This little county town had never been as lively on an afternoon as it was now.
Su Tang sat on the front hood, his back against the windshield, his eyes half-lidded, opening and closing at random.
The wails, the thudding fists, the bodies hitting the ground, the angry curses—everything twisted together and poured into his ears, a muddled, noisy rush. In a certain sense, it was a kind of ASMR?
The immunity kind, the violent kind, the veteran-driver kind.
As to why he thought that… it was because Su Tang had dozed off just now.
He hadn't really rested at all since morning: first his good mood at opening day was interrupted by a devil, then he had to deal with Public Safety… In short, when he opened his eyes again, he realized half an hour had passed.
Rubbing his temples lightly with his thumbs, Su Tang rolled his neck and looked around.
The ground was already carpeted with bodies, though a few were still putting up a last-ditch struggle—well, "struggle" wasn't quite right; they were just enduring a beating, mouths full of curses as they took hits.
What surprised Su Tang was that the white-haired, obviously long-in-the-tooth gang boss was among the few still conscious.
The old geezer could take a beating.
Sensing a new pair of eyes on him, the gang boss—currently pinned and pummeled by a Shadow Ninja—managed to lift his head and immediately saw Su Tang's faintly smiling face.
"You… hiss… you bastard… you're a devil hunter too?!"
"Your contract… it's with the Ninja Devil?!"
"Yeah, sure," Su Tang said, watching the old man get his sentence punched apart three or four times by a ninja's fist, and grew speechless—so he just humored him.
Why did everyone who met him assume he was a devil hunter?
The Leg Devil had, Public Safety had, now even the gang had…
What? A doctor signing a contract with a devil for self-defense—wasn't that normal?
It was like a repairman carrying a couple wrenches and pliers when he went out. Same logic.
As for the old geezer mistaking his contract as being with a Ninja Devil—Su Tang could understand that much.
After all, who says a Shadow Ninja doesn't count as a ninja?
Even if his Shadow Corps was the youth edition.
Nothing to be done about it. When he forged the contract with the Holy Lord, the terms were that he'd gain half of the Holy Lord's abilities.
And that was after he'd gritted his teeth and haggled hard. Otherwise it would've been a 30/70 split—he'd only get thirty percent.
Honestly, it was a staggering feat. Even now, Su Tang wouldn't be sure he could pull it off again.
This was the Holy Lord.
Even sealed, one spit of fire could kill him a few hundred times over.
It was only because Su Tang had just transmigrated back then and was buoyed by the chuunibyou conviction of being a "child of destiny" that he made it through.
He'd also played a little trick—or perhaps the Holy Lord just didn't care about this small detail.
He hadn't restricted the categories of ability.
As everyone knows, the Holy Lord isn't merely a Devil of Flame—he's the owner of the Twelve Talismans, the master of the Shadow Mask, a prodigy of black magic, and a noble dragon…
All of those abilities, Su Tang could inherit by half.
And as the Holy Lord's powers recovered, he would gain the corresponding portion in equal measure.
Of course, that was the ideal. At the very least, Su Tang had no desire for the Holy Lord to resurrect.
Come on—nowhere in the contract did it say the Holy Lord would protect his life after revival. Judging by the Holy Lord's promise-breaking nature in the original cartoon, Su Tang's days wouldn't be pleasant then.
Which is why only a sealed Holy Lord is a good Holy Lord, isn't it?
Thud, thud, thud.
Three more punches.
The Shadow Corps swung their fists like machines. Fewer and fewer gangsters could still hold on.
Su Tang cast a glance over and couldn't help sighing.
What's the difference between the youth edition Shadow Corps and the Holy Lord's Shadow Corps?
Two words: "the brain."
If the Holy Lord's Corps is like future-world artificial intelligence—able to keep you company, pour tea, act autonomously—then Su Tang's Corps is artificial idiocy.
They do exactly what they're told, with no flexibility at all.
Take just now: Su Tang's order had been "knock them all down."
So the Shadow Corps went at it with their fists, mechanically brawling with the gangsters until they were knocked to the ground.
If you wanted them to use shuriken or throwing spikes, you had to issue extra instructions, like "use X to knock them down."
Calling them artificial idiots wasn't an exaggeration.
"Wait, wait… ah… stop, stop!"
The old geezer had backbone; he propped himself up with hands and feet and just wouldn't lie down.
In return, the Shadow Ninja administered an unfailing beating.
Su Tang ignored him.
What, he could start and stop the beating whenever he pleased?
Was Su Tang supposed to say, "Wonderful—he can call time-outs"?
He took in the rear door of the sedan, obviously yanked open by force, and could readily imagine the scene during his half-hour nap: a gaggle of Shadow Ninjas dragging the gang boss out of the car and wailing on him.
"Mmph."
Stretching, Su Tang sat up.
A gray-black coat slid off him.
Oh?
Only then did he notice he'd been covered by someone else's coat—a patchy, worn thing that smelled strongly of dust up close. Clearly it hadn't been washed in a long time.
"Thanks."
Su Tang recognized the owner at a glance. Who else but the girl called Denji-ko? Who else wouldn't wash?
Denji-ko's face reddened. She reached out and took her coat back, seemingly trying to explain: "Um… I saw you had fallen asleep just now…"
Hearing her, Su Tang once again thought: Tokyo really does have a lot of good people.
Judging by the fact she'd swallow someone's cigarette butt for a hundred yen, Denji-ko was obviously strapped for cash, yet she hadn't taken the gang boss's bounty.
Su Tang had a favorable impression of her.
So he asked, "Is there anything you want? Consider it a thank-you."
"Eh—eh?"
Denji-ko clearly hadn't expected a gift. She was tongue-tied for a moment, then reacted, a strange blush rising to her face. "Um… anything at all?"
"Mhm. As long as it's not over the line." Su Tang nodded with a smile—and then noticed where her eyes were landing.
Below his neck, above his waist.
That was… his chest, wasn't it?
Su Tang's expression turned a bit odd, and then he heard Denji-ko's voice, halting and brimming with reined-in excitement.
"Um… I mean… could I touch your…"
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Chainsaw Man: The Covenant of Flame Demon [ 71 Chapter ]