Chainsaw Man, starting contract to cut down the Demon Line

Since he possesses such immense power, so much so that he could solve the problem with a snap of his fingers, why would he need her?

"...You're already so powerful," Hime asked Yan Liang with a puzzled tone, "Why do you still need me?"

Faced with her question, Yan Liang shook his head. There was no sarcasm in his tone; he was simply stating the facts.

"You don't need to think about it so much, it's not something you need to consider."

"Anyway, I think what I said was clear enough."

Yan Liang knew exactly what she was thinking. In fact, winning over Hayakawa Aki and taking in Himeno was indeed a direct and easy thing for him.

His power to slay demons far surpasses that of Himeno and Hayakawa Aki combined.

But does that mean we can ignore it?

no.

Yan Liang didn't think that way.

Being weak is one thing; being useful is another. In order to accumulate power, he must acquire as much power as possible.

Just like Higashiyama Kokoro, Himeno and Hayakawa Aki's power may be small, but once they are gathered into their hands, they will surely come in handy one day.

Moreover, when traveling in this world, Yan Liang can never have too many people around him who he can trust and who will listen to him.

Yan Liang wouldn't trust anyone else. Only people like Ji Ye, Hayakawa Aki, and Higashiyama Kokoro are trustworthy to him.

The reason is simple.

As someone who has read comics, he has the ability to see the future.

Being with them is like being transparent to one side; if they ever have any ill intentions towards you, you will be able to detect it immediately, which is something that others cannot match.

He knew these people's personalities inside and out, and he knew how to get along with them and how to control them.

Just like now.

Even though Ji Ye didn't speak, Yan Liang knew what kind of answer Ji Ye would give.

So, what's your answer?

Yan Liang's voice pulled Ji Ye back to reality from his thoughts and urged him on.

Himeko knelt on the tatami mat and lowered her head. Her open collar had been neatly pulled back up at some point.

As Yan Liang had expected, after a long while, Ji Ye closed his eyes.

What could she say at this moment? For Hayakawa Aki, she had no other choice. She could only resign herself to her fate and say:

"I understand."

"...I, I promise you."

Chapter 115 Advance Announcement

Himeya compromised.

But the air in the room did not become any more humid.

Ji Ye was kneeling on the ground, her clothes somewhat disheveled. She pursed her lips and turned her face to the other side, unwilling to look Yan Liang in the eye.

Yan Liang looked down at her, his gaze lingering on her face, which was filled with resentment, for a few seconds, before he sighed softly in his heart.

Although everything went as Yan Liang had predicted, Ji Ye agreed to his deal.

But it was easy to tell from her expression and his understanding of Himeno. This was simply a choice Himeno was forced to make without any other option.

What she was probably planning was to get through tonight first, appease herself for a short time, and then think of another way later.

If Yan Liang were to evaluate her attitude, it would be this:

"It's barely enough, but not enough."

Unlike his initial skepticism, Yan Liang wanted genuine respect, not this superficial obedience.

Indeed, but is it too presumptuous to rely on mere words to coerce or entice?

Yan Liang squinted, his mind quickly recalling the plot of the original work as if turning the pages of a book.

In the original story, the day after the police party was followed by the attack by the Demon of the Blade.

The other party is the grandson of the zombie demon who was killed in the factory at the beginning. He has two goals. First, to take revenge on the police. Second, to steal the heart of the electric demon.

In tomorrow's battle, the Demon of the Blade will face Denji, Hayakawa Aki, Himeno, and others, and easily defeat them with his formidable strength.

In order to protect Hayakawa Aki in battle, Himeno had no choice but to sacrifice everything to the ghost demon, but unfortunately, she was stopped by the sword demon's companions in the end.

If it weren't for Makima, who was far away in Osaka, borrowing the power to punish demons and taking action from afar, and Higashiyama Kokoro's sudden awakening in a desperate situation to save Denji, the Sword Demon would almost have completed his plan.

Ultimately, if you want Hime to be completely devoted to you, you have to reciprocate with genuine sincerity...

If I can save Himeno and Hayakawa Aki in this desperate situation, even if they don't truly trust me, at least I can establish a foundation.

After recalling everything, Yan Liang broke the silence.

"Himeno".

Hearing her name called, Ji Ye trembled and reflexively turned her head to look at Yan Liang warily.

"I know what you're thinking right now."

Yan Liang sat down again, cross-legged, adopting a more harmless posture, and said directly:

"You probably think I'm taking advantage of your misfortune."

"He says he has no ill intentions toward Hayakawa Aki, but his actions are the complete opposite."

"Your agreement now is merely a delaying tactic?"

Ji Ye opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to retort. But Yan Liang didn't give her a chance to speak, and exposed her:

You don't need to deny it.

