The Demon Lord's Lovers

"Him? I was fortunate enough to meet him a few times—after all, I'm from Songhai too." Zhang Yuanqing spoke with a solemn expression and a deep, measured tone. "He is the emblem of justice, an umbrella shielding the weak, an adversary of tyranny. His character is as solid as gold, his charisma as dazzling as a diamond. Even Heavenly King Demonic Eye of the Soldier Master sect was utterly captivated by his charm, sighing that 'the world is pure filth; only Yuanshi Tianzun is truly benevolent and sincere.' "As for my personal impression, Yuanshi Tianzun is someone entirely worthy of trust, a partner of justice, a mortal enemy of hegemony. If you ever face oppression or bullying from those in power, you can never go wrong turning to him." "I didn't expect you to hold him in such high regard..." As a Thunder Mage, Cao Qianxiu's righteous heart was thoroughly won over by these words. Her eyes drifted into yearning, gleaming with admiration, tinged with both sorrow and indignation. "To think he was such a noble soul. What a tragedy... a filthy reality could never tolerate someone so fierce and unyielding in his integrity." Time was limited, so they didn't talk for long. Once they settled the main business, each returned home. Cao Qianxiu entered the apartment, closed the security door, and saw her parents sitting by the dining table, murmuring to each other in low voices. Seeing her daughter return, the landlady said at once, "Your father and I discussed it, and we've decided to hire Mr. Zhang from next door as your home tutor. I hope you know what's good for you and don't make a fuss." A home tutor? Cao Qianxiu pondered for a moment. Having the cover of tutoring would make it easier to stay in touch with Zhang Qingyang, which wasn't a bad thing at all. She nodded. "Fine!" The landlady was taken aback. She hadn't expected her book-averse daughter to agree so readily, and suspicion instantly flared in her eyes. Cao Qing blurted out instinctively, "Sweetheart, no underage romance, alright? He has a girlfriend." Cao Qianxiu gave a scoffing chuckle, disdaining to explain, and headed straight back to her bedroom. She first checked the digital clock on her nightstand to confirm the time, then quickly opened the wardrobe, changed into athletic wear, and began physical conditioning in her room—squats, sit-ups, push-ups, and the like. Self-discipline was one of a Thunder Mage's class traits. The young girl possessed a supple, slender figure that retained the springy resilience of a willow twig. Though the curves of her chest and hips were not as voluptuous as a mature woman's, her body fat percentage was superb, far from skinny or frail. Years of consistent training had carved out firm abdominal lines and sleek obliques. Her hips were compact yet round and shapely. Sweat dripped along her pointed jawline, her fair, pretty face etched with determination. At eleven sharp, she concluded her workout and headed into the bathroom to shower. Half an hour later, she emerged, changed into pajamas, and lay in bed, getting ready for sleep. According to the internal clock Cao Qianxiu set for herself, she had to be asleep before midnight, which left her half an hour of free time. She picked up her phone, opened the messaging app, and tapped on a group chat titled "Anti-Black-and-White Alliance Group 6." The alliance's hierarchy drew inspiration from major Orderly organizations worldwide, operating on a team-based model. Each group held up to ten members, and a group leader had to be at the peak Transcendent stage. Above group leaders were Deacons, and above Deacons were Elders and the Alliance Leader. Naturally, for a grassroots organization like this, Dominator was the ceiling; demigods were out of the question. [Judge Cao: I recruited a Scout from the Second District who recently arrived in New York. Preliminary assessment: his background should be clean.] [Snow White: Wow, you found a recruit already? Judge Cao is going to have subordinates now! What level Scout is he?] [Judge Cao: He's Level 2.] [Miraculous Physician: I know the Scout class—cool-headed and sharp, strong at coordination, with keen observational powers, and highly capable in solo combat. Our group doesn't lack raw fighting power, but we do lack a strategist. A Scout's Insight and coordination skills are a perfect fit.] [Snow White: A Level 2 Scout—that's not low at all. He must be skilled. I'm looking forward to meeting him.] [Little Steel Cannon: I'm curious about Second District Orderly classes too. Aside from "Never Forget the Homeland," who's an Earth Monster, our organization barely has any Orderly walkers from the Second District.] The chat instantly grew lively. Just then, the leader of Group 6 chimed in: [Self-Improvement: Are you sure he's reliable and his background checks out? The defining feature of Scouts in the Transcendent stage is their close-combat ability, but evil classes or rigorously trained Orderly classes can fake that too.] The others fell silent at once, quietly awaiting Judge Cao's response. [Judge Cao: First of all, he exposed his Spirit Realm walker identity while saving someone, not to show off for me, which rules out an evil class. Second, from my