Chapter 17

"Glasses, go contact Dong Xue'er. Isn't the day after tomorrow the action date she mentioned? We still don't know the exact location Ouyang Rui agreed on with the Evolution Company." Xiao Zhan said.

"Right now I'm really missing Thirteen. If he were here, this would be easy. Just have him sit outside Ouyang Rui's door for a few days and everything would be settled." Glasses said. "I heard even double S-Class heroes have been deployed over at Paradise Island where he is."

"How about this—you tell me where this Ouyang Rui is, and I'll just go chop him up." Lin Jie said.

"I wish." Xiao Zhan said. "Attacking the Hero Association's chairman without evidence? You want a nationwide manhunt on your head?"

"..."

"You two keep an eye on Lin Wan and Mu Mu. I'll go contact Dong Xue'er." Glasses said.

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

Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan both looked at the glasses, then at each other, and nodded in unison. Ten minutes later, the glasses Glasses had left behind were perched on the lightning rod of the observation tower.

"When he swaps back, don't forget to take a picture." Lin Jie said.

Xiao Zhan gave him a reassuring thumbs-up.

Meanwhile, Glasses found himself in an awkward situation. He was in an office, sprawled on the floor, with a petite body lying beneath him.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to—I don't know why the teleport landed me right on top of you..." Glasses explained frantically.

"You pervert, get off me already!" The petite girl beneath him was bright red in the face.

"Oh my, doing this kind of thing in the office in broad daylight." Dong Xue'er suddenly appeared in the office, phone in hand, snapping pictures nonstop.

"Will you just get up already!" The girl kicked Glasses hard in the stomach, sending him flying.

She jumped to her feet. "Delete those photos right now!"

"As if I would! A rare shot of my adorable little sister getting pinned down—no way I'm deleting that. I'm posting it online and sharing it on my feed." Dong Xue'er said.

"Hold on—why did the glasses I gave you for tracking end up on this girl?" Glasses asked, struggling to his feet.

"Oh!" The girl's face lit up in realization. "So that's why you were so nice as to give me a pair of glasses—you planned this."

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

"Damn it! Name your terms. What will it take for you to delete those photos?" The girl said angrily.

Dong Xue'er gave a faint smile. "The thing I mentioned to you before."

"No way!" The girl answered without hesitation. "The Ouyang Family and our Dong Family are in a partnership now! Doing something like that will definitely anger the family. I advise you not to go through with it."

"Is that so? What a shame... But I heard you have quite a few fervent fans in B City, Xiao Ye. I wonder what would happen if these photos got out? I'm really looking forward to it." Dong Xue'er said with a laugh.

"..." After an internal struggle, the girl gritted her teeth. "Fine, you win. I'll help you. But let me make this clear—what you're about to do will definitely bring the family's wrath down on you. Don't say I was involved."

"Compared to the family's wrath, I care more about the justice in my heart right now." Dong Xue'er said.

"But doing this won't bring you any profit or benefit." The girl tried one last time.

"This is the responsibility I have as a superhero people look up to. It's not about profit." Dong Xue'er's expression turned serious. "Do you know how many children Ouyang Rui has killed by secretly supporting human experiments? Do you know the tragic consequences of him leaking the private information of righteous superheroes to criminals?"

"..." The girl fell silent for a moment. "But you should know—the reason our families became the biggest in District C isn't because of a sense of justice. It's through constant accumulation of profit. Even the Eight Great Families of District C and the other organizations here became hero families only because it brings greater benefits. If you do something that damages the family's interests at this critical moment... you might never be a hero again."

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

"Fine. Do what you want."

And so it went until the afternoon.

Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan were in a deserted alley, facing two men in bizarre outfits.

"The Blast Brothers! Both C-Class heroes." Xiao Zhan said beside Lin Jie.

"Those two bomb-happy brothers who've been making waves lately?" Lin Jie muttered quietly.

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

"Lin Jie, they're yours." Xiao Zhan said from the side.

