Then I Might As Well Just Keep You

"So, you're a power-hungry bureaucrat after all."

Fang Cheng didn't quite believe Kanzaki Rin's answer, but he didn't push her too hard either, lest he really force her to flip the table; he did, after all, need her cooperation.

"I agree to cooperate with you in principle, but I have a few conditions."

"You..."

Kanzaki Rin took a deep breath. "Don't push your luck."

Fang Cheng crossed his legs and chuckled. "How is this pushing my luck? It's a negotiation; there has to be give and take. You can't expect me to agree to everything without making a single demand, can you? I'm not your father; I'm not going to spoil you. You can listen to my conditions first, then decide whether to agree."

The ball was back in Kanzaki Rin's court, and now it was her turn to make a choice.

Kanzaki Rin felt deeply how troublesome Fang Cheng was, and she gave him a sharp look. "Speak!"

"First, I need all the data on monsters, including vampires—the more detailed, the better. Second, I want to obtain your ability to manipulate fire."

Fang Cheng actually had many more conditions in mind, such as demanding that Kanzaki Rin promise not to turn on him once all the vampires were dead.

But such a promise would be weak and unrealistic, so Fang Cheng simply didn't bring it up.

As long as he was strong enough, Kanzaki Rin wouldn't provoke him even without a promise.

Conversely, if he wasn't strong enough, even a signed contract would be useless.

Everything depended on himself.

Hearing Fang Cheng's two conditions, Kanzaki Rin only frowned slightly. She thought for a moment before replying, "The first condition is no problem, but the second is impossible."

"Why?"

Fang Cheng was actually quite curious about where Kanzaki Rin's fire-manipulation ability came from.

It wasn't just him; the general public was also extremely curious and envious of the fact that people in the Disaster Countermeasure Department possessed superpowers.

However, this was a classified matter. To this day, there had been no concrete leaks, only endless speculation flying about.

Kanzaki Rin could only explain, "The ability I possess is something I attained through a special talent and years of training. So, even if you want it, I can't give it to you—unless you join the Disaster Countermeasure Department and prove that you have sufficient talent."

Fang Cheng couldn't tell if Kanzaki Rin was telling the truth or just making excuses, so he had to change his condition. "Then change it to providing me with detailed data on abilities, the requirements for obtaining them, and the training programs. At the same time, you must be responsible for teaching me various combat techniques to improve my fighting strength."

This time, Kanzaki Rin considered it for much longer.

Fang Cheng wasn't in a hurry, letting her think it over slowly.

From the fact that Kanzaki Rin had risked everything to let him go just to use him as bait, it was clear that she valued the extermination of vampires perhaps even more than he did.

Cooperation was mutual; Fang Cheng couldn't do without Kanzaki Rin's help, and conversely, Kanzaki Rin needed Fang Cheng's help to wipe out all the vampires.

She couldn't find a second anomaly as easy to talk to and as low-risk as Fang Cheng.

After thinking for a full ten minutes, Kanzaki Rin finally made up her mind. "Fine, I agree to your conditions."

Fang Cheng took the initiative to reach out his hand. "Then here's to a pleasant cooperation."

Kanzaki Rin also reached out and shook his hand firmly.

Fang Cheng suddenly said, "By the way, you said you were going to compensate me for my losses, right?"

Kanzaki Rin really wanted to say that wasn't the case—that it was just a line to lure Fang Cheng into cooperating.

However, since they had just decided to work together, she couldn't bring herself to go back on her word. She could only say, "Name a number, but don't get greedy."

Fang Cheng smiled. "Don't worry, they're all reasonable requests."

He looked around his home and said, "Compensate me for a new set of furniture. That's fine, right?"

The battle with Yagawa Ryoka had left Fang Cheng's home looking like it had been hit by a typhoon, with many things destroyed.

This request was quite reasonable, so Kanzaki Rin nodded without much thought. "Fine. I'll arrange for a new set of furniture for you tomorrow."

Just as she thought that was the extent of Fang Cheng's demands, he gave her a look that said, 'You're so naive, girl.'

