Chapter 1

H City's central plaza was packed with people. The city's super idol group, the Ten Gods Family, was about to hold their brand-new public performance here.

Behind the stage, inside a makeup van, the members of the Ten Gods Family were talking with their manager.

"This time, we've hired the D-Class criminal Man-Eating Shark. Don't worry, nothing like last time will happen again." The manager smiled as he spoke to Ten Gods.

"Are you sure?" Ten Gods asked cautiously. He still remembered the painful memory of being beaten black and blue by the last criminal they'd paid to show up.

"This time we hired a D-Class criminal. Even if he really does go berserk, I believe with your abilities, you should be able to handle him easily." The manager said. Then he listened to the growing cheers outside and added, "It's about time for you to go on stage."

"Is that so? Brothers, let's move." Ten Gods and the members beside him walked onto the stage together.

"Hello everyone! We are the Ten Gods Family!!"

"Ten Gods! Ten Gods! Ten Gods!" The cheers below kept rising, along with the screams of many young girls.

Just as the concert reached its climax, the person standing in the very front row, face hidden by a hat, suddenly began to swell. A massive shark head appeared among the crowd.

Instantly, the whole crowd fell into chaos.

"Ten Gods Family? I hate you guys the most. Today, I'm going to turn you into appetizers!" Man-Eating Shark roared at the Ten Gods Family on stage.

Though the crowd was in chaos, they didn't scatter and run. Instead, they collectively shifted into spectator mode.

In this era where super heroes were everywhere and super criminals were a dime a dozen, people had long gotten used to heading out to work in the morning and watching super heroes beat up little monsters along the way. Of course, this was even more severe in District C, where there had once been a super criminal who couldn't stand being stared at by the fearless crowd of onlookers and ran away on his own before the super hero even showed up.

At the scene, the music didn't stop. Ten Gods made a stylish leap off the stage, while his companions behind him stayed on stage and kept playing the explosive music.

"Since you dare to show up here, then you'd better be ready to receive the judgment of justice." Ten Gods shouted at Man-Eating Shark, microphone in hand.

"I've long heard that Ten Gods of the Ten Gods Family is a powerful man. Today, let me see your strength for myself." Man-Eating Shark said to Ten Gods.

"Now begins my performance time!" Ten Gods shouted loudly to the audience instead.

"Ten Gods! Ten Gods! Ten Gods! Ten Gods! Ten Gods! Ten Gods! Ten Gods! Ten Gods! Ten Gods!" The cheering of the surrounding fans grew even more fervent.

"You think that scares me?" Man-Eating Shark charged at Ten Gods, while Ten Gods opposite him calmly struck a pose that could make countless girls scream.

"Let me show you the power of Ten Gods!" As he spoke, Ten Gods prepared to strike.

But just as he lifted his leg, a massive Wolf Fang Club came crashing down right on Man-Eating Shark's head.

Then Man-Eating Shark lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious.

"Alright, done." Lin Jie looked at the fallen Man-Eating Shark and said.

"It's this guy again!" Ten Gods froze mid-lift, staring blankly at Lin Jie.

'Last time, this guy ruined my plans too!'

"Alright, fight's over. Heading home to watch the new anime." Lin Jie said and ran out of the crowd. Before leaving, he turned back and gave Ten Gods a strange smile.

'He even made that face at me! He's definitely doing it on purpose! But I haven't offended him, have I?' Ten Gods' heart was full of tangled confusion. Why did this guy always show up every time he performed publicly in H City?

"That's the Mace Warrior from the Decontamination Squad!" A bystander recognized Lin Jie's identity.

"The one who just got promoted to D-Class in the Decontamination Squad?" Another bystander asked.

"That's right, it's him, the Mace Warrior. See that Wolf Fang Club? He's the only one in all of H City who uses that weapon."

Their conversation made Lin Jie, who hadn't run far yet, stumble.

"Damn your Mace Warrior! Your whole family are maces!" Lin Jie cursed angrily in his heart. "And what the hell is the Decontamination Squad? When did we get such a crappy name? Did Xiao Zhan's censored decontamination stick really become our team's symbol? Are we going to be endorsing adult products next? Actually, that wouldn't be a bad job..."

While Lin Jie's mind was running wild with thoughts about the titles "Mace Warrior" and "Decontamination Squad," Ten Gods, still holding his leg high in the air, was also having his own wild thoughts.

'A D-Class hero? I see. So this is malicious competition and sabotage from a peer! He must be unhappy that I hired a criminal to fake-fight, so he's deliberately messing with me. That's right, that has to be it.'

