Chapter 96: It’s All Real

Words : 1366 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 96: It’s All Real "Crap! I totally forgot!" Chen Huai’an had just settled into his new place—a duplex apartment near the Wetland Park with a monthly rent of 2,000 yuan—when the realization hit him. "Didn’t that old man say that killing demons comes with bounty rewards? I haven’t joined the Demon Slayers, but as a freelance demon hunter, I should still be able to claim the money, right?" He had no idea how much that black-furred rat was worth. A demon that weak probably wasn’t too valuable. Maybe a few thousand yuan, at most. "Eh, whatever. Demons are everywhere now. Even if each one is only worth a thousand or so, as long as I kill enough, the money will pile up naturally!" Just thinking about this made Chen Huai’an excited—he could finally make money in a way that suited him. He didn’t need to join the Demon Slayers to claim bounties at Longteng Internet Café. Freedom, profit, and extra perks. What could be better than that? Just as he was enjoying this thought— RING RING! His phone rang. An unknown number. "Hello? Who’s this?" [Brother Huai’an~] A familiar voice came through. "Uncle Luo? How’d you get my number?" [Oh, I saved it when the security bureau checked your phone… Not important. I’m calling to tell you that I’ve arranged for a healer to look at your cancer. Three days from now, come over.] "Wait, what? But I never joined the Demon Slayers." [Doesn’t matter. I can’t just sit back and watch you die, can I? I already call you ‘brother.’] "Isn’t it a bit rude to trouble someone else like this…?" [It’s free.] "Alright, I’m in!" Chen Huai’an agreed instantly, without a trace of hesitation. As long as it was free, nothing else mattered! [Then meet me the morning after tomorrow, 9 AM, third floor of Longteng Internet Café.] Luo sounded like he already knew exactly how to handle Chen Huai’an—his voice carried the faintest trace of amusement. "Got it, no problem!" They also discussed the bounty for the black-furred rat. Turns out, Chen Huai’an had completely underestimated it. The bounty was a whopping 20,000 yuan—and that was only because the demon had been blown to bits, making it unrecoverable. If the corpse had been intact, the bounty would’ve doubled. The money would be transferred to Luo after the claim was processed, and he would send it straight to Chen Huai’an. [Alright, that’s it. I’m hanging up.] Luo ended the call without saying much else. He was still walking through the busy city streets. But as he moved through the crowds, he started to see things more clearly. Chen Huai’an refusing to join the Demon Slayers was disappointing—but if he could show him that humanity still had warmth, still had kindness, then one day, Chen Huai’an would be moved. ŕàŊОʙÈṥ One day, he would join the Demon Slayers. "Tsk, tsk, the older the wiser! Damn, I’m a genius!" Luo patted himself on the back for his brilliance. His mood, which had been a bit low, suddenly lifted. His thoughts drifted to another key recruit—the swordsman prodigy that Elder Li was hoping to bring in. "Chen Huai’an might be a lost cause for now, but that sword kid—we can’t afford to miss him! He’s the future of Tianfu!" Luo clenched his fist. Chen Huai’an had too much baggage—a tragic past, terminal cancer, a cheating ex… But surely, that sword kid wasn’t also cursed with a sh*t family, a dying body, and a two-timing girlfriend… …Right? "If the world is really ridiculously coincidental, I’ll eat sh*t while doing a handstand!" — "Man, there really are a lot of good people in the world." Chen Huai’an put down his phone with a sigh. Too bad those only started showing up after he became an Awakener. If they had appeared that, maybe he really would have been touched. He plugged in his phone to charge, then quickly tidied up his new place. The first thing he did was take the talismans off the storage box and stick them on the door. Before, they were just decoration. Now that he their real power, he treated them like landmines against demon intrusions. Next, he opened the storage box. Inside, Baji looked miserable, its entire body limp, eyes half-lidded, completely drained of energy. "Probably suffocated in there. I’ll give you an acupuncture treatment later." Chen Huai’an lifted Baji out and placed it aside before reaching in to grab the motionless green carp. He figured it had already kicked the bucket. But the moment his fingers touched its tail— PAH! The green carp suddenly flipped into the air, performing a flawless carp-leap half a meter high, nearly scaring Chen Huai’an out of his skin. "HOLY SH*T, IS THIS FISH SENTIENT?!" He stared at the glaring, wide-eyed fish lying on the floor, its gaping mouth opening and closing frantically as if it were cursing him out. It had been out of water for nearly three hours— From the hotel to his rental apartment, with an extra hour wasted on house hunting and bargaining. And it still wasn’t dead? Not only that— It still had so much damn energy?! "...Is this thing a demon?" Chen Huai’an narrowed his eyes and pulled a talisman from his pocket. Luo had told him that abnormal creatures were most likely demons. And if not demons, then evil spirits. Either way— The solution was simple. Just kill it. Minimum bounty: 20,000 yuan. — [This dumbass fish!] Baji glared daggers at the green carp. If it hadn’t been weakened by the talisman explosion, it would have squashed this stupid fish already! The green carp froze, instantly playing dead. Its bulging fish eyes rolled back, its entire body stiffening as it began to emit the unmistakable smell of salted fish. "...Why does it look half-dead again? A last burst of energy before dying?" Chen Huai’an raised an eyebrow, grabbed the completely limp green carp, and tossed it into the bathroom bathtub, filling it halfway with water. Only when he saw it floating belly-up, barely breathing, did he finally relax. "Guess it really was just a dying twitch. At least it’s not actually dead." He put the talisman away. "" However— The moment he closed the bathroom door— Inside the bathtub, the green carp flipped over immediately, its eyes burning with determination. Then— It frantically gulped down water, chugging so fast that bubbles overflowed the entire tub. — "Meow~" When Chen Huai’an returned to the living room, Baji was licking its paw while meowing at him, looking noticeably better. "Good kitty. Hungry? I’ll get you something nice." Seeing that Baji was back to normal, he decided against acupuncture and instead ordered a bag of cat food on Meituan. He collapsed onto the sofa, finally letting his mind settle to sort through his chaotic thoughts. Meanwhile, Baji let out a sigh of relief. [As expected, Boss sealed the doors and windows again. There’s no escape. Absolutely no escape…] At this point, it had resigned itself to fate. As for why it didn’t want acupuncture? It had already faked a limp on one leg. If it got stabbed again and actually became lame— What then?! Would it have to crawl around dragging both hind legs? That sounded like hell! — Chen Huai’an lined up all the items he had received from on the coffee table: Spirit Stone Bracelet Protective Talisman Potted Plant Thunderfire Talisman Blackscale Sword Spring Needle Technique Meridian Opening Acupuncture Green Lotus Sword Manual And the ones he couldn’t take out? He wrote them down on paper. Staring at the collection, he narrowed his eyes. Searᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. So far, he had confirmed: The Virtual Girlfriend game = Innate Spirit Artifact. The talismans from it were real and usable. Then… Wouldn’t that mean everything else from the game was real too? He stared at the pile of items, deep in thought. "So, what secrets do you hold? Let me take a closer look… Kehehehe~" His gaze turned sharp and analytical— Like an X-ray scanner, sweeping across every item on the table.

Chapter 96: It’s All Real

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