Chapter 113: Need to Test Him First

Chapter 113: Need to Test Him First

It worked!

Everything was completely unblocked!

No wonder this cat demon was so strong yet acted like a harmless little kitten around Chen Huai’an.

It must have known all along that Chen Huai’an’s acupuncture could help it evolve—

So it had been faking a disability to trick him into treating it!

What a cunning little monster!

Should she expose it?

Lin Lingling hesitated.

For now, the cat demon seemed harmless.

Since the founding of the Demon Slayer Bureau, there had been cases of non-hostile demons—

And some awakeners had even gained their powers through contact with such creatures.

The last time the cat attacked her, it was because she had tried to sneak in illegally.

Now that she was here legally, the cat had barely acknowledged her presence.

So…

Could she assume that, for now, this demon wasn’t a threat?

Lin Lingling shook her head vigorously.

No!

Chen Huai’an must know about this.

Everything was just her own speculation.

What if this cat was actually a hidden predator, waiting for the right moment to strike?

At the same time—

She couldn’t let the cat know she was the one who warned Chen Huai’an.

Otherwise, it might get angry and attack her!

Of course—

There was also one more possibility.

What if Chen Huai’an already knew the black cat was a demon?

She had made up her mind on how to handle this.

But first, she needed to test Chen Huai’an.

—

After observing for a while, she finally gathered the courage to push open the door.

She walked over and sat down on the couch next to Chen Huai’an.

But—

The moment she glanced at Baji, she subtly scooted to the far edge of the couch.

At this moment, Chen Huai’an was just finishing up the acupuncture.

He glanced at Lin Lingling and said casually,

"Oh, 000, you’re up early. What do you want for breakfast?"

Lin Lingling was still nervous, but she tried her best to sound natural.

"Uh… I’d like some baozi."

Chen Huai’an didn’t even lift his head.

"Oh, I’d like some too. Go buy them."

Lin Lingling: "…?"

She had thought he already bought them.

Turns out, he was just too lazy to go himself.

She obviously wasn’t actually going to buy breakfast, so she quickly changed the subject.

"Chen Huai’an, demons are getting more and more common now. It’s still dark outside—you shouldn’t be wandering around.

Even stray cats and dogs on the streets, or even a fish at the market, could turn out to be demons.

The moment you get too close, they might attack you without warning!"

—

By the windowsill, the big blue fish, which had been secretly eavesdropping, immediately sank into the water.

—

On Chen Huai’an’s lap, Baji’s pupils shrank as it locked its gaze onto Lin Lingling, heart pounding.

[This human brat… what is she trying to do?!]

[Is she about to expose me?!]

A murderous glint flickered in Baji’s eyes.

Big mistake.

It should have found a way to eliminate this brat before she became a problem.

Just now, when Chen Huai’an was needling it, the pain had been unbearable—

But deep inside, it had felt immense pleasure.

Because it knew—

Chen Huai’an wasn’t harming it.

He was opening its meridians!

For the past few days, it had been absorbing spiritual energy mainly to expand its own meridians.

Its goal was to unlock its full potential, grow stronger—then smash through the windows and escape!

But the slow, natural process of expanding its meridians would take a long time.

Chen Huai’an’s acupuncture, on the other hand—

Was a brutal, yet incredibly fast method of opening them all at once.

A hundred benefits, and not a single drawback.

Most importantly—

Since Chen Huai’an was helping it evolve, that meant he still didn’t know its true identity.

After today’s treatment, it could even deliberately show some minor demon traits—

That way, it could stay undercover without suspicion.

And when the time came—

It could run whenever it wanted.

What could be better than this?!

But now—

This damn human brat was about to ruin everything!

—

"Are you saying that Baji might be a demon?"

Chen Huai’an raised an eyebrow as he removed the last of the silver needles.

"Baji, are you a demon?"

Faced with Chen Huai’an’s question—

Baji flipped onto its back, curled its paws, and let out the softest, most innocent meow.

"Meow~?"

Chen Huai’an picked up the cat and turned it toward Lin Lingling, grinning.

"See? How could such an adorable little kitty be a demon?"

Then, he smirked.

