My Demon Friends-Chapter 633 - 603 The Old Monster Misleads Me_2

"Stop right there!!"

The patrol officer, whose face was somewhat familiar, rode an electric bike in pursuit. As he passed Zhou Li, he glanced back, his gaze lingering on him with some hesitation, as if recalling something. But then he realized he wasn’t on one of the new electric bikes issued by the school, but an older model. So, he decisively chose not to stop and continued chasing the two male students instead.

"Stop, don’t run!"

"..."

Zhou Li continued to walk forward at a measured pace, feeling very grateful to the two students.

「Nine o’clock.」

An old neighborhood near Fumin County in Chunming Wuhua.

Compared to the university town, this was almost the other end of Chunming. Zhou Li had traveled across the entire city to get here. It was during the evening rush hour, and to be quicker, he rode a motorbike, weaving through the rivers of taillights. He wondered if he would get a ticket for violating the ban.

Chunming seems to restrict motorbikes. Inside the Second Ring Road, perhaps? Zhou Li didn’t quite understand the regulations.

After parking the motorbike and walking around, unable to find a disc lock or U-lock, he didn’t bother to lock it and headed towards the entrance of the neighborhood.

Although this place was still in Chunming, it was close to the suburbs. There were only a few tall buildings and no stream of car lights. Some people had cleared the roadside wasteland to grow vegetables. The streetlights were sparse, making the night here very quiet, just as quiet as the university town.

The neighborhood was old; the iron fences had rusted black. The buildings were blocky, no more than six stories high, and probably without elevators.

Inside, it was pitch dark.

Zhou Li had thought the main entrance would be a bit more lively. He remembered old neighborhoods in Yan City with barbecue stands, noodle shops, fruit stalls, a few storefronts, and even electric tricycles selling trinkets, with people constantly coming and going. But this place had none of that.

An energy-saving lamp hung by wires from the large iron gate, casting a ghastly pale glow. Only a few windows in the entire neighborhood showed lights, and there wasn’t even an old security guard in sight.

The only person there was a slightly chubby girl.

"Senior Brother Zhou!" Xiao Hua called out, waving to him.

Zhou Li paused his observation and walked over. "I’m not too late, am I?"

"Not at all, not at all," Xiao Hua said as she used an access card to open the door. She led him inside, whispering, "We’re going to stake out in here, hoping to lure him over."

"It seems like no one lives here?"

"Some do, a few households. It looks like this place is going to be demolished; most people have already moved out. Only a few haven’t left yet," Xiao Hua explained. "Fewer people make it easier to operate."

"Feels like a place out of a ghost story."

"Ah, Senior Brother Zhou, you think so too! I think so as well!"

"Anyone would think so."

As expected, the buildings here had no elevators.

The old stairwell hadn’t been cleaned in a long time and smelled of dust. The sound-activated lights, which flickered on and off, required a heavy stomp to stay lit.

Xiao Hua stopped in front of apartment 5-1 and knocked.

SQUEAK. The door opened, revealing a sweet-faced, pale-skinned woman Zhou Li didn’t recognize.

Zhou Li was taken aback for a moment.

The woman was also taken aback.

Xiao Hua said, "Sister Chen, don’t block the way. This is our helper and also my senior brother. His surname is Zhou. Isn’t he handsome?"

Zhou Li bowed his head slightly. "Hello."

"Oh, hello..."

The sweet-faced woman called Sister Chen stepped aside to let them in, then closed the door.

Xiao Hua whispered to Zhou Li, "Sister Chen isn’t a Heavenly Master. She’s a new civil servant we borrowed from the police department, a recent college graduate, and her presence is required. Besides me, there’s Su Jue, Senior Brother Yin Le, and two colleagues you haven’t met, Pei Wen and Ren Xianglong. This is everyone we could gather on short notice. You and Senior Brother Yin will take the lead. The four of us can only provide support and protect Sister Chen."

"What about the Local Government?"

"The Demons from the Local Government are lurking nearby in case he tries to escape, but only a few came. They’ve been busy with something else lately, apparently."

"I see." Zhou Li indicated he understood.

The living room furnishings were decent, not as dilapidated as the neighborhood itself. A few people sat on the sofa. The lights were off; only the TV was on, muted, its glow casting several silhouettes.

Yin Le, Su Jue, and two other young men with crew cuts were there.

After brief introductions and greetings, Yin Le began to explain the case to him in detail.