"During our cooperation, you'll be responsible for all expenses. That's reasonable, right? After all, I'm just a high school student with no income."

Kanzaki Rin really wanted to say that was complete nonsense; she had seen how much he made selling his kidneys, and he actually had the nerve to claim he had no income.

"Also, the cost of nutritional supplements after battles should be reimbursed by you. Otherwise, I won't have the energy to kill so many vampires. Plus equipment wear and tear from training, travel expenses, three meals a day..."

The more Fang Cheng spoke, the darker Kanzaki Rin's face became, and the tighter she gripped his hand. "You want me to pay for your three meals a day? At that point, I might as well just keep you as a pet!"

"I'd have to think about that. Who knows what kind of unspeakable hobbies a rich woman like you has in private..."

As Kanzaki Rin's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, Fang Cheng finally stopped while he was ahead.

If he kept going, he was afraid this woman would call the whole thing off.

Kanzaki Rin suppressed her anger, her tone stiff. "Is that all?"

"There's more..."

"What else?!"

She suddenly acted like a cat with its fur on end, her voice rising sharply.

Fang Cheng pointed at her hand. "Also, how long are you going to keep holding my hand? Trying to take advantage of me, are you? I didn't think you were that kind of person."

Kanzaki Rin shoved Fang Cheng's hand away violently.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her anger to regain her composure. "I will arrange everything tomorrow. We start tomorrow."

Fang Cheng asked in surprise, "So soon? What about school?"

Kanzaki Rin really wanted to retort: You're a vampire, why are you so obsessed with going to school?

"You can take a leave of absence."

"Alright then, you can handle the request for me while you're at it."

Speaking of school, Fang Cheng suddenly remembered something. "Does Morishita Yamato causing trouble for me have anything to do with you?"

Kanzaki Rin shook her head. "It has nothing to do with me."

"You don't look surprised at all. It seems you knew about it all along."

Fang Cheng grumbled, "Why didn't you stop them? I ended up getting beaten up for nothing."

Kanzaki Rin finally found an opportunity to mock Fang Cheng. She crossed her arms and flashed a smug, infuriating smile. "What does that have to do with me? You wouldn't have been beaten to death anyway, and from what I understand, it doesn't seem like they gained the upper hand either."

"But my young, fragile heart was still traumatized. You vicious woman, doesn't your conscience hurt?"

"Heh!"

Kanzaki Rin cut off Fang Cheng's nonsense. "Morishita Yamato won't be bothering you again anytime soon, and it won't affect our cooperation."

Fang Cheng pondered to himself. No wonder Morishita Yamato had been so quiet; he had assumed the guy was plotting something big, but it turned out Kanzaki Rin had intervened behind the scenes.

Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that Morishita Yamato was playing along just to plot something even bigger.

Regardless, Fang Cheng was convinced he was brewing something major.

Seeing him lost in thought, Kanzaki Rin suddenly asked, "Can you resist the urge to drink blood by consuming regular food?"

Fang Cheng didn't actually have an urge to drink blood, but he needed the vampire identity to cover up his immortality.

Although vampires were few in number, they weren't exactly rare creatures; Fang Cheng's immortality, which came with absolutely no side effects, was one of a kind.

If that were exposed, he doubted Kanzaki Rin would keep his secret.

So, he could only answer vaguely, "I suppose so."

Kanzaki Rin probed, "Do you need me to get you some fresh blood?"

If he truly needed it, Kanzaki Rin would place him on her danger list, and he would be a target for elimination once their cooperation ended.

Fang Cheng thought for a moment and nodded. "Sure."

Kanzaki Rin's heart tightened for a split second.

But Fang Cheng added, "Human blood isn't necessary. Just get me some pig blood."

He hadn't wanted any initially, but he figured that accepting would dispel Kanzaki Rin's suspicions while also making her pay for it.

Two birds with one stone—perfect.

"Pig blood?"

Kanzaki Rin was full of question marks.

Could pig blood actually be effective for vampires?

An image involuntarily surfaced in her mind: a vampire sneaking into a pigpen in the middle of the night, chasing after a sow to bite it.

Wow, his dignity had just plummeted to the center of the earth.