Demons Beside You

The two went to a restaurant on the side of the road.

Fali ordered salad, steak, and a large pudding. Chen Zhao didn’t have a small appetite, but if he ate fully, his month’s paycheck would be gone.

He really had a big appetite. After all, he’d drunk the strength potion. The effect was more than double of David’s. This meant that Chen Zhao’s appetite was twice the amount of David.

Even though it wasn’t Thanksgiving, Chen Zhao still ordered an entire roast turkey. It was a western restaurant, but Chen Zhao and Fali weren’t the type who ate gracefully. Plus, there weren’t many rules in a small-town restaurant.

When they ate, they really showed their true colors. Chen Zhao grabbed the turkey and munched.

Halfway through their meal, someone suddenly patted Fali’s shoulder. “Hey, sexy, want to go to the bar with me? I know where the fun is.”

Chen Zhao looked up. It was Ken’s classmate.

The guy’s leering expression made Fali frown. She pushed his hand away. “Don’t touch me. I don’t know you.”

“That Asian can’t satisfy you,” the guy said shamelessly. “Come play with me. I promise you won’t be able to get out of bed.”

Could Chen Zhao take this? No. He grabbed a drumstick and smacked the guy’s face.

“Get the f*ck out.”

“Yellow monkey, you wanna die?”

Chen Zhao lifted his leg and kicked the guy a few feet away. He couldn’t beat Gaia, but he could deal with a solo gangster with just his finger. After that one kick, the guy couldn’t even stand back up.

Chen Zhao had only used half of his power, but his kick was still quite harmful. Even a dragon like Gaia wouldn’t be able to take it, let alone this random guy.

“Don’t let me see you again. Get out.”

The guy ran away pathetically, clutching his stomach. Guys like him just bullied the weak but feared the strong. He saw that Chen Zhao was Asian and new here, so he came to provoke him. Once Chen Zhao showed his strength, he didn’t dare go up against him again.

As for calling the cops, it was a joke. He would never be supported by the cops in any way.”

“F*ck, he wasted my turkey.” Chen Zhao looked furious.

“Can you use magic to kill that *sshole?”

“Why? You hate him?”

“I don’t know him, but I heard townspeople say that he sold drugs to some kids in school and two of them overdosed... One died and the other has brain damage. People like him deserve to die.”

“My magic can’t kill anyone. Don’t bet on it.”

“So boring.”

“Killing isn’t fun.” Chen Zhao rolled his eyes.

“You killed someone before?” Fali suddenly looked at him with interest.

Thinking for a moment, Chen Zhao said, “Once, in the hospital, a serial killer captured a nurse. I had Beelzebub kill him in front of everyone.”

“How did it feel?”

“It was scary because I didn’t feel anything. I was actually emotionless toward killing someone.”

“Do you have any other experiences in killing people?”

“Does failing a patient during surgery count?”

“No.”

Because of the gangster, Chen Zhao and Fali weren’t able to eat happily. Afterward, they went to the supermarket and bought a lot of groceries. Their fridge was filled instantly.

“Fali, do people still swim in the winter?”

“Of course. The temperature difference in L.A. isn’t that big. The beach I’m at has a lot of people the entire year. That’s why we need to work the entire year too. Some people even swim at night, so I sometimes have to do night shifts.”

“Oh, right,” Fali started up again. “What are you going to give for Leonardo’s birthday party?”

Chen Zhao grew troubled. What should he give? He had no experience in gift-giving. Turning, he asked, “Fali, what are you going to give?”

“I already have an idea, but I can’t tell you. If you find out, you’ll definitely want to give it to him first. Then I’ll have nothing.” Fali was careful around Chen Zhao.

Chen Zhao was even more distressed. It was right of Fali to be careful, because he really would do something like that...

...

“F*ck, f*ck...”

Deppler Rastan clutched his stomach and cursed, his expression pained. He walked slowly and unsteadily.

That Asian had kicked him way too hard. It felt like his intestines had broken.

“I’ll show that yellow monkey. I’m gonna kill him.”

Deppler came to a building and knocked on the door with difficult. A beat later, Trede Pemton opened the door.

When Trede saw Deppler, his expression turned cold instantly. “Deppler, you shouldn’t be here.” His attitude was indifferent, putting distance between them.

“Mr. Pemton, I’m sorry...I...I need money...”

“I already gave you money,” Trede said icily. “We have nothing to do with each other again.”

“Mr. Pemton, I worked for you, but you only gave me $5,000. That’s not fair. I need another payment.”

“You don’t keep your word.” Trede Pemton’s expression darkened even more.

“If you don’t pay me, I can’t promise I won’t tell other people some ugly things.” This was how Deppler often blackmailed people.

“Fine, come in.” Trede Pemton suddenly grew calm.

The moment Deppler stepped into Trede’s home, a dagger went straight into Deppler’s chest.

There was an old woman standing behind the door. Deppler looked around with difficulty.

He knew this old woman, but...why was she in Trede’s home? Why was she hiding behind the door?

Trede had already closed the door. Seeing Deppler on the ground, he said to the old woman, “Winry, you did it too fast. You should’ve waited until I closed the door. If someone passed by, we would’ve been discovered.”

“I couldn’t help it. I haven’t seen blood in so long and prey finally showed up.” The old woman slowly latched onto Deppler. She raised her dagger high in the air.

“Mighty sleeper,” the woman recited. “In the name of Besta, please hear my calling as I give you the offering of blood.”

Deppler hadn’t died yet. He was still very conscious. In fact, the closer one was to death, the more conscious one was.

However, he couldn’t do anything. The old woman had rubbed some numbing poison onto the blade. He could only watch as the old woman raised the dagger again and stab it into his chest.