Chapter 109
In the attic, Xiao Mingfei breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the familiar figure.
“Boktor? I knew you were still here.”
But facing the human who was reaching out to him, the little guy hesitated.
[He wants to hug me! Why not go over?]
[Fool, he just wants you to continue helping him. You don’t believe it? Try it.]
The two heads started arguing again.
Seeing this strange scene, Xiao Mingfei cautiously walked forward and reached out to touch this strange demon.
“Boktor? I was wrong before, I shouldn’t have left you there. But I really just accidentally forgot when we moved, you know, my parents never allowed me to have pets.”
When he mentioned this, the arguing demon suddenly quieted down.
Both heads looked at Xiao Mingfei, as if wondering if he was lying.
Seeing that the little guy had quieted down again, Xiao Mingfei knew that his appeasement seemed to have worked.
Xiao Mingfei had always felt that he had excellent interpersonal skills and was always at ease when socializing with people. Except for one person, he had almost always been successful.
[Did you really just forget me there? But I waited for you for a long, long time…]
So long that grass started growing in the courtyard, and even the floor cracked.
He later learned from the neighbors that they had moved.
Everything was taken away, except for him, who was left behind.
“Yes, look, I even brought you your favorite peach canned food. If I did it on purpose, how could I still remember these things?”
Xiao Mingfei immediately took out the can from his backpack, opened it, and placed it in front of the demon.
But the little guy hesitated for a while and didn’t happily go over and eat it like before. Instead, he looked up at Xiao Mingfei.
[But I can’t give you any more of my core, if I give you any more, I won’t have enough for myself.]
Xiao Mingfei was a little shocked and resentful at being rejected for the first time.
“But you gave me half of it before, which is why I’ve become this monster!”
[…]
[Look, now he thinks it’s your fault. He was clearly the one who coaxed you into giving him some of your magic power so he could win that tennis match, and you even told him the consequences.]
The two heads started arguing again, although it was still one head scolding the other.
“But I wasn’t afraid of you at all at the time and even took you home to secretly raise you, have you forgotten?”
Xiao Mingfei knew that one of the Abyssal Two-Headed Dog’s heads was easily swayed and tried to coax him again.
[But I can only help you dispel this part of the magic power, it will still lurk in your body unless you never use it again.]
“I promise, I won’t misuse magic power again after this.”
The little guy finally relented and agreed to use his core to draw out that half of the magic power, and Xiao Mingfei, who immediately made the promise, saw the purplish-blue veins on his body quickly disappear.
Looking at his handsome face in the mirror again, Xiao Mingfei breathed a sigh of relief.
It was a pity that without a complete core, he would always be half-monster, at risk of being exposed.
Actually, Xiao Mingfei didn’t believe Boktor’s words, but felt that he could understand that the demon didn’t want to give him all of his power.
But why didn’t Lin Ran have the same situation as him?
His condition seemed very stable, and even his personality didn’t seem to be affected by the magic power, becoming radical or irritable.
Xiao Mingfei was certain that he had sensed magic power on Lin Ran, and the demon he had secretly captured was definitely not ordinary.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t found any clues after several attempts.
Because of Boktor, he had become the envy of everyone in this small circle, but Lin Ran could actually resist never actively exposing it, even completely ignoring the olive branch he had extended.
Xiao Mingfei initially thought that this might be due to his rural background and introverted personality, but now, he was even more curious about Lin Ran.
Unfortunately, he was always surrounded by people when he returned to school, or protected by those roommates, and his several attempts to talk to him were intentionally or unintentionally ignored.
“But what is this?”
Xiao Mingfei, walking back, saw the magazine on the ground, and just as he was about to pick it up, it was snatched away by the little demon.
But Xiao Mingfei still saw the magazine cover.
The popularity of this magazine was well-known at S University, and many juniors, younger students, and alumni who liked Lin Ran had all bought it at bookstores.
Xiao Mingfei knew Lin Ran’s popularity very well, even though he had never deliberately socialized.
He didn’t expect to see it here.
“Do you know him?”
Xiao Mingfei inexplicably asked the demon.
[…Not telling you.]
The little guy was instinctively a little wary, not wanting him to discover A-Ran’s special qualities.
“Okay, then I’ll leave.”
Since he had returned to normal, Xiao Mingfei didn’t really want to continue being alone with this monster.
The demon left behind was quiet for a long time before finally putting down the magazine and continuing to read.
If he hadn’t given him half of his core, could he also return to the Demon World to see A-Ran?
But he didn’t want to admit that he was a little regretful.
In fact, Xiao Mingfei, who had returned to normal, couldn’t help but use the magic power again for his own convenience the very next day.
It didn’t matter if he asked Boktor for help again next time.
