Chapter 101: Making Money!

Longteng Internet Cafe didn't look much different from an ordinary internet cafe.

In fact, it seemed like the kind of cafe that wasn't doing too well.

The dim lighting, the faint smell of smoke, and only a dozen or so computers lit up gave the impression that it was on the verge of closing down.

Chen Huaian glanced at Lin Lingling beside him and asked, "Didn't you say the bearded guy would come out to meet us?"

"Uh..." Lin Lingling paused for a moment, then started walking forward. "Maybe he got caught up with something. No big deal, I'll take you up."

From the innermost staircase of the cafe, they climbed up to the fourth floor, where a strong smell of blood hit them.

Lin Lingling's pupils contracted, and she bit her lip. "Something's wrong."

The two of them quickly walked through the corridor and arrived at the innermost room with the lights on.

The smell of blood was even stronger. Inside the room, three sofas were haphazardly placed, with a few people sitting on them. In the middle was the bearded man, smoking with his head down. On the floor in front of them lay two mutilated corpses.

"Boss!" Lin Lingling called out as she led Chen Huaian into the room.

Her eyes quickly glanced at the corpses, her pupils shrinking again, and her body trembled slightly.

The two corpses had died gruesomely. Their heads had been pierced by something, and their brains were gone, leaving empty cavities. Their faces were twisted and distorted, with blood flowing from their seven orifices, their eyes rolled back, showing only the whites.

Two civilian demon slayers, White Rank.

One of them was quite young, and Lin Lingling vaguely remembered him.

She recalled that he used to be a programmer, and they had even worked together on a mission.

On the night they submitted the mission materials, this guy had inexplicably confessed to her, saying he liked her and wanted to have a soccer team's worth of children with her, completely disregarding the fact that she wasn't even an adult and the nearly decade age difference. It was downright creepy!

But seeing him dead here still made her feel a pang of sadness.

"You came at just the right time," the bearded man extinguished his cigarette, his face grim. "The situation is extremely urgent. A demon has already set its sights on us. These two corpses are the revived ones it hunted, and it even threw them here as a warning. It clearly doesn't take our Demon Slayer Division seriously!"

"The demon is too arrogant!"

"Exactly. Once I've practiced the breathing technique, I'll make sure these demons regret it!"

"Boss, just tell us what to do!"

The demon slayers present were all filled with righteous indignation.

Chen Huaian scanned each of them, nodding slightly in approval.

They truly were demon slayers who walked on the edge of a blade to protect the safety of the world.

At least for now, they all seemed to have a strong sense of courage.

Next, they would probably discuss and analyze the demon's information, find its hiding place, swarm it, and turn it to ashes, showcasing the strength of the Demon Slayer Division and the resolve of the demon slayers, further boosting everyone's morale, right?

Lin Lingling's blood was also stirred, her pretty face tense, her fists clenched, and she said solemnly, "Boss! Just tell us what to do, we'll follow your lead!"

"We..."

The bearded man crossed his hands on the table, his eyelids drooping as he looked at everyone, and said in a deep voice:

"We... run—! Away—!"

Chen Huaian: "???"

Lin Lingling: "..."

"As expected of the Division Chief, what a brilliant idea!"

"Yeah, this strategic retreat is crucial. The demon would never expect it!"

"Boss, this isn't right!" Lin Lingling widened her eyes, unwilling to accept it. "The demon has already come for us, and we're just going to run away like cowards? We're demon slayers! Besides, you can run away from the temple, but you can't run away from the demon forever, can you?!"

The bearded man sighed as he looked at the girl in front of him, her eyes filled with anger.

How could he not understand what Lin Lingling was saying?

But that demon wasn't easy to deal with. He had stayed at the Demon Slayer Division all night, but the demon had somehow managed to throw the corpses into his office without anyone noticing. In a way, it meant that while he was sleeping, the demon could have just as easily killed him without anyone knowing.

Among the demon slayers present, he was the strongest.

If even he wasn't a match, what good would it do to send these White and Apprentice Rank slayers to their deaths?

