Little Pink Starfish

[Group Owner]: Ugh, I suddenly remembered something while I was napping.
[Group Owner]: You know how they’ve even banned discussion of Demon Chronicles around here? I think the higher-ups are planning to completely bury this matter.
[BlackRed]: Yeah, probably. A few days ago we could still talk about it over here, but the day after you said that, the notices started appearing around me too.
[Group Owner]: No one better leak our chat logs… Whoever leaks them, I swear I’ll bite them to death.

When Yuan Yuanyuan got home, she felt like her body was falling apart. She threw the milk and bread onto the bed, then stared up at the ceiling.

Her phone screen was still lit up on the nightstand. She picked it up and flipped it over, glanced at the message logs, and thought—although that chubby cat was kind of a weakling, he really was sharp when it came to sensing trouble.

Sure enough… the demons had come to silence her. Yuan Yuanyuan couldn’t say she fully understood what the demons were thinking, but in her mind… this was a gag order.

Their request wasn’t too demanding—much less than she had expected.

She had steeled herself to hear all kinds of shady stuff from the white-robed woman: maybe the demons wanted her to start working as a spy again, maybe they wanted to control her or use her. But surprisingly, the demon side was a lot more… polite than she’d imagined.

Or perhaps… not as stupid.

That white-robed woman had practically come out and begged her—don’t spread anything about the past. No conditions, no requirements to work for them, just a courteous request.

Yuan Yuanyuan felt kind of anxious, mostly because she’d never dealt with something like this before. But she still kept her outward cool.

If they had wanted her to do dangerous things or go fight again, she’d have dipped right then and there. But since all they wanted was for her to keep her mouth shut…

Yuan Yuanyuan sat up in bed, got herself together, ate something, and headed off to work.

---

There were a lot of demons in C City. Like, really a lot.

Basically, all the most dangerous demons in the entire country had gathered there. Yuan Yuanyuan had serious doubts about her life choices when she first arrived. But after staying for a month, she realized—it actually wasn’t too bad of a place to live.

The little demons all picked their backers, paid tribute every month, and asked for protection. The big demons here had a solid reputation—Yuanyuan had never heard of a big demon taking tribute and not protecting their followers.

Every big demon had their own mini army of little demons, forming a pyramid structure. For example: Yuan Yuanyuan was at the bottom, Sister Lizi was mid-tier, and Sister Xue was upper-mid tier.

Every small demon was a form of wealth. Sure, their lives weren’t worth much—relatively speaking—but big demons still preferred peaceful, obedient subordinates. A quiet little demon like Yuanyuan? Perfect. More demons meant more tribute.

Demons who caused trouble were usually ignored. But if a well-behaved demon was attacked, their protector would step in and handle it.

Every big demon had a roster of names under their protection. Yuan Yuanyuan was on such a list. When she first came in, she’d even signed her name—she jokingly called it “getting registered.”

So when that white-robed woman mentioned “registering her,” Yuanyuan immediately thought, Oh. Demon census.

Once you were on that list, you became part of a mutual benefit network. That’s how Yuan saw it. In such a system, naturally, you’d keep your mouth shut. After all, if you benefited from the group, you wouldn’t jeopardize it.

And if that alliance grew strong enough… maybe it’d even help you out. Everyone was in the same boat now—why dwell on the past?

Still, Yuan Yuanyuan hadn’t signed yet.

Because demon names carried power—they weren’t ordinary. Signing your name could bind your actions.

Yuan wasn’t worried about being punished for breaking the contract… it was just that the contract’s penalties were weirdly light. Even lighter than the one she signed back when she was still just a human.

What the hell? Is this a demon charity program?

Since C City was the largest demon city, there were all kinds of demons here. Some relied on big demons, but others didn’t—so-called “off-the-record” demons.

Yuan Yuanyuan knew there were plenty of unregistered demons.

And they had one thing in common: they were strong. Like, absurdly strong.