Although he would occasionally feel a sense of fear seeing the black fur that suddenly appeared on his arm or body.
As for whether those followers who he had given some of his magic power to as “rewards” would completely lose control and disappear because of this, Xiao Mingfei didn’t care.
But with the recent demon census underway, these similar out-of-control phenomena naturally attracted the attention of the Monitoring Bureau.
“This phenomenon doesn’t seem to be caused by mutated demons, but rather by ordinary humans being polluted by demonic aura. Could it be that those demons are really trying to secretly invade this world?”
There had been constant small-scale conflicts over the years, but no uncontrollable large-scale disasters.
Especially recently, these dangerous and mysterious demons seemed to be busy with something and completely unwilling to appear in human sight.
Could this all be a disguise?
“And the number of demons in Country C has been increasing linearly. Just the preliminary statistics are already ten times higher than the last census.”
Another staff member from the detection department looked at the faintly appearing magic vortex on the screen, his face changing.
Although these preliminary statistics were very rough, and there was no way to accurately pinpoint the location, it was just an estimate.
But the number of demons gathered in Country C was still terrifying.
And yet, no terrifying disasters had occurred?
Even Zou Zhenyuan looked at the screen seriously, his back feeling a little cold.
“I will apply to lead the team for this mission.”
Country C was his hometown. If there was a mission arranged, Zou Zhenyuan felt that he had to investigate the true reason why these demons were gathering in Country C.
This number had clearly exceeded the normal range!
“Not good, we’ve been detected!”
And the next second, the entire screen went black, and everyone looked at each other.
[Achoo——!]
At the same time, the main consciousness of “Demon World” sneezed fiercely, feeling like something was tickling him.
This was usually related to those humans.
They were always so suspicious, like they had persecution delusions! Every time he impatiently cut off their monitoring connection, they would find ways to come back again not long after.
Over time, the “Demon World” main consciousness had almost learned to turn a blind eye.
It was like having countless buzzing surveillance drones flying around him, he was almost bored of it.
But “Demon World” had been very active recently, happily planning and releasing new events every day, especially when he saw the demons on the forum cursing while happily grinding through the progress, he felt even more smug.
He even had Tao Shu specifically hire a bunch of demons for the art department to help “Demon World” design new card rewards and event content.
A bunch of A-Ran fans gathered together to develop A-Ran cards, the efficiency was incredibly high.
Tao Shu was even a little worried that he would be laid off and had to start forcibly driving these workaholic demons away after work.
Although their monthly salary started at 100,000, with stock options, year-end bonuses, and “Demon World” benefits, they couldn’t allow these 996 workaholics to invade the Demon World!
“Ah… this is such a pity, Supervisor Tao Shu, I was just about to finish drawing the new card face ‘Beach Vacation’!”
As autumn turned to winter, the weather in Country C became colder, and the demons enthusiastically started developing a summer vacation version of A-Ran.
“Stop talking nonsense, wouldn’t it be better to use this time after work to find a few stray demons and submit their information!”
“It’s not easy to find them, they hide very well, I’m looking for clues every day!”
Everyone also wanted to get the reward for this long-term task, but it was super difficult.
Since Lin Ran tried to find that strange little demon, “Demon World,” after thinking about it, directly released a long-term bounty quest, and finding any clues about a stray demon could also earn extra rewards.
Many demons were initially surprised, but after learning that it was A-Ran’s plan, they actively participated.
After searching for a while, they really did find a few stray demons in a bad state.
After examining them, Lin Ran treated them as much as possible and found that if they weren’t already on the verge of death, they could still recover somewhat.
It’s just that they were much weaker than ordinary demons after losing their cores, and they were also very wary.
And none of them were the one he originally wanted to find.
He didn’t know if he could find him before he completely lost contact.
“Ee ee!”
Little Feather and the others helped wash the towels, skillfully squeezing out body wash, and helped A-Ran clean these fluffy creatures.
At first, a few stray demons who were aggressive would also become a little at a loss after being washed and cleaned, obediently letting themselves be held and looking at Lin Ran.
But most of them would still subconsciously run to the wild and disappear into the depths of the forest, unwilling to stay.
“They might just have their own considerations.”
Shao Mian looked at Lin Ran and explained.
He could vaguely guess that it wasn’t so much that they didn’t want to stay, but rather that they didn’t want to be seen by Lin Ran, who had taken them back, at their final moments.
These stray demons who had completely lost their cores in the human world were aware of their impending deaths, and being taken back to the Demon World was already the best ending.
At least here was their familiar home.
“Cheep?”
Sootball and the others also vaguely understood.
They only knew that a few of them hadn’t run far, but every time A-Ran accidentally looked up and saw them, they would quickly slip away and disappear.
