Chapter 8: Conjoined Twins (Minor Edit)
Chen Chi led a temporary action team of about ten people, moving quickly toward the location sent by Qin Huai.
The Bureau equipped every member with a positioning system that could see each other’s locations, but even so, when they entered the Mountain Ghost’s interior, they were separated by this terrifying monster.
The Mountain Ghost could freely change the terrain within its body. Even though Chen Chi had rich combat experience, he appeared very strained in front of a top-tier monster, covered in cuts from stone cones.
It wasn’t until he finally contacted Qin Huai that, under Qin Huai’s remote command, he successfully rendezvoused with other trapped team members who were also being chased. They then escorted the students scattered and trapped in the tunnels out.
While listening to Qin Huai’s orders and executing the mission, Chen Chi was secretly alarmed. Even though no monsters were chasing him anymore, cold sweat still seeped from his forehead.
The command was calm, objective, and one hundred percent terrifyingly accurate.
Even though the terrain inside the Mountain Ghost was constantly changing without pattern, Qin Huai could accurately judge the orientation while remaining stationary and give action times precise to the second.
He spoke very fast, as if speaking without thinking, yet he analyzed the situation extremely thoroughly.
…Too scary. Not human at all, but an impersonal machine.
Chen Chi had been employed at the Bureau for many years and thought he was accustomed to any situation. But this young newcomer caused a baseless fear.
The ability to see through everything, extremely terrifying control, a natural leader.
When facing top-tier monsters, Chen Chi didn’t trust any soldier under him, feeling they could die on the spot at any moment, but he trusted Qin Huai very much.
So they prioritized rescuing the students, leaving the rendezvous with the Inquisitor for last.
Now that they had completed the rescue mission, they were rushing toward Qin Huai along the relatively safe path Qin Huai had pointed out.
“Have you contacted the Inquisitor?” Chen Chi touched a wet rock on the side, confirming it wouldn’t attack suddenly.
“Report, sir. Not yet.” The soldier looked at the communicator helplessly. “The signal shouldn’t have been cut off, but there’s been no response from the Inquisitor’s side…”
“…What?” Chen Chi’s face changed abruptly. He turned his head sharply to look at him. “Bring it here!”
This was a situation that would never happen with Qin Huai!
After confirming the soldier’s report was true, Chen Chi fell silent with a dark face for a moment, then whispered seriously, “Turn on the magic detection device, quick.”
The soldier did as told. Chen Chi squeezed past the others to get closer, frowning and staring tightly at the screen.
“There seems to be no anomaly… No!” The soldier’s voice suddenly rose, serious. “Sir, look at this location!”
The soldier pointed to Qin Huai’s location. There was indeed a very inconspicuous small black dot, indicating weak magic emanating from there.
It was actually very weak. If one didn’t look carefully, it was indeed hard to notice amidst the overwhelming magic of the Mountain Ghost and the Giant Dragon.
But the alarm was flashing a red-level warning on this weak magic, blinking like a death warrant.
Just releasing a tiny bit of magic could make the detector issue a warning at the same level as the Mountain Ghost and the Giant Dragon.
…What does this mean?
A true monster.
The soldier and Chen Chi exchanged glances. Their faces remained relatively calm, but they coincidentally saw bottomless fear in each other’s eyes.
“Quick.” Chen Chi looked calm on the surface, but he couldn’t suppress the tremor in his voice.
“If the situation is true… the Inquisitor could die at any moment.
“Hurry over!”
Ten minutes later.
Inside and outside the karst cave, there was a deathly silence. The tense atmosphere was tangible, making everyone breathe lightly, their hearts beating rapidly.
“Is anyone inside?”
Receiving no response, Chen Chi felt even less confident. He braced himself and shouted again, but there was still no answer from inside, only the echo bouncing off the empty stone walls, making one’s heart skip a beat.
Chen Chi looked down at the positioning device on his wrist, confirming once again that the Inquisitor’s communication equipment was right here.
As for whether the person was there, or whether he was still alive…
If it were anyone else inside, Chen Chi would have concluded by now: dead.
A monster of this level probably wouldn’t even leave a bone for a human.
But if it was Qin Huai… hard to say.
Chen Chi decided to struggle a bit more. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and waved his hand to signal the soldiers behind him to storm in. But a sudden beep-beep sound made everyone stop abruptly, opening their communicators in confusion.
