Chapter 356: Brigade, Next Step, Return (asking for monthly ticket)
On August 18, at 8:00 a.m. China time, inside an empty underground bar in Lijing.
"So... Tunyin was really killed by you?"
"Do you care?"
A black-haired girl in a Japanese school uniform sat sideways at the bar, taking out a fruit knife. With her eyes lowered, she quietly shaved the skin of an apple, the skin weaving in circles and drooping.
Xia Pingzhou raised his eyes from his phone and stared at the Ripper quietly.
"I'm his fan," he said.
"Elementary school student?"
"What's the meaning?"
"Only elementary school students would be that kind of moronic fan, aren't you saying that?" The Ripper said as he scraped an apple, the skirt of his black and white school uniform flaring out over the bar.
"Elementary school cat." Ayase Origami said lightly while sitting not far away and looking at the haiku book.
"Let's not worry about whether I'm a primary school student or not. Is he dead or not?" Xia Pingzhou took a sip of ice water and continued to ask.
"Are you satisfied that you're not dead?" Yan Molin asked.
"Not dead?"
"I ripped out one of his hearts, but he had another metal artificial heart," the Ripper said coldly. "I was careless... If I had known you were his fan, I should have stabbed him twice more and ripped out his intestines to leave them for you as a souvenir."
"Let's just forget about this specialty." Xia Pingzhou put down the glass on the bar.
The hacker emerged from the bathroom and tugged at the straps of his jumpsuit. "Uh... Ripper was going to go to the hospital for another stab wound. She doesn't like leaving enemies behind, but I told her you were a fan of Silver Swallowing, and she backed off."
"Diamond pet, you want to die?" The Ripper suddenly glanced sideways and pressed the tip of the fruit knife to the hacker's neck. The shaved apple slid along the blade and into the hacker's mouth. Xia Pingzhou felt that this scene was familiar.
"Thanks for the feed." The hacker grabbed the apple, took a bite, and then spoke.
"The death penalty is too much. I support cyber execution." A woman with light blond hair and a red dress suddenly opened the door and walked in, her lips curled up teasingly. "Punish him by turning him into a data stream and locking him in his phone for a month."
"Then I'm going to stay inside the eldest lady's phone and watch the sweet messages between her and the kitty lover every day to record my life." The hacker had just finished speaking when he suddenly found that the apple he had bitten into was wrapped with a layer of paper.
His face turned pale, and he was almost choked and vomited, lying on the ground retching.
"So what should we do next? Aren't we going to kill Hu Lie? Hu Lie is not in Lijing." Xia Pingzhou glanced at the blood descendant and asked expressionlessly.
"I don't know, ask the electronic pet." The blood descendant picked up the glass and took a sip of red wine.
"White Greedy Wolf has returned to Haifan Mountain. He'll meet Nian Beast Lord today." The hacker climbed up from the ground and coughed. "He said the situation over there is very complicated. He told us to stay in Lijing first and wait for news from him."
"Then when do we start the action?" Xia Pingzhou asked.
"Around the 25th, that's the day of the final battle between the Lake Hunters and the Nian Beast. We'll be there to stir up trouble," the hacker said. "We'll capture every member of the Lake Hunters in one fell swoop."
At the same time, on the other side of the world, by the Lingxin Lake.
A thirty-meter-long purple-red lion stood by the lake, with its eyes lowered, staring quietly at the lotus leaves on the lake, and a wisp of fire rose from the lion's head.
"Nian... Lord Nian Beast, there is no room for such a big creature to stand on my head. Can you fly over by yourself?" The lotus leaf demon blinked and asked tentatively in a trembling voice.
It stared blankly at the huge Nian beast. How big a lotus leaf must be to accommodate such a big lion?
The lotus leaf demon suddenly lowered his eyes and sighed silently in his heart, "Master Nian Beast has really grown up over the years."
On this day that year, the little Nian beast was only one meter long. When it strolled around in the forest, it looked like a naughty puppy. How could it have the majesty of a demon king?
No one believed that it was the son of the Great Lord, the next generation of king who would rule over the demons of Haifan Mountain in the future.
But it is the prince among demons, and everyone has to respect it, fearing that it will accidentally anger the prince. The prince's wife has passed away, so it puts its love for her into the little Nian beast, and dotes on this child.
