Chapter 17

"Glasses, get in touch with Dong Xue'er. The operation she mentioned is the day after tomorrow, isn't it? We still don't know the exact location where Ouyang Rui and the Evolution Company agreed to meet," Xiao Zhan said.

"I'm starting to miss Thirteen. If he were here, this would be easy. We'd just have him sit outside Ouyang Rui's house for a few days, and everything would be taken care of," Glasses said. "I heard they even sent out an S-Class Superhero over on Paradise Island, where he is."

"Here's an idea. Tell me where Ouyang Rui is, and I'll go chop him up," Lin Jie said.

"I'd like that too," Xiao Zhan said. "But if you attack the Hero Association's chairman without evidence, are you trying to get yourself wanted nationwide?"

"..."

"Keep an eye on Lin Wan and Mu Mu. I'll get in touch with Dong Xue'er," Glasses said.

With that, Glasses stood up and vanished, leaving a pair of glasses behind where he had been.

Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan looked at the glasses, then at each other, and nodded. Ten minutes later, the pair Glasses had left behind was hanging from the lightning rod atop the lookout tower.

"Don't forget to take a picture when he changes back," Lin Jie said.

Xiao Zhan gave him an assuring thumbs-up.

Meanwhile, Glasses found himself in an awkward situation. He was sprawled on the floor of an office, on top of a petite figure.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to! I don't know why I ended up colliding with you when I teleported here..." Glasses hurriedly explained.

"You pervert! Get off me already!" The petite girl beneath him flushed bright red.

"Oh my, doing this sort of thing in the office in broad daylight?" Dong Xue'er suddenly appeared in the room, holding up her phone and snapping pictures nonstop.

"Get off me already!" The girl kicked Glasses hard in the stomach, sending him flying.

She sprang to her feet. "Delete those pictures right now!"

"Like I'd do that! How could I delete these rare photos of my adorable little sister getting knocked down? I'm going to post them online and share them with all my friends," Dong Xue'er said.

"Wait a second. Why did the glasses I gave you to help me locate you end up on this girl?" Glasses asked, struggling to get up.

"Oh!" The girl gave an enlightened look. "No wonder you were so nice and gave me a pair of glasses. You did it on purpose!"

"So what if I did?" Dong Xue'er said with a triumphant grin.

"Damn it! Tell me what you want. What will it take for you to delete those pictures?" the girl said furiously.

Dong Xue'er only smiled faintly. "The same thing I told you before."

"No way!" The girl answered without hesitation. "The Ouyang and Dong families are partners now! If you do this, the family will definitely be furious. I'm warning you, don't do anything rash."

"Really? What a shame... But I hear you've got plenty of devoted fans in B City, Xiao Ye. I wonder what'll happen if these pictures get out. I can't wait to see," Dong Xue'er said with a smile.

"..." After a brief inner struggle, the girl gritted her teeth. "Fine, you win. I'll help you. But let me make one thing clear: what you're planning will definitely make the family furious. Don't say I had anything to do with it when that happens."

"More than the family's anger, I care about the justice in my heart," the girl said.

"But doing this won't bring you any benefits at all," the girl urged, still unwilling to give up.

"This is my duty as a Superhero admired by others. I'm not doing it for personal gain." Dong Xue'er's expression turned solemn. "Do you know how many children Ouyang Rui has killed by secretly supporting human experimentation? Do you know how much damage he caused by leaking the private information of those Superheroes with a sense of justice to criminals?"

"..." The girl fell silent for a moment. "But you should know that our families became the most powerful in District C through accumulating profits, not through a sense of justice. The organizations in District C, including the Eight Great Families of District C, became families of heroes only because it brought greater profits. But if you harm the family's interests at a time like this... you may never be able to be a hero again."

"That's why I hate families like this," Dong Xue'er said.

"Fine. Do whatever you want."

And so, the afternoon came.

Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan stood in an empty alley, facing two men dressed in outlandish outfits.

"Blast Brothers! They're both C-Class Heroes," Xiao Zhan said beside Lin Jie.

"Those are the two bomber brothers who've been making waves lately?" Lin Jie muttered under his breath.

"Have you two finished discussing? Are you coming with us for questioning, or do we have to arrest you? And where's that little girl?" one of the Blast Brothers asked impatiently.

"Lin Jie, I'll leave this to you," Xiao Zhan said.

