Chapter 231: Appetite

Chapter 231: Appetite

Boros' face remained expressionless, appearing as usual, but Wen Ying sensed the agitation emanating from him, causing his own demeanor to tense up slightly.

"Hmm?" Boros turned his head, and Wen Ying met his gaze directly, detecting the sense of danger in the other's eyes.

He was... excited.

Appetite.

Wen Ying furrowed his brows slightly and whispered, "Boros, something is off with your current state, and there's also an issue with our surroundings."

Boros' tongue brushed against his teeth, and the excitement in his eyes turned into hostility, "They're trying to test our self-control."

The scent of life around them grew stronger, and if one were to use human sensations as a comparison, it would be like a coffee lover stepping into a room filled with the aroma of coffee or a sweet tooth entering a bakery with freshly baked goods. The air was constantly triggering their cravings, provoking the secretion of saliva in anticipation.

Lu Qingyuan noticed Wen Ying's serious expression and hesitantly asked, "Is there a problem?"

Wen Ying turned to look at him, inspecting him up and down with his silver-gray eyes that held an ambiguous focus, exerting immense pressure on Lu Qingyuan.

"The issue is that I find you particularly appetizing right now."

Lu Qingyuan: "!"

Lu Qingyuan quickly realized something, glancing beyond Wen Ying to size up the Cerberus, then turning his head to look at the Malefic Bird sitting on his other side.

Both of them were exuding an even more menacing aura than usual, making one instinctively want to avoid them.

The Malefic Bird turned its head. After hearing Wen Ying's words, Lu Qingyuan finally understood the source of the gaze that had been making him uneasy.

It was the gaze of someone looking at their food.

Lu Qingyuan subconsciously shifted closer to Wen Ying.

"Don't move anymore, you're almost pushing me onto Bellerophon's chair," Wen Ying patted Lu Qingyuan's shoulder. "He won't eat you."

Muershi deliberately opened his mouth and flicked his tongue over his fangs, wearing a bizarre smile. "How can you be so sure?"

Lu Qingyuan shuddered and continued to squeeze closer to Wen Ying, who was now pressed directly against Bellerophon. With a tone of disdain, he said, "You still have the leisure to scare children? It's more important to deal with this uncertain situation first."

Wen Ying now regretted not having asked Koroy to predict when their adversaries would launch their covert operation the previous day.

A row of demons conveyed cryptic messages to one another, while their neighboring contractors were either confused or sensed something amiss but couldn't pinpoint the reason. They overheard whispers about "something wrong" and "strange scents."

Wu Fei's contractor whispered, "What's suddenly wrong with you guys?"

Scratching his cheek, Wu Fei was about to respond when Phileas nudged him with his tail, prompting him to change his answer awkwardly, "There are too many people here, and the mixed odors are overwhelming our noses."

Phileas gave Wu Fei a cold glance, acknowledging that the latter had some sense.

Lilith leaned close to Wu Fei's ear and whispered, "It seems like you're less affected by this."

As the fourth match began amidst the demons' suspicions and scrutiny, Wen Ying was more focused on scanning his surroundings for any trigger that might have piqued the demons' appetite.

Wen Xinxin dared not speak, as the hellhound beside her exuded an almost tangible hostility. She felt as if her arm was near a blazing furnace when she ventured too close.

In the back rows among the demons were both students from the academy and outsiders who had purchased tickets. They instinctively sensed danger. They had noticed the demons in front of them whispering to one another, but with the noisy environment and the demons deliberately keeping their voices low, they couldn't make out anything significant.

Ordinarily, people would have noticed something amiss. But the atmosphere in the arena was electric due to the friendly competition, and everyone was brimming with excitement, their passions ablaze. The demons' unusual behavior was thus overlooked.

Wen Ying's phone vibrated. He unlocked it.

Lan Jiaying: "Are you affected?"

Upon seeing Lan Jiaying's name, Wen Ying subconsciously associated it with Koroy's mention of the unlucky person last night. His fingers tapped on the screen.

"Not much compared to those around me. Do you have any suspicions?"