"Though… maybe it has the potential to become one in the future."

—

Lin Lingling’s eye twitched.

She could tell.

Chen Huai’an knew NOTHING.

‘Maybe in the future’?

Bro, your cat’s already halfway there.

By the time this cat demon became a Demon General, it’d be too late!

—

"I didn’t mean anything by it," Lin Lingling forced a smile at Baji.

"Even though I’m afraid of cats, Baji is clearly not a demon. It’s just an ordinary Hajime cat."

Baji tilted its head and looked up at Chen Huai’an:

Meow~

[Yes! Exactly! That’s the truth!]

[I’m just a meridian-opened little kitty!]

[Definitely not an ancient vicious beast like Taotie or anything…]

—

"Here, take this."

Lin Lingling pulled out a watch and handed it to Chen Huai’an.

"This is a custom-made watch from the Demon Slayer Bureau."

Chen Huai’an blinked and stared at the watch for a solid two seconds before taking it.

"Uh… why are you giving me a Demon Slayer Bureau watch?"

Lin Lingling had already prepared her excuse.

She waved her hand dismissively and said casually,

"Even though you’re not officially a Demon Slayer, the boss thinks highly of you.

This thing isn’t worth much—just has a few extra features. You might as well use it."

—

She made it sound casual—

But in reality, she was crying inside.

This watch was worth fifty thousand!

It had tons of functions, but its main feature was its ability to scan for demonic energy.

And that feature was very easy to find on the interface.

She was sure Chen Huai’an would eventually use it.

And once he did—

He would naturally discover the truth about Baji.

At that point, the cat demon wouldn’t suspect her at all.

After all—

It couldn’t talk, which meant it was assumed to be brainless.

According to the Demon Slayer Bureau’s records, all captured demons that had human-level intelligence were capable of speech.

And most of them weren’t particularly smart.

So she wasn’t worried about being exposed.

—

"Nice, this watch is pretty good. Thanks."

Chen Huai’an took the watch and started examining it seriously.

—

Lin Lingling let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Now, she just needed to buy herself another watch.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to accept or complete missions.

Fortunately, the Demon Slayer Bureau had plenty in stock—

She could just call for a courier delivery.

After taking another few glances at Baji, she was about to return to her room to cultivate.

But just as she stood up—

Chen Huai’an suddenly called out to her.

"Hey, Triple Zero—where did the Demon Slayer Bureau’s Tianfu District office relocate to? Where do I go to accept missions?"

Lin Lingling paused and turned around.

"It’s not that complicated. There’s an app on the watch for accepting missions.

Just call me if you decide to take one—first-time missions require a senior Demon Slayer to accompany you."

That was completely made up.

There was no such rule.

Chen Huai’an definitely didn’t need her guidance.

She just wanted to tag along.

—

"Tsk tsk, this watch is pretty damn interesting~"

Chen Huai’an played around with the Demon Slayer Bureau’s official watch, looking like a total country bumpkin.

Truthfully—

He had never used something this high-tech before.

The number of features on it was insane.

But the one that stood out the most was—

The demon detection function.

Back in the day, there had been a craze over an augmented reality game where people caught Pokémon in the real world.

There had also been games that detected ghosts using real-world backgrounds—

Very immersive stuff.

This demonic energy detector gave him the same kind of feeling.

Just imagine—

You see a cute little dog on the street.

But the moment you scan it, you find out it’s actually a demon.

Isn’t that just like opening a mystery loot box?

—

He tapped on the app, and a user guide popped up.

[This detector can scan entities ranging from Demons to Demon Generals (Evil Spirits are measured using the same scale).]

[The detected energy level will be displayed in different colors:]

Yellow (Low)

Orange (Moderate)

Red (High)

Purple (Extreme)

[To use the scanner, point the camera at the target and press the scan button.]

[Scanning consumes a lot of energy—please remember to charge the device.]

—

"Perfect! It’s an idiot-proof tutorial!"

Chen Huai’an understood it instantly.

But theory wasn’t enough.

He needed to test it out.

He had to scan something.

Something close by.

Something easy to target.

For example…

The little black cat playing with a ball next to him.

—

…