Heroes Return

"Since you won't let me take her home, I'll just chop her up," Lin Jie said, pulling out a kitchen knife.

"How can you be so cold-blooded! Lin Jie, what's your zodiac sign anyway?" the bespectacled man cursed.

In the end, everyone took the little girl back to the top floor of the Xiao's Building, which was also their team's headquarters. The only incidents along the way were two car accidents and an elevator malfunction. A powerful pipe explosion occurred on the first floor of the building, but fortunately, Thirteen left in time, and the building could still be saved.

And so the night passed.

The next morning, Lin Jie and Glasses arrived at the top floor of the building, where a cute little girl was watching the news on TV while holding a bag of spicy strips.

Xiao Zhan was looking at the computer screen in front of him at that moment.

"What happened to those guys from yesterday?" Lin Jie asked.

"I've handed it over to the Hero Association," Xiao Zhan said. "By the way, I'll transfer the bounty to your accounts in a bit. You don't know, but the seller's boss is actually the chairman of a famous biochemical company."

"Oh?" Lin Jie said, "Then there's a possibility that our ranking will improve?"

“是啊，我的排名从E级19980升到了E级17777。”肖战说道：“林劫你从E级29998升到了E级27777名。眼镜兄从D级14886升级到了D级12334。十三的话在E级一位没有变化。”

"Only such a small ranking increase? Didn't you say that person was a very powerful organization leader?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"They were indeed very powerful, but their organization had already collapsed when we made our move, which lowered our rating. Also, their trading partner seemed to have a very deep background, though I don't know the specifics. And most importantly, an eyewitness reported us for molesting a girl, which cost us a large portion of our rating," Xiao Zhan said. "I just don't understand. I was the one who defeated the monster, but I'm being called a pervert. You know, all my girlfriends are mature and voluptuous beauties."

"You still have the nerve to say you're not a pervert!" the bespectacled man shouted.

"By the way, where did Thirteen go?" Lin Jie asked.

"I heard that after receiving a large bonus, he went on vacation to Paradise Island," Xiao Zhan said.

"A breaking news report. Giant waves as high as thirty meters have appeared around Paradise Island. It is speculated that the sea creatures have launched an attack on Paradise Island. All superheroes near Paradise Island, please head to the rescue immediately..." The news on TV came on at that moment.

"..."

After a brief silence, Lin Jie spoke up: "Never mind, even though the score wasn't high, at least you've become famous this time, haven't you?"

……

After purifying the sewage monster yesterday, Xiao Zhan's abilities were widely recognized by onlookers. Most importantly, he participated in the cleanup afterwards.

With the stick he wielded, the food street, which would normally take half a day to clean, was spotless in less than 15 minutes. Not only that, Xiao Zhan also helped those splashed with sewage to clean themselves off.

It's said that everyone purified by those two sticks in his hand shares a common characteristic: they all collapse to the ground, blushing and panting. Although Zhan Chen's title as a superhero isn't particularly famous, the nickname "Defilement Warrior" has spread among housewives throughout H City.

"Why don't you just change your name to 'Defilement Warrior'? It'll probably be much more famous than your current name, Zhan Chen," Lin Jie said.

“No, if I change the name to ‘Stain Remover Warrior,’ won’t I look like I’m selling laundry detergent?” Xiao Zhan said.

"To be honest, you'd have a much brighter future doing housekeeping than being a superhero," Lin Jie said.

"Let's forget about that for now. What about that girl?" The bespectacled man interrupted Lin Jie and Zhan Chen's argument. "Didn't you ask her if she has any family or anything?"

“I asked her, but she hasn’t said a word since she arrived here. She won’t answer anything I ask her.” Xiao Zhan shook his head and said, “She only reacts when I give her spicy snacks.”

"How perverted are you to feed a little girl spicy snacks?" the bespectacled man said, snatching the spicy snacks from the little girl's hand.

The little girl, her eyes glistening with tears, looked at the bespectacled man after her spicy snack was snatched away. She waved her little hands, trying to grab the spicy snack from his hand.

