Chapter 20

Petals drifted down now and then through the peach blossoms at night.

"Mr. Gan?" Ouyang Rui arrived at a clearing in the Peach Grove. Three people stood before him: two men and a woman.

"Mr. Ouyang, you're not only punctual, but you've also chosen an excellent meeting place," Mr. Gan said. "It's a beautiful spot."

As he spoke, Mr. Gan admired the lanterns beneath the peach blossoms.

"You flatter me, Mr. Gan. I hope this meeting will be the start of something good," Ouyang Rui said. "My people are already here. Are there really only three of you?"

"Of course not. Look up, Mr. Ouyang." Mr. Gan pointed above them.

A stealth hovercraft drifted silently through the sky overhead. As it dropped its camouflage, a figure leaped straight out of the craft, carrying a case in one hand.

Just before hitting the ground, he released a burst of air beneath his feet to break his fall. The blast swept through the grove, sending countless petals swirling into the air.

"Allow me to introduce Kaito, the man Evolution Company has sent to handle this deal," Mr. Gan said, then turned to the man. "And this is Mr. Ouyang of the Ouyang Family."

While the atmosphere in Peach Garden was cordial, Lin Jie was having a rough time outside the grove. Two muscle-bound men were feeling him up from either side.

"Just as I suspected. He doesn't look particularly strong, but beneath those clothes, his muscles are exceptionally powerful," one of the muscle men said as he felt Lin Jie's arms. It was Yatan, the B-Class hero who had been Lin Jie's examiner during the Hero exam—before Lin Jie had taken him out in one hit.

"His muscles are incredibly firm, and they're all compact, explosive muscles. Looks like he's been through some serious training," said another muscle man, his entire body pitch-black. Lin Jie knew him too: Black Gold, the B-Class hero who had lectured him at the Hero Association.

"Really? Let me have a feel, too!" said a muscle man with fair skin as he came over. Lin Jie had just met him after Dong Xue'er introduced them. He was Black Gold's brother, White Gold, and also a B-Class hero. Behind them stood dozens more muscle men, ranked anywhere from C-Class to E-Class. They were the reinforcements Dong Xue'er had found in H City: the H City Muscle Association.

"Get as far away from me as possible!" Lin Jie had had enough. Surrounded by a crowd of muscle men touching him all over, he couldn't shake the feeling that his backside was getting dangerously chilly.

"Kid, ever thought about joining our Muscle Association? We could study ways to train our muscles together," Black Gold said to Lin Jie. "I've got a good feeling about you."

"Like hell I'd join your stupid muscle club!" Lin Jie backed away, then looked helplessly at Dong Xue'er. "I never thought you were into this type."

"In H City, they're the only superheroes who are both strong and have a sense of justice," Dong Xue'er said. "Keep your head down! Don't let them spot us. Most of the people in the Peach Grove are Ouyang Rui's men, and they have at least as many as we do."

"Tch!" Lin Jie grumbled. "Could you stop touching my butt?"

Just then, Xiao Zhan and a group of muscle men charged into the Peach Grove. A large number of armed mercenaries and lower-ranked ability users appeared before them.

"Let's show them what the Muscle Association can do!" shouted one of the muscle men at the head of the group.

"Roar! Roar!" The muscle men behind him roared in unison, raised their enormous alloy shields, and charged at the enemy.

"This is straight out of 300!" Xiao Zhan said, leaping away with all his might. A fist-sized hole suddenly appeared in the ground where he had just been standing.

After a frantic scramble, Xiao Zhan managed to plant his feet on a tree branch.

Watching the melee unfold, Xiao Zhan was overcome by a profound sense of helplessness. Enemies were everywhere. No matter how fiercely his Spartan warriors fought, they couldn't beat so many opponents.

"Ouyang Rui, you rich bastard! You bring this many mercenaries just to go out?" Xiao Zhan cursed. "Good thing I came prepared."

With that, he pulled out a strange device.

"It's time to show you my domain." Xiao Zhan activated the device in his hand.

In the next instant, both sides fighting on the outskirts of the Peach Grove stared in shock as every person present was covered in mosaic censor bars. Yes, Xiao Zhan's device had censored everyone—even their weapons.

And so, in the pink peach grove, a horde of censored beings launched into battle. The sight was so beautiful that when Lin Jie and the others entered the grove, they all froze in a daze.

"I've successfully pinned down the enemies on the outskirts. The rest is up to you!" Xiao Zhan, covered in mosaic censor bars from head to toe, raced toward Lin Jie and Dong Xue'er, waving his censored Decontamination Stick.

