Chapter 6

"I never expected you to be this strong," Ten Gods said, looking at Lin Jie.

"It's not that I'm strong. You're just obviously too weak," Lin Jie said.

"Tch, you won. Say whatever you want," Ten Gods said, looking at Lin Jie. "I might as well quit being a hero from now on."

"Come on, there's no need to go that far. We don't even have a grudge against each other," Lin Jie said, looking at Ten Gods. "I don't really care what you do."

"Is this how the winner mocks the loser?" Ten Gods glared at Lin Jie angrily. "You've been putting me down this whole time."

"Are you crazy?" Lin Jie said, looking at him. "Why would I waste my time putting you down? What would I get out of it? Besides, it'd be a hassle."

"Stop pretending you're innocent!" Ten Gods said. "It's common for the Hero Association to undermine people at the same rank who might be competition. If they want to rise to a higher rank and don't have enough achievements, most heroes do this."

"Hey, hey! How come I've never heard of this?" Lin Jie said. "Is a rank in the association really that important?"

"Don't tell me you don't know," Ten Gods said. "The higher your rank, the more power, benefits, and prestige you get. A high-ranking hero can bring enormous profits to a company."

"There's really such a thing?" Lin Jie looked at him in confusion. Back when he'd been a superhero, there had been nothing like that! Superheroes had been vigilantes who kept to the shadows, and he'd never heard of anyone being tied to profits.

"You became a superhero for something that boring?" Lin Jie looked at him helplessly.

"Don't tell me you didn't."

"I really didn't. My little sister forced me into it," Lin Jie said.

"Stop making things up. You've already beaten me, so quit pretending you're some embodiment of justice," Ten Gods said. "There's no point in keeping up the act."

"Ah!" A scream rang out in their ears.

Lin Jie and Ten Gods both looked toward the sound. They saw a mass of pitch-black shadowy matter swallowing a girl.

"It's the A-Class threat, Shadow Demon!" Ten Gods cried. "Run, then contact the association headquarters!"

"You run," Lin Jie said. Then he took out the Wolf Fang Club and headed toward Shadow Demon.

"Don't be ridiculous! You think a D-Class hero like you can beat that thing?" Ten Gods stared at Lin Jie in shock. "Hurry up and run! Superheroes are allowed to retreat first when they encounter an enemy above their rank. It won't count against your record."

"If I run, that girl will die," Lin Jie said calmly. "And why do we have to treat rank as so important? Does it mean everything?"

"It's a symbol of a hero's strength, and a measure of their ability," Ten Gods said. As he watched Lin Jie walk toward Shadow Demon, his legs began to tremble.

"Is rank really that important?" Lin Jie said. "Can people who act just to gain benefits and climb the ranks really be called heroes?"

"Even now, you're still putting on an act!" Ten Gods cursed angrily. The more Lin Jie spoke like that, the more Ten Gods felt like a clown.

He didn't want to admit Lin Jie was right. Anyone could say such noble things in public, but what was the truth?

There was an old saying: "With great power comes great responsibility."

People like Ten Gods often said the same thing in public. But in private, they would joke, "The greater your power, the greater the benefits you can get." That was what Ten Gods had always believed, too.

He didn't believe Lin Jie was sincere, and he didn't want to believe it, either. But though he should have been running, he couldn't help stopping to watch Lin Jie's back.

It reminded him of the figure in a black robe from seven years ago. Faced with an alien fleet armed with supertechnology that had driven humanity to the brink of despair, that person had still stepped forward alone.

"You can't save that girl. We should call for backup!" Ten Gods shouted at Lin Jie, who had already approached Shadow Demon.

"Go call them. I can't just watch this girl die." Lin Jie raised the Wolf Fang Club in his hand.

Shadow Demon, which had been about to enjoy its meal, hated anyone who interrupted its feeding.

Dozens of spikes formed from black energy shot toward Lin Jie.

Lin Jie simply took a swinger's stance. As he swung the Wolf Fang Club, a powerful gust of wind easily tore the spikes apart.

The next moment, Lin Jie charged right up to Shadow Demon and grabbed the girl trapped inside its body.

He yanked her out of Shadow Demon's body by sheer force. Then Lin Jie jumped back and casually tossed the girl in his arms to Ten Gods.

"She's not in danger. She just passed out," Lin Jie told Ten Gods.

Ten Gods caught the girl and shouted to Lin Jie, "You got her out! Now run!"

But as soon as Ten Gods finished speaking, Shadow Demon, robbed of the food right from its mouth, let out an enraged roar. Thousands of black-energy tentacles surged from its body, enveloping both Lin Jie and Ten Gods.

"We're dead," Ten Gods said, collapsing onto the ground.

"It's fine," Lin Jie said.

"You don't have to comfort me. Nothing good has happened to me since you showed up," Ten Gods said dejectedly.

"I'm telling the truth," Lin Jie said. Then, under Ten Gods's shocked gaze, he swung the Wolf Fang Club in his hand. As he whirled it at high speed, the thousands of tentacles failed to last even three seconds before Lin Jie smashed them to pieces.