After some thought, Wen Ying added, "Be cautious these few days. They might be targeting you."

A composed reply swiftly came through: "Ants trying to move an elephant."

Just four words, yet Wen Ying could sense the pride and disdain Lan Jiaying, as a great demon, held for humans. Though he was courteous in human etiquette, in reality, Lan Jiaying viewed humans as mere ants, observing their actions as a form of entertainment.

Contemplating for a moment, Wen Ying took out another phone to send a message to Kirishino before putting it away.

Koroy's crystal ball had foreseen it – Lan Jiaying wouldn't tear away his false veil of elegance unless something was amiss.

Perseus's gaze followed Wen Ying's phone as he asked, "You seem to have quite a few phones?"

Wen Ying casually replied, "It's necessary for work."

He had two – one from the Demon Realm and another from the Human Realm.

Wen Ying quickly messaged Koroy, "Should I tell Lan Jiaying about you using your crystal ball to predict the future?"

"Go ahead."

Then, Wen Ying sent a message to Lan Jiaying, "Yesterday, when Koroy used his crystal ball to see the future, he saw that you were very angry."

Lan Jiaying pursed his lips as he read the message on his phone screen.

"I'll take note of it."

Wen Ying sighed, feeling that Lan Jiaying wouldn't actually pay attention. Demons were far more powerful than most humans, so they often felt no need to be cautious of them.

"Wen Ying, I have a feeling Lan Jiaying might stumble," Wen Ying said to Beros.

Beros replied, "Let's not talk about him for now."

Wen Ying was puzzled. Beros' expression was no longer the emotionless tension from before; there was a suppressed patience visible on his face.

Startled, Wen Ying gently wrapped an arm around Beros, asking, "Do you want to go back and rest?"

At the same time, he quickly glanced at Muershi and Koroy, also taking a look at Wei Er, who was sitting a bit further away. All of them seemed more uneasy and tense than before.

"That person..." Beros fixated his gaze on Acefa, the competitor in the arena.

After being reminded by Wen Ying, Lan Jiaying's mood worsened. He was already agitated by the endless vitality emanating from the humans around him, and not only could he not feed on them, but he also had to pretend he didn't want to. For most demons who viewed humans as weak creatures, this was intolerable.

It was an insult.

Scanning the surroundings, he suddenly noticed someone sitting to his right, one seat away from Wu Shaluo, typing on their phone with their head down.

Lan Jiaying's gaze sharpened, and he abruptly stood up, leaning in closely.

"To whom were you sending messages?"

Yang Bofeng's body jerked in alarm at the sound of a familiar, amused voice, causing his phone to slip from his grasp and land on the floor.

A pair of slender hands picked up the device, glanced briefly at its screen, then placed it back onto his lap.

"Lan Jiaying's" voice was elegant and pleasant. "You seemed quite engrossed in your conversation. I got a little curious."

Yang Bofeng's heart pounded like a drum as he forced a smile. "Just chatting with my family."

Wu Shaluo's gaze turned towards Lan Jiaying, wondering why he would suddenly show interest in a human's chat.

Lan Jiaying leaned back, seemingly content with satisfying a fleeting curiosity.

Despite having caught a glimpse of a chat interface earlier, by the time he picked up the phone, only the home screen was visible. This instinctive switch under such panic-stricken circumstances raised some suspicion. Lan Jiaying exchanged a glance with Wu Shaluo, who, after a momentary pause, directed a fierce stare at Yang Bofeng, who dared not meet their eyes.

Unaware of the killing intent in Wu Shaluo's gaze, Yang Bofeng kept his head lowered.

On the other side, Wen Ying finally discovered the individual with the most alluring demonic aura after Perseus directed his gaze towards Acefa's contestant. As someone whose appetite was inferior to that of a pure-blooded demon, Wen Ying observed the man for quite some time and realized that the vitality exuded by his emotions was a dozen times stronger than those around him.

Particularly when he summons his magic, he seems even more like a walking feast.

Magic?

