Chapter 3

"It seems I might have done something unnecessary?" Lin Jie said, watching the Ten Gods Family retreating. "Come to think of it, I was looking pretty cool just now. Dealing with these guys shouldn't be a problem."

"Ten Gods!! Ten Gods!! Ten Gods!!" At that moment, the onlookers began cheering for the Ten Gods Family.

"Wait!! This is a misunderstanding! We don't even know that kid!" Ten Gods said, taking two steps back. He had indeed obtained some gene-enhancing agents through his agency and learned quite a bit of karate, but his strength was barely at the D-Class level.

"Ten Gods!! Ten Gods!!..." Unfortunately, the cheers completely drowned out Ten Gods' words.

"What did you say? Kid? You mocking me?" Because the cheering was so loud and chaotic, Ten Gods' words only provoked the Black Hand Boss's anger.

"Wait! I..." Before he could finish, a massive fist slammed into his stomach. Ten Gods flew backward. The other four members of the Ten Gods Family stopped posing and charged at the Black Hand Leader together.

Then, one punch each, and the Ten Gods Family members were all sent flying.

"Oh? His strength and reaction speed after transforming are stronger than the Ten Gods Family's." Lin Jie observed the fight. "Now comes the most classic moment in a hot-blooded battle—the Ten Gods Family gets up and unleashes their Cosmo."

Sure enough, just as Lin Jie predicted, the Ten Gods Family's leader, Ten Gods, really did stagger to his feet. The crowd erupted in even louder cheers.

"Go for it! Lord Ten Gods!!"

Then, amid everyone's cheers, the newly risen Ten Gods foamed at the mouth and collapsed straight back down, his body twitching occasionally on the ground.

"..." The crowd fell into a brief silence before bursting into terrified screams again.

"..." Looking at the scattering crowd and then at the fallen Ten Gods Family, Lin Jie couldn't help but say, "Well, that was pretty creative, but it would've been better if they'd struck a couple of cool poses before collapsing."

The Black Hand Boss didn't bother with the fleeing crowd at all and walked straight toward the Ten Gods Family. Armed police who tried to intervene were blown away by him using a few cars.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Who would've thought that on the very day I became a superhero, I'd run into such a powerful opponent to make my name known." A young man in metal gear walked out from the crowd. "I'm the newly registered E-Class hero Zhan Chen. You'll be perfect for proving my strength."

Hearing the man's words, the Black Hand Boss instinctively said, "One-sided beatdown: five hundred thousand. Evenly matched fight: three hundred thousand. Pre-written taunt dialogue: extra fifty thousand. If the trouble spot is especially dangerous, escape route must be pre-arranged, plus corresponding medical fees."

"Huh?"

"Oh, and we have a <Let You Beat Down, Play Along with Your Swagger, Beg for Your Praise> full package for just nine hundred ninety-eight thousand." The Black Hand Boss replied habitually.

"Oh, then I'll take the nine hundred ninety-eight thousand one." The young man instinctively pulled out a check. Then he snapped out of it. "You almost tricked me! I'm a righteous hero! I wouldn't do something like paying to hype up my reputation!"

Zhan Chen pointed at him with righteous indignation.

"Oh, so that's it. No wonder it felt so weird! They're hired actors!" Lin Jie, watching from the sidelines, finally understood. "Come to think of it, I probably did something that caused a misunderstanding between both sides."

"If you're not here to do business, get lost. This doesn't concern you. Today, I'm taking down these frauds who deceived me," the Black Hand Leader said.

But Zhan Chen stood in front of the fallen Ten Gods Family members.

"I told you, I fight for justice. I won't let you hurt anyone." With that, Zhan Chen put on a pair of metal gloves and aimed at the giant before him. "Let me show you my high-power Reaction Gloves. This weapon can easily blow away even an elephant."

Zhan Chen activated the reactor in his palms...

And then he flew wildly through the air like a deflating balloon.

"...That's just a thruster, isn't it?" Lin Jie said.

"..." Watching Zhan Chen flailing in the sky, the Black Hand Boss was stunned. "I've been a terrorist for ten years, but this is the first time I've seen a superhero this stupid."

"Unbelievable... urp! Under the attack of my Reaction Gloves... urp! You... you didn't even budge... urp!" Zhan Chen, finally steadying himself while vomiting, said to the Black Hand Boss. "I admit you're worthy of being my... urp... opponent."

Faced with this guy's provocation, the Black Hand Boss chose to ignore him. He continued toward Ten Gods. Just as his hand was about to grab Ten Gods' neck, Zhan Chen pulled out a rod from somewhere.

"Let me show you the power of my 100,000 Volt Super Electric Baton!!" Zhan Chen swung it at the Black Hand Boss.

