Chapter 5

Lin Jie felt incredibly uncomfortable as he stared at Dong Xue'er, who was staring right back at him.

"Could it be that you're not normal either?"

"I'm not like them." Dong Xue'er replied calmly. "I was just a little shaken mentally. A few days of rest at the Mental Rehabilitation Center should do the trick. Don't worry."

"Whew! That's a relief," Lin Jie said.

"Oh, right, Lin Jie." Dong Xue'er suddenly wrapped her arms around his. "I've realized that you're the only man I'm interested in. Let's make a baby when we get back."

"..." Lin Jie struggled inwardly for a long while before gritting his teeth and saying, "You should go to the Mental Rehabilitation Center with them and rest for a couple of days, too."

"Is that really a good idea? You might not get another chance after this, you virgin." Dong Xue'er teased him.

"No problem! Men like me are lustful without being lewd, and shameless without losing our dignity." Lin Jie was gritting his teeth so hard they were about to bleed. "If we're going to do something like that, we should wait until you've recovered mentally. Otherwise, I'd feel guilty. If you insist, we can put it in writing first. Once you're out of the Mental Rehabilitation Center, we'll make a baby."

As Lin Jie spoke, a pen and a piece of paper appeared in his hand.

"Tch, what a boring man. No wonder you're still a virgin." Dong Xue'er released his arm. "You've missed your chance."

"...I should've just gone along with it."

The next day, the headline in the H City News Daily read: "The Mental Strain of Superheroes: Several of Our City's Heroes Enter the Mental Rehabilitation Center Together."

The story made the news and even prompted a slew of experts and professors to offer their analyses.

"Looks like I'll have more work piled on me over the next few days." Lin Jie sighed. "I really want to know what kind of training they went through."

That afternoon, a huge Lizardman appeared on the streets of H City.

"Prepare to face our judgment!" Ten Gods struck a powerful pose in front of the Lizardman. Behind him, the other members began playing some energetic music.

Just as the atmosphere reached its peak, a Wolf Fang Club appeared above the Lizardman's head. Then the Lizardman collapsed and didn't get up again.

"That bastard again!" Ten Gods glared furiously at Lin Jie's retreating back and cursed.

The next day, a group of supervillains appeared in H City. Just as Ten Gods and the others were getting ready to put on a show, the whole group had already been taken out. When Ten Gods came to his senses, he saw Lin Jie walking away with the Wolf Fang Club slung over his shoulder.

"That bastard!" Ten Gods angrily sipped his coffee at the Star Agency before turning to his manager. "Which criminal is next?"

"No one's willing to take the job anymore," the manager replied helplessly.

"Aren't those guys willing to risk their lives for money?" Ten Gods asked, confused.

"The word has spread through H City's underworld. There's a Club Hero in the city's Decontamination Squad. He never says a word—he just attacks as soon as he sees you," the manager said helplessly. "And he's incredibly strong. No one's willing to take a job in H City anymore."

"That bastard again!" Ten Gods said angrily. "How about this? I'll pay out of my own pocket to hire someone strong enough to beat that Club Hero. Make sure he humiliates him! Then we can show up and clean up the mess."

"That's a great idea. It'll teach that guy a lesson, too." The manager was delighted.

While H City's main heroes were away, Lin Jie was forced to help Xiao Zhan and the others keep the squad's daily operations running. But even Lin Jie hadn't noticed that, without realizing it, he'd returned to the way he'd acted back when he was Zero.

Under his iron-fisted crackdown, H City's crime rate fell by eighty percent during that time. Rumors began to spread that H City had a powerful Club Hero.

Of course, Lin Jie's habitual methods had also angered quite a few heroes. Plenty of them had barely made their entrance before someone else knocked out the criminals. It was like charging up your ultimate in a game, ready to steal the kill, only for someone to pop in and take it from you without even leaving you an assist.

Ten Gods was by far the worst victim of Lin Jie's kill-stealing. If Lin Jie had at least said something after stealing his targets, that would've been one thing. But Lin Jie acted as if he were mocking those who worked so hard to show off in front of everyone—he said nothing and simply left.

And so Lin Jie earned himself a new title in H City: "Silent Club."

"Very well. I'll contact a B-Class criminal and have Butcher deal with him," the manager told Ten Gods. "I guarantee he'll lose face this time."

"I'll leave it to you," Ten Gods said excitedly.

So that night, the evening news headline read: "Shocking News: D-Class Hero Club Hero Defeats B-Class Criminal Butcher with One Blow—A Rare Case of a Lower-Ranked Hero Taking Down a Higher-Ranked Criminal Single-Handedly."

A special expert analysis followed: "Well... this incident was actually a very unusual coincidence. Our ranking system is extremely rigorous, and there's no question about Butcher's strength. His past record proves that. As for how Club Hero managed to defeat Butcher, there were several contributing factors, such as the terrain favoring Club Hero's movements and Butcher's physical condition that day..."

