Chapter 186: Xiaoqi’s Waking-Up Temper
A dozen or so minutes later.
Inside the security office.
"Huh? Why isn’t Qian Gang back yet? Didn’t he just go take a piss?"
"Maybe he collapsed outside? Go check on him, quick! Don’t let this hold things up."
"Let’s go together. If he really did collapse out there, I can’t carry him by myself!"
"What a pain!"
Xiaohai and Xiaopang got up and walked outside.
But the moment they stepped out of the security office,
a figure wearing an Inconstancy Mask blocked their path.
The moment they looked up and saw a Black Impermanence,
their pupils violently contracted.
Terror filled their eyes, but before they could scream,
SHING SHING—
two streaks of silver light flashed past, slitting open gashes on their throats.
Fresh blood sprayed out.
Even in death, Xiaohai and Xiaopang never understood what had happened...
After all three of them were dead,
the person wearing the Inconstancy Mask gave them a cold glance,
then quickly vanished into the darkness.
An unknown amount of time passed.
The scent of blood began to waft through the air.
Suddenly, a demon beast with crimson eyes was drawn over.
Although it could walk upright, its intelligence was clearly not fully developed.
When it arrived at the security office,
seeing the two corpses lying on the ground, the demon beast acted as if it had discovered a treasure.
It swiftly pounced on Xiaohai and Xiaopang.
The thick scent of blood once again filled the air.
Before long, a second and then a third demon beast were drawn over one after another.
Right outside the residential complex, a gluttonous feast unfolded.
The darkness scattered.
A sliver of dawn’s light appeared on the horizon.
The cleaning crew in the residential complex grabbed their tools and began their day’s work.
They each had their own work areas, responsible for different sections.
When a cleaning lady in her fifties, holding her cleaning tools, arrived at the complex’s main gate,
she had just bent down to sweep the ground.
Suddenly, a faint scent of blood wafted into her nostrils.
The cleaning lady’s brow furrowed, and a bad feeling immediately surfaced in her mind.
Although she had often smelled blood before,
ever since that time a large number of demon beasts entered the city,
it seemed a long time had passed since she had smelled anything like this.
After so long, this sudden, nauseating scent of blood assailed her again,
making her nerves tense up once more.
She first glanced around in all directions.
Seeing nothing, she then looked towards the security office.
Usually, by this time, there would be guards strolling around outside the office.
But today, she hadn’t seen a single guard come out.
She could only see that the lights were still on inside the security office.
And the door was half-open...
’What’s going on? Even if they’re asleep, they wouldn’t leave the door open, would they?’
Although the cleaning lady found it strange, she couldn’t help but walk towards the security office.
And then, the moment she arrived outside the security office,
a scene that would be etched into her memory for the rest of her life entered her view.
Then, a piercing scream shattered the quiet morning.
Around six in the morning,
police cars were all parked outside the residential complex.
Many officers from the Martial Arts Police Station had secured the scene.
A police cordon had been set up around the area.
Outside the cordon, many of the complex’s residents had gathered.
They craned their necks to look inside, while small groups huddled together, discussing something.
Not far from the scene,
an officer from the Martial Arts Police Station was taking a statement from the cleaning lady who had reported it.
Then, an old pickup truck drove up.
It stopped outside the complex, and Tang Zhan got out.
"What’s the situation? How many dead?"
As he entered the complex and approached the security office,
he asked with a deep frown.
Someone immediately hurried over. "Captain Tang, three dead in total. They were all security guards for the complex!"
"Three dead guards?"
Tang Zhan glanced down at the three remains covered by white cloths.
"Was it demon beasts?"
"Yes, our preliminary assessment is that they were attacked by demon beasts, which then fed on their corpses!"
"We’ve identified all of them. They were all security guards for the complex!"
An officer quickly explained.
Tang Zhan nodded. "Looks like these demon beasts couldn’t stand the quiet and decided to come into the city!"
"Have you identified what kind of demon beasts they were?"
"Forensic Doctor Wang says that based on the bite marks and the force of the bite, it wasn’t just one demon beast. There were at least three—two Cat Demons and one Dog Demon!"
"And their realms are generally not that high, third-rank at most!"
"No higher than third-rank? And they still dare to come out and kill people?"
Tang Zhan was a bit surprised, and the officer could only nod.
This was the conclusion the forensic doctor had reached through analysis before Tang Zhan arrived.
