Chapter 24

The battle was far quicker than Dong Xue'er had anticipated. In the Peach Garden, only one person remained standing—a muscular man holding a golden shield and spear, striking a pose to show off his physique.

The mosaic device in the Peach Grove had lost its effect.

When Lin Jie and Dong Xue'er appeared in the Peach Grove, this was the scene before them. In Lin Jie's hand was a rope, the other end of which bound two people—Ouyang Rui and Kaito, now in a weakened state after the drug's effects wore off.

Just as she was about to notify someone to tend to those lying on the ground, Dong Xue'er spotted an enemy who had yet to take any damage—Shadow.

At that moment, Shadow finally found her target. Amid a pile of petals, she discovered Xiao Zhan, severely wounded and collapsed on the ground. Her dagger was pressed against his body.

"Beautiful lady! Let that scoundrel go! Come at me instead!" Lin Jie and Dong Xue'er flanked Shadow from front and back.

"..." Shadow was silent for a moment, then yanked Xiao Zhan up and pressed her dagger against his neck.

"Hey, don't be rash! My brothers are already here. See those two guys my buddy's dragging? Your boss lost. You can't beat them," Xiao Zhan quickly said.

"Let me leave!" Shadow said, controlling Xiao Zhan as the dagger cut into his neck, drawing blood.

But Lin Jie and Dong Xue'er didn't move. Lin Jie even pulled out his Wolf Fang Club.

"Xiao Zhan, to keep this vile enemy from escaping, I'll have to sacrifice you," Lin Jie said, raising his club.

"Lin Jie! You bastard! Are you trying to kill me?" Xiao Zhan shouted angrily.

"Don't worry, brother. I'll make sure your sacrifice for justice is spread all over H City. And I won't let you die in vain," Lin Jie said.

"Sacrifice my ass! I'm still young! I don't want to die!" Xiao Zhan said.

"Better to die under the peonies, a ghost with romance, right?" Lin Jie said, ready to strike.

"Don't be rash! Stop!!" Xiao Zhan quickly yelled. "Give me a few minutes!! Let me negotiate with her!"

"What's there to negotiate?" Lin Jie said. "We should just take out this kind of underworld scum directly."

"I'm begging you, bro! Don't be impulsive! My life's on the line!" Xiao Zhan said.

"It's not my life anyway," Lin Jie replied.

"Just give me a few minutes! Let me talk to this lady, okay?" Xiao Zhan said.

"Fine, I'll give you a few minutes," Lin Jie said.

"Hey! You heard that, right? My brother here is a real piece of work! He was clearly planning to take us both out just now, so holding me hostage is useless now," Xiao Zhan said to the woman behind him.

"..." Shadow remained silent.

"How about this: I promise not to expose you, and you can work for me directly! I heard the Evolution Company doesn't allow two consecutive mission failures. Going back means death anyway, right? Why not just join me?" Xiao Zhan said urgently, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

"..." Shadow still said nothing.

"Trust me, working for me is definitely the right choice! High salary! Full benefits! Meals and housing included! Weekends off on holidays! Work from nine to four! Plus an extra four days off a month." Xiao Zhan rattled off a string of job perks.

"Can you guarantee I won't be hunted by the Hero Association?" Shadow asked.

Hearing the wavering in Shadow's voice, Xiao Zhan quickly said, "Only a few of us here know who you are. As long as I don't say anything, and they don't say anything, who would know it's you? Tomorrow, I'll get you a new identity—guaranteed legal."

With that, Xiao Zhan shouted to Lin Jie, "She's a real beauty! Wouldn't it be better to have her work for us?"

"That's true!" Lin Jie thought for a moment, then looked at Dong Xue'er, who had been silent.

"You've helped me a lot this time. I'll leave this decision to you," Dong Xue'er said to Lin Jie.

"Alright, we can keep this a secret!" Lin Jie said to Shadow. "From now on, we're on the same side. Let Xiao Zhan go!"

"How do I know you're not tricking me?" Shadow said.

"I'm sincere!" Xiao Zhan said. "You know what? Girls like you are my favorite type! Really, I, Xiao Zhan, swear to the heavens! I love girls like you the most! So I would never, ever deceive you. Come work for me—our future will definitely be better than at the Evolution Company. If you really can't trust me, then kill me! Dying together with you would leave me with no regrets."

With that, Xiao Zhan closed his eyes.

After a long moment, Xiao Zhan heard a sigh: "You said it yourself—not a single benefit can be missing."

Xiao Zhan opened his eyes in surprise. The dagger at his neck was gone. In his view, Lin Jie was flipping him off, muttering, "Damn, you still managed to pick up a girl like that! I should've never given you a chance to talk and just taken you out instead."

"Phew!" Xiao Zhan breathed a sigh of relief, then his legs gave out, and he leaned against a soft body.

"So, what's my first job?" Shadow asked.

