Chapter 24

The battle had ended far sooner than Dong Xue'er had expected. In Peach Garden, only one person was still standing: a muscular man holding a golden shield and a spear, striking a pose to show off his muscles.

The mosaic device in Peach Grove had stopped working.

When Lin Jie and Dong Xue'er appeared in Peach Grove, this was the scene they saw. Lin Jie was still holding a rope, the other end of which was tied around two people: Ouyang Rui and Kaito, who had entered a weakened state after the drug wore off.

Just as Lin Jie was about to call someone over to treat the people sprawled on the ground, Dong Xue'er spotted an enemy who had barely been hurt: Shadow.

At last, she had found the target she was looking for. Among a pile of petals, she found Xiao Zhan lying on the ground, badly wounded. The dagger in her hand was pressed against him.

"Beautiful lady! Let that scoundrel go! If you've got a problem, take it up with me!" Lin Jie and Dong Xue'er had Shadow trapped between them.

"..." Shadow fell silent for a moment. Then she yanked Xiao Zhan to his feet and pressed the dagger in her hand against his throat.

"Hey, don't do anything rash. My buddies are already here. See those two people my friend is carrying? Your boss has already lost. You can't beat them." Xiao Zhan hurriedly said.

"Let me go!" Shadow said, holding Xiao Zhan in place. The dagger in her hand had already drawn blood from his neck.

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

"Xiao Zhan, to keep this evil enemy from escaping, we'll have to sacrifice you." Lin Jie raised the Wolf Fang Club in his hand.

"Lin Jie! You bastard! Are you trying to get me killed?" Xiao Zhan said furiously.

"Don't worry, bro. I'll make sure the whole of H City hears about how you sacrificed yourself for justice. And I won't let your sacrifice be in vain." Lin Jie said.

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

"Better to die beneath a peony than live as a ghost, right?" Lin Jie said, about to attack.

"Don't do anything rash! Stop!" Xiao Zhan hurriedly shouted to stop Lin Jie. "Give me a few minutes! Let me talk to her!"

"What's there to talk about?" Lin Jie said. "When you're dealing with a criminal organization like this, you should just take them out."

"I'm begging you, bro! Don't do anything rash! My life is on the line here!" Xiao Zhan said.

"Anyway, I'm not the one who's going to die," Lin Jie said.

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

"Fine. You've got three minutes!" Xiao Zhan said.

"Fine. You've got a few minutes," Lin Jie said.

"Hey! You heard him, right? My buddy's a complete piece of work! He was obviously planning to take both of us out just now, so there's no point in holding on to me." Xiao Zhan spoke to the woman behind him.

"..." Shadow still didn't say anything.

"How about this? I promise I won't report you. You can come work for me! I heard the Evolution Company doesn't allow you to fail two missions in a row. You'll be dead if you go back, right? Why not just join me?" Xiao Zhan said hurriedly, cold sweat running down his face.

"..." Shadow remained silent.

"Trust me, working for me is absolutely the right choice. Great pay! Benefits! Meals and housing included! Weekends and holidays off! Nine to four! And you'll get four extra days off every month." Xiao Zhan reeled off a string of job perks.

"Can you guarantee the Hero Association won't arrest me?" Shadow asked.

Hearing that Shadow was starting to come around, Xiao Zhan hurriedly said, "Only a few of us here know who you are. If I don't tell anyone, and they don't either, who's going to know? I'll get you a new identity tomorrow! I guarantee it'll be legal."

Then Xiao Zhan shouted to Lin Jie, "She's a gorgeous woman! Wouldn't it be better if she came to work with us?"

"True!" Lin Jie thought it over, then looked at Dong Xue'er, who had been standing silently to the side.

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

"Then it's settled. We can keep this quiet!" Lin Jie said to Shadow. "You're one of us now, so let Xiao Zhan go!"

"Who says you aren't just trying to trick me?" Shadow said.

"I'm sincere!" Xiao Zhan said. "You know, girls like you are exactly my type! I swear on my life, I really like girls like you! So I would never, ever lie to you. Come work for me. We'll have a much better future than you would at the Evolution Company. If you really don't believe me, just kill me! I'd die without regret if I could die with you."

With that, Xiao Zhan closed his eyes.

After a long while, Xiao Zhan heard a sigh. "You said it. Don't you dare skimp on a single benefit."

Xiao Zhan opened his eyes in delight. The dagger at his throat had disappeared. Lin Jie was holding up his middle finger at him, saying, "Damn, you still managed to pick up a girl! I should've never given you a chance to talk. I should've just taken you both out."

"Phew!" Xiao Zhan let out a breath of relief. Then his legs went weak, and he leaned against a soft body.

