Chapter 1

In 2093, all kinds of unidentified monsters began appearing around the world and causing trouble. At the same time, the global crime rate started climbing sharply. The World Government dealt with the situation by suppressing the news and handling things in secret.

By 2095, the situation had begun to deteriorate steadily. Monsters and criminals with superpowers were appearing in front of the public more and more often. Under these circumstances, the World Government's news blackout was broken. Conventional weapons could do little damage to these people and monsters, and since they tended to appear in densely populated areas, it was difficult to use heavy weapons against them.

In April 2095, there were widespread signs that a new era in which strength reigned supreme was about to arrive. The World Government was struggling to cope, and the entire world was thrown into a state of panic.

In October 2095, a man with his face hidden beneath a black cloak appeared before humanity. His arrival brought hope to a world gripped by fear.

He was the first true superhero in human history. People called him "Zero." He began fighting the monsters that kept appearing, as well as the dark forces that continued to rise.

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

But as one dark force after another fell, one monster after another was killed, and one supercriminal after another was captured by him, people began to worship Zero fervently. Some even called him a god and a savior. But then Zero spoke the only words he ever addressed to the public: "I am not a god. I'm just a human being who wants to eradicate evil."

As Zero continued to win, information about the monsters and supercriminals gradually came to light.

In 2098, thanks to the information Zero made public, humanity finally learned where these strange creatures came from. Eighty percent of them had been created by humans themselves through inhumane experiments and secret weapons research. The rest came from outer space and other worlds.

Thanks to the information Zero revealed, people began to truly understand the world they lived in.

In May 2098, inspired by Zero's deeds, three superheroes emerged around the world at the same time. They began taking on the criminals and monsters Zero didn't have time to deal with.

The following June, more than a dozen superheroes appeared around the world.

In July, dozens of superheroes emerged.

Inspired by Zero's legendary deeds, superheroes began appearing in great numbers. The global crime rate began to fall that year.

In 2100, the twenty-second century officially began. It was a remarkable year, marked by many major events.

In March, the World Government established the Superhero Registration Act. Under the law, superheroes had to register with the government before they could fight crime. Otherwise, their actions would be considered criminal, and they would be wanted. This led to a split among superheroes, with some supporting the law and others opposing it.

Just as the whole world hoped Zero would come forward and say something, the man who had created countless legends over the past five years disappeared. The government searched for him, but all they found was his cloak.

In 2105, Lin Jie stood on a bustling street, staring blankly at the latest movie trailer playing on a giant screen.

A pretty host announced, "Welcome to the promotion for the new movie, Zero: I Am Not God. The heroic Zero is once again played by the superstar He Qi. And for the fifth film in the Zero series, we've invited the active A-Class Hero God Hand to play himself, since he was one of the witnesses to the events back then."

A masked man appeared before the crowd.

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

I can't believe they've made five whole movies about the stuff I did when I was going through my chuunibyou phase. Ah... This is so embarrassing! Those were supposed to be my dark past, and now they're making movies about them for the whole world to see... What kind of sick, humiliating roleplay is this?! Lin Jie roared inwardly. After all, he was the Zero who had disappeared five years ago.

The reason the whole world couldn't find him was that he'd spent five years as a shut-in.

At first, he'd only wanted to become a hero because of a bout of chuunibyou. But he kept getting stronger and stronger. By the time he realized what was happening, his life had become a complete mess. So, on the day he graduated from high school, he decisively gave up being a hero and became a shut-in instead.

It wasn't that Lin Jie had wanted to become a shut-in. But when he came to his senses, he didn't have a single close friend, his studies were a mess, he hadn't even gotten into a third-rate university, and no company was willing to hire someone with only a high school diploma. So he began his life as a shut-in.

Lin Jie often looked back on his middle and high school years.

When other chuunibyou boys played games where they fought heroes and monsters, he went out and fought real monsters...

When his classmates slashed monsters in computer games, he went out and slashed real monsters...

