I really can't control myself.

Chapter 4198 Thoughts
"Is this the mermaid you were talking about?" Linton asked Hiroto Aoki, pointing to the creature inside the glass enclosure, whose life or death was unclear.

The glass enclosure is filled with liquid, probably... a biological culture medium or something? Anyway, it shouldn't be formalin.

The creature floating in the middle was not the kind of mermaid with the upper body of a beautiful woman and the lower body of a fish that Linton had been expecting, but rather a strange fish with four limbs. If you had to describe it, it looked more like a water monkey.

"No, are you playing the mermaid joke on me? No matter how funny it is, you won't laugh, will you?" Linton couldn't help but say.

“Well… the flesh of this thing is indeed extraordinary. According to our current research, it can significantly enhance a person’s physique and make the human body more receptive to spiritual energy. However, we don’t yet know if it will affect lifespan or if it will have any side effects…” Aoki Hiroto explained.

He said this because there have always been myths and legends in Japan that eating mermaid flesh can grant immortality. There was once a woman named Yaobikuni who ate mermaid flesh and lived to be eight hundred years old.

Since obtaining this item, the Extraordinary Affairs Department has been researching this creature, which is suspected to be a mermaid. Several individuals who have eaten mermaid flesh have shown enhanced physical abilities, as if they had consumed a elixir. However, lifespan is difficult to test.

“Well… I say, no matter what, let’s find something that looks edible,” Linton said to Saiba Asahi and Nakiri Erina beside him.

As mentioned before, besides collecting some points, Linton also had a mission to find some rare ingredients. And this was the first thing Aoki Hiroto recommended after learning of Linton's needs.

Linton felt that this guy was completely using him as a guinea pig, wasn't he? Anyway, the effects of the mermaid flesh were still being tested and verified.

“I think so too…” Erina Nakiri looked at this strange thing and had absolutely no desire to try it.

Before she could finish speaking, Saiba Asahi licked his lips and said, "I think the appearance of an ingredient and its taste are probably not related. This thing does look strange, but who knows, it might taste good?"

"Goodness, I don't know whether to call you dedicated or what," Linton couldn't help but say. "Come on, let him try it."

Just as Linton finished speaking, someone rushed over to Aoki Hiroto's side and whispered something to him.

Hiroto Aoki's expression changed drastically after listening for only a short while.

Linton, who was standing nearby, also heard it. Although the two were not speaking loudly, Linton still had some hearing.

The other party wasn't very clear, only saying things like "They're here," "They're heading towards headquarters," and "They'll be there soon." Linton knew that something seemed to be heading towards their headquarters, probably an enemy, but he didn't know what kind of enemy it was.

The person who reported it didn't say, but Hiroto Aoki seemed to know what it was without him saying it.

Judging from Hiroto Aoki's expression, it was clear that this was a rather troublesome enemy; otherwise, he wouldn't be looking so grim. To be honest, Linton was curious—not that he was going to meddle, but he was genuinely curious. "What's here?" Linton asked directly, of course.

“Ah, this…” Hiroto Aoki glanced at Linton, quickly thought for a moment, and then a bold plan popped into his head.

That's right, he had no idea that Linton would suddenly appear here, and of course, he couldn't have planned for it. But now that this unexpected development has occurred, Hiroto Aoki has a new idea.

Indeed, this new idea is quite a coincidence, almost identical to the idea of ​​the Yatagarasu group. A Chinese idiom to describe it is "borrowing the tiger's power."

Faced with the threat from the Inugami family, Hiroto Aoki felt he was almost certainly doomed. He didn't even need to consider whether he could win; the Other Team was basically just testing him out as a scapegoat, he was already considered abandoned.

In this situation, Hiroto Aoki clearly couldn't resist the urge to take a desperate gamble. Although plotting against Linton was extremely dangerous, he was going to die whether he tried or not, so why not give it a shot?
The problem now is, how can we get Linton to make a move?
That's right. As long as the Inugami family members believe that they are on Linton's side, Hiroto Aoki thinks that the Inugami family members will most likely not dare to fight Linton. Thus, they can immediately enter into negotiation mode, and the crisis will be directly resolved.

But this requires Linton's cooperation, but can Linton cooperate? Judging from Linton's attitude of directly grabbing it right away, he doesn't seem to be very willing to give face to the opposing team or to Aoki Hiroto.

What should we do?

While thinking about it, Hiroto Aoki still answered Linton: "It's a powerful demon that's attacking our headquarters."

Hiroto Aoki intentionally concealed the fact that the attackers were from the Inugami family, since he wasn't entirely clear about the exact nature of the relationship between Linton and the Inugami family.

Although Linton had seemingly become the king of the demon realm, with the three major demon families serving him like dogs, he didn't seem to care much about it. It appears that after plundering the demon realm's treasures, he hasn't paid much attention to it.

Based on his analysis of the current situation, Hiroto Aoki believes that Linton's initial target was also the treasures of the demon realm, not actually recruiting followers. Wouldn't that mean the situation of these demons and their subordinates in the Otherworld is quite similar? In other words, in terms of hierarchy, they should be roughly at the same level in Linton's mind.

However, he was not very willing to gamble on this matter, nor did he dare to ask directly.

What he's really looking forward to is that Linton is still robbing them here, while the Inugami family is obviously unaware of this.

Since Linton himself possessed no spiritual or demonic power, he was well aware of this, making it difficult for the Inugami family to detect.

So is it possible to get the Inugami family to "hinder" Linton's robbery plan? And if my guess is correct, Linton should be quite angry if this happens.

Thinking of this, he immediately said, "But it's not too troublesome. I've already asked the action department to handle it."