And Forensic Doctor Wang had never been wrong before.
Whenever he made an identification, it was almost always spot on.
Tang Zhan walked forward and uncovered the three bodies one by one, taking a look.
The states of the three guards’ bodies were horrifying.
Their necks, in particular, were completely torn apart.
The flesh on their faces was also a mangled mess, their original appearances completely unrecognizable.
A particularly common feature left by the demon beasts’ feeding was on their bodies.
Their internal organs had been hollowed out,
leaving a gaping hole in their bodies...
Tang Zhan sighed softly. "Have Forensic Doctor Wang write up a report. Once it’s done, send it to the Demon Hunting Institute and have them post a Demon Hunting mission!"
Then Tang Zhan looked up at the increasingly bustling residential complex.
He sighed and said, "It seems Xinghai City will soon return to how it used to be!"
"These demon beasts can’t hold back any longer. They’re getting ready to return to the urban center!"
"Contact the reporters at the TV station. Have them broadcast this news to alert the entire city.
The peace is over, the alarm has been reset..."
"Yes, Captain Tang!"
The officer nodded quickly.
Tang Zhan gave them another look, then walked towards the pickup truck outside the complex.
...
[Current Realm: 3-Star, 2nd Rank]
[Qi and Blood: 28.55%]
In the early morning, when Lin Yi awoke from his state of cultivation,
he habitually checked his cultivation progress.
A pleased expression crossed his face.
Ever since Lin Yi broke through to the 3-Star Realm on the eve of the Martial Arts exam,
only a week had passed.
And he had already reached the 3-Star, 2nd Rank.
Especially after he established a spiritual connection with Xiaoqi,
his cultivation speed had practically doubled.
His Qi and Blood shot up.
’At this rate, it won’t be long before I break through to 4-Star, will it?’
’This speed is a little too terrifying, isn’t it?’
Lin Yi could barely suppress the smile on his face.
For anyone, the higher their realm, the better.
It was a representation of their strength.
Closing his personal panel, Lin Yi looked down into the cardboard box.
He found Xiaoqi lying inside, fast asleep.
When Lin Yi saw its talent entries, he was shocked.
He remembered when Xiaoqi had just hatched.
It was a divine bird with heaven-defying comprehension, already at the One-Star Realm the moment it broke out of its shell.
And now, how many days had it been?
Its realm had already reached the 1-Star, 4th Rank? And it was just one step away from reaching 2-Star?
Previously, Lin Yi had thought he was lucky.
He had a Golden Finger, allowing him to see the talent entries that others couldn’t.
He could even plunder them, stealing others’ talents for his own use.
That was precisely why his cultivation was more than just one or two times faster than others.
But now, seeing Xiaoqi’s cultivation speed,
even he couldn’t help but feel envious.
Xiaoqi never seemed to do anything but sleep all day.
Or it would burrow into Lin Yi’s pocket, going wherever he went.
It fed on Demon Beast Meat, and when Lin Yi cultivated, Xiaoqi would also follow him into the [Heart Spirit Domain].
It would roam among the Star River, playing with a white tiger...
As a result, it had effortlessly broken through to the 1-Star, 4th Rank.
It was simpler than drinking a glass of water.
But for Lin Yi, reaching the 4th rank would take quite a while.
’It sure is nice to have the boost from a powerful bloodline!’
Lin Yi was practically drooling with envy.
The next moment, Xiaoqi’s eyes snapped open.
The moment it looked up and saw Lin Yi, it was clearly startled.
Its delicate little body swayed as it dodged backward.
It wasn’t until it saw clearly that it was Lin Yi
that its soybean-sized eyes grew angry.
It let out a series of "CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP" squeaks, as if scolding Lin Yi for scaring it with his big face.
It even flapped its wings, trying to fly.
Seeing its reaction, Lin Yi quickly said, "Alright, alright, I’ve never seen a little chick with such a bad temper after waking up!"
"Do you still want to eat Demon Beast Meat or not?"
The moment Xiaoqi heard the words "Demon Beast Meat,"
it immediately became docile, the anger in its eyes vanishing.
It was as if nothing had just happened. It started pacing back and forth in the cardboard box.
Finally, it stopped in a corner of the box.
It looked up and stared at Lin Yi.
Lin Yi stared back, curious about what Xiaoqi was about to do.
Suddenly, a line of bird droppings fell.
Lin Yi: "..."