But the prince never expected that when the little Nian beast was nine years old, he suddenly ran away from home without saying a word.
This incident alarmed everyone in Haifan Mountain, and the Nian Beast King flew into a rage. He led the twelve demons of the Zodiac Team into Haifan City, demanding an explanation from the Exorcist Association or else he would massacre Haifan City.
At this time, an exorcist named "Su Wei" stood up. He claimed to be the invisible executor of Hu Lie, responsible for managing the affairs of Haifan City, and asked the Nian Beast Lord to calm down temporarily.
He said that if the two sides wanted to go to war, they should at least confirm the condition of the little Nian beast first, otherwise it would only make the situation more chaotic.
The Nian Beast Lord negotiated with Su Wei several times, and finally waited for the arrival of the reinforcements from the Exorcist Association and the four members of the previous generation of Lake Hunters.
They communicated for a long time before they found the whereabouts of the little Nian beast. At that time, many people used their mobile phones to take pictures of a purple-red little lion, and some people also saw a ragged little boy with a strand of purple-red hair on his forehead.
Finally, after a careful investigation, they found out that the little Nian beast had already left the city quietly on a human-smuggling boat used only for stowaways.
Coincidentally, the next generation heir designated by the Lin family of Lake Lie, "Lin Xingshi", also boarded the boat on the same day.
That’s right, Lin Xingshi also ran away from home, and she and the little Nian beast boarded the same boat.
When the Nian Beast King heard about this, he was completely furious. He thought it was a conspiracy and didn't think such a coincidence could happen in the world. The Lake Hunters were just trying to fool them with the excuse that "a child of ours is missing too."
Maybe the little Nian beast has been killed by Lin Xingshi.
So that day, the intolerable Nian Beast King and Hu Lie had a fierce battle in Haifan City. This war between the devil and the exorcist almost overturned half of the city.
If it weren't for Su Wei, the invisible executor of Hu Lie, who evacuated most of the citizens in time, the scene at that time could only be described as "a disaster for all."
The final outcome was a lose-lose situation. Two former lake hunters were killed, the Nian Beast King was seriously injured, and the Zodiac Team lost six members.
The Lin family, the lake hunter of that generation, had died. The Lin family searched even more desperately for "Lin Xingshi." They all knew that this child's talent was rare, a prodigy exorcist who appeared only once in a million years, and they feared that Lin Xingshi had already fallen tragically to the Nian Beast.
After that, the Nian Beast King was also seriously injured and had to retreat back to the mountains to recuperate.
At the same time, the Great Lord sent a group of demons who were good at searching into human cities to secretly look for the Little Nian Beast; the Exorcist Association also sent a group of exorcists who were good at finding people to look for the whereabouts of the Lin family's "Lin Xingshi".
Now that ten years have passed, most demons believe that the little Nian Beast has been killed by the exorcist on that smuggling boat, and it is even possible that it was done by the child named "Lin Xingshi".
After all, when the name "Lin Xingshi" appeared in the mouths of the demons again, she had already become the captain of the modern lake hunting team.
He is also the world's number one exorcist, standing at the undisputed pinnacle of the exorcist world.
But have the demons ever thought that the little Nian Beast is still alive, and that the little Nian Beast who has returned from wandering is no longer the same as before, and is no longer as weak as he was ten years ago.
But...his personality is still so childish and willful.
"No, I want to sit on the lotus leaf." The little Nian Beast frowned, "Otherwise it won't feel like a ceremony."
"But... you will sink me." said the lotus leaf devil.
"That's easy." The little Nian beast snorted.
Ji Minghuan followed the method he remembered and shrunk the body of the little Nian beast. Soon it became a small creature between a lion and a dog, only one and a half meters long, with a wobbly tail. Even the flame on its head became much smaller.
This made its body considerably lighter. Perhaps it was the same principle as with Agubaru: size and speed were inversely correlated.
If facing a faster opponent, it would be most appropriate to reduce the length of the little Nian beast to one or two meters; if facing a larger opponent, then go all out and fight the opponent head-on.
