

"Let's not." Gray, who had just vomited, turned green after hearing the result of the two people's discussion.

“You’ve already thrown up, so what are you afraid of?” Lin Jie said to Gray.

Just as they were talking, the once calm sea surface became turbulent again. A large number of sea creatures emerged from the water and frantically propelled themselves away in the distance using their thrusters.

"Damn, so many sea creatures suddenly appeared?" Lin Jie looked at the sea creatures running for their lives in confusion.

"They seem to be hiding from something?" Gray said, frowning.

Just then, a huge shadow emerged from the sea. But emerging from the sea was only the beginning. To the astonishment of Lin Jie and his companions, the enormous creature actually flew into the air.

"A whale is flying in the sky!" This was the first time Lin Jie had ever seen a flying whale, especially a huge blue one. The sea creatures were clearly avoiding this enormous whale.

Unlike other sea monsters that Lin Jie and his companions had seen, this flying whale was almost the undisputed overlord of the entire fantasy sea, and it was also a giant sea monster that could operate on land, sea, and air.

Nearly half of the sea monsters in the entire Fantasy Sea are on this giant whale's menu.

No one living in the Fantasy Sea is unaware of his legend.

However, this legendary sea lord has encountered a man who knows nothing about him today.

At this moment, Lin Jie's eyes were shining as he looked at the giant whale floating in the air. The giant whale also felt the uncomfortable gaze of this tiny creature.

So the giant whale opened its huge mouth towards Lin Jie and his group's small boat and rushed down towards their location at high speed.

"I think I've found a better means of transportation," Lin Jie said, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the giant whale. Then, the iron bar in his hand began to grow larger, and he used it to strike the oncoming whale.

But the giant whale suddenly flipped in the air, dodging the massive iron rod that was hurtling straight down. Lin Jie's attack, however, was only just beginning. He swung the iron rod forcefully, striking the whale's body.

"Get back into the sea!" When Lin Jie struck the giant whale with his iron rod, he felt the rod become noticeably heavier, so he increased the force in his hand.

With a powerful swing of Lin Jie's iron rod, a gust of wind swept the giant whale back into the sea, creating huge waves.

"Interesting, it's not like the usual sea monsters!" Lin Jie said, then grabbed the iron rod in his hand and jumped into the sea.

Chapter 18

In the sky, a giant blue whale flew by, shedding large, tear-like drops. On its back sat three people and a potted plant.

Lin Jie, carrying his iron rod, sat steadily on the blue whale's back. Thirteen, Gray, and Fourteen were all holding onto Lin Jie with all their might. Because of the extremely high speed of flight, Thirteen and Gray were almost suspended in mid-air.

"I see the snake's head!" Lin Jie said to the people behind him, looking at the huge snake's head in the distance. "It's really nostalgic! I never thought I'd have a chance to see this thing again."

"I know, I know, I know... I... I... how much longer until we get there..." Thirteen shouted with difficulty to Lin Jie. Gray, who was beside him, was unable to speak at this moment. Just holding Lin Jie tightly was already his limit.

"I don't know, but judging from the time it took us to fly to the snake's body, the size of the snake's head we see now should be within a few hours," Lin Jie said, turning to Thirteen and Gray.

"Is it still that far?" Thirteen asked with difficulty.

"Get ready, we're almost there," Lin Jie said. "It really feels so refreshing to ride a fast flying mount like this. Should I consider getting one?"

"Refreshing my ass!!"

Located at the head of a serpent in a fantastical sea world, this place is a hub for numerous ships. For the new capital city lies within the serpent's mouth.

That's right, right there in the giant serpent's mouth, the World Serpent, which had brought endless crisis and panic to the whole world, was now lying quietly in the Fantasy Sea, dividing the entire Fantasy Sea in two.

The location of the snake's head also became the only way to enter another sea area.

The World Serpent's corpse, which had been lying here for five years, did not rot or decay; instead, it hardened, forming strange, solid crystals. Upon closer inspection, the World Serpent's scales appeared to be sculpted from unique crystals.

If you get any closer, it gives you the feeling of being on a mountain formed by strange crystals, making it impossible to discern the shape of the World Serpent, just like the poem, "You can't see the true face of Mount Lu because you are in the mountain itself."

The once ferocious giant snake's head no longer appeared so terrifying due to crystallization; the dead giant snake had its mouth wide open.