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

"Call me an ambulance!" Xiao Zhan said, then fainted.

"Never mind. I'd better go see how Glasses is doing." Lin Jie handed the two criminals over to Dong Xue'er, then headed out of Peach Grove.

A temporary medical team had set up there. Many people had already been carried out of Peach Grove and were receiving treatment.

Glasses slowly opened his eyes. He realized that his head was resting on someone's lap.

Could this be a lap pillow? Who is it? Dong Xiaoye? Glasses wondered.

"You're awake. Don't move yet; I'm treating you." A large face framed by a thick beard appeared before Glasses. He nearly spat up blood. Only then did he realize that his head was resting on a muscular man's thigh, and the man was running warm hands all over him.

"What the hell! You're a guy with chest hair growing on your face! Why the hell are you playing a healer? You're terrifying!" Glasses said.

"Four-Eyes, you pervert! You're awake?" Dong Xiaoye's voice came to Glasses's ears.

"Have you been here the whole time?" Glasses turned to ask her.

"W-what are you talking about?" Dong Xiaoye's face instantly turned red.

"This girl's been by your side ever since you passed out," the muscular healer said.

"Y-you! What are you saying?" Dong Xiaoye exclaimed.

"Thanks for looking out for me," Glasses said with a smile.

"I-I wasn't staying here because I was worried about you!" Dong Xiaoye said, blushing. "I just wanted to see when you were going to die."

"..." Lin Jie watched it all, then quietly turned away. What is this? Xiao Zhan landed a yandere, and now this guy's landed a tsundere! I was the one who took down the strongest boss, wasn't I? Meanwhile, those two are busy picking up girls? This is so unfair!

Lin Jie thought angrily. Then he took out his phone and called Thirteen.

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

A picture appeared on his phone. It showed a beautiful beach.

"Lin Jie! Things have finally settled down here! How are things on your end?" Thirteen's face appeared on the screen.

"I've taken care of everything over here," Lin Jie said.

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

"I'll be back in H City in the next few days," Thirteen said with a smile.

"Thirteen, listen. Xiao Zhan and Glasses are a couple of scumbags. It's so unfair!" Lin Jie said.

"What happened?" Thirteen asked curiously.

"I've been fighting for my life, while those two used the opportunity to hit on girls," Lin Jie said.

"What? Those two bastards!" Thirteen said furiously.

"Exactly," Lin Jie said.

Just then, a beautiful young woman from the Sea Tribe appeared on the screen.

"Thirteen!" the young woman said. "I came to say goodbye."

"You're leaving?" Thirteen asked.

"Yes. I have to go back to my tribe. Thank you for saving me," the young woman said.

"No problem," Thirteen replied with a smile.

The next moment, the young woman from the Sea Tribe kissed Thirteen on the lips...

After seeing this, Lin Jie decisively hung up. "I can't believe even Thirteen betrayed my FFF Alliance! This world really is so unfair!"

"Don't say that." A group of muscular men ran over. "We heard you built perfect muscles. Maybe we can trade tips."

"..." Lin Jie thought about the girls hanging around his three teammates, then looked at the group of guys beside him.

"Come on. My treat. Let's go eat H City's specialty: roasted lovebirds!" Lin Jie said.

"Uh, lovebirds are such a good symbol. Wouldn't it be a shame to roast them?" one of the muscular men said.

"That's normal. Haven't you heard? Show off your love, and you'll die sooner!"

At the Lin family home, Lin Wan and the little girl, Lin Mumu, were eating breakfast and watching the morning news.

"Today, under the leadership of our city's hero, the Winter Witch, and A City hero Ice Fairy, the superheroes successfully cracked an international bioweapons trafficking case. Among the main suspects was the president of our city's Hero Association. The police have also received reliable information that President Ouyang was involved in illegal human experimentation and secretly manipulated the rankings of Cao Jing and other heroes."

The TV showed Ouyang Rui. He was handcuffed and being forced into a transport van. Before getting in, he seemed to say something to Lin Jie beside him, then climbed into the vehicle with a silly grin.

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

"Big Brother finally made it onto TV for once," Lin Wan said.

"Also, the city's A-rank hero, Hunter, was hired by Ouyang Rui."

As the news anchor spoke, the TV picture changed again. Several officers were pushing a huge block of ice toward a transport vehicle. Frozen inside it was Hunter. Xiao Zhan was standing on top of the ice block.

Xiao Zhan was shouting at the camera, "See that, Mu Mu? Don't dream of becoming a hero like him. If you want to be a hero, be one like me!"

A group of armed police officers were desperately trying to pull him down.

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

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