The lotus leaf demon sighed, not expecting that he still couldn't escape the disaster. The little Nian beast stepped on it with his hooves and squatted on top of the lotus leaf demon, with his face pressed against the lotus leaf, and his dark eyes looked at the scenery by the lake.
Just like ten years ago.
The sound of flowing water filled his ears, and he saw an endless expanse of emerald green. In a short while, the Lotus Leaf Demon, leading the little lion dog, crossed the vast Spirit Heart Lake.
The little Nian beast got up, waved goodbye to it, and then left without looking back.
The Lotus Leaf Demon quietly watched the swaying back of the Little Nian Beast, curious about what happened between the Little Nian Beast and Lin Xingshi that year, but he did not have the courage to ask.
After passing Lingxin Lake, the territory of the Nian Beast Lord is in front of you.
The little Nian beast hopped and danced through the woods, its four hooves moving one in front of the other, then one behind and one in front, sometimes crossing each other as if it were dancing. From time to time, it would look up and around, but all it saw was emptiness.
It remembered that the forest was very lively when it was a child, and all kinds of demons would greet it as soon as it walked in.
The monkey demons accompanied it to catch peaches to eat, the chicken demons practiced their divine roar skills on the tree, and the lantern demons hung on the tree, trying hard to emit warm orange lights. So even when it was late at night, the forest was still brightly lit.
But the lifespan of most demons is only a few years, and only a few high-level demons can live to be a hundred years old.
Ten years have passed, and the demons who knew the little Nian beast are all dead. The new generation of demons seems to be afraid of this new Nian beast, terrified of its terrifying power, so they all hide now.
"Boring." The little Nian beast narrowed its eyes and looked up at a lantern hanging on a branch.
The lantern demon originally emitted warm orange light, but the moment the little Nian beast raised its head, it shook violently, making a "puff" sound, and the light suddenly dimmed.
Finally, he lay motionless as if playing dead.
"Do you want to light it up yourself, or do you want me to light it up for you?" The little Nian beast suddenly raised its front hoof, and a ball of purple-red flame rose from its palm.
After a moment of silence, the lantern demon lit up, and the lanterns within a hundred meters also spread out warm flames, driving away the darkness and coldness in the forest.
Following the path in his memory, the little Nian beast passed through the forest and stopped in front of a waterfall.
It looked up and saw a breathtakingly high cliff. A vast white waterfall crashed down from the top of the cliff, creating waves of roaring water. The ripples spread out and extended for a thousand meters.
As I recall, the place where Lord Nian usually held meetings with the Zodiac Team was behind this waterfall.
It seems to have some flavor of the Water Curtain Cave. I wonder if the prince has read the human version of "Journey to the West".
However, the little Nian beast is illiterate. It judges others by its own standards, believing that like sons are like fathers. It must be that the prince is also an absolute illiterate.
The meeting place is similar to the Water Curtain Cave only because the prince's head is similar to the monkeys in Huaguo Mountain, and it is not a manifestation of cultural accomplishment.
As long as they cross this waterfall, they will be able to see the Nian Beast Lord and the members of the Zodiac Team whom they have not seen for ten years. This thought appeared in Ji Minghuan's mind. He didn't know if it was affected by the memory of the little Nian Beast, but he was actually a little nervous.
This is similar to the terrifying clock tower man named "Gu" and "Zhuo An" who abandoned his family and went away for two years, and then stood in front of the door when he returned home.
At this time, the little Nian beast was feeling a little at a loss.
"Don't be nervous. The Lord is a retard, so all demons are retards. Their average intelligence level is not high and they are easy to fool... Isn't it just ruling a group of retards? Just think of the mountain as full of silver-swallowers, the Zodiac Team has twelve silver-swallowers, and the Lord is an extra-large silver-swallower. Then you won't be nervous." Thinking of this, the little Nian Beast exhaled, raised his hoof, and patted the ground lightly.
Suddenly, a red and purple flame erupted from its hooves, like a piece of iron rubbing against a flower, producing a unique spark.
Then, the little Nian beast leaped up from the edge of the waterfall. The moment its body was suspended in the air, it raised its hind hooves backwards. From the center of its hooves, a beam of enchanting flames burst out.
