Jian Xie was wrapped in a blanket while holding a paper cup half filled with boiled water. He huddled in the police car, watching people busying around outside the window.
Although the monster died for no reason, a lone female victim still appeared. The police cordoned off the crime scene and yellow warning strips could be seen around it.
Jian Xie, who was placed in the car for protection, was distracted.
…and thinking about life.
After a while, he decided to communicate directly with the auditory hallucination in his mind, “Who are you?”
But Jian Xie’s question was like a stone falling into the sea or like a stone thrown into the water, which didn’t cause any splashes.
“Since it was the ‘first anniversary’, why only show up now?” he asked, wrapping himself tightly with the blanket.
“Just like a hibernating snake that prepares food reserves for itself… will you be eating me too?”
The next moment, a clear sneer came from his mind, apparently amused with his words and sounding a bit like a jerk.
[Ah, don’t worry, I will eat you.] It curled It’s lips and lazily hinted, [But not now.]
“……”
It was really not an auditory hallucination.
Otherwise, if someone heard an auditory hallucination and found it mocking them, they would immediately clench their fist.
Jian Xie took a deep breath and was about to say something when the door of the police car suddenly opened from the outside.
The night wind immediately came in through the gap, causing Jian Xie to subconsciously shrink his neck like a small animal. He raised his head and found Cheng Li’s face in front of him.
The two looked at each other in silence.
Cheng Li: “…”
Cheng Li’s mouth twitched. Breaking the silence, he said dryly, “We meet again.”
In a span of two days, high-level monsters had appeared around Jian Xie one after another like free cabbages. It was unclear whether he was lucky or unlucky.
Originally, Cheng Li had completed the school exploration mission today and was preparing to go to the bar with his friends to relax in the evening.
After all, being an investigator was a high-risk profession, and one should never miss the opportunity to enjoy themselves while they could. Who knew if they’d still be alive tomorrow? However, when the bartender had just poured him a glass and before he had time to take a sip, he received a text message from Jian Xie.
When he clicked on it, he saw a very concise content.
It was a string of residential addresses close to the suburbs.
Then, just as Cheng Li was thinking about what it meant, he received a call asking him to work overtime.
According to the observation of the “Eye”, an A-level monster has appeared in a residential area in a certain community. The predation field created by this monster was very strong, almost covering the entire community. Moreover, all the residents hadn’t been evacuated. If they went in too late, the final number of casualties would probably be beyond imagination.
It was actually A-level. Cheng Li’s face darkened upon hearing this level.
He looked at the text message again and was surprised to find that it was the same address as the one stated in the phone call he had just received.
This ordinary high school student was probably in great danger.
It was no surprise that he would have this reaction. Any normal investigator would be terrified when hearing about a monster of this level, not to mention Jian Xie who looked pale and clean and had no ability to protect himself…
In line with this, the regulations of the supernatural management department must be mentioned.
There was indeed a reason for classifying monsters by strength, but what really put monsters above other monsters was having a certain level of intelligence.
A-level monsters weren’t necessarily stronger than B-level monsters, but they were definitely more dangerous.
What were the significant differences between humans and other creatures?
It was the ability to think, plan, and even experience emotions.
A B-level monster could barely utter broken words.
An A-level monster was able to articulate a complete idea and make corresponding disguises.
Special A-level was completely indistinguishable from humans, and sometimes even deliberately created puzzle games that could kill people.
As for S-level… Cheng Li has never heard of it. If it really existed, it would probably be possible for It to destroy the world if It wanted to. Everything would develop based on It’s interest.
However, the high school student in front of him who has been chased and hunted by an A-level monster was unharmed. Instead, the monster disappeared without a trace and died quickly and neatly. Although its scent has disappeared, the predation field was inexplicably closed abruptly, which could only mean that it was dead.
No, it was more than unharmed.
Cheng Li quickly checked the teenager’s body.
It was obvious that there was not a single wound, not even a scratch from falling. If anything, he didn’t even break out in a cold sweat. It was as if he was being protected by some unknown mysterious force and treated as an inviolable treasure.
Even Jian Xie’s expression was a bit bored, and it was estimated that he didn’t even suffer any psychological trauma.
Even Cheng Li himself didn’t see the A-level monster directly and merely felt the residual aura in the air, but the back of his shirt was soaked from fear…
Cheng Li fell into a state of doubt about his life.
Ultimately, he was devastated by the fact that a high schooler who had just returned from a near-death experience had better mental fitness than himself.
“What?” Seeing that he suddenly stopped talking, Jian Xie asked.
“Nothing… Let’s get down to business.” Cheng Li sorted out his hurt frame of mind, withdrew his gaze from Jian Xie, and put on a serious expression. “The Supernatural Management Bureau thinks you have potential.”
Potential……?
Without further explanation, Cheng Li got into the car and carefully closed the door, blocking out the noise from the outside world.
