Monster Dismantling Company

Li Lin was in a great mood as he walked out of the interrogation room, with Lin Zhifang walking beside him.

"What are you doing? Why didn't you say so earlier? They asked you for details, why didn't you speak up for yourself? I went to the trouble of expediting the process for you."

He and Li Lin were very familiar with each other because they had attended the same school since elementary school.

Those unfamiliar with Li Lin feel that he frequently does things that seem mysterious and impressive. Although the process is often strange, it usually ends well in the end.

Overall, it seems like the system issues him some kind of "daily task" every day, which he has to do.

Lin Zhifang was one of the few who knew the truth; he knew why Li Lin did this, most likely because it was one of those recurring "ailments." But he wanted to know which ailment had flared up today.

"So, how did you get sick today? Were you hungry?"

Li Lin replied, "No. I was thinking, it's almost dinnertime. If I confess, I can go home; if I resist, I might get a free meal. Hmm, your cooking here is really good."

Lin Zhifang helplessly covered his forehead: "You... fine, fine, you win. You managed to put on a show."

He glanced at Li Lin's head. The root of today's problem must lie beneath that baseball cap.

"Hahaha~~ See you at school tomorrow."

"Schools are closed tomorrow—the whole city is shut down, production is halted, and classes are suspended. Have you forgotten? Tomorrow is the day Monster Number Nine [Tapah] makes landfall. Isn't this your job?"

"Oh...right. Your noodles were so delicious, I forgot. Let's go home then."

Some of his company staff were also there to pick him up. He was just about to leave with them—

"Wait a minute," Lin Zhifang called out to him, "Don't forget about tomorrow night. Remember to come see my sister off."

"I know."

"You don't know! If you really knew, you should show your appreciation tomorrow night, okay? This is the last day."

"I understand. See you tomorrow." He reached up and pulled down his baseball cap, then walked toward the pickup truck with the Fire Raven logo in the distance.

He sat in the passenger seat, while the person who had gone in to fetch him sat in the driver's seat.

"Let's go, driver," he said to Mr. Wang in the driver's seat.

Master Wang is Li Lin's second-in-command, and also the second-in-command of Li Lin's father. He was already the second-in-command of the squadron when [Fire Crow] was not yet a monster dismantling company, but a special operations squadron of the defense force.

Master Wang glanced at him: "Based on the board games we played as kids, you seem to be in a state of Khone corruption today. How about it, did your fire dissipate today?"

"More or less." Li Lin took off his baseball cap. From the edge of the cap, a pair of horns were visible—horns that didn't belong to a human.

A faint glow flowed over the horns, making them appear delicate and translucent. The horns were not sharp at the edges, looking as tender as deer antlers, thus allowing them to be concealed within a hat and hair.

At this moment, the edges of the horns were emitting light, and the two horns were also dissolving, gradually disappearing into the fluffy hair, leaving only two shield-shaped protrusions on the head.

He is not human, that's obvious. Those are the horns of a dragon.

But these aren't the only characteristics that will appear on him. He has two horns on his head and a tail behind him. His claws become sharp, and the scar between his eyebrows occasionally undergoes strange changes. There are generally five types.

Ancient classics say that humans have five desires: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, which correspond to the five attachments to wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep.

Horns are the remnants of youthful vigor. Today, in the prime of his life, he has gained immense power from his youthful vigor—the power to burst a person like a balloon with a single punch. But this power comes at a price—with his proud horns atop his head, he must satisfy his "desire for fame." Or rather, he must gain glory.

According to Master Wang's usual way of saying it, today is "Khornea Corrosion." However, that's an old saying from before the war, and he doesn't really understand it.

If you don't get what you want for just one day, it's not a big problem; at most, you just need to change to a fluffier hat.

The problem is that this phenomenon occurs every morning.

Every morning when I wake up, something strange is waiting for me.

If left unchecked, his body will become increasingly unlike a human, drifting further and further away from humanity. Eventually, he might even transform completely into a dragon. Because that is the essence of the dragon—change, that is the very nature of the dragon.

Dragons can be large or small, can rise or hide; when large, they stir up clouds and mist, when small, they conceal their form; when rising, they soar through the universe, when hiding, they lurk within the waves—this is also recorded in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

The dragon, however, has another name among the United Government: monster.

What many humans don't know is that having two horns on its head has special significance for dragons—it's a symbol of royalty.

Without a word, Mr. Wang drove away from the neighborhood where the police station was located. The glare of the streetlights swept across the car window. The citizens of Ningzhou probably had no idea that humanity's "greatest enemy" was quietly passing through their neighborhood.

The aroma of barbecue wafted from the roadside.

"It's quite windy tonight," Mr. Wang said casually as he turned the steering wheel.

"Mm," Li Lin replied.

At this moment, his murderous aura had dissipated, and he returned to his original state—quiet and composed.

After all, he can vent his wildness on ordinary days. And once he's vented it, he naturally enters a state of sagehood.

As the car moved forward, the street scene outside the window receded, and the night sea breeze blew in through the window.

It smells like barbecue—no matter the time, barbecue is a cooking method that always strikes a chord with the human soul.

However, the taste of these barbecues today seems to be different from usual.

"Have we run out of white deer meat?" he asked Master Wang, who was standing next to him.

In the past, these barbecue stalls used the meat of the No. 1 monster of the year, the white deer. The white deer did not land in Ningzhou, but it was able to find a market here, entirely thanks to the deliciousness of the white deer itself.

"It's definitely all gone. I asked a few of our warehousing partners, and they said that not only is the White Deer brand completely sold out, but the less tasty No. 3 and No. 5 brands are also almost gone."

Tomorrow is the scheduled arrival date for the monster Taba, which will solve the city's monster inventory crisis.

"So, this time it should sell even better?"

"As long as the meat quality is good, monster meat sales won't be bad. I just hope nothing goes wrong with Taba tomorrow. It's just that monster meat is something that's always been hard to understand."

The car turned onto a quiet road.

On one side were sealed-off factory buildings, and on the other side was a cordoned-off street. Temporary warning signs stood at the intersection, their reflective strips glaringly bright under the lights.

[Temporarily controlled area; entry is prohibited unless absolutely necessary]