Chapter 8

"I'm an E-rank hero called Godly Ghost. Actually, this name wasn't my own idea—it was given to me by people in the Hero Association. But I think it sounds pretty imposing, so I accepted it.

Come to think of it, I've been an orphan since I was little. The auntie at the orphanage gave me the name Thirteen. I thought I'd grow up happy there, but when I was three, the orphanage shut down. I heard it was raided by armed police. To this day, I can't figure out why my teachers blamed everything on me—it was them doing human experiments.

But I let that slide. After all, I never saw them again.

My memories from ages three to seven are pretty fuzzy. I was too young, and the key thing was I kept switching orphanages. Hardly any would take me in for more than half a month, so over those years I stayed at almost every shelter in District C.

By the time I was seven, no shelter would accept me anymore, so I ended up on the streets early.

That was a rough time, but luckily I found a way to survive.

Once, I hung around outside a house that looked rich, hoping to beg a meal because I was starving. After I'd been there all day, the owner came out, gave me a bunch of money, and begged me to go somewhere else. He even knelt right there.

From then on, whenever I needed cash, I'd pick out a few rich-looking people to follow, and they'd kindly hand me a big sum to make me leave.

That's how I lived until I was ten. By then I realized that whoever I followed ended up unlucky, so people would scatter the moment they saw me. Whenever I went out, the whole street would clear out in no time.

Honestly, it hurt. I understood then that people deeply loathed me—many wished I was dead. But thankfully, even the gangsters wouldn't come near me.

I was heartbroken and rebellious back then, so I'd target big-shot bosses I didn't like and stake out their companies. Every day, I'd watch all kinds of chaos unfold.

But during one of my usual stakeouts, a monster attacked the mall I was in. Strangely, no other building was hit. A lot of people died, and a huge chunk of ceiling fell right toward me.

I thought I was done for. I figured dying was fine—no one wanted me anyway.

But I didn't die, because Zero showed up and saved me.

I only saw his back, but I was captivated. I knew then that he had a great soul that didn't discriminate—because among the people he saved were plenty of scumbags.

So I started idolizing Zero and decided to become a hero to meet him again. I trained myself, and five years later, when I was fifteen, I joined the superhero ranks. All I wanted was to be part of them and thank Senior Zero.

With that dream, I became a superhero.

Then Senior Zero disappeared, and the superheroes split into two factions that fought. The winning side formed the Hero Association, and I became a member.

Life here wasn't bad. The Association assigned me to two teams, but within days, my teammates all died alongside my enemies.

Later, a ranking system came out. I went through four examiners before finishing my test. I thought with my strength I'd at least be A-rank, but they gave me an E.

I went to complain to the then-chairman, and he hanged himself that very night...

"The next chairman kept avoiding me too. So I'm still E-rank. That should give you some idea about me, right?" Godly Ghost sat on a pile of rubble, speaking to Glasses, who was buried in a heap of broken stones.

"Can you call an ambulance first?!" Glasses roared.

"Sorry, sorry—got lost in memories and forgot. I'll get you out now. Who'd have thought Zero's statue would just fall over for no reason," Godly Ghost said.

"Don't! I'll do it myself..." Glasses started, but it was too late. Another statue toppled toward them. Godly Ghost reacted fast, leaping back to dodge it, but Glasses, buried under the rubble, went completely silent.

"Forget it, I'll check on Lin Jie and the others first." Godly Ghost dialed a number.

Inside a moving ambulance, Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan were lying down.

"Hello? Who's this?"

"It's me, Godly Ghost."

"Oh, what's up?"

"Just checking how you two are doing. Glasses is gonna take a while to dig out," Godly Ghost said.

"Don't worry, we're—" Before he could finish, a loud crash came from the other end of the line, then nothing.

"..." Godly Ghost silently hung up and looked back at the rubble and rescue workers. "Better figure out how to get Glasses out first."

