Chapter 18

"Big sister, why isn't Brother Zero saying anything?" Little Girl asked as she watched the movie.

"I don't know. The only line Zero has in this movie is also the only thing he ever said in public," Lin Wan replied.

"Hey, isn't that Saintess an S-Class hero now? Why didn't they invite her to act in the movie?" Xiao Zhan asked from beside them.

"That just proves how poorly informed you are." Glasses pushed up his glasses. "From what I've learned by following all kinds of sources, they did invite Miss Saintess during the early stages of filming. But she turned them down, saying she was busy fighting some faction. So they invited an actress who looked like her to play her role instead. There's also a rumor that she refused because she didn't want to be reminded of her time with Zero. After all, Zero's been missing for five years."

"I see," Xiao Zhan said. "So it was just a normal reaction after a breakup. Come to think of it, God Hand seemed pretty enthusiastic about taking part in the movie."

"Yeah, I never expected God Hand, who appeared before the public as a wise man, to have had such a foolish past," Glasses said.

"Was that Saintess sister Zero's girlfriend?" Little Girl asked curiously.

"I don't know!" Lin Wan said. "But I heard they really did fight together, and Zero only managed to kill that Evil God thanks to the Saintess's magical blessing."

"Sounds like they were involved. After all, that's what everyone who experienced the incident said, and the scenes in the movie were based on what the people there witnessed firsthand," Xiao Zhan said. "Even the Saintess herself hasn't come out to deny that the movie's version of events was different from what actually happened, has she?"

"That's true," Lin Wan said.

The hell it is! Lin Jie couldn't help sighing as he listened to them chatter about the rumors that he and the Saintess had been together. They even claim this is the movie that sticks closest to history. That Evil God was so weak I could've taken him out with one swing of my sword. What blessing from the Saintess? That never happened!

"Bro, you don't look too good," Lin Wan said.

"It's nothing. I was just wondering if those people's memories of what happened back then were faulty," Lin Jie said.

"How could they be?" Lin Wan said. "An A-Class hero, an S-Class hero, and a whole bunch of people who were there in person all worked on the script. How could every single one of them remember it wrong?"

"Fair point." Lin Jie let out a dry laugh.

Could I have lost my memory back then? I remember that Saintess being dizzy the whole time. What could she possibly remember? And who was that guy called God Hand? I don't remember anyone like that standing next to me back then. Though that Saintess was pretty. It would've been nice if I really had been involved with her. Come to think of it, they've made five movies in this series, and I get a different girl in every one! So why can't I remember any of these amazing things happening to me?!

As Lin Jie struggled with the difference between reality and the movies, the film drew to a close.

Just as it ended, an advertisement appeared.

"Thank you for supporting the Hero Zero movie series. Preparations are underway for the sixth installment. For this film, we've invited the SS-Class Hero Party from another world to serve as consultants. Stay tuned for the sixth movie in the Zero series, Demon King and Hero."

I can't believe they dug up this part of history, too...

"Are they going to cover the otherworldly invasion next time?" Xiao Zhan asked excitedly. "As an excellent RPG player, I've done tons of research on what happened during that period."

When is this company going to quit? Is digging up someone's dark past really that much fun? Lin Jie thought helplessly. Maybe I should go back to being Zero one day and tear that company apart. Forget it. My outfit's already been put in the World United Grand Museum. It'd be a huge hassle to get it back.

Unlike the relaxed atmosphere at Lin Jie's home, Ouyang Rui sat in the Hero Association president's office, staring grimly at a report on his computer.

"Useless bunch!" Ouyang Rui shouted angrily. "You couldn't even handle two E-Class heroes!"

That day, he had given orders to the super heroes in the Hero Association who were under his thumb: bring Lin Jie, Xiao Zhan, and the little girl to him. That way, he could add a valuable bargaining chip when negotiating with the Evolution Company. But he hadn't expected the heroes who took the job to end up piled on top of one another on the news.

"Looks like I should consider their strength when backing new heroes in the future," Ouyang Rui muttered to himself.

Just then, a knock came from the door.

"Come in," Ouyang Rui called.

A mature, sexy woman in office attire entered. "Sir, this is the latest intelligence on Dong Xue'er's whereabouts."

"Fine, leave it here," Ouyang Rui said.

