Hunting God Era

Chapter 133 Seemingly Demonic but Not a Monster (4k)

Taking a deep breath of the polluted air, Li Ye strode forward, entering the farmland first and grabbing a wheat stalk taller than a person.

Before people arrived, these crops were high-yielding and vigorous, but things changed as soon as Li Ye entered the fields.

The wheat stalk he was holding suddenly changed, making a strange sound like teeth clashing together, but it also opened and closed like an iron yoke, splitting into two sides and even extending outwards, biting straight at Li Ye.

Click.

Li Ye casually snapped the wheat stalk in half, but this didn't hinder its movement. As it broke, it turned and bit his hand.

when!
The sound of metal clashing rang out. Li Ye looked at the hand that was biting him, and even broke two ears of wheat due to excessive force. He flipped his hand and used his five fingers to crush the wheat ears into a cloud of gas, which he then sucked into his mouth along with the wheat ears and stalks.

"Hmm, relying solely on martial arts skills isn't enough; specific conditions must be met?"

This time, he flipped his hand and unleashed a burst of energy, slicing down all the wheat that had begun to stir around him.

The fallen wheat ears still opened their fruits, moving rapidly like insects, gathering around Li Ye. The opening and closing of the wheat ears, like iron shackles or teeth, seemed to want to bite and clamp him.

No rouge blood was shed.
It seems that only a sickle can do this; once it's cut, it can return to its original state.

Li Ye opened his mouth and inhaled, and the crops that had fallen to the ground turned into a whirlwind and entered his stomach.

He doesn't need to remove the demons; he can just leave the normal ingredients.

It's fine to eat together.

The pollution from the demons themselves, and the energy from the ingredients, all entered his body, transforming the turbid energy into pure energy and materializing nutrients to replenish himself.

He surveyed the wheat field, opened his mouth, and uttered a thunderous roar. The surrounding crops were instantly reduced to dust, which he then inhaled.

Anyway, there's no surveillance footage to see it, and even if there were, it wouldn't matter. To outsiders, Li Ye just shattered the demons into dust.

At most, they felt that doing so was meaningless, and even if they knew that Li Ye was eating, it didn't really matter.

What's wrong with eating some demons?
Demons that have been cooked are called ingredients, while those that haven't been cooked are inedible?

That doesn't make sense.

He ate in front of outsiders without any problem.

He has passed the soul-fixing test; to put it bluntly, he easily passed the pollution test and ate it without a second thought.

With a tremor and a breath, a large area of ​​farmland was cleared out.

Li Ye continued forward, and as soon as he entered the rice paddy, the rice around him turned crimson, swaying from side to side as if blown by the wind, the sound of its swaying like weeping.

They didn't bite, but when Li Ye entered, the rice stalks approached and entangled him, trying to wrap him up.

The ground beneath his feet even seemed to have a suction force, pulling Li Ye down into it. Once entangled, there was even a feeling of drowning, making him feel suffocated.

The weeping old woman, like a woman's hair, is difficult to deal with, whether it is her crying or her tangling.

But like the previous wheat weevil iron shackles, they are demons that act in groups. Their individual existence has little impact. As long as they don't rashly enter the fields and get surrounded, they can easily escape.

Li Ye continued to inhale, instantly clearing a large space, and continued forward.

With each step he took, a large area opened up around him. Even before he had fully entered the millet field, he saw human shadows in the field. The crops swayed like human shadows. After stepping in, roots sprouted from the ground beneath his feet, like needles, piercing into his soles and also appearing to entwine.

Unlike the Weeping Rice Woman, the Glutinous Rice Boy is a demon that weakens people rather than devours them. If someone is pierced by a broken defense, their body will become contaminated and eventually become a swollen, waterlogged corpse.

But before this step, ordinary people will be entangled by the weeping rice grub and dragged into the mud, then torn apart by the iron shackles of the wheat moth. When they reappear, they will become floating creatures that have been entangled, drowned, and suppressed.

The three crops are mixed together; the only difference is which one dominates in the field.

They all need to be cut with a sickle; it seems that even harvesting machines are not suitable, only sickles are acceptable.

Li Ye had read the relevant records. This demonic realm was associated with many eras, from ancient times to modern times, as long as it was during the Yellow River flood period.