“A lot must have happened to them.”
Lin Ran’s deepest impression was of a very old demon who said that he had voluntarily given away his core and didn’t want to pursue anything anymore.
Perhaps there were also many stories between humans and demons.
On the other hand, Shao Mian and the other great demons had changed many of their preconceived notions about these stray demons because of Lin Ran’s actions.
Because Shao Mian suddenly realized that if one day Lin Ran needed his core… his answer would probably be the same.
Knowing humans was indeed the most dangerous thing.
But Shao Mian didn’t regret it at all and even felt very grateful for everything that had happened.
“What are you thinking about, Yuanbao?”
Lin Ran turned around and found that Shao Mian was silently staring at him, his tail subconsciously wagging.
Usually, when Yuanbao did this, he was thinking about something.
“…Thinking about how many demons will come to ‘show their faces’ this week.”
Shao Mian wagged his tail and silently changed the subject.
As expected, after mentioning this topic, Lin Ran instantly wanted to sigh.
Since he had agreed to a little demon’s invitation to have dinner at their clan’s home, it was discovered that the race of the first demon who successfully invited A-Ran to dinner every day could increase the entire race’s Affection Level with A-Ran by 1 point!
This was a rare group Affection Level increase reward!
So, from then on, every mealtime, a group of fluffy creatures would come to show their faces and even fight over who A-Ran would have dinner with today.
To avoid accidents, Lin Ran had to have “Demon World” modify the rules: This strange event could only be held on the weekend he returned to his hometown every month!
This way, since he was in the village, the environment was good, and no one would care if a group of fluffy creatures chased each other and ran around.
If it happened in the city, it might make the news the next day.
As for why Yuanbao, this big lion, didn’t participate, it was naturally because he was still in the negative points penalty stage and was directly disqualified by “Demon World.”
“Heh, it’s okay, after all, I’m taking Grandma for a checkup this week.”
But Shao Mian sneered coldly, saying that these demons were still too weak.
Was the secret to Affection Level so simple?
Then they were wrong.
He was already on another level. [Evil golden tabby smiling]
“Then be careful on the road. Grandma, Yuanbao will take you today, he knows a very good doctor. Don’t worry, I’ve already paid in advance.”
Lin Ran watched as Grandma was helped into the car and gave them some parting words.
Actually, Grandma was still a little awkward with Shao Mian, but she couldn’t resist the fact that this blond young man was too handsome and well-behaved, always arranging for people to help carry things and clean.
If Grandma tried to persuade him a few times, she would be stared at by this big golden retriever with an injured and silent expression, making the old lady speechless.
How did it feel like she was bullying him instead?
Heaven and earth could bear witness, she really hadn’t, which meal hadn’t she fed him until he was full? He ate the most!
Lin Ran occasionally saw this and couldn’t help but laugh, but this seemed to be an interaction between Grandma and Yuanbao, so he shouldn’t interfere too much.
“Cheep cheep!”
Just as he sent Yuanbao off, Lin Ran found Sootball flying over with a shy and expectant expression, biting his clothes.
“Sootball? Ms. Oni?”
Lin Ran really didn’t expect that everyone from the Luna Clan had also come this time. Weren’t they all old friends? Why did they still need to invite him to dinner?
But what Ms. Oni wanted to say was that precisely because of this, it was very embarrassing not to be able to invite A-Ran!
The Luna Clan demons had been mocked for a long time recently because, as the first great demon clan to know A-Ran, they hadn’t realized that inviting A-Ran home for dinner could increase their Affection Level.
[Aiya, if our Monkton Clan had been the first to know A-Ran, we might have even had him move in!]
[No, no, no, if it were us, we would invite A-Ran to our clan for dinner every day~ after all, our Guqiu Clan’s cooking skills are unparalleled!]
[Heehee, actually, we can’t blame the Luna Clan, after all, it’s well-known that the Luna Clan’s food is terrible – maybe eating it will even decrease Affection Level, hahaha]
After this last comment appeared, all the demons in the forum were laughing and joking.
They were still quite jealous of the Luna Clan getting first place last time, and they were naturally very happy to finally win one back.
These posts made the usually proud Luna Clan demons so angry that they almost exploded, almost turning into a bunch of fierce, gunpowder-flavored black popcorn.
Who said their Luna Clan’s cooking wasn’t good?
Their Luna Clan’s cooking was delicious!
They would even kidnap chefs from all over the world to make a delicious meal that would make A-Ran linger!
“Patriarch Oni, it should be our turn this time, right? After all, we agreed that the second place last time was our Feather Clan.”
But Anvers immediately transformed into a small bird and landed on Lin Ran’s shoulder the next second.
He said that this was the order they had agreed on after fighting last time.
