Lily Smith walked out of the hotel entrance, blinked her eyes, and continued, “I don’t want to go to school in a place where monsters live, so I had to change my appearance and make myself look a bit uglier. Otherwise, there would definitely be boys chasing after me! It’s really annoying. I’m a monster, I can’t just date boys easily—unless they agree to marry into my family!”

“Marry into your family? What’s so hard about that?”

Brian Carter blurted out, but quickly realized what he’d said and knew he’d made a mistake, feeling a bit awkward for a moment.

Lily Smith didn’t mind at all. She giggled, clearly in a great mood, and said softly, “A lot of humans are afraid of monsters. If they found out my real identity, they’d definitely try every way to hurt me.”

Brian Carter couldn’t help but say, “If anyone tries to hurt you, I’ll protect you.”

Lily Smith’s small mouth opened slightly, her cheeks instantly flushed red, and she whispered, “You don’t even know what kind of monster I am yet!”

Brian Carter replied without thinking, “What kind of monster doesn’t matter, right? They’re all monsters anyway.”

Lily Smith pursed her lips, shook her head, and said, “Some people can accept fox spirits, snake spirits, or even monsters that transform from mammals, and they have no problem with that. Some people aren’t bothered by objects turning into spirits either. But when it comes to insects, especially centipede spirits or scorpion spirits, they really hate them. If you knew what I really am, maybe you’d hate me too!”

Brian Carter thought for a moment, then said decisively, “As long as you’re not a cilantro spirit, I’m not afraid!”

Lily Smith immediately burst out laughing, rocking back and forth. If she hadn’t been holding onto Brian Carter’s arm, Brian Carter would have worried that this monster girl might laugh herself to the ground. Lily Smith laughed for quite a while before saying, “I’ve never heard of cilantro turning into a spirit, so you can relax—I’m not a cilantro spirit!”

Brian Carter asked curiously, “Then what kind of monster are you?”

Lily Smith shot him a look and said, “Didn’t you just say as long as I’m not a cilantro spirit, you don’t care? Why do you have to ask a girl this kind of question? It’s a pretty private thing, you know—it’s embarrassing!”

Brian Carter curled his lips, secretly unconvinced, but didn’t press further. He just felt that Lily Smith’s mood changed unpredictably, and it was hard to figure out what this monster girl was thinking, so he simply stopped trying.

With Lily Smith’s interruption, he even forgot that the two of them had been walking arm in arm the whole time, looking just like a young couple.

Chapter 8: The Haoji Sky Tablet

After leaving the hotel, Lily Smith pulled Brian Carter into a nearby subway station. She led Brian Carter around two corners inside, and the usually crowded Beidu City subway suddenly became very empty. The two of them were almost alone on a deserted platform waiting for the train.

Brian Carter looked at the station signs out of curiosity, and his expression turned odd—he hadn’t heard of any of the stops on this line.

Lily Smith seemed to know what he was wondering about and giggled, “Don’t be confused! This subway was built by our Monster Association. This special subway line for monsters not only connects all the major business districts and famous attractions in Beidu City, but also links the city’s eighteen monster residential areas. There are even three long-distance lines to other cities. It’s much more convenient and faster than human subways or trains.”

Before Brian Carter could even be surprised, the subway arrived. Lily Smith took out a card, swiped it twice at the entrance, and pulled him into the carriage.

Besides the two of them, there was no one else in the carriage—it was extremely spacious. Compared to the usual crowded Beidu City subway, this would make most office workers cry tears of joy.

The seats weren’t the usual hard subway benches, but wide, comfortable leather sofas. In front of each seat was a table that looked like it was made of metal. After Lily Smith sat down, she placed her card on the table, which immediately activated, rippling and displaying an operating interface—it was actually a full touchscreen.

As Lily Smith put away her card, she waved it at Brian Carter and said, “This is my monster registration card. It’s not only our ID, but also a special bank card, a dedicated transportation card, a membership card for nearly a thousand monster-only malls, supermarkets, and shops nationwide, and more than a dozen other functions, like paying to use the subway’s smart system. These cards can only be activated by the owner’s unique monster aura, so there’s no way anyone else can use them. The security is way beyond any human technology. There are different levels: black card, diamond card, platinum card, gold card, silver card, regular card, and a minor’s card. Mine is already a silver card. You’ll probably be classified as a minor and get a minor’s card.”

Brian Carter felt his head spinning, utterly shocked, and thought to himself, “I always thought that if monsters really existed, they’d live deep in the mountains, isolated from the world, sticking to old traditions. I never expected the civilization level of monster society to be on par with, or even above, human society. Their standard of living and technology are even more advanced, and their systems are more sophisticated. Human ID cards don’t have any of these functions.”

Lily Smith operated the screen on the table for a while and said, “I’ve made an appointment with the Kyoto Monster Affairs Institute. Once we arrive, we can handle the procedures right away.”

Brian Carter was completely speechless.