The next afternoon, in a room at H City Central Hospital, two nutrient tanks stood quietly.

Lin Jie walked in, glanced at the two people inside, and said, "How are you guys?"

In one tank, Xiao Zhan opened his eyes and looked at Lin Jie. His body was covered in wounds, and a medical brace held his neck steady.

"Looks like I'll be out in another day. How come you're fine?" Xiao Zhan typed on the tank's electronic display.

"The doctor said I just had a dislocated shoulder. Slept it off in one night," Lin Jie said, then turned to Glasses in the other tank. "Why are you wrapped up like a mummy?"

"The doctor said I had full-body fractures. Surviving this is already a miracle," Glasses typed.

"That serious!"

"Hey, can we talk about something? Could you reconsider inviting Godly Ghost?" Xiao Zhan typed.

"Well... I won't take back what I said, but don't worry—I'm planning to have Glasses join us too," Lin Jie said.

"Good idea. We need someone to run errands," Xiao Zhan replied.

"Wait... what are you talking about? I'm not joining you!" Glasses's expression twisted in the tank.

"If it weren't for you, I'd never have met Godly Ghost. You think you get off easy?" Lin Jie's expression turned grim. "If you don't agree, I'll ask Godly Ghost to stick with you."

"You bastard," Glasses said.

"Oh? Who should I stick with?" Godly Ghost walked in just then.

"Nothing. Glasses says he's fine with you tagging along, and he's decided to join us. I hear Glasses is a D-rank hero too," Lin Jie said. "By the way, Thirteen, you're really something. Last time I got this banged up was seven or eight years ago."

"Just call me Thirteen—that's my real name," Godly Ghost said. "No need to be so formal."

"Alright, Thirteen. But honestly, your power is a bit... well, I won't go back on my word, so..." Lin Jie fumbled for words.

"Don't worry, I understand. From now on, I'll try to keep my distance from you all," Thirteen said cheerfully.

"Then I'm relieved, Thirteen," Lin Jie said. "We'll keep in touch by phone. If you need anything, just have Glasses bring it to you."

"That works. Speaking of which, Glasses and I actually have a lot in common." Thirteen turned to Glasses in the cultivation pod. "Hey, why aren't you saying anything? Are you mad at me for getting you into this? It was really just a coincidence—you saw it yourself, I didn't do anything, and I even tried to save you, didn't I?"

But Glasses in the nutrient pod wasn't just silent—his face was turning blue.

There was one other person whose face was just as blue: Xiao Zhan.

Even Lin Jie, slow as he was, could tell something was wrong now.

"Move aside." Doctors and nurses rushed in urgently. "The oxygen supply suddenly malfunctioned. If this keeps up, the person inside will suffocate."

"..." Lin Jie instinctively glanced at Thirteen beside him and couldn't help taking two steps away.

"Need any help?" Thirteen asked.

"No, we just need to open the machine and drain the nutrient fluid," the doctor said. "Huh? Why won't the password lock open?"

"What's wrong?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"Oh no! The machine's malfunctioning—now we can't even open the pod!" The doctor was already sweating profusely. "I've been in this hospital for thirty years, and this is the first time I've seen this."

The young nurse beside him was completely panicked.

"Want me to help?" Thirteen asked.

"No, let me!" Lin Jie said, pulling out his spiked club.

No way—if he let Thirteen help again, those two would be dead for sure.

"Watch me, Lin Jie, smash the vat." With a swing of his club, the spiked weapon struck the nutrient pod. The next moment, the pod shattered, and the two were finally rescued.

Doctors and nurses laid each person on a hospital bed. Glasses had already passed out completely, and several doctors were performing CPR on him.

Xiao Chen slowly opened his eyes. "I just saw my dead dad calling me to join him..."

"Don't worry, your dad was just checking in on you. He's gone now," Lin Jie said.

And so, amid the doctors' frantic efforts, a brand-new superhero team was born in H City.