My Demon Friends-Chapter 516 - 495 New Year

"Do you know there are some things in your human world..."

"What?"

"There are certain things..."

"Are you beating around the bush?"

"No, I just don’t know how to describe it." Huai Xu frowned. Limited by his cultural level, he struggled to explain, "It’s like this: initially, you see something somewhere. It starts as a small, seemingly insignificant thing. Or maybe it’s somewhat useful, but not majorly so. Or perhaps it’s already impressive. But soon, it becomes even more powerful and appears in more important places."

"..."

Zhou Li was dizzy from his explanation. Lying in bed, he pondered for a long time before uncertainly asking, "Are you referring to the process of technological advancement, or a technological validation process?"

"Sort of," Huai Xu admitted, also unsure.

"So what are you trying to say?" Zhou Li was completely perplexed.

"I don’t want to say anymore."

"If you won’t talk, I’m going to sleep."

"URGH..."

"You..."

Zhou Li seriously suspected Huai Xu was doing this on purpose, intent on keeping him awake. And there might even be some revenge involved, because Zhou Li had once tormented him similarly, making him very uncomfortable.

Unfortunately—Zhou Li’s curiosity wasn’t that strong; at least, not as strong as Huai Xu’s. It wasn’t even as strong as Huai Xu’s desire to confide.

Thus, Zhou Li lay quietly in bed, neither asking nor making a sound, just silently waiting with his eyes closed, slowly fostering the sensation of sleepiness.

If Huai Xu couldn’t hold back, that would mean Zhou Li had won. If Huai Xu kept silent, it would prove this was just a deliberate prank on Huai Xu’s part. By then, Zhou Li would probably be asleep, so he would still come out slightly ahead.

Time slowly passed.

In the living room outside, a creative clock Huai Xu had bought on Singles’ Day hung on the wall. Its ticking was louder than ordinary clocks, and Zhou Li could hear it very clearly.

TICK, TOCK, somewhat hypnotic.

Just as his thoughts had begun to blur and he was probably about to fall asleep, Huai Xu’s voice suddenly resounded in the room—

"I know how they intend to get there."

"Hmm? Go where?" Zhou Li responded groggily, his mind still muddled.

"To outer space."

"To outer... Got it." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Zhou Li suddenly understood, his mind clearing instantly. He didn’t have the energy to complain about Huai Xu’s torment. Instead, he turned over and continued, "So what you mean is, the ability to traverse space that you gained after becoming a Demon is actually a technological trial for the Old Land World?"

"There’s a slight difference, but yes, something like that," Huai Xu nodded, his expression solemn. "It’s like the Mirror Zone. Once you’ve seen the Mirror Zone, something even more powerful will follow."

"I see..." Zhou Li was still confused.

"Do you remember, when we went to the Mirror Zone last time, what your sister said to you when the teacher was leaving?"

"What did she say?"

"She said, ’Sometimes your sister is very selfish too.’" Huai Xu then reminded him of the rest, word for word: "’If you become powerful, Master Ming will die. And, after all, we’ve known each other for many years.’"

"Is there something wrong with that?" Zhou Li became more puzzled.

"You might have misunderstood."

"Why do you say that?"

"I think this plan is the most likely to succeed; it’s simple and fits the character of Demons. The others are either too difficult or too cruel." Huai Xu lowered his voice. "But the Old Land World has to travel to a very, very distant place and establish new roots. That requires a lot of energy, and right now, the Old Land World doesn’t have that much."

"So?"

"The teacher has lived for more than two thousand years. Even if he is weakened, he is still a huge energy body. This energy comes from the human world, but he belongs to the Old Land World." Huai Xu’s voice grew lower. "Demons, after they die, return to their origin."

"Is that so?" Zhou Li felt as if a heavy hammer had struck his heart; he was deeply shaken. He soon asked, "Did you come up with all this yourself?"

"Am I not very smart?"

"Perhaps..."

"These are all my wild guesses. I don’t know if that’s what they’re thinking, but this plan should work," Huai Xu sighed.

"I see..." Zhou Li murmured, but all sleepiness had vanished.

"What have you done with my Little Ding?"

"I’ve already inscribed the array."

"What array?"

