Late at night on July 18th, inside a massive shopping mall in Tokyo, flas and thick smoke continuously billowed from a clothing boutique, driving away the surrounding darkness.
The Silver Soldiers bustled about the store like firefighters, clutching fire extinguishers as they dashed in every direction.
Vast clouds of steam clashed violently with the bright flas, as if a brutal cage match was unfolding within the cramped confines of the shop.
Ji Minghuan leaned against a nearby railing. While directing the Silver Soldiers to put out the fire, he reviewed Xia Pingzhou's character interface.
A stark black-and-white panel reflected in his pupils.
[Current number of Demons available for a pact: 1.]
He thought, 'Making a pact with a Demon is actually quite crucial. You can only forge a pact, not break it. Once you bind yourself to a Demon, there is no turning back.'
'The textbooks from the Exorcist Association stated that a pact Demon's strength and its compatibility with the Celestial Drive directly determine an Exorcist's absolute limit.'
As his thoughts drifted here, Ji Minghuan suddenly recalled the day he used his Restraining Band Detection on Su Zimai. Her ability panel had displayed several prominent words:
[Contracted Demon: Refrigerator Demon].
Previously, because he lacked a comprehensive and clear understanding of Exorcists, he hadn't found anything particularly strange about this Refrigerator Demon.
But now, looking back on it, the illustrious na of the Refrigerator Demon caused Host Body Two, Xia Pingzhou, to faintly twitch his stoic poker face.
He took a deep breath, narrowly suppressing a string of mocking laughter from echoing through the quiet mall, which would have definitely drawn a weird look from Uncle Takikage.
Ji Minghuan silently chanted Buddhist scriptures in his heart, trying his best to stop his brain from dwelling on the sheer prestige of this "Refrigerator Demon".
He mused, 'As expected of my Little Sister. Even her taste in picking Demons is so unique that it leaves others in the dust.'
'Since her very first contracted Demon is such a high-class, elegant entity, then in the future, wouldn't things like a "Toilet Demon" or an "Ashtray Demon" also fall into Su Zimai's demonic clutches?'
'Demons are hard to find in Tokyo to begin with. There is no need to force a hasty pact just for this Auction. Besides, with Host Body Two's current strength, he is more than enough to completely thrash the master of the Refrigerator Demon. I am not desperate for a contracted Demon right now.'
'It is better to wait until the Auction concludes. Once I have ample ti, I can slowly scout for a Demon that truly satisfies .'
With that in mind, Ji Minghuan glanced up at the Silver Soldiers extinguishing the fire. Water mist erupted from the red fire extinguishers, scattering in all directions. A faint, damp scent draped the air, as if a localized rainstorm had just swept through the mall.
In a matter of monts, the Silver Soldiers completely doused the flas inside the boutique.
Ji Minghuan retracted his Celestial Drive, returning all the Chess Pieces to their black and white orbital paths.
He then turned to Oda Takikage, who was slowly walking over, and said, "Thanks, Number 4."
"You are welco. Let us head back," Oda Takikage said expressionlessly. He rested a hand on Xia Pingzhou's shoulder, and imdiately, both of them sank into the shadows beneath their feet.
A short while later, they re-erged inside the familiar cafe.
Oda Takikage pulled a pair of reading glasses from a case on the counter and slipped them on. As if nothing had happened, he reverted to the kindly, mild-mannered older gentleman, though his looming two-ter-tall physique still felt sowhat jarring.
Without a word, he strode into the kitchen, packed the ingredients he had just prepared into a crisper, and stored them in the refrigerator.
Ji Minghuan leaned heavily against the counter, massaging his throbbing forehead with his free hand. He thought to himself that enduring this ninja-style teleportation a few more tis would truly be unbearable. It felt like riding a rollercoaster from Hell cranked up to ten tis the difficulty.
'If I hadn't lowered the sensory sensitivity, a single trip like that would have scared my soul right out of my body,' he reflected.
After resting against the counter for a mont to recover, he turned his head and gazed out the glass door.
The long street was filled with the gentle hum of voices. A line of girls clad in kimonos and wearing geta clattered past the glass door. They chatted and laughed, discussing how the fireworks festival was only a few days away, debating what outfits to wear after their baths, and plotting which boys to invite to the sumr festival.
It felt like a lifeti ago.
"Well then... please turn in early tonight."
Oda Takikage stepped out of the kitchen as he spoke, his hands clasped behind his back, his tone warm and instructive.
"It is about ti I headed back to the inn as well. The cafe will remain closed tomorrow. The day after, July 20th, is when the entire White Raven Brigade will assemble. Finally, at midnight on the 20th, the Auction operation will officially comnce."
He paused. "Mr. Xia Pingzhou, please ensure you rest well and prepare your physical condition for the upcoming operation."
Ji Minghuan lifted his gaze to et the man's eyes and replied tonelessly,
"Alright. I am going to sleep then."
Oda Takikage offered a faint smile and nodded. He then proceeded to turn off the first-floor lights one by one before stepping out of the cafe, locking the door firmly behind him.
Perhaps having seen this exact scene too many tis had triggered so form of PTSD, but Ji Minghuan inexplicably felt the profound loneliness of being abandoned alone in a Confinent Room.
And so, in the pitch-black environnt, he fumbled his way up to the loft and sat on the mattress laid out on the floor.
When he looked up, he saw Ayase Origami resting on the bed. The moonlight spilling through the window bathed the kimono girl's sleeping face in a soft glow, snapping him out of his daze and reminding him that this place was entirely different from that freezing Confinent Room.
Ji Minghuan slowly lay back, gesturing with his fingers to open Host Body Two's character interface.
[Second-Rank Celestial Drive Skill: "King-Rook Switch" (Allows your "Rook" piece and "King" piece to instantly swap positions)]
[Prerequisite for casting this skill: Both the "King" piece and the "Rook" piece must be present on the Chessboard simultaneously.]
[Cooldown: 12 hours.]
'Good stuff... Not only can it protect the King, but it also allows the Rook to blast the enemy point-blank in the face.' Ji Minghuan absolutely loved this kind of devious trickery; his eyes glead faintly in the dark.
Imdiately after, he checked the description of his newly acquired Chess Piece.
The "Bishop" piece. In the local translation of International Chess, it was sotis referred to as the "Elephant
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