Chapter 4

"Could you please explain what happened?" The Winter Witch completely ignored the man's enthusiasm before her.

"Oh, I'm Zhan Chen, a newly registered E-Class superhero. This guy was taken down by me and my assistant here." As Zhan Chen spoke, he pointed at Lin Jie: "Hey? Where'd he go?"

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

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

"C-Class wanted criminal Black Hand. I didn't expect him to have the Berserk ability. That alone could boost his strength to B-Class at least." She checked Black Hand's injuries: "There are anesthetic bullets, but the strongest attack came from a blow to the head. His life isn't in danger, just some concussion..."

"Damn, lucky I ran fast, or that idiot would've kept pestering me forever." Lin Jie muttered as he made his way back to his own doorstep.

Meanwhile, inside his home, a story of a domineering CEO and a young girl was unfolding.

A cold-faced man with a face so devilishly handsome it could only be called monstrous was saying to a pretty girl: "I won't approve your resignation. I've told you, you're mine."

As he spoke, the man pressed closer to the girl.

With his monstrous good looks and his overbearing aura, almost any woman would have given in.

After all, he was handsome, rich, incredibly strong, and dismissive of all other girls—practically the standard male lead from many romance novels.

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

"Get lost! I'm not a prostitute, and I didn't sell myself to you." As she spoke, she punched the man: "Do you know how long I applied for the chance to get into Dr. Qin's Research Institute?"

The man caught her fist: "If you want to get into a research institute, I can arrange a hundred for you! But only if they're under the Long Corporation's banner."

"Get lost."

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

Just as the man was about to say something more, a powerful electric current shot through his palm. The next moment, the handsome guy convulsed and collapsed to the floor.

"My latest Anti-Pervert Device really works." With that, the girl grabbed the man and threw him in a vicious shoulder toss: "I told you, I quit! Stop bothering me endlessly."

The man flew straight toward the door Lin Jie had just opened. Seeing a monstrously handsome guy flying at him, Lin Jie sidestepped, dodged, then entered and closed the door.

"So, another episode of 'Pure Girl Beats Up Domineering CEO' today, huh?" Lin Jie said to the girl inside: "Speaking of which, this guy's obviously ridiculously good-looking and seems pretty into you. Why don't you like him?"

"Do I even need to ask? The man in my heart will always be someone like 'Zero'—a hero who doesn't care about fame or fortune at all, not some pretty face using his looks and money to build a reputation." The girl said to Lin Jie.

The girl's name was Lin Wan, Lin Jie's younger sister. When she was little, she'd been saved once by the superhero 'Zero,' and she'd had a crush on him ever since. That was also why Lin Jie had resolved to keep his identity as 'Zero' a secret from his only sister—if Lin Wan ever found out that the hero she'd always admired was actually her useless brother, who knew how crushed she'd be.

"My dear sister, haven't you considered that Zero's been gone for a long time now? And you're not a kid anymore." Lin Jie said from the side: "Better give up on those unrealistic fantasies."

"Get lost." Lin Wan shot Lin Jie a glare: "By the way, did you go to that job fair today? Find anything suitable?"

"Well... my dear sister, I've actually lost my way on the road of life..."

"Speak like a normal person!"

"Fine, I didn't find anything."

"Tell the truth!"

"Fine, I didn't actually go."

Hearing this, Lin Wan took a deep breath, forcing down the anger in her chest.

"Bro, do you know how many years you've been holed up at home?"

"Well..."

"Five whole years. If this keeps up, you'll become a complete parasite." Lin Wan said.

"Are you my mom?" Lin Jie said: "Mom never talked to me like that, and Dad never did either."

"Are you asking for a beating? Mom and Dad have been on the wall for nineteen years now. It'd be a miracle if they could talk." Lin Wan said, pulling out a rolling pin: "Besides, I'll get married sooner or later. I can't support you forever. How are you going to live on your own then?"

Hearing her words, Lin Jie lit a cigarette.

"Sigh! Daughters are impossible to keep. When you were little, you said you'd live with me forever. I never thought you'd abandon me so soon, the one who raised you with all that hardship. Sigh! Such is the coldness of the world."

"Then I'll just beat you up instead." With that, the girl swung the rolling pin at Lin Jie.

Just then, a man's body wedged itself between them.

"Sorry to interrupt." A man appeared at their doorway—it was the E-Class hero Zhan Chen that Lin Jie had run into earlier.

"Damn it, you persistent bastard, how did you get in?" Lin Jie couldn't help saying.

"A lock like yours? I can handle it with just a piece of gum." Zhan Chen said, then turned to Lin Wan: "Hello, I'm E-Class hero Zhan Chen. My real name is Xiao Zhan. I'm here to invite your brother to become a hero with me."

