High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 821: Chapter 169: A Hole in the Corner

Tuan Tuan was very unhappy today.

Because it couldn’t stay in the dorm, lying in Fat Cat’s thick, cozy nest, enjoying the comfort of a winter day—the cosiest part of a winter day is nothing more than being wrapped in a blanket, staying in a warm room, and listening to the howling wind outside the window and the painful moans of the glass as the wind beats against it.

As they say, without comparison there’s no feeling of satisfaction.

But after the young wizard promised a new Alchemy Pippi Mouse and allowed Tuan Tuan to watch over the mice in the cages, Fat Cat, after a brief moment of thought, reluctantly agreed to leave its nest.

This definitely wasn’t because it liked playing with mice or wanted a new Pippi Mouse; it was entirely because Tuan Tuan, the noble cat, had a kind heart and liked to help others, and couldn’t bear to see these young wizards overwhelmed—Fat Cat thought to itself.

Staying in the store turned out to be more comfortable than Tuan Tuan had thought, except for the hard wooden countertop beneath which made its belly slightly uncomfortable, the rest of the environment was quite to the cat’s liking.

For instance, the perfectly adjusted heating and temperature, the beef jerky cut into small pieces in a dish, and behind it, rows of cages and the small mice huddling together, trembling under Fat Cat’s gaze.

Speaking of mice, in Fat Cat Tuan Tuan’s opinion, these small creatures were incredibly appetizing.

Of course, by appetizing, it didn’t mean using the mice as a snack to accompany a drink, but rather a ’psychological’ appetizer. It’s like how some people like to watch food documentaries while eating, seeing the people in the films enjoying their food makes them enjoy theirs even more.

To Tuan Tuan, mice were like food documentaries are to some people.

Fat Cat sniffed, smelling that delicious scent in the air, its appetite whetted, and couldn’t help but reach its paw again into the dish next to it to fish out two pieces of beef and stuff them into its mouth.

”Take it easy, didn’t you just have two meat buns after getting up this morning? It’s only been a few minutes!” Zheng Qing, with sleeves rolled up and a cloth in hand, hurried past the counter and seeing only a thin layer of beef left in the dish, his face turned slightly dark, ”You don’t have health insurance... We are definitely not taking you to the school hospital! If you get a stomach upset, go to Silent Forest to find medicine yourself!”

Fat Cat glanced sidelong at the cost student, twitched its ear, and its eyes showed disdain.

Joking, a stomach upset?

With such an appetizing smell, how could it get a stomach upset?

Such an idea was too ridiculous!

Zheng Qing didn’t know what Fat Cat was scoffing at internally, but as a warlock whose soul housed a cat, he easily grasped the disdain and disregard conveyed in Tuan Tuan’s eyes.

Today is a good day, don’t get angry, don’t get angry.

A big warlock, it’s not worth getting annoyed with a cat, I’m not angry, I’m not angry.

The young cost student silently recited the mantra ’do not get angry’ three times in his heart before, holding his breath, he chose a large square cage from the row hanging on the wall, and carried it out—he was going back to the shop to get a display item.

The time had slowly crept to the end of Chen Shi.

The opening of ’Ding Ding Financing and Pest Control Company’ was getting closer.

As the sun gradually revealed its true face, many people appeared on Pedestrian Street almost unknowingly. The members of the Absolution Hunting Team, a group of young wizards, stood messily at the shop’s entrance. Some were preparing fireworks, some were continuously wiping the dust off the retractable banners, and others stood behind the reception desk, guarding a ledger and daydreaming—having no experience and not hiring any professionals, these young wizards were completely relying on their impressions and feelings to run the shop.

Zheng Qing was carrying the ”display item” outside when he happened to witness this scene.

The sunlight pierced through the clouds and the tall towers, slanting down on the entrance of ’D&K’, giving the young wizard standing at the doorstep a layer of bright, shimmering gold light.

However, what didn’t match this gold light was the young wizards’ disorganized, headless scampering around.

Zheng Qing couldn’t help but sigh.

He had initially opened this small shop partly to increase some income for the Absolution Hunting Team and himself, so as not to sit idle, and partly because he wanted a stable place where the hunting team wouldn’t always have to squeeze into the cramped dormitory Room 403 for meetings.

According to Deng Xiaojian, a hunting team faces many troubles from its formation and development, to participating in several hunting competitions and rankings—the list goes on.

For instance, the consumption of magic consumables such as talisman paper, potions, alchemical goods during training; the acquisition of venues, team uniforms, team flags, and logos; hosting dances for recruiting or celebrating victories with evening parties, and so on. Not one of these was without cost.

Although the school provided some subsidy to established hunting teams, that amount of funding couldn’t even cover the consumption of one intense training session, not to mention that school funds were earmarked for specific purposes, with accounts managed directly between the School Works Committee and third parties—the only thing the hunting team could do was to sign to confirm.

There was no chance of diverting the subsidies to secure benefits for the team members.

Those registered formal hunting teams could supplement their shortage by collecting sponsorship fees or from hunting yields from competitions. But for the Absolution Hunting Team, which had been established for less than six months and had only participated in one derived event from an official hunting competition, it was already very lucky to seize some hunting yields. Sponsorship was out of the question.

Once he thought of it, he acted on it.

That’s the vitality and rashness characteristic of young people. Or, you could say, recklessness.

With no experience, no guidance, and no leisure, solely driven by fearlessness, several young wizards foolishly rushed into Beta Town and rented this little shop.

Luckily, as they were students of First University and included a government-funded student, the administrative organizations of Beta Town didn’t make things too difficult for these young wizards and quickly processed all the business opening procedures. The local ruffians often roaming the streets also wisely avoided bothering these scholars, sparing them from demands for celebratory gifts or red packets.

But that was about it.

The thoughts are many, but the words are few.

Though a jumble of thoughts fluttered through his mind, they lasted but a moment.

Zheng Qing was still holding the cage and hadn’t yet stepped out of the shop.

However, just as he was about to cross the threshold and leave the shop, a sharp, brief cry of surprise and anger from Fat Cat came from behind him. Its cry seemed to also contain a hint of disbelief.

The young government-funded student turned around, just in time to see Fat Cat with its fur bristled, back arched, tail tucked, and throat emitting a series of threatening purrs.

Following its gaze towards the corner of the wall, Zheng Qing’s eyes also narrowed involuntarily.

In the corner, a previously spotless, unstained wall now had a bowl-sized black hole.

At the mouth of the hole, a sharp-faced mouse dressed in a green vest was poking out most of its head, looking around haphazardly.