Epilogue

On a beautiful little resort island, severed limbs and corpses now littered nearly every corner, adding a sense of desolation to the once-beautiful place.

Thirteen stood waiting for the helicopter coming to pick him up, luggage in hand.

"Is this what you wanted, Judas?" A young voice sounded behind him.

Thirteen turned around. A handsome young man stood behind him, looking as if he were bathed in sunlight.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Thirteen said.

"You can't fool me, Judas. I know everything." The boy spoke. If the other heroes had seen this scene, they would have been astonished, for the handsome young man was none other than one of the ten strongest guardians of human civilization, a man born with the destiny of saving the world: the Son of God. One of only ten SS-Class heroes in the world.

"I'm just here on vacation. And don't call me Judas. My name is Thirteen," Thirteen replied.

"How did the Sea Tribe know their princess would be auctioned off on this island? No one else knows, but I do. You did it, because leaking secrets is your specialty, isn't it?"

"Believe whatever you want," Thirteen replied. "I doubt you'd believe me if I said it was a coincidence."

"God arranged everything long ago," the Son of God said. "Is this what you wanted? Nearly three thousand people died in this battle on Paradise Island, all for the sake of an abandoned little girl."

"A dump where they trade slaves underground and conduct live experiments even deeper down?" Thirteen said mockingly. "I'd say destroying a place like this in exchange for a bright future for one innocent little girl is a good deal."

"Do you know why we never touched this place before?" the Son of God asked.

"I'm not interested."

"Because it provides a wealth of intelligence on the forces of darkness," the Son of God said.

"So you let the crimes here repeat endlessly just for that?" Thirteen said.

"God had long since arranged for their sacrifice. That was the only way to move toward a better future," the Son of God said.

"Your God didn't arrange me," Thirteen said.

"Judas!"

"I told you not to call me that. My name is Thirteen. And I don't believe in your God." Thirteen's usual gentle expression turned cold. "Because I've never thought of myself as a sinner."

"You've always been a sinner, Judas. From the day you were born, you were destined to be one," the Son of God said.

"Your God certainly doesn't sound fair," Thirteen said. "Come to think of it, wasn't your God supposed to have you lead humanity in rebuilding civilization after Judgment Day? But it seems Zero took care of Judgment Day directly. So even God can miscalculate! And that means your mission ended before it even began, doesn't it? You'd better return to your God's embrace soon."

"Judas! The fact that I'm still alive means my mission isn't over! And I'll be keeping an eye on you, Judas! You may not be very strong, but I don't want what happened on Paradise Island to happen a second time." With that, the Son of God vanished in a flash of light.

Watching the Son of God leave, Thirteen's cold expression softened into a warm smile.

On the top floor of Xiao's Building, dozens of people were holding a party.

"Why hasn't Thirteen come back yet?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"I just called. I heard the third helicopter he was riding in crashed too. He's waiting for rescue on a little island with the third pilot now," Lin Jie said.

"Then let's not wait for him." Xiao Zhan took a remote control from Shadow, who stood beside him in a maid outfit.

"Let's get this party started, guys!" Xiao Zhan shouted as he pressed a button on the remote. A burst of energetic music filled the banquet hall.

"Yatan, my brother, you're here?" Black Gold and White Gold walked over to Yatan, only to notice a man standing beside him.

"Isn't that the guy from Evolution Company called Weapon?" White Gold said in surprise.

"Come to think of it, he and I fought for hours in Peach Grove that day. We admired each other's abilities, but in the end, he still yielded to me. We're family now," Yatan said.

"Oh? So that's what happened. Our team just got bigger!" Black Gold said excitedly.

They listened, completely dumbfounded.

"Don't you worry about rumors when you recruit all these muscleheads?" Lin Jie asked Dong Xue'er, who was sipping red wine. As he spoke, he opened a bottle of soda.

"What would I have to worry about? The Gay Alliance is H City's most famous group of gay men," Dong Xue'er said with a smile.

"Huh?" Lin Jie was startled, then fell silent, deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Dong Xue'er asked.

"I went to have grilled mandarin duck with them a couple days ago," Lin Jie said. "I think I drank quite a bit. I'm trying to remember if anything weird happened between us. Damn it! I can't remember a thing!"

Lin Jie rubbed his head and started chugging soda.

"By the way, they still haven't found that missing guy from Evolution Company," Dong Xue'er said.

"Don't worry," White Gold said nearby. "My brothers have a lead. They'll probably have that guy in custody by tomorrow morning at the latest."

Meanwhile, in the outskirts of H City, Mr. Gan was trembling all over as a group of muscular men armed with golden shields and spears surrounded him.

"Accept the punishment of justice," one of the muscleheads said.

"Wait! I surrender! I'm not a fighter! Please go easy on me! I want a lawyer! Wait... what are you doing? Aah! No! District C is terrifying!"

Mr. Gan's cries echoed across the outskirts.

"Just accept our reformation! Maybe we'll let you join our alliance."

At the party, someone bumped into Glasses. His glasses fell to the floor, and the lenses, already riddled with cracks, developed even deeper ones when they hit the ground.

"Sage Glasses! Are you all right?" Glasses cried sadly.

O future Glasses King, I think my mission is almost complete.

"No! You have to hang in there! I'll find a way to fix you," Glasses said sorrowfully.

Ever since your last battle, I've been beyond saving.

"Don't say that."

Listen to me, future Glasses King. I'm nearly done for, but you have to keep going. Also, before I die, I hope you can pass a message to the pair of women's glasses on the third shelf, third spot, in the glasses shop... Tell her...

But before the glasses could finish, Lin Jie ran past and stepped right on them.

The glasses fell completely silent.

"Sorry! I drank too much soda and really need the bathroom! Don't you have plenty of spare pairs?" Lin Jie said as he ran toward the restroom.

"Ahhh! Sage Glasses!" Glasses wept sorrowfully, his cries completely out of place amid the lively festivities.

"You're a grown man, crying over a pair of glasses. Aren't you embarrassed?" Dong Xiaoye came over carrying two trays. She handed one to Glasses. "Here, have some grilled mandarin duck. It tastes pretty good."

"What do you know? You couldn't possibly understand the bond I have with these glasses." Glasses took the tray, then looked at his other hand, which was wrapped in bandages.

"Almost forgot, you can't use a fork with that hand. Here, say ah..." Dong Xiaoye speared a piece of cooked mandarin duck and brought it to Glasses's mouth.

"Oh, my, I think I'm seeing something I shouldn't." Dong Xue'er had appeared behind Dong Xiaoye. Startled, Dong Xiaoye flung the fork straight into Glasses's face.

"I-I-I-I, we're not doing anything! I just felt sorry for him because he can't even eat by himself... It's just like feeding a stray dog! That's right, I'm feeding a stray dog!" Dong Xiaoye stammered.

"Huh? I don't think I even said anything," Dong Xue'er said with a mischievous smile.

"You brat!"

"Lin Jie, what are they doing?" Little Girl pointed at Glasses and Dong Xiaoye from nearby.

"You'll understand when you're older." Lin Wan wiped the cream from Little Girl's mouth.