"You mean you want to invite my brother to be your partner?" Lin Wan said in disbelief.

"That's right. Becoming a superhero would solve your brother's job problem. You see, superheroes get corresponding bounties when they take down enemies. And as my assistant, the Xiao Group will also pay him a salary."

"There's no way I'm becoming a superhero with an idiot like you." Lin Jie said.

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

If you can't find the book by title, try searching by author—maybe it's just been renamed!

"Hey hey!! I'm just an ordinary guy! I don't have any fighting experience either." Lin Jie said.

"Bro, weren't you a delinquent back in the day? And you used to fight all the time." Lin Wan said.

"...When was I ever a delinquent?" Lin Jie defended himself.

"I looked into your background. Your old classmates say you used to skip class all the time and showed up with injuries pretty often. So they were all scared of you. If you're not a delinquent, what are you? But after high school, you stopped the bad behavior—only to hole up at home for five whole years." Xiao Zhan said.

"Mm-hmm."

Lin Wan nodded along beside him.

"So being a hero gets you no reward, huh? Damn it." Lin Jie roared inwardly. "So the reason I've never made any friends is because they all think I ran with the mob."

"Fine, even if I was a delinquent, that doesn't mean I'm a good fighter!" Lin Jie said.

"Didn't you just one-shot a C-Class Wanted Criminal today?" Xiao Zhan said. "My brains plus your brawn—we could be a pretty strong combo."

With that, Xiao Zhan pulled out a video. It was the clip of Lin Jie taking down the Black Hand Boss in one hit.

"You had the nerve to film that in the middle of all that?"

"I was planning to record my own glorious achievements." Xiao Zhan said.

"You're something else." Lin Jie said.

"See? Us Lin family kids can all throw down. I was wondering how you managed to hang with the mob for five years, big bro. Turns out you're pretty tough. No problem then." Lin Wan said with a smile.

"But—"

"No buts." Lin Wan slapped her hand down on the table, and the whole thing shattered under her palm. "Going to be a hero is giving a trash-producing scumbag like you a second chance at life, got it?"

Shaken by Lin Wan's display, Lin Jie was trembling all over.

"Yes! I'll definitely reform properly." Lin Jie said.

"That's more like it." Lin Wan turned to Xiao Zhan. "Oh, right."

"Wh-What is it?" Xiao Zhan's voice was shaky too.

"Stay for a meal."

"O-Okay."

Watching Lin Wan head into the kitchen, Xiao Zhan couldn't help saying to Lin Jie, "Why does your sister look so fierce?"

"She's trained in karate, taekwondo, aikido, judo, Muay Thai, yoga, Jeet Kune Do, tai chi, and xingyi. Except for tai chi and xingyi, she's at master level in everything else." Lin Jie said to Xiao Zhan.

"Big bro used to be a delinquent and went out fighting all the time. If I didn't learn some self-defense, what if his enemies came after me?" Lin Wan's voice came from the kitchen.

"Sigh. Time really is a butcher's knife."

Lin Jie remembered Lin Wan as a little girl—an adorable, cute little girl holding his hand and saying in a sweet voice, "I love big bro the most. I want to be with you forever."

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

"A perfectly good girl, and I raised her into a brute." Lin Jie lamented. "Where did my parenting go wrong?"

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

"Young Master Long? Is he that impressive?"

"He's called the Uncrowned King of H City. Whether it's the underworld or the legitimate world, anyone making big moves in H City has to watch their step around him. The bodyguards he takes out are S-Class. Anyone who offends him ends up badly." Xiao Zhan said.

"That impressive?" Lin Jie said, remembering that handsome guy his sister had thrown out of the room. He was also named Long.

"Of course he's impressive. If he wanted to be a criminal, the whole of H City would fall in under a week. But I heard lately he's been chasing after some little secretary, throwing all dignity out the window." Xiao Zhan said.

"Rich, handsome, powerful, and shameless? That's unbeatable!" Lin Jie said in shock. At the same time, he prayed inwardly, 'Please don't let it be the one my sister threw out.'

"Speaking of which, your sister's trained. What about you? That Wolf Fang Club you picked up weighs at least 150 jin, and you lifted it one-handed. Can you tell me how you trained?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"You sure you want to know?"

"I'm sure."

"Fine, I'll tell you then." Lin Jie said. "At first, I craved those hot-blooded fights, that clash of soul against soul. So I kept fighting."

"And then?"

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

"..." Xiao Zhan was silent for a few seconds, then roared, "Bald my ass! Your hair's still perfectly on your head! Want me to actually shave you bald? Don't pull that One Punch Man gag on me! Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Tch. A total goofball, and I can't even fool him."

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

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