Chapter 1

Starting in 2093, various unidentified monsters began to harass locations all over the world. Simultaneously, the global crime rate began to climb in a straight line. At the time, the World Government adopted a policy of sealing off information and resolving matters privately.

In 2095, the situation began to deteriorate continuously; monsters and criminals possessing superpowers began to appear before humanity one after another. The World Government's information blockade was broken under these circumstances. Normal military weapons had very limited effectiveness against these people and monsters, and because they often appeared in densely populated areas, it was difficult to deploy large-scale weaponry each time they surfaced.

In April 2095, a new era where many voiced that force was supreme seemed to be arriving, and the World Government found itself in a state of being unable to cope. The entire world was plunged into panic for a time.

In October 2095, a man with his face shrouded under a black cloak appeared before humanity. His appearance brought hope to this world mired in panic.

He was the first true superhero in human history, and people called him "Zero." He began to fight against the monsters that kept appearing, and at the same time, he began to fight continuously against those dark forces.

Initially, everyone thought he would be crushed by the swarming monsters and dark forces, just like those who had challenged the darkness and the World Government forces before him.

But as one dark force after another was crushed, one monster after another was killed, and one super-criminal after another was captured by him, humanity began to worship "Zero" with fervor. Some even called "Zero" a god and a savior, but at this moment, "Zero" spoke the only sentence he ever said to the public: "I am not a god; I am just a human who wants to eliminate evil."

At the same time, following "Zero's" continuous victories, data regarding those monsters and super-criminals began to appear in the public eye one after another.

In 2098, relying on the intelligence made public by "Zero," humanity truly understood the origins of these strange creatures. Eighty percent of them were created by humans themselves through inhumane experiments and secret Weapon research. The rest originated from outer space and other worlds.

Relying on the intelligence released by "Zero," people began to understand this world in a true sense.

In May 2098, inspired by the actions of "Zero," three superheroes emerged simultaneously across the world. They began to strike at the criminals and monsters that "Zero" did not have time to deal with.

In June of the same year, over a dozen more superheroes appeared in various parts of the world.

In July, dozens of superheroes appeared.

Led by those legendary deeds of "Zero," a large number of superheroes began to emerge. The global crime rate began to decline that year.

In 2100, the 22nd century officially arrived. This was a special year, and many major events occurred.

In March, the Superhero Registration Act was established by the World Government. Because of this law, superheroes had to register with the government before they could fight crime; otherwise, it would be considered a criminal act and they would be wanted. For this reason, two voices emerged among the superheroes: supporters and opponents.

Just when the whole world hoped that "Zero" would stand up and say something, this man who had created countless legends over five years disappeared. The government searched for him, but only found his cloak.

In 2105, standing on a bustling street, Lin Jie stared blankly at the latest movie promotion playing on the giant screen in front of him.

A beautiful female host was saying: "Welcome everyone to the promotion for the new movie Zero: I Am Not God. The lead role of the great hero Zero is once again played by the big star He Qi. At the same time, as the fifth installment of the Zero series, we have invited the current A-Class Hero, Mr. God Hand, to make a cameo appearance as himself, as he was one of the witnesses to the events at the time."

At this moment, a masked man appeared before the crowd.

"Hello everyone, I am the active hero God Hand," the man said.

I never imagined that the things I did during my chuunibyou phase would be turned into five whole movies. Ah... how embarrassing! To have my dark history turned into a movie for the whole world to see... what kind of perverted, shameful play is this?! Lin Jie roared in his heart, for he was the Zero who had disappeared five years ago.

The reason the whole world couldn't find him was that he had been a shut-in for five years.

At first, he had just been suffering from a chuunibyou flare-up and wanted to be a hero, but he ended up getting stronger and stronger. By the time he realized it, his entire life had become a mess, so on the day of his high school graduation, he decisively gave up being a hero and became a shut-in.

In fact, it wasn't that Lin Jie wanted to become a shut-in, but by the time he came to his senses, he didn't have a single good friend left around him, his studies were in shambles, he hadn't even been accepted into a third-rate university, and no company was willing to hire someone with only a high school diploma. Thus, he began his life as a shut-in.

What Lin Jie often did was look back on his junior high and high school life.

In junior high, when other chuunibyou boys were playing games about heroes fighting monsters, he went out to fight real monsters...