Wen Ying carefully observed his surroundings and soon noticed that the majority of those exuding stronger life forces were foreigners, while most of the people with the appearance of those from the Zhonghua Nation seemed normal.

Foreigners... luxurious cruise ship... food...

A sudden flash of insight struck Wen Ying, his eyes widening as he recalled something Aruda had mentioned about a certain magical potion.

Lu Qingyuan watched in surprise as Wen Ying suddenly pulled out a box, revealing a collection of vials and bottles filled with magical potions. His eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

Overwhelmed with fear, Lu Qingyuan's voice trembled as he asked, "Why did you suddenly take out a potion?"

"I remembered something... I found it."

Wen Ying reached for a porcelain vial, uncapping it to reveal small, crimson fruits inside, each one lustrously alluring in color.

Muershi leaned closer, examining the object. "This looks familiar."

Wen Ying picked one up with his fingers, musing, "This is used to enhance the release of magical essence in ingredients, increasing the magic content in the final dish."

Muershi understood instantly and swiftly connected the dots to another matter.

Before Muershi could speak, Bellows intercepted, "Someone fed these fruits to some humans at the scene."

Muershi: "..."

Lu Qingyuan broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this. His first instinct was to call the academy's teachers to report the matter.

Wen Ying held his hand down and gave him a fleeting glance. "We haven't confirmed it yet, so don't panic."

This time, Muershi spoke up first. "I've heard that when demons used to prey on humans, they would feed them this kind of thing to make the consumption more pleasurable."

They were surrounded by people, so Muershi spoke softly. As he leaned in to whisper to Wen Ying, his upper body almost pressed against Lu Qingyuan's, leaving the latter frozen, not daring to move a muscle.

He had heard the words "prey on humans." After Muershi finished speaking, he shot Lu Qingyuan a glance that was both a smile and not, which Lu Qingyuan knew was a veiled warning.

Wen Ying's fingers clenched slightly on his leg. "The demons from the Judgment Bureau haven't detected any extremist party members nearby."

It was highly unlikely that there were any demons on that luxurious cruise ship. The one who made the move was probably an exorcist affiliated with the extremist party within the Church.

Among those seven students and two teachers of Asaph, there must be someone suspicious.

Caught between two demons and forced to listen to a dangerous conversation, Lu Qingyuan wished he could vanish on the spot.

Sensing a major conspiracy, Lu Qingyuan hesitated. It would be best to inform the higher-ups at the academy about this, but what if one of those people turned out to be a collaborator of the extremist party they mentioned?

Wen Ying's fingers glided over the jars in the box, stopping on one before taking it out and pouring a round, candy-like pellet into Perseus's mouth.

Perseus swallowed it, his expression twisting instantly.

Koroy asked, "What did you give him?"

"A weight-loss pill I meticulously researched and produced," Wen Ying replied.

Everyone and every demon around them: "???"

Wen Ying distributed the pills to Muershi, Koroy, and Wei Er. The three demons hesitated before swallowing them, only to have their faces contort instantly from the sour taste in their mouths.

(Consider the remaining text as dialogue)

Author's Note:

Lu Qingyuan examined Muershi with curiosity, but quickly averted his gaze when he met Muershi's perilous stare.

If the issue was caused by the demonic plants from the Demon Realm, it would be easier to handle. The pills that Wen Ying gave them were magical medicines he had prepared beforehand to suppress demons' cravings for negative emotions.

They could only suppress naturally occurring desires.

They were ineffective against excessive appetites induced by certain drugs or magic, but worked wonders on natural cravings.

Wen Ying happily passed around the magical pills, ensuring each demon consumed one.

The camera captured the demons eating something candy-like from a bottle. Afterward, their expressions appeared somewhat distorted, and a bullet screen comment flashed by, reading "Don't the candies from the Demon Realm taste bad?"

—

Today's issue was an argument with someone at the market, resulting in accelerated heartbeat and numbness in my limbs, spoiling my mood. Yet again, my attempt at a peaceful day, or "Day Six," has been unsuccessful.

Absolutely tomorrow! I promise, truly tomorrow QAQ These past couple of days have been plagued by retrograde planets.

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