【Tch.】
When Jian Xie walked onto the street, the black mist floating beside him suddenly uttered a nasal sound. The words were devoid of emotion, 【C-level… This is really a downgrade. 】
It was true. To put it in an analogy, it was like a fast food meal and was a bit greasy.
Perhaps coupled with the psychological effect of his time at KFC, Jian Xie even felt that he had just eaten a fried chicken meal and was in urgent need of a drink to relieve the greasiness.
Originally, when Jian Xie encountered the large group of monsters, his first reaction was to throw them directly into the [Eight Cold Hells] to aid digestion. However, during the few seconds when he was finishing his work, he was a little worried that he was not skilled enough and might accidentally swallow the entire building, so he had to eat them himself.
[Back then, it was you, right?]
Jian Xie was not in a position to ask this confusing question out loud, so he just repeated it silently three times in his mind.
It was not like he hadn’t been injured before this year. Broken knees from cycling and nosebleeds after strenuous exercise were common occurrences. But he had never attracted so many monsters like today. This only proved one thing: the evil being living with him had likely intervened in some way.
Qin Zhuo sensed his question and understood his meaning without much difficulty. He immediately curled his lips and said lazily: 【Of course.】
Jian Xie stopped in his tracks.
Although he didn’t look back, he could feel the black mist approaching him.
It casually stretched out It’s hand, hooked a strand of hair on the side of Jian Xie’s face, and pressed It’s body wrapped in black mist against him: 【Of course I will take good care of the human who belongs to me… If not, why would our scents be so similar? 】
Like a flash of lightning, he suddenly remembered the taste of the black mist that he accidentally tasted on the night he rescued his class president.
The bland boiled water was mixed with an unknown smell of blood. The two completely opposite scents blended together, as if they could not be distinguished from each other. There was only “us”.
Jian Xie was brought back from death by It and It’s power flowed through his body. They had long been inseparable.
【Although in my opinion we don’t need to associate with this group of people because they are all too weak,】 It’s voice was full of laziness, extremely arrogant yet indulgent, tugging at the hair in between his fingertips, 【since you want to play the investigators’ game, I will naturally cooperate with you to the fullest, as long as you are happy.】
That was to say, releasing the side of Jian Xie that It has carefully protected as if it were the most fragile thing in the world, a side which held fatal attraction to monsters.
Jian Xie: “…”
He touched his hot ear tips and looked around calmly, finding that there were no C-level monsters in sight.
If Jian Xie could also see the map of the Supernatural Management Bureau, he would find that the monsters would retreat about a few hundred meters for every step he took forward, making the situation look extremely ridiculous on the map and causing the examiners watching the subsequent footage to completely rethink their understanding of the situation.
Although they do not possess intelligence, the instinct creatures have to seek benefits and avoid danger seemed to be innate.
Even single-celled Paramecium in biology textbooks knew to swim towards the direction with lower salt concentration, not to mention the monsters that were extremely sensitive to scent.
As a result, everyone saw a scene even stranger than the retreating monster—
These C-level monsters never dared to move to higher areas before, after all, higher-level monsters sometimes feed on lower-level monsters. However, as Jian Xie moved forward, those C-level monsters in the marginal areas trembled and retreated to other high-level areas, causing the difficulty level for some players in other areas on the screen to rise unexpectedly, which was truly an unwarranted disaster.
What kind of power would make them retreat even at the risk of being in the wrong district?
Wait a minute, could it be that this newcomer was even scarier than the higher-level monsters in other districts…?
Everyone: …
What was that all about? After what happened earlier, this conclusion didn’t feel out of place at all.
[Put it away.] Jian Xie walked down the street, but he didn’t see any of the monsters that had gathered there before. He could sense that something was wrong, and immediately thought to himself, [Have you forgotten the monster at the subway station before? I don’t want to play chase again.]
Qin Zhuo: 【……】
Jian Xie looked at his bandaged left hand. The bleeding had stopped, but traces of residual blood were still visible on the bandage, which was surrounded by a circle of black mist.
【That’s enough for today. Don’t overeat. 】
The black mist did not dissipate, still clinging to the bandages and isolating the deadly sweet smell from the monsters. 【Otherwise, your body will fall into a brief coma. 】
This was the disadvantage of Jian Xie’s physique not having reached its peak.
