Longteng Internet Cafe didn’t look much different from other internet cafes.
It was one of those internet cafes that weren’t doing very well—dim lights, faint cigarette smell, and only a dozen or so computers turned on, giving off the feeling that it might close down any day.
Chen Huaian glanced down at Lin Lingling and asked, “Didn’t you say the bearded man would come pick us up?”
“Uh…” Lin Lingling hesitated, then stepped forward, “Maybe something delayed him. It’s fine, I’ll take you up.”
They went up the back staircase to the fourth floor, where a strong scent of blood immediately hit them.
Lin Lingling’s pupils shrank, and she bit her lip. “Something’s wrong.”
The two quickened their pace down the corridor and arrived at a lit room in the back.
The smell of blood was even stronger here. Three sofas were randomly placed around the room, and a few people sat on them. In the center was the bearded man, smoking, and in front of them on the floor were two bloodied corpses.
“BOSS!” Lin Lingling cried out, leading Chen Huaian into the room.
She quickly glanced at the bodies and her pupils contracted sharply, her body trembling slightly.
The two corpses had died horribly, with holes punched through the tops of their heads. The brain matter was completely gone, leaving the skulls empty. Their faces were frozen in grotesque, twisted expressions, blood pouring from all seven orifices, and their eyeballs rolled up showing only whites.
They were civilian demon slayers, both white-level.
One of them was quite young, and Lin Lingling remembered him faintly.
She recalled he had been a programmer, and they had once worked together on a mission.
She still remembered the awkward night when he randomly confessed to her after submitting a task report, saying he liked her and wanted to have a baby with her—despite her not even being of age yet and the eight- or nine-year age gap between them. It had been very embarrassing!
Even so, seeing him dead here now still stirred sadness in her heart.
“You’ve come just in time.” The bearded man put out his cigarette, his voice heavy. “The situation is urgent. A monster has set its sights on us. These two corpses are the demon slayers it killed, and it threw them here to intimidate us. It clearly doesn’t take the Demon Slayer Division seriously!”
“The monster’s gone too far!”
“Exactly, when I master the breathing technique, I’ll definitely make those monsters pay!”
“Boss, just tell us—what do you want us to do?”
The demon slayers present were all furious.
Chen Huaian glanced at everyone, nodding inwardly.
As expected of demon slayers—treading the line between life and death to protect humanity. At least for now, they seemed very brave.
The next step should be: discuss the monster’s information, track it down, charge forward together, wipe it out, demonstrate the strength of the Demon Slayer Division, and boost team morale.
Lin Lingling’s blood also boiled. She straightened her back, clenched her fists, and said solemnly, “Boss! Whatever you need us to do, just say it!”
“We…”
The bearded man crossed his hands on the table, lowered his eyelids, swept his gaze over the group, and spoke in a deep voice:
“We—run! Run!”
Chen Huaian: “???”
Lin Lingling: “…”
“As expected of the boss, what a wise decision!”
“Yeah, this strategic retreat is perfect—the monster will never expect it!”
“Boss, this isn’t right!” Lin Lingling widened her eyes, unwilling to accept it: “The monster has already attacked us, and we’re just going to flee in disgrace? We are demon slayers! Besides, we can’t just run forever, can we?”
The bearded man sighed deeply at the angry girl in front of him.
Of course he knew Lin Lingling was right.
But that monster wasn’t something to mess with. He had stayed overnight at the Demon Slayer Division headquarters, and the monster was still able to throw two bodies into his office without anyone noticing. That meant if it wanted to, it could have killed him in his sleep.
He was the strongest among the people present.
If even he couldn’t handle it, taking these white-level demon slayers would just be sending them to their deaths.
Now that he had the breathing technique, he needed to prioritize survival—gather strength first, then strike back. That was the only way.
“Lin Lingling, I get it, but—”
“Get what?” A sharp voice suddenly rang out from above them, followed by a chilling, crazy laugh: “Hahaha~ Demon slayers who run away from monsters? Absolutely laughable!”
