Chapter 47: The Raid
In the morning, Qin Huai sat in his office, processing the files piled up over the week.
His office was independent, devoid of any superfluous decoration, just like his bedroom. Even after years of use, it remained cold, showing not a trace of human habitation.
Surrounding the metal desk were several cold screens displaying complex data analyses. Files were categorized and stacked neatly at his hand.
But among these, there was an incongruous semi-transparent screen glowing with blue fluorescence. A small red dot sat quietly in the center of the screen, adorned with two little devil horns added by Qin Huai, bobbing up and down.
The location showed A University’s study room. It hadn’t moved for a long time.
Beside it, the occasionally jumping body temperature and heart rate figures silently hinted at the little guy’s anxious and irritable mood.
…It seemed he was being tormented quite a bit by the overdue homework.
Qin Huai processed his work with a flat expression, occasionally looking up to observe for a few seconds, even though this screen had absolutely nothing to do with work.
Images automatically surfaced in his mind: Duan Ke making a reluctant face at the computer, mumbling unaware.
Qin Huai’s mood was actually very calm, yet his action of glancing at the screen never stopped.
Since confirming their relationship, this display screen practically never left Qin Huai’s hand. As long as Duan Ke wasn’t by his side, Qin Huai would check it from time to time, even during work.
A knock came from the door. Qin Huai casually closed the display screen and allowed the person to enter.
It was Lin Jiangli, bringing the monster data requested earlier.
Lin Jiangli placed the Dream Demon materials on the edge of Qin Huai’s desk, inadvertently glancing at the monitoring wristband that was still flashing.
Looking at Qin Huai’s utterly calm expression, Lin Jiangli’s temple throbbed. He already thought Qin Huai didn’t look much like a human; now, the way he looked at him was even more like looking at an alien.
God, is it necessary to be this clingy in a relationship??
Why don’t you just tie your boyfriend around your neck with a string? Are you a boyfriend or a dad? Do you have to spoon-feed him too?
Qin Huai didn’t pay much attention to the other’s reaction. He buckled the wristband back on and flipped open the file casually.
Earlier, while Duan Ke was asleep, he had collected a bit of Duan Ke’s magic and handed it to the Bureau for analysis. The new test results had been automatically input by the system, displayed clearly in the electronic dossier.
That monster’s magic had nearly seventy percent similarity to Duan Ke’s—a considerably high value.
But strangely, the other thirty percent was mixed with too much messy magic from completely different sources; it looked like it had swallowed several A-rank monsters.
“Preliminary guess is that this thing shares the same origin of power as the Progenitor Succubus, born from the same obsession.”
Lin Jiangli tapped the file with his finger. “They should have both been born during that great war over ten years ago. With such similar magic sources, they should originally have been the same entity… just don’t know why they accidentally separated.”
“So, that monster attacking Duan Ke is trying to swallow this power back?”
Qin Huai tapped the table rhythmically. “But Duan Ke’s magic intensity can’t compare to other monsters.”
For monsters, increasing magic power wasn’t easy. Rising from B-rank to A-rank, or even S-rank, often required slaughtering large numbers of humans and swallowing obsessions.
If they wanted to increase power by swallowing their own kind, the conditions were even harsher.
Not only did they need the skill to devour magic, but they also had to be much stronger than the target; otherwise, it would cause magic backlash. Once backlash occurred, the damage was irreversible. Thus, few monsters were willing to take such a risk. Under the law of the jungle, losing power meant being slaughtered.
“I fought that thing’s clones twice before,” Qin Huai said faintly. “Its strength isn’t high; not to the level where it can swallow Duan Ke directly.”
Lin Jiangli actually had this doubt too.
Duan Ke had once smashed the opponent’s clone with a single punch. There appeared to be a gap in their strength, and not a small one.
Could the Dream Demon swallow its other half in one go?
Even though he couldn’t be sure, Lin Jiangli shrugged helplessly and said, “There are too few samples with this ability. We can’t be certain if this is a special case. Maybe with homologous power, backlash doesn’t exist at all?”
Qin Huai didn’t say anything after listening, but the pressure of his fingers on the file increased imperceptibly.
After finishing the file, he handed it back to Lin Jiangli to return to the database.
“Hey… you don’t plan to help the Progenitor Succubus recover his memory?”
Lin Jiangli took back the file and asked curiously, “Didn’t you remember a bit already? Don’t you plan to help your boyfriend recall too? It’s a pity to forget the first meeting.”
Lin Jiangli hadn’t heard Qin Huai speak specifically about this, but he could guess.
If Duan Ke had always remembered such a person, Qin Huai couldn’t possibly have acted so pretentiously when starting the mission.
He probably would have reached base hit on the first night.
Reported defection the next day. He wouldn’t have had the chance to say things like “it’s just a mission.”