They didn’t need to rely on anyone. They could live freely in the city and take care of themselves just fine. Some had survived purely on their own power in an otherwise cutthroat environment.

That’s why Yuan hadn’t responded yet. She knew she wasn’t that smart—so she didn’t dare commit too fast. So many people had been ruined by a single contract. So, better to keep her mouth shut.

And the demon side clearly wasn’t fully at ease either.

The white-robed woman was tactful. She told Yuanyuan to take her time deciding. If she agreed, she could come back to the same spot next Saturday—where they’d wait respectfully.

Too bad she couldn’t show any of this to the fat cat. That guy seemed deviously clever—he’d probably sniff out every hidden detail instantly.

Before she left, the woman even handed her a small bronze mirror—about the size of an egg—like a miniature version of an ancient hand mirror. It came on a little tray, and Yuanyuan took it and glanced at the woman.

“If there’s anything you want to know, contact me through this,” she said. “It hasn’t been tampered with. I wouldn’t dare deceive you—you’re an expert in this field.”

Yeah, One-Seven was an expert. I’m not.

Yuanyuan turned the mirror over in her hand. She had seen this kind of artifact before—in the biographies. It now sat tucked under her clothes, right beneath her protective charm.

This was a demon-world communication device. Not just a two-person call—it was a multi-user group chat. Think of it as a 3D, immersive version of a QQ group chat.

Just like with normal demon spellbooks, you poured your own demonic energy into it, and bam, you’d enter the mirror’s world. There, you could alter your appearance, hide your identity, and chat. Pretty cool, actually.

These mirrors were rare, usually crafted in sets. Some were huge—with hundreds or even thousands in a set—but those were lower quality. This was her first time holding one. She didn’t use it yet—didn’t want to risk anything—but she was super curious.

Should I say yes? Or not?

While washing glasses at the tavern, she kept mulling over what that woman had said, trying to spot any traps.

With her own brain? No way she could figure it out. But if it were his brain… that was another story.

Still, signing did come with perks—not all bad.

As she washed, she remembered the subtle message hidden in the woman’s words that morning.

—Yuan’s existence had become a threat to the demon world.

Someone wanted her gone.

The woman hadn’t said who, but it sounded like someone outside of C City.

C City had always been its own thing—bold and brash. Technically aligned with the demons, yes, but in practice? They played by their own rules.

So that woman’s suggestion was clear: If Yuan signed up, C City would shield her from hostile forces outside the city.

Apparently, this was a decision made by several of C City’s big demon lords after a long discussion—but it came with one condition:

—Yuan couldn’t stir up trouble.

So… as Yuan paused with a dripping cup in her hand, she realized:

They want to hide Yuan away.

Not hand her over to other demons. Not to the exorcists either. Just quietly keep her around, hidden—and let her work for C City from the shadows.

No fighting required. Free lodging included. What a sweet deal.

And if she wanted to leave, she could. The contract didn’t even have penalties—C City was afraid she wouldn’t run, not that she would.

If the demon world ever turned on her, C City could play the victim and say, “Hey, we tried.” Total plausible deniability.

This is actually… kinda genius.

Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly felt like she was getting smarter. First time in thirty years, maybe.

She dropped her glass and ran off to contact the white-robed woman.

Sign? Hell yeah, she’d sign. She was only ever worried that people were being too nice for no reason. Now that she knew they had hidden motives?

That was reassuring.

They had their goals. She had hers. Mutual exploitation. All square.

Still… who the hell wanted her dead?

She thought about it all morning and couldn’t come up with a likely suspect. All she could do was stay alert.

---

Meanwhile, Demon Chronicles was still going strong. Yuan’s fangirls were everywhere, cheering for their beloved character.

One of the country’s biggest anime conventions was just around the corner. Every year, it drew tons of cosplayers. Last year, it was all Onmyoji—the place was flooded with Seimei and grass spirit cosplays.

This year, the hype wasn’t quite as massive, but the competition was still fierce.

Among the most popular series?

A suddenly surging domestic hit—

“Demon Chronicles.”