"A Warning Magic Array," Zhou Li replied. "It will warn approaching Demons to stay away."

"Forgive my bluntness, but this thing is pretty useless," Huai Xu said, a corner of his mouth twitching. "The Little demons that could be frightened by it aren’t aggressive, and those who are aggressive won’t be scared by it. It could indeed prevent some minor misunderstandings, but since they can’t see Demons, in their eyes, this thing is completely useless. Oh, and there’s the psychological effect."

"I considered that point," Zhou Li nodded. "So I added a light effect to it; it glows under the moonlight. Isn’t that much cooler?"

"You should consider a career as a game designer."

"Maybe..."

"What time is it?"

"It’s almost midnight."

"Is it the new year after midnight?"

"Only after the Spring Festival."

"Oh..."

As they spoke, midnight arrived.

Zhou Li’s phone instantly lit up. He received a New Year’s greeting and a small red envelope from his Little Cousin.

0.88 yuan.

The red envelope was small, but the affection was genuine: Wishing Cousin a Happy New Year, full of love and success in your exams!

Not a single punctuation mark was used.

But it suited Zhou Li just fine.

Feeling cheerful, he casually replied with 88.88 yuan. Then, like a stone sinking into the sea, he received no response... except for the notification that the red envelope had been collected.

Zhou Li didn’t mind and sent another one to Brother Nan.

Zhou Li: [Red envelope]

Zhou Li: Dear Brother Nan, Happy New Year!

Li Daimao: Sensible.

Li Daimao: Why aren’t you asleep yet? Don’t you usually go to bed early? I heard you two whispering in there, what were you talking about?

Zhou Li: Waiting for midnight to be the first to send Brother Nan blessings.

Li Daimao: Too late. I’ve counted; 13 Little Brothers and Little Sisters have already sent their wishes to your Brother Nan here. You’re the 14th.

Zhou Li: Sorry, I was too sleepy and dozed off.

Li Daimao: Sensible.

Li Daimao: Anyway, Big Bro gets your sentiment. We’ll say you were the first. Big Bro won’t treat you unfairly in the future.

Zhou Li: Thank you, Brother Nan.

Li Daimao: Heya~~ We’re brothers; no need for formalities.

Zhou Li: Okay.

After a moment, he opened his messaging app and began to type.

But before he finished, he received a greeting from Zheng Zhilan, which touched Zhou Li somewhat.

Had it not been for Huai Xu visiting her last time to mooch some mutton, and then mentioning that she’s been staying up late listening to novels, Zhou Li might have been even more moved.

Little Zheng: Happy Solar New Year.

Zhou Li thought about it, finished typing his message, sent it, and then honestly told her he was halfway through typing when he received hers.

Little Zheng: I see.

Zhou Li: We’ll be done with exams in a week, and then I’ll head straight back to Yan City to hang out with you.

Little Zheng: Okay.

Zhou Li: I’m craving mutton.

Little Zheng: It’s been exceptionally cold in the mountains this winter, and several sheep froze to death. I’ve been eating mutton for a long time now. There’s also one sheep that’s quite weak; it probably won’t last a few more days.

Zhou Li: Please ask it to hold on for a few more days.

Little Zheng: Yeah, I’ll cheer it on.

In the few minutes that followed, Zhou Li received a dozen more messages, all New Year’s greetings, most of them obviously mass-sent. Zhou Li had neither the time nor the inclination to reply. He directly dismissed them as if he hadn’t received them and swiped left to delete the conversations, avoiding clutter in his chat panel.

Most were from classmates.

Surprisingly, there was one from a high school classmate, Kang Xue’er—no doubt out of respect for Brother Nan. Zhou Li replied, "Same to you," also out of respect for Brother Nan.

Messages also came from Su Jue and Xiao Hua.

No messages from Yin Le. Noted.

Even a few of his clients were surprisingly still awake—kudos to them. The list went on.

All in all, these greetings and wishes were quite pleasant, significantly diluting the slight discomfort Zhou Li had initially felt due to the Old monster’s words. Afterward, he was busy replying to these messages, chatting with them, or sending his own good wishes. By the time he looked up, he realized it was past one o’clock.

The Old monster lay beside him, thoroughly enjoying watching him chat.