The new Poseidon City is located within this enormous maw, and the giant serpent's indestructible teeth have become the most powerful defensive wall of the new Poseidon City.

"I must say, those sea creatures really have good taste!" Lin Jie looked at the futuristic city the giant serpent had described: "I didn't expect it to change so much in just five years."

As he spoke, Lin Jie's giant whale, thinking of the walls of the new Sea King's capital (the serpent's teeth), fell down.

Of course, the defense system on the city wall was also activated at this moment.

A dozen or so figures believed to be sea generals and several sea creatures dressed in mage robes appeared on the city wall. Judging from the oppressive feeling they gave him from afar, Thirteen could tell that their strength was definitely no less than S-rank. At the same time, two turret-like objects filled with blue energy were also aimed at the huge blue whale at Lin Jie's feet.

The creature beneath Lin Jie's buttocks was a legendary creature in this fantastical sea; it would be strange if they didn't defend themselves if it suddenly appeared above their heads.

"Hey, go up and say something!" Lin Jie said to Thirteen and Gray from the top of the giant whale. "Which one of you can go up and say something? Judging from their attitude, they're going to open fire if we don't say anything!"

“I’ll go and talk to them,” Gray said, standing up and shouting to the merman guards on the city wall, “I am Gray, a special envoy from the World Government Alliance! I request to see our diplomatic consuls stationed in New Sea King City!”

After hearing Gray's words, the people on the city wall took out a white crystal that looked like a communication device and shone it on Gray and the others on the giant whale, and then seemed to be saying something.

After a while, a somewhat aged-looking sea creature held up a megaphone shell and shouted to Lin Jie and his companions, "I have just confirmed your identities with the local diplomats, Mr. Gray. The consulate has agreed to see you, but you must undergo our investigation! Also, the monster you are riding is absolutely not allowed to enter the city."

“No problem!” Gray shouted to them.

“Let’s go!” Gray said to Lin Jie and Thirteen.

"By the way, Thirteen, give me that scale!" Lin Jie said to Thirteen.

"What are you doing?" Thirteen asked.

"The place you hid it in is too unsafe. It's best to leave it with me. I don't want any more trouble because of the scales," Lin Jie said to Thirteen.

Are you sure you want to put it here?

"Just bring it when I tell you to!" Lin Jie said to Thirteen.

“Alright.” Thirteen said, tearing open his clothes and taking out the Reverse Scale from a unique pocket. The Reverse Scale disappeared the moment it entered Lin Jie’s hand.

Thirteen was already used to this, after all, Lin Jie's spiked club from the past and the Ruyi Cudgel he was holding now would disappear from time to time.

"Let's go." Lin Jie said, jumping onto the city wall and waving at the giant blue whale that was moving away. "I'll come back for you!"

Whether it was because it heard Lin Jie's words or not, the blue whale paused for a moment, then flew away into the distance at an even faster speed.

After a series of checks, the weapons and Fourteenth Ring Road weapons on the three men were confiscated by the sea creatures, who considered Fourteenth Ring Road weapons to be dangerous. Lin Jie was an exception, of course, because he had already put away his iron rod before jumping onto the city wall.

Led by a squad of sea creature soldiers, the three descended the city walls and walked through the brightly lit streets of the Sea King's capital. Everywhere they looked, there were medieval European-style buildings and numerous strange, crystal-encrusted devices, adding a touch of magic to this vast city.

The three people rode in a car pulled by an unknown giant monster, and arrived at the front of a modernly decorated building. In this magical city, such a modern building seemed out of place.

As they approached the door, several men in suits appeared before them.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Gray?" one of the men in a suit asked, looking at Gray.

“Yes, I am Gray,” Gray replied to the men in black suits. “I request to see Commander William!”

"Commander William has been waiting inside for quite some time. Please follow us, the three of you," the man in black said to Lin Jie and his companions.

"Excuse me, this is the person our princess specifically requested to see first!" Two sea creature soldiers stepped forward and pointed to Thirteen beside Lin Jie, saying, "The princess has ordered us to take him to see her immediately."

"You go first, I'll wait for you here." Lin Jie patted Thirteen and said, "I won't be a third wheel in this kind of thing."

"Alright, I'm leaving now." Thirteen said, and got back into the sea creature soldiers' vehicle.