Qin Huai put down the materials and returned to work. Expressionless, he answered while reading the file, as if he hadn’t taken the matter to heart at all.
“No plan. Forgotten is forgotten.”
It wasn’t a happy memory anyway; instead, most of the time was spent in fear of being hunted.
Back then, he was too powerless. Qin Huai couldn’t shake off the control from above and failed to protect Duan Ke well enough.
Previously, Duan Ke had nightmares, waking up crying and hugging him, asking to be saved. Most likely, he dreamt of the past.
If that experience only brought pain to Duan Ke, Qin Huai preferred he forget it.
Ensuring precision, Qin Huai finished his work at top speed and took his gun to the underground interrogation room.
There seemed to be an exceptional number of matters this week; monster criminals were double the usual amount. Qin Huai’s gunshots hardly ceased, yet he deliberately avoided getting any blood on himself.
He seemed colder than usual. The interrogation process was streamlined, and the monsters died much faster.
Under the ultra-high intensity of continuous work, Qin Huai finally cleared the backlog within a day.
Before getting off work, Qin Huai confirmed the data one last time to prevent errors due to speed. Finally, he went to the office to change out of his uniform and drove home.
When he arrived home, Duan Ke still hadn’t left the study room. He hadn’t sent a single message, showing no sign of going home.
Qin Huai hesitated at the door, wondering if he should go directly to A University to find him.
In the end, Qin Huai couldn’t bear to disturb the diligently studying kid. He decided to cook dinner at home first and pick Duan Ke up when he was ready to return.
seeing him a minute earlier was a minute earned.
Qin Huai walked into the bathroom, intending to wash his hands first. Looking up, he saw another person in the mirror, smiling at him with a face identical to the one Qin Huai thought of day and night.
Qin Huai faced this countenance exactly like his lover’s, yet his expression didn’t change much. He even calmly wiped his hands on the towel beside him.
The Inquisitor’s brows and eyes were cold and indifferent. His brow bone was high; when not smiling, he looked overly unapproachable.
Subordinates at the Bureau often said that no emergency would cause the Inquisitor’s emotions to fluctuate. Mental-type monsters provoking him were only asking for trouble.
“If you want to use him to provoke my emotions and erase my memory again… you don’t need to waste your effort.”
“I win even without a gun,” Qin Huai said. “If you want to fight me now and let me solve this matter in advance, that’s not impossible. On the contrary, I’m very willing. You can try.”
Qin Huai spoke in a flat tone, not even sounding like a threat.
Seeing Qin Huai had absolutely no emotional fluctuation and seemed unprovoked, the thing in the mirror drilled out, extending sharp black claws to grapple with Qin Huai.
The opponent’s overly direct attack method made Qin Huai feel somewhat odd.
A mental-type monster of Duan Ke’s kind should attack from the mental aspect; it was unlikely they would try to attack him physically, nor would they have an advantage.
Qin Huai felt suspicious, but naturally wouldn’t let this monster take advantage of him directly, counterattacking with extreme speed.
After several rounds of fighting, the bathroom was a mess. Qin Huai remained unharmed, only his clothes slightly disheveled, while the monster gradually lost strength.
Probably just a clone sent to provoke.
Qin Huai thought without emotion, attempting a killing blow.
To his surprise, at the last moment, the monster grinned hideously and gave up resisting. It stood there, wanting Qin Huai’s punch to pierce right through it.
A white light flashed through Qin Huai’s mind. He immediately realized something was wrong. Calmly analyzing the situation, he stopped attacking the clone directly and instead smashed his fist hard into the mirror beside it.
The mirror shattered. Losing its medium for possession, the monster quickly vanished.
But Qin Huai held onto the sink, unable to recover for a long time. He stared gloomily and oppressively at the broken mirror surface, his perfect composure finally showing a hairline crack.
…This thing did it on purpose.
It has revived to the point where its magic intensity is getting closer and closer to Duan Ke’s. From appearance to inside, they are becoming similar.
They were originally one body. The closer the magic intensity, the higher the degree of mental connection.
When they become completely identical, killing It…
Would be equivalent to killing Duan Ke.
Duan Ke’s safety was Qin Huai’s final bottom line. He had to start being wary, his breathing gradually becoming heavy.
His hand was pierced deep by the glass, yet Qin Huai was unaware. He stood before the messy washbasin, believing himself calmly analyzing the situation, trying to find a way to protect Duan Ke without letting him know.
Qin Huai didn’t know how long he stood there; even the vibration of the phone in his pocket couldn’t bring him back.
It wasn’t until a hand pulled him out of the dripping pool of blood that Qin Huai belatedly recovered from his palpitation, meeting Duan Ke’s face that couldn’t hide his worry.
〓 Author’s Note 〓 This stinky villain will exit smoothly later on; essentially, he’s a wingman for the couple’s love [Lop-eared Rabbit Head] Second update coming later.
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