My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 356 The Brigade, Next Step, Return (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

August 18, 8:00 AM China time, Lijing, inside an empty underground bar.

"So... you really killed Swallowing Silver?"

Are you very concerned?

A black-haired girl in a Japanese school uniform sat at the bar, sideways, and took out a fruit knife. She lowered her eyes and quietly peeled an apple, the peel slicing and drooping in circles.

Xia Pingzhou looked up from his phone and stared silently at the Ripper.

“I’m a fan of his,” he said.

"Elementary schoolboy?"

"What do you mean?"

"Only elementary school students would become those kinds of low-IQ fans, don't you think?" Ripper said as he scraped an apple, the hem of his black and white school uniform skirt spreading out on the bar.

“Elementary school cat.” Origami Ayase said calmly, sitting not far away and looking at the haiku book.

"Never mind whether I'm a primary school student or not, is he dead or not?" Xia Pingzhou took a sip of ice water and continued to press for answers.

"Not dead? Are you satisfied?" Enma Rin asked.

"not dead?"

“I took out one of his hearts, but he still has another artificial metal heart,” the Ripper said coldly. “I was careless… If I had known you were his fan, I should have stabbed him twice more and then pulled out his intestines to keep as a souvenir for you.”

"Maybe we should just forget about this local specialty," Xia Pingzhou said, putting down the glass on the bar.

The hacker came out of the bathroom and tugged at the strap of his jumpsuit. "Uh... Ripper originally wanted to go to the hospital to finish her off. She doesn't like leaving enemies behind, but I told her you're a Silver Swallower fan, and then she stopped."

"Electronic pet, want to die?" The Ripper suddenly glanced sideways and pressed the tip of his fruit knife against the hacker's neck. The shaved apple slid down the blade toward the hacker's mouth. Xia Pingzhou felt a sense of déjà vu about this scene.

"Thanks for the food," the hacker said, taking a bite of the apple.

“The death penalty is too much. I support cyber execution.” A woman in a red dress with light blonde hair suddenly opened the door and walked in, a smirk playing on her lips. “Punish him by turning him into a data stream and locking him in a phone for a month.”

"Then I'll lock myself in the young lady's phone and spend my days reading her sweet messages with the little cat Casanova." The hacker had barely finished speaking when he suddenly noticed that the apple he was biting into was wrapped in a piece of paper.

His face turned pale, and he was so choked that he almost vomited, and he lay on the ground retching.

"So what do we do next? Aren't we supposed to take down Lake Hunter? But Lake Hunter isn't in Lijing." Xia Pingzhou glanced at the Bloodline and asked expressionlessly.

"I don't know, ask your electronic pet." Bloodline picked up a glass and took a sip of red wine.

"White Wolf has returned to Haifan Mountain. It will meet with the Nian Beast Lord today." The hacker got up from the ground, coughing as he said, "He said the situation over there is very complicated, and told us to stay in Lijing and wait for news from him."

"When do we start our operation?" Xia Pingzhou asked.

"Around the 25th, that's the day of the final battle between the Lake Hunters and the Nian Beast. We'll go there and stir things up," the hacker said. "We'll wipe out the entire Lake Hunters."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, by the shores of Lingxin Lake.

A 30-meter-long, purplish-red lion stands by the lake, its eyes lowered, gazing quietly at the lotus leaves on the water, while a wisp of flame rises from the lion's head.

"Lord Nian... Lord Nian Beast, there's no room on my head for such a large creature. Could you perhaps fly over there yourself?" The Lotus Leaf Demon blinked and tentatively inquired.

It stared blankly at the enormous Nian beast, wondering how big the lotus leaf would have to be to accommodate this giant lion.

The Lotus Leaf Demon suddenly lowered its eyes and silently sighed in its heart, "Master Little Year Beast has really grown up over the years."

On this day in those years, the little Nian beast was only one meter long. When it wandered around the forest, it looked just like a naughty little dog. Where was the majesty of the Demon King?

No one believed in his heart that he was the son of the Great King, the next king who would rule over the demons of Sea Sail Mountain.

But it happens to be the crown prince of the demons, and everyone has to respect it, fearing that they might inadvertently offend the Great King. The Great King's wife has passed away, so it entrusts its love for his wife to the little Nian beast, and dotes on this child exceptionally.