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

"I'm providing cover for you." Xiao Zhan said. "Isn't that how it works in battle?"

At the same time, on the lightning rod of the amusement park's observation tower, Glasses was shivering as he clung to it.

"Those two bastards hung my glasses up here!!" Glasses roared. A crowd had already gathered below to watch. As he racked his brain for a way down without sacrificing his glasses, a massive explosion echoed across the amusement park plaza.

"Shit—that's the direction Lin Wan and little Mu Mu are in!" Glasses abandoned all caution and vanished on the spot. The next moment, he appeared in the small shop he usually frequented.

"Welcome back, customer! Here to buy something?" The clerk greeted him warmly.

But Glasses was already a blur, dashing past the clerk.

Out the door, hail a cab...

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

"Damn it! Lin Wan and Mu Mu are still there!"

The two sprinted toward the amusement park plaza at full speed.

After they left, someone happened to pass by the alley. The sight inside made them drop everything they were holding in shock.

In the alley, a small mountain of superheroes had been piled up—every single one of them a rapidly rising, popular hero from recent days.

This man could already predict tomorrow's front-page headline: "H City Shocked by Superhero Killer!"

Just as Lin Jie and Xiao Zhan ran onto the square, they saw quite a crowd gathering. Xiao Zan keenly spotted Lin Wan and the little girl Lin Mumu among the onlookers.

"Are you two alright?" 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've got to see this. After all, Hunter is the only A-Class Superhero in H City."

By the time Xiao Zhan and Lin Jie squeezed to the front of the crowd, the battle was already over. A man in camouflage holding a sniper rifle was busy tying up several disheveled figures.

"It's over. You will face the judgment of justice," Hunter said to the terrorists.

"Hunter! Hunter!" The crowd in the square erupted into enthusiastic cheers.

After the crowd dispersed, little Lin Mumu was still in an excited state: "Sis, that Uncle Hunter is so amazing! I saw him knock down those bad guys in just a few moves."

"Of course. He's the strongest superhero in H City. There's no comparison with the two in front of us," Lin Wan said to the little girl. "Both are superheroes, but what a difference."

"Tch, he just hasn't run into us," Xiao Zhan said dismissively.

"That's right. If he had, I'd one-shot him in a single encounter," Lin Jie said.

"With your meager skills, you want to one-shot Hunter?" Lin Wan didn't hold back her mockery.

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

"You just don't know him yet," Lin Wan said. "He's the very definition of 'useless.'"

"Hey, it used to be 'I love big brother the most, big brother is the best,' and now you put me down every day. Sis, your adolescence is way too long," Lin Jie said regretfully.

"You're the adolescent!!" Lin Wan retorted indignantly.

"Are we going to be superheroes?" the little girl said. "I want to become a superhero like Uncle Hunter too."

"..." Xiao Zhan was silent for a moment, then said, "If you're going to be one, you should become a superhero like me."

"Become one like you? A superhero who pokes around with a censored stick?" Lin Wan looked at Xiao Zhan with contempt, then said to the little girl, "If our Mumu is going to be a superhero, she should become one like 'Zero.'"

"We've had enough fun for today. Let's head back," Lin Jie said. His face suddenly flushed a little. "Being admired by my little sister during my chuunibyou phase still feels just as embarrassing."

"Alright, let's go back. I'll cook a few of my signature dishes tonight," Lin Wan said.

"Great, great! 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 then. "I happened to buy a new movie on a whim earlier."

"What movie?" Lin Jie asked.

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

"Forget it, I'm not interested." Lin Jie flatly refused.

"Great! Come eat dinner at our place. I've been wanting to watch this movie for a while," Lin Wan said happily instead.

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

"I feel like we forgot something..." Lin Jie suddenly said. "Ah, forget it. If we forgot, it doesn't matter."

Glasses was standing bewildered in the amusement park square: "Huh? What just happened? Did I come too late? Where did they all go?"