Chapter 6

"I didn't expect you to be this strong." Ten Gods looked at Lin Jie as he spoke.

"It's not that I'm strong; it's clearly that you're too weak." Lin Jie replied.

"Tch, you won. Say whatever you want." Ten Gods looked at Lin Jie. "I'll just quit being a hero from now on."

"Come on, is it really necessary to go that far? We don't have any real grudge between us." Lin Jie looked at Ten Gods. "It doesn't matter what you do anyway, right?"

"Is this the victor's way of mocking me?" Ten Gods glared angrily at Lin Jie. "You've been putting me down this whole time."

"Are you crazy?" Lin Jie stared at the man in front of him. "Why would I waste my time putting you down? It doesn't benefit me at all, and it's way too much trouble."

"Stop pretending to be innocent!" Ten Gods snapped. "Suppressing rivals at the same rank is common practice in the Hero Association. To get promoted to a higher rank without enough achievements, most heroes do this."

"Hey, hey!! How was I supposed to know about that?" Lin Jie said. "And is an association rank really that important?"

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

"That's a thing?" Lin Jie looked at him in confusion. Back when he was a superhero, there was no such benefit. Back then, superheroes were vigilantes hidden among the crowd, and he'd never heard of anyone being tied to profit.

"Is that why you became a superhero? For something so boring?" Lin Jie sighed helplessly at the guy.

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

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

"Stop lying. You've already beaten me, so don't play the righteous hero in front of me now." Ten Gods said. "You're still pretending, and it's pointless."

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

Lin Jie and Ten Gods both turned toward the sound. They saw a mass of pitch-black shadowy creature swallowing a girl into its body.

"It's an A-rank dangerous creature, a Shadow Demon!" Ten Gods shouted in alarm. "Run! Contact the association headquarters!"

"You run." Lin Jie said. Then he pulled out his Wolf Fang Club and walked toward the Shadow Demon.

"Don't be ridiculous! Do you think you can beat that thing with your D-rank strength?" Ten Gods stared at Lin Jie in shock. "Just run! Superheroes have permission to flee when facing an enemy above their rank—it won't affect your record."

"If I run, that girl dies." Lin Jie said calmly. "And why do you have to treat rank as so important? Does rank really represent everything?"

"It's a symbol of a hero's strength and an evaluation of their power." Ten Gods watched Lin Jie step closer to the Shadow Demon, his own legs starting to go weak.

"Is rank really that important?" Lin Jie said. "Are people who act just for profit and promotion really heroes?"

"At a time like this, you're still putting on an act!" Ten Gods cursed angrily. The more Lin Jie acted like this, the more Ten Gods felt like a clown.

He didn't want to admit what Lin Jie said. Anyone could spout those grand, righteous words in public, but what was the truth?

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

People like Ten Gods often said that in front of others. But behind closed doors, they'd joke: "With great power comes great profit." And that was what Ten Gods had always believed.

He didn't believe Lin Jie was telling the truth, and he didn't want to believe it either. But instead of running, he couldn't help stopping to stare at Lin Jie's back.

It reminded him of a figure seven years ago, wearing a black robe, standing alone against an alien fleet with super-technology that had pushed humanity to the brink.

"You can't save that girl. We should call for backup." Ten Gods shouted at Lin Jie, who had already stepped into the Shadow Demon's range.

"You call for backup. I can't watch this girl die." Lin Jie raised his Wolf Fang Club.

The Shadow Demon, 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 assumed a swinging stance. As his Wolf Fang Club swept through the air, a powerful gust of wind easily shredded the Shadow Demon's spikes.

The next moment, Lin Jie was in front of the Shadow Demon. He grabbed the girl trapped inside its body.

With a hard yank, he pulled her out of the Shadow Demon. Lin Jie leaped back and casually tossed the girl in his arms to Ten Gods.

"She's not in danger, just unconscious." Lin Jie said to Ten Gods.

Ten Gods caught the girl and shouted at Lin Jie, "You saved her! Now run!"

But as soon as he spoke, the Shadow Demon, robbed of its meal, let out an enraged roar. Thousands of tentacles formed from black energy surged from its body, enveloping both Lin Jie and Ten Gods.

"We're dead for sure." Ten Gods collapsed to the ground.

"It's nothing." Lin Jie said.

"Don't comfort me. Nothing good has happened to me since you showed up." Ten Gods said dejectedly.

"I'm serious." Lin Jie said. Then, in Ten Gods' shocked gaze, he swung his Wolf Fang Club. With rapid swings, the thousands of tentacles couldn't hold out for even three seconds before Lin Jie shattered them into pieces.