“Let me introduce myself formally this time. You already know my name and my profession, but I haven’t told you anything else. I am an investigator with a B-level insight, so I have a certain ability to eliminate monsters… This is the item I use most often.”
After saying that, Cheng Li pulled out a pistol from his waist, opened the magazine and showed it to Jian Xie.
From its appearance, it was no different from the pistols carried by police officers, but the bullets inside the magazine attracted Jian Xie’s attention.
The bullets were red, resembling a solidified lens.
“These are bullets made of monster blood.” Seeing the other’s eyes fall on it, Cheng Li said solemnly, “Blood bullets can kill monsters of the same level and lower levels.”
Hearing this, Jian Xie was a little surprised.
Being able to kill monsters with the help of specific props sounded like a game setting.
But thinking about it carefully, it was understandable. After all, since there was a Supernatural Management Bureau and investigators, it was impossible for there to be no way to deal with the monsters that were discovered. Otherwise, let alone confidentiality, the establishment of this management bureau would be a joke.
Seeing that Jian Xie understood what he meant, Cheng Li put the prop away and carefully placed them back around his waist.
“Ordinary people—that is those with insight level D, cannot use props to kill monsters,” he said.
Jian Xie nodded. “You said before that ordinary people can’t see monsters either.”
Except when being preyed on, he added in his mind.
“Correct. Only a few can see them, which is why I am telling you this.” Cheng Li exhaled, and finally got to the point he had prepared. “Last time, I thought you saw the B-level monster because you were included in the predation field like the three victims.”
Just lucky enough not to die, that’s all.
“This time, you encountered an A-level monster again. The ‘Eye’ shows that the predation field had already been set up before you came to the community, but you came in anyway.”
Cheng Li asked cautiously, “…So, can you see the monsters?”
This question was asked to him.
Of course Jian Xie could see it. This problem has been bothering him for a year.
Furthermore, one thing was very clear. Cheng Li and the Supernatural Management Bureau behind him have already confirmed that he could see monsters, otherwise they would not have violated the confidentiality regulations without confirming beforehand and revealed so many secrets to him. Whether he was sure or not did not actually affect their judgment.
However, he had to ask one thing before answering this obvious question.
“Do you have any rules like anyone who can see will be taken to work?”
Jian Xie’s reply was very on guard.
Cheng Li was suddenly confused by the question. “What?”
Jian Xie had no expression on his face as he said calmly, “First of all, I want to point out one thing, I still have 100 days until the college entrance examination. Secondly, I have just reached adulthood, isn’t it illegal to employ me? Finally, it’s already early in the morning and you are still working overtime. This treatment by the Bureau clearly violates the Labor Protection Law.”
Cheng Li: “…………”
Every word was true and could not be refuted.
Cheng Li decided to try, “The bureau pays us by the hour. We only go to work when abnormal events are discovered. It’s like a vacation during ordinary times, so we’re very much idle.”
Jian Xie remained unmoved.
“It can be tens of thousands per hour.”
“Okay, no problem.” Jian Xie’s tone was extremely sincere, “But are part-timers allowed? I still have classes to attend and cannot take leave of absence.”
“…………”
After a while, Cheng Li silently handed Jian Xie a new business card with the address of the Bureau written on it, which was self-explanatory.
“It’s possible, we have a flexible working system. But you have to test your insight level first. I will call you when the time comes.”
In fact, he felt that Jian Xie’s insight value should be quite high, otherwise it would be impossible to explain how he directly broke into the predation field of an A-level monster.
It was commonly known that once an A-level monster’s predation field was opened, even a Special A-level investigator couldn’t enter without the help of props…
Cheng Li looked pensive.
In fact, he couldn’t understand why high-level monsters appeared so frequently recently. This was something he had never seen since he started working. Was something big about to happen on the dark side?
“Alright.”
Jian Xie put the business card into his pocket and prepared to leave. “I’m going back now.”
“Let me drive you. It’s not safe at night,” Cheng Li suggested, “and you seem quite sleepy.”
Jian Xie did not refuse his kindness. It would be too cruel for him to ride back in the cold wind in the early morning, so he readily told him the address of his community.
But when he was in the car, he absentmindedly thought of a guess in his mind and couldn’t help but look up.
“Can I ask you a question? Just a little curious.”
Cheng Li, who was driving, tilted his head in response.
“Will those monsters take care of people? …Like, will they protect humans closely? Giving gifts and stuff like that.”
Jian Xie didn’t know how to organize his words, so they sounded all over the place when he spoke them.
And it was both cringy and weird, he thought with a frown. That guy was actually a lot worse than he described.
“Hahaha, what? If that was a human being, it would be like pursuing someone.” Cheng Li smiled, and then he suddenly pondered, “However, if we substitute it with monsters—”
Jian Xie simply ignored the first half of his sentence and waited intently for him to reveal the second half.
Cheng Li sighed and earnestly said to him, “You’re a senior in high school, right? Won’t it be better to read less novels?”
Jian Xie: “…………”