observation, he definitely came from the Second District. Unlike those of us who are Federation-born Chinese, he knows a ton of domestic memes from back home. His foreign language skills are poor, he's unfamiliar with New York, and he has a foreign girlfriend who was his university language teacher. He needs her just to get around outside.] [Snow White: Is he handsome?] [Never Forget the Homeland: Exposed himself while saving someone... yeah, that means he's a good guy. And if he isn't Federation-born Chinese, the chance of him intentionally infiltrating us is much lower.] After hearing Judge Cao's account, the team members relaxed their guard considerably. [Self-Improvement: Don't let your guard down. We're currently clashing with the Astral Covenant, and right now a clean Scout just happens to appear by Judge Cao's side. No matter how you look at it, it feels unusual. @Judge Cao, observe him closely over the next few days. If you confirm there's no issue, use an assessment as an excuse to make him prove his loyalty with a pledge of allegiance. Otherwise, it's hard for us to rest easy.] [Judge Cao: A loyalty test is fine, but nothing too dangerous. If it puts his life at risk, I'd rather drop the recruitment.] Whatever the case, Zhang Qingyang was the savior of her little brother. [Snow White: Oho, look at you caring so much about him. Is he really handsome or what?] [Self-Improvement: Also, the Deacon told me this morning that the conflict between the Merchant Guild and the Dionysus Club is about to escalate. Heaven's Punishment is involved as well. Everyone stay on Man Island for now and don't go to other boroughs.] [Snow White: Speaking of that, I heard from a friend over at Heaven's Punishment that two Wind Mages from Heaven's Punishment were ambushed by the Dionysus Club at Dia Airport the day before yesterday.] [Never Forget the Homeland: A storm is brewing.] [Little Steel Cannon: We can't do anything about clashes between major organizations anyway. Just keep our heads down. Neither the Merchant Guild nor the Dionysus Club has turf in Chinatown, so it shouldn't affect us.] Midnight arrived. Cao Qianxiu quietly switched off her screen, pulled up the quilt, and drifted off to sleep. The next morning, Zhang Yuanqing sat at the dining table, eating a Western breakfast prepared by Annie. The blonde beauty wore a black T-shirt and white knee-length shorts. Shorn of her slightly forceful, mature business suit, she had a gentler, homier charm about her. "Cult Master, I heard last night that the Dionysus Club and the Merchant Guild are going to war," Annie said, cutting her fried egg as she knitted her brows. "Among the Orderly organizations, Heaven's Punishment and our Association of God of Beauty stand firmly with the Merchant Guild, while the Sea God Church's stance remains ambiguous. On the evil side, the Biological Alchemy Society is allied with the Dionysus Club. The Night God Church has always kept a low profile and likely won't get involved. "A clash between two major organizations will also trigger unrest among grassroots organizations and rogue walkers. After all, many independent factions were propped up by them. Even non-walker gangs and corporations will get dragged in. New York is going to be in chaos for a while." "Interesting!" Zhang Yuanqing smiled. "The messier, the better. If New York stays peaceful and quiet, how am I supposed to advance to Gold Hunter within a month?" Besides, he had coveted First District items for a long time; the moniker "Item Tianzun" had to be upheld. Zhang Yuanqing looked forward to hunting the First District's evil classes and the fallen among the Orderly. Annie gave a slight nod. "It's a good chance to fish in troubled waters, but it also increases the risk of bumping into Dominators. In a bit, I'll compile a list of high-ranking figures from both Orderly and evil organizations, along with their active territories, as thoroughly as I can." *Annie really is an excellent assistant—highly capable.* Zhang Yuanqing smiled. "I always trust your work." As they spoke, his spare phone chimed with a ping. Zhang Yuanqing looked down. It was a push notification from the Bounty Hunter app: the commission he posted yesterday morning had been completed. To prevent clients from reneging after reading intelligence or bounty hunters from peddling junk information, reports were generally vetted by the Bounty Hunter Guild to verify their authenticity. Of course, if it involved confidential intelligence, clients and hunters could conduct private transactions off the record. Zhang Yuanqing promptly unlocked the screen, opened the app, and checked the mission. He clicked to download the attachment from the server and began reading the information, which was written entirely in English. The document compiled sixteen named women, all of whom had a degree of prominence, had circulated romantic rumors with the Demon Lord, and possessed a high credibility rating as his lovers. Zhang Yuanqing skimmed through quickly and breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that Heaven's Punishment's Chief Executive Officer wasn't among them. *Sixteen prominent ones alone... Who knows how many unknown beauties there were? Going on an overseas trip and bedding so many women—the Demon Lord truly lived up to his Day Wanderer title...* Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. The Demon Lord's treasure map had six fragments in total: one with Teng'er, one with Yin Ji, and one with Betty of the Association of God of Beauty. The other three remained unaccounted for. He reviewed the intelligence several times and narrowed down his targets to three women. The first was Winifred Elena, a Rank 1 Silver Executive Officer of Heaven's Punishment and a Level 7 Wind Mage assigned to the Windy City Branch. The intelligence noted that this officer had publicly acknowledged her relationship with the Demon Lord, and the two had even vacationed together in the Aloha Islands. The second was Chris Gustav, granddaughter of the chairman of Heaven's Punishment's board of directors, an aristocratic lady, a future heir of the Gustav Conglomerate, and a Level 8 Siren. The third was Winnie Berent, a Rank 1 Silver Inspector of Heaven's Punishment and a Level 8 Thunder Mage serving in the New York Branch, renowned for her icy elegance and impartiality. Among the three lovers, Chris and Winnie had once clashed out of jealousy over the Demon Lord, brawling across the Atlantic Ocean and kicking up a tsunami that caused hundreds of millions of Federation dollars in damage. As a result of the incident, Heaven's Punishment demoted both women and sentenced each to three months of confinement. Zhang Yuanqing tentatively targeted these three women for two reasons. First, according to the intelligence, all three Dominators were genuinely infatuated with him, making them trusted lovers rather than fleeting flings. Second, they possessed ample status and strength to keep the map fragments safe. "All of them are Dominators..." Zhang Yuanqing sighed. Of the three lovers, the coldly elegant Inspector Winnie was right here in New York, making her the primary candidate. The problem was, her level was rather high. *With my strength, I might be able to put up a fight against a Level 7 Dominator, but against a Level 8, there's practically no hope—unless the God of Illusion item awakens further, the stars align with optimal conditions, and I have a helper to boot...* Zhang Yuanqing pinched the bridge of his nose with a headache, deciding to keep observing. If he successfully advanced to Day Wanderer by the end of the year, he should be able to subdue Winnie. Until then, he would gather information on her and plan his moves step by step. Just then, Zhang Yuanqing saw an unread message notification in the app. Opening it, he instantly perked up. The bounty hunter trial mission had arrived! *** Man Island, Heaven's Punishment Branch. At the New York Bank Headquarters Building, golden curtain walls of glass glittered in the light. Its tapered silhouette, tapering from a broad base to a sharp summit, made the skyscraper look like a golden blade thrusting into the azure sky. The tower had 108 floors in all, with the top eight floors—from the 100th floor upward—housing the offices of Heaven's Punishment. The helipad on the roof provided this tower with an extra measure of emergency escape and military support compared to neighboring skyscrapers. Seventeen-year-old Asano Ryo stood stiffly in a women's business suit, her small face taut with tension, her heart thumping in time with the rapidly ascending elevator car. She was still so young and inexperienced, the traces of childishness lingering on her face, that she couldn't quite carry off the executive look. She appeared like a child wearing an adult's suit. Yet her clear, delicate beauty made one overlook that slight awkwardness, and looking at her long enough, one might even find a peculiar charm in it. Today was Asano Ryo's third day in New York and her first day on the job. Over the past two days, she had undergone assessments by both the Enforcement Department and the Inspector Department. The Enforcement Department deemed her personality somewhat weak and lacking decisiveness, noting that outside of realm dungeons, she lacked real-world experience in life-and-death combat. Deeming her unfit to serve as an executive officer, they rejected her. The Inspector Department, on the other hand, felt that her youthful passion and lack of worldly experience meant she hadn't been corrupted by money or tainted by society, making her well suited to be an inspector. And so, Asano Ryo became a Rank 2 Bronze Inspector. Today was the day Asano Ryo reported to Heaven's Punishment to meet her superior. She had been assigned to the Tax Inspection Department, whose head was said to be that famous Thunder Mage, Winnie Berent. *Ding!* The elevator stopped on the 104th floor. Asano Ryo took a deep breath, silently pumped herself up, stepped out of the car, and walked toward the reception desk. "Hello!" she said in fluent English. "I'm a newly appointed Rank 2 Bronze Inspector with the Tax Department." The blonde, blue-eyed receptionist looked up at her and smiled. "In Heaven's Punishment, people only mention their tier in formal situations. Same goes for missions. Going forward, just introduce yourself as a Rank 2 Inspector. "The director is waiting for you in her office. Follow me."