Save Lin Yun Er, City Demon Hunting Squad

"Coo coo coo..."

"Bang!!!"

But then, an even louder commotion suddenly erupted from inside the Old Canteen.

It startled Lin Yun Er. She instinctively turned to look, but everything was still a blur.

"Why is there a light?"

Lin Yun Er was taken aback.

Because behind the foggy glass, a red glow had suddenly appeared, growing larger and larger.

Lin Yun Er instinctively stepped forward to check.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Separated by a single pane of glass, on the right stood Lin Yun Er in the dim evening light, while on the left a massive shadow writhed in the darkness, its blood-red eye at the head especially conspicuous.

"Coo coo coo..."

The Giant-eyed Starry Rat watched Lin Yun Er walking toward it, unable to suppress an excited low growl.

It slowly opened its gaping maw, rows of fangs with various sticky filth clinging to the gaps between them.

Just as Lin Yun Er was about to press against the glass, a large hand pulled her back.

"Ah!"

Lin Yun Er gasped, her body leaning against an arm.

"Silly girl, you really are curious. Not afraid to die, huh?"

An exasperated voice sounded by her ear.

Lin Yun Er instinctively looked up and saw a familiar handsome face. She exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, you... you're Xin Xia's boyfriend."

"Watch closely."

Qin Yuan said something Lin Yun Er didn't understand.

Then, under Lin Yun Er's shocked gaze, Qin Yuan picked up a stone and hurled it fiercely at that red glow behind the foggy glass.

"Crack!"

The stone shattered the glass, striking its target with precision.

"Coo coo coo!"

From inside the dim Old Canteen, a strange cry suddenly rang out, like a rat's, yet also like some kind of beast's.

"This..."

Lin Yun Er was horrified to discover that the 'red dot' inside was moving, slowly shrinking.

"Step back."

Qin Yuan grabbed Lin Yun Er and pulled her behind him, shielding her.

A few seconds of silence.

"Coo coo coo!"

From the darkness, accompanied by a series of strange cries, a large rat burst out—its body a dirty gray, its appearance nauseating, with only a single red eye.

Qin Yuan reacted quickly, pulling Lin Yun Er aside as he retreated.

"Ah?!"

The moment Lin Yun Er saw the Giant-eyed Starry Rat, her face turned pale with terror.

That 'red glow' had been the Giant-eyed Starry Rat!

She had been that close to it just now. If Qin Yuan hadn't pulled her back in time, then she...

Lin Yun Er trembled with fear, instinctively leaning against Qin Yuan's back, staring in panic at the Giant-eyed Starry Rat baring its fangs ahead.

"Extreme Cold—Ice Vine—Cover!"

Qin Yuan cast a cold glance at the Giant-eyed Starry Rat and directly unleashed a Level Three Ice Vine.

An icy blue chill descended. Before the Giant-eyed Starry Rat could react, Qin Yuan had frozen it into an ice sculpture.

With the ice reinforced by the Extreme Cold Spirit Seed, breaking free was as hard as climbing to the heavens for the Giant-eyed Starry Rat.

Unfortunately, the Beginner Ice Vine had no killing power. If it had been a Level Three Lightning Seal or Fire Seed instead, the Giant-eyed Starry Rat would already be dead.

"Contact the City Demon Hunting Squad."

Qin Yuan said.

"Ah... okay."

Lin Yun Er was still in a state of shock and confusion.

From the Giant-eyed Starry Rat suddenly bursting out to Qin Yuan freezing it into an ice sculpture, it had all happened too fast—less than a minute.

The Giant-eyed Starry Rat was subdued by Qin Yuan just like that.

Gradually, the panic on Lin Yun Er's face faded a little.

"Is the hole inside?"

Qin Yuan glanced at the Old Canteen, thought for a moment, and still decided to go in and take a look.

Though unlikely, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Hey, where are you going?" Lin Yun Er instinctively grabbed Qin Yuan's arm, asking nervously.

Even though the Giant-eyed Starry Rat was frozen, she still didn't dare stay here alone waiting for the City Demon Hunting Squad.

Qin Yuan was her pillar of support.

"Of course, I'm going in to see if there are any more rats," Qin Yuan said casually.

He wanted to leave, but Lin Yun Er held on tight, refusing to let go.

"I..." Lin Yun Er looked at Qin Yuan cautiously, her voice weak. "I'm scared."

"..."

Qin Yuan was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll stay here with you and wait for the City Demon Hunting Squad."

As he spoke, he tried to pull his arm free, but Lin Yun Er still wouldn't let go.

Qin Yuan: "..."

Miss, let go, I really don't want to take advantage of you.

He could force his way out, but it might accidentally hurt Lin Yun Er.

With no other choice, Qin Yuan let her hold on and quietly waited for the City Demon Hunting Squad to arrive.

Seeing this, Lin Yun Er breathed a sigh of relief.

The reason she clung so tightly to Qin Yuan was because she was genuinely scared.

The Giant-eyed Starry Rat had come out of nowhere, and Qin Yuan had saved her, so she instinctively latched onto him as her support.

After a long while.

The City Demon Hunting Squad finally arrived.

When they saw the frozen Giant-eyed Starry Rat, they were genuinely surprised, their faces full of disbelief.

But they also knew this wasn't the time to be stunned.

Under the leadership of Captain Xu Dahuang, the frozen Giant-eyed Starry Rat was quickly put down, leaving only a pile of charred bone fragments.

"You are... Qin Yuan!"

Among the hunting squad, a woman with a pretty face and an impressive figure exclaimed in surprise.

She had thought Qin Yuan looked familiar just now, and after thinking it over, she suddenly realized—this was Mu Ning Xue's little boyfriend, Qin Yuan.

"Sister Caitang."

Qin Yuan nodded, offering a polite smile.

"Your magic cultivation is already at Elementary Level Three!" Mu Caitang was very shocked.

As far as she knew, Qin Yuan had just started his third year of senior high school and should be about eighteen. To have reached Elementary Level Three at such an age was simply unbelievable.

"Lucky, I just broke through not long ago," Qin Yuan said with a smile.

"Lucky?"

Xu Dahuang's mouth twitched at that.

He was already in his thirties, yet his cultivation was being caught up to by a high school student—how discouraging.

Not just him, but the other squad members also had twitching mouths, feeling deeply disheartened.

Xu Dahuang looked at the promising young Qin Yuan, his eyes shifting, and couldn't help stepping forward to invite him. "Qin Yuan, any interest in joining our City Demon Hunting Squad? Salary, benefits, holiday perks—all negotiable."

Rarely encountering a genius, he instantly had the idea of recruiting him.

If the team had another excellent Ice Mage like this, future missions would be safer, and they could better protect Bocheng.

"I'm still in school."

Qin Yuan smiled.

Hearing this.

Xu Dahuang knew Qin Yuan was politely declining. Though it was a pity, he didn't force the issue.

"Captain Xu, it's very unusual for a Giant-eyed Starry Rat to appear here for no reason. I think it's necessary to search the Old Canteen," Qin Yuan said, pointing at the Old Canteen.

"Yeah, that is pretty strange."

Xu Dahuang nodded.

Giant-eyed Starry Rats usually only appear in the drainage system and rarely are stupid enough to approach human areas.

After all, a rat crossing the street is chased by everyone.

"Let's go, we'll search inside, focusing on the drainage system to see if there are any cracks caused by the 'earthquake'," Xu Dahuang said with a wave of his hand.

Incidents where earthquakes caused underground cracks, leading Giant-eyed Starry Rats to crawl out, had happened before, though they had become rare in recent years.