Anomalous Creatures

Kevin and Weilili discussed for quite some time about whether "Mr. Nangong" was a demon hunter, a swindler, or just a delusional passerby (the last possibility was low), but they came to no conclusion.

Weilili claimed to have a special sense for demon hunters due to an injury she suffered years ago, but she also admitted that this innate ability was unreliable and could not be taken as conclusive evidence. As for Lily, there was no need to even consider her; this clumsy girl had never seen a demon hunter before. In Weilili's eyes, she was worse than a child, and she doubted that Lily would even react if a demon hunter attacked them at their doorstep.

According to Weilili, demon hunters were "half-human, half-monster". They would unleash various supernatural powers during battles, and in some cases, their bodies would even undergo mutations. However, in everyday life, they appeared just like ordinary people, without any distinctive aura or other identifiable characteristics (this "concealment" was also one of the demon hunters' killer moves against other supernatural beings). In Weilili's opinion, Mr. Nangong's behavior and speech did not resemble a demon hunter, especially his proactive conversation and boastful revelation of his identity, which was vastly different from her memories of her deadly adversaries. However, this alone did not rule out the possibility that he was the "real deal". After all, the vampire girl hadn't encountered a demon hunter for many years, and even if she had, it was only a small fraction of the larger demon hunter community. Her understanding was limited, her memories were hazy, and more importantly, she was considered unlucky. Even Kevin wasn't sure if he would be affected by Weilili's bad luck and stumble upon a "real deal" on their first day out.

Therefore, Kevin felt quite uneasy in his heart.

The three of them were in an unfamiliar place with nothing much to do. Although the language barrier was now resolved, they were exhausted from their journey, and even Lily was too lazy to move. After eating, they all returned to their room. Now Lily was lying on the sofa in the middle of the living room, flipping through TV channels. Although she couldn't understand a word, she was still enjoying the spectacle. Meanwhile, Weilili was engaged in a very meaningful activity beside her: she took out the cash she had prepared for this trip and was counting the money over and over again for fun...

Kevin sat very alertly beside Weilili, trying to stay as close to her as possible, and with his eyes wide open, he watched her slender, pale hands. He was afraid that if he wasn't careful, Weilili's aura of bad luck would kick in, and the stack of cash would suddenly disappear. Now he realized that Weilili's terrible luck with money was far from being simply described as "unlucky". It was like the will of the universe, a passive effect at the level of a law. Having Weilili touch money was definitely a psychological extreme sport.

Weilili was enthusiastically counting the money, occasionally exclaiming, "Wow... This is such a rare moment of luxury in my entire life... So this is what it feels like to count money... Following the landlord really leads to a good life... Hey landlord, why are you so tense?"

"I've said, just call me Kevin when we're outside," Kevin replied with a forced smile. "Besides, I have reasons to be tense. I swear to heaven, if I don't keep an eye on you for even a moment, you'll squander all our funds. And can you please be a bit more ambitious? When I emptied my wallet, I thought you were up to something important, but turns out you were just playing with the money?"

"Can you understand the battered heart of someone who has been poor for thousands of years?" Weilili sighed poetically. "Oh, the last time I counted money with such delight was during the Republic of China era, when I carried a sack to buy rice and counted silver yuan notes for half an hour at the grain store... But that didn't feel as good as this time, after all, those notes were like waste paper, not as substantial as British pounds. Hey, I've finished counting this stack, let me count it again... Hey Kevin, don't be like this, let me count it again!"

Kevin resolutely put the money away and securely tucked it close to his body before saying earnestly, "My vampire lady, if you really want to count money, we'll go to Zimbabwe sometime soon and let you count to your heart's content. But for now, could you please act normally? We were just discussing demon hunters, and now you're not tense at all?"

"I've been through a lot in my life, so why should I be tense about such a small matter for long?" Weilili reluctantly glanced at where Kevin had put his wallet before turning her gaze away with disdain. "Do you know what a real demon hunter is like?"

