“It’s still me, Lu Xiu. An emergency has occurred: an unidentified luminous object appeared over Baohuo Supermarket. There’s been no movement so far, but several people have already noticed this anomaly.”
Lu Xiu stood beside the stone bench, looking up at the sky, communicating with the other end of the call.
“Mm, I’ll keep watch here. Please prepare the observation team as soon as possible.”
He hung up the phone and let out a sigh.
Then, a skewer was suddenly held out to him, with a small piece of grilled meat still clinging to it.
“Want some?”
I reached out and asked him.
“Eh? When did you suddenly become so generous?”
“I’ve always been generous.”
“…Forget it.”
“Why?”
This is my good will, you know!
“It’s covered in your saliva.”
“You dislike me?”
“What do you think?” He shrugged.
This rotten Lu Xiu!
I hate you!
I was so angry, I ate the entire skewer—stick and all—meat included.
But before long, when I looked up again, that white spot in the sky had vanished.
Lu Xiu had naturally noticed too, and could only continue reporting to Yingdui Si.
“…Yes, it’s gone. But we still need to be alert…”
The call ended.
“Let’s go home,” he looked at me.
“Feels like we came here for nothing…” I said.
“You’ll get used to it. If it wasn’t mysterious, it wouldn’t be called an abnormal phenomenon.”
“Fine. Oh, Lu Xiu.”
“What is it again now?”
“I’m hungry.”
“…Didn’t you just eat a skewer?”
“I digested it all on the way back.”
After my bath, I happily dove onto Lu Xiu’s big bed, my body bouncing up and down twice.
Now, even if I climb into bed to sleep, Lu Xiu doesn’t say anything. After all, every time I wake up, I’m gnawing on his hand—he must be used to it by now.
Hehe.
Big bed!
Big is best!
I’m wearing the Xiaoxiong Pajamas Lu Xiu bought for me, with a hood and everything. But my horns are a bit too big, so I can’t put it on.
I roll around on the bed, smearing my scent everywhere to declare this my territory.
Actually, I did think about kicking Lu Xiu onto the Lazyman Sofa, letting him sleep in that little nest, but since it used to be my nest, and I’ve got all sorts of treasures stashed underneath, I feel a bit reluctant.
If only Lu Xiu would just sleep on the floor.
I stared at the ceiling, my gaze falling on my neck.
There, the restraining collar was still present.
But now, only one collar remained.
That means I’m just one step away from complete freedom.
Lu Xiu said the restraining collar is to prevent me from losing control. As long as I never lose control, I won’t have to wear it.
And I think that day is coming soon.
How should I celebrate when it comes?
A giant Kuyan Fire Village cake?
Or endless apple pies?
I fantasized about it.
Click—
The door opened. Lu Xiu came in, saw me sprawled across the entire bed like a starfish, picked me up, and tossed me to the side.
“Oww! My territory!”
“Stop fussing, this is my territory.”
“It’s mine now.”
“Yours is over there.”
He jerked his chin toward the little sofa.
“No way I’m going there.”
“Then be quiet. Shut up and don’t bother me,” he said, pulling out his phone and scrolling away on his own.
“What are you looking at?” I scooted over, curious.
“The news.”
“What’s news?”
“It tells you what’s happened somewhere else.”
“What good is that?”
“Kills time.”
Kills time? Why read the news? Eating kills time too.
“Then why don’t you Hakimi?”
…He paused, “You’re right, I almost forgot my daily check-in.”
As he spoke, the phone started playing Hakimi music on speaker.
After listening for a bit, I really couldn’t understand it, my head spinning.
“Lu Xiu.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you think there’s a Hakimi Demon?”
…He twitched his lips, looking like he was holding back laughter.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I think a Hakimi Demon must be pretty strong, since I hear Hakimi on so many people’s phones. It’s everywhere!”
“Pfft… If you really put it that way, then the Hakimi Demon would be on par with the Internet Demon, wouldn’t it?”
“Internet Demon?”
I vaguely remembered hearing Qu Le mention that before.
“Yeah. Remember what the Burger Demon said? Demons in Hell aren’t fixed in one form. The most representative one right now would be the Internet Demon. Since it’s a new concept, the Bureau doesn’t fully understand it yet.”
“Is it really that powerful?!”
“Not the strongest, but not weak either. It’s not as terrifying as the root demons, but it’s much stronger than some of the smaller ones, like the Burger Demon or the Hanged Man Demon.”
“Why is that?” I didn’t quite get it. The Hanged Man Demon sounded scarier than the Internet Demon—after all, it’s three characters!
“Well, that comes down to the origin of demons. Demons arise from the solidification of concepts—like life, or death—and the longer or more widely recognized that concept is, the stronger the demon becomes. For example, the Mobile Phone Demon and the Tsunami Demon—which do you think is stronger?”
“Definitely the Tsunami Demon.”
“Right. Now, what about the Demon of Life and the Demon of Death?”
“Uh…” I hesitated. “The Demon of Death?”
“It’s the Demon of Life,” he said, shifting to a more comfortable position. “Because life is far more abundant than death. If there were more death than life, there wouldn’t be any living things left in the world.”
“Second is the influence of the current era.” Lu Xiu pointed at his phone. “The Internet Demon and Mobile Phone Demon fall into this category. Every era gives birth to new demons and sees the decline of others.”
“Forgotten demons lose their strength, or become fuel for other demons, while new demons seize the opportunity to rise to the top—like the Internet Demon.”
“The prevalence and deep integration of the internet gave it fertile ground to be born. On top of that, it devoured the old Faith Demon and became a top-tier demon of the new age.”
“The third is emotion.”
“Emotion?” I sat up.
“Right. Human emotion, animal emotion, the emotions of all things—they’re another kind of nourishment for demons to grow. Like fear, hope, hatred, malice…”
“These powerful emotions constantly affect their corresponding things. For instance, the Internet Demon doesn’t just feed on people’s longing for the web, but also on rumors, violence, and attacks online… all those negative feelings. That’s a key reason for its growth.”
“Back to the topic from before, the Hakimi Demon you mentioned might be born, but… I think it’d be pretty average at best. At most, it could just Hakimi around,” he said, grinning.
“Hakimi around?”
What’s that supposed to mean?
“It’s like how you wouldn’t have any strong or special feelings toward a chair, so there won’t be a Chair Demon. That’s why I was so surprised a Burger Demon existed.”
“And according to it, there might even be demons of fries and fried chicken! I just can’t imagine people worshipping or fearing those things, can you?”
That, I understood. People don’t have other feelings toward the little cakes they’re about to eat.
I’m like that too—when it comes to food, my only feeling is wanting to eat.
“There are also fourth and fifth factors and so on, but it doesn’t matter to you. Just remember—the more niche a demon’s concept is, the weaker it is. The more common or long-standing, the stronger.”
With that, he yawned long and loud. “Alright, today’s lesson is over. Sleep time.”
He turned over, plugged his charging cable into his phone by the pillow, and closed his eyes, ready to sleep.
I lay on my side, mumbling to myself.
“What are you muttering about?”
He sounded a little exasperated as he asked.
“I’m turning all my favorite foods into demons.”