“What do you mean? Is this some kind of code? What are we supposed to do now?” Sister Jimmy couldn’t quite tell if Xu Bei was cursing at her or not.
“……” Xu Bei was honestly at his wit’s end with this woman.
Surrender to the Demon Hunting Bureau?
That’s the biggest joke of the year!
Why are people so oblivious about themselves?
Why do you have no clue about the place you work for?
Tell me, has a single criminal ever walked out of the Demon Hunting Bureau alive?
Alright, maybe some criminals survive, but none come out unscathed after a round inside.
That said, these gang members had no way back now.
At this point, I can only take action and knock them all down.
“?”
But at that moment, Xu Bei suddenly noticed a familiar shadow behind the beef noodle shop.
Half a head popped out from the corner — it was a silver-haired woman wearing a mask.
Isn’t that my good neighbor, Sang Biao?
Why is she here? Didn’t she just go back to her room?
Clearly, Sang Biao had sneaked out again, quietly tailing him.
It had to be said, our tandem police bike was way too slow; she could keep up just on foot.
Sang Biao caught Xu Bei’s gaze and immediately looked up, signaling to him.
Xu Bei followed her hint and looked at the fluorescent light tube on the ceiling.
A second glance — Sang Biao was gone.
“Click!”
In the next instant, the beef noodle shop’s lights went out, as if the power had been cut.
The hall was plunged into darkness…
“What’s happening?” Sister Jimmy screamed in fright.
Before the light disappeared, Xu Bei had keenly caught that Sang Biao seemed to be swinging a sword as she climbed over the back area.
He wanted to call her off immediately; there was no need for bloodshed.
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Sounds of pounding echoed in the dark.
Xu Bei knew that wasn’t the sound of sharp blades cutting flesh, so he didn’t shout to stop her.
Moments later, the lights came back on.
The gang members in the beef noodle shop were all knocked down.
One by one, each had been hit hard on the back of the head with a blunt weapon and had fallen unconscious.
Thankfully, they were probably not in any life-threatening condition, at worst concussions and amnesia.
“Did you do this? Why didn’t you say you were this strong earlier? Hah, not bad—didn’t disappoint me.”
Sister Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief when she saw this, holstered her gun, pulled out the handcuffs, and started to smirk proudly.
No saving her, this woman.
“A few small handcuffs locking a bunch of people? Hurry up and call for backup, make up some story so you can take all the credit. I’m leaving first.” Xu Bei shoved his hands in his pockets and pushed open the beef noodle shop door.
“Oh, oh, oh, I get it. Where are you going?” Sister Jimmy asked while holding the radio.
“I’m going home. Might as well settle my pay.” Xu Bei suddenly stopped and turned around to ask for his salary.
“I’ll transfer your salary to Xiao Hui’s card,” Sister Jimmy replied.
Xu Bei fell silent again, said nothing, and left the beef noodle shop.
Then…
He rode off on the tandem police bike!
“Detective Dog, just walk home yourself.”
Xu Bei grumbled under his breath.
Back at his rented room, he didn’t go straight to his own door but knocked on the neighboring one.
The door opened a second later, and Sang Biao peeked out, asking, “Borrowing the microwave?”
“Yeah.” Although he didn’t have a lunchbox in hand, Xu Bei nodded and added, “Can we talk for a moment?”
The next moment, he sat down in the middle of the room filled with model guns, waiting for a reply.
Sang Biao sat cross-legged facing him, and the two stared silently at each other for a while.
“Who exactly are you?” Xu Bei broke the silence first, asking seriously.
“I’m just your good neighbor.” Sang Biao answered.
“I’m not trying to pry into your identity. I want to see your sword.” Xu Bei said again.
Upon hearing this, Sang Biao turned on the spot and pulled out a dark gold sword in traditional Chinese style from under the bed.
Black hilt, dark gold guard, black wooden scabbard, with a red cord tied at the end—a subtle yet luxurious piece, the romance of a man.
“Can I have a look?” Even Xu Bei couldn’t help but show appreciation.
“Be my guest.” Sang Biao placed the dark gold sword before Xu Bei.
Xu Bei picked it up and carefully drew the sword.
However, this cool-looking traditional Chinese black sword was actually made of wood.
It was a wooden sword.
Carved on it were the characters [人斩]—“Human Slayer”—pretty corny.
“……” Xu Bei gave a helpless sigh and put the sword back.
Why am I constantly running into these ridiculous things today? Is this what they call a civilized society?
And this modified human in front of him was probably like himself—just unable to adapt to civilized life at the moment.
“Did you decide to join the Demon Hunting Bureau?” Sang Biao suddenly grew serious and asked.
“Do you have a grudge against the Bureau?” Xu Bei countered.
“No, the Bureau isn’t related to my past work. But people who join the Demon Hunting Bureau usually don’t have a good ending. My good neighbor, if you’ve chosen seclusion, why wade into dirty waters?” Sang Biao explained.
“Xiao Sun is a Bureau’s designated talent; she’s destined to join. Protecting her, this is the best way.” Xu Bei said.
“Brother, you’re loyal and true. If you ever run into trouble, I’ll definitely help.” Sang Biao was genuinely moved.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but let me be clear: the best help is if you don’t get involved with us. We’re forever just nodding neighbors—best that way.” Xu Bei answered.
“You’re right, my rational neighbor.” Sang Biao nodded in agreement.
“Goodbye.” Xu Bei stood up to leave.
But as he opened the door and stepped outside, he ran into Sun Xiaohui coming home from school at noon.
They locked eyes and froze.
Sun Xiaohui didn’t have the usual happy puppy look she gave Xu Bei.
Xu Bei hesitated for two seconds, then knew things were bad!
After all, any girlfriend catching you leaving a female neighbor’s house would misunderstand.
And Sun Xiaohui’s little head was stuffed full of idol soap opera clichés—this kind of scene was her specialty!
“Xiao Sun, this is a misunderstanding…” Xu Bei quickly started to explain.
“Xu Ge, I found a way to stop intruders from matching into our main world!” Sun Xiaohui exclaimed joyfully.
“Huh? This?” Xu Bei rubbed his forehead, speechless for a moment.
“As long as you bring in a teammate, there won’t be any supporters matched, though intruders might still appear,” Sun Xiaohui explained.
“Why do you spend class time researching this stuff? Study properly; don’t keep thinking about games. And where am I supposed to find a teammate?” Xu Bei tried to reason.
“It’s all my fault. I really should just buy a game headset and play with you directly.” Sun Xiaohui apologized.