"You..." Ten Gods was so stunned he didn't know what to say. He couldn't believe he'd just provoked a monster like this.

Before Ten Gods's disbelieving eyes, Lin Jie appeared in front of Shadow Demon's true body. He raised the club and brought it down. The monster, formed from a mass of black energy, fell apart under Lin Jie's attack. A person with a blue-black body flew out of Shadow Demon.

"So that's the monster's real body? It's actually human!" After a long pause, Ten Gods finally dared to step forward and examine the person, whose entire body was blue-black.

"This thing is actually called Black Demon. It was the product of a dangerous experiment a long time ago. Since it can gather inside a human body, it's almost impossible to tell what it is unless it reveals itself," Lin Jie said.

"Then we should report this to the association right away," Ten Gods said excitedly. "This is a huge achievement!"

"You go report it," Lin Jie said. "The priority is getting this girl to the hospital."

"Wait, this is a huge accomplishment! Don't you want the credit?" Ten Gods looked at him in confusion. "We can wait for the association's evaluators to arrive before leaving. The girl isn't in any danger. You could even promote yourself in front of the reporters. What a great opportunity!"

"I'm not interested," Lin Jie said, carrying the girl toward the park exit.

So he really meant it. Ten Gods stared at Lin Jie in amazement. To be honest, Lin Jie had shaken him deeply that night.

He'd never believed that the association's superheroes didn't care about benefits. Some people truly didn't care about those things, but they were all obsessed with protecting their reputations.

Lin Jie was completely different. He seemed not to care at all about promoting himself in front of the public. Thinking about it, whenever Lin Jie defeated an enemy, he simply left. He'd never shown off in front of a crowd.

And look at his strength. He could beat an A-Class monster with ease. What terrifying power! If he wanted to, he could surely become an A-Class Hero without any trouble.

That meant Ten Gods's suspicion that Lin Jie had been deliberately undermining him was nothing but a joke. Thinking of it that way, Ten Gods couldn't help admiring Lin Jie.

Lin Jie was so much like the person who had put him on the path to becoming a hero seven years ago.

"Wait, I'm coming too!" Ten Gods ran after Lin Jie.

At the hospital, Lin Jie and Ten Gods were thanked by the girl's family.

"My daughter would like to see the two of you," the girl's father said.

"Oh? Has she woken up?" Lin Jie asked.

"Yes."

"Let's go see her," Ten Gods said to Lin Jie.

"All right," Lin Jie said, and went into the ward with Ten Gods.

The girl was sitting on the hospital bed. A few parts of her body were bandaged, and she was looking at the two of them.

"I'm sorry!" The first thing the girl said to Lin Jie and Ten Gods wasn't thank you, but an apology.

"What are you apologizing for?" Lin Jie asked.

"Actually, I'm a reporter for the Hero Daily, in the 'Unique Angle' column," the girl said. "I was in the park because I'd been following Mr. Ten Gods."

"What? You're the reporter who specializes in digging up superhero scandals?" Ten Gods said in surprise.

"Yes. I've been following you for a few days," the girl said. "I was going to publish your conversation."

"What?" Ten Gods jolted in alarm.

"But don't worry. I won't publish it now," the girl said. "Because you saved me."

"Phew." Ten Gods let out a sigh of relief.

"But I have one condition." The girl looked at Ten Gods. "When I'm discharged, you have to go on a date with me! Otherwise, I'll release the recording."

"Damn it! Are you kidding me? I'm the one who saved you, aren't I? Why does the girl want to date that loser?" Lin Jie, who had been listening nearby, was furious. "I'm the one who beat the monster! And you want to date this guy? Have you ever even seen a standard damsel-in-distress story?"

"But Mr. Ten Gods is handsome!" the girl said. "He's handsome, rich, and famous, and I've got dirt on him. I'd be so proud to go out with him."

"Damn it!" Lin Jie gave Ten Gods the middle finger. "I really don't understand girls these days."

Then Lin Jie left the girl's hospital room.

He hadn't been gone long when Ten Gods, who had reluctantly given the girl his contact information, hurried after him.

"Wait!" Ten Gods called to Lin Jie.

"What?" Lin Jie turned around.

"I wanted to ask you something. You're so strong, so why are you content to be a D-Class Hero?" Ten Gods asked curiously.

"Is rank really that important? I didn't become a hero to fight crime for that," Lin Jie said to Ten Gods. "You're the one I still can't figure out. Are you an idol or a superhero?"

After saying goodbye to the man before him, Lin Jie returned to Xiao's Building.

"I can't even take the dog out without running into this much trouble. What awful luck." Lin Jie picked up Little Girl, who had fallen asleep on the sofa. "Let's go home and get some sleep."

The next day, when Lin Jie stepped out onto the street, he saw Ten Gods running toward him.

"I've made up my mind! I'd rather be a hero than an idol," Ten Gods said as he ran over. "So I've decided—I want you to take me on as your disciple! Teach me how to get stronger!"

"Huh?"