Chapter 30: Late-Night Snack, Pure Bliss

A corner of Beishui Street fell into chaos following a sudden, large-scale operation by the Shenlai Agency.

After the agency stormed into a building, before anyone could even guess the purpose of the raid, the building exploded. Amidst the ruins, a curtain of pure water swept away the surrounding dust and debris. Xila looked at "Teacher He," who stood shielding her.

At this moment, Teacher He’s skin had turned pale, a twisted single horn protruded from his forehead, and a long white tail swayed gently behind him.

"Teacher He..."

"Apologies, old He has fallen asleep. This body belongs to me for the next month." "Teacher He" smiled gently, then ignored Xila to survey the surroundings.

Knowing what had occurred, Xila could only lower her head in silence.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve been back in the physical world; it feels quite comfortable. Though the environment here is truly subpar. One of my kind worked hard for his own territory, yet he was decisive enough to cut off his own arm to save the rest. A bold move indeed," "Teacher He" remarked, rubbing his chin with a smile.

Suddenly, his smile froze, and he stood motionless.

Xila waited a moment, and when she heard no sound, she asked tentatively, "Is... is something wrong?"

"It’s nothing..." "Teacher He’s" voice remained largely unchanged, but his expression had shifted to one of gravity and confusion. "I might have just misread something."

Was there the aura of another of his kind?

But upon closer inspection, it seemed not to exist—a mere illusion. He did not believe he was mistaken; frequent dealings with humans and ample growth had given him confidence in his intuition. It was a presence of extreme depth, and he had merely caught a fleeting trace of it.

Since when did such a powerful entity arrive on Xixike Street?

He didn't know if a conflict would arise; it was difficult to gauge the intentions of his own kind.

He would have to be careful.

"Anyway... since you're one of old He’s new recruits, I think I’ll head back. Old He served as my anchor, and blocking that blast took quite a toll on him, so you should look after him. Hurry back and regroup with your agency; don’t go wandering around while injured." With those words, all the strange features on his body vanished.

Teacher He’s frame swayed as he began to collapse, and Xila quickly stepped forward to support him.

Even then, she still hadn't processed what happened.

Didn't he say he would stay for a month? Why change his mind so suddenly?

In her ears, she heard her colleagues shouting: "Confirm casualties! Don't panic, check for survivors in the vicinity! Help each other!"

***

Amidst the ruins, a bright red cocoon slowly disintegrated. "Jiang Si" walked out over the rubble, hands in her pockets, completely unharmed.

"The boss is certainly spending wildly—that was a hefty sum," "Jiang Si" remarked, looking at the ruins with a smile.

Being blown up didn't bother him; as long as Zheng Fan controlled this body and she wasn't vaporized in an instant, he was confident he could repair it. However, taking the full force of the blast head-on had been more efficient.

The mastermind behind this explosion had "spent" the casino's entire savings to buy a massive bomb, leveling the place to ensure no traces were left, thereby muddying the waters to preserve their remaining strength.

As it turned out, after all his trouble here, aside from getting into an inexplicable fight, he hadn't actually encountered many of the people behind the casino.

Still, the fight itself had been satisfying.

As for the Shenlai Agency, the one called "Teacher He" had seemingly struck a quick pact with an illusion at the moment of the explosion, borrowing immense power to protect himself and those around him.

It was his first time seeing an illusion deal with humans in such a serious manner.

A decent experience, all things considered.

He glanced around, confirming there was nothing else to find. As for Linde, he could only hope he wasn't here; otherwise, he would have likely been turned to dust by that blast.

He turned, stretched, and strolled away from the scene.

"Mr. Demon, are you going to keep occupying my body even after you've had your fun?" Jiang Si asked.

"Quiet. I told you, this is my body—private property." Zheng Fan was busy tallying his gains.

Although he had been fighting since he arrived, the girl named Xila wasn't particularly strong. Zheng Fan’s main focus had been converting those blood-and-flesh currency chips into his own singularities. The conversion efficiency was low, likely because they were mere scraps, but he still managed to gain four, bringing his total inventory to five.

He could attempt quite a few things now.

After storing the singularities, Zheng Fan added, "Besides, I have something very important to do."

"What could possibly be so important?" Jiang Si asked, puzzled.

The scene shifted. They had left Beishui Street. The Night Plaza was less crowded as the hour grew late, but the foot traffic was still considerable—the nightlife in the Metropolis was, after all, quite vibrant.

"Stir-fried rice noodles, large portion, extra spicy, please. Yes, dump half that bottle of chili powder on it," "Jiang Si" ordered at a small stall.

The important task, of course, was eating late-night snacks.

It would take a superhuman to wander through a food street at night and resist the urge to eat.

"No! Don't use my body to eat such greasy late-night food! The oil content in these street stalls is off the charts!" Jiang Si resisted vehemently.

As the daughter of a wealthy gang born with a silver spoon in her mouth, how could she stomach such things?

"Quiet, it's my body. What’s wrong with a large serving of extra-spicy stir-fried noodles? Reality is cruel."

"What kind of nonsensical lines are you reciting?"

"None. It's delicious, I love it." Zheng Fan paid using Jiang Si’s wallet, noting that the girl’s purse was surprisingly well-stuffed.

She had earned quite a bit of money from those bounties.

Carrying the noodles, he turned toward a nearby milk tea shop. "Milk tea, large, regular ice, regular sugar, toppings... I want this, and this, and that too..."

While waiting for the tea, he continued to buy grilled squid tentacles, takoyaki, and stinky tofu from nearby stalls.

The stalls in the Metropolis were clean and sanitary; besides, it was Jiang Si who would be digesting it all, so Zheng Fan just enjoyed the flavors.

That night on Xixike Street, the sight of a beautiful girl squatting by the Night Plaza, devouring a full banquet of street food, left a deep impression on many passersby.

Long after, a black, grey-eyed bat circled above the girl as she lay sprawled on a roadside bench, stuffed to the brim. "Thanks for the treat. I should be going now."

Jiang Si tried to speak, but the first thing to come out was a heave from her overstuffed stomach: "Ugh."

"Are you human?"

"No," Zheng Fan replied seamlessly.

"Back home, if I dared to sneak food at night and my parents found out, they'd beat me until I threw up my own stomach acid. How could you do this..." Jiang Si covered her face.

"Such strict discipline is a good thing; now you are free to indulge and experience things you never have before. Also, don't lie down right after eating; it's bad for you. And prepare yourself mentally for tomorrow morning—you ordered quite a lot of extra-spicy items... it felt so good."

As the saying goes, chili peppers sting at both ends. Zheng Fan was responsible for the pleasure at the top, while the pleasure at the bottom would be Jiang Si’s burden to bear.

Ignoring Jiang Si’s wails, the grey-eyed bat flapped its wings and drifted away leisurely.

He had eaten his fill tonight.

As for the matter of Linde, he would leave that for the binary girl to figure out when she woke up in the morning.

And the Shenlai Agency seemed, for reasons unknown, to have set its sights on the forces behind the casino.

It was restless, but that was the Metropolis for you.

Regardless, Zheng Fan had thoroughly enjoyed these experiences.