Chapter 4

In the private flight terminal of H City, Lin Jie was waiting there.

He had received word from Xiao Zhan and the others that they would be landing here in a private jet, and they'd asked Lin Jie to come pick them up. He hadn't really wanted to go, but the moment he remembered that Thirteen was with that group, he couldn't help wanting to come take a look.

"It's already an hour past the scheduled time. I'm guessing they probably crashed somewhere," Lin Jie thought to himself. "Looks like there won't be any good show to watch today."

Just then, a shuttlecraft abruptly appeared in Lin Jie's field of vision.

"Finally here," Lin Jie said, watching the shuttle.

But then he noticed something off: "Since when do shuttlecrafts have black exhaust fumes? That's way too unenvironmental. And hey, it's this close already, why isn't it descending?"

Then, under Lin Jie's stunned gaze, as the shuttle reached the landing zone, it made a sharp ninety-degree turn in midair and dove straight down, nose-first.

Fortunately, the parachute at the shuttle's rear suddenly deployed, and the airport staff activated emergency protocols. An anti-gravity field formed beneath the runway, catching the shuttle and suspending it in midair.

Immediately after, the airport's fire brigade mobilized in full force.

Only then did Lin Jie realize the black smoke trailing the plane wasn't exhaust at all—it was parts of the aircraft burning. Thick, rolling black smoke spread across the runway.

"As expected of Thirteen. That jinxing skill of hers hasn't dropped one bit," Lin Jie couldn't help giving the plane a thumbs-up. "This trip wasn't a waste. I really did get to see a good show."

Muttering to himself, Lin Jie walked toward the shuttle.

No sooner had the flames on the shuttle been extinguished than a figure leaped out, shouting as he jumped, "Yahaha! See, I told you! Airport anti-gravity fields are the most fun thing ever. I make sure to enjoy it every time I fly!"

Lin Jie froze in place when he saw the speaker's appearance.

The person had shaved the hair on both sides of his head, leaving only a strip in the middle dyed gold. He wore a black leather vest with no sleeves, held a chain in one hand, and had pauldrons on both shoulders.

"What the hell is this Mohawk grunt doing here?!" Lin Jie screamed internally.

"Yahaha! Bro, you're here!" The guy walked toward Lin Jie. "Long time no see! Let's go grab a motorcycle later! I can't wait to go street racing in H City."

"Who are you?" Lin Jie stared at him blankly. "I don't remember knowing any Mohawk grunts."

"What are you saying? I'm Thirteen! It hasn't been that long, and you've already forgotten me? You asking for a beating?!" the Mohawk grunt yelled at Lin Jie.

"You're saying you're Thirteen!" Lin Jie felt utterly horrified. "Weren't you guys doing intensive training? Did you go through some kind of end-of-century performance?"

Because last time he'd seen Thirteen, the guy had been a mature, steady, warm-smiling young man. How, in just half a month, had he turned into a Mohawk grunt with an arrogant grin plastered on his face?

"It's nothing. I just awakened my true self," Thirteen said. "Don't worry about it! Bro, let's go get a motorcycle!"

"..."

"Lin Jie, long time no see, my good friend." Just as Lin Jie was reeling in shock, Xiao Zhan's voice reached his ears.

"Xiao Zhan! What happened to Thirteen?" Lin Jie turned to look at Xiao Zhan. "And what the hell is up with your art style?!"

At this moment, Xiao Zhan had the same end-of-century look as Thirteen, but the biggest difference was their roles in that setting. If Thirteen's look was that of a grunt from the end of the century, then Xiao Zhan in front of him had the appearance of the end-of-century's protagonist.

"We haven't changed at all," Xiao Zhan said.

"Changed my ass!" Lin Jie stared at Xiao Zhan. "Forget the outfit! Your entire art style is different now! What's with all this muscle? And what's with those seven scars on your chest?!"

"I just got stronger through this training. I've become the heir to the new generation of the Big Dipper X Fist," Xiao Zhan said. "I've already mastered Formless Rebirth."

"Master my ass! Should I start calling you Xiao Shiro from now on?!" Lin Jie shouted at the man before him.

"I am who I am. I've improved this fist style!" Xiao Zhan said, pulling out a mosaic-covered stick. "You'll see my new technique in the future: the Big Dipper Mosaic Stick."

