Chapter 4

"Could you tell me what happened?" The Winter Witch completely ignored the enthusiasm of the person in front of her.

"Oh, I'm Zhan Chen, a newly registered E-Class superhero. This guy and I took him down together." As he spoke, Zhan Chen pointed at Lin Jie. "Huh? Where'd he go?"

Lin Jie had already disappeared from where he'd been standing.

The B-Class hero known as the Winter Witch turned her attention to the fallen Black Hand Leader.

"Black Hand, a C-Class Wanted Criminal. I never expected him to have Berserk, too. That would raise his strength to at least B-Class." She then examined Black Hand's injuries. "There are anesthetic bullets in his body, but the strongest blow came from a strike to the head. His life isn't in danger, but he has a mild concussion..."

"Thank goodness I ran fast. Otherwise, that goofball might've kept pestering me for ages." Thinking to himself, Lin Jie made his way back to his front door.

Inside his home, a story about a domineering CEO and a young woman was unfolding.

A cold, devilishly handsome man said to a beautiful young woman, "I won't approve your resignation. I've told you before—you're mine."

As he spoke, the man edged closer to her.

With his devilishly handsome looks and domineering presence, almost any woman would have fallen for him.

After all, he was handsome, rich, and powerful, and he looked down on all other women. He was practically the standard male lead in a romance novel.

Unfortunately, the young woman before him had grown up with Lin Jie.

"Get lost! I'm not a prostitute, and I never sold myself to you." The girl punched at the man. "Do you know how long I've been applying for a spot at Dr. Qin's Research Institute?"

The man caught her fist. "If you want to work at a research institute, I can get you into a hundred of them! But they'll have to be affiliated with Long Corporation."

"Get lost."

"I told you, you have to be mine."

Just as the man was about to say more, a powerful electric current shot from her palm. The handsome man convulsed and collapsed to the floor.

"My latest Anti-Pervert Device really works." The girl grabbed the man and gave him a hard shoulder throw. "I told you, I quit! Stop pestering me!"

The man went flying toward the front door Lin Jie had just opened. Lin Jie saw the devilishly handsome guy hurtling toward him, stepped aside, then walked in and shut the door.

"Seriously, is this another story about an innocent girl beating up a domineering CEO?" Lin Jie asked the girl inside. "That guy's obviously ridiculously handsome, and he seems to like you. Why don't you like him?"

"Do I really have to explain? The man I love has always been someone like Zero, a hero who doesn't care about fame or fortune and is incredibly powerful. Not some pretty-boy stuffed shirt who uses his looks and money to build up his reputation." The girl spoke to Lin Jie.

The girl was Lin Wan, Lin Jie's younger sister. When she was little, the superhero Zero had once saved her, and she'd fallen for him ever since. That was why Lin Jie had decided to keep his identity as Zero a secret from his only sister. He knew that finding out the hero she'd always admired was actually her useless older brother might come as a serious blow.

"My dear little sister, have you ever considered that Zero's been gone for a long time? And you're not a child anymore." Lin Jie said from the side. "You should give up on these unrealistic fantasies."

"Get lost." Lin Wan shot Lin Jie a withering glance. "By the way, did you go to the job fair today? Did you find a suitable job?"

"Well... Dear little sister, I've lost my way in life..."

"Speak plainly!"

"Fine. I didn't find one."

"Tell the truth!"

"Fine. I didn't go."

Hearing that, Lin Wan took a deep breath and forced down her anger.

"Big brother, do you know how many years you've been sitting around at home?"

"Well..."

"Five whole years. If you keep this up, you'll turn into a complete parasite." Lin Wan said.

"Are you my mom?" Lin Jie asked. "Mom never said things like that to me, and Dad never said them either."

"Are you asking for a beating? Mom and Dad were hung on the wall nineteen years ago. It'd be a miracle if they could talk." As Lin Wan spoke, she picked up a rolling pin. "Besides, I'll get married sooner or later. I can't support you for the rest of your life. How are you going to manage on your own then?"

Lin Jie lit a cigarette at her words.

"Ah! A daughter grown up and ready to leave! When she was little, she said she'd live with me forever. I never thought she'd abandon the person who raised her all by himself so soon. Ah! Such is the fickleness of the world."

"I'd better beat you up." The girl swung the rolling pin at Lin Jie.

Just then, a man stepped between them.

"Sorry to interrupt." A man appeared in the doorway. It was Zhan Chen, the E-Class hero Lin Jie had run into earlier.

"Damn, you're like a bad penny. How'd you get in here?" Lin Jie asked.

"With a lock like yours, all I need is a piece of chewing gum." Zhan Chen then turned to Lin Wan. "Hello, I'm Zhan Chen, an E-Class hero. My real name is Xiao Zhan. I'm here to invite your brother to become a hero with me."

"You mean you want my brother as your partner?" Lin Wan asked in disbelief.

