Chapter 2

On their way home, Lin Jie and Little Girl Lin Mumu stopped by Xiao's Building. They left the puppy at Xiao Zhan's place and even gave it some spicy strips to eat.

"Come to think of it, I remember this breed is called something like a husky." Lin Jie looked at the puppy as he spoke.

"Little puppy, be good and stay here, okay? I'll come visit you with my friend tomorrow." Lin Mumu petted the puppy.

"Woof!" The puppy barked happily, then started romping around Xiao Zhan's home.

"Let's go," Lin Jie said.

"Mm." Lin Mumu glanced around the empty house. "When will Brother Xiao and the others be back?"

"Soon. They said the special training would only last half a month," Lin Jie said. "By my reckoning, they'll be back before long."

"Oh."

After that, Lin Jie remembered what had happened two weeks earlier.

"Special training?" Lin Jie said in surprise, looking at Dong Xiaoye and Dong Xue'er. "What's wrong with you two? Why are you suddenly organizing special training? And why do I have to take part?"

"Don't put it that way. This is a great opportunity," Xiao Zhan said from the side. "A-Class Hero Dong Xiaoye used her family connections to arrange a special intensive training program specifically for me. I've heard you're already very strong, but wouldn't it be even better to have a chance to improve?"

"He's right. When it comes to becoming a hero, strength is what matters," Glasses said from the side. "If I'd been strong enough, Sage Glasses wouldn't have sacrificed himself for nothing."

"What the heck is Sage Glasses?" Lin Jie said. "I'm not going. Because of all the hero activities, I've already fallen behind on a bunch of new anime and games. Catching up at home is going to take ages as it is. Only an idiot would go with you all for some specialized training."

"Don't say that," Black Gold said as he walked in. White Gold and Yatan followed behind him.

"Exactly. You've built yourself a perfect physique. Don't you want to refine your muscles even further?" White Gold said. "We could study muscle-related matters together, couldn't we?"

"Get lost, you bunch of perverts!"

"Lin Jie, I asked Xiaoye to arrange this intensive training," Dong Xue'er said, coming over to him. "I wanted to repay you all for your help this way, especially you, Lin Jie."

"Then just buy me the latest PS22. You've got plenty of money, don't you?" Lin Jie replied.

"Don't you want to improve your strength?" Dong Xue'er said. "If you could make your abilities more consistent, you might even break into the S-Class ranks."

"What?" Everyone there was astonished.

"Lin Jie beat both Ouyang Rui and Kaito, who are A-Class, all by himself," Dong Xue'er said. "The last operation also showed me a lot of areas where I fall short, so I want to make up for them. I'd also like to learn from you, Lin Jie."

"I'm not interested!" Lin Jie said, unmoved.

"You really don't know how to appreciate someone's kindness!" Dong Xiaoye couldn't take it anymore. "I've never seen Xue'er offer someone a favor and still have to plead with him! You're such an insensitive man."

"It's too much trouble, and I'm already strong enough. I have no interest in the intensive training you've arranged," Lin Jie said. "Besides, the anime convention is in two days."

"But..." Dong Xue'er was about to say more.

"Forget it, Cousin. Don't bother with this insensitive guy," Dong Xiaoye said. "If he doesn't want to go, then so be it."

"But..." Dong Xue'er gritted her teeth, then finally shook her head helplessly.

She had originally planned to test Lin Jie's abilities at the training site. If his evaluation was satisfactory, he should be able to jump straight to S-Class. That would give the Ouyang Family plenty more obstacles to overcome if they tried to cause him trouble later.

"Lin Jie, a beautiful girl invited you herself, and you still turned her down?" Xiao Zhan whispered to him. "Never reject a girl's enthusiasm, or you'll stay single forever."

"Is that so?" Lin Jie glanced at Xiao Zhan, then turned to Shadow, who was dressed as a maid. "Miss Bu, Xiao Zhan says he'd like some milk."

"No problem."

After Shadow started following Xiao Zhan, he'd used some connections to get her a new identity. Her name was now Bu Feiwu.

There had even been an incident when they were filling out her name.

"A new name? Too much trouble. Why not just change it to Hokage?" Shadow said to Xiao Zhan.

"Do you want to be the village chief?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"Why?"

After some discussion, Xiao Zhan filled in a brand-new name for Shadow: "Bu Feiwu."

"Useless? What a lame name," Shadow said.

"Still better than calling yourself Hokage!"

"Fine. You're the boss." And so Miss Shadow, now renamed Bu Feiwu, settled into Xiao's Building as Xiao Zhan's housekeeper.

At that moment, Bu Feiwu (Shadow) was holding a Decontamination Stick covered in mosaic censoring as she walked over to Xiao Zhan. "Let me feed you, Master."