Qin Zhuo made a good point.
To be honest, although the C-level monsters didn’t taste very good, swallowing such a large batch at once was indeed a bit overwhelming for Jian Xie.
As expected, he still has to put the matter of training the capture range of the [Eight Cold Hells] on the agenda.
Although it was possible to counter-attack, the Supernatural Management Bureau has not announced the exact geographical location of the first three districts. After thinking for a while, Jian Xie decided that since it was a rare opportunity to travel using public expense, he wanted to wander around the nearby cities. If he ran into anyone who was so ignorant as to come to his door, he would just eat them as dessert.
……
……
Cheng Li waited anxiously in the lobby of the Supernatural Management Bureau, his hands clasped together. He stood up and sat down again, looking like a true picture of restlessness.
The front desk clerk couldn’t stand him looking so anxious.
“You can sit down, really.” She couldn’t help but comfort him, “I saw your recommendee before, he’s really good-looking… Even if the investigation department doesn’t approve him, the logistics department will definitely have no problem with him. As long as he goes to appease some people, it will definitely work.”
Although Jian Xie only glanced at her, she was instantly impressed and posted about it on the forum.
Cheng Li looked serious. “You don’t understand. I’m worried that he might misjudge others’ strength and accidentally take out all the monsters at once. What should I do then…”
He had seen the scene where Jian Xie killed all the monsters in a community in seconds without even doing anything!
Clerk: “……”
Your worries are really unnecessary. It might be quicker to just dream about it.
Although Cheng Li knew that the test would not end until tomorrow at noon and it was only four o’clock in the afternoon, he couldn’t help but wait in the middle of the hall early in the morning like a parent of a college entrance examination candidate with anxiety. He regretted that he had forgotten to tell Jian Xie a crucial point.
——Never team up with other newcomers casually. Don’t believe any sweet words from anyone except your future trustworthy partner.
Although Jian Xie’s strength was ridiculous and he looked like he was keeping people at a distance, Cheng Li was not sure whether that was just a defensive mechanism or if he was really cold and indifferent. If it was the former, he would be the easiest to fool…
Thinking of this, Cheng Li gritted his teeth.
“Cheng Li.”
Suddenly, he heard someone calling his name. Before he could come to his senses, he stood up subconsciously. When he raised his eyes, he saw Jian Xie standing in front of him.
The other party was wearing a neat suit and looked perfectly normal, except for his left hand that was wrapped in a bloody bandage and his face that was paler than before.
“……??”
Cheng Li glanced at his watch, then at his phone, his eyes confused. “Did I time it wrong? Did my mind travel to the next day?”
It’s only been a few hours since he left, right? Could it be that Jian Xie encountered trouble and simply gave up?
At this thought, Cheng Li’s expression suddenly froze, and he stared intently at the young man in front of him. “What happened? How could this happen?”
Jian Xie: “…”
It’s a long story, and actually he himself was also surprised.
Not long after Jian Xie decided on traveling, a familiar car stopped in front of him. The window slowly rolled down, revealing an unexpected person.
Green-Hair looked at him with a complicated expression. All his previous contempt had disappeared and his whole personality had changed drastically. If Jian Xie had to explain it, he could even feel that there was a hint of fear in his attitude towards him, as if Jian Xie could easily crush him and tear his body apart at any time.
“…Get in the car, your assessment is over.” He swallowed and looked at him deeply, “We already have a rough idea of your strength.”
Others would have to run around in fear for a whole day, but Jian Xie only had to answer a paper and sit for a while to finish the assessment.
Before coming here, he really didn’t think it would be so easy.
…The public funding plan also fell through.
After hearing his narration, Cheng Li frowned. “…That’s not right. Although that guy is always mean and likes to bully the weak and fear the strong, he wouldn’t dare to lie about such things, so you should have really ended the assessment early—what did you do?”
Jian Xie thought about it. “Just took out some C-level monsters.”
Hearing this, Cheng Li became even more confused. If those were just some C-level monsters, it would be impossible for the assessment to end early, unless…
His eyes suddenly became sharp. “Some monsters, or millions of monsters?”
Jian Xie: “…”
“……”
Cheng Li looked back at him silently.
