Chapter 20

After grasping the origins and scale of human wealth, Shen Jin, guided by Tu Mi, visited a nearby supermarket to inspect price tags.

From vegetables, meats, seafood, and fruits to snacks and daily necessities, Tu Mi immersed Shen Jin fully into the true human world. He even spotted the milk powder the little runt drank—a staggering 388 yuan a can.

Having absorbed it all, Tu Mi couldn't help but exclaim again, "So you really ought to cherish the man willing to spend over two million on you."

Shen Jin shot her a glance. Tu Mi quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, retreating a cautious step to avoid being swatted away.

Shen Jin withdrew his gaze, stating calmly, "But now he only has eighty-something left... no, just over sixty." He had eaten a plate of fish-flavored shredded pork with rice at the community entrance at noon.

It was delicious.

But it cost twenty-eight yuan.

Two more meals, and he’d be broke.

Which meant no more hamburgers, cola, fried chicken, or wontons...

Shen Jin turned to Tu Mi and Hua Fudie, instructing them, "You two, go find me another person to serve me. My current human is no longer fit for the task."

Tu Mi: "..."

Monsters truly are heartless. Even over two million couldn't warm him up.

Unlike the mutated creatures evolved from infection, which possess hands, feet, flesh, blood, and hearts, these entities have nothing.

"So, may I inquire, Godfather, what are your criteria for a servant?" Hua Fudie nudged the distracted Tu Mi aside, stepping forward with a beaming smile. "Just tell me the conditions, and I'll find them for you."

Tu Mi, with her love-struck airhead tendencies, was an idiot. With the young man's abilities, controlling a human servant would require nothing more than a flick of his pinky. If he could find a billionaire slave, he too could ascend to greatness and never have to live in an unfinished building again.

"Criteria?" Shen Jin settled onto the curb, elbows on his knees, chin propped in his hands, and began to ponder seriously, watching the bustling traffic.

Whoever served him would be a daily presence, so he needed someone truly satisfactory.

"He must be very strong," the young man finally declared.

Hua Fudie quickly pulled out a small notebook and jotted down: "Very strong." Meaning rich, he understood.

"And not talkative." He'd heard enough of the old chatterbox's nonsense.

Hua Fudie: "Understood." Even if they talk a lot, we'll make them mute.

"Anything else?"

And...

The image of Jiang Linchuan's face, often scowling at him, involuntarily flashed in his mind.

Shen Jin narrowed his eyes: "Small eyes, a big mouth, dark skin, a broad face, short, stocky, and rotund."

Hua Fudie, squatting and writing, looked up in disbelief: "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Shen Jin nodded emphatically. "I like that type."

Hua Fudie frowned: "Male or female?"

Shen Jin: "Female."

"...Alright then." Hua Fudie stared at the characteristics he'd written down, scratching his head. Did Godfather have a penchant for ugliness?

Indeed, powerful entities were always unique.

Hua Fudie copied the list and handed it to Tu Mi, summarizing, "An incredibly ugly but immensely wealthy mute woman. Search diligently. If we find someone like that, we'll be set for life."

Tu Mi: "."

Tu Mi looked at the paper, feeling a pang of relief. From the young man's description, she could tell just how hideous his previous male servant must have been.

Good thing he hadn't been introduced to her.

Not even two million could make her stomach an ugly man.

Shen Jin stood up: "You two, make it quick. I don't want to stay in that house for another day."

"Understood." Hua Fudie offered a perfect smile, one hand in front, the other behind, bowing slightly. "We will certainly find a new servant for Godfather as soon as possible."

Shen Jin was pleased with Hua Fudie's demeanor. He waved a hand, hailed a cab, and departed.

The taxi fare was thirty-five yuan. Shen Jin used the money he had previously snatched from Hua Fudie.

He considered himself quite benevolent. Since he was leaving, he'd leave the remaining sixty yuan for Jiang Linchuan.

After all, the little runt still needed milk powder.

The little runt would temporarily stay with Jiang Linchuan to be fattened up. Once plump, Shen Jin would pick a day to return and devour him.

By the time he arrived home, darkness had fallen. The house was empty. Shen Jin yawned and headed for a shower. He didn't strictly need to eat; he simply enjoyed human food because it tasted good, not because it was essential. If there was nothing to eat, he simply wouldn't eat.

After showering, he donned a loose T-shirt and shorts, walked barefoot into the bedroom, flopped onto the luxurious bed, rolled himself in the blankets, and sighed contentedly.

He would take this bed with him when he left.

*

The Special Operations Brigade meeting room was brightly lit. A group of agents discussed cases while eating takeout.

Emotion-related anomalies were not entirely unprecedented.

Zheng Jian chewed on a chicken leg, tapping a few keys on his computer. Cases of various emotional disorders from recent years appeared on the large screen.

"Three years ago, Zhao, a senior high school student from Experimental High School; two years ago, Wang, a programmer from a certain company; one year ago, Chen, a housewife who had long suffered domestic abuse. These three had previously gone to the hospital’s psychiatric department for check-ups. Doctors followed protocol and examined them, detecting residual traces of anomalies in the process."

Due to the existence of entities, all patients visiting the hospital were screened to determine if their illnesses were caused by anomalies or other supernatural forces.

"The results showed depression, mania, bipolar disorder—all somewhat related. The hospital reported it to us. At the time, it was believed there was an entity that specifically fed on emotions, but it was never caught. Later, no similar cases occurred, so the matter was dropped."