When other classmates were cutting down monsters in computer games together, he went out to cut down real monsters...

When other classmates went out to play during their free time, he went out to cut down monsters...

After graduation, when others were exchanging contact information, he went out to cut down monsters...

In the end, only after graduating did he discover that he hadn't made a single friend, because he had spent all the time others used to make friends on cutting down monsters.

By high school, this was the time when young boys and girls began to fall in love.

When others were dating in the classroom after school, he was cutting people down in the classroom after school.

When others were dating in the small woods, he was cutting people down in the small woods.

When others were dating by the small river, he was cutting people down by the small river.

When others were dating in the park, he was cutting people down in the park.

Lin Jie thought carefully about his three years of high school, and the final evaluation he got was that he had used all the places others used for dating to cut people down. As for the places where others were **-ing, he had truly been bombarded there.

This made Lin Jie feel for a time that he might have added his skill points incorrectly. Why was it that the superheroes who appeared later spent their days first saving a damsel in distress and then flirting, or first flirting and then saving a damsel in distress?

Lin Jie thought again about the things he had faced... monsters, cannons, muscle-men, aliens... there wasn't even a female among them!

Just like that, after graduating from high school, Lin Jie also cured his chuunibyou.

"I heard you were one of the victims of the cult incident at the time, is that right, Mr. God Hand?" the female host asked.

"Yes, I was a believer in that cult at the time. Thanks to Zero, I was able to break away from the cult and become a hero," God Hand said.

"So, you are appearing as yourself this time, since you are playing yourself," the female host said.

"Of course. This movie is not just telling the story of Zero's heroic deeds, but also the turning point of how I became a hero. It has great significance to me. I will never forget the sentence he said to us, who were worshipping him after he defeated the Evil God. 'I am not a god; I am just a human who wants to eliminate evil,'" God Hand said.

"Yes, we think that at the time, Zero probably wanted to tell us that instead of worshipping those things, we should stand up and resist."

"Yes, it was under the influence of his words that I became a superhero. In fact, the early superheroes were all influenced by this sentence."

Damn it! I just felt like saying that would be cool at the time, since there were quite a few beauties there... Lin Jie roared in his heart: The feeling of having a line I said just to look cool being studied by others afterwards is just too shameful...

"So, Mr. God Hand, do you think Zero is still alive?"

"I don't believe he could die, because I witnessed his battles with my own eyes. Such a powerful existence simply cannot be killed."

Hey, hey, hey? Am I that strong? But I only know how to cut people! And that thing that looked like an Evil God was clearly a total pushover.

"Is that so? As expected, Mr. God Hand shares the same opinion as those early heroes. Thank you for accepting this interview; this time, the audience will experience the most authentic Hero series. Alright, next we invite Miss Qin Yanran, who plays the Cult Saintess. She will serve as the female lead and perform opposite Mr. He Qi..."

Authentic my foot, Lin Jie thought while watching the screen. In the fourth installment, I clearly sliced that boss octopus in one hit, yet in the movie, I was ravaged by that tentacle monster for a full fifteen minutes... Just thinking about it makes me sick. The director actually had a tentacle monster ravage a grown man... And the plot afterward was that the captain's daughter saved me, then we destroyed the tentacle monster together and started a romance... That captain's daughter was just huddled in the cabin crying the whole time back then...

Lin Jie couldn't help but sigh: "In the movie they're filming this time, I suppose I'll have to have a fling with that Saintess again. Come to think of it, I really was just trying to get her attention when I said that line back then, but it's a pity she fainted... If things were really like how they filmed it in the movie... how great that would be... I'm still a single dog to this day! How am I supposed to face anyone when you keep spreading rumors in the movies about me having romances with others! It's too damn heartbreaking! Besides, I never even authorized my image rights; when did I become their company's exclusive property..."

After venting his frustrations in his mind for a while, Lin Jie finally remembered that he had been forced out today by his younger sister to look for a job.

"Come to think of it, it's a good thing my sister doesn't know I am Zero; otherwise, with all these remade 'black history' movies and animations, I wouldn't be able to stay at home. When others go through a 'chuunibyou' phase, it's just small-scale mischief, but when I went through mine, it was in front of the whole world... It's fortunate I kept my identity secret back then, or I really wouldn't have the face to see anyone now..."