The formation time of the Demon Realm seems to be related to the methods of restraint.

Mines like those in Kanazawa, because they bear traces of modern technology, can be countered and dealt with using modern weapons.

This farmland shows little trace of modern intervention. When Shenzhou was established, water management was strictly controlled, and the designated flood discharge areas were all wastelands. After all, the expansion of the Demon Realm has made the area much larger, so there is no need for further consideration.

No one died; it was purely resentment from the land, which meant there weren't many ways to control it.

Besides the detectable fire and salt, there is also the oldest method of exorcising evil spirits using gunpowder, which can only be done with a sickle.

Because people died during the floods, technology was really limited back then; they had nothing but sickles.

And looking at the formation and names of demons...
Li Ye swallowed a large patch of crops, looked at the flat area cleared around him, and sighed slightly.

In those days, when the river overflowed, how could there not be disaster?

There must be a reason why demons take shape.

The three types of demons correspond to the people who suffered at that time.

The iron yoke of the wheat borer represents the desolation brought about by the floods of the river. Ancient farmers had nothing to eat and had to make a living on this land to fill their stomachs. They were suppressed on this land like yokes.

Therefore, it is like teeth and also like a yoke.

The "Lady of Rice Weeping" embodies the cries of those who survived when crops were submerged and people drowned during a river flood, as well as their unwavering devotion to the land.

The millet-shaped child is the manifestation of the resentment of the drowned. The piercing needles that entangle it can bring pollution, and it is also a kind of stinging pain that makes people want to feel it as well.

"Demon, demon, you are neither demon nor monster. No wonder it is said that the Demon Realm is a form of rebellion. When the Demon River floods again, will you be able to withstand it? Or is it that you do not want to continue like this for all eternity, so you have turned your resentment into the Demon Realm?"

Li Ye sighed and continued eating.

I can understand and sympathize with them, but they should be eliminated if necessary.

Because demons are not human, and demons act on instinct, there is no room for them to coexist.

Let alone demons that have no mind and only act according to their own way of survival, even the likes of Painted Skin, which hide among humans, live according to human lifestyles, and can even integrate into families like ordinary people, will still reveal their true nature at crucial moments.

Or rather, integrating into the human world is their nature.

Demons are not human; this sigh is merely a warning to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future, which could then lead to the emergence of demons.

During his time working at the disinfection bureau, although no one had talked to him or explained things to him, he understood why China retained this privilege, given the bureau's special status.

Demons must be eliminated. Different departments have different responsibilities, and the Extermination Bureau, in addition to managing demons, also makes martial artists wary.

However, in modern society, times have changed, and the existence of the pest control bureau has weakened considerably. The bureau's privileged nature is also a reason why higher authorities are unlikely to pay close attention to it.

It's just like raising a venomous insect: when the Extermination Bureau is strong, the folk martial artists are weak; when the folk martial artists are strong, the Extermination Bureau is weak.

Anyway, there are powerful punches coming from above, and no one can withstand them.

Li Ye only realized this after becoming the director and coming into contact with the military.

He didn't know about the Security Bureau, but from the perspective of the military and the Public Security Bureau, martial artists were very cautious towards them from top to bottom, except for the Elimination Bureau, which was somewhat ambiguous.

In fact, from the perspective of fighting demons, it's all the same: once an order is issued, failure to obey will lead to problems.

The purpose of the pest control department is to avoid constantly resorting to orders and heavy-handed tactics while simultaneously planting a thorn in the side.

Even if the extermination bureau is weak, martial artists at least know of its existence.

If the Ren family weren't under the watchful eye of the extermination bureau, they wouldn't be engaging in low-key resistance, but rather causing chaos in a high-profile manner.

Without the Ren family, people like Li Ye also need to be disciplined, because he has also started to act lawlessly.

In Ningjiang, the only difference between him and the Ren family was that he held a formal position and was subject to orders from superiors.

His tendency to kill entire families at the drop of a hat has caused considerable panic, and his continued actions are a test of current standards.

The uproar stirred up by his master thirty years ago purged a group of people, but it also made it easier for those reclusive sects and worlds to enter the world. In order for these people to serve the world, the Extermination Bureau went from strong to weak. Now that these beings are somewhat difficult to control, the strength of the Extermination Bureau can be tacitly approved.

