Chapter 10

Xiao Zhan's vibrating "Plasma Decontamination Rod 2000" was, in a sense, remarkably effective. He casually swept the rod through the air, and large patches of sewage on the Sewage Monster turned into clean water and slid off its body.

Under the Decontamination Stick in Xiao Zhan's hand, the Sewage Monster's tentacles were completely dissolved in seconds.

"It's time to show people what I can do." As he spoke, Xiao Zhan turned the Decontamination Stick up to its highest setting. A fierce vibrating buzz rang out.

With the powerful vibrations, Xiao Zhan charged straight at the Sewage Monster before him.

When Thirteen and Glasses arrived at the scene, this was what they saw.

Xiao Zhan was soaked from head to toe, holding a strangely shaped vibrating rod that was still wobbling. He was jabbing it over and over at a Little Girl who was just as drenched. She was completely naked, her whole body wet, and knelt on the ground, her face flushed as she panted.

"You pervert! Let go of that little girl!" Glasses shouted as he charged at Xiao Zhan. "I can't believe you're that kind of person! I'm calling the police!"

"Exactly!" Lin Jie said from the side. "A creep like this should be castrated on the spot."

With that, Lin Jie came over and snatched the Decontamination Stick from Xiao Zhan.

"Um..." Xiao Zhan blushed. "It's a misunderstanding. She's actually the Sewage Monster's real body! Didn't you see, Lin Jie? I only wanted to clean her up because I felt sorry for her after she fell into the sewage pool and turned into a monster."

"I can confirm that," Lin Jie said. "But leave this kind of depraved business to me."

With that, Lin Jie walked toward the Little Girl, holding the rod he had just snatched.

"You creep! How can someone with such impure thoughts do this?" Thirteen grabbed Lin Jie's outstretched hand. "This kind of thing should be left to someone as pure-minded as me."

"You're drooling, you bastard!" Xiao Zhan shouted. "This is my weapon, so of course I should be the one to do it."

Listening to their conversation, Glasses turned to the stunned onlookers around them and shouted, "Can someone lend me their phone? There are three perverts here, and I'm calling the police!"

The four of them quietly watched the Little Girl, who had been draped in a coat. Under the four men's gaze, she trembled nonstop.

"A little girl... What should we do with her? Should we turn her over to the authorities for study?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"A little girl... This is a tough one. I can't bring myself to fight her," Thirteen said.

"Yeah, it's a problem. How about I just chop her up and be done with it?" Lin Jie said.

"Lin Jie! What's your zodiac sign? How can you be so cold-blooded?" Glasses shouted.

"Tch, this world really is all about looks. She caused twelve people to suffer severe oxygen deprivation, and three to die," Lin Jie said. "There's more than enough reason to chop her up."

"That won't do either!" Glasses shouted angrily. "The people she hurt were bad guys, and I'm sure she didn't want to turn into what she was just now."

"Then I'm out of ideas," Lin Jie said.

"Come to think of it, did she really go berserk because of that packet of spicy strips?" Xiao Zhan asked curiously.

"There's no other explanation," Thirteen said. "She went berserk right after I threw that packet of spicy strips."

"Fine, I've decided. From now on, whenever I do a chemical experiment, I'll add some spicy strips and see what happens," Xiao Zhan said from the side. "I have to admit, the gutter oil and other stuff in spicy strips really do make for some unique ingredients."

"Forget your experiments for now. What are we going to do with this little girl?" Glasses asked.

"What do you usually do when you find a stray little girl on the street?" Lin Jie asked.

"Take her home," Thirteen said.

"Take her home and do some research on her," Xiao Zhan said.

"So we really should take her home," Lin Jie said.

"I'm calling the police and having them arrest you three perverts," Glasses said from the side.

"If you won't let us take her home, should I just chop her up?" Lin Jie said, pulling out a kitchen knife.

"How can you be so cold-blooded? Lin Jie, what's your zodiac sign?" Glasses scolded him.

In the end, they took the Little Girl to the top floor of Xiao's Building, which also served as their team headquarters. The only interruptions along the way were two car accidents and an elevator malfunction. A major pipe explosion also occurred on the building's first floor, but thankfully, Thirteen had left in time, so the building could still be saved.

And so, the night passed.

Early the next morning, Lin Jie and Glasses arrived at the top floor of the building. There, a cute-looking Little Girl was clutching a packet of spicy strips and watching the news on TV.

Xiao Zhan was looking at the computer screen in front of him.

"What happened to those people from yesterday?" Lin Jie asked.

"I handed them over to the Hero Association," Xiao Zhan said. "By the way, I'll transfer the bounty to your accounts in a bit. You wouldn't believe it—the boss of the seller turned out to be the chairman of a famous biotech company."

"Oh?" Lin Jie said. "Does that mean our rankings might go up?"

