Chapter 55: Lord Demon King

Teng Jun at least did not try to default on payment after such a terrifying ordeal.

He was quite prompt when handing over the money, perhaps because he had been thoroughly intimidated by Lin Yilin.

As dusk approached, Lin Yilin and Zheng Fan started on their return journey.

"With that, this commission is officially concluded," Zheng Fan said while paying close attention to an exhausted office worker heading home, as he noticed the man's trouser fly might be unzipped.

Of course, even if he offered a reminder, the man wouldn't notice.

Lin Yilin walked on, passing straight through Xiding Road: "The commission is over, but some matters are not yet finished."

"Huh? Although that hallucination got away, it should no longer fall under your scope of work. You're not the type to burden yourself needlessly," Zheng Fan said, sounding puzzled.

"That's true. The remaining matters aren't my responsibility, but since there's still some time before off-duty hours, I might as well do something and hand it over to someone else."

The final destination Lin Yilin reached was the police station on Sici Koke Street.

...

In the damp night, a thin mist rose and lingered among the bustling and winding alleys of Sici Koke.

Jiang Si was sipping a bottle of strawberry yogurt, dressed in a silver athletic jacket paired with loose black shorts, exuding an athletic and casual vibe.

After walking for a while down a deserted path, a wobbling figure suddenly appeared before her.

Jiang Si slightly slowed her pace, gradually closing the distance toward the zombie-like figure.

Surrounded by the haze, when Jiang Si came face-to-face with the person under the dim, hazy streetlamp...

She realized the individual was merely a drunken sot.

"Tch." Sighing boredly, Jiang Si brushed past him.

Just as she prepared to continue forward, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Jiang Si swiftly spun around and flicked out a red thread, but the next moment, both of her hands were instead bound together by several strands of red thread.

"Yo, good evening," Zheng Fan greeted with a playful chuckle.

Jiang Si's eyes narrowed as she was entangled by the threads: "This kind of prank isn't funny at all."

"As long as I find it amusing, that's enough. You really aren't very brave, yet you insist on being a night owl." Zheng Fan waved his hand, the threads binding her wrists instantly loosening and falling away.

"For me, daytime is probably a lot scarier. Besides, who says nighttime represents terror? How wonderful the night is!" Jiang Si rubbed her wrists with annoyance.

"Such words coming from a serial killer are surprisingly convincing. So, have you found your target?" Zheng Fan inquired.

Jiang Si shook her head: "I'm not the type of serial killer who excels at tracking."

"Then your prey can truly breathe a sigh of relief."

"But I excel at stealth."

"You'd better hold that breath in instead; that sounds even scarier, practically movie-material."

"So Mr. Demon came to find me tonight just to mock me and exchange banter?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Normally it'd be fine, but I'm in a rush to find my target right now, so I can only brush you off. Is that alright too?" Jiang Si said with a straight face.

"Well, that depends on how you brush me off. For instance, what if I happen to have a lead on the serial killer you're looking for? With that said, will you keep me company or not?" Zheng Fan flashed a mischievous grin.

Instantly, Jiang Si reached out and unzipped her jacket, revealing a daring red swimsuit underneath.

"What kind of outfit combination is that?"

"I'll wear whatever I want. So, is this 'brush-off' effective or not?" Jiang Si playfully batted her eyes with zero charm.

"Uninteresting. I still prefer you in that black lace lingerie."

"A swimsuit won't do?!"

"Although swimsuits and lingerie cover roughly the same surface area, there's an insurmountable chasm between the two." Zheng Fan gazed at the mist-filled sky, his eyes deep and profound.

Jiang Si speechless pulled her zipper back up: "You sure have a lot of nonsense to say."

Zheng Fan returned to the main point: "Forget it, anyway, just come with me."

As he led Jiang Si along the path, she asked curiously, "Why does Mr. Demon suddenly have information on that Filch?"

"Miss Witch had a sudden surge of benevolence and bestowed it upon you," Zheng Fan replied.

"Whoa, I sneaked into her territory, and instead of suspecting retaliation, she's rewarding me?" Jiang Si covered her mouth with an expression of surprise, though it was a bit exaggerated, making her look somewhat pretentious.

"You knew you might be retaliated against yet you still dared to come."

"That's because I have you, Mr. Demon."

"Such cleverness. Anyway, we confirmed Filch's recent status through some connections, then had the police check the recent criminal records likely caused by him, and finally combined our existing intelligence network to figure out his probable recent range of activity. Searching this area a bit will do the trick." Zheng Fan gave a vague and rambling explanation.

First, relying on the underlings connected to the Banmu Agency, they tracked down Seino Koji and inquired about that bald weirdo. The bald freak had collaborated with a studio under the Banmu Agency to help search for the shoes scattered across Sici Koke.

Through this collaboration, the other party's identity was confirmed to be none other than Filch.

This aligned with Lin Yilin's earlier expectations. As for why Filch had transformed from having fiery red hair into a bald man, alongside certain changes in his appearance, she had long since guessed the reason: obviously, it was because he had been chosen by the hallucination as an excellent physical vessel.

This suspicion was further solidified after she crossed paths with Lu Chongming. The fact that the hallucination could abandon Lu Chongming so decisively—aside from being dissatisfied with him—was naturally because it had found a superior host.

Otherwise, purely cutting off one's arm to survive offered no benefit to the hallucination; it would more likely choose to forcibly seize Lu Chongming before fleeing.

If there were no new host and subsequent bad luck prevented it from interacting with reality, the hallucination's growth would regress until it vanished entirely.

Filch's drastic physical changes were most likely caused by the hallucination's alterations. As the individual who had performed most actively after being used as bait by that hallucination, this situation was entirely logical.

Once his identity was confirmed, they directly cross-referenced his behavioral traits with recent criminal incidents at the police station.

Robbing mysterious shoes and murdering people by severing their legs—such case characteristics were particularly prominent. The police in the gray districts generally didn't handle cases themselves, but they were definitely reliable when it came to intelligence work, especially since quite a few police officers relied on providing information to agencies to make extra cash.

Finally, by comparing the information Banmu provided on Filch with the criminal records from the police station, they could determine which locations he hadn't visited yet.

Lin Yilin had provided the above information directly to the police, who would likely report it to the Handling Bureau, and the bureau might dispatch personnel to take action as early as tonight. After all, serial killers were extremely precious; whether killed or captured alive, they held great value.

And after Miss Lin finished work, Zheng Fan came to find Jiang Si, who was likewise keeping an eye on Filch.

However, Zheng Fan's explanation left Jiang Si completely baffled. Unable to fully comprehend it, she could only conclude: "Anyway, knowing his general location is enough, right! Thanks, Mr. Demon, you truly live up to your name as the demon among demons!"

"Call me the Demon King!" Zheng Fan tilted his head back and declared with adolescent grandeur.

"Fine, fine, Lord Demon King~," Jiang Si replied with a giggle.