But the Great King never expected that when the little beast was nine years old, it would suddenly run away from home without a word.

This incident alarmed everyone on Haifan Mountain, and the Nian Beast King was furious. He led the twelve demons of the Zodiac Team into Haifan City, demanding an explanation from the Exorcist Association, or he would massacre the city.

At this moment, an exorcist named "Su Wei" stepped forward. He claimed to be the invisible executor of the Lake Hunter, in charge of managing the affairs of Sea Sail City, and asked the Nian Beast Lord to temporarily calm down.

He said that if the two sides were to go to war, they should at least confirm the condition of the Little Nian Beast first, otherwise it would only make the situation more chaotic.

After negotiating with Su Wei several times, the Nian Beast King finally received reinforcements from the Exorcist Association and four members of the previous generation of Lake Hunters.

After communicating for a long time, they finally found the whereabouts of the little Nian beast. At that time, many people took pictures of a small purplish-red lion with their mobile phones, and some people also saw a little boy in tattered clothes with a wisp of purplish-red hair on his forehead.

After a thorough investigation, they finally learned that the little monster had already left the city quietly on a human smuggling boat used by illegal immigrants.

Coincidentally, the next-generation heir designated by the "Lin family" of the lake hunting clan, "Lin Xingshi," also boarded that ship on the same day.

That's right, Lin Xingshi also ran away from home, and she and Xiao Nian Beast boarded the same ship.

Upon hearing this, the Nian Beast King was utterly enraged. He believed it was a conspiracy and didn't think such a coincidence could happen; he thought the Lake Hunter was merely trying to fool them with the excuse that "we also have a lost child here."

Perhaps the Little Nian Beast has already been killed by Lin Xingshi.

On that day, the exasperated Nian Beast King and the Lake Hunter fought a fierce battle in Sea Sail City. This war between the demon and the exorcist almost overturned half of the city.

If Su Wei, the unsung executor of the Lake Hunt, hadn't evacuated most of the citizens in time, the scene would likely have been a horrific massacre.

In the end, the outcome was a lose-lose situation. Two of the previous Lake Hunters died tragically, the Year Beast King was seriously injured, and the Zodiac Team lost six members.

The Lin family, who had been hunting in the lake for generations, died. The Lin family searched even more urgently for "Lin Xingshi," knowing that this child's talent was unparalleled in the world, a demon-exorcising genius that appeared only once every ten million years, and fearing that Lin Xingshi had already suffered a tragic fate at the hands of the Little Nian Beast.

After that, the Nian Beast King was also seriously injured and had to retreat to the deep mountains to recuperate.

Meanwhile, the Great Lord sent a group of demons skilled in searching into human cities to secretly search for the Little Year Beast; the Exorcist Association also sent a group of exorcists skilled in finding people to search for the whereabouts of the Lin family's "Lin Awakening Lion".

Now, ten years have passed, and most demons believe that Lord Little Year Beast has already been killed by exorcists on that smuggling ship, and it is even possible that it was done by that child named "Lin Xingshi".

After all, when the name "Lin Xingshi" appeared in the mouths of the demons again, she had already become the captain of the modern Lake Hunter.

He is also the world's number one exorcist, standing rightfully at the pinnacle of the exorcist world.

But did the demons ever imagine that Lord Little Year Beast was still alive, and that the Little Year Beast who had returned from his wanderings was no longer the same as he was ten years ago?

However... her personality is still so childish and willful.

"No, I want to sit on a lotus leaf." The little Nian beast frowned. "Otherwise, it won't feel like a ceremony."

“But…you’ll sink me,” said the Lotus Leaf Demon.

"That's easy," the little Nian beast snorted.

Following the method from his memory, Ji Minghuan shrunk the Little Nian Beast's body, and soon it became a small creature somewhere between a lion and a dog, only 1.5 meters long, with a swaying tail, and even the flame on its head became much smaller.

As a result, its body became much lighter. This is probably similar to the principle behind Agubaru, where size and speed are inversely related.

If facing a fast opponent, it is most appropriate to reduce the length of the Little Nian Beast to one or two meters; if facing a larger opponent, then go all out and fight head-on.

