Chapter 141: General-Class ContainmentâChen Huaiâan
Li Qingranâs hands were soft and warm, like holding a tiny, fluffy kittenâs paw.
Chen Huaiâan savored the lingering sensation, staring at the spot where she had vanished.
The hug never happened.
The moment he grabbed her hand, a rift in space appeared behind her.
In the blink of an eye, she was sucked awayâ¦
The alarm had rung, stopping everything at the last second.
"If Li Qingran is real, then her hand must feel just like that." Chen Huaiâan flexed his right hand, feeling an itch in his heart.
Otherwise, heâd definitely savor the feeling for a few days before washing his hand.
The world of flesh and blood was crumbling.
His subconscious was transitioning back to wakefulness.
Chen Huaiâan knew he was about to wake up.
â
âCaptain Zhao, the female Sword Immortal has disappeared!â
âThe demonic dragon is gone too! Chen Huaiâan is still unconscious, but his condition seems stable. Should we approach?â
âObserve first.â Zhao Ying lowered her communicator, her nerves on edge. From what she had seen, the Sword Immortal had slain the demonic dragonâbut there was a chance it was only suppressed.
Their next course of action depended entirely on Chen Huaiâanâs state when he woke up.
âAlso, Captain Zhao, I regret to report that the rescue team only found Director Luoâs body in the marketplace. It has already been transferred to the forensic department.â
ââ¦I see.â
Zhao Ying clenched her fists, grief flickering in her eyes.
So, in the end, that man still died.
He had promised to repay the life she had saved.
But even lasting this long against a General-class demonic dragon was already beyond his limit.
Once everything here was settled, she would visit the funeral home to see him one last time.
â
Under countless watchful eyes, Chen Huaiâan trembled and slowly woke up.
A dim sky, shattered streets, piles of flesh and blood, a crowd of onlookers, flashing police lights, and countless police carsâhe could even see tanks and missile trucks in the distance.
Chen Huaiâan was dumbfounded.
Wasnât he underground receiving treatment?
Was this a
film set or something?
And what was with all these people holding weapons, looking at him like he was some kind of threat?
He wasnât
!
âChen Huaiâan, can you understand me?â
A middle-aged man with a bare chest and fists burning with fire waved at him.
Chen Huaiâan pointed at himself. âUh⦠whatâs my role in this scene? Whatâs my line? Am I supposed to understand whatâs happening?â
Fire Fist furrowed his brows, momentarily speechless.
This kid⦠did he seriously have no idea what just happened?
âJust answer thisâare you Chen Huaiâan?â
âYep, one hundred percent genuine.â
âGive me proof of your identity.â
Chen Huaiâan thought for a second before blurting out, âIâm wearing blue boxer briefs with a banana print today.â
Fire Fist: â???â
The Demon Slayer Bureau members: ââ¦â¦â
Fire Fist grabbed his communicator, his expression serious. âCaptain Zhao, I think Chen Huaiâanâs mental state is unstable. I recommend activating the forced containment protocol.â
Zhao Ying: âPass the communicator to Chen Huaiâan. Iâll speak with him.â
Fire Fist cautiously stepped forward and even more cautiously tossed the communicator to Chen Huaiâan, as if handling an explosive device.
Chen Huaiâan caught it.
A cold female voice came through.
[Chen Huaiâan, I am Zhao Ying, execution officer of the C Province Demon Slayer Bureau. Luoâalso known as Bearded Guyâand Xiang Xiaoyuan were my subordinates.]
Chen Huaiâan: âAh, Iâve heard a lot about you.â
[â¦Listen, I need to inform you of some things. Prepare yourself.]
Zhao Ying began explainingâ
How his cancerous cells had mutated into a demonic entity.
How Xiang Xiaoyuan was thrown aside.
How the cancer turned into a monstrous dragon.
How Bearded Guy died fighting it.
How the dragon rampaged through the streets, seeking blood and destruction.
How the Bureauâs reinforcements arrived.
How the female Sword Immortalâs phantom finally took it down.
Every detail, nothing omitted.
At first, Chen Huaiâan remained calm.
But as the explanation continued, his face grew paler and paler.
He looked at the destroyed streets around him, at the Demon Slayers and guards watching him with wary eyes.
His voice trembled. âI⦠did all this?â
[Yes.]
âIâI hurt Xiang Xiaoyuan⦠and killed Bearded Guy?â
[Not exactly. It was the out-of-control demonic cancer cells inside you that did it. This isnât your fault.]
Zhao Ying watched as Chen Huaiâan squatted down, clutching his head in confusion and disbelief.
She let out a small breath of relief.
His reactionâhis expressions, his body languageâeverything fit the profile of a young university student suddenly thrust into an unimaginable situation.
Well⦠if she ignored the blue banana-print underwear comment.
It was time to announce the containment plan.
[Because you still have the potential to relapse into a demonic state, you are classified as an unstable factor. You will be temporarily contained by the Demon Slayer Bureau. We will conduct thorough examinations and evaluations. Your containment will last until we are certain the threat you pose has been neutralized.]
Zhao Ying took a deep breath and stared at the young man at the center of the scene.
In truth, they werenât qualified to contain someone of General-class level. At least two General-class Demon Slayers would be needed for a successful capture.
But in this case, Chen Huaiâan retained his self-awareness.
That made voluntary containment a possibility.
Now, she just needed his response.
ââ¦Will I be locked in a prison?â
Chen Huaiâan stared at the blood-soaked ground, where his reflection looked back at him, pale and shaken.
[Not a prison. Itâs a relatively free space. To help you adjust, you can bring anything you want from your rental apartment. If necessary, we can even replicate your living environment.]
âNo need. Iâll just take my cat, a potted plant, and a fish.â
Chen Huaiâan let out a bitter laugh.
Demonic cancer?
He never couldâve imagined such an absurd development in his life.
No wonder his subconscious had been filled with such bizarre visions.
And the Sword Immortal girl Zhao Ying mentionedâ¦
Li Qingran must have really come to help him.
That explained why he could touch her. If they were both in soul form, then of course he could feel her warmth.
This basically confirmed itâLi Qingran was real.
His companion spirit, the one linked to the
game, was connected to a real-world cultivation realm, Cangyun Realm.
He should have been excited.
But he couldnât bring himself to smile.
Hurting Xiang Xiaoyuan was already bad enough.
But knowing Bearded Guy had died because of himâ¦
He never wanted to be some world-saving hero.
He had little attachment to this world.
But that didnât mean he wanted to become a butcher, his hands soaked in innocent blood.
Especially not the blood of someone who had genuinely cared about him.
â
Hearing Chen Huaiâan agree to containment, Zhao Ying finally relaxed.
Detaining a General-class individual was possible.
The challenge was convincing them to comply.
Just then, her phone rang.
Seeing the caller ID, she frowned.
The funeral home?
She answered, puzzled.
A trembling voice came through the receiver:
âCaptain Zhao, you need to send someone over right now⦠Director Luoâheâheâsââ
The voice cracked.
ââ¦He came back to life! For real! Heâs moving!â
â
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