After a moment, he slowly covered his face. “Okay, I get it… Did they say when they’d email you?” He himself received the invitation letter about two days later. The department handled it very efficiently, probably because of his status as an A-level investigator, but if it were Jian Xie, it would probably take about a day…
As soon as he finished speaking and before he could even react, Jian Xie’s phone suddenly vibrated.
Cheng Li saw Jian Xie pick up the phone, take a look at it, and put it down again.
Probably some spam message.
“Have you teamed up with any newcomers?” Cheng Li raised his eyes, wrinkled his nose, and asked anxiously, “Or, have you agreed to partner with anyone in the future?”
Jian Xie’s phone sounded again. He glanced at Cheng Li and replied immediately, “No.”
【Tsk.】 The black mist snorted in his ear, making its presence known.
…Exactly.
With Qin Zhuo around, he personally felt it was inconvenient to act with other people unless it was necessary.
Such a crisp and decisive answer left Cheng Li speechless.
If he was the widowed king, then Jian Xie’s cold demeanor truly embodied the spirit of a lone wolf.
“That’s fine too… I forgot to tell you something before.”
Cheng Li lowered his voice and moved closer to Jian Xie. “Although I believe you should have discovered this… but, so many people experience the feeling of near-death every year, but why are there still only a very small number of people with insight who become investigators?”
Jian Xie suddenly had a premonition about what Cheng Li would say next.
Even though the phone rang again, he did not interrupt him.
“Because it has something to do with the setting of the game.” Cheng Li’s expression was tinged with anger, and his tone was full of disgust. “Only those who have done wrong things, made mistakes, and are judged guilty by the game are qualified to become investigators… Because these people, including myself, should have fallen into the eighteenth level of hell.”
For this very reason, it was only natural that they, as investigators, should torment the monsters that have lost their sanity.
However, it was not absolute whether one was a sinner in the traditional sense. After all, everything was just based on the judgment of the game. As for the criteria, it had never been announced to the public, and what everyone knew was just the tip of the iceberg.
Jian Xie paused, looked at Cheng Li and asked, “…You too?”
“My previous job was a criminal police officer.” Cheng Li acted very calmly. “This is also why I couldn’t stand many of the investigators in the bureau at first, so I had a bad work attitude and poor popularity from the beginning. Of course, I’ve come to terms with it now. Since I can become an investigator, it means that not all people are as bad as I thought.”
“……”
“Although I don’t know what you did or why you were on the verge of death.” Cheng Li stared at Jian Xie, “But my intuition tells me that you’re not a sinner. So, be careful and alert towards the people around you who have insight values, judge who is worth associating with, and then, it’s best to be yourself. ”
Jian Xie didn’t know how to respond to this.
The car accident that happened to his parents on his birthday flashed through his mind… Could it be that this was why he was qualified to be an investigator?
Jian Xie was speechless.
Cheng Li’s reliable adult look suddenly disappeared, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak. “…Why don’t you check your phone? It rang several times.”
What kind of spam messages were being sent? Was it a telecommunications fraud? Or was it the class teacher who was checking on their student who had taken leave?
Hearing this, Jian Xie glanced at his phone and quickly put it down. “It’s a message from the Supernatural Management Bureau.”
Cheng Li: “…”
Cheng Li: “?”
Wait, did he hear it right? Which department sent the invite so quickly? But only a few hours had passed?
Shouldn’t they be busy watching the performance of other candidates?!
Moreover, which department is sending messages so frequently?
“I heard that the content of the email is different every year.” Cheng Li looked troubled, glancing at Jian Xie’s phone, and finally couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What did the department write to you this year?”
Jian Xie glanced at him. “Which department are you asking about?”
“…” Cheng Li froze on the spot, his brain was spinning. He subconsciously asked, “How many departments were there?”
His voice was flat. “Four.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his phone vibrated again. Jian Xie added, “Oh, now it’s five.”
“……”
The author has something to say:
Versailles*Evil1Versailles is a way of showing off a superior life/superiority through sarcastic expressions or words on WeChat Moments or Weibo. Originated from the Japanese manga, Rose of Versailles. Evil is referring to Qin Zhou.
Translator Xena’s other works: https://ko-fi.com/xenatl/gallery
– Just click the pictures and the link will show <3
