Cross-Hold Strangulation

The battlefield situation gradually reached a fever pitch. Hashirama Senju, head of the Oceania branch, stroked his smooth chin and seriously assessed the situation:

"Dr. Banner really has terrible luck. He ran into an opponent who completely countered him."

More accurately, an opponent specialized in countering men. "Wrestling Secret Technique—Cross-Hold Strangulation!"

"Awooo! It hurts, it hurts! Hulk surrenders! No more fighting!"

"The victor has been decided. Virtual opponent [King of Philosophers] Billy wins!" "Hero [Hulk] has been defeated. One point deducted." "Please welcome the next contestant!"

The moment Billy heard the declaration of surrender, he immediately stopped. His body turned into a stream of data and vanished from the arena—he was merely virtual data Li Chen had stored in the training room.

At that moment, Hulk, who had voluntarily withdrawn from the arena for the first time, returned control of his body to Dr. Banner. Back in the audience seats, Banner was left wearing only black briefs. "Are you okay?" Captain came over to ask.

"Terrible. I don't remember anything, but my whole body is shaking." Banner kept rubbing his arms, resisting the memories. Fear from Hulk kept pouring into him without end. It was an experience he had never had before. Those "philosophical" scenes were even more unbearable to recall.

As they spoke, the first Hero War continued. The second contestant stepped into the spotlight! "Welcome, [Mumen Rider]. Please choose a battle mode."

"I choose the second one." Mumen Rider answered, wrapped head to toe in high-fiber protective gear and wearing a green safety helmet and black goggles. He knew he was the weakest hero in the League and had to take every possible precaution. Even with his pure heroic heart, he could not bring himself to attack other heroes.

Li Chen snapped his fingers and activated the roulette wheel. "Begin randomly selecting a virtual opponent!"

On the platform, Doraemon casually asked while eating dorayaki, "What did the Chairman put into the database?"

"A lot. Four Emperors, Three Admirals, Five Kage, the Monster Association, Gensokyo yokai... and a hidden Easter egg."

(Fully comply with the requirements: Simplified Chinese, preserve all names, delete the original paragraph separators and irrelevant content, with no added prompts or annotations.)

"A secret... surprise?"

"That's right, it's me."

"Pfft—"

Doraemon had just swallowed his dorayaki when he took a huge gulp of barley tea and suddenly sprayed it everywhere.

He choked and coughed repeatedly, his blue face flushing red as his round eyes glared resentfully at Li Chen—this setting was such a trap! If someone drew that "surprise," they would be finished. There was no way they could win!

Within the League of Heroes, the Chairman was an invincible existence. Even drawing Vice Chairman Zeno would be useless. As long as Zeno appeared, Li Chen could immediately raise his combat power by an entire level.

"Zero, what did you add?"

"Me?"

Holding a teacup, Zero was like hazy moonlight. When she tilted her head, starlight seemed to flow through her silver hair. Her fingertips lightly touched her cherry lips as only a few people surfaced in her memories:

"The Ancient One, Origami, Nia, Kurumi..."

Li Chen understood.

Zero had stuffed all eleven Spirit Crystals she had created into the database. They ranged from Demon Level to Near-Super-Dragon-Level.

"Only Tohka is still by my side." Zero puffed out her cheeks, ripples stirring in her eyes. "I kind of... miss them."

"Leave it to me." Li Chen ruffled the girl's soft silver hair. It felt like petting a proud ragdoll cat. "If we run into them, I'll bring them back to the League."

Some Spirits were easy to persuade, like Tohka and Yoshino. Others were hellishly difficult, like Miku, Nia, and Kurumi.

"Mm..." Zero narrowed her eyes, her lashes casting butterfly-like shadows across her cheeks. Tohka's spiritual power made her naturally close to Li Chen. Anyone else would have long been blasted into particles by magic—after all, the magic of the entire Marvel Universe flowed within her.