"This Demon was causing trouble around Fumin County before, devouring several people. We discovered and cornered it, but it was powerful. It injured two Demons from the Local Government and one of our people. Then it disappeared for about two or three months before showing up here. We only came over after receiving a report yesterday."

"Devouring?" Zhou Li blinked.

"Yes, devoured them alive," Yin Le nodded gravely. "This Demon likes to eat humans enveloped in fear. When it smells fear, it comes. I suspect the previous victims were all watching horror movies or reading scary stories late at night when they heard a knock. When they opened the door or peeked through the peephole, they saw the ghosts from the movies or their own imagination, and were then eaten in a state of extreme terror."

Sounds terrifying...

No wonder it chose a place like this.

"How did the person who reported it survive?" Zhou Li asked.

"According to the two who reported it, they saw a ghost. At first, they were scared, but then anger surged... perhaps they thought that since they’d already encountered it, being scared was pointless," Yin Le said. "Then, maybe they lost their fear, or weren’t scared enough, so the Demon decided not to eat them."

That can happen too...?

Yin Le said helplessly, "The best way to lure it is with fear, but we don’t want to risk ordinary citizens. The Celestial Master Department couldn’t find anyone timid enough; even our clerical staff are brave and strong-willed. Ultimately, we had to borrow a young woman from the police department who just passed her civil service exam. She claims to be very timid and has been afraid of ghosts since childhood. However, it’s uncertain if the Demon will even show up, though this area is likely its recent hunting ground."

"Understood."

"When the time comes, our first priority is to ensure Sister Chen’s safety. The second is to capture it. If capturing it proves too inconvenient, killing it directly is also an option."

"Hmm..."

"Has Huai Xu arrived?"

"No..." Zhou Li replied, feeling a little awkward. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Yin Le hadn’t summoned him for his own sake.

As they sat on the sofa waiting for night to deepen, Yin Le continued to share details.

There were four Demons outside, not a large number.

According to the latest protocol, since that Evil Demon preyed on humans, its capture was primarily the responsibility of human Heavenly Masters. The Local Government was to assist, with the level of support negotiated between both parties.

In any case, a human Heavenly Master had to be present.

This was to prevent the Local Government from acting unscrupulously in the human world under the guise of capturing Demons.

In practice, the fledgling Celestial Master Department still relied on the Local Government’s help for cases but was also striving to reduce this dependency. After all, both were significant powers; if the Department always had to rely on the Local Government for such cases, it would be difficult to maintain an equal footing. Secondly, the Celestial Master Department also needed training and experience.

After a while, the room fell quiet again.

Because the Demon they were about to confront was inherently terrifying, an atmosphere of horror seemed to naturally pervade the room.

The woman known as Sister Chen moved next to Zhou Li. She was the most frightened; her mouth was already dry and her breathing rapid, even before the horror movie started. It had been bearable while Yin Le was talking, but the silence amplified her fear. Terrified she’d be eaten that night, she desperately tried to make conversation.

"It was only this morning I learned that ghosts and monsters truly exist in this world..."

"They’re Demons," Zhou Li corrected politely, seeing she was addressing him. "You could think of them as aliens."

"Aren’t you scared?"

"Erm..." Zhou Li thought for a moment, then quoted Huai Xu: "I’m very powerful."

Chen Yuxuan clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, trying to suppress her fear. She continued, "I didn’t even imagine yesterday that we would meet again like this..."

Although she was the oldest in the room, it wasn’t by much, and her sweet features made her look younger. Her current expression was one that would inevitably inspire a desire to protect her. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Zhou Li, however, was stunned.

"Huh?"

Yesterday??

The others nearby turned their heads at her words.

Chen Yuxuan paused. "You don’t remember me?"

Seeking comfort, she blurted out, "Yesterday at the vehicle registration office, when you bought a motorcycle, I was the one who handled your registration. I even treated you to dinner last night—we had Italian food. Then, this morning, I texted you, and we chatted briefly. You said you had class..."

Motorcycle, registration... Dinner last night, Italian food... Chatting on WeChat... Class on a Saturday? Zhou Li remembered, and his expression slowly stiffened.

He subconsciously glanced to the side. Sure enough, the way Yin Le, Su Jue, and Xiao Hua were looking at him was gradually changing.

Those gazes seemed to say—

So that’s the kind of person you are, Zhou Li/Senior Brother Zhou.