Li Qingran’s little hand was soft and warm, like holding a small, plump cat’s paw.
Chen Huaian gazed at the place where Li Qingran had left, savoring it endlessly.
The hug couldn’t be realized.
Just as he grasped her hand, a spatial rift appeared behind Li Qingran.
And in the blink of an eye, she was sucked away…
Indeed, in wet dreams, one never reaches the final step.
As the alarm clock rang, it forced him to stop abruptly.
“If Li Qingran were a real person, touching her hand would feel just like this, wouldn’t it?” Chen Huaian squeezed his right hand, feeling itchy inside.
Unfortunately, it was a dream, a subconscious act.
Otherwise, he would absolutely sniff it and refrain from washing his hands for a few days.
The world of flesh began to collapse.
The subconscious entered the recovery phase.
Chen Huaian knew he was about to wake up.
…
“Captain Zhao, that female sword immortal disappeared!”
“The demon dragon has also disappeared. Chen Huaian is still unconscious but appears relatively stable! Should we approach?”
“Let’s observe first.” Zhao Ying put down the walkie-talkie, her nerves taut. From the situation just now, it seemed the female sword immortal had slain the demon dragon, but it might have only been suppressed.
The next plan of action would depend on Chen Huaian’s condition after waking up.
“By the way, Captain Zhao, I regret to inform you that the rescue team only found Director Luo’s body in the market. It has been handed over to the autopsy department.”
“Alright… I understand.”
Zhao Ying clenched her fists, her eyes brimming with sorrow.
That man had died after all…
He had said he would repay his life later.
Still…
To have held off a general-level demon dragon for so long, he had done his best. After handling matters here, she would pay him a last visit at the funeral home.
…
Under everyone’s watchful eyes.
Chen Huaian shivered all over and slowly woke up.
The dim sky, broken streets, ground covered in rotten meat, crowds watching, dazzling police lights, numerous police cars, and in the distance, tanks and missile carriers could be faintly seen.
Chen Huaian was bewildered.
What? Where had they brought him?
Wasn’t he receiving treatment underground?
Was this not the filming site for Godzilla?
Who were these several people around him, armed and vigilant?
He wasn’t Godzilla!
“Chen Huaian, can you hear me?”
A middle-aged man, bare-chested with fiery fists, waved at Chen Huaian.
Chen Huaian pointed at himself: “So what? What’s the script arrangement? What are my lines? Am I supposed to understand?”
Fire Fist frowned slightly, speechless for a moment.
This kid didn’t know what he had just done?
“Just tell me if you’re Chen Huaian.”
“Yes, genuine article.”
“State one piece of evidence that proves your identity.”
Chen Huaian thought for a moment and blurted out: “Today I’m wearing blue boxer briefs with a banana print.”
Fire Fist: “???”
Everyone from the Demon-Slaying Division: “…”
Fire Fist picked up the walkie-talkie, his expression serious: “Captain Zhao, I think Chen Huaian’s mental state may be unstable. I suggest using the mandatory containment protocol!”
Zhao Ying: “Give the walkie-talkie to Chen Huaian, I’ll handle the negotiation.”
Fire Fist cautiously approached, then carefully tossed the walkie-talkie to Chen Huaian, behaving as if facing a devil king.
Chen Huaian took the walkie-talkie.
A stern female voice came through.
“Chen Huaian, I am Zhao Ying, the executive officer of Province C’s Demon-Slaying Division. Old Luo, also known as Wuzzy Beard, and Xiang Xiaoyuan are my subordinates.”
Chen Huaian: “Long admired.”
“…Alright, now I’m going to tell you some things, prepare yourself mentally!”
Zhao Ying started from the uncontrollable cancer cells turning into demons, Xiang Xiaoyuan being thrown away, cancer cells transforming into a demon dragon, Wuzzy Beard dying in battle, the demon dragon continuing to destroy streets searching for blood, reinforcements from the Demon-Slaying Division arriving, and the shadow of the female sword immortal who slew the demon dragon… everything was told in great detail.
At first, Chen Huaian remained relatively calm.
But as the story went on, his face grew increasingly pale and unpleasant.
Looking at the surrounding devastated streets, the demon slayers and guards watching him fearfully, Chen Huaian couldn’t believe it.
“All of this… was done by me?”
“That’s correct.”
“I, I hurt Xiang Xiaoyuan and killed Uncle Wuzzy Beard?”
“It’s not quite like that; it should be the out-of-control demon-transformed cancer cells inside you that harmed them. This incident cannot be blamed on you.”
Zhao Ying looked at the young man crouching on the ground, lost and confused, and felt somewhat relieved.
All of Chen Huaian’s expressions and behavior matched those of a college student facing such unexpected circumstances and struggling to accept reality, ignoring the mention of the blue banana-print boxer briefs.
It was time to announce the containment plan.
“Since there is a risk of the cancerous demon dragon within you erupting again, you will be considered an unstable factor and temporarily contained by our Demon-Slaying Division. We will conduct comprehensive physical examinations and reassessments on you. The containment will continue until we confirm that the threat on your body has been eliminated.”
Zhao Ying took a deep breath and stared intently at the young man at the center of her vision.
With their strength, they were not qualified to contain Chen Huaian. At least two general-level demon-slaying masters would be needed to successfully contain him.
But the current Chen Huaian belonged to a special case with self-control.
Thus, they could attempt containment.
She awaited Chen Huaian’s response.
“Will I be locked up in prison?”
Chen Huaian stared at his feet; his pale face reflected in the pool of blood, his voice trembling slightly.
“Not a prison, it’s a relatively freer space. To help you adapt, you can take everything you can carry from your rented apartment. If necessary, we can customize a similar living environment for you.”
“No need, I’ll just take my cat, a pot of grass, and a fish.”
Chen Huaian gave a bitter smile.
Cancer cells turning into demons, he never imagined such absurd developments in his life.
No wonder his subconscious saw so many strange things.
And the sword-cultivating girl mentioned by Zhao Ying…
Li Qingran must have really come to help.
It made sense that he could touch Li Qingran; everyone was in a spiritual state, and feeling the softness of Li Qingran’s little hand wasn’t unusual. Thus, it could be concluded that Li Qingran was a real person. His companion spirit item, the electronic girlfriend game, connected to the cultivation world called Cangyun Realm.
He should have been happy about this.
But he couldn’t bring himself to smile now.
Hurting Xiang Xiaoyuan, who treated him kindly, was already bad enough.
What he couldn’t accept was that Uncle Wuzzy Beard had died because of him…
He didn’t want to become a savior of the world since he didn’t have much affection for this world.
But it didn’t mean he wanted to be a butcher with blood-stained hands.
Moreover, Uncle Wuzzy Beard was someone who truly cared about him.
…
Hearing Chen Huaian agree to be contained,
Zhao Ying’s furrowed brows finally relaxed, and the heavy stone in her heart landed.
Imprisoning a general-level individual was achievable.
The difficulty lay in how to make the general-level individual willingly stay imprisoned.
Suddenly, her phone rang. Zhao Ying took it out and glanced at it; it was the funeral home calling.
She answered the call with curiosity.
Her subordinate’s voice, suppressing panic, came through:
“Captain Zhao, please send someone quickly…
Director Luo has risen from the dead! Truly risen!”
