Urban Demon Refining System

Meanwhile, Zhao Baichuan was unaware that Lin Xiaomo had encountered danger. Led by Xiao Yang, he successfully walked out of the school gate.

"Teacher Xiao, where are we going?" Unexpectedly, after leaving the school, Xiao Yang did not lead him to the food street not far away, but turned into a small alley.

"I'll take you to a great place!" Xiao Yang deliberately kept him in suspense.

This alley is one of the few remaining old neighborhoods in the entire city, with most of the buildings dating back to around the 80s. As high-rise buildings have sprung up around it, fewer and fewer people are living here. However, thanks to its location, being close to a school, land prices have skyrocketed.

Although local residents are reluctant to live here, the cheap rent has made it a top choice for some migrant workers. Walking along the alley, you can see many small food stalls with simple decorations.

"Alright, this is it." Xiao Yang led Zhao Baichuan for a while before stopping in front of a snack stall.

"Teacher Xiao, you're not going to invite me to dinner here, are you?" Zhao Baichuan said half-jokingly. He didn't mind the hygiene conditions here, but he was quite surprised that the beautiful Xiao Yang would take the initiative to come to such a place.

"What? You don't want to? Let me tell you, the noodles at this shop are delicious. I used to come here all the time when I was in high school."

"How could that be? I'm just surprised that such a beautiful woman like you, teacher, would come to a place like this!"

"Why not? I'm not some rich heiress. Let's go in, or we'll be late for class this afternoon." With that, Xiao Yang took the lead and walked into the store.

"Teacher Xiao! You're here again!" As soon as you entered, a young man wearing a black apron greeted you with a smile.

"Okay, Blackie, take us inside. I have something to discuss with Xiao Chuan," Xiao Yang said, winking at the young man called Blackie.

"Alright! No problem! Please come in!" Blackie readily agreed.

“Blackhead…” Zhao Baichuan looked at the man in front of him, who was definitely no more than thirty years old, and felt a sense of unease. Then he realized where the problem lay: the part of Blackhead’s right trouser leg that was sticking out was actually a prosthetic leg!

"It seems this man has a story to tell! Although Blackhead is very enthusiastic, he can't hide the temperament in his bones. He has seen this temperament in his father more than once. Blackhead must have been a soldier!"

"Blackie, two bowls of noodles, please!"

"Okay!" Blackie replied and turned to go to the kitchen to get busy, while Zhao Baichuan and Xiao Yang found a seat at the very back.

"Xiao Chuan! When did you start playing this game?" Xiao Yang asked directly, having chosen a relatively secluded spot.

"I just played it yesterday."

"Oh! No wonder!" Xiao Yang nodded. "Xiao Chuan, you should have already noticed that this game is different from other games, right?"

"Yeah, this game is so realistic, sometimes I can't even tell the difference between reality and fiction." Indeed, if Zhao Baichuan thought it was a fairly interesting game yesterday, then after the series of events this morning, his opinion of the game completely changed. "It feels... it feels like those monsters are alive!"

"Hehe, it seems you've figured it out!" Xiao Yang paused. "That's right, all the demons and monsters you encounter in this game are real!" She also put on a serious expression at this moment.

"What?" Despite being somewhat prepared, he was still taken aback when Xiao Yang confirmed it himself.

"In fact, the players of this game are not entirely human!" However, Xiao Yang's next sentence was absolutely shocking.

"What!?" This time Zhao Baichuan was truly shocked. Even with his wildest imagination, he only thought that this game was the result of development by a large organization, but he never expected that it would involve non-human beings!

“Yes, that’s right. Although it’s just a guess, I’m about 70-80% sure that there are non-human players in this game!” Xiao Yang said. “I’m sorry, this involves some personal issues, so I can’t tell you too much. But please believe me, this guess is not unfounded.” As she said this, the beautiful teacher’s emotions even became a little unstable, as if she was trying to suppress something.

"I understand, teacher." Zhao Baichuan didn't notice Xiao Yang's unusual behavior and said to himself, "Teacher Xiao, I have some questions."

"You said."

"It's like this..." Zhao Baichuan recounted his encounter with the baseball cap and the process of subduing the Greedy Dragon this morning. "That Greedy Dragon looked very powerful, so why did I subdue it so easily?"

"Haha! Xiao Chuan, you really hit the jackpot by accident!" Xiao Yang was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter. "Actually, it's also that thief's bad luck. The Demon-Refining Teapot has a hidden feature: it's 100% successful on the first time you subdue a demon, regardless of whether it's wild or not. Like that Greedy Dragon, even though it had already been subdued by the guy in the baseball cap, you still managed to snatch it away. Of course, this is probably also because the difference in strength between you two isn't that great. If that Greedy Dragon had reached the level of a great demon, you wouldn't have been able to succeed. This must be the first time you've used that teapot to subdue a demon!"

"It seems that's really the case!" Zhao Baichuan scratched his head. Indeed, his beginner's guide quest used sealing stones, not demon-refining teapots.

"Actually, this is a minor bug. This setting is specifically designed for beginner quests, but the Demon Refining Teapot can also be purchased in the game store, giving some people a chance to exploit the loophole. However, this only applies to players who choose the Sealing Stone as their initial item. Players who choose other items will not see the Demon Refining Teapot and Ghost-Collecting Gourd in the store, which can be considered a form of compensation for these players."

"Um, compensation? Teacher Xiao, from what you're saying, choosing the sealing stone isn't a good idea?" Games usually have balance settings, so if there's compensation here, then there must be something lacking in other aspects.

"That's right. Another major weakness of sealing stones is their low success rate. Just like Poké Balls in Pokémon, although they are not expensive, they are simply not enough to keep up with demand. If you can use three or four sealing stones to capture a monster, you are already considered lucky."

"It seems that's how it is. I thought the system gave a lot of initial spirit coins, but now it seems that's not the case at all!" Zhao Baichuan said with some frustration.