CHAPTER 69: CHAPTER 69 SLAYER OF MONSTERS AND DEMONS

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

When Ren Suo said goodbye to Xia Lingyu and Li Ke’er, it was already nighttime.

In April, the sun’s direct rays were moving from the equator toward the Tropic of Cancer, extending daylight hours in the Northern Hemisphere. Lianjiang City, where Ren Suo lived, was right on the Tropic of Cancer and experienced distinctly long days and short nights.

By the time it got dark, it was usually around 7 PM. Ren Suo and the girls had dinner together and exchanged contact information before planning to head to their respective homes.

Their prolonged conversation was largely due to Ren Suo’s boundless curiosity about the ’Luoyang Ren Family.’ He persistently asked questions, prompting Li Ke’er and Xia Lingyu to share their knowledge, even looking up information as they discussed.

For example, the Ren Family’s actual seat wasn’t in Luoyang itself but near a mountain range south of the city, on Mount Taibai—what is now southwest of Beimang Mountain. Another point was how, throughout history, numerous individuals mentioned their ’friends with the Ren surname.’ These accounts were often vague, but without exception, these ’friends with the Ren surname’ were masters of occult arts, divination, astronomy, and geography; they could take lives effortlessly and save them with seemingly divine skill. Furthermore, the Ren Family wasn’t a single lineage but rather a village where nearly everyone bore the Ren surname. As time passed, the inhabitants of Ren Family Village dispersed across Shenzhou, accounting for the present-day distribution of people with the Ren surname.

Hearing this, Ren Suo had almost confirmed his own thoughts, but he still wanted to learn about other records concerning the Luoyang Ren Family.

However, according to Li Ke’er, records of the Luoyang Ren Family were scarce and never appeared in official histories, only mentioned in correspondence among notable figures of the Late Eastern Han Dynasty.

If it weren’t for their connections to such a wide range of famous personalities—from Lv Bu and Zhang Xiu, Liu Bei and Cao Cao, to Jiang Wei, Lu Xun, and even Ji Kang and Chen Lin—no one would believe such a large clan truly existed in the Late Eastern Han era.

But that was the extent of it. Although the Ren Family knew many notables, they never held official positions or aligned with any particular power. Most records depicted the Ren Family as eccentrics akin to Chen Tuan, Zhang Sanfeng, and Hua Tuo: individuals who possessed extraordinary skills yet lived reclusive lives like ’idle clouds and wild cranes.’

However, unlike Chen Tuan, Zhang Sanfeng, and Hua Tuo, the Ren Family left no writings, nor did they accept any students or disciples. In short, they were shrouded in mystery.

And with no mention in official histories, as time passed, fewer and fewer scholars paid any attention to the Ren Family. Lacking new historical materials, they were largely dismissed as insignificant.

Modern scholars only began to notice the Ren Family due to the standardization of archaeology and the establishment of databases, which helped uncover this peculiar clan from the Late Eastern Han period.

"Actually, there aren’t many scholars in the country studying the Ren Family," Li Ke’er said while they waited for the subway. "Teacher Cheng is just an enthusiast. Current domestic research on the Ren Family has only established that it split into three branches, one of which is your Fufeng Ren Family, Senior Brother. If you’re really interested, why not look for records in your hometown?"

"I will."

Although he said that, Ren Suo didn’t actually plan to.

If it wasn’t a coincidence, then I’ll probably find out soon enough without needing to search. If it is a coincidence... well, I’m not interested in my ancestors and certainly won’t go looking for them.

The subway arrived. Li Ke’er and Xia Lingyu said goodbye to Ren Suo and boarded a train heading in the opposite direction. Watching them, Ren Suo thought to himself, Appearances can be deceiving.

Over the past few hours, I’ve discovered that not only are both girls Awakeners, but they also seem to share a bond deeper than ordinary friendship—though that’s just a guess, as I have no ’relevant experience.’ I don’t know how they got together, but it seems they’re both aware that the other is an Awakener. Even though they’re Awakeners whose ’Keys’ have not yet formed, the odds of them finding each other are probably no better than winning the lottery. But with Mysterious Country’s large population, nothing is too surprising. Their reason for meeting me might very well have been to ask a civil servant if the government has any ’special’ operations underway, and to consider becoming civil servants themselves. After all, becoming Awakened had thoroughly disrupted their life plans. This was especially true if they didn’t want to give up their Awakening Abilities and wished to advance further. In that case, the government’s stance would be crucial to them, and obtaining an official position would be ideal.

While Ren Suo was lost in thought, his train arrived at the station. Suddenly, a few screams erupted from the front of the platform.

He looked up—the windows of the arriving subway car were splattered with dark red blood!

People waiting on the platform recoiled in fright. Subway platform staff quickly arrived, loudly urging passengers not to panic and to evacuate the area.

He activated "Clothing!" After equipping himself with it, Ren Suo waited calmly for the car doors to open.

CLICK. The subway doors swung open violently. Passengers inside scrambled out in panic, while subway police and staff began to enter the car.

Ren Suo stood on the platform, peering through a window. Inside the car, only one young man in a jacket remained, along with the corpse of a middle-aged man on the floor—his head looked as if it had been forcibly twisted several times, the flesh of his neck ripped open, and blood was spilling everywhere.