"There's nothing I can do, all I have left are spicy strips," Xiao Zhan said. "By the way, the guy who snatches snacks from kids has no right to criticize me."

"Stop eating this stuff! Can't you see they've gone crazy from eating so much spicy snack?" the bespectacled guy said, pointing at Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan, who were each holding a bag of spicy snacks.

"Don't eat this anymore. I'll take you to eat something delicious later, something 100 times better than spicy strips," the bespectacled guy said.

The little girl opened her adorable big eyes and thought carefully for a moment before finally uttering her first words since arriving here: "Really?"

With her sweet voice, the bespectacled guy was instantly charmed: "Don't worry, I never lie. Eating this stuff is bad for your health and will make you stupid. Look at those two."

After saying that, the guy with glasses pointed to two people with spicy snacks in their mouths.

The little girl glanced at Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan from outside, thought for a moment, and said, "Okay..."

"Tch, you dead lolicon!" Lin Jie said.

"You're a die-hard lolicon," Xiao Zhan added.

"You two perverts have no right to talk to me like that," the bespectacled man said angrily.

“Yeah, since she spoke to you, why don’t you hurry up and ask her?” Xiao Zhan said.

"Oh." The bespectacled man finally realized what was happening. He said to the little girl, "Before we go out to eat something delicious, can you tell your brother your name and any family members?"

"..." The little girl thought for a moment, "I can't remember."

"Do you still remember what happened before?"

"I don't remember."

"So, is there anything else you remember?"

"Hmm... I remember I was controlling something, and then this fell in, and then I can't remember anything." The little girl pointed to the spicy snack in the bespectacled brother's hand and said, then she seemed to suddenly realize something and said, "So eating this really does make you stupid, no wonder those two perverted brothers look so stupid."

"Pfft... Perverted brother... Hahaha, you're absolutely right." The bespectacled guy laughed from the side, completely ignoring the darkening expressions on Lin Jie and the other man's faces.

"Alright, lolicon brother, when are we going to eat something delicious?"

"A lolicon brother?" The bespectacled man was stunned.

This time, Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan burst into laughter.

Just as they were losing their temper, the doorbell rang. Xiao Zhan saw a silver-haired figure appear on the monitor through the door's surveillance camera.

Chapter 11

"The Winter Witch!" Xiao Zhan exclaimed in surprise, looking at the person before him. "Please come in! Please come in!"

The bespectacled guy standing to the side couldn't help but straighten up. The girl in front of him had risen to the 78th rank of B-class popular hero in just two years, and most importantly, she was a stunning beauty. Among the superheroes in H City, she was definitely among the top three in popularity.

Miss Dong sat down in front of an office chair: "Don't be so formal, just call me Dong, or you can call me Dong Xue'er."

"Okay, it's my honor!" Xiao Zhan and the bespectacled man said in unison.

"I apologize for the poor hospitality. I'll go get you something to drink right away." Xiao Zhan quickly said, "Brother Glasses, hurry up and buy some snacks! We only have spicy strips left at home."

"No problem, I left a pair of glasses at my usual store." After saying that, the guy with glasses disappeared, leaving behind a pair of glasses on the ground.

“An interesting ability.” Dong Xue’er glanced at the glasses on the ground and said, “This place is quite interesting.”

Dong Xue'er gave the little girl who was peeking at her from behind the sofa meaningfully and said.

"This... please don't misunderstand, we're not perverts," Xiao Zhan said hurriedly. "What they're saying outside isn't true."

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in whether you're a pervert or not." After saying that, Dong Xue'er pointed to Lin Jie, who was standing to the side, and said, "I came here for him."

"I?"

“Yes.” Dong Xue’er’s hand touched Lin Jie’s face. “I need your power. I hope you can help me. We will be carrying out a major operation soon, and your destructive power is indispensable.”

"Hey, hey." Lin Jie dodged backward. "I'm not interested. Doesn't the Hero Association have plenty of strong people? What's the point of hiring an E-rank like me?"

"E-rank? You have a record of defeating B-rank heroes twice with a single blow." Dong Xue'er said to Lin Jie, "You should know that in the entire H City, there is only one other person besides you who can do such a thing."

