Chapter 9

Two weeks passed like that.

On the rooftop of a tall building, two people in sunglasses were observing the scene below.

"Thirteen, how's it looking on your end?" Xiao Zhan asked, munching on a pack of spicy sticks while watching Thirteen's feed through his glasses. "You know what, this new flavor of spicy sticks is actually pretty good."

"You, a filthy rich second-generation heir, finally understand the charm of fifty-cent spicy sticks, huh?" Lin Jie said from beside him. "Next time, I'll take you to buy a few other weird flavors."

"Gotta admit, this stuff called spicy sticks has been holding on in District C for over a hundred years—there's definitely something special about it," Xiao Zhan said.

"Hey hey, stop studying the spicy sticks. The suspect's shown up," Glasses' voice came through the communicator. Through the images displayed in their sunglasses, Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan clearly saw two groups of people appear in an abandoned factory.

"I'm Thirteen. Those two groups are here," Thirteen's voice sounded over the communicator. The perspective everyone was seeing right now was actually Thirteen's point of view.

"You sure they're a bunch of criminals?" Lin Jie confirmed again.

"I've seen these guys before. Seems like they've been doing biochemical research or something," Thirteen said. "I've been tailing them for a week. Trust me, they're about to crack."

"Thirteen, what's the enemy's strength?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"Before I started following them, they were a dangerous organization with over a dozen C-rank criminals and a few thousand mercenaries," Thirteen said. "But now there's only these few left. The high-level combat power's been wiped out."

"..." Lin Jie stared speechlessly at the dozen or so people making the trade. "Thirteen, how about you tail them another two days? I figure by then we won't even need to lift a finger."

"No can do. If we don't act, we won't get a rating," Xiao Zhan said.

"True, just following would be easier. But they seem desperate—heard they're planning to activate a biochemical product early and trade it with another organization," Thirteen said on the other end. "I'm about to make my move. Glasses, bring me some weapons. Oh, and grab some spicy sticks too."

"Don't call me Glasses! Call me by my name, Yan Qing, or just Transporter."

Glasses' name was Yan Qing, and he was also a rare spatial ability user, though he could only swap positions between himself and glasses he'd worn. And now everyone on their team had a pair of glasses Yan Qing had worn.

"Got it, Glasses."

"Understood, Glasses."

"Sure thing, Glasses. Don't forget the spicy sticks."

"..." The next moment, Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan's view showed Glasses' figure, holding a set of special equipment and a big bag of spicy sticks.

"As long as you brought this, it's fine." Thirteen took the spicy sticks.

"I swear, how obsessed are you guys with spicy sticks? Might as well rename our team the Spicy Stick Squad," Glasses said beside him. Over these two weeks, the three of them had gone through at least three big boxes of spicy sticks.

Just then, one side of the trade drove over a beat-up-looking truck and opened the container on it. Something like a nutrient pod appeared inside. But just as the two sides were about to make the exchange, the truck suddenly started moving on its own like it had malfunctioned, then crashed straight into the factory's abandoned sewage pool.

"What do we do?" Glasses asked.

"Let's see how it plays out first," Thirteen said.

In the short time they were talking, a massive explosion erupted from the sewage pool, and then a huge monster formed from sewage rose into view.

"Time for us to move," Xiao Zhan said to Lin Jie.

"Alright, I'm heading over." With that, Lin Jie walked toward the small door on the rooftop.

"What are you doing?" Xiao Zhan asked curiously.

"Going down to the top floor, then taking the elevator," Lin Jie said.

"That's too much trouble. Since I brought you up to the rooftop, it means I came prepared." Xiao Zhan said as he pulled out a pair of metal shoes. "Remember the Reaction Force Gloves I used when we first met? I successfully applied that tech to shoes. I call them Reaction Force Flying Shoes. Oh, I prepared a pair for you too."

"..." Lin Jie looked at the shoes in his hand, then at Xiao Zhan, who was already flying off like a leaky balloon, and decisively tossed the shoes aside. "I'll just take the elevator."

On the other side, Thirteen and Glasses, hidden in the shadows, saw the leader of the trading party press something in his hand, and the giant sewage monster calmed down.

"Time to move in. Take out that monster first," Thirteen said as he picked up an Electro-Light Gun.

Glasses also pulled a stack of glasses from his pocket.

Thirteen casually tossed the spicy sticks in his hand toward the sewage monster, then he and Glasses charged out.

"Illegal biochemical trade—prepare to face judgment!" Glasses shouted as he threw his glasses out, then pulled out two electric batons.

