“Uphold justice in Heaven’s name!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Ji enthusiastically threw a punch at Xian Ning.

Seeing trouble coming, Xian Ning tried to dodge. But before he could react, pain flared in his cheek, and almost at the same moment, his whole body went flying. Then he cried out.

“Aaaah!!!”

Pain hit him all at once.

Those so-called fans froze on the spot. Shi Ji was already fuming, and he didn’t want to waste any more time here. The train was about to leave, after all. Getting this over with and leaving right away seemed like a pretty good plan. For Shi Ji, who was so broke he could barely scrape together a coin, it seemed like his only way out.

Xian Ning went flying, but Shi Ji didn’t stop there. He’d already hit him, so what harm could a few more punches do?

Shi Ji moved incredibly fast. The moment Xian Ning hit the ground, Shi Ji was already at his side. He grabbed Xian Ning by the collar with his left hand and, without bothering to hit anywhere else, aimed his right fist straight at Xian Ning’s face. He moved so quickly that he landed several punches in just a few seconds. Before anyone’s eyes, that handsome face went from perfectly fine to swollen and bruised in no time.

A few seconds later, Shi Ji let go of Xian Ning. Now unconscious, Xian Ning slumped to the ground and didn’t move. He was a B-Rank Hero, after all, and as long as Shi Ji kept his strength under control, there was no danger to his life. But as for that face… it was hard to say whether it would ever fully recover.

Xian Ning, a B-Rank Hero, had been beaten down by an ordinary person without even having time to react.

Looking down at Xian Ning on the ground, Shi Ji said with utter disdain, “With a hero like you, the whole hero community should be ashamed. You’re trash.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Ji turned and hurried away. Other people might have thought he was running away. He was running away, sure—but there was another reason behind it, too.

…

Once he’d boarded safely, Shi Ji felt incredibly lucky. Good thing he’d run fast, or the train really would’ve left without him.

He didn’t give what had just happened another thought. He’d been planning to close his eyes and get some sleep, but then his gaze shifted to the booklet set aside for passengers to browse.

It wasn’t a safety manual. It was a guide to the most popular heroes of the moment.

There was still a long journey ahead. He might as well read the booklet to pass the time.

He reached over, picked it up, and flipped through it casually. Most of the booklet was devoted to active A-Rank Heroes, along with a number of B-Rank Heroes whose popularity was rising fast. And there, in the section on B-Rank Heroes, he spotted Xian Ning—the very man he’d just beaten to a pulp.

Reading Xian Ning’s profile, Shi Ji finally understood. The guy had originally been just a minor celebrity with a small following. Then, by chance, he became a hero. After that, one thing led to another, and he quickly caught the attention of a huge number of fans, making him one of the hottest heroes around.

Shi Ji understood that people like him became heroes for their own selfish reasons—to boost their popularity. He didn’t deserve to be called a hero.

With a sharp rip, Shi Ji tore out the page about Xian Ning and shredded it to pieces.

“A hero, huh… Forget it. They don’t even pay.”

Shi Ji condemned others for becoming heroes out of selfish motives, but he didn’t realize that the thought of becoming a hero had begun to take root in him, too. He had his own selfish motive, though: money.

And yet, the difference between Xian Ning and Shi Ji gave you plenty to think about.

…