The Black Hand Boss turned, grabbed the rod from Zhan Chen's hand, and flung it in one direction. The rod left Zhan Chen's grip, and Zhan Chen himself flew toward Lin Jie's position, crashing into the lamppost where Lin Jie stood.

"Hey! You okay?" Lin Jie asked.

"Don't worry. As a hero, I'll be fine," Zhan Chen replied.

"Oh, then get up and fight again."

"Of course." Zhan Chen stood up again, pulling out two forks. "Let me show you my Plasma Decontamination Fork!!"

"Decontamination fork?"

Before Lin Jie could finish asking, Zhan Chen charged again. A few seconds later, he was thrown back.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Then go fight again."

"Oh." Zhan Chen leaped up again. "Let me show you my Super Tracking Throwing Knife."

A few seconds later.

"Back again?" Lin Jie.

"Yeah." Zhan Chen.

"You okay?" Lin Jie.

"I'm fine." Zhan Chen.

"Then go fight again."

"Yeah... Let me show you my High-Tech Electronic Gun..."

And so, after a dozen or so more attempts...

"You okay?" Lin Jie asked again.

"I'm done for..." Zhan Chen lay on the ground and said, "An agility hero like me just can't break through this high-defense warrior's defense..."

"Clearly, your combat power is a five."

"Tch. What do you know." As he spoke, Zhan Chen looked toward the Black Hand Leader, who was once again approaching Ten Gods, and said, "No choice, I really don't have the strength to move. But luckily, I still have one last weapon. Old Wang Next Door's socks, unwashed for three months."

With that, Zhan Chen pulled a small box from his backpack, carefully opened it, and hurled its contents at the Black Hand Leader as fast as he could.

The socks, carrying a nauseating stench, smacked directly into the Black Hand Leader's forehead.

"You damn fly, I've decided! I'll cripple you first." As he spoke, the Black Hand Boss tossed Ten Gods aside.

"See that? I actually managed to save him this time," Zhan Chen said to Lin Jie.

"But you're dead meat."

"..." Zhan Chen paused, his gaze shifting to the furious Black Hand Boss charging toward them. "I was so focused on saving him, I forgot about myself. Damn! Never thought a handsome guy like me would die here today. Buddy, you'd better run. It's dangerous here for me."

"Neither of you bastards who ruined my plans is getting away today!!" the Black Hand Leader roared as he rushed at the two.

"You run first! I'll hold him off," Zhan Chen said.

"You clearly can't beat him. Why don't you run?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"I'm a superhero. What kind of superhero runs away first and leaves civilians behind?" Zhan Chen replied.

But just as they were talking, the Black Hand Leader had already closed in on them. At that moment, Lin Jie stepped in front of Zhan Chen.

"A hero? I quit that a long time ago." Lin Jie muttered in a voice only he could hear, while pulling a Wolf Fang Club over a meter long from inside his coat.

"Holy crap, where were you hiding such a brutal weapon?!" Zhan Chen exclaimed in shock. "Are you a magician? And wouldn't stuffing a Wolf Fang Club in your coat stab yourself?"

But what stunned Zhan Chen even more came next. Lin Jie raised the Wolf Fang Club with one hand and swung it straight at the Black Hand Boss's head.

Then the Black Hand Boss collapsed unconscious. From the moment he swung the club to the moment the Black Hand Boss hit the ground, it took all of three seconds.

"You took down that high-defense tank in one hit!" Zhan Chen stared at the man in amazement, then his eyes lit up. "Let's team up! We'd definitely become the strongest hero duo ever."

"Not interested," Lin Jie replied.

"But I'm interested," Zhan Chen said, grabbing Lin Jie as he was about to head home. "Bro, you've got the firepower to take down monsters like this, and I've got powerful gear and a mind beyond the ordinary. If we team up, I'm sure we'll become an amazing hero combo."

"You? Sure about that powerful gear and beyond-ordinary mind?" Lin Jie stared at Zhan Chen in disbelief. "From where I'm standing, you look like a combat-power-five idiot who keeps asking for trouble."

"Tch, you just don't know my real strength. If I'd brought all my gear today, I'd have crushed him long ago."

Not long after, reinforcements from the Hero Association arrived. Leading them was a striking white-haired beauty. She looked toward where the Black Hand Boss had fallen and at Zhan Chen, who was still talking, along with the ordinary man he was forcibly dragging along, Lin Jie.

"Can you explain the situation here?"

"Oh?" Zhan Chen glanced at the striking beauty and said in surprise, "It's the B-Class hero, the Winter Witch! Can I get your autograph? I've always admired you."