Lin Jie followed Gray and the men in black suits into the World Government consulate, taking the elevator to an office on the top floor.

A slightly overweight middle-aged man was sitting behind his desk, quietly watching him and Gray.

“You must be Mr. Gray?” the middle-aged man said to Gray. “I am Thomas, the diplomat here. It’s a pleasure to meet you and this professional hero. Of course, before we talk, I would like you to verify your identities first.”

As they were speaking, several men in black walked in, each carrying a peculiar instrument.

Gray took the instrument and skillfully collected some blood from his hand using the blood collection device next to it. Soon after, a file appeared on the senator's computer.

"Gray, Executive Officer of the Eighth Division of the World Government. Specific information unavailable due to insufficient authorization."

After carefully reviewing Gray's file, Councilor Thomas said, "So Mr. Gray is from the Eighth Division. If you're from the Eighth Division, why are you in the Fantasy Sea?"

“This is a classified mission, and you are not authorized to know about it,” Gray said coldly.

“Alright, since it’s a confidential matter, I won’t pry any further. Next, please have Mr. Lin Jie verify his identity.” Thomas had no intention of digging deeper; for him, the less he knew, the better.

"Can I skip the blood test?" Lin Jie frowned as he looked at the machine in his hand.

“Excuse me, Mr. Lin, I almost forgot. There are confidentiality regulations for superhero DNA samples, but the instrument has fingerprint and retinal recognition systems, please use this one.”

Following Thomas's instructions, Lin Jie quickly completed the identity verification process.

"Lin Jie, male, 24 years old. Active superhero in H City, District C. Hero Rank C. Due to his outstanding strength, he was exceptionally admitted to the World Hero Academy as a combat instructor..." A large amount of personal information about Lin Jie appeared afterward.

"So you're a combat instructor at the Hero Academy. It's a pleasure to meet you." Thomas stepped forward and shook hands with Lin Jie.

“Mr. Thomas, the situation is somewhat complicated, so I would like to contact the World Government immediately,” Gray said. “Because it is a classified mission, I would appreciate it if you could recuse yourself.”

“Okay, I’ll excuse myself now. The computer on my desk can communicate with the World Government, but it requires the correct number and code. However, since you’re from the Eighth Division, I think we don’t need to go into details.” With that, Thomas walked out of the office.

"Now that my identity is confirmed, right?" Gray asked Lin Jie.

“It’s confirmed,” Lin Jie replied.

“Alright, next I need to contact high-ranking officials of the World Government. Anyway, you’ve already gotten involved in this matter.” Gray said, extending his hand to Lin Jie: “In my capacity as the Executive Officer of the Eighth Division, I’m recruiting H City superhero Lin Jie to participate in this mission.”

Chapter 19

"What did you say? You want to conscript me?" Lin Jie looked at Gray with some surprise.

“As an executive member of the World Government, I have the right to call up superheroes who are not currently in use in the event of an emergency.” Gray’s voice softened as he spoke: “Please, I need your help. I have witnessed your strength firsthand during the time we were at sea together, Lin.”

"Wait, didn't you complete your mission?" Lin Jie asked, puzzled. "Now all you have to do is wait for you to contact the World Government for reinforcements."

“We did complete the mission, but we still face another problem,” Gray said. “The admiral is still in the Fantasy Sea, and his passengers are all people with a certain status in society! If the admiral uses these people as hostages, it will have very serious consequences. Even one of my colleagues was captured by the admiral.”

"Wait! You mean you want me to help you deal with the admiral?" Lin Jie asked.

“Yes, I hope you can help me rescue the passengers on the admiral’s ship. Please, Lin, I need your help.” Gray looked at Lin Jie earnestly.

"Hmm...it's troublesome, but I promise you." Lin Jie said to Gray, "What are we going to do next?"

“I need to contact World Defense Headquarters. Only with their orders will Thomas fully cooperate with us.” Gray said, starting up his computer and logging into a strange interface. After entering the time-limited code and verifying his fingerprint, a young and capable woman appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Agent Gray, we're so glad to hear from you. We're so glad to see you safe and sound."

“Hello, Miss Cecil, I’m currently at the consulate in the Fantasy Sea,” Gray said. “We’ve found the Reverse Scale!”

As he spoke, Gray gestured for Lin Jie to take out the reverse scale.