"Alloy Heavy Fist!!"

Halfway there, Black Gold's fist connected with him. Xiao Zhan went flying sideways and crashed into a peach tree, where a shower of petals buried him.

"What the hell are these things?" Black Gold asked, lowering his fist.

"That was one of ours," Lin Jie said. "Sorry, but he's my partner."

"What?" Black Gold blinked. "I thought he was some kind of monster, the way he looked."

"Forget it. Just count him as one non-combat casualty," Lin Jie said.

In a clearing in the Peach Grove,

"Mr. Ouyang, it seems your security measures weren't very good," Kaito said to Ouyang Rui.

Behind Kaito, Weapon and Shadow had already vanished.

"So Dong Xue'er still came here to ruin things after all?" Ouyang Rui muttered. "Fine, then don't blame me for showing no mercy. I already gave you your chance."

Ouyang Rui took a communicator from his pocket. "Hunter, do it."

"Looks like we'll have to postpone our deal," Kaito said.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I may have to clean things up here," Ouyang Rui told Kaito.

"No problem. Good luck." With that, Kaito activated the fighter overhead.

"None of you are getting away today." At the sound of a woman's voice in the sky, an enormous ice spear pierced straight through the fighter.

The fighter plunged toward the people below. Ouyang Rui and the others barely managed to dodge it.

But the fighter didn't explode. The moment it hit the ground, it froze into an iceberg.

A pair of wings made of ice appeared behind Dong Xiaoye. She looked down at the people below her like an elf in the night.

"Dong Xiaoye, you really did come along," Ouyang Rui said.

"Today, you—" Before Dong Xiaoye could finish, a powerful electromagnetic pulse shot toward her. She instinctively dodged to the side, but the pulse still struck one of the ice wings on her back. With one wing gone, Dong Xiaoye tilted sideways and fell toward the woods.

"Pant, pant." Glasses finally came running over. When he saw Dong Xiaoye falling in the other direction, he exclaimed, "What the hell!"

Glasses hesitated, then chased after her.

"So you really did buy off Hunter," Dong Xue'er said as she stepped out from behind a tree, with Lin Jie and the Black-White-Gold Brothers beside her.

"I already gave you your chance, Dong Xue'er! Now I can kill you without the family saying a word," Ouyang Rui said. A faint golden glow surrounded him, and a dozen pen-like metal devices floated beside him.

"Looks like we underestimated their strength a little," Dong Xue'er said helplessly, glancing at the Black-White-Gold Brothers and Lin Jie. "You two take care of the Evolution Company guys. Lin Jie and I will handle Ouyang Rui."

"Leave it to us." As White Gold spoke, his body began to turn to steel, and he charged straight at Kaito. Black Gold rushed at Mr. Gan.

"Do you really think the two of you can take me on?" Ouyang Rui said to Lin Jie and Dong Xue'er. As he spoke, the pen-like metal devices beside him flew toward them.

Two enormous peach trees stood at the edge of the Peach Grove, each with someone perched atop it. One was Yatan, the Hero Association examiner. The other was Weapon from Evolution Company.

One man's hands had turned into a pair of long blades; the other's had become a pair of alloy swords.

"So we have the same ability?" Yatan raised the alloy sword his hand had become. "Let's see which of us is stronger."

Shadow had been in a foul mood. She hadn't gotten the chance to personally kill the bastard who had given her nightmares for two nights straight. But she hadn't expected to see the damn bastard again today, through a surveillance camera in this Peach Garden—and not only that, he was planning to attack their meeting place.

This was the perfect opportunity for Shadow. She had another chance to kill him, so as soon as the battle on the outskirts of the Peach Grove began, she hurried out there.

Then she was utterly stunned.

The beautiful scenery in the Peach Grove had been completely ruined by a crowd of censored beings who looked like they belonged in another kind of story.

Everyone was covered in mosaic censor bars, and everyone was holding censored objects. They even hurled censored objects at one another. The whole scene looked like a riot in hell.

Every so often, two censored figures rolled around together, moaning in pain. Anyone who saw it couldn't help thinking of something unsavory.

The place had become a free-for-all where practically everyone was an enemy. After all, once they were censored, there was no way to tell friend from foe...

"Where the hell is that bastard?" Shadow was on the verge of a breakdown. With everyone censored, she couldn't tell which one was the person she was looking for.

"Forget it... heh..." At that moment, Shadow's eyes became like black holes. "I'll kill them all! If they're all dead, there won't be any more of this in the world..."