"Hey, hey, this is already the fourth group today. Why am I always the one doing the fighting? What use are you, then?" Lin Jie complained.

"I'm here to cover you," Xiao Zhan said. "Isn't that how it works in a battle?"

At the same time, atop the amusement park's lookout tower, Glasses clung to the lightning rod, shivering.

"Those two bastards really hung my glasses up here!" Glasses roared. By then, quite a crowd had gathered below him. As he tried to figure out how to get down without sacrificing his glasses, a tremendous explosion rang out from the amusement park plaza.

"Oh no! That's where Lin Wan and Mu Mu are!" Glasses couldn't worry about anything else. He vanished on the spot, only to reappear a moment later inside the little shop he often visited.

"Back for more, sir?" The clerk greeted Glasses warmly.

But Glasses turned into a gust of wind and rushed right past him.

Out the door, into a taxi...

Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan had just left the alley when they heard the explosion from the plaza.

"Oh no! Lin Wan and Mu Mu are still there!"

They raced toward the amusement park plaza as fast as they could.

After they left, someone happened to pass by the alley. When he saw what was inside, he was so frightened he dropped what he was holding.

A small mountain of Superheroes had been piled up in the alley. Every one of them was a fast-rising, popular Superhero.

The man could already picture tomorrow's headline: "Superhero Killer Spotted in H City!"

When Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan reached the plaza, they found a crowd gathered there. Xiao Zhan quickly spotted Lin Wan and Little Girl Lin Mumu among the onlookers.

"Are you two okay?" they hurried over and asked.

"We're fine," Lin Wan replied. "Hunter got into a fight with a group of terrorists here."

"Hunter?" Xiao Zhan said in surprise. "We have to go take a look. He's the only A-Class Superhero in H City, after all."

By the time Xiao Zhan and Lin Jie squeezed through the crowd, the fight was already over. A man in camouflage, holding a sniper rifle, was tying up several battered figures.

"It's over. You'll face the punishment of justice," Hunter told the terrorists.

"Hunter! Hunter!" The crowd in the plaza erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

After the crowd dispersed, Little Girl Lin Mumu was still excited. "Sis, Uncle Hunter is so amazing! I saw him take those bad guys down in just a few moves."

"Of course. He's the strongest Superhero in H City. He's in a completely different league from these two," Lin Wan said to the little girl. "They're both Superheroes, but the difference is huge."

"Tch, he just hasn't gone up against us," Xiao Zhan said dismissively.

"Exactly. He just hasn't run into us. Otherwise, I'd take him out in one move," Lin Jie said.

"With skills like yours, you think you could take out Hunter in one move?" Lin Wan mocked without mercy.

"No way! Brother Lin is really strong too," the little girl said.

"That's because you don't know him yet," Lin Wan said. "He's the very definition of useless."

"Ah, you used to say, 'I love you most, big brother! You're the strongest!' Now you put me down every day. Sis, has your rebellious phase lasted this long?" Lin Jie said ruefully.

"You're the one going through a rebellious phase!" Lin Wan said indignantly.

"Can I be a Superhero too?" the little girl asked. "I want to be a Superhero like Uncle Hunter."

"..." Xiao Zhan fell silent for a moment. "If you're going to be one, you should become a Superhero like me."

"Become the kind of Superhero who runs around poking people with a censored stick?" Lin Wan looked at Xiao Zhan with disdain, then turned to the little girl. "If our Mu Mu becomes a Superhero, she should be like Zero."

"We've had enough fun for today. Let's head back," Lin Jie said. His face suddenly turned a little red. "Having my younger self worshipped by my little sister is still just as embarrassing, even now."

"Sure, let's go back. I'll make a few of my best dishes tonight," Lin Wan said.

"Yay! Sis's cooking is the best," the little girl said happily.

"By the way, want to watch a movie when we get back?" Xiao Zhan said. "I picked up a new one earlier."

"What movie?" Lin Jie asked.

"Zero: I Am Not God," Xiao Zhan said proudly.

"Forget it. I'm not interested," Lin Jie replied outright.

"Great! Come eat dinner at our place. I've been wanting to watch that movie for ages," Lin Wan said excitedly.

And so, the group chatted as they left the amusement park.

"I think we forgot something..." Lin Jie suddenly said. "Never mind. If we forgot, we forgot."

Glasses stood blankly in the amusement park plaza. "Huh? What happened? Did I get here too late? Where did everyone go?"