The Lotus Leaf Demon sighed, never expecting that it would ultimately not escape its fate. The Little Nian Beast stepped onto the lotus leaf and squatted down above it, its face pressed against the lotus leaf, its dark eyes gazing at the scenery by the lake.

Just like ten years ago.

The gentle sound of flowing water filled the air, and an endless expanse of emerald green stretched before their eyes. Before long, the Lotus Leaf Demon, accompanied by the little lion dog, crossed the vast Spirit Heart Lake.

The little Nian beast got up, waved goodbye to it with its paws, and then walked away without looking back.

The Lotus Leaf Demon silently watched the swaying back of the Little Year Beast, wondering what had happened between the Little Year Beast and Lin Xingshi that year, but it didn't dare to ask.

Beyond Lingxin Lake lies the territory of the Nian Beast King.

The little beast hopped and skipped through the forest, its four hooves moving in front of and behind each other, sometimes crossing over, as if it were dancing. It would occasionally look up and survey its surroundings, finding only emptiness before it.

It remembered how lively the forest was when it was a child, and how all sorts of demons would greet it as soon as it entered.

The monkey demons helped it catch peaches to eat, the rooster demons practiced their divine roars in the trees, and the lantern demons hung in the trees, trying their best to emit warm orange light. So even when night fell, the forest was still brightly lit.

However, most demons only live for a few years, and only a few high-ranking demons can live to be a hundred years old.

Ten years have passed, and all the demons who knew the Little Nian Beast back then are dead. Among the new generation of demons, everyone seems to be terrified of this never-before-seen Nian Beast, fearing its terrifying power, so they have all gone into hiding.

"Boring." The little Nian beast squinted and looked up at a lantern hanging on a tree branch.

The lantern demon, which had been emitting a warm orange glow, shook violently the moment the little Nian beast raised its head, making a "poof" sound, and the light dimmed instantly.

Finally, he remained motionless, as if playing dead.

"Do you want to light up by yourself, or should I light it up for you?" The little Nian beast suddenly raised its front paws, and a ball of purplish-red flame rose from its palm.

After a moment of silence, the Lantern Demon lit up, and the lanterns within a hundred meters radius spread out a warm light, dispelling the darkness and chill of the forest.

Following the path in its memory, the little Nian beast traversed the forest and stopped in front of a waterfall. Looking up, it saw a breathtakingly high cliff, from which a white waterfall cascaded down with a thunderous roar, creating wave after wave of splashing water. The ripples spread for kilometers.

In my memory, the place where the Nian Beast King usually met with the Zodiac Team was located behind this waterfall.

It does look quite like the Water Curtain Cave. I wonder if the Great Lord has ever read the human version of "Journey to the West".

However, the little beast is illiterate, and judging others by its own standards, it assumes that like father, like son, so the Great King must also be completely illiterate.

The fact that the meeting place resembled the Water Curtain Cave was merely because the Great King's head resembled the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain; it did not demonstrate any cultural refinement.

Once they crossed this waterfall, they would be able to see the Nian Beast King, whom they hadn't seen for ten years, as well as the members of the Zodiac Team. This thought popped into Ji Minghuan's mind, and perhaps influenced by the memories of the little Nian Beast, he felt a little nervous.

This is similar to the case of a terrifying clock tower occupant named "Gu" and "Zhuo" who abandoned his family and left two years later, only to return home and stand frozen in front of his door.

At this moment, the little Nian beast was also slightly at a loss.

"Don't be nervous. The Great Lord is mentally challenged, so all the demons are mentally challenged. Their average intelligence level is not high, so they are easy to fool... It's just ruling over a group of mentally challenged people. Just think of the mountain as a place full of silver-devouring creatures, the Zodiac Team as twelve silver-devouring creatures, and the Great Lord as a super-sized silver-devouring creature. That way, you won't be nervous." Thinking of this, the little Nian beast exhaled, raised its hoof, and gently patted the ground.

Suddenly, a burst of reddish-purple flames erupted from its hooves, like iron rubbing against a flower, sparking a unique shower of sparks.

Then, the little beast leaped from the edge of the waterfall, and as its body hovered in the air, its hind hooves lifted backward. From the center of its hooves, a bewitching pillar of flame burst forth.

