Chapter 3: Shower First
“You might not believe what I’m about to say… actually, I’m a cat spirit.”
Duan Ke braced himself and lied, his voice radiating an unskilled stiffness.
His magic was indeed running on fumes, but a simple transformation spell like this was still doable. He turned his tail, tipped with a beautiful peach heart, into a fluffy white cat tail and waved it carefully in front of the human’s eyes.
“I need to eat human vitality to survive, or I’ll faint from hunger!”
Afraid the other party wouldn’t believe him, Duan Ke looked left and right, dug out his medical record, and held it with both hands to the human standing straight opposite him.
“Look, I fainted today because I didn’t eat.” Duan Ke looked up, gazing at him eagerly.
“Being my keeper is very simple. You only need to feed me once a week! I’ll give you a reward!”
Duan Ke waited anxiously for the human’s answer.
He wasn’t a succubus who liked to lie, but he had difficulties. He didn’t want to expose his identity as a succubus in front of this human.
Succubi had a terrible reputation. If he said straight out that he was a bad succubus coming to drain a human dry, he would likely be rejected on the spot.
If it were another succubus in this situation, they probably wouldn’t need to tell such a lie.
They were all born social butterflies, flitting among various beauties every day, expert at using sweet words and beauty to trick humans into willingly walking through fire and water for them in bed.
But Duan Ke was different from them.
In the nearly three years since taking human form, Duan Ke had never learned how to get along well with humans. He wouldn’t actively make friends, and on the rare occasions he attended social gatherings, he would just curl up in a corner like a mushroom.
Three years ago, with the help of a monster friend, he successfully sneaked into A University, hoping to make many friends. Three years later, the only ones familiar with him were his three roommates.
Now that he had awakened top-tier charm abilities, Duan Ke had to move out, and his three roommates no longer contacted him daily.
Through ample practice, Duan Ke confirmed he was a succubus with insufficient socialization. He didn’t feel he could make a human like him as a succubus.
But a kitten was different.
Although he didn’t understand why, when he secretly observed humans at A University, he found they had zero resistance to creatures like kittens.
So, he might as well pretend to be a cat demon to lower the human’s guard.
Surely there wasn’t a human who had the heart to reject a kitty, right?
And this lie shouldn’t be easily discovered…
Aside from those humans at the Monster Administration Bureau, who would think of a succubus upon seeing a cat tail?
This human in casual clothes obviously wasn’t from the Bureau.
Duan Ke pursed his lips, observing the human’s expression carefully, like a small animal hiding in a cave.
The other party probably didn’t know how much courage it took for him to actively invite someone to be his keeper. If the man said “No,” Duan Ke absolutely wouldn’t have the courage to ask a second time.
“Please.” Duan Ke’s voice was so low it was like a whimper. He leaned a little closer to the man. “I’m really so hungry.”
Qin Huai watched Duan Ke’s sudden approach, and that subtle discomfort rose in his heart again.
But seeing Duan Ke’s red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained face, he suppressed the discomfort and didn’t retreat further.
The medical record Duan Ke had been holding up was taken. Qin Huai scanned it briefly, seeing “A University Junior, Hypoglycemia” written on it.
His cold expression finally showed a trace of complex emotion—hard to say if it was speechlessness or suspicion. Then his gaze shifted back to Duan Ke’s face.
“Cat?” Qin Huai looked Duan Ke up and down, his tone hard to read. “Seriously?”
He’s doubting it so openly!
And with a hint of disdain!
Duan Ke was easily flustered. He almost jumped off the bed. “Really! I’m not lying to you!”
Qin Huai crossed his arms, his eyes dark as ink looking askance at Duan Ke. His gaze was heavy, making Duan Ke feel inexplicably guilty.
Duan Ke’s pretty eyes darted around. He bit his thumb, trying hard to recall what other characteristics a cat had besides a tail. Then, struck by an idea, he secretly snapped his fingers.
His small horns turned into a pair of white cat ears.
Duan Ke twitched them and looked at Qin Huai earnestly, trying to defend himself.
“Look, I have ears. I am a kitten.”
Qin Huai didn’t speak. His face remained expressionless, but his look became increasingly meaningful.
He looked back and forth between the cat ears and tail Duan Ke had improvised, his expression a faint, unreadable half-smile. He said indifferently, “Oh.”
Duan Ke: “…?”
Did he believe it or not?
This human’s eyes… are so strange. It feels like my clothes have been stripped off and I have nowhere to hide.
