Chapter 77: Is Chen Huai’an a Ticking Time Bomb?

"Amitabha, boundless longevity and fortune, Amen... Benefactor Fish, this humble one knows that you have already taken on a demonic form. To prevent you from bringing disaster upon the world, today, I shall uphold the will of the heavens!"

Chen Huai’an bowed three times to the still-living ten-pound bighead carp on the cutting board. Then, he took out a Thunderfire Talisman tied to a clothes-drying rod—precautionary measures to avoid blowing off his own hand when activating it.

"My apologies!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Huai’an pressed down on the drying rod, his eyes flashing with determination. He silently recited, By the mandate of the heavens, so it shall be!

Snap!

The bighead carp flopped once on the cutting board, its eyes widening.

Nothing happened.

Chen Huai’an fell silent, tilting his head at a dramatic forty-five-degree angle to gaze at the ceiling, his expression full of melancholy.

At the dining table, Baji stared blankly at Chen Huai’an’s bizarre behavior, utterly confused.

[What is this guy doing? Using a Thunder Talisman to kill a fish?]

[As expected of a big shot, he’s rich!]

[But why isn’t he holding the talisman directly?]

"Oh, I see now." Chen Huai’an smacked his forehead. "You have to hold the talisman in hand to activate it. Alright then..."

Steeling himself, he grabbed the Thunderfire Talisman and pressed it directly onto the fish.

The fish thrashed violently.

Nothing happened.

Chen Huai’an: "..."

Baji: "..."

The black cat couldn’t comprehend it. If this guy really wanted to kill the fish, why wasn’t he infusing the talisman with Spiritual Qi? Did he not know that activating a talisman required Spiritual Qi infusion?

All set-trigger talismans worked the same way:

Could it be… this guy doesn’t know that?

[No, impossible! This is a trap!]

Baji stared at Chen Huai’an’s back, as if he could see a sinister, scheming smile on his face.

"He must be pretending! He’s baiting me to reveal my identity! The moment I expose myself, I’ll be slaughtered! I don’t want to die!"

Baji took slow, cautious steps backward, retreating into the shadows.

It was done.

The fear was unbearable.

When would this paranoid nightmare finally end?

Only Spiritual Qi brought it some measure of comfort.

It had already done its best to learn the ways of a cat, but pretending to be an actual housecat required far too much effort.

At any moment, it could slip up and reveal itself.

Like just now.

"...Forget it. I really am just a superhuman. A mere superhuman." Chen Huai’an shook his head, sighed, and found a basin to hold the bighead carp. He filled it with water and placed the whole thing on the windowsill.

The basin was a bit small, leaving half of the fish’s tail sticking out.

But beggars couldn’t be choosers. At least it was still alive.

"Baji, such a big fish, and you’re not interested?" He turned to look at the black cat in surprise. Ever since Baji recovered from its injuries, it had been acting incredibly suspicious.

Almost like… a paranoid madman.

Baji stiffened at his words, then scrambled onto the windowsill and started licking the fish’s tail like crazy—all while sneaking glances at Chen Huai’an’s face.

Chen Huai’an: "..."

This cat… was not normal.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, he decided to ignore both the bighead carp and Baji.

He also failed to notice:

The Spiritual Qi from the Nine-Turn Spirit Orchid was slowly seeping into the room, permeating his skin.

It became nourishment for both his cancer cells and his normal body cells and bones.

Baji was actively absorbing Spiritual Qi.

The previously half-dead fish near the flower pot was calming down and no longer flipping belly-up.

Subtle changes were happening.

Chen Huai’an simply opened his Virtual Girlfriend game.

He could finally teach Li Qingran how to practice swordsmanship.

Under a poplar tree, a burly middle-aged man with a scruffy beard scanned the surroundings anxiously.

"Lao Li, where’s that young man you mentioned?"

"He said he was going to the market. By now, he’s probably already bought his groceries and gone home."

The bearded man panicked. "Then why didn’t you keep an eye on him?"

Old Man Li rolled his eyes. "You told me to stay put! How was I supposed to keep an eye on him? You think I can clone myself?"

The bearded man opened his mouth but sighed in resignation.

"Fine, let’s check the sword marks first."

Old Man Li led the way as they circled the old poplar tree—once, twice, over and over again.

Finally, they stopped beneath the tree, staring at the trunk in stunned silence.

It seemed like they were struggling to process what they were seeing.

After a long moment, Old Man Li turned to the bearded man.

"Well? What do you think?"

The bearded man’s face darkened.

"...Hard to say."

"Hard to say?"

"Yeah, I’m only at Master Rank, what the hell do I know?"

