My Demon Friends-Chapter 448 - 444: About to Get Busy

How long has this piece of meat been cooking? Hmm... Who cares. Yin Le picked it up, swirled it in the dipping sauce, and popped it into his mouth. He couldn’t tell if it was overcooked even as he chewed. After finishing it, he put another piece into the pot. While it cooked, he continued, "I’m not saying we have to make them all Heavenly Masters after finding these kids, but at least we can give them a chance to choose. If they’re already living well and like their current lives, they can continue to grow up as ordinary people. But if they feel lonely, want to meet more peers, and want to understand themselves better, then there is such a path available to them, and it’s an easy one to take."

Once he finished speaking, he picked up the piece of meat from the pot. He really had no idea exactly how many seconds it had been cooking.

Zhou Li lowered his head. "This is actually a very remarkable thing."

"Cut the crap!"

Yin Le feigned disdain, then suddenly looked up. "Oh right, I also need to tell you something about your situation."

"What?"

"About how you can join and the terms offered. This is the important part." Yin Le temporarily put down his chopsticks and paused for a moment, evidently organizing his thoughts. "First, every Gifted One, once confirmed, must register. This is mandatory. Second, regarding your joining, we’ve prepared two options for you. The first is to join the Celestial Master Department directly. We won’t assign you heavy responsibilities, but it’s an official position. It directly solves your employment issue: you get a salary, good terms, and great benefits—everything you’d expect. You wouldn’t need to worry about where to intern in your senior year, and you could even retire with a pension later. How about that? Isn’t that attractive to a slacker like you?"

Yin Le looked at Zhou Li expectantly.

"And the second option?"

"...The second is to be nominally affiliated."

"Is there a salary with that?"

"Yes, but not much. It depends on the work you do."

"Are there any other differences?"

"Hmm..." Yin Le thought for a bit more. "The first option would be busier, and it’s considered a primary job. However, considering that the current Gifted Ones are quite young, their minds aren’t fully mature, and their values aren’t firmly established, we’ve decided, after some research, not to impose strict requirements on their work location for now. In other words, you can still attend school while dedicating yourself to the cause of Heavenly Masters."

"Is the salary high?" Brother Nan asked quietly.

"High!" Yin Le stated unequivocally.

"Then why bother with school? You get a college degree, end up with a salary of a few thousand yuan—you might as well drop out right away!" Brother Nan couldn’t understand.

"It’s mainly because the Gifted Ones are young, their minds are still maturing, and their values aren’t stable yet," Zhou Li quietly explained to Brother Nan. "In that respect, attending university is still very important."

"Yes, but their studies will definitely be affected—that’s a certainty," Yin Le nodded. "What we mean is, if someone plans to become a professional Heavenly Master in the future, they might not necessarily need to study another academic discipline in college. However, everyone still has the option to complete their university education. To put it bluntly, it’s mainly about giving everyone a choice. You can continue with your major, or you can choose to drop out. If you want a diploma, we can promise that even if you skip classes and fail courses, you’ll still receive your degree upon graduation."

"That’s pretty good," Zhou Li said.

"Humane," Huai Xu remarked.

"Will you finish college?" Zhou Li asked Yin Le.

"I will. At least I’ll spend the full four years in college," Yin Le stated. "But skipping classes will be unavoidable."

"If you want to go far, a degree is still pretty important, right?" Zhou Li mused. "A degree from Chunming Institute of Technology isn’t bad; at least it looks much better on paper."

"I’m not too concerned about that," Yin Le shook his head. "I really want to fully experience college life. For some reason, I’ve started to care more about these things lately. I even joined a club this term. However, I was busy and missed the club’s first two activities in the past fortnight. I heard that if you miss the first two activities, they stop sending you notifications for future ones."

"That’s indeed how it works," Brother Nan nodded. "But that won’t happen in our Probability Society."

"Because our club only has a few members!" Huai Xu said proudly.

"Why didn’t you join one in your freshman year?" Zhou Li asked.

"I didn’t want to back then."

