The fight ended way faster than Winter Xueer had imagined.

In the Peach Grove, only one person was still standing—a muscleman with a golden shield and a long spear, frozen mid–bodybuilding pose.

The mosaic device covering the Peach Grove had already lost its effect.

When Lin Jie and Winter Xueer stepped into the grove, that was the scene they walked in on. Lin Jie still had a rope in his hand; the other end was tied to two people—Ouyang Rui and Kaito, both limp and weak now that the drugs had worn off.

He was just about to call someone over to treat the people lying all over the ground when Winter Xueer noticed an enemy who was still almost unhurt—Shadow.

She had finally found the target she’d been looking for. In a pile of petals, she found Xiao Zhan, badly injured and collapsed. Her dagger was already pressing right against him.

“Hey, beauty! Let go of that perv! Come at me instead!”

Lin Jie and Winter Xueer moved in front and behind, sandwiching Shadow.

“…” Shadow fell silent for a moment, then yanked Xiao Zhan up in one motion and pressed the dagger to his neck.

“Don’t get hotheaded. My bros are already here. See those two people my bro’s carrying? Your boss already lost. You can’t beat them.” Xiao Zhan blurted out.

“Let me leave.” Shadow said through clenched teeth, controlling Xiao Zhan. The dagger in her hand had already cut his neck, a line of blood seeping out.

But Lin Jie and Winter Xueer still didn’t move. Lin Jie even pulled out his Spike Mace.

“Xiao Zhan, to stop this evil enemy from escaping, we can only sacrifice you.” Lin Jie raised the mace as he spoke.

“Lin Jie! You bastard! You trying to get me killed?!” Xiao Zhan yelled, furious.

“Relax. I’ll spread the story of how you sacrificed yourself for justice all over H City. And I won’t let your death be in vain.” Lin Jie said.

“Screw your sacrifice! I’m still young! I’m not planning on dying yet!” Xiao Zhan snapped.

“Dying in a beauty’s arms, even as a ghost you’d die satisfied, right?” Lin Jie said, about to attack.

“Don’t! Calm down! Stop!!” Xiao Zhan shouted quickly. “Give me a few minutes! Let me negotiate with her!”

“What’s there to negotiate?” Lin Jie said. “You deal with black–shadow types like this by taking them out on the spot.”

“I’m begging you, bro! Don’t be impulsive! I wanna live!” Xiao Zhan cried.

“Either way, it’s not me dying.” Lin Jie muttered.

“Just give me a few minutes! Let me talk to this lady, okay?” Xiao Zhan insisted.

“Fine. You get three minutes.”

“…Fine, I’ll give you a few minutes.” Lin Jie said.

“Hey, you heard that, right? My so–called brother is trash. He was clearly planning to smash both of us just now. So even if you keep holding me, it’s pointless.” Xiao Zhan said to the woman behind him.

“…” Shadow still didn’t answer.

“How about this. I promise I won’t rat you out. You can just come work for me instead. I heard Evolution Corporation doesn’t allow you to fail missions twice in a row. Go back and you’re dead anyway, right? Might as well jump ship.” Xiao Zhan said in a rush, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

“…” Shadow still said nothing.

“Trust me, working for me is definitely the right choice. High salary, full benefits, food and housing included, weekends off, nine to four work hours, plus four extra personal days every month.” Xiao Zhan rattled off a whole package of perks in one breath.

“Can you guarantee the Hero Association won’t come after me?” Shadow finally spoke.

Hearing the hint of wavering in her voice, Xiao Zhan hurriedly said, “Only the people here know who you are. If I keep quiet, they keep quiet, who’d ever know your identity? Tomorrow I’ll get you a brand–new ID. Fully legal, guaranteed.”

Then he shouted to Lin Jie, “She’s a total knockout! Isn’t it better if she comes work for us?”

“You’ve got a point.” Lin Jie thought about it, then looked over at Winter Xueer, who hadn’t spoken.

“This time you helped us a lot, so I’ll leave this decision to you.” Winter Xueer said to Lin Jie.

“All right, we can keep this whole thing a secret.” Lin Jie said to Shadow. “From now on we’re on the same side. Hurry up and let Xiao Zhan go.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?” Shadow said.

“I’m being honest here!” Xiao Zhan said anxiously. “You know, girls like you are totally my type. Really, I, Xiao Zhan, swear to the heavens, you’re exactly my favorite kind of girl! So I absolutely, absolutely won’t lie to you. Come work for me—your future will be way better than with Evolution Corporation. If you really can’t trust me, then kill me. If I can die together with you, I’ll have no regrets.”

He finished, then shut his eyes.

After a long while, Xiao Zhan heard a soft sigh. “You said it. Every single one of those benefits better be real.”

Xiao Zhan snapped his eyes open in surprise. The dagger at his throat was gone. In his field of view, Lin Jie was flipping him off, muttering, “Damn, you can pick up a girl even like this. I shouldn’t have let you talk. Should’ve just taken you out together.”

“Whew…” Xiao Zhan let out a long breath of relief. His knees went weak, and he collapsed back against a soft body.

“So, what’s my first job?” Shadow asked.