This was the special alert tone that only the Inquisitor’s Level 1 Urgent Order could emit. In the Bureau, team members hearing this instruction had to check and comply immediately, no matter what they were doing.
So the Inquisitor is still intact and clear-headed enough to issue orders?? Huh??
Then why didn’t you answer? Playing dead?!
Chen Chi couldn’t catch his breath. He felt his heart was on a roller coaster, yanked up to the sky one moment and plunging down the next. He opened the order, his frown deep enough to kill a mosquito.
[Do not reveal my identity after entering. Treat me and him as students and execute normal rescue procedures.]
[Behave a bit gentler. Put the guns away; don’t scare the person.]
Chen Chi understood Qin Huai’s order smoothly, but his brain couldn’t smoothly understand the intention behind this decision. It froze.
No, what does this mean? It’s all Chinese, why can’t I understand it when put together?
Don’t scare who??
The top-tier monster??
Chen Chi felt his jaw drop to the floor and dazedly raised a hand to support it. The Inquisitor is starting to protect monsters, and even protecting them from being scared.
Is he crazy or is the world crazy? Otherwise, how could I see such absurd words?
Chen Chi’s brain completely crashed. He slapped the team members next to him a few times and shouted silently, “What is this situation? Do you know?”
The soldiers’ jaws were also hitting the floor. They looked at each other, their faces looking as bad as if they had seen a ghost.
“Sir, don’t joke. If you don’t know, how could I know!”
“Was he possessed by a monster?? Otherwise this… this? Is this right?”
“Maybe the detector is broken. That’s not a monster at all, but a trapped student?”
“That doesn’t make sense either?? If it’s really a student, why say things like you’re coaxing a wife??”
“Exactly!”
“And that person is the Inquisitor, the Inquisitor!! Can words like ‘don’t scare the person’ fucking come from him?”
“Brothers, I think something’s really wrong. He’s probably possessed! We should run quickly…”
The silent yet seemingly loud argument lasted for a minute or two, finally interrupted by a weak breathy voice.
“Sir…” A gentle-looking team member behind Chen Chi silently raised his hand. “I’m in charge of data management. I know what’s going on.”
Everyone’s gaze turned to him.
“Two days ago, Officer Qin took on an undercover mission to infiltrate a top-tier monster’s side to prevent him from attacking humans.” The clerk adjusted his glasses and continued, “I guess the one inside is his target. He can’t alarm him, so he said that.”
Chen Chi and the team members suddenly realized.
So the officer isn’t really coaxing someone; he’s pretending in front of the monster!
Sure enough, the officer is still that cold and ruthless officer. How could he say words protecting a monster! We completely overthought it.
Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief, put their pistols into their pockets according to orders, and walked into the cave with gentle expressions, ready to cooperate with Qin Huai’s performance.
Qin Huai and Duan Ke were currently sitting with their backs to the cave entrance, whispering as if no one else was there.
Duan Ke was a little nervous. He unconsciously shrank his hands into his sleeves and covered the lower half of his face with the sleeves.
“Why aren’t they coming in yet… So strange.”
He had already changed the lie he could tell several times in his mind, but there was still no movement from the people outside. He didn’t know what was going on at all.
“It’s people from the Monster Administration Bureau. They’re likely here to catch me.”
After Duan Ke finished explaining seriously, he sighed helplessly. “But fortunately, this incident has nothing to do with me. Even if they take me away, they’ll have to release me later.”
Quite knowledgeable about official regulations.
Seeing a monster seriously explaining the Bureau’s laws to him, Qin Huai inexplicably felt a bit like laughing, but his face remained cold and indifferent. He gave a “Mn” to show he listened.
“But… if that officer is also there, it’s hard to say.”
Duan Ke seemed to have imagined some bloody scene himself, his small face turning pale. “I heard he especially loves arresting people randomly… Woo.”
Qin Huai expressionless: ?
Which officer.
A strange feeling of being poked in the spine arose. Just as Qin Huai wanted to ask who this person was, Duan Ke leaned in and tugged at his sleeve.
That fresh, pleasant orange scent from Duan Ke wafted over. Qin Huai’s breath stagnated briefly. The strange feeling dissipated, so he didn’t ask further.
Duan Ke leaned into Qin Huai’s ear and said mysteriously, “You have to believe me. I’m a good cat; I won’t swallow my classmates. And unlike the Mountain Ghost, I don’t like eating people.”
