Chapter 51: Once You’ve Provoked Me, Singing Is No Longer Optional!

The staff badges all came equipped with cameras. At this moment, the badge on the middle-aged man, Mi Sitian, was showing only a dull gray light. Everyone assumed that something had happened to Mi Sitian inside, but that the others should be unharmed.

Now, however, panic truly set in among the monitoring team. Lin Yi’s name, which may not yet have been notorious within the demon prison itself, was already circulating widely in the surveillance room. In just a few hours, Lin Yi’s name had become known to nearly every employee of the Shengjing branch of the Paranormal Investigation Bureau. Everyone knew that Lin Yi had ranked first in today’s assessment, chosen not to pursue a leadership position, and instead opted to work in the demon prison—a role that would likely relegate him to the lowest rank of warden.

What was even more infuriating to some was that the bureau’s most senior elders, Master An Yingxiong and Master Mu, both wanted to take Lin Yi as their apprentice—perhaps even as their grandson-in-law. Tales of Lin Yi’s dominance over Xu Lianyou and others were already common talk.

When the surveillance team redirected the monitors, they saw Lin Yi standing at the door of cell twenty-seven, the cell housing the mermaid demon. A flicker of confusion appeared in Lin Yi’s eyes, which made everyone in the room anxious.

But soon, the monitors showed nothing but layers of mist, shrouding the screens in an impenetrable fog. This was the work of ominous energies. Despite modifications made to the cameras, when such energies accumulated to a certain degree, the equipment would inevitably malfunction—after all, electricity could be altered by these forces, and the appearance of mist was nothing unusual.

The anxious staff quickly relayed a message: “New colleague Lin Yi is in cell twenty-seven. The situation is critical. Patrol units, please hurry! Patrol units, please hurry!” The urgent call sounded from badges and work phones throughout the prison. Soon, virtually everyone knew that the new hire, Lin Yi, was in the dangerous cell where Mi Sitian had already met with disaster. Would Lin Yi be next?

The faction allied with An Miaoyi and Mu Yuqing, who had greeted Lin Yi at the back entrance, now wore looks of panic.

At the door of cell twenty-seven, Lin Yi placed his card against the lock. Only then did he realize that his staff card could not open this door. Although he couldn’t open it, someone inside apparently wanted to let him in.

Mi Sitian lay collapsed on the floor, no longer pleading for his life—his breath growing ever fainter, barely alive. The mermaid demon was chained with metal shackles, each inscribed with densely packed talismanic runes that pulsed with formidable energy, as if glowing with electricity. The chains were electrified, amplifying the power of the runes. The restraints bound its arms, neck, and even wrapped around its silvery lower body, locking nearly every scale in place. Whenever the mermaid demon struggled, arcs of electricity crackled along the chains, growing fiercer the more violently it thrashed.

Yet at this moment, the mermaid demon seemed to have grown stronger, tapping into the ominous energy deep within its body. With a loud crack, its tail struck the alloy door latch, and the door creaked open. That was how the door came to be unlocked.

Lin Yi kept his expression blank, feigning confusion. But as the door opened, a faint, barely perceptible cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He strode in boldly.

The first thing he saw was the massive fish tail. It resembled the tail of a carp, the silvery scales spotless and pure, yet the shape was less than perfect. The scales along the sides of the tail were so dense that they formed edges as sharp as blades. Though the mermaid demon was not known for raw strength, it was, after all, an A-rank monster—its power was not to be underestimated.

Confronted with such a terrifying sight, Lin Yi was forced to reevaluate his understanding of demons. The mermaid demon was truly fearsome—quite the opposite of the beauty promised by its enchanting song. Listening to its melodious voice, one might imagine only a fairy could produce such music.

Lin Yi frowned. The mermaid demon had stopped singing. When it saw Lin Yi enter, it blinked its large, beautiful eyes, then suddenly lashed out with its enormous tail—striking first! In an instant, the tail grew broader and thinner, the bladed edges sweeping toward Lin Yi with lethal intent, sharp enough to slice him apart.