Under the action of the reaction force, its body tore through the air and shot forward, as fast as a flaming arrow, evaporating the curtain of the waterfall, piercing into the waterfall, and then landing steadily in a dark space.
After it landed, it stomped its hooves hard, and the fire on its feet went out.
The Little Nian Beast looked up and saw a hidden space within the waterfall, unimaginably vast. It was an ancient temple, with a massive, dilapidated Buddha statue standing in a corner. Torches nestled in recesses in the temple's corners, emitting a faint glow that illuminated the center.
At this moment, twelve red cushions were arranged in a circle on the ground, and on these cushions of different sizes, there were creatures of different sizes sitting.
"One swallows silver, two swallow silver, three... eight in total?"
There were a total of eight demons that caught the eyes of the little Nian beast, and their tribes were very easy to identify.
"Green Snake Demon", a green snake about four or five meters long, with ice-blue pupils standing high.
"Rat Demon", a palm-sized rat with black shadows jumping around its body.
The "Mad Bull Demon" is a huge bull that is fifty meters tall. It has a bronze ring tied on its nose and its skin is dark. At this moment, it is sitting on a cushion in a cross-legged posture similar to that of a human.
The "Rainbow Horse Demon" is a giant horse covered in seven-colored rainbow mist, about ten meters long. It lies prostrate on a mat, with a pair of red and blue eyes as dazzling as gems.
The "Aries Devil" is a sheep with a kind face like a church leader. It is four meters tall, with a highly anthropomorphic body and a woolen towel around its neck.
The "Divine Chicken Demon" is a palm-sized rooster with golden eyes and beautiful peacock-like feathers waving behind it.
The "Monkey Demon", a giant monkey twenty meters long, was lying on the mat with sleepy eyes, yawning and chewing a big peach.
The sizes of these demons vary greatly, some are so big that they can knock over a tall building, while others are so small that they can be held in one hand.
Gathered together in such a serious manner, the contrast and sense of separation are very serious at first glance, as if they are not from the same style, but there is no doubt that they are all members of the Zodiac Team.
But... the last demon that came into view surprised the little Nian Beast a little.
For some reason, there was a blue cat sitting on a small red cushion. The little blue cat was licking its paws, with its fur-lined head drooping and its innocent eyes blinking.
"Look who this is... Our prince is back." The Mad Bull Demon said in a low voice.
"I didn't expect that Lord Little Nian Beast is actually still alive." The Rat Demon raised his paw and stroked his beard.
"Do you still have the nerve to come back?" The Green Snake Demon opened his eyes, his pupils so cold they looked like they could freeze. "Do you know how many demons died in that war you started ten years ago? Do you think you can act recklessly just because you're the son of a great monarch?"
Ji Minghuan was speechless for a moment, thinking to himself, why are you so angry at a game AI?
He thought, even if I hadn't created the character "Little Nian Beast", you would definitely fight with Lake Hunter over other things, and both sides would suffer heavy casualties.
When the system modified history, it put the blame on Unit 4 in order to give it an event anchor that is easy for people to remember and make its existence seem more realistic.
"Don't be too harsh, Green Snake... Little Nian Beast was just a child back then," said the Rainbow Horse Demon, his voice warm and indifferent. "It's normal for children to make mistakes."
"You mean, now... it's not a child anymore?" The green snake demon narrowed his eyes and stared at the little Nian beast.
Ji Minghuan looked back at it, wishing he could switch to human form and give them the middle finger.
He controlled the little Nian beast, shook his head nonchalantly, and then walked over with his hooves.
"Where's my dad?" The little Nian Beast walked to the front of the futon, looked up and asked them, "Where did he go?"
It could see a larger cushion surrounded by twelve cushions, which was naturally the seat of the Nian Beast Lord on weekdays, but this seat was empty at this time.
"The Lord has gone to meet the Seven Deadly Sins from Northern Europe." The green snake demon said hoarsely, spitting out his tongue.
"Aren't all the Seven Deadly Sins dead?" the little Nian Beast asked casually.
"Lake Hunt killed 'Lust', 'Greed', 'Pride', and 'Envy' among the Seven Deadly Sins, but 'Gluttony', 'Sloth', and 'Wrath' are still alive, so the Lord is going to take them away." said the Rat Demon.
