Y~MCA

"So tired."

The basketball gym.

After an exhilarating game, Mo Zhen pushed the hair back from his forehead, picked up his jacket and glasses from a chair, and tossed them into his bag.

Little Reynolds walked over and offered him a bottle of water, saying excitedly:

"Mo Zhen, are you interested in joining our school team? You're incredibly talented. Is it inherited from your superhuman family?"

As he spoke, the young French master's gaze remained fixed on Mo Zhen's face.

Little Reynolds thought to himself that this face was practically God's masterpiece. The delicate features and eyes as blue as the sky were too beautiful to belong to a boy.

He was better-looking than every girl Little Reynolds had ever seen.

His cheeks were slightly flushed after the exercise, a complete change from his usual cold and distant appearance.

First of all, Little Reynolds felt it necessary to make one thing clear: he was absolutely not gay. He was simply admiring something beautiful.

Who didn't like beautiful things?

Mo Xiaochuan rubbed his chin nearby. Something about the way Green Reynolds looked at his brother seemed strange.

"The team? Sorry, I don't have time right now." Mo Zhen slung his shoulder bag over his shoulder and politely declined.

But he still accepted the water, making a friend in the process.

"Adam, I'm heading out!"

He looked up and called to Adam, who was still reading papers to prepare for tomorrow's visit to the Reynolds Group.

"Okay!"

Adam waved at him.

At the same time.

Jinniu District, Tianhe.

As Tianhe City's high-tech district, it was home to the Reynolds Group's headquarters. Less than three hundred meters away stood leading superhero companies such as the Colossus Group and the Owl Group.

Every inch of land was worth a fortune.

Deep underground, in the sewers, a group of strangely dressed people had gathered, waiting somewhat anxiously for something.

"Where's Joker Man?"

"We've been waiting two hours. He wouldn't stand us up, would he?"

"Fucking Joker Man."

Ever since Peacemaker had killed Joker Man in the airline incident, he had not shown his face again until today.

Some media outlets claimed that he was truly dead this time, because experts had determined that Peacemaker's Heat Vision laser could completely destroy Joker Man's ability to resurrect.

The supervillains scoffed at this. They knew all too well how troublesome Joker Man was. There was no way he could die just like that.

Besides, not long ago, he had posted several tweets on Madhouse's social media, trading insults with netizens. Clearly, he hadn't managed to die.

What a pity.

Then yesterday, Joker Man had suddenly put out word on the criminal black market that he was recruiting a group of people for a big job.

Though Joker Man himself wasn't much of a fighter, he undeniably possessed an extraordinary charm and drawing power among criminals.

Because he had been active for so long, spanning centuries, many supervillains regarded him as a mentor and an idol.

As the saying went, even the wicked had their savior.

So, shortly after Joker Man's recruitment notice went out, a group of people came to apply. That was why they were in the sewer.

The strange interview location was both stinking and damp, and many of those waiting had grown impatient.

They began cursing Joker Man and eighteen generations of his ancestors.

"Hehehe, everyone, could you have a little patience?"

A voice they all recognized rang out.

"Dun-dun dun!"

It was followed by a burst of powerful music.

The criminals looked up the sewer tunnel ahead. A blond man in a loose suit and red-soled leather shoes was walking toward them at an unhurried pace.

He still wore exaggerated clown makeup, and a speaker rested on his left shoulder. The powerful music was coming from it.

"Young man, there's no need to feel down."

Young man, don't feel down.

"I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground."

Listen to me, young man, get back on your feet.

It seemed to be a very old song, one that had been hugely popular in America in the 1990s. It was meant to encourage a new generation of young Americans to pull themselves together.

Joker Man twisted his body to the music, dancing in bizarre steps as he made his way over to them.

"Y~MCA!"

"Enough!"

"Bang!"

A man suddenly frowned in irritation, raised the revolver in his hand, and shot Joker Man's speaker to pieces.

The powerful music stopped abruptly.

"You're very agitated, young man."

Joker Man glanced at the speaker on his shoulder, shrugged helplessly, and tossed it into a pool of sewer water nearby to feed the thunder crocodiles.

The man in a white denim jacket smoked a cigar and spun the revolver in his hand before returning it to its holster.

"Listen, Joker Man, we came to hear how we're going to make money, not to watch your ridiculous concert."

His tone was impatient.

Bald Eagle: an American supervillain who had once been a free-roaming Western cowboy and bounty hunter.

During a gold shipment, he had hijacked a gold transport vehicle belonging to the American government and fled to Taiping Prefecture, making a name for himself in one fell swoop.

Abilities: telekinetic enhancement, Eye of Death.

Danger level: C.

Among the criminals present, Bald Eagle was almost certainly the strongest, so no one there contradicted him.

Hearing this, Joker Man grinned and tilted his head. "OK, you're right. Let's get down to business."

"I know you're all here to make money, but for what I'm about to announce, I'd rather have too few people than settle for the wrong ones."

Joker Man sat down on a pipe with a smile and raised a hand.

"So I only want five people. Volunteer yourselves. The rest of you can get lost."

The criminals erupted at once. After all, they had traveled a long way out of respect for him and then spent two hours in a foul-smelling sewer.

And now he was telling them he only wanted five people.

Wasn't he asking for a fight?!

As outstanding talents sent to Taiping Prefecture from countries around the world, heroes among men, how could they swallow that insult?

They had to give Joker Man a beating.

Just then, a huge figure slowly emerged from the sewer behind Joker Man.

He was nearly two and a half meters tall, with a powerful, towering physique that far exceeded an ordinary person's. Walking along, he looked like a small tank.

"Holy crap... Jumbo?!"

The criminals all backed away several steps.

Joker Man smiled and wagged a finger. "No, no, no. Not Jumbo, but his older brother, Power King."

Power King cracked his neck. "Joker Man said he only wants five, so five it is. As for the extras, either get lost yourselves, or I'll show you out."

He called it showing them out, but when they looked at his fists, each as big as a sandbag, they sensibly backed down.

In the end, after a round of competition amid the criminals' cursing, only four supervillains remained.

They were known in the underworld as Bald Eagle, Flamethrower, Bomb Boy, and Demon Wolf.

Flamethrower: able to shoot continuously burning flames from the hands. Danger level C.

Bomb Boy: not a superhuman, but exceptionally skilled at chemical manufacturing, with bombs and gunpowder all over. Danger level C.

Demon Wolf: possessed the ability to transform into a half-human, half-wolf monster, greatly enhancing physical capabilities. Danger level C+.

Joker Man nodded in satisfaction. "Good, you're the ones. Now let me tell you about our plan."

He pointed overhead. "The Reynolds Group is right above us, and our objective is to take advantage of the chaos tomorrow to sabotage their technology launch."

Bald Eagle raised his eyes slightly.

"Who is our employer?"

Joker Man grinned. "That's none of your business. All you need to know is that once it's done, you'll each get a million US dollars."

"And our employer is very generous this time. Before the operation, they'll pay each of you five hundred thousand in advance."

The offer immediately tempted them.