Once the secretary had left the office, Ouyang Rui inserted the data card on his desk into the computer.

"She went to Dong Xiaoye's place!" Ouyang Rui exclaimed in surprise. "Looks like I need to contact Hunter."

In a bizarre room, she was bound hand and foot by some unknown objects. She struggled with all her might, but it was no use.

As she struggled, a grotesque humanoid creature appeared in front of her, holding an indescribable, bizarre object.

"Come have some milk," the creature said in a lecherous voice. As it spoke, it shoved one end of a censored, rod-shaped object into Shadow's mouth. A large amount of white liquid began spraying into her mouth.

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"Mm! Mm!" Shadow kept struggling.

"It's coming... It's coming... Hahaha, give me more, give me more..." the lecherous voice said.

"Mm! Mm... I can't drink any more!" Shadow suddenly sat up in bed. She looked around in a daze, then breathed a sigh of relief. "It was just a dream."

Then she remembered Xiao Zhan's face. "That bastard!"

Shadow gave herself a quick wash and left the room.

She followed a corridor to a conference room.

Two men were waiting inside.

"You're late, Miss Shadow," one of the men said. He was the same man who had led the buyers caught by Lin Jie and the others while trying to purchase Little Girl.

"Sorry, Mr. Gan," Shadow said.

"Now that everyone's here, let's get started," Mr. Gan said. "Our plan failed last night. And Evil Fiend has disappeared, too, correct?"

"Yes," the other man replied.

"Then what happened on your end, Weapon?" Mr. Gan asked the other man.

"When I got to that guy with the glasses' house, his whole family had already moved," Weapon said.

"And what about you, Shadow?" Mr. Gan turned to her.

"I'm sorry. I failed, too," Shadow said, lowering her head.

"Tell us why you failed," Mr. Gan said.

"I don't want to talk about it," Shadow said through gritted teeth. "I won't fail next time."

"You think there'll be a next time?" Mr. Gan said.

His words startled Weapon and Shadow.

"Sorry, I may have frightened you two," Mr. Gan said. "But there can't be another mission for you. The life signal from Evil Fiend's life detector has disappeared. That means someone among the people who rescued the girl had the strength to kill Evil Fiend, who was carrying T-3 Evolution Fluid. Even among A-Class heroes, only a handful could do that."

"What?!" Weapon exclaimed. "Could it have been an S-Class?"

"Not necessarily," Mr. Gan said. "There's no sign of any S-Class life-form in H City. But it's possible they have some kind of deadly ability."

"Is that so?" Shadow said unwillingly. "Does that mean headquarters needs to send someone to deal with them next time?"

"Headquarters won't send anyone to deal with them," Mr. Gan said. "The girl's plan will have to be put on hold for now. We received word yesterday that the underground research facility on Paradise Island has been exposed."

"What?!" Weapon exclaimed in surprise.

"That's right. All the researchers on the potential-development project have died, and we've lost a huge amount of research material, too," Mr. Gan said.

"How is that possible? How could anyone have found the underground research facility on Paradise Island?" Weapon asked.

"During the Sea Tribe invasion," Mr. Gan said. "A hero called Godly Ghost infiltrated our research facility."

"Did he reveal the facility's location?"

"No, he was caught," Mr. Gan said. "But for some reason, a series of mechanical failures occurred in the research facility, right as the super heroes and the Sea Tribe were fighting. The facility was exposed to both sides like that..."

"..."

"Most of headquarters' combat forces are tied up in the battle on Paradise Island now. After the S-Class hero Son of God appeared on Paradise Island, headquarters suffered heavy losses. It'll probably be years before we can restart this project."

"How could this happen?" Shadow murmured.

"But our mission in H City isn't over yet," Mr. Gan said. "Tomorrow night, the person from headquarters in charge of trading T-3 Evolution Fluid with the Ouyang family will arrive. The higher-ups are taking this deal very seriously, because it's key to whether we can enter District C."

"So we're responsible for securing the deal alongside the people from headquarters?" Weapon asked.

"That's right. All three of us have already botched a mission. If anything goes wrong with this deal, I'm sure you know what the consequences will be," Mr. Gan said.

Everyone present nodded. After failing two missions in a row, there could only be one consequence: death.