Hold Me Tight, Don't Let Go
Bai Lin's rare gentleness only made Huangfu Jun's mind clearer.
Nothing good comes from sudden kindness.
"I refuse." Huangfu Jun decisively rejected Bai Lin's request to put the anklet on her through telepathy.
She looked down at him, no longer as easygoing as before, her expression unusually stern.
Bai Lin's gaze froze, and his hand stopped. His expression showed displeasure, unable to believe that she could be so willful under these circumstances, regardless of the consequences.
Even if she had forgotten him, he was still her superior now. With such an attitude, she seemed more like his boss.
Facing Bai Lin's displeasure, Huangfu Jun showed no fear. She continued to express her stance seriously through telepathy: "Captain Bai, I'm sorry, but without sufficient right to know, treating me like a prisoner out of nowhere is an insult. I refuse anything resembling shackles."
"Is that your reason?" He replied through telepathy as well.
Bai Lin's aura grew colder. Should he be grateful that she at least spared him some face by not refusing aloud in front of Jin Hu?
"A clearer reason? I just won't accept it!"
Bai Lin: ...
He nearly laughed in anger.
Her principles and bottom line were always so firm.
He looked down, withdrew his hand, stood up, and indeed stopped forcing her.
He exerted a little force on the hand holding the silver chain, and a faint light flashed. When the light faded, the anklet had turned into a hollow-carved white jade sachet waist pendant.
Huangfu Jun's eyes lit up. The sachet was beautiful—the jade warm and smooth, the carving exquisite. The chain was adorned with many gemstones, red coral, yellow amber, and white pearls, arranged in a unique and tasteful manner.
Beneath the jade pendant hung a silky tassel in a thousand-mile landscape hue, captivating her at first sight.
Bai Lin handed it to her. "Now it's not a shackle, just an ordinary demon power monitor. It can transmit what you and I see to the Supervision Bureau."
"Captain Bai?" Jin Hu turned back in surprise, looking incredulously at the jade pendant in Bai Lin's hand. "My god, what are you doing? Which half-demon would dare enter the Demon Control Bureau's construction site without wearing an anklet—"
His eyes met Bai Lin's death glare, and he quickly corrected himself: "Pfft! Anklet! Who dares not wear an anklet! This is the latest stylish design meticulously crafted by the Supervision Bureau! Captain Bai, you can't modify it like this!"
Bai Lin showed undisguised impatience: "The Supervision Bureau's methods aren't always effective. Today's situation is extraordinary. If this anklet messes things up, Inspector Jin, will you take responsibility?"
Jin Hu choked.
After a pause, he nodded helplessly and said self-deprecatingly, "Fine! You're Captain Bai, after all. You're the authority; we brothers can only make way."
With that, he put his hands in his pockets, shrugged, turned around, and walked toward the group of black-clad inspectors. "Brothers, time to work!"
Huangfu Jun took the sachet and hung it on her belt. The dark red tight leather outfit instantly transformed into a suit resembling Bai Lin's jacket.
Huangfu Jun's eyes widened in surprise. Although the tight leather outfit retained its original color, the style had changed to the same jacket suit as Bai Lin's.
The jade pendant was also hidden by the wide hem.
"Thank you, Captain Bai." Huangfu Jun stretched her old limbs, feeling her breathing ease and movement become more convenient.
Bai Lin watched her happy expression and became unhappy again.
"The real danger is yet to come. Don't leave my side even for a step."
Huangfu Jun looked at his tsundere back and couldn't help but smile, her earlier displeasure vanishing.
After all this, she felt she was beginning to understand how to deal with him.
For someone like him—sharp-tongued, soft-hearted, protective, proud, and commanding—the best approach was to praise him sincerely, until he felt embarrassed and fled.
If there were types of captains, Bai Lin was clearly the "yield to tenderness, not toughness, cold-faced but warm-hearted" type.
In comparison, a cold-faced captain like Bai Lin seemed much more endearing. Huangfu Jun even felt mentally lighter.
Following Bai Lin a few steps, she stopped. She looked up in confusion. "Are there more checkpoints?"
Bai Lin didn't turn around, his gaze fixed ahead, his voice deep: "The energy fluctuations caused by the space-time distortion are extraordinary. They need to be sealed with barriers. And such barriers can only be constructed by humans and half-demons working together."
As a science student, Huangfu Jun perked up at this.
"Half-demons have strong abilities and powerful spells—I know that. But what role can ordinary humans play?"
"Humans, though fragile, are the true masters of this world. Their energy magnetic fields can synchronize the barrier's magnetic field with the space-time wall. The sunglasses they wear are not ordinary; they're energy-collection tools infused with demon power.
Through these glasses, humans and half-demons can cast spells together, building the most stable sealing barrier. Humans can also see the physical forms of demon power fluctuations through them, avoiding danger in the murderous demon power network."
Huangfu Jun looked at the black-clad inspectors bustling around, and a sense of respect rose in her heart.
Though they were mere mortals, they dared to rush to the front line of danger. None of them were weak.
Demons and half-demons had formidable abilities, but humans could counterbalance and match them. Their courage and wisdom were no less than demon power.
Even if human nature had many ugly aspects, there was no shortage of beauty and brilliance.
"The fluctuations of the space-time wall are also dangerous, right? Can ordinary people withstand them?" She still didn't fully identify as a half-demon, feeling no different from a human. Since entering the barrier, she had felt an unexplained pressure.
Now it seemed to be caused by the energy fluctuations at the edge of the space-time distortion.
"No," Bai Lin answered bluntly. "That's why we need two layers of barriers. One outside, to defend and seal the site; one inside, to protect the human inspectors and shield them from the fluctuations of the space-time distortion."
As he spoke, Jin Hu in the distance threw away another half-smoked cigarette and waved to summon all the black-clad inspectors.