Driven by the counterforce, its body tore through the air and shot forward as fast as a fiery arrow, evaporating the curtain of the waterfall and piercing into it before landing steadily in a dark space.

After it landed, it stomped its hooves hard, and the fire on its feet went out.

The little monster looked up and saw that the hidden space inside the waterfall was unimaginably large. It was an ancient temple, with a huge and dilapidated Buddha statue standing in a corner. Torches were placed in recesses at the corners of the temple, casting a faint glow that illuminated the scene at the center of the temple.

At this moment, twelve red futons are arranged in a circle on the ground, and on these futons of different sizes sit creatures of different sizes.

"One swallows silver, two swallows silver, three... eight in total?"

There were a total of eight demons in front of the little beast, and their group was very easy to identify.

"Green Serpent Demon," a green serpent about four or five meters long, with its icy blue pupils pointing upwards.

"Rat Demon," a rat the size of a palm, with black shadows swirling around its body.

"Mad Bull Demon," a colossal bull standing fifty meters tall, with a bronze ring tied to its nose, its entire body dark in color, is currently sitting on a futon in a posture similar to a human sitting cross-legged.

"Rainbow Horse Demon," a giant horse-like creature shrouded in a seven-colored rainbow mist, about ten meters long, lies prostrate on a futon, its pair of heterochromatic red and blue eyes shining like jewels.

"The Aries Demon" is a sheep with a kind face like a church priest. It is four meters tall, with a highly anthropomorphic body, and wears a scarf made of wool around its neck.

"The Divine Rooster Demon" is a rooster the size of a palm, with golden eyes and beautiful peacock feathers fluttering behind it.

"The Monkey Demon," a giant monkey twenty meters long, lies sleepily on its side on a futon, yawning and munching on a large peach.

These demons varied greatly in size; some were so large they could topple a tall building, while others were so small they could be grasped in one hand.

The way they gathered together so solemnly creates a strong sense of contrast and dissonance at first glance, as if they were from completely different styles, but there is no doubt that they are all members of the Zodiac Team.

However... the last demon that caught the little Nian beast's eye surprised it a bit.

For some reason, a blue cat was sitting on a small red cushion, licking its paws, its head drooping, and its innocent eyes blinking.

"Look who it is... Our young master has returned," Mad Bull Demon said in a low voice.

"I never expected that Lord Little Year Beast would actually still be alive." The Rat Demon raised his paw and stroked his beard.

"Do you still have the nerve to come back?" The Green Serpent Demon opened his eyes, his pupils so cold they seemed to freeze. "Do you know how many demons died in the war ten years ago that you started? Just because you're the son of the Great Lord, you think you can act recklessly?"

Ji Minghuan was speechless, thinking to himself, "Why are you getting angry at a game AI?"

He thought, even if I didn't generate the "Little Year Beast" character, you would definitely fight with the Lake Hunter for other reasons, and then both sides would suffer heavy losses and a bunch of people would die.

The system shifted the blame to Unit 4 when modifying the history simply to give it an easily memorable event anchor, making its existence seem more tangible.

"Don't be too harsh, Green Snake... Little Year Beast was just a child back then," Rainbow Horse Demon said, his voice gentle yet indifferent. "It's normal for children to make mistakes."

"You mean... it's not a child anymore?" The Green Serpent Demon narrowed its eyes, staring intently at the Little Year Beast.

Ji Minghuan looked back at it, wishing she could switch to human form and give it the middle finger.

He controlled the little Nian beast, shook his head dismissively, and then strode over.

"Where's my father?" The little Nian beast walked to the front of the prayer mat, looked up and asked them, "Where did he go?"

It can be seen that a larger futon is surrounded by twelve futons, which is naturally the usual seat of the Nian Beast King, but this seat is currently empty.

"The Great Lord has gone to meet the Seven Deadly Sins from the Norse," the Green Serpent Demon said hoarsely, flicking his tongue.

"Aren't the Seven Deadly Sins all dead?" Little Nian asked casually.

"The Lake Hunt eradicated 'lust,' 'greed,' 'pride,' and 'envy' from the Seven Deadly Sins, but 'gluttony,' 'sloth,' and 'wrath' remain alive, and the Great Lord has gone to retrieve them," said the Rat Demon.