“Call an ambulance for me.” Xiao Zhan said—and passed out.

“Forget it, I should go check on Glasses Bro.” Lin Jie handed the two criminals over to Winter Xueer, then walked out of the Peach Grove.

Outside, a makeshift emergency team had already set up. Quite a few people had been carried out of the grove and were getting treated by the medics.

Glasses Bro slowly opened his eyes and realized he was resting on someone’s lap.

“A lap pillow? Who is it? Winter Leaf?” he wondered.

“You’re awake. Don’t move yet, I’m healing you.”

A big face covered in a full beard came into view, almost making Glasses Bro spit blood on the spot. He finally realized he was lying on a musclebound guy’s thighs. The big guy’s “warm hands” were roaming all over his body.

“Hell no! With that chest hair and that face, how are you playing a healer class?! You’re freaking terrifying, you know that?” Glasses Bro yelled.

“Four–Eyes Pervert, you’re awake?” Winter Leaf’s voice drifted into his ears.

“You… you’ve been here the whole time?” Glasses Bro turned his head to ask.

“Wh–what are you saying…” Winter Leaf’s face flushed bright red.

“This girl’s been by your side since the moment you passed out.” the muscle healer said from the side.

“Y–you! What nonsense are you spouting!” Winter Leaf sputtered.

“Thanks… for worrying about me.” Glasses Bro smiled.

“I–it’s not like I was worried about you or anything.” Winter Leaf said, cheeks burning. “I just wanted to see when you’d finally die, that’s all.”

“…”

Watching all this, Lin Jie turned away in silence.

“What the hell? Xiao Zhan just bagged himself a yandere, and over here Glasses Bro’s got himself a tsundere. I’m the one who took down the final boss, okay? And those two are the ones getting the girls? There is no justice.”

Lin Jie fumed, then pulled out his phone and called Thirteen.

“I heard communications on Paradise Island are back. Of course, Thirteen’s still the one I vibe with the most.” Lin Jie muttered to himself.

A moment later, the screen lit up with a scene of a beautiful beach.

“Lin Jie! Things finally calmed down over here. How’re you doing?” Thirteen’s face appeared on the screen.

“I’ve wrapped things up on my side.” Lin Jie said.

“Yeah? That’s great. When are you coming back?”

“In the next few days. I’ll head back to H City.” Thirteen said with a smile.

“Thirteen, listen. Xiao Zhan and Glasses, those two scumbags, have no loyalty.” Lin Jie said.

“What happened?” Thirteen asked, curious.

“I’m out here fighting for my life, and those two are using the chance to flirt with girls.” Lin Jie said.

“What? Those two bastards!” Thirteen snapped.

“Exactly.” Lin Jie said.

Right then, a beautiful Sea Clan girl stepped into the frame.

“Thirteen,” the Sea Clan girl said. “I came to say goodbye.”

“You’re leaving already?” Thirteen asked.

“Yes. I have to return to my clan. Thank you for saving me.” the girl said.

“No problem.” Thirteen replied with a gentle smile.

The next second, the Sea Clan girl leaned in and kissed Thirteen on the lips…

Seeing that, Lin Jie hung up without hesitation.

“Didn’t expect even Thirteen to betray our great FFF Squad. This world seriously has no justice.”

“Don’t say that.” A group of musclemen jogged over. “We heard you’ve trained the perfect physique. We should exchange tips sometime.”

“…” Lin Jie looked at the girls around his three teammates, then at the wall of dudes around himself.

“Let’s go. My treat today. We’re getting H City’s specialty—roast mandarin ducks.” Lin Jie said.

“Uh… mandarin ducks are such a nice symbol of love. Eating them feels kinda wrong.” one muscle guy said.

“It’s normal. Haven’t you heard? Flaunt your love, die faster.”

…

At Lin Jie’s home, Lin Wan and the little loli Lin Mumu were eating breakfast while watching the morning news.

“Today, led by our city’s Hero, the Winter Witch of Cold, and A City’s Hero, the Ice Fairy, the Super Heroes successfully busted a cross–border bioweapons trafficking ring. The main perpetrator turned out to be the chairman of our own Hero Association. Police have also received reliable intel that Chairman Ouyang was involved in illegal human experimentation, and manipulated Hero rankings for Cao Jing and others…”

The screen cut to Ouyang Rui. He was shackled and being pushed into a prison transport van. Before getting in, he seemed to say something to the nearby Lin Jie, then got on the van with a goofy smile.

“It’s Big Brother Lin!” the little loli cried.

“Big bro finally made it on TV.” Lin Wan said.

“In addition, the city’s A Rank Hero, the Hunter, was also hired by Ouyang Rui.”

The screen shifted again. Several officers were pushing a giant block of ice toward another transport vehicle. Frozen inside was the Hunter. And standing on top of the ice was Xiao Zhan.

Xiao Zhan was yelling at the camera, “See this, Mumu? Don’t ever dream about becoming a Hero like that guy. If you wanna be a Hero, be one like me!!”

Below, a bunch of armed police were desperately trying to drag him down.

“It’s Brother Xiao!” the little loli said excitedly.

“That idiot.” Lin Wan could only press a hand to her forehead.