"My head hurts. Why did everyone put in such terrifying people..." Doraemon patted his forehead with his round hand. The virtual enemies he had added were only Wolf-level Threats and Tiger-Level Threats, but the draw did not care whether you were D-Class or S-Class. What if a rookie drew a God-Level boss...

Simplified Chinese characters

All one could say was... your luck was truly terrible.

[ Ding! Opponent selected—Pseudo-Chairman Level/Pseudo-God-Level Calamity ] "You've got to be kidding me. This luck is downright absurd!" Li Chen said, scratching his black hair.

Pseudo-God-Level meant strength beyond Quasi-God-Level but short of the World-Annihilation Realm. Most of the calamities in the virtual database were Quasi-God-Level. The only exception was the person before them...

"Mumen Rider, I suggest you go buy a lottery ticket."

"How can a D-Class Hero possibly fight a Pseudo-God-Level opponent?"

"Just surrender, brother!"

"This is too cruel. I can't bear to watch."

"Is this what it means to be possessed by luck?!"

The result of the draw caused the entire venue to erupt.

D-Class Hero VS Pseudo-God-Level Calamity!

More ironically, Mumen Rider was a bottom-ranker even among D-Class Heroes.

"Boom—"

The iron gates of the arena slowly rose.

As long as he did not surrender, the virtual opponent would inevitably descend.

When Mumen Rider saw who was coming, his breathing suddenly froze—

"Has the Chairman gone mad? What kind of sick humor is this?"

"He actually set up an imaginary enemy that can't be defeated."

Beyond the iron gates, a black-haired young man stepped out, his waist-length hair drifting behind him. A well-tailored black suit highlighted his pair of bewitching red eyes. The virtual Li Chen wore the [League of Heroes] Chairman's ring on his index finger, symbolizing supreme authority, as he coldly looked down at Mumen Rider.

"You actually triggered odds of one in a million."

"Should I call you lucky or unlucky?"

"Let's begin, Mumen Rider."

Although he had mentally prepared himself, facing the Chairman himself—

Even the most burning heroic heart now seemed to fall into an icy abyss.

I'll help you.

"My mastery of Godhead Fist is far superior to Grandis's. I'll give you a few simple pointers."

"U-Understood!"

Mumen Rider's Adam's apple bobbed as he imitated the opening stance of Godhead Fist.

Though he was only at the beginner stage, with five times the physical fitness of an ordinary person, he could easily fight twenty or thirty special forces soldiers barehanded.

Only ten minutes later, the referee announced Mumen Rider's defeat, and he vanished from the arena.

Every hero in the venue turned to look at the Chairman on the platform.

He claimed he was guiding a newcomer, but every move of that Godhead Fist was ruthless and merciless!

He was indeed giving guidance, but every heavy punch struck straight for vital points. Even with equal strength, he had defeated Mumen Rider on the spot.

Mumen Rider was known for his endurance, and the instructional remarks had dragged out the battle...

Looking at it that way... the Chairman really was a ruthless figure who hid his true nature well.

"Cough, cough—"

Facing everyone's questioning stares, Li Chen awkwardly cleared his throat.

Who would have thought that the Easter egg he had designed on a whim would be drawn so quickly?

Besides, virtual combat data could not cause actual harm.

More importantly, those ten minutes of guidance had been more effective than a month of Mumen Rider's usual hard training.

"The victor has been decided! Virtual opponent [League of Heroes Chairman] Li Chen wins!"

"D-Class Hero Mumen Rider has been defeated. Points -1."

"Please welcome the next challenger!"

The two consecutive accidents made everyone realize that this was a gamble on luck.

Though the odds were low, two people in a row had already "won the prize," and no one was interested in the second challenge method anymore.

The third to appear was none other than the most flamboyant person in the venue, [Iron Man] Tony Stark.

"I choose the first battle mode."

