87: Chapter 87 The Demon's Intelligence

"Aujin."

Qin Ming stood outside the cage, calling the demon by its true name.

In occultism and the rules of Hell, a true name holds absolute binding power.

The demon's movements suddenly froze.

It raised its face—featureless except for two black holes—and looked at the ten-year-old human boy before it in disbelief.

Qin Ming didn't waste words.

With a slight thought, the golden halo floating behind his head instantly flew out.

It traced a perfect arc through the air.

And looped directly around Aujin's neck.

The halo tightened rapidly.

"Waaah—Waaah—"

Aujin let out an incredibly eerie and shrill scream.

The sound was completely outside the range of human hearing, causing the four ordinary people nearby to clutch their ears and roll on the ground.

Qin Ming stood with his hands in his pockets, his expression calm.

"I've actually always been curious about something."

He looked at the demon struggling in agony under the halo.

"How did you pieces of filth from Hell manage to come to the human world in such large numbers?"

The spatial barriers are never just for show.

Unless something went terribly wrong in Hell.

"I... will never tell!"

Aujin gritted its teeth, showing the backbone expected of a demon.

It was a servant of satan; how could it yield to a mortal?

Qin Ming nodded in understanding.

"Oh, a little tighter then."

Zzzzt!

The pure golden holy light sliced right through Aujin's protective black mist, searing its spiritual essence.

Billows of white smoke rose up.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!!!"

Aujin's backbone lasted for less than three seconds before completely collapsing.

Qin Ming sneered.

"I thought you could hold out a bit longer."

"You've truly brought shame to Hell."

Aujin gasped for breath, its body trembling beneath its black robe.

"It's because of the previous satan..."

"While he was sowing his seeds in the human world, he was sealed by a mysterious person."

Edward: It probably wasn't me, right???

"Without the Ruler's power to suppress it, the space in Hell has become extremely unstable."

"Spatial cracks are everywhere, allowing us to take the chance to slip out."

Qin Ming raised an eyebrow.

satan caught while sowing seeds in the human world?

Why does this plot sound so familiar?

"Then what about Lucifer?"

Qin Ming continued to press.

As Hell's most famous fallen angel, shouldn't he step up to take charge at a time like this?

A hint of awkwardness emanated from Aujin's two black holes.

"That lord..."

"I heard he's running a nightclub in the human world and is dating a human policewoman."

Lucifer: I can't help it.

"He has no interest in dealing with Hell's mess."

Qin Ming's lip twitched.

Great, that's very Lucifer.

"So what's the situation in Hell now?"

Aujin confessed honestly, "The dragons are leaderless, and everyone is fighting for themselves."

"Everyone is vying for the position of the new satan."

"Currently, Mammon, the Lord of Greed, is the most likely to take the throne; he controls the most resources and souls."

Qin Ming stroked his chin.

"Mammon? Shouldn't it be Samael or Beelzebub?"

Those two are much stronger in combat than Mammon, who only knows how to rake in money.

Aujin sighed, its voice tinged with helplessness.

"Samael, the Lord of Wrath, has vanished mysteriously. There's no trace of him at all."

"As for Beelzebub, the Lord of Gluttony..."

"He provoked some freak a while ago."

"And was beaten half to death by a single person."

(Edward: !!(￣ε(#￣)☆╰╮(￣▽￣///))

"Now he's hiding in the deepest part of Hell licking his wounds, with less than a tenth of his peak strength."

A flash of surprise crossed Qin Ming's eyes.

A human who could beat Beelzebub half to death?

The power ceiling of this world seems to be a bit higher than he imagined.

But that's a good thing.

"Alright, I've got it."

Qin Ming nodded with satisfaction.

"Thank you for the intelligence."

Aujin looked at Qin Ming, a hint of hope and expectation in its voice.

"Then... can I go now?"

According to the spirit of the contract, since it provided the information, the other party should let it leave.

Qin Ming looked at it and revealed an extremely bright, extremely harmless smile.

"Of course."

"I'll send you off personally."

Before Aujin could rejoice, it suddenly realized something was wrong.

Instead of loosening, the golden halo around its neck erupted with an unprecedented, terrifying heat.

"You lied!!!"

Aujin let out a roar of despair.

Pure holy flames instantly engulfed it.

Burning it inch by inch, from head to toe.

In just a few seconds.

This ancient demon who struck fear into countless hearts and presided over death contracts turned into a pile of black ash.

Not even a trace of its soul remained.

Qin Ming recalled the halo.

The halo spun around in mid-air before returning to float above the back of his head.

"I didn't lie to you."

Qin Ming looked at the ashes on the ground, his tone innocent.

"Didn't I just send you to Hell?"

"And it was a direct trip; I even saved you the travel costs."

[Ding! Killed satan's Servant · Aujin]

[Points Gained: 500]

[Current Total Points: 1199]

Listening to the system prompt in his mind.

Qin Ming was in a great mood.

500 points was a huge sum.

He turned around.

His gaze fell on the four ordinary people huddled in the corner, rendered speechless by fear.

The frost in the basement was receding.

The countdown on the wall had also completely vanished with the demon's death.

They were saved.

But the way they looked at Qin Ming was even more terrified than how they had looked at the demon.

Qin Ming ignored them.

He walked to the old 21-inch CRT television.

"Larry, home."

"As you command... bzzzt... my master..."

The TV screen flickered with static.

---

The next morning.

The morning news was playing on the television.

The female anchor's voice was clear and resonant as she reported a bizarre incident in the East District.

Four young people who claimed to have been attacked by a demon were sent to the local State Psychiatric Hospital.

The police only found a pile of unidentified black ash in the basement where they had been.

Qin Ming picked up his knife and fork and cut a piece of bacon that Robert had just fried.

It tasted good, cooked just right.

Robert, wearing an apron, brought the warmed milk to the table.

He shook his head while looking at the news as he wiped his hands.

"Young people these days are so senseless."

"They'll pull any kind of prank just to get attention."

Robert's perception would always remain in that safe, ordinary world of appearances.

Qin Ming didn't argue; he just ate his breakfast quietly.

Emma sat across from him.

She used a silver fork to poke holes all over the fried egg on her plate.

The golden yolk flowed across the porcelain plate like a pool of viscous interstitial fluid.

Emma looked at the flowing yolk, a sweet and obedient smile on her face.

"Brother, today's fried egg looks so pretty."

Qin Ming wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Don't play with your food. Go to school after you finish eating."

Half an hour later.

Carrying his black backpack, Qin Ming walked alone down the tree-lined path to school.

Around him were peers walking in groups of twos and threes.

They discussed last night's game, new sneakers, and boring pop singers.

Qin Ming wove through them with steady steps.

A black beetle flew down from a nearby tree trunk.

It landed precisely on Qin Ming's shoulder before quickly flying away.

Qin Ming looked up.

Not far ahead, by a bench on the tree-lined path, stood a girl.

Jennifer.

Today she wore a gray knit sweater, the edge of a white shirt peeking out from the collar.