But he said “Oh”… according to human language, “Oh” is used in affirmative sentences, right? So he believed it…?
Probably??
Duan Ke couldn’t gauge the man’s meaning. His lips, excessively red due to illness, pursed. He asked uneasily, “Then can you…” be my keeper?
“I can.” Qin Huai lowered his eyes, folded the medical record, and put it into his breast pocket, interrupting him coolly.
“Let’s go. Handle the discharge procedures.”
Huh?
He agreed??
Duan Ke stared blankly for a moment, then his face instantly flushed red. He looked completely bewildered, covering the lower half of his face with both hands. “Really?”
Did this human believe it so easily?
Honestly, even Duan Ke himself was embarrassed by that absurd lie just now. Although Duan Ke wasn’t a succubus who could guess human thoughts, he knew a human with normal intelligence wouldn’t easily believe “I am a cat spirit.”
But his keeper seemed to accept the setting very smoothly, and agreed without even asking what the reward was.
So easy to trick!
It seems his keeper isn’t very smart.
Not smart is good. That way he can steal delicious vitality unscrupulously without worrying about the human suffering kidney deficiency or back pain and running to the Bureau to report him to the Inquisitor.
Hehe.
Duan Ke felt he was extremely lucky, picking up a treasure the moment he woke up. The cat tail behind him couldn’t help but perk up, swaying back and forth like a feather duster cleaning.
Qin Huai glanced expressionlessly at Duan Ke’s wiggling tail, gave no indication, and turned to walk out the door, as if saying one more word would be a waste of time.
Duan Ke paused, hopped off the bed with a thump, and followed closely behind.
Duan Ke opened the door to his home, standing sideways and reaching in with an inviting gesture, his eyes bright. “Please come in!”
Even though he was dizzy with hunger, Duan Ke hadn’t thought of feeding immediately in the hospital.
He had never tried feeding without magic and couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t leak his demonic aura.
If the Bureau detected it, that wouldn’t be fun. Duan Ke didn’t want to risk it at all, so he simply invited the man to his home.
Duan Ke let Qin Huai find slippers he could wear in the shoe cabinet, thinking himself hidden as he peeked out from behind the cabinet to observe secretly.
His rental was very small but decorated very warmly. Cream-colored furniture was placed tightly and neatly, and the ceiling light had been changed from cold white to a warm tone.
The pale yellow light cast upon Qin Huai’s sharply defined face, giving him a slightly gentler feel, making him seem a bit more approachable.
Duan Ke looked from the man’s high brow bone to the bridge of his nose, then shifted to the distinct curve of his Adam’s apple.
…Looking at him any way, he fits my preferences perfectly.
Totally a handsome meal!
Qin Huai ignored Duan Ke’s burning gaze that seemed ready to eat him. He expressionlessly took out a pair of barely wearable shoes. After confirming with Duan Ke that he could use them, he walked in with steady steps and said calmly, “Thank you.”
Duan Ke: “Mhm, mhm.”
He ran clatter-clatter to the kitchen to pour a glass of hot water for Qin Huai, pressed the man onto the sofa, his round almond eyes frighteningly bright as he looked straight at Qin Huai’s face.
“Wait for me a moment, I’ll be quick!”
With that, Duan Ke bolted into his room like a cat hearing a feeder activate. The small living room fell silent.
…
Qin Huai looked at Duan Ke’s closed bedroom door, his eyes dark.
Although he was human, years of brutal training and slaughter had forcibly forged an instinct to recognize monster auras.
In the nearly one hour they had spent together, Qin Huai hadn’t felt any demonic energy emanating from Duan Ke.
None at all. Not a wisp, not a strand.
This monster was stronger than he imagined.
Qin Huai reached out and touched the hidden pocket in his trousers, ensuring the special anti-monster firearm was in place. Once confirmed, he walked calmly to the sofa and sat down.
Qin Huai sat on the cream-colored fabric sofa, looking around the decor of the rental.
The room was tiny, just one bedroom and one living room. The main room could only fit a sofa, a table for one, and a TV. But in such a small room, every nook and cranny was filled with dolls, blind boxes, and cute decorations. It looked like one of those boutique shops you’d find in an alleyway.
This monster… his power and his behavior were indescribably contradictory.
The wrist Duan Ke had squeezed an hour ago was still tingling slightly. Qin Huai recalled the warm fingertips that had approached without warning and frowned uncomfortably.
He clicked on his communicator. The cold light of the screen fell on Qin Huai’s dark pupils, highlighting the impersonal chill in his eyes.