"With my strength, as long as I don't run into some freakish opponent, this point is practically free—"

[ Ding! Matched with S-Class Hero "The Strongest Man on Earth," King ]

Tony's smile instantly froze on his face.

Out of the League's only four S-Class Heroes, he had actually drawn one?

In Li Chen's view, however, Tony had actually drawn the weakest S-Class Hero.

But for Tony, this was absolutely terrible luck.

"A newly promoted S-Class powerhouse?!"

"I heard King and Yugi Mutou were just promoted to S-Class Heroes."

"King also received public support from Child Emperor, Lord Aizen, and the Chairman."

"Tsk, tsk... isn't Iron Man guaranteed to lose now?"

"Hang in there, Mr. Stark!"

Almost no one present believed Tony could win.

Only the newcomer Spider-Man cheered for Tony.

He had deliberately skipped class to come watch the heroes' showdown.

"Whoosh—"

King and Tony were teleported into the arena at the same time.

Even wearing the Mark VII armor, Tony still felt uneasy.

He knew that this armor probably could not withstand the attacks of an S-Class Hero.

"Boom—boom—boom—"

King's King Engine roared violently, signaling that he had entered combat mode.

"Could you please go easy on me later?"

"I surrender."

King raised his hand toward the judges' stand.

He knew perfectly well that if they really fought, he would undoubtedly lose.

As a pain-fearing shut-in, he had no desire to be beaten until he was unrecognizable.

"Wait... surrender? Are you humiliating me?"

Tony's face immediately darkened.

Though he knew his strength was inferior to an S-Class Hero and had even prepared himself for a crushing defeat—

The other man would rather surrender than fight him. That was far too insulting.

"No, I'm really weak."

As if anyone would believe that! This old fox is way too cunning!

Aside from King and Li Chen, every hero present had the same thought.

"Anyway, you're not allowed to surrender!"

"Then can I request equipment support?"

"What?"

"The Mark VII you're wearing... just give me a Mark III set."

As a top-tier gamer, King was also a mech enthusiast.

Without a Gundam, an Iron Man suit was also a decent choice.

Since this was a virtual training ground, Li Chen could generate any equipment at any time.

"I can, but... is a Mark III really enough?"

An S-Class Hero wanted to fight him while wearing the outdated Mark III—

No matter how he looked at it, that was serious handicapping.

As the armor's developer, Tony knew very well that there was a massive performance gap between the two generations.

Combined with his own proficient control of the armor, if he still lost under those conditions, he would have nowhere to show his face.

"If I win, can you give me an armor set in reality?"

"Piece of cake."

"..." Mountain.

Ten minutes later, Tony was embedded in the wall like a specimen, plunged into deep despair.

At first, he had overwhelmed King through superior control skills and armor performance. Who would have thought that King would use the Mark III to defeat the Mark VII across generations? In only ten minutes, he went from awkward unfamiliarity to complete victory. That rate of adaptation was simply inhuman!

Even more humiliatingly, he had not lost to King's own strength. He had been blasted to pieces by his own model from four generations ago.

"Still alive?"

King flipped open his faceplate, pulled Tony out of the diamond wall, and patted his shoulder armor consolingly. As a veteran gamer, being able to wear real armor for a VR battle was practically the pinnacle of life.

"Damn it, you..."

"Don't be depressed. I'm a multi-time esports champion."

"You treat real combat like a game?! Fine, I admit defeat..." Tony shook his buzzing head. "You're absurd even at games. No wonder you're the strongest man on Earth."

King responded with silence.

This was already the peak of his combat power—defeating a B-Class Hero was an achievement he could have bragged about for the rest of his life in the past.

"The armor will be delivered as promised, though it's probably just an oversized collectible to you."

"Thanks."

The duel ended harmoniously.

Everyone's favorability toward King collectively increased by one: powerful (?) yet humble, with gaming skills at the absolute pinnacle.

Li Chen narrowed his eyes on the platform.