Kevin immediately became interested, "What's he like?"

"Based on my familiarity with their appearance, when they're on a mission, they like to wear black clothes. It used to be hunting attire, later it became tight-fitting suits. Eastern demon hunters also wear kung fu outfits. Anyway, they dress as stiffly as possible. But in normal times, they dress like ordinary people. Besides, they're somewhat gloomy and difficult to talk to, and they're very low-key. They usually try their best to conceal their identities, fearing that drawing our attention will alert their targets. They wouldn't dream of revealing their identities to others, and sometimes, if ordinary people learn about their movements, they even kill them to silence them. Although this is the behavior of a few extremists, it illustrates the problems within the demon hunter community. Besides being low-key, demon hunters have another characteristic: they're 'ordinary,' extremely ordinary. They're very good at acting like ordinary people in their words and deeds, which is also a way to hide themselves. When people around them talk about witches, they also talk about witches. When people talk about Napoleon's triumph, they also talk about Napoleon. When people talk about atheism and deny the existence of ghosts and gods, they also announce their belief in science. Do you understand now? They completely hide themselves in this way. They look like the most common people you see on the street. Demon hunters are like this, from the inside out, layer upon layer of disguise. So the more I think about it, the more I feel that 'Mr. Nangong' is not worth worrying about. Why would a demon hunter boldly announce their ghost-driving business? Even if demon hunters are struggling for business, they wouldn't be this high-profile, which is completely contrary to their survival creed."

At the end of her speech, Weilili nodded vigorously, "So I think we're just too tense. I'm tense about demon hunters, and you're tense because it's your first 'mission.' Most likely, we were intimidated by an ordinary ghost-driving swindler who can be seen everywhere."

Kevin nodded repeatedly as he listened, "Hmm, that makes sense, but should we really let our guard down completely?"

"We still need to be vigilant," Weilili shook her head. "He doesn't seem like a real demon hunter, but there's a good chance he's been exposed to that sort of thing. He knows the history of demon hunters and talks about some 'work' related matters with confidence, so I guess he could be a minion under some real demon hunter. Those cunning guys occasionally do things like this, so we need to be careful not to let 'Mr. Nangong' notice any big abnormalities. Besides, he shouldn't pose much of a threat. After all, our purpose is just to find someone, not to fight."

Kevin nodded, and the discussion about 'Mr. Nangong' ended here.

At this moment, Lily had already flipped through the TV channels round and round, completely unable to understand what was being shown. The werewolf girl seemed a bit bored, so she casually threw the remote aside and scratched Kevin's back with her claw, "Landlord, can you talk to Raven 12345 and ask her to prepare a data terminal for each of us? In the future, you might have to receive guests from anywhere, maybe even foreigners. It would be embarrassing if we couldn't understand each other."

Kevin chuckled, "This silly werewolf actually knows how to use her brain now. Look at how reasonable and well-founded her excuse is just to watch a foreign program." However, just as he was about to explain the organizational system to Lily, a word that caught his attention suddenly came out of the TV beside him, "...The Yorkfeld Fort near Brushall has recently attracted many lovers of paranormal events..."

Kevin immediately perked up and turned his face. He saw an interview program being broadcast on TV. A blonde foreign woman was holding a microphone beside a broadcast van, and the background behind her was a rugged wilderness of rubble. In the distance, a nearly completely collapsed ruin could be seen. Beside the female host stood a short and chubby uncle wearing a white T-shirt. The latter was obviously not a TV station staff member. He had a full beard, a slightly balding head, and slightly worn clothes, looking like an ordinary local farmer. He should be the one being interviewed.

"...What we see now is Yorkfeld Fort. It's obvious that it has completely collapsed and can no longer be seen in its original scale. Since there is no road here, the broadcast van can only stop here. Later, I will walk to the castle to let everyone see what it looks like up close," the female host introduced the current situation and then gestured to the short and chubby uncle beside her, "This is Mr. Angus, who first discovered the paranormal events at the fort..."