Chapter 10: The Promise

Page (1/3)

In the early morning, gentle sunlight quietly bathed Licheng.

Meanwhile, as winter settled in, the number of people in Licheng gradually increased, drawn not only by the steaming delicacies from every street and alley, but also...

The familiar scent of the 9-to-9 grind.

The city embarked on another bustling day.

High-end restaurants rarely need to rely on good business to shamelessly squeeze themselves into the heart of the city, nestled among towering buildings. Much like the Monster Tavern, which silently enjoys all that nature bestows upon it.

But—

Nature never intended to grant it these gifts.

It seized them by force.

It has not only created culinary wonders but also inspired boundless imagination.

No matter how wild and fanciful the people of Licheng might be, none would ever imagine that, right under their noses, there existed a tattered tavern.

Yet, no one could see it.

Isn’t that maddening?

The most exquisite food is reserved only for the most diligent.

At the rear entrance of the Monster Tavern, a group of such diligent souls had assembled. Dressed in all manner of bizarre costumes, they looked like a band of street urchins, dutifully guarding their territory.

Because the tavern’s front and back doors faced a long, quiet alleyway between the high-rises, no one noticed this industrious group of... little hooligans.

Their leader was a man clad in armor resembling that of a Terracotta Warrior.

A dozen or so of them had been standing there since dawn, for one reason only: to ambush someone.

This kind of diligence...

Did not earn them a taste of the finest cuisine.

Shivering in the winter chill, their expressions shifted over time—

From ferocious to hopeful, then to disappointment and anger, and finally to utter despair.

All within half a night.

“Boss, have we been tricked by that freak?”

“Impossible. We had an agreement—he said he’d use the back door.”

We promised each other never to bring up painful memories,
And vowed never to cause each other worry,
To be happy with ourselves, to take care of ourselves,
Even if, one day, we find ourselves alone.

The Soldier Monster was furious. That despicable fiend had indeed stood them up, leaving not just himself—

But everyone—feeling abandoned.

“Boss, your phone’s ringing. Answer it!”

“Oh!”

The Soldier Monster picked up his phone.

“Where the hell are you all, you useless idiots?”

A barrage of curses came from the other end.

“That kid isn’t human—he’s inhuman! We waited all night, just like we agreed, but he never showed.”

The Soldier Monster broke down, venting his grievances into the phone: “That shameless freak...”

“Fools! They took an E-level mission, at the northeast gate’s vegetable market.”

Page (2/3)

“Tell the boys over there to take out that girl, the freak, and—don’t forget—the black hamster too.”

“Understood, boss. At once.”

“Marvelous...”

Li Changluo was baffled. After checking with Xiao Qing multiple times, he finally had to accept the hard truth—his demon power was only one.

The mission still had to be done, and monsters had to be fought.

They’d spent the night in the tavern and only now set out for the mission site.

Perhaps it was the cold: Li Changluo started sneezing as soon as he stepped outside.

If it weren’t so cold, he’d have thought someone was cursing him behind his back.

Only inside the tavern could one freely transform into a monster.

Once outside, none of the monsters dared... No one thought, “The weather’s nice, let’s turn into a monster for fun...” or “Now that I’ve eaten my fill, time to become a monster and play around...” or “I’m feeling invincible, I’ll just become a monster...” or “Kang Shuai Fu instant noodles are delicious, I need to turn into a monster...” No one had such bizarre notions.

In fact, monsters outside the tavern lived more cautiously than humans.

Except for a few who liked to dress eccentrically and stood out a little on the street...

But to little monsters unable to see demon power values, it wasn’t as if you could point at these oddly-dressed people and accuse them of being monsters, threatening to call the police.

Because even if they were monsters, they’d just give you a good thrashing and teach you what it meant to be “human.”

As Li Changluo and his companions exited the back alley, they ran into trouble.

The alley was blocked by a row of cars.

Parking spaces were scarce in the city center.

Some drivers, unwilling to leave their numbers, always had to show off their parking skills, squeezing their cars together like Tetris blocks, leaving no space for pedestrians.

The cars were so tightly packed, they couldn’t even get a foot through.

“Damn, what rotten luck—did I step in a dog’s fate today? Should we call the police?” Blackie muttered, waving his phone.

Speaking of the police, this world seemed to have no connection whatsoever to the previous one.

When Li Changluo first arrived, he’d tried calling his friends and family, but always got the message: not in service area.

Not in service area?

He wondered, would the communication service in that world ever expand to cover this one?

How wild would that ambition have to be?

“Call the police? Are you for real? For something this trivial? The police must be busy! Foreign monsters really are heartless—no empathy at all,” Li Changluo said, lighting a cigarette and lazily picking up a brick from the ground.

“We should treat such offenders gently and patiently.”

And so, he very gently and patiently began to wipe the blocked cars with the brick.

Just as he was about to move on to another car, he saw Xiao Qing give a heavy shove to one of the cars blocking the alley.

It flew out of the way.

One after another, Xiao Qing pushed aside several cars.

In moments, cars were strewn about, lying haphazardly atop each other.

The alarms blared incessantly.

Page (3/3)

“Are you insane?”

“Miracles come from brute force?”

Li Changluo was so startled he dropped his cigarette.

He swore, this was the most unpretentious tomboy he had ever seen.

He hurriedly beckoned the other two to make a run for it.

“Can you stop following us?” Li Changluo really couldn’t approve of Xiao Qing’s method of brute force...

Does brute force really solve everything?

Hmm?

If brute force could solve everything...

Why didn’t he have that kind of strength?

Infuriating.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

So angry... he couldn’t even walk straight.

“Why are you pulling me?”

“Give me the knife, and I’ll stop following you.”

“You can hold onto me, but can you not tug at my pants, please?”

Xiao Qing’s big white eyes were fixed on the fruit knife at Li Changluo’s waist, both hands clutching his trousers.

As if to say, if you don’t give me the knife, I’ll take your pants too.

“Why not use a kitchen knife, like any other decent girl?”

“Besides, shouldn’t it be your opponent who needs self-defense?”

“I don’t care, I want the knife.”

“No.”

Blackie shook his head repeatedly, utterly baffled—this was not how people in his country showed affection.

On the streets of Licheng, a cute girl was dragging a young man by the pants, drawing the attention of passersby.

And their bewildered comments...

“How old is that girl, still tugging at her father’s pants?”

“I don’t think so—looks more like a young couple. See, there’s a dazed-looking black kid following behind, wobbling his head.”

“Maybe she caught her boyfriend cheating?”

“With a girl this cute? Maybe it’s forgivable.”

“Or maybe the black kid is the secret lover.”

“The world’s going downhill fast.”

“Or maybe the young man is the secret lover.”

“Shameless, all of them.”