[Approached target safely.]
On the other end, Lin Jiangli replied quickly.
[Oho, truly worthy of our Grand Inquisitor who never makes mistakes. Such high efficiency?]
[I thought a workaholic ascetic like you, with zero zest for life and abstinent to the point of perversion, wouldn’t be liked by a succubus. Didn’t expect you to have moves.]
Although his words were improper, the head of the Technology Department took top-tier monsters very seriously. Lin Jiangli quickly followed up.
[How did you approach? Succubi are the smartest and most cunning type of monster. Even you are likely to reveal a flaw. Approaching so quickly is definitely suspicious; it’s very likely he’s guiding you intentionally. Be extremely careful.]
Qin Huai: “.”
He recalled the scene in the hospital just now, and Duan Ke’s burning gaze that didn’t know how to hide itself as he sized him up. He looked at Duan Ke’s closed bedroom door with a complex expression.
Strength is indeed high.
But, smart and cunning?
…Debatable.
To guess the Progenitor Succubus’s thoughts, he obviously needed more information.
Qin Huai lowered his eyes, his gaze obscure. His fingers, rough with calluses from gun use, gently rubbed the gun barrel hidden in his inner pocket.
[Send me the data regarding succubus “Keepers.” ASAP.]
Lin Jiangli on the other side of the screen: ?
You’re in charge of killing monsters, that’s it. Why do you care if he finds a keeper??
But he reacted quickly. The Progenitor Succubus had just awakened and needed to consume large amounts of human vitality. He would inevitably send his familiars to scour for suitable humans on a large scale.
Although he didn’t know why the term Qin Huai used was “Keeper” and not “Food,” ultimately, these two things were equivalent to a succubus.
Qin Huai must have discovered the succubus’s potential movements and wanted to investigate further.
It was a matter of life and death. Lin Jiangli didn’t dare delay. He packaged the relevant information within minutes and sent it over, adding a brief summary.
[“Keeper” is the term succubi use for fixed feeding targets. They will continuously engage in sexual intercourse with the keeper, consuming the keeper’s blood, saliva, and semen to obtain vitality, until the keeper dies from excessive consumption.]
[The Bureau has multiple records of “Keepers” being tortured to death by succubi via sexual abuse, with some cases even occurring in public. If invited by a succubus to become a “Keeper,” please be extremely careful.]
[Holy crap, I hadn’t seen this file before either. That’s intense! If ordinary succubi are like this, what’s the Progenitor level like!]
[Your target is pretty fierce! How terrifying! Brother, be careful, don’t get drained to death!]
[Green frog screaming.jpg]
Qin Huai: “……………………”
Few people could make Qin Huai feel that a situation was getting out of hand one after another. He rarely, genuinely, felt a headache coming on.
He had gone on countless missions and killed countless monsters, but he had never encountered one so maverick.
Although he knew Duan Ke was a succubus, because he looked so well-behaved, Qin Huai thought he would use milder methods to obtain vitality. That was why he agreed.
He really didn’t expect the request to be so… raw.
Qin Huai loathed physical contact with people, and he detested carnal matters to the extreme.
Even for a mission, he would absolutely never accept such intimate contact with anyone, let alone a monster.
Impossible. No interest. Not accepting.
Qin Huai stood up calmly, preparing to leave temporarily. Even if he gave up this opportunity to get close, he could still complete the surveillance mission.
He walked steadily toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Duan Ke’s voice, surprised and anxious, rang out.
Duan Ke’s bedroom door opened, and a cloud of warm steam spilled out. The sound of wet, hurried slippers approached Qin Huai quickly.
…Steam.
Qin Huai’s heart skipped a beat. He turned expressionlessly to look.
Whether out of urgency or intent, Duan Ke was wearing only pure white underwear. He ran out wrapped in a large bath towel, his straight, pale legs unhidden, his chest, flushed pink from the hot water, exposed. His golden-brown hair tips dripped slowly.
The tail and ears used for disguise had been put away. Duan Ke at this moment didn’t look like a dangerous monster at all, but like a real, very well-behaved human boy.
“I’m done washing.” Duan Ke’s eyes were bright. He leaned a step closer, looking at Qin Huai with anticipation. “Do you want to wash?”
[Author’s Note] “Impossible, No Interest, Not Accepting” Don’t misunderstand! Actually, it’s the other way around! It’s the poor baby being sexually abused by the big bad guy ahhhhhh. The baby is so defenseless, Mom is really worried about your butt. [Pity] [Pity]
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