Chapter 88: So, Does He Know or Not??

"Look at my phone?"

Chen Huaian blinked, exited the game, and handed his phone to the bearded man.

His phone didn't have anything special on it, so it was fine to let him take a look.

He thought checking the phone was part of the interrogation process.

As the saying goes, "If you stand straight, you don't need to fear a crooked shadow." Someone as upright as him—to the point of being almost suspicious—could handle any check.

The bearded man took the phone and fiddled with it casually. Sure enough, the screen lit up with images.

It was nothing like the pitch-black screen Chen Huaian had, which seemed shrouded in a layer of gray mist.

'It seems this phone is indeed a companion spiritual object. This kid's luck is really something,' the bearded man thought to himself. He pretended to browse through it for a while but found nothing of interest, so he returned the phone to Chen Huaian. "It really is the same brand as mine, but it feels like the battery drains too fast. I'll have to replace it soon."

"Yeah, exactly!" Chen Huaian agreed wholeheartedly. "My phone's battery life is terrible. If I could replace it, I would. Sigh..."

The bearded man narrowed his eyes.

The phone screen was lit up, but as soon as it was back in Chen Huaian's hands, it was enveloped in that mist again.

And what did Chen Huaian just say? If he could replace it?

If you interpreted that carefully, it meant that Chen Huaian wasn't unwilling to replace it but was held back by some concern.

This phone was definitely a companion spiritual object. Case closed!

In that case, regardless of the relationship between the demon in the hotel room and Chen Huaian, Chen Huaian himself was a prime target for recruitment by the Demon Slayer Division!

"Brother Huaian, I came from the hotel. Those talismans on your door—where did you get them? They look pretty realistic," the bearded man changed the topic while observing Chen Huaian's reaction.

"Oh, the talismans? I just stuck them on the door for fun. They're props from a game," Chen Huaian scratched his head and laughed. "They do look realistic. I even fantasized that they might be real and tried experimenting with them. Turns out, I was just being too much of a chuunibyou, hahaha!"

The bearded man thought to himself, Just as I suspected.

Game props, the phone, and a certain game on the phone.

It all connected.

That game was only visible to Chen Huaian.

When he checked the phone earlier, there was no game on it.

This handsome young man's phone was eerily clean—there wasn't a single photo in the gallery.

Those talismans were real, but the young man simply didn't know how to use them.

The incident at Tianmen Mountain, where the wolf demon was killed, must have triggered the talismans' activation mechanism.

That was also why the demon didn't dare leave the hotel room.

The bearded man's thoughts cleared up, and everything fell into place.

However, Chen Huaian, like the sword-energy-wielding youth that Old Li had encountered, was a tricky case.

He couldn't classify Chen Huaian and wasn't sure if he should let him know about the harsh realities of this world.

After all, the upper limit of the talismans produced by Chen Huaian's spiritual object was still unknown. What price would he have to pay each time he exchanged for them?

Moreover, Chen Huaian himself seemed to have no combat ability. He was merely the activator of the spiritual object.

The sword-energy-wielding youth was different.

His strength was obvious, and the only reason he was hard to deal with was that no one could beat him.

But difficult or not, the bearded man didn't want to give up on Chen Huaian, who was essentially a golden goose that could produce talismans.

Seeing Chen Huaian's gullible, college-student demeanor, the bearded man hesitated for a while but ultimately couldn't resist the desire to strengthen the Tianfu Demon Slayer Division.

He cleared his throat and said, "Ahem, Brother Huaian, I'm really interested in those talismans. To be honest, I love collecting these kinds of little things. Um... what I mean is, could you sell some to me?"

"You want to buy these talismans?" Chen Huaian looked at the bearded man with suspicion.

Someone actually wanted to buy a decorative item from him? That was too strange.

"But my talismans are all crumpled up..."

"Ah, that's fine, that's fine! I'm mainly studying the cultural significance behind them. Crumpled or not, it doesn't matter!"

The bearded man smiled sincerely.

But Chen Huaian found it even more suspicious. Even if you were studying cultural significance, why would you want crumpled talismans?

Chen Huaian narrowed his eyes, realizing that this matter wasn't as simple as it seemed.

"I'm not sure how to price these talismans. Why don't you make an offer?" He kicked the ball back to the bearded man.

"Well... how about a thousand yuan?"

Chen Huaian stared at the bearded man without speaking, deep in thought.

Seeing Chen Huaian's silent gaze, the bearded man panicked and couldn't help but raise the price. "How about ten thousand yuan? I really do like these a lot!"

Chen Huaian still didn't speak.

A man who seemed to be the officer's superior wasn't discussing the case or interrogating him. Instead, the conversation had inexplicably shifted to talismans. It was just too strange.

Could it be that his talismans were actually valuable, and he just hadn't figured out how to use them?

The bearded man gritted his teeth and raised the price again. "A hundred thousand yuan! That's my limit!"

He was starting to doubt his own judgment.

Did Chen Huaian actually know the value of these talismans?

"Deal!" Chen Huaian broke into a bright smile.

As soon as the money was transferred, he pulled out a talisman and slapped it into the bearded man's hand.

The bearded man's legs trembled, and he almost knelt before Chen Huaian.

What he was holding was a powerful thunder talisman. If it were triggered, wouldn't he be blown to smithereens?

Luckily, that didn't happen.

The bearded man took a deep breath and looked at Chen Huaian with eager eyes. "Brother Huaian, how many more of these talismans do you have? Could you sell me a few more?"

He wanted to buy a few more.

One to submit to headquarters, one to study, and the rest to keep for self-defense.

But Chen Huaian shook his head. "I also really like these talismans. If I get more in the future, we'll see."

The bearded man had no choice but to drop the matter.

...

At the entrance of the police station, the bearded man and Chen Huaian bid each other farewell reluctantly.

He took out a card and handed it to Chen Huaian, saying with a smile:

"Well, Brother Huaian, here's my business card. If you encounter anything strange, come find me at this address."

Chen Huaian glanced at the card. It featured a sexy woman in a bikini.

[Student girls, models, office ladies... Door-to-door service, guaranteed satisfaction. Phone: xxxxxxx]

"Sorry, wrong one."

The bearded man awkwardly took back the card and handed over another one.

[Longteng Internet Cafe—Open 24 hours, RTX 9080 graphics cards, private rooms, VIP seats, affordable prices! Address: xxxxxxx]

Chen Huaian: "..."

So, this bearded man wasn't the officer's superior but an internet cafe owner?

No, that was too suspicious.

This man clearly had the authority to dismiss the officers and let him go. The internet cafe owner identity had to be a cover.

"Got it." Chen Huaian accepted the card without showing any emotion, then gave a mysterious smile.

He turned around and hailed a taxi on the side of the road.

His phone was almost out of battery, so he needed to return to the hotel to charge it and think about finding a new place to stay.

The bearded man watched the taxi drive away, scratching his head in frustration.

What was that meaningful look about when he left?

Did this young man see through his little scheme?

Did he actually know that his phone wasn't an ordinary one?

Wait, no! This is too confusing!!

The bearded man was going crazy. "So, does he know how to use the talismans or not?!"

...

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