"Since Green Snake and Mad Bull are here, are the others also members of the Zodiac Team?" asked the Little Nian Beast.
"What else?" The monkey demon took a bite of a peach and said lazily.
The little Nian beast stretched out a paw and pointed at the blue cat licking its paw on the seat. "What does this cat mean? There can't be a cat in the twelve zodiac animals, right?"
"The Jiaolong Demon has become extinct, and now it replaces the zodiac dragon." said the Rat Demon.
"Cats and dragons should be two species." said the little Nian beast.
"So, it's the Totoro Demon." said the Rat Demon.
"Totoro Demon?" The little Nian Beast tilted its head and looked at the inconspicuous little blue cat again, "What is that thing?" It moved closer and patted the little blue cat's head with its hoof.
At this moment, the little blue cat suddenly stopped licking its paws. As if it realized it was being looked down upon, it slowly raised its head and angrily jumped up from its seat.
Then, its body expanded in mid-air, and the torch stretched its shadow on the ground.
This huge shadow covered the little Nian beast and was changing at the same time, gradually showing the outline of a dragon, covered with layers of overlapping black scales.
When the little Nian Beast raised its head again, it saw a huge blue dragon. It was not a Chinese dragon, but a Nordic dragon. It was unknown where the Nian Beast Lord had dug this chinchilla out from.
"Roar!" The blue dragon's enormous wings, covering the sky and the sun, spread out, its dark red pupils erected. It fluttered its wings and hovered in mid-air, like a giant blue bat.
"Well... I'm okay with it taking the 'dragon' position now," the little Nian beast muttered.
The next moment, the blue dragon folded its wings and swooped down, its body instantly changing into the little blue cat and landing on the back of the little Nian beast.
The blue cat licked the little Nian beast's cheek, rolled on its back, and finally stood motionless on the little Nian beast's shoulder.
"Hey, it seems to like you quite a bit..." The monkey demon took a bite of the peach.
The little Nian beast tried to shake it off, but the blue cat clung to its back.
"Forget it, then you can just stay here." The little Nian Beast said, then looked up at the Rat Demon, "There are only eight members of the Zodiac Team? Where are the remaining four?"
A moment of silence enveloped the temple. The flickering torches on both sides made the demons' faces look gloomy and uncertain.
"Do you want to know?" asked the green snake demon.
"What else?" said the little Nian beast.
"The porcupine demon was killed by Zhuge Hui of the lake hunter, the white tiger demon was killed by Zhong Wujiu of the lake hunter, and the prison dog demon and the bright rabbit demon died at the hands of Zhou Jiuya of the lake hunter." The green snake demon stared at the little Nian beast, almost emphasizing every word.
"This generation of Lake Hunters is truly formidable. It's no shame to die at their hands." Little Nian Beast asked, "When will the Great Lord return?"
"I don't know... Bai Tanlang also came back today. He has something to discuss with the Great Lord. The Great Lord is very busy now. His old friend has come back, and the Seven Deadly Sins of Northern Europe are here. He has to run between the two." The Monkey Demon said lazily.
"We have something to do before the Great Lord returns." After the Green Snake Demon said this, he suddenly stood up from his seat.
"What's the matter?" said the little Nian beast, and grabbed the blue cat that was jumping on its back with its claws and threw it away.
"The Maharaja said that if you can't pass the Zodiac Team's test, it's better not to come back."
"You mean... a fight?"
"Snake, Ox, Horse, pick any one you want." The Rat Demon sighed and fanned the flames. "If you can win, fine. If not, then you should just follow the Lord's orders and leave. It doesn't want to recognize a good-for-nothing child who hasn't been home for ten years."
The little Nian Beast raised his eyebrows silently, then looked up at the Mad Bull Demon, the Green Snake Demon, and the Rainbow Horse Demon. He estimated that the bull and the horse were at the level of a natural disaster, while the snake was a quasi-natural disaster level.
"Really just pick any one?" The corners of its mouth curled up slightly.
"What else?"
"Then come on together." It stomped the floor, and a purple flame burst out from under its feet.
This is a good opportunity for me to test how powerful this perfect-grade machine is, Ji Minghuan thought to himself.
(End of this chapter)
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