This doesn't require any micro-level regulation; simply letting some policies run their course will suffice.

Those companies all have specific contracts, but the pest control department doesn't, which is problematic in itself.

However, although it wasn't out in the open, Li Ye received quite a few benefits from Pan Zhengyang, much better than a targeted contract.

Only with them can the demonic disturbances caused by martial artists be stopped; at least they won't dare to act openly.

"No wonder they say it's a secret service like the Embroidered Uniform Guard; they use it when it's useful and put it aside when it's not."

Li Ye shook his head and smiled, then opened his mouth and swallowed another large area.

"Now, it should be useful."

In today's society, things may not be so direct, nor will there be any clear signals of encouragement or intervention, and there will be no oversight.

This was the tone set by the disinfection department from the very beginning.

Those who break the rules will not be protected by them.

When the civilian martial artists bullied the extermination bureau, they felt incredibly satisfied. No one helped them or sympathized with them; they were all called dogs who only needed to point at demons and run away.

So when the disinfection bureau turns the tables, it shouldn't complain.

Calling won't help.

……

On the other side of the farmland, a group of young men and women dressed in martial arts attire, but with youthful appearances, were holding sickles and bending over to harvest crops from the outside in.

The demons that the farmland had transformed into would dissipate with each harvest, turning into a grayish-yellow mist that was as murky as the color of river water.

They ignored the fallen crops, leaving them on the ground to be cleaned up later.

"Don't get too close, lest you get entangled inside the farmland. Focus on your willpower and physical strength. If you feel dizzy or have a feeling of drowning, be sure to retreat as soon as possible. If you find there is a problem and you can't retreat, please speak up or raise your hand in time."

Further outside, a man who looked like a company manager was shouting at them.

Beside him stood another person in military uniform, with his hands behind his back.

After the company manager called out, he smiled at the man in military uniform:

"Commander Zhou, don't worry, our company has guaranteed safety. Although the students are here to carry out a mission, we won't let them be in too much danger."

"Otherwise, it would ruin the situation that your military has worked so hard to create. Our Demon Realm is neither too big nor too small, and our company still has some control over it."

The man in military uniform surveyed the area and nodded slightly. "Keep a close eye on them. The students' missions are secondary; the main thing is for them to continue training. Don't keep using mission completion rates to scare people."

"Commander, what are you saying? We're a legitimate company, why would we scare people?"

The man chuckled and said, "Besides, these are all students from top martial arts universities. I was studying at Chongwu University back then, so I can't compare to these people. They can start doing missions right away. Our missions are clearly defined as senior year internships and the standards of the Six Dragons Gate. They are different; they are all the pride of heaven, eager to gain more experience."

“We at Yangtian Agriculture will definitely give our full support to this.”

Yangtian Agriculture is the company that contracted this demonic realm to suppress the demons. They are responsible for harvesting the crops here, and of course, for clearing out the demons.

As more demons are eliminated, the pollution will gradually decrease, and the area will eventually transform from a demonic realm into farmland with special properties, capable of producing high-quality ingredients.

Before that, the company was able to package and sell its agricultural products within the Demon Realm.

However, there was actually no contract involved in this matter; it was essentially a tacit agreement, since it was a game called "Demon Realm," and there were still dangers involved.

This is also to prevent some people from deliberately controlling the number of demons and prolonging the existence of the Demon Realm for their own benefit, instead of fighting against them.

The military stationed nearby can work with local government departments to remove the company and replace it.

Anyway, there's no contract.

Only after the pollution is removed and the land is converted into normal farmland will the company have the first contract signing and renewal rights.

This can also be considered a reward for the company.

Making money is the same for everyone; it all comes down to paying taxes and the goods circulate within this land. The real challenge lies in organizing manpower to develop the Demon Realm.

According to estimates, it will take at least ten years to completely remove the pollution from this Demon Realm.

The costs and risks involved are quite high.

However, they have many channels for handling this. For example, this company, in addition to hiring martial artists themselves, can also cooperate with local schools to launch missions and let students come to earn credits.

For example, the current Jianghuai Longwu University, the top martial arts university in Jianghuai Province, has freshmen coming here to do missions.

　Sorry, it's late, there's still more...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)