Doubts

Lu Yibai finally lost consciousness in the end.

He didn't know how long he had been in a deep sleep, but when he woke up, he felt that the pain in his shoulders and lower abdomen was no longer so severe.

On the contrary, he actually felt that these two areas were cool and rather refreshing.

Had he gotten used to it?

Or had he really evolved into a pain-loving, pleasure-seeking masochist?

"Boss, you're awake?"

Lu Yibai heard a familiar voice, and then, tilting his head slightly, he saw Lin Xiaoqi sitting cross-legged on the carpet with her long, fair, and translucent legs crossed, and a bag of Bugles placed right on top of them.

Crunch, crunch, "Boss, want a bite?"

Lu Yibai: "..."

Just how thick-skinned and carefree can you be?

Besides, he was also quite puzzled about how he had been picked up and brought back by Lin Xiaoqi.

"How long was I unconscious?" Lu Yibai asked.

"Not very long, I just finished watching three episodes of a variety show and you woke up."

Lu Yibai was a bit surprised. Only a few hours?

Right now, he was bare-chested with some bandages wrapped around him.

He glanced at his shoulder and lower abdomen, and said, "Did you rub something on me?"

"I applied some of our standard-issue Night Watchmen golden liniment, plus our cultivation technique naturally recovers very quickly, so Boss, you'll be completely healed in no time."

Golden liniment—how lazy can they get with naming things?

"What about that demon? And that child." Lu Yibai abruptly sobered up and asked.

Lin Xiaoqi took another bite of her Bugles and continued, "I've already disposed of the demon's corpse. As for that child, the relevant departments will handle it, so Boss, you can rest easy."

The relevant departments, that omnipresent relevant department again...

Though it was true, the Night Watchmen needed a department to help clean up the mess and handle the aftermath.

Lin Xiaoqi informed him that there was actually a rather special department within the police force designed to cooperate with the work of the Night Watchmen while handling any loose ends afterward.

That child was probably still at the police station.

Lu Yibai continued lying on the sofa, peacefully acting as a wounded patient. Raising his left hand slightly, the Night Watchman Mark activated, and two green spots of light floated above it.

One came from the female ghost, and the other came from the short, stunted demon.

"What kind of demon was this?" he asked curiously.

"Just a rat demon, a rat with no guts," Lin Xiaoqi said dismissively.

Lu Yibai's mouth twitched.

Damn it, the bastard even dared to try and kill me, and you call that having no guts?

"Still, Boss, you really surprised me. With your current strength, you can't even be considered a first-tier Night Watchman yet you actually killed a second-tier rat demon."

Lu Yibai was slightly startled. That rat demon was actually second rank?

Doesn't that mean if it had been a bit bolder and used its demonic power right from the start, he probably would have already kicked the bucket?

He didn't feel any complacency or think himself terrifyingly awesome just because he had killed an enemy of a higher rank.

Instead, he looked down at the wound on his lower abdomen, lingering fear still gripping his heart.

He had won the gamble this time, but what about the future?

What a high-risk occupation!

"Right, Boss, I found this on the rat demon." Lin Xiaoqi took out a hanging tag and said.

It was a silver chain with a small black tag hanging from it.

What was written on the tag looked like a serial number.

"C0742."

What did that mean?

Lu Yibai looked at it closely and said in surprise, "There's a layer of demonic power on it?"

Lin Xiaoqi nodded.

Chances are, this was something similar to the Night Watchman Mark, used to prove one's identity.

On the back of the tag, there was also a shattered green crystalline object.

"Boss, this is probably something like a Life Token, same as an ID card. It's just that the green crystalline object on the back should have been refined using the demon's natal essence blood, and now that it's dead, it shattered."

"It looks like this is likely some mysterious Demon Organization," Lu Yibai analyzed.

Lin Xiaoqi nodded, feeling the exact same way about it.

"I suspect that there should still be backup Life Tokens within this Demon Organization, and perhaps they already know the rat demon is dead," Lin Xiaoqi said.

This was the first time Lu Yibai had ever seen Lin Xiaoqi be so serious and straight-faced.

Yet, thinking carefully, and analyzing from the rat demon's Life Token, since his token started with "C" and the numbers following it went as high as "0742", this was at least a Demon Organization with over a thousand members.

"What did this rat demon want with a kid?" Lu Yibai asked, feeling puzzled.

"Not clear yet, but I've already reported it," Lin Xiaoqi replied.

Lu Yibai nodded. This sort of matter certainly warranted a report.

He seemed to have unwittingly stumbled right into a whirlpool.

"Xiaoqi, didn't you say Crow City was very peaceful?"

Lin Xiaoqi glanced at Lu Yibai and hesitated, stopping herself.

That look in her eyes seemed to say: That's only because you came here and the person in charge changed, isn't it?

Under normal circumstances, an assistant would also be promoted alongside the person in charge. News of Ji Dekeng taking charge of Magic City had already spread, and everyone assumed Lin Xiaoqi had gone to Magic City with him; otherwise, Lin Xiaoqi alone was more than enough to be a powerful deterrent.

After a long pause, she seemed to have finally organized her words and said, "Boss, it's not that I'm trying to start anything, but it really seems like they didn't take you seriously at all."

Lu Yibai: "..."

So infuriating!

"Boss, get some good rest, I'm going to go take a nap first," Lin Xiaoqi said, yawning.

Lu Yibai nodded.

It was obvious that Lin Xiaoqi had also been busy tending to his injuries this entire time.

It was now the afternoon, and Ye Yiyi, who was afraid of the light, had locked herself in her room to rest, not daring to take a single step outside the door.

Thus, Boss Lu was once again the only person left in the living room.

He felt somewhat exhausted, but because the wound still ached a little, he couldn't fall asleep either.

Staring at the ceiling, he fell into deep contemplation.

Originally, he was just an ordinary person.

Well, not quite; he was an ordinary person with rather good luck, seeing as he was a second-generation urban village dismantler after all.

He had never imagined that he would suddenly step foot into this bizarre and kaleidoscopic world one day.

It was very interesting, but also very dangerous.

The injuries he had sustained this time were the most severe he had ever suffered in his life.

In the past, the worst he ever got was a dislocated joint.

Those non-humans in novels who could slaughter everything the moment they stepped into a new world clearly weren't walking the same path as him.

He was just a zen man with slightly thicker nerves.

Just like how he couldn't understand what kind of drive made Lin Xiaoqi endure pain every day to cultivate, nor what drove her to slaughter demons like cutting grass.

He didn't think that just because Lin Xiaoqi was formidable in strength, she faced no danger at all.

Who didn't start out as a rookie?

He was injured so badly, yet Lin Xiaoqi still acted so carefree—did that mean in her eyes, such a minor injury really didn't amount to anything?

Even during the night, his initial plan had only been to trail that rat demon and then contact Lin Xiaoqi.

Who the hell knew that rat demon would actually hide and ambush him!

That was an accident.

He had no other choice at that moment and could only fight for his life.

Generally speaking, "shining and heating within the scope of one's ability"—that was how he thought.

As for the organization known as the Night Watchmen, a sense of belonging was still somewhat lacking after all.

After thinking for a while, his head just started to ache.

What a massive headache!

(ps: Second chapter, asking for recommendation votes to push for the New Book Ranking! Currently third.)