“I didn’t expect that those few words I just said would make you grateful to me.”

The night wind blew in through the half-open window, making the crumpled soda cans on the table rattle.

Yan Liang leaned forward, over the low table, his gaze like a sharp blade, meeting that of the bewildered Ji Ye.

"I never intended to persuade you from the beginning."

“And I think our relationship doesn’t need to be so tense. Not only Hayakawa Aki, but I also have no ill intentions towards you.”

"You may not believe me, but tomorrow I will prove it."

Hime's single eye widened slightly, somewhat bewildered: "...Prove what?"

"Prove that I found the right person."

Yan Liang raised a finger and threw a bombshell.

"An attack targeting the Anti-Magic Class will take place tomorrow during the day."

Upon hearing this, Hime's breath caught in her throat for a moment.

"An attack?!"

But Hime quickly realized what was happening. Driven by her demon hunter instincts, she tensed and immediately retorted:

"How did you know? How large is it? Who is the enemy?"

Faced with her barrage of questions, Yan Liang simply waved his hand impatiently, silencing all her questions.

"I can't go into the specifics, and you don't need to know. Just do as I say—"

Yan Liang gave a specific address: an ordinary ramen restaurant on an inconspicuous street in the city.

"Tomorrow at noon, I want you to bring all the people from Section 4 to this noodle shop. Denji, Pawa, Hayakawa Aki... not one can be missing. As for what excuse to use, you can figure it out yourself."

Ji Ye stared at Yan Liang, his brows furrowed.

She could no longer understand Yan Liang.

An attack tomorrow? How did he know in advance?

If the information is true, why not report it to Miss Machima?

Why tell yourself this at this particular time, and why gather everyone together?

"And then what?" Himeya gritted her teeth. "Are we to be bait?"

"Do not."

Yan Liang stood up, his tall figure casting a shadow in front of Ji Ye, as if everything was under his control.

Faced with Yan Liang like this, Ji Ye felt a tightness in his chest and couldn't muster any thoughts of rebuttal.

"Take them over, order the noodles, and then you don't have to do anything, just sit there."

Yan Liang explained, word by word:

"I will take care of the rest."

"No matter what happens, I will guarantee your safety." Yan Liang straightened his suit sleeves, not intending to reveal any more information.

The more you talk, the more likely she is to overthink it.

"It's okay if you don't believe me. After tomorrow, you'll naturally understand the different kinds of portions I've given you."

After saying this, Yan Liang stepped over the empty cans on the ground and walked towards the door.

However, the moment Yan Liang grasped the doorknob, he stopped, turned around to look at Ji Ye behind him, and reminded her again:

"Of course, if you think that I orchestrated everything and wanted to lead others to find a way to hide, I won't say anything more."

"If that's the case, you'll have to handle the rest yourself. I won't get involved."

"After all, I've already been completely honest with you, and if you still want to play tricks on me, then that's a bit unacceptable to me..."

"Click".

The door was opened and closed again, and footsteps could be heard fading away in the hallway.

Silence fell over the room once more. Only the wall clock continued its ticking.

Ji Ye sat rooted to the spot like a statue. Yan Liang's last words had been incredibly informative. She looked down at her slightly trembling hands, Yan Liang's prophecy replaying in her mind, and couldn't help but think…

Will something really happen tomorrow?

Chapter 116 An Unexpected Situation

After informing Himeko, Yanliang didn't linger and returned to his apartment.

After taking a relaxing hot bath to wash away the fatigue accumulated during the trip to Shuijing Township, Yan Hao had a good night's rest.

It wasn't until 11 a.m. the next day that Yan Liang took Dongshan Xiaohong out the door.

Based on his memories from the original work and the address he gave Ji Ye yesterday, Yan Liang brought Xiao Hong to the vicinity of that noodle shop.

His target was an inconspicuous coffee shop a few streets away from the noodle shop.

"This is it..."

Yan Liang murmured something under his breath and pushed open the wooden door of the coffee shop, which was adorned with a bronze bell.

"Ding-a-ling—"

The crisp sound of the bell echoed inside, but surprisingly, there were hardly any people in the café, even though it should have been open for business.

Behind the bar stood a tall woman. She had an eye-catching blonde ponytail, wore a black face mask, and a somewhat oversized apron.

Judging from her deep-set brow bone and the exposed half of her high, straight nose, she should be an American woman.

Upon hearing the door open, the waiter stopped what he was doing and turned to look at the two people.

"Ah!"

But before she could speak, she sneezed softly, rubbed her nose, and said in a thick nasal voice:

"I'm so sorry, gentlemen. Due to hay fever, all the other staff members in the store have taken the day off, and I'm really too busy to handle everything by myself..."

"Therefore, our store is temporarily closed today. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Upon hearing this, Yan Liang frowned.