Seeing the young man, Ren Suo felt an odd sensation. But it wasn’t an enticing feeling; rather, it was the kind of disgust one feels from smelling stale, spoiled leftover rice.

"Turn around, hands up!" The subway police officers, wielding batons, slowly surrounded him. Even unarmed with guns, the sight of several robust, black-uniformed police officers closing in with batons was enough to terrify any petty thief into submission.

However, the young man in the jacket just curled his lips in a sneer and started to take deep breaths, his face turning somewhat fierce as he snarled, "Move aside, or I won’t be polite!"

Hmm? Ren Suo noticed dark purple vapor emanating from the young man’s body, clinging to him like Fiery Flames. He was momentarily taken aback but quickly connected the dots.

"Sir, please go back upstairs. This area..." A female subway police officer approached Ren Suo, asking him to leave, but when she pulled at him, she found him immovable.

"He’s going to run," Ren Suo uttered. Just as he finished speaking, the young man in the car sprang at the police officers like a compressed spring!

A vigilant subway police officer swung his baton, but the young man shattered it with a single punch!

Four subway police officers surrounded him, but he sent them all flying with a single body slam! Other staff members who tried to help were flung away by his punches and kicks!

The female subway police officer was shocked. She quickly grabbed Ren Suo’s arm and urged, "Hurry, let’s go! It’s dangerous here!"

However, Ren Suo pushed her away and slowly approached the train car, muttering under his breath, "6, 5, 4..."

The young man rushed out and saw the platform was empty, save for one calm-looking man walking toward him.

The young man’s face chilled, but in Ren Suo’s eyes, the Black Flame on his body grew even more intense.

"You’re asking for death!"

"...1, 0. Okay, Skill switched." Ren Suo saw the young man’s punch coming and stepped back to avoid it.

"Running? Don’t let me catch you!" the young man roared with fury, throwing another punch.

At this moment, Ren Suo’s attention was highly focused. He sidestepped the young man’s fist and slapped him hard across the face with his left hand, knocking the young man flat on the ground!

"You—" The young man tried to Counterattack immediately after hitting the ground, but his punch was weak and landed softly.

What just happened? The young man was stunned. At that moment, Ren Suo grabbed his head and slammed it against the wall!

The blow left him dazed. Then, Ren Suo struck his diaphragm, between the ribs, knocking him out completely.

The back of the head and the diaphragm are the most vulnerable points for inducing unconsciousness. Since acquiring the "Combat Basics" Skill, I’ve also researched more effective ways to knock someone out. Although I didn’t equip it... the effect seems pretty good.

By this time, the subway staff who could still move approached, their faces etched with astonishment. Ren Suo pulled out his work ID and called his captain, reporting that an Awakener had committed a violent act. You Jilong said he would send someone immediately and that the subway department would help handle the incident.

After resolving the sudden incident and calming down, Ren Suo felt a lingering trace of fear.

Why did I suddenly rush over to subdue that person? Yes, I have the "Lock" Skill. It’s almost effortless to capture an Awakener without support. Once I get close, any Ability they have is rendered ineffective—at least, that’s the case for now. But what if he had a long-range Attack Ability? At that point, if I had switched to "Magic: Lock," I would have had to rely solely on my "Clothing" for Defense. It must be said, my talent in magic is average at best; the "Clothing" I conjure is very flimsy, offering insufficient Defense to guarantee my safety. Why did I take the initiative to subdue him? Ren Suo looked down at the unconscious young man, still keeping a hand on his arm, ready to reactivate "Lock" at any moment.

Of course, there was another minor reason:

"Key detected."

"Key is in a comatose Status. Commencing acquisition."

"Key has matured. Acquisition will take 72 seconds. Continuous contact must be maintained throughout the acquisition process: 71, 70, 69..."

In Ren Suo’s eyes, the Black Flame on the young man wasn’t as intense as before, but it now resembled embers, emitting strands of black smoke.

This is... the image of a Demon.

In "Over My Dead Body," Demons and Ghosts included Cultivators who had transformed into Demons. In the game, they were usually depicted as humans enveloped in black smoke and flames.

Demons are humans corrupted by Spiritual Energy. Beyond changes in disposition, more critically, they gradually lose their ’humanity.’ They become mere props for Spiritual Energy, unable to communicate or interact, mindlessly repeating past behaviors and wreaking havoc by manipulating Spiritual Energy.

Of course, those who had completely lost their humanity were the worst kind of Devils among Demons—beings Ren Suo had never even encountered in the game. Most Demons were merely ’bad guys’ in the conventional sense. In the game, ’Demon’ was the term for humanoid Cultivator-type Strange Creatures.

Not all villains were Demons, but Demons were undoubtedly villains who posed a significant threat to a harmonious society.

In reality, however, it was different.

The moment Ren Suo laid eyes on this young man, he immediately identified him as a ’Demon.’

Then, quite naturally, he switched to "Magic: Lock" and stepped forward to fulfill his role as a Slayer of Monsters and Demons.

At that moment, Ren Suo had no thoughts about ’safety,’ ’danger,’ or ’success rates.’ His mind was consumed by one thing—Slaying Monsters and Demons.

Why did I feel this way...?

Just then, Ren Suo felt the young man twitch. He then saw the Black Flame on the youth’s body suddenly coalesce into wisps of smoke and, with a SWISH, dart into his own arm!