“If that unreasonable officer asks, you have to testify for me.”
Qin Huai crossed his arms, smiling yet not smiling: “Mn.”
Clearly you were gnawing on me last night, little liar.
However, Qin Huai didn’t dislike Duan Ke’s behavior of seeking trust. He intentionally saw through it without exposing it. Duan Ke remained completely unaware of his mental activities, simply thinking his host believed him—innocent and easy to trick.
Footsteps came from very close behind. Duan Ke knew the search team had come in. He tugged at Qin Huai’s sleeve and turned around with Qin Huai.
The moment he met the expressions of the search team members, Duan Ke was scared into taking a small step back subconsciously.
…W-Why are these people’s expressions so strange?
Like they’ve seen a ghost. If one didn’t know better, they’d think I was performing a shamanic dance in the street!
Duan Ke looked back at his butt in confusion. The tail was indeed tucked away. He turned to look at Qin Huai again. Qin Huai was also fine; his face was still handsome, his body still perfect. No matter how you looked, he was a big handsome guy, not a terrifying creature.
Duan Ke continued to stare at Chen Chi’s bitter melon face, which looked like he had eaten fish mint. He gently bumped his elbow against Qin Huai’s and whispered, “What’s wrong with them? Their expressions seem… not very good.”
“Don’t know.” Qin Huai didn’t look at the opposite side, lowering his eyes to look at Duan Ke. “It is very strange; don’t know what they’re spacing out for.”
Everyone watching the two almost pressing their faces together: “….?”
This scene is much scarier than seeing a top-tier monster. Everyone froze into a wooden board on the spot, as if a gust of wind would knock them over stiffly. They completely forgot the Inquisitor’s instruction “don’t scare the person.”
Seeing their appearance, Duan Ke’s heart, which hadn’t been panicked, started to panic a bit. He pursed his slightly red lips, wanting to hide behind Qin Huai.
Qin Huai had been staring at him, so of course, he saw Duan Ke’s little thoughts clearly. He couldn’t help but tsk lightly, reminding this group of trash to do their job quickly.
It was Chen Chi who reacted first. He tried his best to maintain a flat expression and stepped forward a few paces. “Are you the trapped students? We are the Monster Administration Bureau’s action team, responsible for resolving this raid incident. Come up with us.” Saying this, he showed his ID.
Hearing this, Duan Ke’s eyes lit up with surprise.
So these people didn’t see through my monster identity at all? Did I overthink it?
Since there’s a way out, how can I not take it? He quickly went along with it: “Mhm, mhm, yes. He and I are both students of A University.”
Duan Ke grabbed Qin Huai’s wrist and stepped forward quickly. “Trouble you to send us up, thank you!”
Everyone: …
There seem to be too many things to roast. For a moment, we don’t know whether to roast the top-tier monster’s friendliness or the officer’s abnormality first.
Tortured by this fickleness until he was weak, Chen Chi said with lifeless eyes, “Then student, you go up with the team members behind me first. The other one needs to stay behind for now. We have some matters to confirm with him.”
Of course, Duan Ke wasn’t happy. He scrunched up his small face and refused: “Then I want to stay with him. We are together.”
Everyone: “.”
You two really are conjoined twins. One Inquisitor, one top-tier monster, can’t be separated or what??
It’s been several minutes since we came in; is there a single second where you two aren’t in physical contact??
Chen Chi was dizzy. Unsure of Qin Huai’s idea, he dared not refuse nor accept. He looked at his top boss helplessly, as if asking for help.
But he found that Qin Huai’s eyes hadn’t been spared for them subordinates at all; he was looking at Duan Ke the whole time.
Qin Huai looked at Duan Ke’s unhappy little bitter melon face, and a subtle pleasure he didn’t even realize arose in his heart.
He completely ignored the mental health of the onlookers, reached out to stroke the back of Duan Ke’s head soothingly twice, and coaxed in a low voice:
“Be good, go up first.”
[Author’s Note] Guess which bad officer it is [Zip it] Duan Ke: Don’t separate me from the world’s number one delicacy [Pity] Qin Huai: Holding hands, pressing faces, and zero distance are all just part of the plan. I have my own rhythm; stop talking, I won’t be tricked by Duan Ke this time [Clown]
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