"So you’re saying this kid’s sword strike was beyond Soldier Rank?"

The bearded man fell silent. Old Li, seeing his constipated expression, also fell into silence.

General Rank?

Unthinkable.

Even Soldier Rank was already ridiculous.

"Old Li, remember last year when Wang Laohu poached someone from our province?" The bearded man’s eyes flickered with recollection as he rested a hand on the tree trunk before continuing, "That kid was originally a video content creator—just messing around with old-school sword techniques for fun. But when Spiritual Qi Revival hit, those sword techniques suddenly became second nature to him overnight. When he was tested at the Demon Slayer Bureau, he immediately ranked top-tier Master Rank."

"I heard that this year, he’s already at Soldier Rank and has taken care of more than a dozen high-difficulty cases. His fame is skyrocketing… But even so, he can barely unleash Sword Qi. The power of his attacks? Honestly, it’s not even as good as when he just swings the sword normally."

"I know. That ungrateful bastard." Old Li snorted, clenching his fist, eyes flashing with anger.

He would never forget that betrayal.

Wu Haiting.

He had personally guided that kid in comprehending sword techniques. But the moment he saw an opportunity for more money, he abandoned them, letting the neighboring province’s Demon Slayer Bureau snatch him up.

C Province’s Demon Slayer Bureau had invested a ton of resources in his training, only for another province to reap all the rewards.

As a result, their department had been struggling for the past two years.

Not enough high-rankers, poor performance, sluggish response times to cases—sometimes, they even had to beg headquarters to send reinforcements from other regions.

The embarrassment was secondary.

The real tragedy was the number of civilians killed by monsters because they lacked a high-ranking slayer.

If they had even one Soldier Rank expert, things wouldn’t be this bad.

"That’s why, Old Li, we must bring this young man into the Demon Slayer Bureau!" The bearded man grabbed Old Li’s hand, speaking with urgency. "Last month, we lost several good kids. Right now, there are fewer than twenty active demon slayers left!"

"I can’t promise anything." Old Li sighed, shaking his head wearily. "I get why you’re desperate, but we can’t rush this. First, I don’t even know where he lives. Second, I’ve only met him a few times—I have no idea what kind of person he really is.

"If this kid has truly mastered Sword Qi, none of us combined would be a match for him. Have you forgotten about that rogue Awakener back in Year 31? Look how much slaughter he caused! We still haven’t caught him!

"And why? Because we underestimated the risk, overestimated his humanity, and misjudged his ambitions."

The bearded man fell silent again.

He couldn’t deny it.

With their current capabilities, they wouldn’t be able to control an Awakener who had fully mastered Sword Qi.

Sure, guns and explosives could still threaten most Awakeners…

But once someone reached Master Rank, they developed an instinctive danger sense, making them significantly harder to shoot.

Soldier Rank Awakeners? As long as they weren’t caught in heavy gunfire, they could use cover and survive most firearm attacks.

And General Rank?

They could parry bullets with a sword.

"I get it." The bearded man took a deep breath. "I was being impatient. Old Li, here’s the plan—you keep in contact with that young man. Find a way to test his character. If he checks out, we can slowly introduce him to the Demon Slayer Bureau and feel him out."

"Sounds reasonable." Old Li nodded.

Since Chen Huai’an was interested in sword techniques and ancient martial arts, he figured the young man would eventually return to this place. They’d have another chance to meet, and when that happened, he’d try to find out where he lived. That way, tracking him down later would be easier.

With their discussion over, the bearded man hailed a cab back to the Demon Slayer Bureau.

But he barely sat down before his phone started vibrating.

Glancing at the caller ID, he immediately answered.

"BOSS! WE HAVE A SITUATION!"

The voice on the other end was frantic.

"A civilian demon slayer just reported that there are suspected Grade A monsters in Tianfu City—TWO of them!"

"Two Grade A?!"

The bearded man’s face changed. His fist clenched.

"Got it! I’m coming back immediately!"

He hung up.

Through the taxi window, he looked at the towering city skyline.

His brows furrowed.

Outside, the streets were bustling—cars honking, pedestrians rushing to work.

None of them knew that their world was on the brink of chaos.

Neon lights flickered.

Ghosts roamed the streets at night.

In North America, evil spirits ran wild.

In Europe, entire regions had become hunting grounds for vampires and werewolves.

Sometimes, he missed the old days—when he was just an office worker.

Sure, back then, life was dull. He was nothing more than a NPC background character.

But at least he never had to worry about getting killed at any moment.

The world had changed.

And monsters were appearing more and more frequently.

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