"Call an ambulance for me!" With that, Xiao Zhan passed out.

"Forget it, I'll go check on Glasses," Lin Jie said, handing the two criminals over to Dong Xue'er before walking out of the Peach Grove.

Outside, a temporary medical team was set up. Many people had already been moved out of the grove and were receiving treatment.

Glasses slowly opened his eyes, finding himself resting on a pair of legs.

"Could it be a lap pillow? Who is it? Is it Dong Xiaoye?" Glasses thought.

"You're awake. Don't move—I'm healing you." A large face full of stubble appeared in Glasses' view, nearly making him spit blood. He realized he was lying on the lap of a burly man, whose warm hands were groping all over him.

"Damn it!! You've got chest hair growing on your face, and you're playing a healer?! You're terrifying, you know that?!" Glasses said.

"Four-eyed freak! You're awake?" Dong Xiaoye's voice reached Glasses' ears.

"You... were you here the whole time?" Glasses turned his head to ask.

"What... what are you talking about?!" Dong Xiaoye's face flushed bright red.

"This girl has been by your side ever since you passed out," the muscular therapist beside him said.

"Y-you you! Don't talk nonsense!" Dong Xiaoye got flustered.

"Thank you for your concern," Glasses said with a smile.

"I-It's not like I was worried or anything and stayed here!" Dong Xiaoye blushed. "I just wanted to confirm when you'd die, that's why I stayed!"

"..." Lin Jie, who had witnessed all this, silently turned around. "What the hell? Xiao Zhan bags a yandere, and this guy bags a tsundere! I'm the one who took down the strongest boss, aren't I?! And they're here flirting? This is heartless!"

Lin Jie thought furiously. Then he picked up his phone and dialed Thirteen's number.

"I heard communications on Paradise Island have been restored. Guess I have the most in common with Thirteen after all," Lin Jie muttered to himself.

Soon, a scene appeared on his phone screen—a beautiful beach.

"Lin Jie! Things have finally calmed down over here! How's it going on your end?" Thirteen's face showed up on the screen.

"I've wrapped things up here," Lin Jie said.

"Really? That's great. When are you coming back?"

"In a few days. I'll be heading back to H City," Thirteen said with a smile.

"Thirteen, listen. Xiao Zhan and Glasses are total scumbags. No heart," Lin Jie said.

"What's wrong?" Thirteen asked curiously.

"I'm fighting tooth and nail, and they're using the chance to pick up girls," Lin Jie said.

"What? Those bastards!" Thirteen said angrily.

"Exactly," Lin Jie said.

Just then, a beautiful Sea Tribe girl appeared in the video.

"Thirteen!" the Sea Tribe girl said. "I came to say goodbye."

"You're leaving?" Thirteen asked.

"Yes, I have to return to my tribe. Thank you for saving me," the girl said.

"It's nothing," Thirteen replied with a smile.

The next moment, the Sea Tribe girl pressed her lips to Thirteen's...

Witnessing this, Lin Jie decisively hung up. "I never thought even Thirteen would betray the great FFF League! This world really has no heart!"

"Don't say that," a group of muscular men ran over. "We heard you've developed perfect muscles. We can exchange tips."

"..." Lin Jie thought about his three teammates and their girls, then looked at the bunch of guys around him.

"Come on, my treat today. Let's go eat H City's specialty—Roasted Mandarin Ducks!" Lin Jie said.

"Isn't that a shame? Mandarin ducks are such a symbolic bird of love," one muscular man said.

"That's normal. Haven't you heard? 'Show love, die fast!'"

At Lin Jie's house, Lin Wan and the little girl Lin Mumu were eating breakfast while watching the morning news.

"Today, under the leadership of our city's heroes, the Winter Witch and the Ice Fairy, the superheroes successfully cracked a cross-border biochemical weapons trafficking case. The main perpetrators included the president of our city's Hero Association. Meanwhile, police have received reliable information that President Ouyang was also involved in illegal human experiments and secretly manipulating hero rankings, such as Cao Jing's."

The TV screen then flashed to Ouyang Rui. He was handcuffed and being pushed into a prison transport van. Before getting on, he seemed to say something to Lin Jie beside him, then got on with a foolish grin.

"It's Brother Lin!" the little girl said.

"Big bro finally made it on TV," Lin Wan said.

'In addition, the city's A-Class Hero, Hunter, was also hired by Ouyang Rui.'

With that, the TV screen switched again. Several police officers were pushing a large block of ice toward a transport van. Frozen inside the ice was Hunter. Standing on top of the ice was Xiao Zhan.

Xiao Zhan was shouting at the camera: "See that, little Mumu? Don't ever think about becoming a hero like that. If you're going to be one, be one like me!"

Below, a group of armed police were desperately trying to pull him down.

"It's Brother Xiao!" the little girl said excitedly.

"That idiot!" Lin Wan couldn't help but cover her forehead.