Hero? I've Long Stopped Being One

"I didn't think you were so strong." Shi Shen stared at Lin Jie.

"It's not that I'm strong; obviously, you are just too weak!" Lin Jie replied.

"Alright, you won, I'll admit it." Shi Shen looked at Lin Jie and said: "I'll quit my hero career, as agreed."

"You don't have to do that! It's not a competition." Lin Jie looked at Shi Shen: "What good would quitting do?"

"Don't you care about winning?" Shi Shen looked angrily at Lin Jie. "You've been suppressing me right and left!"

"There's something wrong with your head!" Lin Jie stared at the person in front of him: "Haven't I just been helping, not suppressing? I don't get anything out of it, and it's still such a pain."

"It's not so simple!" said Shi Shen: "It's common for everyone in the same hero rank to compete. If you want to be promoted to a higher level, if there isn't enough work, the average hero has to fight for it."

"Whoa! I didn't know that was a thing." Lin said: "Is it really that important to get a high ranking?"

"Don't tell me you don't know about this." Shi Shen said: "The higher your rank, the higher your power, the better treatment you get, and the better your reputation. A senior hero can really reap huge benefits."

"Is this for real?" Lin Jie stared at the guy in front of him, remembering when he was first a hero. There were no such rewards back then! Back then, all the superheroes were volunteers, hidden in the crowds. They never got recognition or sponsors.

"Did you become a hero just for all this boring crap?" Lin Jie looked helplessly at the guy in front of him.

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

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

"Let's drop the nonsense - you already beat me, so you don't have to pretend to be the incarnation of justice." Shi Shen said. "Since it doesn't mean anything, you can just admit it."

"AAAH!" A scream reached their ears.

Lin Jie and Shi Shen, abandoning their talk, ran towards the sound, only to see a dark shadowy creature in the process of swallowing a girl.

"Class A monster Shadow Demon!" Shi Shen exclaimed: "Run quickly to the Association HQ!"

"You do that." Lin Jie said, taking out his mace and walking towards the demon.

"That's not funny! Do you really think you can beat that thing with your D-rank strength?" Shi Shen looked at Lin Jie in shock. "Come on, superheroes can run when they encounter enemies that are too strong for them. It won't affect your record."

"If I ran, the girl would die." Lin Jie replied faintly. "And why do you care so much about rank? Does rank mean everything?"

"It's the symbol of heroic strength, but it's also a measurement." Shi Shen saw the shadow demon approaching slowly, and his legs couldn't help but go weak.

"Is level really that important?" Lin Jie said again. "And can you really call someone a hero who only acts to improve rank and benefit himself?"

"Why are you still going on about that in a situation like this?" Shi Shen was angry. The more Lin Jie talked, the more Shi Shen felt like a clown.

He was also reluctant to admit the truth of Lin Jie's words. Anyone could give a righteous impression in front of other people, but how many would really follow those words?

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

Shi Shen often quoted this to look good, but his personal philosophy was more along the lines of: "With great power, comes great profit."

He didn't believe that Lin Jie was being honest, and he didn't want to believe that Lin Jie was being honest. But instead of running, he still found himself stopping and watching Lin Jie's back.

It reminded him of the man in the black robe seven years ago. Faced with an alien fleet equipped with superior technology, forced into a desperate situation, still, one person stood firm.

"You can't save the girl! We should call for backup." Shi Shen shouted at Lin Jie, who had reached the shadow demon.

"You do that. I can't watch this girl die." Lin Jie hefted the mace in his hand.

The shadow demon, who had been preparing to enjoy his meal, was very annoyed at being disturbed. Dozens of black energy spikes shot out toward Lin Jie.

Lin Jie swung carelessly. With a single wave of his mace, a powerful whirlwind easily shredded the attack and the shadows surrounding the demon.

In the next instant, Lin Jie rushed forward and grabbed the girl who had been trapped in the demon's shadows.

Lin Jie jumped back and tossed the girl into Shi Shen's arms.

"She's not seriously injured, just fainted." He told Shi Shen.

Shi Shen took the girl and shouted at Lin Jie: "She's saved, so run quickly, now!"

But his words fell on heedless ears, and the shadow demon was angry at being robbed of its food. Thousands of tentacles formed from dark energy appeared out of its body, shrouding Lin Jie and Shi Shen.

"We're dead." Shi Shen sat down hard.

"Nonsense." Lin Jie said.

"You don't have to comfort me. Nothing good has happened to me from the first time I saw you." Shi Shen said despondently.

"I'm serious, though." Lin Jie said. Then he swung his mace, as Shi Shen watched. With the lightning fast wave of the mace in his hand, thousands of tentacles were blown outward. In less than three seconds, the tentacles all disintegrated before Lin Jie's attack.

"You..." Shi Shen was shocked and speechless. He couldn't believe he'd actually provoked such a monster.