But then came a grinding, metallic sound—as if a saw were cutting steel. The bladed tail tore through Lin Yi’s clothing, but stopped dead the moment it touched his skin. The whole time, Lin Yi had been circulating the energy of the “Great Void Sutra” within him, hardening his body to a level comparable to that of a grandmaster. The mermaid demon’s sudden surge in strength was nothing in comparison.

Lin Yi felt only a pang of regret for his ruined suit—he had just bought it, and it had cost him dearly. Even with millions to his name, he wasn’t one to waste money.

He glared at the mermaid demon and said, “How dare you! Do you have any idea how much this suit cost?”

The mermaid demon’s eyes bulged, its teeth bared in a grimace. Its tail, unable to cleave Lin Yi in half, only made it more determined: if nothing else, it would use this man as fertilizer. Clearly, Lin Yi was no ordinary warden—his body was as tough as steel, far stronger than Mi Sitian. The mermaid demon’s sharpest weapon was its teeth. Surely those could pierce his defense!

“Still pretending to be tough? Watch me drain you dry, break free from this prison, and escape!” it cried, resuming its ghostly song.

Had Lin Yi previously been susceptible to the song’s allure, now—face to face with the creature’s hideous form, and recalling the gray, twisted image of the mermaid demon from the “Godslayer Sutra”—he was utterly unmoved. More importantly, the “Godslayer Sutra” itself was aiding him, sending waves of warmth through his body, shielding him from the song’s influence.

This drove the mermaid demon to desperation. It sang with such effort that its throat turned hoarse, the haunting melody swirling through the cell. Suddenly, its massive tail whipped up and ensnared Lin Yi.

Had Lin Yi unleashed the pure and blazing energy of his “Great Void Sutra,” the tail would have stood no chance. But he wanted to see what else the mermaid demon could do, so he allowed it to coil around him. Earlier, he had sensed a subtle increase in his mental strength—was the “Godslayer Sutra” helping him, with the mermaid demon’s song serving as a kind of tempering stimulus? He decided to test this theory.

“My mental strength is still too weak. This is the perfect opportunity to train. Go on, sing! Your voice is better than any pop star’s concert. Keep singing! You have no choice!” Lin Yi said, his demeanor relaxed and content—an attitude that only further infuriated the mermaid demon.

With a crackling sound, it pulled its tail back and bared its rows of razor-sharp teeth, preparing to bite. As it moved, the combined energies of the electrified chains and talismans sent sparks racing across its bound arms, neck, and lower body, charring flesh and scales alike. The stench of burnt flesh filled the air, and black blood began to seep out, threatening to splatter Lin Yi.

Panicked, Lin Yi realized that if his suit was further stained, it would be ruined for good. Changing his mind, he resolved to put an end to the mermaid demon at once. Losing half its body shouldn’t affect its singing, after all.

With that thought, Lin Yi circulated the surging, pure, and blazing energy of the “Great Void Sutra.” Golden light flashed, and with a series of searing sounds, the mermaid demon—who only moments before had tried to bite Lin Yi—felt a sharp pain in its lower body. Its tail shrank as black blood sprayed out, the corrosive liquid sizzling against the metal floor.

Freed from the tail’s grip, Lin Yi swung his fist with a smile, striking the mermaid demon squarely in the stomach—the dividing point between tail and torso. His punch carried an even greater burning, corrosive force, sinking deep into the mermaid demon’s belly.

With a thunderous boom, the creature’s abdomen burst open. Protected by his inner energy, Lin Yi was untouched by the spray of blood and gore.

The mermaid demon, shocked to its core, could hardly believe that the warden it had hoped to drain for strength was not only far from weak, but possessed an unfathomable power. Its tail and half its body were ruined! How could someone so young possess such strength? Even among those in their forties or fifties in the demon prison, few could boast such might. If it had known, it would never have dared lure Lin Yi into its cell.

Blood and foam spewed from its mouth. “Spare me! I was wrong—I didn’t mean it! If I’d known you were this strong, cough, cough, I would never have provoked you! Please, spare me!” the mermaid demon pleaded, scrambling backward in terror.