At the No. 1 High School cafeteria—the dining hall reserved exclusively for Yangcheng No. 1 High—things were usually peaceful.
Although it was still a school cafeteria, the place was clean, and the food suited the students' tastes well, so most of the students at No. 1 High liked eating here.
In one corner of the cafeteria, three students were sitting together, having lunch.
"Sis, do you feel it too? That new transfer student today, Mammon… he feels kind of strange."
The handsome young man shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth and curiously asked the girl sitting across from him.
He was Li Xuwei, and the girl in front of him was Li Yuxin.
It had to be said that Li Shiqian's genes were truly outstanding. Among Li Yuxin and her two siblings, not one of them looked bad.
Li Xuwei had a bright, handsome appearance, and because of the upbringing he had received since childhood, his bearing was also very clean and refined. However, the trace of playfulness and frivolity in his eyes was rather obvious.
As for Li Yuxin, her face was fair and delicate, her slightly brown long hair tied into a ponytail. A fresh and tranquil aura seemed to flow from her naturally, making her the perfect campus goddess.
"What Mammon?"
The girl beside them, who had been playing with her phone, asked curiously after hearing Li Xuwei's words.
She was Li Yuqin. Though her name sounded gentle and quiet, her personality was extremely lively and cheerful. She was also the most talented among the three.
She had already awakened an ability and become an esper.
"He's the new transfer student in our class. And he… gives me a very strange sense of familiarity."
Li Yuxin's brows knit slightly. Although the feeling was not especially strong, it definitely existed.
Li Yuxin had always been quite confident in her intuition. That vague sense of familiarity lingered in her mind, but she was also certain that she had never met Mammon before.
"Maybe you've just seen him somewhere in the past. I just think the whole guy feels gloomy and sinister. He looks weird."
"But that Nakime though… that face of hers is really… tsk tsk~"
Li Xuwei spoke indifferently, but then rested his chin on his hand as he thought of Nakime, clicking his tongue in admiration.
As the young master of the Li family, he had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. But even so, Nakime's looks and temperament were indeed exceptional—rarely seen.
"You'd better restrain yourself a little. That Mammon is probably not simple."
Li Yuxin glanced at Li Xuwei. She naturally understood her younger brother's character.
Still, aside from that flaw, Li Xuwei really didn't have any other major shortcomings. As his elder sister, Li Yuxin could not say too much.
"Relax, relax. I'm not going to provoke him over a woman. Sis, you just think too much. Whether he's simple or not has nothing to do with us."
"Judging by how respectfully that Nakime treats him, he's probably just some young master from another influential family."
Li Xuwei rolled his eyes. Even if Mammon really was extraordinary, what did that have to do with them? This was their first time meeting him, and they were merely classmates. Was that guy supposed to be here for them or something?
In the entire city of Yangcheng, who would dare offend the Li family?
"Ah! A monster!"
At that very moment, a terrified scream suddenly rang out not far away.
A gray figure charged over at high speed.
"What the hell is that thing?"
Li Xuwei stood up abruptly, staring at the gray shadow in shock.
Ash-gray skin, black eyes, a hideously twisted and savage face—though it had a humanoid shape, no matter how one looked at it, it was not a normal human.
And this monster was a man-eating demon.
The demon kept turning its head, searching for the two figures in its memory. That was the task the lord had left for it.
Only after completing it would it be allowed to freely hunt and devour flesh and blood to its heart's content.
Suddenly, the demon stopped.
Its black eyes locked firmly onto Li Xuwei and Li Yuxin.
"Its target is us?"
Li Yuxin's heart tightened. Noticing the demon's gaze, she immediately grabbed Li Yuqin's hand and turned to run without hesitation.
She had no idea how this monster had appeared inside No. 1 High, but with such a huge commotion here, the school's esper teachers would definitely rush over soon.
All they had to do now was escape.
"Keh keh! Heh…"
Breathing heavily like a wild beast, the demon split its face into a hideous, terrifying grin and charged toward Li Yuxin and the others, its claw stabbing straight toward Li Xuwei's back!
Its speed far exceeded their imagination.
If that strike landed, there was no need to doubt it—Li Xuwei's heart would be pierced through instantly!
"You damned thing! What the hell is going on?!"
Sensing the increasingly close sound of that ragged breathing behind him, Li Xuwei's pupils shrank violently. An unprecedented chill rose from the soles of his feet and spread through his entire body.
There was no time to think. The combat lessons he had learned from his teachers flashed rapidly through his mind, and Li Xuwei hastily twisted his body to dodge.
Rip!
But in the end, he was still a step too slow.
A gash was torn open along Li Xuwei's arm, and red blood began spilling out without stop.
"Keh keh keh…"
The scent of blood seemed to stimulate the demon even more. It brought its right claw to its mouth and licked it greedily. That ravenous posture made the surrounding students watching the scene feel their scalps go numb.
Li Xuwei clutched his injured arm, his face pale. The rage in his heart burned uncontrollably. As the young master of the Li family, he had never been treated like this before.
But as he stared at the hideous and terrifying demon, the fear in his eyes could not be concealed at all.
Meanwhile, in one corner of the cafeteria, Mammon tilted his head as he watched the scene unfold, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward into a smile.