At 19 Renmin Road,
He Li returned home, cooked dinner with a clatter, and ate while watching TV.
“You seem to be in a good mood today,” Xiao Yue said with a smile, sitting at the dining table.
He Li held his rice bowl, turned to Xiao Yue, and said with a silly grin, “Today I not only learned the breathing technique and methods for refining abilities, but Captain Susan also gave me my wages from working at the bookstore…”
Xiao Yue was also very happy. He rested one hand on the coffee table, propped his chin with his palm, and listened to He Li talk with a smile, his eyes full of doting.
“I had already decided to keep it to myself and not ask for it, mainly because I was too embarrassed to speak up, but I never expected them to give it to me. It was 2400 yuan.”
Xiao Yue could clearly feel how surprised He Li was at the moment he received the money, or rather, he felt the same surprise.
“Xiao Yue, you weren’t out today, so you didn’t see how funny Fei Ge looked. When I was learning the breathing technique today, I mastered it instantly, but to spare Fei Ge’s feelings, I deliberately pretended to be clueless. It was exhausting to act like that.
But I still had to pretend. It was like in school, trying to control my score to be fifth in the entire grade. You have no idea how difficult it was.
Haha…
But I had to pretend to be as similar to them as possible. Don’t you think? What if they thought I was different from them and ganged up to ostracize me?”
“Although pretending was tiring, I’m used to it. Before you guys came, I got along great with my classmates. In my freshman year, there were even girls who pursued me, but I had no money. How could I dare to date? Besides, I was swamped with work, so I had no time for dating. It’s not like Jin Fang said, that I’m frigid.”
“Xiao Yue, the funniest thing today was that I actually asked a stupid question: what if criminals come to rob the Spirit Management Association’s weapons? Haha… I still find that question hilarious thinking about it now…”
Xiao Yue didn’t say anything, just looked at He Li gently, listening to him recount his day’s experiences.
Four in the morning.
He Li, with his eyes like dead fish, was woken up by the ringing of his phone.
“Hello!”
He Li’s voice was low, filled with resentment and anger. Waking up grumpy was an illness, and poor sleep quality easily led to it. Unfortunately, He Li suffered from it, and it was in its advanced stages.
“He Li, go to Xingfu Street. There’s a demon. The captain and the others have already gone!” Sister Jiang’s voice was urgent.
“Okay!”
He Li pulled a long face, got out of bed grumpily, put on his clothes, then opened the window, leaped out, and darted across the rooftops towards Xingfu Street.
Soon, He Li arrived at Xingfu Street. He stood on a lamppost, observing his surroundings, then jumped high again, stepped onto a balcony where a resident was drying underwear, and used it to propel himself to the next rooftop.
Xingfu Street was a main road in Binjiang, connecting to the Binjiang Bridge.
On the steel frame of the Binjiang Bridge, Tao Xue moved nimbly, releasing flames from her hands and continuously attacking a large snake with two sharp forelimbs.
Just as He Li was about to leap down from the rooftop to support Tao Xue, his phone rang.
“He Li, where are you? The captain and Bai Fei will arrive in two minutes,” Sister Jiang’s anxious voice came from the phone.
He Li, with a sullen face, continued to leap from high buildings, finding places to gain leverage as he rushed towards Xingfu Street, holding the phone and saying, “I’m here, I’ll support Tao Xue immediately.”
“Good, be careful. This is a Level 5 demon, a Scale Snake. It’s recommended that you and Tao Xue hold it off until the captain or Bai Fei arrives.”
“Understood.”
He Li, still looking resentful and with a dark expression, thought that a Level 5 demon required the entire team to mobilize. One would think it was a Level 2 demon.
On the Binjiang Bridge, vehicles on both sides had been stopped by the arriving police and traffic police, and were being steadily evacuated. In the interval when Tao Xue was holding off the Scale Snake, the vehicles on the bridge had been cleared.
He Li looked at the bridge frame, where Tao Xue was wearing pajamas. Clearly, she had also been woken up by Sister Jiang and hadn’t even had time to change.
He Li didn’t hesitate. Amidst the gasps of surprise from the onlookers, he leaped directly onto the bridge and ran up the steel frame along the cable.
“Tao Xue, move aside!”
He Li shouted. Tao Xue was startled, then leaped high backward. At that moment, He Li had already swept past below Tao Xue and kicked the Scale Snake hard in the neck.
*Bang!*
The Scale Snake was sent flying by He Li’s kick, falling from the steel frame and landing heavily on the bridge deck.
Tao Xue was somewhat astonished. It wasn’t surprising that He Li could fight a Level 4 demon, after all, He Li was a double-A rated ability user, and his combat power was no joke. But what truly surprised Tao Xue was that He Li’s kick just now hadn’t used any spiritual power or abilities; it was as if he had simply used his physical strength to send the Level 4 demon flying.
While Tao Xue was in a daze, He Li had already jumped off the steel frame, landed on the bridge deck, grabbed the Scale Snake’s tail, and slammed it left and right. His state was like a child throwing a tantrum, devoid of logic or reason.
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
Each dull thud refreshed Tao Xue’s worldview. Was this how demons were fought? Weren’t they supposed to be killed with guns, knives, swords, or abilities?
He Li swung it wildly from side to side. What was with the body slams?
*Bang!*
The Scale Snake was thrown heavily to the ground. It roared and hissed, while also resisting. Its two sharp claws scratched deep gouges into the steel bridge deck, emitting a grating, piercing sound.
Hearing the Scale Snake’s roars and hisses, He Li became even more enraged. Not sleeping in the middle of the night and causing trouble – did you have the nerve to yell and scream?
*Bang!!*
The Scale Snake was violently flung away by He Li.
“Hiss!!!”
The Scale Snake struggled to get up, roaring angrily at He Li. Then, it turned and darted into the Binjiang River.
He Li frowned. At this moment, Tao Xue also jumped down. Seeing He Li’s grim expression, she quickly said, “The Scale Snake went into the water, it’s not easy to pursue. Let’s wait for the captain to come and have Sister Jiang track it.”
He Li turned his head, looked at Tao Xue, and then began to take off his clothes.
“Ah! You… why are you taking off your clothes!” Tao Xue was startled. After all, this He Li was a mental patient. Who knew if he would have an episode at this moment and take out his anger on her if he couldn’t deal with the Scale Snake…
He Li took off his shirt, revealing his well-built upper body, threw the clothes to Tao Xue, and then leaped into the Binjiang River, following the Scale Snake.
Tao Xue was completely stunned, holding He Li’s clothes, at a loss for what to do.
Just then, Susan and Bai Fei arrived one after another.
“Where’s He Li? Where’s the demon?”
Susan asked urgently.
Seeing the captain arrive, Tao Xue pouted and said aggrievedly, “Captain, the mental patient is so scary.”