Monster Dismantling Company

Chapter 3 "Tzeentch" Corruption

Li Lin glanced in that direction. The street behind the cordon was pitch black, as if a piece of it had been ripped away by the city.

"This area isn't completely clean yet," said Master Wang. "The evil energy is too strong; it's still sealed off there."

Those were traces left by Monster #7 of this year—but it wasn't a monster invasion; rather, it was an explosion caused by poor storage. The entire area was cleared to prevent residual contaminants from leaking out.

An unsettling odor hung in the air, making the surrounding area seem less crowded.

Not far ahead is Li Lin's residence.

The car drove into the familiar street, the streetlights softening the light. The car came to a stop downstairs.

"Let's go early tomorrow," said Mr. Wang. "There will be a lot of people, so let's go grab a seat first."

"I know." Li Lin opened the car door. "Thank you for your hard work, driver."

"Don't bother," Master Wang waved his hand.

Li Lin got out of the car and watched it drive away. Only after the taillights disappeared at the intersection did he turn and go into the building.

The hallway was quiet, the motion-activated lights turning on one by one with each step he took. He reached his front door, took out his keys, and opened it. The apartment was pitch black.

He closed the door, placed his baseball cap in the entryway, and casually turned on a small lamp. The moment the light came on, he subconsciously raised his hand to touch his forehead—

The horns on his head haven't completely disappeared yet, but today's method seems to be working.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Wash your hands and change your clothes. The water washes over your fingertips, carrying away the smells brought in from outside.

He stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself—he was practically a human being.

"I need to get up early tomorrow," he whispered to himself in front of the mirror.

The lights went out, and the room went dark again.

Outside the window, the sea breeze silently swept across the city.

Tomorrow will be very busy.

In the distance, at the edge of the sea and sky—a blazing light pierced the heavens. The battle for the defense forces had begun. Li Lin would not participate in that battle; his battlefield was in the second phase.

...

This year marks the 39th year since humanity united in the face of the monster plague. For Ningju, a coastal city, today is also a fruitful day. The 9th monster of the year, Taba, was killed last night by the defense force's hunting fleet, and its carcass was transported to Ningju's coast this morning.

A mountain of flesh weighing 100,000 tons lies on the beach of Ningzhou City; that is this year's ninth monster, [Taba]. [Taba]'s appearance is no different from that of a catfish in its natural state, which is proof of its weak fighting ability.

Monsters also vary in combat power. Although they are all collectively called monsters, over the past 39 years, the monsters observed by humans can be divided into three categories from weakest to strongest: the gigantic [sub-monsters], the four-legged [monsters], and the unicorn [super-beasts].

The first two levels have already been served on human dinner tables. Now, the only ones that can pose a threat to humanity are the Super Beasts.

[Super Beast] is extremely rare, with no more than one appearing each year, and the appearance of each Super Beast will trigger a massive crackdown by the defense forces around the world.

However, if you look at the Monster Statistics Yearbook published by the United Government, you will find a fourth category in addition to the three categories mentioned above:

【King Beast】

In the past 39 years, humans have only observed five King Beasts. The common feature of these King Beasts is that they have two horns on their heads. The appearance of each King Beast has brought the beast tide of that year to a new peak.

Rumors circulate in the city that these king beasts, super beasts, monsters, and quasi-monsters are none other than the legendary dragons. This is because [two horns make a dragon, one horn makes a jiao, no horns make a chi, and no feet make a lu], the monsters' levels correspond perfectly to the dragons' levels.

However, as the miasma spread, the transmission of information was blocked, and the global internet also disappeared. This rumor has always remained just that—a rumor—at least the coalition government has never acknowledged it.

However, the king beast, considered to be a true dragon, does exhibit some characteristics of a dragon:

When it rises, it soars through the universe; when it hides, it lies dormant within the waves.

The King Beasts arrived unexpectedly, and they departed just as silently. No one knows when they disappeared; no one has seen them since the following year. Perhaps they died in battle.

After the king beasts vanished like dew, only their followers remained, washing ashore year after year, only to be crushed to death on the beach.

The [Taba] standing before us is one of its members. Monsters of this level can be dealt with according to the relevant provisions of the "Fourteenth Edition of the Special Emergency Plan for Beast Disasters" issued to all members by the United Government.

The company primarily responsible for carrying out this task is Monster Decomposition Company.

Early in the morning, Li Lin woke up in his bed. His Fire Crow Company uniform was hanging on the clothes rack in his room.

The first thing he did upon waking was to reach out and touch his horns—his horns had completely dissolved.

Two horns sprouted yesterday morning, which gave him a headache for quite some time. Although his blood was surging and he wanted to seize fame, he didn't really want to have too much contact with people.

He was actually somewhat lazy by nature, but he was dragged along by his body and had no choice but to move forward. So, in the eyes of Lin Zhifang and the others, he seemed to have a "daily mission" and was always doing things that seemed impressive but were actually quite incomprehensible.

In this situation, it's most likely that two horns have appeared, a "sign of emperorship" that he's least adept at handling.

However, each time I dealt with it, I gained a good result—humans have five desires, the body has five excesses, and the qi has five evils.

The newly grown horns are a result of his remaining vital energy and blood. Yesterday, he released his fire and drew upon the power of his vital energy and blood, making his muscles and bones even stronger. He could clearly feel that the strength of his muscles and bones had increased compared to yesterday.

While it's not enough to punch someone into the ground like when one's blood and energy are at their peak, the current power is clearly more stable and longer-lasting.

He had read in some ancient texts that ancient cultivators used things like "evil energy" for cultivation. But this seemed completely different from his situation, because he wasn't consciously cultivating. For him, it was a natural state, like eating when hungry or drinking when thirsty. He would accumulate evil energy every day, and he had to find ways to eliminate it to maintain his own stability.

However, each time the malevolent energy is dispelled, he becomes stronger than the day before, because he grows a little bigger. This is also a characteristic of a dragon's transformation.

However, today...

After confirming that no horns had emerged, he quickly reached for his tail—

"Phew." He breathed a sigh of relief.

I have important business to attend to today. Although the chances of the tail popping up are very rare, maybe once a month, it can be quite troublesome whenever it does.

According to Master Wang, if the tail pops out, then today must be a day of "sexual misfortune." He has important business to attend to today and doesn't have time to vent that kind of anger.