"That's right. If he becomes a superhero, his job problem will be solved. Superheroes get bonuses for defeating enemies. And as my assistant, he'll also get a salary from the Xiao Group."

"I don't want to become a superhero with you, you goofball." Lin Jie said.

"Great, we agree. From now on, my brother's yours." Lin Wan said.

"Hey, hey! I'm just an ordinary person! I don't even know how to fight." Lin Jie said.

"Weren't you a delinquent, big brother? You used to get into fights all the time." Lin Wan said.

"...When did I ever become a delinquent?" Lin Jie protested.

"I looked into your background. Your old classmates said you used to skip class all the time and would show up with injuries now and then. They were all afraid of you, so if you weren't a delinquent, what were you? You stopped acting out after graduating from high school, but then you stayed home for five whole years." Xiao Zhan said.

"Mm-hmm."

Lin Wan nodded repeatedly from the side.

So much for being a hero. Damn it. Lin Jie roared inwardly. So the reason I could never make friends was that everyone thought I'd been in a gang.

"Fine, even if I was a delinquent, that doesn't mean I can fight!" Lin Jie said.

"Didn't you just take down a C-Class Wanted Criminal in one hit?" Xiao Zhan said. "With my brains and your strength, we'd make a formidable team."

As he spoke, Xiao Zhan took out a recording of Lin Jie striking the Black Hand Boss in one blow.

"You were in that situation, and you still had time to record it?"

"I was planning to film my glorious victory." Xiao Zhan said.

"I'll give you that." Lin Jie said.

"Turns out all the kids in our family can fight. No wonder you lasted five years in a gang, big brother. You're pretty tough after all, so there's no problem." Lin Wan said with a smile.

"But..."

"No buts." Lin Wan slapped a hand down on the table, smashing it to pieces. "Becoming a hero is your chance to turn your life around, you good-for-nothing who only knows how to make a mess. Got it?"

Lin Jie was so startled by Lin Wan's blow that he started trembling.

"Yes! I'll make sure to turn over a new leaf." Lin Jie said.

"That's more like it." Lin Wan turned to Xiao Zhan. "By the way."

"W-what is it?" Xiao Zhan's voice trembled a little, too.

"Stay for dinner."

"G-gladly."

Watching Lin Wan head into the kitchen, Xiao Zhan turned to Lin Jie and said, "Why does your sister seem so fierce?"

"She's trained in karate, taekwondo, aikido, judo, Muay Thai, yoga, Jeet Kune Do, tai chi, and Xingyiquan. She's a master at all of them except tai chi and Xingyiquan." Lin Jie said to Xiao Zhan.

"Big brother used to be a delinquent and was always going out to fight people. If I didn't learn some self-defense, what would I do if one of his enemies came after me?" Lin Wan's voice came from the kitchen.

"Ah! Time really is a butcher's knife."

Lin Jie remembered what Lin Wan had been like as a child: a sweet, adorable little girl who would take his hand and say, "I love you most, big brother. I want to be with you forever."

But now Lin Wan looked at him as if he were trash and said, "Big brother, if you don't get a job soon, I'll beat you up."

"How did I raise a perfectly good little girl into a tough guy?" Lin Jie sighed. "Where did my parenting go wrong?"

"By the way, I saw Young Master Long outside your apartment today." Xiao Zhan interrupted Lin Jie's thoughts.

"Young Master Long? Is he powerful?"

"He's known as the Uncrowned King of H City. Whenever anyone in H City, in the underworld or aboveground, wants to make a big move, they practically have to see what he thinks. The bodyguards he takes out with him are all S-Class. Nobody who crosses him comes to a good end." Xiao Zhan said.

"He's that powerful?" Lin Jie said, remembering that the handsome guy his sister had thrown out of the room also seemed to be named Long.

"Of course. If he wanted to become a criminal, all of H City would fall within a week. But I heard he's recently been chasing after a secretary and has completely thrown away his dignity." Xiao Zhan said.

"Rich, handsome, powerful, influential, and shameless? Isn't that unbeatable?" Lin Jie said in surprise. At the same time, he prayed to himself, Please don't let that be the guy my sister threw out!

"By the way, your sister's trained, but what about you? That Wolf Fang Club you were carrying must have an attack rating of at least 150, and you lifted it with one hand. Can you tell me how you trained?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"You sure you want to know?"

"I'm sure."

"Fine, I'll tell you." Lin Jie said. "At first, I was longing for that kind of passionate battle, that clash between souls. So I kept fighting."

"And then?"

"I went bald, and I got stronger." Lin Jie said. "Later, I realized that being invincible is pretty lonely."

"..." Xiao Zhan was silent for a few seconds, then roared, "Bald, my ass! Your hair's still right there on your head! Believe me, I'll shave it all off! Don't try to fool me with that One Punch Man joke! Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Shame. You're such a goofball, but you're no fun to fool."

"You're the goofball! Your whole family's full of goofballs!"

"Dare say that again in front of my sister?"