“So… You mean to say… It’s Old Luo?”
Despite having confirmed it multiple times, Zhao Ying still found it hard to believe as she looked at the bloody mess in the glass tank.
“Captain Zhao, I wouldn’t lie to you!”
The pale-faced subordinate, still shaken, patted his chest and guaranteed, “When Director Luo was first brought in, he was just a flattened meat pancake. According to the protocol, we should dissect him before cremation, but as soon as we made the first cut, the pancake screamed, scaring the female forensic examiner so much that she wet herself.”
Zhao Ying sniffed.
She thought to herself, no wonder there’s an odor in the air.
It’s really someone who got scared that badly…
But it can be understood; dealing with such a mess of flesh already tests one’s psychological resilience, and the forensic examiner isn’t from the Demon-Slaying Division, being a delicate girl at that. It’s no surprise she freaked out seeing the flesh suddenly scream…
However, Old Luo is clearly not in a pancake state anymore.
Limb structures similar to a hand and knee have appeared in the mess of flesh.
“We discovered that Director Luo seems to be regenerating,” the subordinate explained, noticing the confusion in Zhao Ying’s eyes.
“Right!” A mouth without teeth opened up in the flesh mass, speaking in a muffled voice, “I am regenerating, stop stabbing me with knives, damn it, don’t they hurt?”
“A ghost! Mom!”
Bam—!
A pair of eyes opened up in the flesh mass.
With a sneer, the man with the wuzzy beard looked at the unconscious Demon-Slaying Master who had crashed into the glass door.
“Captain Zhao, your subordinates need to improve their mental fortitude. They still need practice.”
Zhao Ying’s lips twitched, a smile forming in her eyes, “Back when I started, I would have directly drawn my gun and emptied the magazine.”
“You’re really violent.”
“Thank you for the compliment, and… Old Luo, welcome back.”
…
“Do you remember what my ability is?”
“I do, cellular assimilation.”
In a remote room in a mortuary.
Zhao Ying and the man with the grown head sat facing each other.
She stuffed a cigarette into the man’s mouth and lit one for herself, taking a deep drag and leaning back on the sofa with her legs crossed: “I recall you never found a suitable target for assimilation, so now you’ve assimilated that Demon Dragon?”
“That’s right.” The smoke from the man’s cigarette flickered towards Zhao Ying, “Thanks for your help, Captain Zhao.”
Zhao Ying lit the man’s cigarette with a lighter.
The man took a deep drag, and smoke exhaled from various holes in his body.
“When the Demon Dragon killed me, I didn’t just wait around to die. I bit off a piece of its flesh and used cellular assimilation… I wasn’t hopeful, but as you can see, I survived.”
“Any side effects?”
“Of course, all my organs are made of mutated cancer cells, the only difference from the Demon Dragon being the lack of dragon energy. To keep my body functioning, I need to consume a lot of food for energy. Cancer cells consume energy at an alarming rate. If one day I run out of energy and the cancer cells die, I will die too…”
Zhao Ying stared at the significantly smaller body of the man and asked, “So, how do you fuel the cancer cells now?”
“Eating myself.” The man flipped open his stomach to reveal another mouth, which was constantly gnawing on his unfinished torso.
“Damn, why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“I was afraid you’d draw your gun and empty the magazine, right?”
Zhao Ying was speechless and quickly contacted her subordinates to send two hundred kilograms of pork to help the man regain his form.
“How is that kid, Chen Huai’an?” The man’s voice was tense, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Zhao Ying, “You didn’t kill him, did you?”
“No, we couldn’t defeat that Demon Dragon,” Zhao Ying rolled her eyes.
“What about now…”
“There’s a female Sword Immortal who subdued him. He’s now under our custody, undergoing a medical examination according to the current timeline.”
“Oh, that’s good, that’s good, hahaha.” The man breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing his newly grown hands, “He’s a promising kid, though he has some instability, but I think we should avoid killing if possible. This kid is inherently good… Oh, by the way, what’s this female Sword Immortal business?”
“I’m not sure, maybe it’s part of his abilities?” Zhao Ying rubbed her temples, then changed the subject, “What do you plan to do after? Continue as the head of the Demon-Slaying Division in Heavenly Abode District? Honestly, if you don’t return, that kid might feel guilty and likely join us. Do you want to stay hidden for a while? I can request a transfer for you.”
This proposal was very tempting.
After much hesitation, the man finally shook his head.
“Perhaps you’re right, but he should know the truth. I know how tormenting it is to live with guilt and regret.”
Zhao Ying saw the darkness in the man’s eyes.
She knew this man was thinking about his broken family again.
She remained silent, waiting for the man to continue.
“So, I’ll go back and be the head,” the man tossed the cigarette butt into the ashtray and smiled, “Even if Chen Huai’an doesn’t join the Demon-Slaying Division, he can still assist us. Let’s not morally pressure him.”
…
…
“Mr. Chen Huai’an, I regret to inform you that the cancer cells in your body have not been eliminated, but they seem to have entered a dormant state.”
Chen Huai’an stood in the isolation chamber made of thick metal, dressed in hospital garb.
The voice of a Demon-Slaying Division staff member came through the intercom.
There was a small window of tempered glass on the isolation chamber, the size of an arm and a palm, through which one could see fully armed soldiers standing outside—he was truly treated like Godzilla.
But this was appropriate.
After all, he was harboring a monster inside him.
Chen Huai’an gave a bitter laugh, “Understood, so what are your plans?”
[You will continue to be confined in Room 1, with your ‘pets’… well, you also need to provide us with blood samples every day.]
“Let me talk to him…”
The voice on the intercom changed.
A soft, gentle voice could be faintly heard.
[Chen Huai’an, this is Xiang Xiaoyuan.]
[Please do not have any thoughts of self-destruction. Seventy percent of your body is demonized cancer cells. If you were to kill them violently, it would mean your own death. I am the head of the expert team, please trust us, we will definitely research a method to help you integrate and absorb the cancer cells!]
Upon hearing Xiang Xiaoyuan’s voice, Chen Huai’an’s anxiety eased slightly. He looked up at the surveillance camera, “Why are you helping me so much? Uncle Wuzzy Beard died because of me…”
[I regret Director Luo’s death.]
In the monitoring room, Xiang Xiaoyuan held the microphone, her eyes filled with unshed tears.
But she still mustered her strength to reassure Chen Huai’an:
“This isn’t your fault. Every Demon-Slayer knows the risk of sacrifice when joining the Demon-Slaying Division.
As for why we’re helping you so much,
On the surface, saving a life is equivalent to building seven levels of a pagoda.
But honestly, a General Level Demon-Slayer who can control their power is extremely important to the Demon-Slaying Division, and even to the entire world’s efforts against demons and evil spirits!”
She emphasized.
“So, Chen Huai’an, you are very important! To the whole world, you are very important!!”
“Please give our expert team some time…”
“We will definitely save you!”
…
…
Qingran Baby
Regarding why the man with the wuzzy beard survived, there are foreshadowings in Chapters 94 and 137. Chapter 137’s original draft was not obvious, so additional descriptions were added.
Some people felt that the female lead’s primary magical tool being a power bank was absurd, so a new [Thousand Transformations] function patch was added, allowing it to be a sword or other forms, but the main function remains unchanged. (Changing the function would require altering the outline.)