As the underlings from both trading sides opened fire at them, Glasses nimbly dodged the enemy shots by swapping positions with his glasses. But just then, an unexpected change occurred.

If you like this book, to avoid losing it next time, remember to bookmark it.

The bag of spicy sticks Thirteen had thrown entered the sewage monster's body, and at the same time, the trading leader was shocked to find his control device had lost its effect. The sewage monster began to go berserk.

A long sewage tentacle swept across, and in the aftermath, only Glasses and Thirteen were left standing.

"This..." Glasses was dumbfounded. "How did that sewage monster suddenly swallow its own people?"

"No idea. If there's one explanation, it's that I threw the spicy sticks in," Thirteen said.

"How powerful is this spicy stick stuff anyway!" Glasses exclaimed. "Crap, run!"

Watching the sewage monster squirming toward them, Glasses yelled, "Is there any way to kill it? I don't want to soak in sewage."

"I'll try." Thirteen opened fire on the sewage monster, then tossed a grenade. Seeing no effect, he turned and ran in another direction. "No good. No way at all. That was already my max output."

"Damn it!" Glasses cursed and started running too. "Then where did you get the confidence to charge out just now, you attack-power weakling?"

"Think about it—I'm a stealth specialist. Going head-on isn't really my thing," Thirteen said. "Speaking of which, don't you have any ideas?"

"I'm just a delivery boy! What ideas could I have?"

"From the way you shouted that slogan when you charged out, you sounded pretty confident."

"Can't even make a show of force, huh."

"As expected, you're useless except for those glasses!"

But the Sewage Monster in front of them didn't seem too interested in the two. After chasing them for a bit, it abandoned them and charged off in another direction.

"Not good! That's the direction of the city center!" Glasses said in a panic.

"I see." Lin Jie's voice came through the communicator: "Relax, I'm waiting for him in the city."

Watching the Sewage Monster steadily advance in his direction, Lin Jie couldn't help raising an eyebrow. Even from a distance, a nauseating stench had already reached his nose.

"Let's just get this done and head home." Thinking this, Lin Jie charged at the massive Sewage Monster. His Wolf Fang Club swept across its body with immense force, sending a torrent of filthy water flying everywhere. The streets were drenched, and a foul odor instantly filled the air.

The people who had originally gathered to watch a superhero battle a monster now began to scatter.

Lin Jie's swing didn't slow the monster's advance at all—it just made a mess of the streets.

The only silver lining was that his strike knocked out a few criminal suspects that the Sewage Monster had swallowed.

"Damn it! I hate liquid monsters the most!" Lin Jie shouted, and a visible current of air began to flow around his body.

"Hold on! Don't attack! If you keep this up, our food street will only be able to sell stinky tofu!"

Just as Lin Jie was charging up a big move, a voice from the crowd of onlookers called for him to stop, and many others chimed in agreement.

"Tch!" Lin Jie had to leap back. Glancing at the crowd, he couldn't help thinking: "Times sure have changed! I remember back when I was a hero, people would run for their lives at the sight of a monster. Now they just stand around watching and even give pointers!"

"Don't worry, buddy, I'm comi—i—i—ing!!" Xiao Zhan's voice rang out from the sky.

"Flew back, huh." Lin Jie watched Xiao Zhan spinning through the air.

"Lo—o—ok at thi—i—is... I still need to tweak it." Xiao Zhan said.

"Got a plan?" Lin Jie asked through the communicator. But he didn't get a chance to hear the answer, because Xiao Zhan spun straight into the sewage.

"...Forget it, I'll just go all out!" Lin Jie looked at Xiao Zhan, whose lower half was still stuck in the monster.

Just then, something miraculous happened. The sewage Xiao Zhan passed through rapidly turned into clear water. Taking the chance, Xiao Zhan freed himself from the Sewage Monster's body.

"What's going on?" Lin Jie dodged a tentacle from the Sewage Monster as he regrouped with Xiao Zhan: "How did you turn it into clear water?"

"Must be the effect of my brand-new 'Plasma Decontamination Rod 2000'." Xiao Zhan said, pulling out two short rods. A buzzing "whirring" sound came from them: "I upgraded it based on previous versions. Not only does it powerfully eliminate dust and grease, but this version can purify anything dirty."

"Never mind that for now—can you explain the vibrating function on that thing?" Lin Jie said.

"Vibration's nothing! It can even wiggle!" As he spoke, the tip of the vibrating Plasma Decontamination Rod began to sway. "Leave this monster to me."

"Are you sure you don't need to blur that thing out when you pull it out?"

"I'll consider it next time."