"Your art style is completely broken! I've never seen X Shiro holding a mosaic-covered stick! Give me back the real man I admired!" Lin Jie looked in utter despair at Xiao Zhan, whose art style had turned end-of-century, holding a mosaic-covered vibrating stick. "Someone come deal with this guy! Hey, where's Feiwu? Come out and handle this guy! Your boss has gone crazy!"

"Are you calling me?" Bu Feiwu walked out at that moment, wearing a maid outfit.

"You actually look normal," Lin Jie said. "What the hell happened to your boss?"

"I don't know!" Bu Feiwu said.

"They've all turned into this, and you don't know what happened?" Lin Jie looked at the beauty before him in confusion.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" The latter immediately crouched on the ground, hugging her head in terror. "Sorry! I'm too useless! I couldn't help with anything! Sorry! Sorry!"

"Hey, hey! I didn't say anything that harsh!" Lin Jie quickly said, seeing her on the verge of tears. "I just wanted to ask you what's going on."

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I'm too useless! I can't even answer such a simple question properly!" But his words seemed to have the opposite effect, as she became even more frantic. "A woman worse than a worm needing your comfort—I deserve to die a thousand deaths! Sorry! I'm a waste, I can't help with anything. A woman like me must disgust you."

"Hey, hey! What the hell got into you?"

"You should punish me, or I'll never feel right about it. Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Bu Feiwu kept apologizing.

"I never thought about punishing you! You're Xiao Zhan's maid, after all," Lin Jie quickly said.

"Heh, heh. So a garbage woman like me isn't even worth punishing anymore?" Bu Feiwu let out a creepy smile, pulling out a Laser Dagger. "Useless trash should be disposed of early, or it'll just be an eyesore."

With that, the dagger in her hand stabbed toward herself.

"What are you doing?!" Lin Jie snatched the dagger away from her. "What the hell is this supposed to be?! Can't anyone here be normal?!"

"Exactly," White Gold's voice came through. "If everyone's going to turn out like this, how are they supposed to protect H City's safety?"

"Mr. White Gold! Finally, I hear someone talking normally," Lin Jie said happily, turning toward the voice. Then he was shocked again.

White Gold was now wearing a set of gleaming golden armor.

"What's with that outfit?!" Lin Jie shouted at him. "What kind of training did you go through?!"

"I've trained and become a Gold Saint!" White Gold declared. "My Cosmo is burning fiercely! I can't wait to protect my goddess."

"Holy crap! When did you learn such a vicious skill?" Lin Jie stared at White Gold. "Weren't you a gay guy? How'd you get bent back straight after half a month?"

Just then, Yatan and Weapon, both wearing Bronze Armor, were carried off the shuttle by two people.

"What the hell? What's going on?" Lin Jie asked.

"Hmph! A couple of Bronze trash dared to challenge me, a Gold Saint. I already defeated them on the plane!" White Gold said, arms crossed.

"Aren't they on our side?"

"No one can fight me for the right to protect my goddess." White Gold said.

"Damn it! You were clearly a gay guy before." Lin Jie said.

"That was the old me. The current me is different. Now I swing both ways!" White Gold said, striking a Pegasus Meteor Fist pose.

"I'm sending this pervert to the Mental Hospital later." Lin Jie said.

At that moment, a large hand slapped down on Lin Jie's shoulder!

"What now?" Lin Jie had already composed himself, but when he saw what was in front of him, he still couldn't stay calm.

A dark, big face was staring at him. It was Black Gold, and his eyes were brimming with tears.

"Can you not look at me with teary eyes? It's disgusting."

As soon as Lin Jie finished speaking, Black Gold dropped to his knees with a thud and started crying.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lin Jie was stunned by this.

"Lin Jie! I want to play basketball!" Black Gold sobbed.

"..." Lin Jie held back for a long time before saying, "Do you think you're Mitsui Hisashi or something?! With that look, you're at best an Akagi Takenori!!"

"I don't really like fighting. I want to play basketball."

"Your job is literally a violent profession, you know?" Lin Jie said.

Just then, Dong Xue'er also came down from the shuttle.

"Bro, let's take it and go. Everyone's here." Thirteen said.

"What about Dong Xiaoye? She didn't come along?"

"She went back to B City to recuperate." Thirteen said.

"And Glasses? Did he go to B City with Dong Xiaoye?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Thirteen said, pulling out a pair of cracked glasses. "Sorry, by the time we got there, this was all we found."

The moment Lin Jie saw that broken pair of glasses, tears welled up in his eyes too.

"Glasses! Glasses! How could you just be gone like this!" The entire airport echoed with Lin Jie's sorrowful cries.