When his classmates went out to have fun after school, he went out to slay monsters...

When everyone exchanged contact information at graduation, he went out to slay monsters...

In the end, it wasn't until graduation that he realized he hadn't made a single friend. While everyone else had spent that time making friends, he'd spent it slaying monsters.

Then came high school, when boys and girls started dating.

While others went on dates in classrooms after school, he fought people in classrooms after school.

While others went on dates in the woods, he fought people in the woods.

While others went on dates by the river, he fought people by the river.

While others went on dates in the park, he fought people in the park.

Lin Jie thought carefully about the verdict on his three years of high school: everywhere other people went on dates, he'd gone to fight people. And in places where other people had sex, he'd actually been hit by artillery fire.

For a while, Lin Jie wondered if he'd put his skill points into the wrong stats. Why was it that the superheroes who came later spent every day rescuing beautiful women and then flirting with them, or flirting with them first and rescuing them afterward?

Lin Jie thought about what he'd faced... Monsters, cannons, hulking men, aliens... There hadn't even been a single female among them!

And so, after graduating from high school, Lin Jie finally got over his chuunibyou phase.

"I heard you were one of the victims of that cult incident, Mr. God Hand," the host said.

"That's right. I was a member of that cult, too. Thanks to Zero, I was able to break free of it and become a hero," God Hand replied.

"So this time you're playing yourself, since the role is based on you," the host said.

"Of course. This movie isn't just about Zero's heroic deeds; it also tells the story of how I became a hero. It means a lot to me. I'll never forget what he said to us after defeating the Evil God, when we were worshipping him. 'I am not a god. I'm just a human being who wants to eradicate evil,'" God Hand said.

"Yes. I think Zero was trying to tell us that instead of worshipping those things, we should stand up and fight back."

"That's right. His words inspired me to become a superhero. In fact, the early superheroes were all influenced by them."

Damn it! I only said that because I thought it would sound cool. There were quite a few beautiful women there, after all... Lin Jie screamed inwardly. It's so embarrassing to have people analyze something I said just to show off...

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

"I don't believe he's dead. I witnessed him fighting with my own eyes. A being that powerful simply can't be killed."

Huh? I'm that strong? But all I know how to do is slash people! And that Evil God thing was a total pushover.

"Is that so? It seems Mr. God Hand shares the same opinion as those early heroes. Thank you for joining us. This time, viewers will get to experience the hero series in its purest form. And now, we're pleased to welcome Qin Yanran, who plays the cult's Saintess. She'll star opposite Mr. He Qi..."

In its purest form, my ass! In the fourth movie, I clearly took down that boss octopus in one hit, but in the film, I got manhandled by that tentacle monster for a whole fifteen minutes... Just thinking about it makes me sick. The director actually had a tentacle monster manhandle a grown man... Lin Jie thought as he watched the screen. And then the captain's daughter rescued me, and we defeated the tentacle monster together before starting a love story... That captain's daughter had been hiding in the cabin the whole time, crying with her head in her hands...

Lin Jie couldn't help sighing. "I bet they'll have me getting involved with that Saintess in this movie, too. Come to think of it, when I said those words back then, I really was trying to get her attention. Too bad she'd passed out... If only things had really happened the way they did in the movies... I'm still single! How am I supposed to live with you telling everyone in your movies that I've been flirting with people? This is so damn heartbreaking! And I never even agreed to let them use my image. When did it become their company's exclusive property..."

Lin Jie spent a while furiously ranting to himself before remembering that his little sister had forced him to go out and find a job today.

Come to think of it, it's a good thing my sister doesn't know I'm Zero. With all these old, embarrassing movies and cartoons being made about me, I wouldn't be able to live at home if she found out. Other people's chuunibyou phases were just harmless antics, but mine played out in front of the whole world... Good thing I kept my identity secret back then. Otherwise, I really wouldn't be able to show my face now...