"Then I don't intend to help you." Lin Jie said, looking at the woman in front of him, "I can clearly see the word 'trouble' on your face."

"What are you talking about! Of course we'll help Miss Dong." Xiao Zhan brought over a cup of coffee and said, "This is a great opportunity for our team to make a name for ourselves. It would be wonderful to collaborate with Miss Dong."

“But,” Lin Jie said, “my intuition tells me that getting involved with her will be very troublesome.”

"How can you say that about Miss Dong?" The bespectacled man appeared before everyone, carrying a bag of pastries. "Besides, no matter how troublesome it is for Miss Dong, we have to help!"

Watching the two men wagging their tails like lapdogs in front of this woman, Lin Jie couldn't help but sigh once again, realizing that this truly was a world that judged by appearances. The moment the beautiful woman spoke, the two men rushed towards her.

“I said, what are you all getting so worked up about? She’s looking for me, not you,” Lin Jie said.

“Aren’t we a team?” Xiao Zhan said.

“You’re right, your business is my business. Good brothers are loyal to each other,” the bespectacled man said at this moment.

"Damn! Now we're best buddies, huh? Let me tell you, betraying your friends might feel good for a moment, but your whole family will end up in the crematorium," Lin Jie shouted from the side, clearly dissatisfied.

"Hehehe, your two teammates are much cuter than you." Miss Dong said, looking at Lin Jie in front of her. "But it was expected that you would answer like that. After all, with your strength, it should be a very easy thing for you to advance. But this time you will definitely help me, because we now have a common enemy."

"What?" Lin Jie asked in surprise.

"It's all because of her." With that, Miss Dong pointed to the little girl beside her and said, "You've been in trouble ever since you ruined that deal."

"What?" Xiao Zhan said in surprise, "Didn't that biochemical company already collapse?"

“They are indeed finished, but aren’t you curious about who the trading partners of this huge underground force that has been investigated by Shen Jingguiqiao for two whole years are?” Dong Xue’er said.

"You mean they're very powerful?" the man with glasses asked in surprise.

"To put it simply, shortly after you sent the buyers to the Hero Association, they were secretly moved away," Dong Xue'er said, taking a sip of her coffee. "However, according to intelligence, they have already been rescued by unknown individuals."

"What!" Xiao Zhan exclaimed in surprise.

"Do you know what their company is called?" Dong Xue'er asked.

"I don't know." All three shook their heads simultaneously.

“Ignorance is bliss,” Dong Xue’er said, glancing at the three people. “Their company is called Evolution Corporation.”

"What?!" Xiao Zhan and the guy with glasses exclaimed at the same time.

"Evolution Corporation? Is it that powerful?" Lin Jie asked, looking at his two companions who were already trembling all over.

"It's not just about being powerful!" the bespectacled man said. "It's a world-class criminal organization!"

"Not only that, countless heroes have died at their hands over the past few years! Even an S-class hero has died at their hands. They are a veritable S-class criminal organization," Xiao Zhan continued.

“That’s right, and the girl you brought back is the key to their breakthrough in a new research project,” Dong Xue’er said. “Even if you don’t help me, they will come looking for you sooner or later.”

"That's really troublesome! Tell me, what should we do?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"Protect that girl well," Dong Xue'er said.

"With your intelligence capabilities, can't you just tell me where those people from Evolution Company are? I can just go and wipe them all out," Lin Jie said. "I hate trouble the most."

“Hehe, I admit you’re very strong, but you’re far from being able to fight Evolution Corporation head-on. Besides, if we really find Evolution Corporation’s headquarters, we’ll naturally have to deploy a lot of S-class heroes. We might even have to use SS-class heroes.” Dong Xue’er said to Lin Jie, “Moreover, in H City, our enemies aren’t just the people from Evolution Corporation.”

"You mean there are others?" Lin Jie asked.

“Yes,” Dong Xue’er said, “It’s Ouyang Rui, the president of the Hero Association.”

"What?" All three of them were surprised after hearing this answer.

"You mean Chairman Ouyang Rui and Evolution Company..." the bespectacled man said in surprise, realizing what was happening.