"Yeah. I went from E-Class rank 19,980 to 17,777," Xiao Zhan said. "Lin Jie, you went from E-Class rank 29,998 to 27,777. Glasses went from D-Class rank 14,886 to 12,334. Thirteen's E-Class rank didn't change."

"Our rankings only went up by that much? Didn't you say that guy was the boss of a powerful organization?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"He was, but by the time we took action, his organization had already collapsed, so our score was reduced. Also, it seems their buyers have a powerful background, but I don't know the details. Most importantly, someone at the scene reported that we were molesting a girl, so most of our points were deducted," Xiao Zhan said. "I just don't get it. I was the one who took down the monster, yet people called me a pervert. For the record, every girlfriend I've had was a mature, curvy beauty."

"You still have the nerve to say you're not a pervert?" Glasses shouted.

"By the way, where did Thirteen go?" Lin Jie asked.

"He went on vacation to Paradise Island after getting a huge bonus," Xiao Zhan said.

"We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news. Waves as high as thirty meters have appeared around Paradise Island. They may indicate that the Sea Tribe has launched an attack on the island. All superheroes near Paradise Island should head there to provide assistance immediately..." The news came on right at that moment.

"..."

After a brief silence, Lin Jie spoke. "Forget it. Our scores aren't great, but at least you got famous this time, right?"

After purifying the Sewage Monster the day before, Xiao Zhan had won the approval of many onlookers. Most importantly, he had helped with the cleanup afterward.

With a few sweeps of the rod in his hand, Xiao Zhan cleaned the entire Food Street in less than fifteen minutes, even though it would normally have taken half a day. He also helped people who had been splashed with sewage clean it off themselves.

It was said that everyone purified by the two rods in his hands shared one trait: they all ended up flushed, panting, and sprawled on the ground. Though the superhero name Zhan Chen wasn't very well known, the title Decontamination Warrior had spread among housewives throughout H City.

"You might as well change your name to Decontamination Warrior. It'd probably be a lot more famous than your current name, Zhan Chen," Lin Jie said.

"No way. If I changed it to Decontamination Warrior, wouldn't I sound like I was selling laundry detergent?" Xiao Zhan said.

"Honestly, you'd have a much brighter future in housekeeping than as a superhero," Lin Jie said.

"Never mind all that. What are we going to do with that girl?" Glasses interrupted Lin Jie and Zhan Chen's argument. "Did you ask whether she has any family?"

"I did, but she hasn't said a word since she got here. She won't answer any questions," Xiao Zhan said, shaking his head. "She only reacts when I give her spicy strips."

"Feeding a little girl spicy strips... Just how depraved are you?" Glasses said as he snatched the spicy strips from the Little Girl.

The Little Girl's eyes welled up as she looked at Glasses, who had taken her spicy strips. Her little hands kept reaching for the packet in his grasp.

"I can't help it. All I have here are spicy strips," Xiao Zhan said. "Besides, you're the one who stole a kid's snack. You can't criticize me."

"Stop eating this stuff. Can't you see it's made those two idiots go stupid?" Glasses said, pointing at Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan, who each had a packet of spicy strips in hand.

"Don't eat this anymore. I'll take you out for something delicious in a bit. It'll taste a hundred times better than spicy strips," Glasses said.

The Little Girl thought it over with her big, adorable eyes before finally speaking her first words since arriving. "Really?"

Her voice was so sweet that Glasses was instantly smitten. "Of course. I never lie. This stuff is bad for you, and it'll make you stupid. If you don't believe me, just look at those two."

As he spoke, Glasses pointed at the two men with spicy strips hanging from their mouths.

The Little Girl tilted her head and looked at Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan, then thought about it before saying, "Okay..."

"Tch, you sick little-girl lover!" Lin Jie said.

"You sick little-girl lover," Xiao Zhan echoed.

"You two perverts have no right to talk," Glasses said angrily.

"Right, since she's talking to you, shouldn't you hurry up and ask her?" Xiao Zhan said.

"Oh." Glasses finally caught on. He turned to the Little Girl and said, "Before we go out for something delicious, can you tell me your name and whether you have any family?"

"..." The Little Girl thought for a moment. "I can't remember."

"Do you remember what happened before?"

"No."

"Is there anything else you remember?"

"Um... I remember controlling something, then this fell in, and then I couldn't remember anything." The Little Girl pointed at the spicy strips in Glasses's hand. Then she seemed to suddenly realize something and said, "So eating these really does make you stupid. No wonder my two perverted big brothers look so stupid."

"Pfft... 'Perverted big brothers'... That's so true!" Glasses burst out laughing, completely ignoring the fact that Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan's faces had already darkened.

"All right, big brother little-girl lover, when are we going to eat something delicious?"

"Big brother little-girl lover?" Glasses froze.

This time, Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan burst out laughing.

Just as they were messing around, the doorbell rang. Xiao Zhan checked the monitor by the entrance and saw a silver-haired figure on the screen.