Chapter 20: Cooperation

The answer to this question was inexplicably terrifying. Almost no one present was willing to delve deeply into the reasons behind it. They only knew that the current situation had completely exceeded their ability to cope. Given their physical conditions, their chances of defeating a fully empowered Blood Demon parasite were virtually zero.

“Blood Demon, we want to talk to you,” one of them said coldly.

“Blood Demon? The Blood Demon has already been dealt with,” Xia Shou frowned in confusion.

“Don’t play dumb. When a high-level anomaly dies, it inevitably releases residual cursed energy, but the tests show no such dissipation… Since you are parasitic in this body, you should know what that means,” the execution squad captain said lazily.

Xia Shou stood silently, his mind racing to find the right words. Although he didn’t fully understand what cursed energy dissipation meant, he could roughly guess the cause. Because he had devoured the Blood Demon’s corpse, the cursed energy that should have spread did not. The notes had warned him not to let the Control Bureau know that shadows could consume anomalies; otherwise, this situation would be even harder to explain.

What a headache.

At that moment, the nearby detection device suddenly emitted a sharp alarm. The operator’s face changed drastically as he shouted, “There are signs of cursed energy dissipation! Judging by the form, this dissipation only occurs after an anomaly’s death!”

The execution squad froze on the spot, staring at Xia Shou in confusion and doubt.

A masked man stepped forward and said, “Allow me to interrupt. This person is an external reinforcement from Division Three, with an anomaly rating of only one. If the descriptions in the data are true, the Blood Demon would try to parasitize powerful supernaturals. Its host should be a Beast Tamer, not him.”

The tense faces of the execution squad relaxed slightly but remained wary of Xia Shou.

Zhang Zhengde coldly demanded, “Where is the Beast Tamer?”

“He’s dead. This is his relic. He asked me to deliver it to the head of Division Two. You can take care of it, right?” Xia Shou tossed the obsidian necklace of the Beast Tamer to them. “He told me to wait at the entrance, then went off to deal with the Blood Demon himself. When I came to, the entrance was already accessible.”

Xia Shou fully credited the Beast Tamer for the victory, ensuring no one would press him on how he killed the Blood Demon or controlled the cursed energy dissipation upon its death.

“If what you say is true, please remain on standby here,” the execution squad said.

Xia Shou nodded cooperatively. “Okay.”

“Why give him the credit? You were the one who dealt with the Blood Demon, right?” Su Weiyu asked from the side.

“For certain reasons, I can’t let the Control Bureau know about this,” Xia Shou said as he sat cross-legged on the grass, contemplating how to secure his position within the Bureau.

After this ordeal, Xia Shou realized more clearly that it was best not to operate independently outside the Control Bureau. The anomalies in this world were too extraordinary. Without a powerful intelligence organization and research institution, it was difficult to fully analyze an unfamiliar anomaly.

Although the Control Bureau had not provided much valuable information about the Blood Demon House this time, the specialized terms in their data indicated the Bureau possessed an unimaginably rich literary and archival foundation. Whether it was exploration, rescue, or control, they had established effective procedures.

Relying on the Bureau’s power would greatly increase the safety of his anomaly consumption.

Of course, Xia Shou had other thoughts. Staying with the Control Bureau might be the fastest and easiest way to strengthen himself. The remnants and skills he had acquired this time all came from Bureau employees.

However… to remain long-term and legitimately within the Control Bureau, he needed a persona that would not arouse suspicion.

The notes demanded he not reveal the shadow’s ability to devour anomalies, and his official anomaly rating was only one.

The mission efficiency of a Level One employee was unbelievably low, so he had to find a way to improve his work evaluation.

“Ahem, you haven’t told me your name yet. What’s your name? And how do you know mine?” Su Weiyu crouched before Xia Shou, smiling brightly and cautiously like a kindergartener making a new friend.

“My name is Xia Shou. You have to keep what happened in the house a secret. If anyone else finds out… I might die,” Xia Shou said seriously.

The cost of the skill “Peak Perfection in Solitude” was as terrifying as its power. If the field information was disseminated a second time, it would mean death.

And the only witness at the scene was this beautiful girl before him.

“Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t tell anyone! You can trust me completely!” Su Weiyu quickly raised her hand and swore.

“I trust you.”

Xia Shou had no doubt about Su Weiyu. During the first exploration, he was immobilized and unable to act. When the Blood Demon attacked, she drew it away, buying him time to consume it and understand the skill’s true effect, which made the second attempt much more rationally planned.

In fact, if she hadn’t risked herself to divert the Blood Demon the first time, he might not have won. Unable to predict the time needed to consume the corpse, he might have given up swallowing it altogether, relying only on remnants and the skill “Perpetual Wound” to fight the Blood Demon.

Xia Shou looked up and met her unwavering gaze. Her eyes sparkled like a summer lake, and a smile never left her lips.

He could sense that she seemed quite fond of him—from risking herself to lure away the Blood Demon on their first adventure to cutting off the execution squad’s arm just now to protect him, her feelings were unmistakable.

In all his life up to this day, Xia Shou had only ever experienced such intense enthusiasm from con artists, never from peers.

And he had just met Su Weiyu today. Although Xia Shou considered himself reasonably good-looking, he was nowhere near the level of a male succubus.

Suddenly, Xia Shou made a bold guess: “Your ability is that you can’t be noticed by others and it can’t be turned off, right?”

Su Weiyu nodded vigorously. “How should I put it… According to the Control Bureau’s academic classification, my ability is a ‘reverse meme.’ Any information about me is ignored by others. All the conscious effects my actions cause are axiomatized.”

“Axiomatized” means phenomena that are self-evident through rational human judgment.

As expected!

That explained it perfectly. She was completely isolated by the world because of her ability!