"Even I almost believe it after listening to that. Experts and professors really are something," Lin Jie said with a sigh.

"What do you mean by 'experts and professors'?" Lin Mumu asked curiously.

"They're people who specialize in analyzing things on TV and fooling ordinary people," Lin Jie said. "Your big sister Lin could end up becoming one of them someday."

"Could Big Sister Lin become an expert and professor someday?" Little Girl tilted her head.

"Not necessarily. It depends on what she wants to do in the future," Lin Jie replied.

"Ah, Big Brother! That's you!" Little Girl excitedly watched Lin Jie on TV. "You're so amazing, Big Brother! I want to beat all my enemies with a club just like you someday."

"..." Lin Jie couldn't help imagining Little Girl holding a huge Wolf Fang Club several times taller than she was, repeatedly bashing a Monster with it. The next day's news would report, "Girl Club Hero Takes Down Another Little Monster..."

"Mu Mu, that kind of thing isn't suitable for girls to use," Lin Jie said. "How about this? If you get the chance, I'll teach you how to use a flying guillotine."

"Okay!" Little Girl said happily.

"It's about time to feed Doudou." Lin Jie took out a few bags of spicy gluten snacks. "Doudou" was the dog they'd adopted a few days ago.

"Yay! Let's feed Doudou! Let's feed Doudou!" Little Girl happily followed Lin Jie to Xiao's Building. Since Xiao Zhan had gone straight to the mental health facility after returning, Lin Jie had to come by and take care of Doudou himself.

As they reached the entrance to Xiao's Building, someone wearing a hat and sunglasses that completely hid their face grabbed Lin Jie.

"So you really are here," the person said.

"Who are you?" Lin Jie asked, eyeing the suspicious figure.

"Come talk with me," the person said.

"Mu Mu, go upstairs and feed Doudou." Lin Jie handed the spicy snacks to Lin Mumu, then looked at the man in front of him. "I've taken down a lot of people lately. Are you here to avenge one of them?"

"Neither. Come with me." The person gestured for Lin Jie to follow. "There are too many people here. Let's find somewhere quiet to talk in private."

"What a hassle," Lin Jie said helplessly. "I hate this mysterious act."

The two of them headed to an ecological park that rarely saw visitors.

"All right, what do you want?" Lin Jie asked. "We can't keep Little Mu Mu waiting too long."

The person took off his hat and sunglasses, revealing his true face.

"Ah! You're that Ten Gods guy who hired criminals to beat you up." Lin Jie recognized the face that made countless girls scream.

"Are you mocking me?" Ten Gods' expression turned dark.

"Then why did you bring me here alone?" Lin Jie asked.

"I want to know what it'll take for you to stop," Ten Gods said.

"Stop what?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"Don't play dumb!"

"I really don't know what you're talking about," Lin Jie said.

"Then I'll be blunt!" Ten Gods said. "What will it take for you to stop targeting me?"

"Have I ever targeted you?" Lin Jie asked, confused. "I don't remember doing that."

"Don't play dumb!" Ten Gods was thoroughly enraged by Lin Jie's words. "Every time we hire a supervillain, you show up and take them down! How is that not targeting me?"

"What? You mean the supervillains who showed up around you were all hired by your company?" Lin Jie seemed to understand.

"Now you've got nothing to say, don't you?"

"Well... I just got carried away beating them up. It's hard to break an old habit," Lin Jie said.

"You still dare say you got carried away?" Ten Gods stared at Lin Jie. "I suggest you stop while you can."

"I wasn't deliberately targeting you in the first place," Lin Jie said. "I just beat criminals whenever I saw them. That's my job now, isn't it?"

"Looks like you're not willing to stop." Ten Gods glared at Lin Jie. "If you want to keep up this kind of cutthroat competition, then I, Ten Gods, will gladly take you on."

"What the hell is cutthroat competition? Do superheroes really need to compete? Isn't this supposed to be a public service job?" Lin Jie realized that his worldview and that of the handsome man in front of him belonged to two entirely different worlds.

"You pretentious bastard!" Ten Gods said. "All the achievements you've racked up lately should have been mine! They should have been mine!"

With that, Ten Gods charged at Lin Jie. His fist, surrounded by flowing energy, shot straight toward Lin Jie.

"If you want cutthroat competition, then let's fight!" Ten Gods said, launching a flurry of attacks at Lin Jie. "We're both D-Class! Whoever loses has to give up being a hero!"

"Is there something wrong with this guy's worldview?" Lin Jie muttered as he dodged Ten Gods' attacks.

Lin Jie had already lost his patience. He casually punched the man in the stomach, and Ten Gods dropped to his knees, clutching his gut.

"How?" Ten Gods said in disbelief. "How could you see through my movements?"