But whatever Ten Gods was thinking at that moment had absolutely nothing to do with Lin Jie. All he wanted now was to go home and watch his anime.

Back home, Lin Jie entered his room.

"There's nothing better than watching new anime and drinking cola alone at home." Lin Jie took a sip of cola and let out a long breath.

Lin Wan, because she worked at a research institute and was busy studying for her doctorate, was often out early and back late. The Little Girl had also been sent to a special academy for superpowered children.

Time passed like that under Lin Jie's wasteful spending.

"It's about time. I need to go pick up Little Mumu." Lin Jie checked the time.

When Lin Jie arrived at the Little Girl's school, this was the scene he saw.

"Mumu, look at this little dog. It's so pitiful." A little girl said to Little Mumu.

"Yeah." Lin Mumu replied.

Beside the two little girls was a cardboard box. Inside was a puppy that looked only a few months old, staring at the two little girls with eyes that could melt any little girl's heart. On the box was written: "Seeking adoption, can warm your bed."

"It looks so pitiful." The little girl said. "Mumu, can you adopt it?"

Lin Mumu thought for a moment. "No, Sister Lin won't agree. She's been really tired lately. If I bring a dog home, she'll definitely get mad."

"Then what do we do? My mom won't let me keep a dog either. She says it's too much trouble." The little girl said. "Adults really are the worst."

"Then what should we do?" Lin Mumu asked.

"I don't know either. My family won't let me keep it, but seeing it all alone here is just too pitiful." The Little Girl said. "What do we do? We absolutely can't just leave it alone. If those annoying boys see it, they'll definitely bully it."

Watching her friend's troubled expression, Lin Mumu thought for a moment. Then she placed her hand on the ground and pulled out a longsword made of earth from the dirt.

"Brother Lin said that if you run into something too troublesome, you might as well just cut it first and talk later." With that, Lin Mumu aimed the longsword in her hand at the little dog.

"Mumu!" The Little Girl grabbed Lin Mumu in shock. "What are you doing?"

"Cutting it up." Lin Mumu said adorably. "Once we cut it up, we won't have to worry about adopting it anymore, right? Not only that, we won't have to be afraid of it falling into those annoying boys' hands either."

"Mumu! How can you be so cold-blooded! What zodiac sign are you, anyway?" The little girl beside her quickly stopped Lin Mumu. "If you really dare to cut it down, I'll break off our friendship."

"Tch!"

"You just went 'tch,' didn't you! That's not something a girl should do." The little girl said. "We can't be that cold-blooded. If we were, wouldn't we be just like villains?"

"But Brother Lin and the others are all like that." Lin Mumu said, confused.

"Those adults are all scumbags! Don't you learn from them." The little girl said to Lin Mumu.

"I finally understand why Lin Wan's been against Little Mumu playing with us lately. I never thought she'd be this infected. Looks like I should tone it down a bit in front of Little Mumu from now on." Lin Jie muttered to himself from behind a tree, watching the two little girls. "She's still young. The worldview she's been influenced by should still be correctable... probably."

Thinking this, Lin Jie stepped out from behind the tree.

"I'm here to pick you up, Mumu." Lin Jie said.

"Brother Lin!" Lin Mumu ran over happily when she saw him.

"Are you two worried about that little dog?" Lin Jie asked.

"Mm-hmm! This little dog is so pitiful." Lin Mumu said.

"Then let's adopt it." Lin Jie said to Lin Mumu.

"Are you really going to adopt it, big brother?" The little girl with Lin Mumu asked.

"Of course." Lin Jie said. "Are you the new friend Mumu made at school? Please take good care of her there."

"Of course! We're going to form a super team together someday." The little girl said.

"But... Sister Lin is already exhausted from cleaning the house and working. If we add taking care of it..." The Little Girl lowered her head.

"Our Mumu is such a good girl!" Lin Jie patted Lin Mumu's head. "You're already thinking about your sister. But don't worry, we'll keep it at Xiao Zhan's place. That way we won't have to worry about cleaning the house."

Lin Jie casually threw Xiao Zhan under the bus.

"Great!" Both the little girl and Lin Mumu cheered.

"By the way, adults aren't all scumbags. Though there are plenty of them." Lin Jie said to the little girl. "Don't lump all adults together as scumbags."

"I know." The little girl was clearly happy now that the dog had found a home. "Big brother, you're a good scumbag among scumbags."

"..." Lin Jie was speechless. "'Good scumbag'? What the hell is that?"

"Bye-bye, Qingqing." Lin Mumu said goodbye to the little girl, then walked home with Lin Jie, who was carrying the little dog.

"Bye, Mumu." The little girl waved goodbye to her, then got into a high-end hovercar.