Back then, Yin Le was entirely focused on slaying demons and had no interest in such childish things as clubs or student unions.

As for why he was interested now... Could it be the influence of the slacker sitting across from him?

Yin Le glanced at Zhou Li, who was picking up a piece of meat for Tuanzi, and inwardly shook his head. I should reduce contact with him in the future, lest I become more of a slacker myself. This wouldn’t be good for my career.

"So, you choose..."

"I choose the second option," Zhou Li said. "I still don’t want to be a full-time Heavenly Master in the Celestial Master Department, and besides, I don’t want to skip classes often. However, if you ever need my help, feel free to call on me. I’ll certainly do my best."

"Is studying really that important?" Yin Le looked dismayed.

"It is."

Zhou Li instinctively glanced at Brother Nan, seeking her agreement.

Brother Nan blinked her eyes.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"Sorry..."

Zhou Li quickly remembered that this was the rascal who skipped classes all the time, so he turned his head to look at Huai Xu instead.

Huai Xu immediately nodded, her expression serious. "Right, no matter what, you still have to study. It’s not easy to get into college. What’s that saying again? Ugh, how does it go..."

"’All other pursuits are lowly; only scholarship is noble,’" Zhou Li supplied for her.

"No, no, that’s not it! It’s the one that says books contain everything."

"’Within books, one can find houses of gold; within books, one can find ladies as fair as jade.’"

"Yes, yes, that’s the one!" Huai Xu nodded vigorously and illustrated her point by spreading her hands. "You see? That’s the difference between being educated and uneducated. If you don’t study, you can’t even articulate yourself properly!"

"..."

"Whatever you choose, I won’t interfere," Yin Le said, continuing to cook meat in the pot. "Anyway, if you ever want an official position someday—not just you, but Zheng Zhilan too—if she ever decides she doesn’t want to stay in the mountains and wants to come out, just find me. At least there’s a well-paid, secure job waiting, right?"

"I’ll thank you in advance then."

"No need for thanks. This might not necessarily be a good thing for you," Yin Le said, wiping his mouth. "The Celestial Master Department has coordinated with the Ministry of Public Security. In a couple of days, they’ll start a subtle promotional campaign online, advising people to call the police if they encounter any strange incidents. When the local police station receives such a report, designated personnel will confirm it, and then the case will be transferred to the Celestial Master Department. You guys probably won’t be able to take on private jobs in the future."

"How will they promote it?" Zhou Li was curious.

"For the time being, they won’t directly announce that demons exist in the world, but there are other methods. For example, they could produce short videos or program episodes specifically about strange cases reported to the police, which are then shown to be resolved in various ways. When members of the public see such content and encounter similar situations themselves, they might consider calling the police to try their luck, rather than blindly seeking superstitious aid. Modern religious organizations are no longer the major gathering places for Heavenly Masters that they were in ancient times."

"A gradual approach..." Zhou Li nodded.

"Yes. The common folk aren’t fools. As this continues, they’ll gradually become aware of the presence of demons..."

"That’s quite interesting."

"So, do you charge for handling these cases?" Huai Xu asked tentatively.

"Of course not. We’re salaried and serve the people," Yin Le said. "Just like the police. However, because dealing with demons is highly dangerous, different assignments might come with bonuses, commendations, and so on." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"How dull..." Huai Xu muttered.

Eating a piece of meat with every few words, Yin Le found himself almost full before he knew it.

This surprised him somewhat—He’d originally thought this kind of food would just make him hungrier the more he ate.

Looking at the pot of now-murky soup and the others who had already put down their chopsticks, Yin Le stood up. He excused himself to use the restroom and quietly paid the bill on his way, afraid Zhou Li would try to pay instead—though his worry was unnecessary.

When they stepped out of the restaurant, the sun had already set. The sky was dim, but a crimson afterglow lingered, growing deeper and staining the horizon the color of blood.

Looking up, the view was breathtaking.

Facing such magnificent scenery and feeling the cool evening breeze, Yin Le couldn’t help but stretch luxuriously, murmuring as if to himself, "Things are about to get busy."