As she spoke, she shoved the stick into Xiao Zhan's mouth...

The scene was...

Xiao Zhan struggled, milk spilling from his mouth.

"Wuwuwuwu!"

"What did you say, Master? I can't hear you," Bu Feiwu said to Xiao Zhan.

"He says he wants some more," Lin Jie said from the side.

"No problem, Master."

"Oh, and Feiwu can come along too." Dong Xue'er turned to Bu Feiwu (Shadow). "You can join the intensive training as well."

"Me?" Bu Feiwu looked at Dong Xue'er in surprise. "But I... I used to work for Evolution Company. I shouldn't be eligible to take part in your operations."

"Of course you can. We've watched you long enough these past few days. I've decided to trust you," Dong Xue'er said with a smile.

"Really?" Bu Feiwu was delighted. Her hand unconsciously tightened, and the whole stick went into Xiao Zhan's mouth. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

"Have fun with your training," Lin Jie said.

"Are you really not coming?" Dong Xue'er looked at Lin Jie once more. "I'm inviting you sincerely."

"I'm not interested," Lin Jie said to Dong Xue'er.

"I can't believe you had the heart to turn me down." Dong Xue'er put on a coy expression and turned to Dong Xiaoye. "Xiaoye, what should I do? This heartless man rejected me."

"..." Lin Jie looked at Dong Xue'er. "I'm already strong enough. There's no need for me to train. You people just don't understand the loneliness of being the strongest."

"You? Don't think you're so strong just because you beat two A-Class Heroes by yourself. There are plenty of S-Class Heroes among the Eight Great Families," Dong Xiaoye said indignantly. "And above S-Class, there's SS-Class. Don't think you're invincible just because you've got a little ability."

"At least I can handle you people," Lin Jie said.

"What did you say?" Dong Xiaoye was furious. "Believe it or not, I'll teach you a lesson right now."

"Sure," Lin Jie said. "All of you can come at me together. If you win, I'll go with you to that special training."

"You said it!" As Dong Xiaoye spoke, an ice spear appeared in her hand.

In the end, Lin Jie stayed in H City.

After the fight, Lin Jie asked Dong Xue'er, who was sitting on the ground, "By the way, do you have any news about Thirteen?"

"Don't worry. He went to the training site ahead of time." Dong Xiaoye got up from the ground. "Damn, he's so strong. Xue'er, you weren't even using your full strength just now, were you?!"

"What! You said Thirteen went to the training site?" Glasses, lying on the ground, had caught the key point of their conversation. "Can I stay behind? I've suddenly realized that watching new anime with Lin Jie sounds like a pretty good choice."

"What do you think?" Dong Xiaoye looked at him coldly.

The next day, as Lin Jie watched, everyone boarded a plane bound for the training base.

"Good thing I didn't agree back then," Lin Jie said, wiping away sweat. "I can't believe Thirteen went to join some intensive training too. That place is definitely going to turn into hell."

Back to the present.

When Lin Jie and Little Girl returned home, he was surprised to find that Lin Wan had already made dinner and was waiting for them.

"Why are you home so early today?" Lin Jie greeted Lin Wan.

"Nothing much. A bunch of people came to the research institute to discuss a business deal, so I came home early. They seemed to be from the Ouyang Family," Lin Wan said. "Come to think of it, the guy you took down a while ago was from the Ouyang Family, wasn't he, Big Brother?"

"Oh, that guy? Don't worry," Lin Jie said to Lin Wan. "He can't cause any trouble."

"But, Big Brother, when I was watching the news earlier, it looked like he said something to you and then got into the car with a strange smile," Lin Wan said.

"Don't worry. It was just a loser barking," Lin Jie said.

"But we should still be careful," Lin Wan said. "I hear the Ouyang Family is very prominent in both business and politics. They've also got a lot of superheroes in the family."

"Don't worry! It'll be fine," Lin Jie said.

When they handed Ouyang Rui over to the police, he had indeed said something to Lin Jie before getting into the transport vehicle.

"I'll be out soon. Then you'd better get ready for the Ouyang Family's revenge," Ouyang Rui said before getting into the car.

"..." Lin Jie didn't reply. He simply gave Ouyang Rui a look.

Only Ouyang Rui saw the red light in Lin Jie's eyes. At the same time, for a brief two seconds, a powerful killing intent enveloped him. In that short time, he saw himself being killed in thousands of different ways.

The intense killing intent turned Ouyang Rui's mind and spirit into a muddled mess.

After that, Ouyang Rui got into the car with a foolish grin. Nobody noticed that Lin Jie's gaze had driven him completely insane.

When a powerful presence struck someone's mind, those without strong enough willpower would often go mad, just like Ouyang Rui.

But Lin Jie had no intention of telling the others about it. Some things were better kept to himself...