"Since the Green Snake and the Mad Bull are here, are the others also members of the Zodiac Team?" Little Year Beast asked.

"Otherwise what?" the monkey demon said lazily, taking a bite of a peach.

The little beast stretched out a paw and pointed at the blue cat sitting on the seat licking its paws. "What's the meaning of this cat? There can't be a cat among the twelve zodiac animals, can there?"

"The Flood Dragon Demon has become extinct, and now it will take the place of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac," said the Rat Demon.

“Cats and dragons should be two different species,” said the little Nian beast.

“So, it’s the Totoro Demon,” said the Rat Demon.

"A Totoro Demon?" The little Nian beast tilted its head and looked at the inconspicuous little blue cat again. "What is that?" It went over and patted the little blue cat's head with its paw.

Suddenly, the little blue cat stopped licking its paws. As if sensing that it was being looked down upon, it slowly raised its head and jumped up from its seat, puffing out its cheeks in anger.

Then, its body expanded in mid-air, and the torch stretched its shadow on the ground.

This enormous shadow covered the little Nian beast, and it was changing, gradually revealing the outline of a dragon, with layers of overlapping black scales covering the outline.

When the little Nian beast raised its head again, it saw a huge blue dragon, but it wasn't a Chinese dragon; it was a Nordic dragon. It wondered where the Nian beast king had dug this toad out of.

"Roar—!" The blue dragon unfurled its massive, sky-covering wings, its dark red dragon eyes pointing upwards. It hovered in mid-air, flapping its wings, like a giant blue bat.

“Okay… I have no objection to it taking the 'dragon' position now,” the little Nian beast muttered.

The next moment, the blue dragon folded its wings and swooped down, its body instantly transforming into the little blue cat, landing on the back of the little Nian beast.

The blue cat licked the little Nian beast's cheek, rolled around on its back, and finally stood motionless on the little Nian beast's shoulder.

“Hey, it seems to like you quite a bit…” The monkey demon took a bite of a peach.

The little beast tried to shake it off, but the blue cat clung tightly to its back.

"Fine, then you can stay here," said the little Nian beast, then looked up at the Rat demon, "There are only eight in the Zodiac Team? Where are the other four?"

A moment of silence enveloped the temple, the flickering torches on either side casting shadows on the demons' faces.

"You want to know?" the Green Serpent Demon asked.

"Otherwise what?" said the little beast.

"The Porcupine Demon was killed by 'Zhuge Hui' of the Lake Hunters, the White Tiger Demon was killed by 'Zhong Wujiu' of the Lake Hunters, and the Hellhound Demon and the Bright Rabbit Demon died at the hands of 'Zhou Jiuya' of the Lake Hunters." The Green Snake Demon stared at the Little Year Beast, speaking almost word by word.

"This generation of lake hunters is indeed formidable; dying at their hands is no shame," the little beast asked. "When will the Great Lord return?"

“I don’t know… White Wolf is back today too. He has something to discuss with the Great Lord. The Great Lord is very busy right now. An old friend is coming back, and the Seven Deadly Sins of Norse mythology are coming. He has to run between the two places,” the Monkey Demon said lazily.

“Before the Great Lord returns, there is one thing we must do,” the Green Serpent Demon said, suddenly rising from his seat.

"What is it?" the little beast asked, grabbing the blue cat bouncing on its back with its paw and throwing it aside.

"The Great Khan said that if you can't pass the Zodiac Team's test, you might as well not come back."

"You mean... a fight?"

"Snake, ox, horse, choose whichever you like." The Rat Demon sighed and added fuel to the fire, "If you can win, that's fine, but if you can't, then you'd better obediently leave as the Great Lord ordered. It doesn't want to acknowledge a child who hasn't returned home for ten years and is good for nothing."

The little beast silently raised an eyebrow and looked up at the Mad Bull Demon, the Green Snake Demon, and the Rainbow Horse Demon. He estimated that the bull and horse were at the level of a natural disaster, while the snake was a near-natural disaster level.

"Really, you can just pick whatever you want?" The corners of its mouth turned up slightly.

"if not?"

"Then come at me all at once." It stomped the floor, and a burst of purple flames erupted from its feet.

"Perfect opportunity for me to test just how powerful this perfect-grade mecha is," Ji Minghuan thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)