“Who?!” The bearded man’s heart jumped.
Everyone immediately looked up.
The ceiling had somehow become covered in black cobwebs.
A spider the size of a conference table was lurking at the center of the web. It was facing away from them, but its head twisted around in an impossible angle, revealing a pale human face—more like a painted mask, with red markings outlining exaggerated eyes, nose, and a chilling smile at the corners of its mouth.
“Monster!”
A group of demon slayers immediately drew their weapons.
Some pulled out pistols, while others, like Lin Lingling, brandished cold weapons.
From the fear and panic on their faces, it was clear they were very afraid of the human-faced spider.
“It’s not a monster — it’s an out-of-control person!”
The bearded man’s eyes narrowed.
He yanked open the cabinet next to him, pulling out an exaggerated shotgun and a machete.
He fired a blast at the human-faced spider and, using the moment when the spider defended itself with silk, he shouted:
“This is a soldier-level Ding! You’re no match for it! Go call headquarters for backup — I’ll buy time!”
“Heh, you think you’re the only tough one here?”
The out-of-control creature dropped from the ceiling, crashing into the bearded man and knocking down an entire wall.
Amid the thick smoke and flying debris, the bearded man’s pained roar echoed.
“Chen Huaian, let’s go!”
Lin Lingling grabbed Chen Huaian’s hand and ran.
A soldier-level opponent was far beyond what fledgling demon slayers like them could handle.
After joining the Demon Slayer Division, Lin Lingling had seen too much death — she was no longer that reckless kid who would charge at monsters on impulse.
Other demon slayers also quickly evacuated.
It wasn’t that they lacked loyalty — it was because staying would only worsen the situation and waste their boss’s sacrifice.
Calling for backup was the best — and only — option.
All they could hope for now was that their boss could hold on.
Later, in a deserted alley—
“What was that thing just now?”
Chen Huaian asked, looking at Lin Lingling, who was leaning against the wall, gasping for air.
“An out-of-control person,”
Lin Lingling panted, casting a sideways glance at Chen Huaian, who, annoyingly, wasn’t even out of breath.
“Strictly speaking, they’re not monsters.
Out-of-control people fall into two types:
One — awakened people who, after gaining powers, seek revenge on society;
Two — people whose revived powers are too twisted or evil, causing them to lose control and mutate into monsters that are neither human nor ghost.”
“So that one earlier was the second type?”
“Exactly.”
Lin Lingling wiped the sweat from her brow, pulled out her phone, and her eyes filled with urgency:
“These out-of-control types are mentally and spiritually completely distorted — they’re extremely hard to deal with, and generally quite strong.
They’re also wanted criminals with bounties. I have to call for backup quickly!”
“Wanted criminals? Bounties?”
Hearing those words, Chen Huaian’s eyes lit up.
He licked his lips excitedly.
“So you mean… they’re worth money?”
Lin Lingling nodded, though a little hesitantly:
“Yeah. If it’s a wanted criminal, there’s a bounty.
But I’m not sure exactly how much.”
“More than what you get for killing normal monsters?”
“Of course.”
“Good,”
Chen Huaian said with a nod.
He reached into his chest and pulled out a thick stack of talismans.
It was already known:
He had encountered wolf monsters and black-haired rats before.
When facing the wolf monster, he hadn’t felt any threat — and the wolf monster died instantly.
The black-haired rat didn’t feel threatening either — and it also died instantly.
Conclusion:
Wolf Monster = Black-Haired Rat = Instant Death.
He hadn’t felt threatened by the human-faced spider either.
Thus:
Human-Faced Spider = Wolf Monster = Black-Haired Rat = Instant Death.
Final Result:
Human-Faced Spider = Instant Death.
He was sure —
As long as he used a talisman, that thing would definitely die!
Having reached his conclusion, Chen Huaian turned around and began walking out of the alley.
Seeing this, Lin Lingling panicked and shouted:
“Where are you going?!”
Chen Huaian paused slightly, then smiled over his shoulder:
“To make money!”
