"Slaughter the Yakuza!!"
It was something Denji wouldn't dare imagine even in his dreams.
Yet now, Meng Fan had said it aloud.
And he sounded so serious.
There wasn't a trace of emotion in his voice.
"Who the hell are you??"
Panicking, Denji repeated the question he'd asked at the start.
He didn't know Meng Fan.
Nor did he understand why Meng Fan wanted to help him.
His suspicions outweighed any potential benefits.
By now, he was drenched in sweat.
"My name is Meng Fan. I'm from Dragon Country, and I've been an independent devil hunter for a year and a half."
"Dragon Country? Why are you here?"
The sudden question made Meng Fan frown.
"That question is as pointless as asking why bakeries sell drinks or why Harry Potter flies on a broom."
"Then why are you helping me?"
"You'll find out eventually. For now, all you need to know is that I genuinely want to help you."
Smiling, Meng Fan slowly held out his hand to Denji.
Denji hesitated as he looked at Meng Fan's outstretched hand.
He didn't know what the gesture meant.
Was Meng Fan simply offering to help him up?
Or would it signify that they'd struck some kind of deal?
The lingering fear in his heart made Denji reluctant to offend Meng Fan.
His hand slowly reached toward Meng Fan as though moving against his will.
"Rrr..."
Pochita suddenly let out a low growl beside him.
Only then did Denji snap out of it.
"No thanks."
Denji didn't take Meng Fan's hand.
He braced himself and stood up on his own.
"I hate living to pay off debt, but it's still my business. I don't want anyone interfering in my life. Even if the debt's crushing me so hard I can't breathe, that's my business too."
"Very good."
Meng Fan withdrew his hand with a smile.
Without another word, he turned and left.
Watching Meng Fan walk away,
Denji let out a long sigh of relief.
Then he immediately shut the door.
"What a weird guy. I hope I never run into him again," he muttered.
Not long afterward,
Knock, knock, knock!
Someone knocked on Denji's wooden door again.
"It's that guy again!!"
Denji clenched his fists and sprang to his feet.
Pochita also took an offensive stance.
Clearly, both of them loathed Meng Fan.
Because Meng Fan had shown up,
they were now doomed to go hungry today.
"Denji, you in there?"
The person knocking called out impatiently.
"Doesn't sound like that guy."
"Who are you?"
"It's Ino. I work under the Yakuza boss."
"The boss has another job for you."
"The Yakuza!!" Still doubtful, Denji walked over to the door.
"Hurry up and open the door!!" Ino's impatient voice sounded outside again.
This time, it was louder.
Denji didn't dare delay and hurriedly opened the door.
Seeing that the person outside really was Ino,
Denji felt a huge weight lift from his chest.
"It really is you."
"Who else would come looking for you? You don't have parents or friends, do you?"
Ino said it deliberately.
It was his way of venting his irritation at being kept waiting outside.
But Denji didn't care when people poked at his sore spots.
"What's the job?"
"A Cucumber Devil suddenly appeared at a nearby vegetable garden. I'll take you there now. You deal with him."
As he spoke, Ino casually lit a cigarette.
He showed no alarm whatsoever at the devil's appearance.
"No problem."
The news of a devil perked Denji right up.
Devils were things other people avoided at all costs.
But to Denji, they were the money-making opportunities he'd always dreamed of.
As long as he killed the devil and left the corpse to the Yakuza,
he could earn some money from it.
Of course, the Yakuza took most of the proceeds.
Denji didn't even get a twentieth.
Even so, Denji didn't want to miss any chance to make money.
After all, he was only sixteen.
He'd never attended school, had no qualifications, and couldn't even read.
The Yakuza's jobs were an enormous help to him.
"Pochita, we've got another job."
"We won't have to go hungry tonight."
Pochita was happy too.
He kept circling around Denji.
"Quit dawdling. Get in the car."
Ino tossed away his cigarette butt and urged them along.
Then the two men and the dog got into the car.
Ino sat in the driver's seat.
Just as he was about to start the engine,
someone suddenly stepped in front of the car.
Honk, honk, honk!!
"Damn it, get the hell out of my way!"
"Are you going to take down the Cucumber Devil?"
The speaker was none other than Meng Fan.
"That's right. Now move."
"Count me in."
Ignoring Ino's objections,
Meng Fan opened the door and got into the car.
"You!"
Sitting beside him, Denji's jaw dropped.
The person he didn't want to see
had appeared beside him once again.
"That's right. From now on, we'll be close partners."
"Who's your partner? Pochita and I can handle this just fine."
"I don't want any money. You can keep the entire commission."
"Ino, what are you waiting for? Come on, let's go."
Once Denji heard he'd get help without having to pay,
he immediately chose to compromise.
"You know this guy?" Ino turned to glance at the unfamiliar Meng Fan.
He was deeply annoyed that Meng Fan had blocked the car earlier.
"He owes me money."
"Hah, someone actually owes you money? Never would've guessed."
"Just drive. For all we know, the Cucumber Devil could already be using the garden's owner as a cucumber."
"You've got the nerve to order me around!!"
Ino's short temper flared instantly.
Although his position in the Yakuza wasn't high,
he was still the boss's errand boy.
Normally, the other Yakuza members would greet him when they saw him.
Naturally, being told off by a stranger rubbed him the wrong way.
"Calm down, Ino. You don't want anything happening to the garden's owner, right?"
"If we're late and the client dies, we won't get paid," Denji urged.
At the mention of money,
Ino glared at Meng Fan. "I'll deal with you when we get there."
Then he turned around and started the car.
Less than ten minutes later,
Meng Fan could already see something green in the vegetable garden up ahead.
At first glance, it looked as if some giant treasure had sprouted in the garden.
But then the green thing moved.
It could make noises too.
"It's huge!"
Denji stuck his head out the car window and looked toward the Cucumber Devil in the distance.
This job was clearly going to be trickier than the Tomato Devil.
"It really is huge. Maybe a certain part of the Hulk's body ran off on its own."
"The Hulk?"
"You'll know in a few years."
"I'm not driving any closer. Get out here. I don't want to get too close to that cucumber."
Ino stopped the car more than three hundred meters from the Cucumber Devil.
The farther away he was, the safer he felt.
"You can't be afraid when facing a devil. Fear only makes devils stronger."
"And the best way to overcome fear is to face it."
Meng Fan got out as he spoke.
"You look like a quiet kid, but you sure talk a lot. And you're really asking for a beating."
Ino opened the car door, toying with a dagger in his hand.
"What are you doing, Ino?"
"I'm going to carve words into that punk's face."
"You'd better let it go, Ino."
Denji hurriedly tried to dissuade him.
"Let it go? I don't put up with this crap."
"So you're petty, then."
A single remark from Meng Fan infuriated Ino all over again.
He charged straight at Meng Fan with the knife in hand.
But a second later, he collapsed to the ground without warning.
"Ino?"
"Don't shout. He's already asleep."
Meng Fan crouched down and rolled Ino over.
He took the dagger from him and examined it for a moment.
"What are you planning to do?" Denji asked.
He was worried Meng Fan would do something stupid.
And leave him with a death on his conscience.
"Don't worry. I just want to carve two English letters into his face."
Before you continue