"You..." Ten Gods was too stunned to speak. He couldn't believe he'd been provoking a monster like this.

Before Ten Gods' incredulous eyes, Lin Jie appeared in front of the Shadow Demon's main body. Club rose and fell, and the creature formed from black energy disintegrated under his attack. A figure, its skin a dark blue-black, flew out from inside the Shadow Demon.

"That's the monster's true form? It looks human!" After a long pause with no reaction, Ten Gods cautiously stepped forward to examine the blue-black figure.

"This thing is actually called a Black Demon. It's a product of some dangerous experiment from before. Since it can accumulate inside human bodies, it's almost impossible to detect unless it reveals itself." Lin Jie said.

"Then let's report to the association quickly!" Ten Gods said excitedly. "This is a huge achievement!"

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

"Wait, this is a big credit! You don't want it?" Ten Gods looked at him in confusion. "We can wait for the association's certifiers to arrive before we leave. The girl's not in danger. We can even hype ourselves up in front of the reporters—what a perfect opportunity."

"I'm not interested." Lin Jie said, then carried the girl and walked out of the park.

"So everything he said was true." Ten Gods stared at Lin Jie in shock. The impact Lin Jie had brought him tonight was, frankly, enormous.

He had never believed that the Association's super heroes were indifferent to profit. Some people truly didn't want that kind of gain—but those people were desperately clinging to their fame instead.

Lin Jie, however, was completely different. He didn't seem to care at all about hyping himself up in front of the public. Thinking back, every time Lin Jie defeated an enemy, he just left directly. He never once showed off in front of the crowd.

And then there was his strength—easily defeating an A-Class monster. What kind of terrifying power was that? If he wanted to, he could probably become an A-Class Hero without any trouble.

That meant the malicious suppression Lin Jie had supposedly been inflicting on him—the thing he'd been worrying about all along—was nothing but a joke. Realizing this, Ten Gods couldn't help but feel admiration for Lin Jie.

Lin Jie was far too similar to the man who, seven years ago, had set him on the path of being a hero.

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

At the hospital, Lin Jie and Ten Gods received the girl's family's gratitude.

"My daughter would like to meet you both," the girl's father said.

"Oh? She's awake already?" Lin Jie asked.

"Yes."

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

"Alright." Lin Jie followed Ten Gods into the ward.

The girl was sitting up in her hospital bed, bandages wrapped around several parts of her body. She looked at the two men before her.

"I'm sorry!" The first words the girl said to Lin Jie and Ten Gods weren't thanks—they were an apology.

"Why are you apologizing?" Lin Jie asked.

"Actually, I'm a reporter for the Unique Perspectives column of Hero Daily," the girl said. "The reason I showed up in the park was because I was tailing Mr. Ten Gods beforehand."

"What? You're that reporter who digs up scandals on super heroes?" Ten Gods said in shock.

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

"What?" Ten Gods flinched in fright.

"But don't worry, I won't report 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. "After I'm discharged, you have to go on a date with me! Otherwise, I'll release the recording."

"What the hell! Are you kidding me? I'm the one who saved you, you know! Why does the girl end up asking this loser for a date instead?" Lin Jie, listening from the side, was completely furious. "I was the one who beat the monster! And you're asking him out! Have you ever even seen a standard damsel-in-distress plot?"

"But Mr. Ten Gods is handsome!" the girl said. "Handsome, rich, famous, and I've got leverage on him. Taking him out would be such a status boost."

"Damn!" Lin Jie flipped Ten Gods the middle finger. "I just can't understand girls these days."

With that, Lin Jie left the girl's ward.

He hadn't been out of the hospital long when Ten Gods, who had reluctantly left his contact info with the girl, caught up.

"Wait!" Ten Gods called out to Lin Jie.

"What?" Lin Jie turned around.

"I want to ask—you're this strong, so why are you content being a D-Class hero?" Ten Gods asked curiously.

"Is rank that important? That's not why I fight crime." Lin Jie said to Ten Gods. "As for you, I still haven't figured it out—are you an idol or a super hero?"

After parting ways with the man before him, Lin Jie returned to Xiao's Building.

"Just went out to walk the dog and ended up in this much trouble. What rotten luck." Lin Jie picked up the Little Girl, who had already fallen asleep on the sofa. "Time to go home and sleep."

The next day, when Lin Jie appeared on the street, he saw Ten Gods running toward him.

"I've figured it out! I'd rather be a hero than an idol," Ten Gods said as he ran. "So I've decided—I want to take you as my master! Teach me how to get stronger!"

"What?"