Chief: "He has no name. People forget about him. This is the harsh truth about humanity. Whenever they see a way to profit, they will be the first to stab you in the back. The same thing happened to that man. He fought bravely for people, sacrificing everything—even his name. After that, people forgot about him because no one was there to tell his story. People only remember the heroes who survived the war by avoiding it. I remember that he was called Farmer Sheng."
Pov: Vik
I slowly woke up in the morning with Pushpa licking my face. After getting up, I glanced at my watch. It was 5 O'clock in the early morning. Soon, my two disciples woke up as well. Now that we were all awake, I tried something I had in mind since yesterday. I told my disciples to stand behind me and then attempted teleportation again. This time, a white light engulfed us. When I opened my eyes, we had all been transported back to the great forest.
We stood in front of a nearby pond, which led to the anonymous hall. Seeing the pond, my first reaction was to transform into my snake form and swim in it. I took Pushpa with me despite her protests. While I bathed in the pond, I asked my disciples to freshen up in the anonymous hall since we would be going back to that room in half an hour. They nodded and headed towards the hall. While swimming, I thought about my current mastery of space elements. Before, I wasn't good at teleportation, but now I had improved so much that I didn't need the system to teleport.
System: "Yeah, until you accidentally create a wormhole again."
Vik: "System, can you please let me think? I need to create a new training program for Lu Xiaoran."
As I said this, I began to plan how I would train Lu Xiaoran to be a hero. Soon, both Lu Xiaoran and Roman finished their baths and came back. I also finished mine and wore a simple blue shirt with black pants. Lu Xiaoran wore a red T-shirt and dark blue jeans, and Roman had a plain black hoodie and jeans. We all chose plain clothes since we were in the city and didn't want too much attention.
After we finished getting ready, I teleported us back to the small room. We all looked at each other without speaking. Breaking the silence, I said, "Disciple Lu Xiaoran, from today, I will begin your hero training. Roman, you will also be part of it as the hero's support. I want both of you to focus on learning what it means to be True heroes."
Lu Xiaoran and Roman: "Okay, Master."
Both of them nodded in agreement. I added, "The first lesson in becoming a hero is to look different from the masses. To do this, you won't use luxurious items or clothes, but rather your body style and face. So first, both of you show your true faces. Having a handsome face will help."
Hearing me, they cleared the illusions from their bodies. Now, in their true forms, they looked very handsome. Lu Xiaoran had silky white hair tinged with silver and blue eyes that made him look like a banished immortal. Roman had blue hair that turned purple at the ends and purple eyes that resembled a Greek god. Just like them, I also changed my appearance back. My ashen white hair flowed from my head to my shoulders, and with golden eyes, I looked like a man straight out of a superhero movie.
As I admired my looks, a knock echoed at the door. When I opened it, I found Jessica outside with a tray of food containing rice balls, dumplings, and green tea.
She looked confused when she saw me, then glanced at Roman and finally at Lu Xiaoran. When she recognized Lu Xiaoran, she exclaimed, "Are you Lu Sheng, Roman, and Vik?"
I replied, "Yes, Miss Jessica."
Jessica: "How did you all change so much in one night? Did you bleach your hair? I don't know much about bleaching, but I've heard it's bad for your hair."
Vik: "No, Jessica, we didn't use any makeup. This is actually our original appearance. We previously hid it using illusion magic to appear normal, but now we've decided to show our true selves."
She looked understanding and then said, "I brought breakfast for you guys. After that, could you please come to the meeting hall? Grandpa Zhou said he wants to talk to you."
After placing the tray of food on the table, she began to leave the room. But as she walked out, she paused and said, "Lu Sheng, you look great like this." After complimenting him, she quickly exited the room. Sigh! Here I am, trying my best to teach him, while my disciple flirts with his girlfriend. I looked at Roman—at least one of my disciples is serious. Then I glanced back at Lu Xiaoran, who, after hearing her compliment, showed a bit of a blush. This love-struck boy is beyond saving now.
Cough! I cleared my throat to get their attention and said, "Why don't you guys eat before we start our day?"
They both nodded and began to eat. I joined them, gently feeding Pushpa some rice. She really liked the rice balls and dumplings. I think she would enjoy fish too.
System: "Yes, Master, but just so you know, you've only fed her fruits from the forest, even though the anonymous hall has an artificial food generator. So in short, you've failed as a pet parent."
Vik: "That's not true! I just don't want her to eat artificial food. Those fruits are nutritious and good for her growth."
After stating this to the system, I focused on feeding Pushpa. I didn't need to eat much; I only ate to enjoy the taste. After finishing the meal, we all headed to the meeting hall. There, I saw many women surrounding Old Man Zhou. Some were crying, and others had red eyes. I thought the men in their families still hadn't returned. Old Man Zhou was trying to reassure them that he would bring them back. Soon, an old woman came out and took control of the crowd. Old Man Zhou approached us as he had already noticed us.
He said, "Did you guys use bleach and makeup to look handsome? If you did it to impress girls, I should warn you: these city girls only like men with money."
Vik: "No, Grandpa, this is our original appearance. We hid it before. Now, what do you want to talk to us about?"
Old Man Zhou: "Actually, the men from the protest still haven't arrived. Only a few young boys came last night, like Jessica, and they told us that the police have arrested them. I'm going to the police station to get them back. While I'm gone, could you guys keep an eye on the society?"
I responded, "No, Old Man. This society is your responsibility. We'll go to the police station; you stay here."
Old Man Zhou looked bewildered and said, "Are you guys okay with that? I don't know much, but you seem like cultivators, and I've heard that cultivators are very selfish."
Vik: "No, Old Man, we're not cultivators. We're just brave humans who want to support our fellow humans."
System: "Host, you're a python. Only your disciples are humans, and that won't last long if they keep learning from you. Who knows what kind of monster you'll make them."
Vik: "System! Can you not spoil the mood? I'm trying to deliver some punchlines, and you keep interrupting me."
System: "Okay, host, I'll keep quiet until you need me."
After muting the system, I looked back at Old Man Zhou, who seemed very touched by my words. I said, "Thank you, young men. If everyone thought like you, the world would be a better place. Take my pickup truck. The police station is far on the other side of the city." He handed us the keys and directed us to his pickup truck. It was old, with just a single headlight and slightly mismatched paint. This model was like a Toyota pickup from my previous life. He placed a hand on it and said, "This is my beauty. You may not know, but this truck was repaired from a model used by humans before the catastrophe. So you could say that this beauty has a history of a thousand years."
We all climbed into the truck as Old Man Zhou instructed us on how to start it. Apparently, this truck didn't use fossil fuel; it ran on spiritual energy from the environment. After starting it successfully, I looked at Roman and said, "Roman, stay with the Old Man." He nodded and stood with Old Man Zhou while I drove off with the truck. Now, it was just me and my disciple in an open-roof old pickup truck, cruising through the city streets.