Little Feather looked around, wondering if he would also get some Affection points if A-Ran went back to the Feather Clan for dinner?
“Impossible! A-Ran must come home with us for dinner this time!!”
Liliya, the usually elegant fox demon, even rolled up her sleeves and rushed back first with all the fluffy creatures in her clan.
The little sand fox that Lin Ran had seen before also trotted over with its four short legs, staring at A-Ran intently.
Even Wen Erman, the patriarch of the Arctic Fox Clan, rarely joined forces with the Sand Fox Clan.
Wen Erman hadn’t even mentioned that he had been hiding an A-rank interaction card without using it. He had finally seen A-Ran in the human world for the first time.
If he wasn’t afraid of not being able to compete, Liliya probably wouldn’t have revealed this location. This was truly a rare moment of interracial unity.
“Um, don’t…”
Lin Ran just wanted to say that since this was the case, why not just make a schedule? Was it really necessary to fight over the order?
But before he could speak, the scene had already become a chaotic mess, with fur flying everywhere in the air.
So Lin Ran silently decided to go back to the house and find some pens and paper to draw lots.
He would just treat this as a rare physical exercise and playtime for these fluffy creatures. Lin Ran felt that they were having quite a lot of fun fighting.
And everyone glanced at A-Ran walking back to the house, paused, and then continued fighting the next second.
No one yielded to anyone.
They usually had their own territories in the Demon World, and they wouldn’t see each other for hundreds of years. Now that they had suddenly encountered each other, their paws were itching.
However, just as Lin Ran left the chaotic scene and took out the paper and pens for the lottery, he was suddenly hugged tightly around the waist by an arm.
“Shh – young man, run!”
At this moment, Qiu Ying was first stunned by Lin Ran’s appearance, she didn’t expect to have saved such a handsome young man?
A good deed, a good deed.
“No, I…”
Lin Ran’s eyes widened slightly, just as he was about to explain, he was already being carried by Qiu Ying and running away from the scene in the opposite direction.
Qiu Ying, following Chief Zou to Country C for investigation, found that the demonic aura here had far exceeded the detector’s threshold.
After quickly approaching the scene, she was even more surprised to find that almost every demonic aura lurking here had reached S-rank and they were even fighting fiercely.
The investigation team, which originally wanted to do something, immediately issued a retreat order, but they didn’t expect to save a young human.
“Cheep cheep!”
Sootball, whose wing had just been bitten by a fluffy creature, looked back to see A-Ran, but found that he was gone!
“Wait, where’s A-Ran?”
Ms. Oni, receiving Sootball’s message, also quickly issued a warning.
“He was kidnapped by that human!”
All the fluffy creatures instantly froze, their gazes fixed on the Monitoring Bureau’s SUV, which had already driven quite a distance away.
They just happened to see A-Ran being pushed into the car by Qiu Ying and the door slammed shut.
All the fluffy creatures: …Angry!
O皿O#
A-Ran, whom they usually didn’t even dare to touch!?
And everyone in the Monitoring Bureau, who had originally breathed a sigh of relief after getting into the car, inexplicably felt a chill down their spines.
“Not good, Chief Zou, those demons are suddenly chasing after us——!”
Someone looked at the rearview mirror with a pale face and saw a group of unfathomable demonic auras roaring towards them.
“They were indeed lurking here with ulterior motives.”
Zou Zhenyuan calmly sat in the car, not panicking, although his tone was extremely serious.
“Um, they do have a motive.”
Lin Ran, finally feeling that the situation was a bit serious, didn’t know who these mysterious people who had “saved” him were, but he quickly realized that this was actually a group of humans who knew about the existence of demons.
“What motive?”
Everyone in the Monitoring Bureau didn’t expect Lin Ran to still be able to speak so calmly. Most ordinary people would be scared witless and have their worldview shattered after accidentally seeing demons.
“They were just discussing who would take me back for dinner today, so I wanted them to draw lots…”
Lin Ran struggled to explain this strange reason, trying to show Qiu Ying the lottery paper he had just taken out to make it a little more convincing.
Everyone in the Monitoring Bureau: …
“Drive faster, Boyu. Turn on the jammer, Qiu Ying! Take out…”
Zou Zhenyuan calmly looked away and gave a series of instructions to the driver and his deputy.
Although they might not be able to deal with these demons in a direct confrontation, they could still escape.
“Yes, Chief Zou!”
This young man named Sun Boyu also looked at Lin Ran sympathetically, then immediately turned his head and tripled the speed of the car.
There was indeed no human who could remain so calm after seeing demons.
This handsome young man must be crazy.
As for the fluffy creatures, seeing that the SUV that had kidnapped A-Ran dared to accelerate and try to escape under their noses, they completely exploded.