Lin Jie confronted the shadow demon before the disbelieving eyes of Shi Shen. His hand fell, and the monster's accumulation of dark power fell apart under Lin Jie's attack. When all the magic dispersed, a single black body lay in the street.

"This is the monster's body? It looks humanoid!" After a long time passed, and the demon still didn't move, Shi Shen dared to move closer and examine this dark person carefully.

"This is actually called the Dark Lord. It is the product of a dangerous experiment in the past. Because it can accumulate in a human body, they can hardly be noticed before the darkness manifests." Lin said.

"Let's report this to the association quickly, then!" Shi Shen said excitedly. "This is a great achievement."

"You do that." Lin Jie said: "My first priority is to get this girl to the hospital."

"Wait! This is a big deal! Don't you want the credit?" Shi Shen looked at him in confusion: "When the association certification personnel come, we can both get some credit,and the girl isn't in danger. This will be good media exposure."

"Not interested." Lin Jie said, carrying the girl out of the park.

It seemed that what he said before was the truth, and Shi Shen couldn't help staring at Lin Jie in front of him. He had made a very big impact.

Shi Shen had never believed that superheroes in the Association weren't there for the benefits, that someone wouldn't want that kind of thing. Everyone was risking their life for fame.

But Lin Jie was completely different. He didn't seem to care about hyping himself before the masses. When he thought about it, Shi Shen realized Lin Jie always just left after knocking down an enemy. He never stayed to show off in front of the crowd.

Look at that strength! He easily defeated an A-rank monster. What terrifying power! If he wanted, it would be easy for him to become an A-rank hero.

That is, the so-called targeting by Lin Jie now sounded like a joke. Shi Shen could not help but admire Lin Jie.

Lin Jie was really too much like the man who inspired him to embark on the heroic road seven years before.

"Wait! I'll come, too." Shi Shen chased after Lin Jie.

In the hospital, Lin Jie and Shi Shen were thanked by the girl's family.

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

"Oh? Is she already awake?" asked Lin Jie.

"Yes."

"Let's go see her." Shi Shen said to Lin Jie.

"Okay." Lin Jie entered the ward with Shi Shen.

The girl was then sitting on the bed, looking at the two people in front of her. She was wrapped in several bandages.

"I'm sorry!" The first thing out of the girl's mouth was not thanks for Lin Jie and Shi Shen. It actually turned out to be an apology.

"Why apologize?" asked Lin Jie.

"Actually, I'm a reporter for the Hero Daily newspaper." The girl said: "I was actually in the park because I was following Mr. Shi Shen."

"What? You're that reporter who digs up superhero scandals?" said Shi Shen in surprise.

"Yes, I've actually been following you for a few days." The girl said. "I originally wanted dto report on your conversation."

"What?" Shi Shen was very scared.

"But don't worry, I won't report it now." The girl said. "Since you saved me."

"Right." Shi Shen breathed a sigh of relief.

"But I have a condition." The girl looked a Shi Shen and said: "When I get out of the hospital, you have to date me!" Otherwise I will release the recording."

"I object! You made a mistake! It was obviously me who saved you? Why is he getting the girl in the end?" Lin Jie was irritated after hearing all this. "I defeated the monster. And now you want to date this guy? You obviously haven't seen the standard plot for being saved by heroes in the United States."

"But he's the handsome Shi Shen!" said the girl: "He's handsome, rich, and famous, and I have something on him. I'll get way more out of dating him."

"Screw this!" Lin Jie showed Shi Shen his middle finger. "I can't understand girls these days."

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

Shi Shen followed not long after, but not before helplessly leaving his contact information with the girl.

"Wait!" Shi Shen shouted at Lin Jie.

"What?" Lin called back.

"I want to ask - you obviously have such strong strength, so why are you willing to be a D-rank hero?" Shi Shen asked curiously.

"Is rank important? I didn't choose to fight crime for that kind of thing." Lin Jie told him. "It's you that I can't understand. Are you an idol? Or a superhero?"

Bidding Shi Shen goodbye, Lin Jie returned to Xiao Zhan's apartment.

"It was a really bad time to come feed the dog. I was really unlucky." Lin Jie said to the little Lolita who had fallen asleep on the sofa: "Let's go home and sleep."

--

The next day, when Lin Jie came out on the street, he saw Shi Shen running towards him.

"I figured it out! I'd rather be a hero than an idol." Shi Shen ran over and said, "So, I've decided. I want to follow you as my teacher! I will learn from you how to become stronger!"

"What?"

◇ ◇

Haha Poor Lin Jie, can't get a break from annoying people...Also, I'm pretty sure I got the idol guy's name wrong before. It should be Shi Shen, not Jyu Shen. So that's what he'll be from here on out. Just a heads up.

Thanks for your patience~

-miriga <3