"Could it be the same one?" Zheng Jian looked at Jiang Linchuan.

Jiang Linchuan leaned back, drumming his fingers on the table.

The formation of entities was more difficult than the evolution of monsters. It was rare to encounter two identical entities. Normally, since they were both emotional cases, it was highly probable the same entity was responsible.

But...

"First, thoroughly investigate these three cases. The entity from Nanshan Tunnel, besides being very powerful, had a distinct characteristic: it was selective. See if you can find commonalities between these individuals and Wu Yao." Jiang Linchuan frowned. "If it were simply feeding on emotions, there would be no need to collapse the Nanshan Tunnel. I'm more inclined to believe it had another, clearer purpose. Consuming Wu Yao's emotions was merely incidental."

It was a challenge or a declaration of war—he couldn't have been mistaken.

"It might know the rabbit monster. Geng Yang, take some people and investigate the rabbit monster and the one who previously fled after counterfeiting documents." Geng Yang: "Yes."

"Liang Minghui, take some people to investigate these three cases and determine if they're the work of the same anomaly."

Liang Minghui: "Yes."

"Sister Chen," Jiang Linchuan then turned to Chen Lanzhi, "You're responsible for observing Wu Yao and helping him return to a normal life as soon as possible."

"Okay," Chen Lanzhi nodded.

...

At 8 p.m., Geng Yang leaned out a window at the end of the corridor to smoke when he saw Jiang Linchuan walk to the other end, lean against the wall, take out his phone, and place a call.

Seeing that Jiang Linchuan didn't seem to mind his presence, Geng Yang figured it wasn't a sensitive call and stayed put, continuing to smoke.

Jiang Linchuan held the phone to his ear for a while, but it seemed no one answered. He dialed again, still no answer, and just kept calling.

Who was he calling? If they didn’t answer, why keep hammering away at it?

Geng Yang glanced over—Jiang Linchuan was still dialing, but the captain’s expression was calm, not suggesting any urgent matter.

Their captain was single and usually stayed with the team. Who would he call like this?

A superior? That would be pure madness.

A friend?

His whole crew was right here, and besides, the captain wasn’t the type to spam call someone if no one picked up.

Geng Yang was stumped.

The call finally connected.

"Yun Zheng, have you seen that brat staying at my place? I can't get through to his phone. Did he go home?"

Geng Yang took a drag of his cigarette, zeroing in on that one word—brat?

Since when did the captain have a brat at home?

Yun Zheng: "He should be back. I heard the door open around evening and checked the door monitor—I saw him enter, and the lights turned on. I went over to knock and invite him for dinner, but no one answered."

"Okay, I see."

"Should I check again?" Yun Zheng asked.

"No need." Jiang Linchuan narrowed his eyes. "I have a way to deal with his selective hearing."

Yun Zheng chuckled. "Your cousin’s quite the character, and you're something else yourself."

"He's a character, alright." Jiang Linchuan rubbed his tired brow. "I just haven't had a free moment to deal with him yet. I'll let him enjoy his freedom for a couple more days."

Yun Zheng raised an eyebrow and shook his head with a smile.

After hanging up, Jiang Linchuan lowered his gaze and opened an app on his phone.

Did that brat really think he was untouchable?

...

Shen Jin had never slept so well before.

If there had been a bed like this in the deep pit, he might have slept there forever.

He was so comfortable and content that his tail slipped out from his body, wrapping around him. The tip of his tail peeked out from the silk bedding, swishing happily.

"BANG BANG BANG! DUANG DUANG DUANG!!!"

When the sudden, piercing music erupted abruptly in the small space, his tail stiffened in fright before going limp and curling into a crumpled ball on the bed, still quivering.

The music continued, the bass so heavy it felt like the room was gonna blow.

Shen Jin slowly pushed himself up, eyes still heavy with sleep, his gaze locking onto the wardrobe.

One of his tentacles snaked out and opened it. Inside the wardrobe, which held Shen Jin’s new clothes, was a screen bigger than a phone, showing waveforms that jumped around—the source of the explosive music.

Shen Jin just blinked at it for a moment, brain still fuzzy. Just as his tentacles were rearing back to smash the annoying thing that had disturbed his sleep, the music stopped, replaced by Jiang Linchuan’s annoying face.

Shen Jin tilted his head in confusion, paused for a few seconds, then leaned in and gently poked at the face on the screen with a slender finger.

The boy’s face, soft with sleep, was full of curiosity.

"This is a smart screen. It can be controlled remotely." Jiang Linchuan’s slightly raspy voice rang out. Shen Jin jolted upright, his brows furrowing as his face instantly soured into a look of pure annoyance.

Was this really Jiang Linchuan?

How did he do that?

Jiang Linchuan stared at him. "Shen Jin, I told you—when I call, you answer."

"If you ignore my call again, I'll find another way to make you listen."

Shen Jin just stared back at him, silent.

"Did you hear me?" Jiang Linchuan narrowed his eyes. "Answer me."

Shen Jin reached out and stabbed the power button. "Goodbye."

This human man was truly annoying.

He wouldn’t tolerate him any longer.

He had lost the qualification to serve him.

He was leaving now.

Shen Jin got up, found the luggage bag Jiang Linchuan had used before, packed all his new clothes inside, and called Hua Fudie: "Come get my mattress. Now. I mean right now."