"Please…please…don't…" The man in the blood-stained gray business suit was firmly gripped by the throat by a giant claw made of crimson goo, his feet dangling as he kicked futilely at the air.
Broken pleas for mercy squeezed intermittently from his mouth, twisted by suffocation.
He Xi Qian Yu stood a few steps away, one hand on his forehead, a little speechless.
How could he encounter so many troublesome things?
…
Minutes ago, everything still seemed to be going smoothly.
The tenant spoke appropriately and praised the apartment's modern facilities. He Xi Qian Yu even secretly sighed in relief, thinking he could finally rent out the house this time.
However, just as he turned to get the contract—
The man behind him exploded with dazzling crimson light in his eyes, and with the sound of tearing fabric, two ferocious Kou-kaku, shaped like giant scorpion tails, suddenly burst from his waist, stabbing directly at He Xi Qian Yu's unguarded back.
Fast, ruthless, accurate, intending to kill with one blow.
Then he was slammed against the wall by Slaughter.
…
"Let…let me go…" The man's voice carried a hint of pleading, "Money…I have money…a lot of money…it's all yours…"
He Xi Qian Yu looked at the face twisted by fear, and a slow curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Oh?" A deep, hoarse voice sounded in his place.
At the same time, crimson goo covered He Xi Qian Yu's entire body in the blink of an eye. A massive, terrifying silhouette coalesced in the red light—Slaughter's grotesque, huge head lowered, almost touching the man's face. Its enormous, pale eyes were fixed on him, and a long, crimson tongue covered with barbs slowly extended, leisurely licking its stark white, sharp fangs.
"Eyes…lungs…pancreas…so many delicious things…where should I begin…to enjoy?"
The man's pupils dilated to their limit, and an inarticulate gurgling sound came from his throat, extreme fear freezing all his thoughts.
The next moment, his vision was completely swallowed by boundless darkness and crimson.
…
The crimson goo covering his body rapidly receded back into his body like a receding tide, and He Xi Qian Yu's figure reappeared.
He looked around: the brand-new walls were covered with cracks and bloodstains, the clean floor was stained with viscous dark purple liquid and broken Kou-kaku fragments, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.
"Tsk." He Xi Qian Yu rubbed his brow irritably, letting out a short sigh.
He dragged his feet to the only relatively intact sofa and threw himself heavily into it.
The sofa groaned under the strain.
He looked up at the blood spatters on the ceiling, his eyes vacant, filled with a sense of exhaustion from a life he no longer cared to live.
"Now it's good…" he muttered, his voice filled with deep frustration, "Not only did the house not get rented out…but I also have to clean it again…"
Slaughter only needed to be responsible for the Slaughter, while he, as the host, had much more to consider.
The soft touch of the sofa could not dispel the irritation in He Xi Qian Yu's heart at this moment; he was slumped in it like a puddle of mud. The strong smell of blood in the air permeated his nostrils, making his temples throb.
"...Burp…" Slaughter's consciousness suddenly sounded, carrying a lazy satisfaction after a full meal, even with a hint of still wanting more, "...The taste…was alright…just a bit low on energy…not as good as the last one…"
"Shut up." He Xi Qian Yu responded fiercely in his mind, his voice hoarse with fatigue, "Don't give a post-meal review after eating everything. Also, look at the good job you've done."
His gaze swept over the grotesque claw marks and radial bloodstains on the wall, the viscous purple goo and broken Kou-kaku fragments on the floor, and the blood spatters on the ceiling.
"This house…is completely ruined."
"...Ruined?" Slaughter's voice carried a hint of matter-of-factness, "...Wasn't it cleaned up…the annoying bugs…are gone…"
"...Oh…you mean these residual scraps…"
As Slaughter's consciousness faded, several crimson goo blobs the size of ping-pong balls, without warning, shot out from He Xi Qian Yu's hand and shoulder. They seemed to possess independent will, accurately pouncing on the blood and Kou-kaku fragments on the floor and walls.
The moment of contact, these crimson goo blobs expanded rapidly like greedy sponges, enveloping and devouring the remnants. Immediately, they rapidly contracted at a visible speed, eventually returning to the size of ping-pong balls, and re-entered He Xi Qian Yu's body.
As if instantly sucked away by some powerful vacuum cleaner, only some dried stain outlines remained on the floor and walls. The strong smell of blood in the air also faded considerably.
He Xi Qian Yu suddenly sat upright, his fatigue instantly dispelled by surprise. He carefully looked at the spot where the Ghoul had been pressed against the wall by Slaughter's giant claw—that should have been the center of the most filth. However, now, apart from the damage to the wall itself and a few deep claw marks, the expected scene of bloody mess did not appear; there was only a relatively clean, slightly darker area.
He Xi Qian Yu's pupils constricted slightly. He clearly remembered that the last time he used Slaughter's power to solve a problem, although the scene was equally bloody and violent, there would still be remnants that required laborious cleanup, but now…
"You evolved?" He Xi Qian Yu asked.
"...Energy…cannot be wasted…" Slaughter's consciousness slowly responded, "...Absorption…is more efficient…probably…the big meal eaten last time…upgraded the digestive system…burp…"
"Well, at least it'll save some effort cleaning up the scene later."
He Xi Qian Yu looked down at his left hand, opening and closing his fingers. Beneath his skin, he could almost feel the dormant power slowly flowing.
…
Although the "cleaning" work was unexpectedly lightened due to Slaughter's evolution, the extent of the damage to the scene was still shocking: the brand-new walls were covered with spiderweb cracks and a huge claw print indentation, the clean floor was scratched and stained with difficult-to-remove dark smudges, and although the sofa was not directly attacked, it was splattered with specks of blood, not to mention the furniture and appliances damaged or stained by Kou-kaku fragments.
Repair costs, cleaning fees, the cost of repurchasing furniture…He Xi Qian Yu only roughly estimated it and felt his vision go black.
He irritably ran his fingers through his hair and threw himself back into the sofa.
Dealing with this real-world mess was more exhausting than fighting Ghouls.
"...Trouble…just…eat the wall too…wouldn't that be better…one and done…" Slaughter proposed a simple and crude solution.
"Can you do that?" He Xi Qian Yu's tone carried a hint of sarcasm.
"...Of course…not…"
He Xi Qian Yu chuckled in exasperation.
"...Then shut up and go to sleep." He ordered weakly.
He pulled out his phone, his fingertip sliding across the contacts, finally stopping on a name—Fangcun Gongshan.