Now that they had the breathing technique, he could take these revived ones who were willing to follow the Demon Slayer Division and lay low for a while. As long as they improved their strength a bit more, demons like this wouldn't be a problem anymore.

"Lin Lingling, I understand what you're saying, but..."

"Understand what?" A sharp voice rang out above everyone's heads, accompanied by a deranged, eerie laugh. "Giggle~ As demon slayers, you're afraid of demons? Your first thought when facing a demon is to run away? How laughable!"

"Who?!" The bearded man's alarm bells went off.

Everyone looked up at the ceiling.

The ceiling was now covered in black spider webs.

A spider as large as a conference table was perched at the center of the web, its back facing everyone. Its head creaked as it turned around, revealing a pale human face. The face looked more like a mask, with red paint outlining the eyes, nose, and a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"Demon!" The demon slayers all drew their weapons.

Some had pistols, while others, like Lin Lingling, used cold weapons.

But judging by their panicked expressions, they were clearly quite afraid of the human-faced spider.

"It's not a demon, it's an Out-of-Control!" The bearded man's eyes narrowed as he pulled open a nearby cabinet and took out a ridiculously large shotgun and a machete. He fired a shot at the human-faced spider, and while the spider used its webs to defend itself, he shouted at everyone:

"This is a Soldier Rank, Class D. You're no match for it. Go call for backup from headquarters. I'll buy us some time!"

"Giggle, and you think you can hold me off?"

The Out-of-Control leapt down from the ceiling, crashing into the bearded man and collapsing a wall.

In the dust, the bearded man's pained roar could be heard.

"Chen Huaian, let's go!"

Lin Lingling grabbed Chen Huaian's hand and ran.

A Soldier Rank existence was absolutely not something small fries like them could handle.

After joining the Demon Slayer Division, she had seen plenty of death and was no longer the reckless girl who would charge at demons head-on.

The other demon slayers also fled.

It wasn't that they had no conscience, but calling for backup was the best choice right now. Charging in would only make things worse for the bearded man.

For now, they could only hope their boss could hold on.

...

"What was that just now?"

In an empty alley, Chen Huaian looked at Lin Lingling, who was leaning against the wall, panting heavily.

"An Out-of-Control," Lin Lingling caught her breath, glancing at Chen Huaian, who wasn't even out of breath. "Strictly speaking, it's not a demon. Out-of-Controls come in two types. One is a revived person who gains power and seeks revenge on society. The other is someone whose revived power is too sinister and is eventually corrupted by it, turning into a monstrous being that's neither human nor ghost."

"So the one just now was the latter?"

"Exactly."

Lin Lingling wiped her sweat and took out her phone, her eyes filled with urgency:

"These Out-of-Controls are completely twisted mentally and spiritually, making them very hard to deal with. They're also generally very strong and are wanted criminals. I need to call for backup immediately!"

"Wanted criminal? Bounty?"

Catching the key point, Chen Huaian's eyes lit up, and he licked his lips.

"You mean this thing is worth a lot of money?"

Lin Lingling hesitated, then nodded. "Wanted criminals are definitely worth money, but I'm not sure exactly how much."

"More than killing demons?"

"Absolutely."

"Good." Chen Huaian nodded, pulling out a stack of talismans from his chest.

From what he knew, the demons he had encountered so far were the wolf demon and the black-furred rat demon.

When he faced the wolf demon, he hadn't felt threatened, so the wolf demon had died.

Similarly, when he faced the black-furred rat demon, he hadn't felt threatened, so the rat demon had also died.

Therefore, it followed that: Wolf demon = Black-furred rat demon = Dead.

The human-faced spider just now hadn't made him feel threatened either.

So: Human-faced spider = Black-furred rat demon = Wolf demon.

Ultimately: Human-faced spider = Dead.

That thing would be killed by his talismans!

Having reached this conclusion, Chen Huaian turned and walked out of the alley.

Lin Lingling, watching Chen Huaian's back, shouted anxiously, "What are you doing?!"

Chen Huaian paused slightly and smiled:

"Making money!"

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