After Clearing the Infinite Flow, I Tamed the Mad Dog Boss - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“Tangyuan, stay home and behave.” Qin Xian stood outside the door and glanced at the dog standing in the living room, its tail drooping as it looked at him.

It was half an hour until two in the afternoon. He had opened the door intending to leave right away.

But then came the soft scrape of claws against the floor behind him. He turned back and saw Tangyuan slipping in from the balcony again.

Qin Xian called its name, but the dog still did not wag its tail.

“Tch. You’re not actually a wolf, are you?”

No sooner had he said that than Tangyuan took a few steps forward, half its body poking out through the doorway as it looked at Qin Xian.

Without another word, Qin Xian braced his foot against the doorframe and unceremoniously shoved the dog back inside.

“Get in there.”

With that, he locked the door just before the black dog’s snout could squeeze out.

It was quiet inside for a moment. Then came the sound of the dog walking away, and only then did Qin Xian head downstairs.

McDonald’s was not far from here, only a ten-minute walk. It was two in the afternoon, and there were hardly any customers in the restaurant. When he pushed the door open, there was only one person inside.

Qin Xian paused, and the only customer froze too.

It was someone he knew: the bespectacled man who sat next to him at the company. The one who had asked yesterday if he had low blood sugar and advised him not to act rashly.

Qin Xian pushed the door open and entered the restaurant. The bespectacled man immediately greeted him. “Hey, Qin Xian! You’re here for McDonald’s too?”

As he looked at Qin Xian, the bespectacled man seemed inexplicably fearful and awkward.

Qin Xian gave a brief “mm,” pulled out the chair across from him, and sat down directly.

The bespectacled man froze. “Ah, I-I’m waiting for someone. Sorry…”

Qin Xian got straight to the point. “I’m Q from the forum.”

The bespectacled man stared blankly for a moment, then cried out, “Huh?!”

“Wait, you’re Q? Since when did you become a scammer pretending to be a mystic?”

Qin Xian had expected his reaction and said calmly, “I don’t want to waste time with you. Judging from those dark circles under your eyes, you were probably forced into a dream by an anomaly, weren’t you?”

“Huh… What anomaly? A ghost? I did have a nightmare… You didn’t find out from my social media, did you?”

Qin Xian’s expression was cold. “Yesterday, you tried to stop me when I killed CEO Zhao.”

What?! You killed CEO Zhao??

The bespectacled man was so startled he almost screamed, but the sealed memories came flooding back like a dam bursting.

He finally remembered the horrifying scene from yesterday afternoon. He also remembered Qin Xian’s expressionless face as he cut the boss’s throat.

He shot to his feet and backed away two steps, terrified. “Y-y-you, you really killed CEO Zhao?? No, wait, CEO Zhao wasn’t human? You killed a monster? So… you’re some ghost-slaying master hiding in human society? A corporate drone by day and a robe-wearing ghost hunter by night??”

Qin Xian: “…”

Qin Xian said, “I’m not that cringey, but I can deal with those monsters… for a fee. The thing you encountered is the culprit that killed CEO Zhao. If it isn’t dealt with, you’ll end up just like him.”

The bespectacled man thought of CEO Zhao’s gruesome death. That strange yet vividly real experience made a chill run through his whole body, and he immediately panicked. “Brother Qin-no, Master! Save me!”

His shout made the two employees behind the counter raise their heads, their expressions full of suspicion as they looked at the two of them.

Qin Xian sighed and said, “Let’s talk outside. Oh, right. What was your name again?”

The bespectacled man froze again. “Seriously? We’ve been sitting next to each other for a year! Didn’t you just go out for malatang with me a few days ago?”

He suddenly stopped, looked Qin Xian up and down, and asked hesitantly, “Are… are you still Qin Xian? I feel like you’re completely different from how you were a few days ago… You weren’t possessed, were you?”

Qin Xian sighed. “Read fewer novels. I’ve always been a loner. You were the one who dragged me out for malatang, weren’t you?”

Qin Xian had long since forgotten the trivial details of interacting with this coworker, but he knew what his own personality used to be like. There was no way he would have taken the initiative to go eat malatang with someone else.

The bespectacled man scratched his head. “…Fine, that’s true. But I’m still pretty hurt that you don’t remember me.”

Qin Xian stood up at once. “I’m leaving. Find someone else.”

The bespectacled man immediately begged for mercy. “I was wrong! Bro, I was wrong! My name is Lin Qizhi! Brother Qin, you’re my real brother! Please help me!”

Qin Xian said coldly, “You. Go to the supermarket and buy a tent. Bring a blanket. We’ll meet tonight at Bianjiang Park.”

“Huh?”

“Your place is too chaotic, and there are too many people around. I don’t want anyone else getting dragged in.”

“Oh, okay, bro!”

Lin Qizhi lived in an apartment building near the company, where the population density was high. The people living close to Lin Qizhi probably had not been sleeping well these past few nights either.

That anomaly would try to expand its influence. First it got to CEO Zhao, then the company’s employees, and next the people around those employees. As the number of affected people increased, its power would grow stronger and stronger, even forming a Domain capable of controlling a large area.

Fortunately, it was still weak right now. Last time, Qin Xian’s thoughts had been too chaotic, allowing the thing to escape. This time, it was time to finish it off for good.
That evening, Lin Qizhi arrived at the park early with a full set of camping gear and picked out a suitable spot to set up a barbecue grill.

When Qin Xian showed up empty-handed, he was rendered utterly speechless.

“Did you think we were actually coming here to camp?”

Lin Qizhi scratched his head, embarrassed. “Well, I thought… before an operation, you should make sure you’re properly fueled up…”

Qin Xian sighed.

Lin Qizhi chuckled awkwardly and got to work on the barbecue.

Qin Xian took out his phone to check the time, then glanced around.

He hadn’t expected there to still be so many people strolling through the park when it was almost nine-thirty. Fortunately, there wasn’t a second person besides them who had gone so far as to pitch a tent in the park.

“Forget it. Since you brought all this, we might as well eat a little. We’ll have to wait until there aren’t any people around before we start. We should avoid dragging anyone else into this if we can.”

“Dragging them in?” Lin Qizhi asked.

Qin Xian sat down on a small folding stool and gave a brief explanation. “That thing is very weak. All it can do is pull people into dreams or hallucinations. If you’re too close, you’ll be affected, which is why I deliberately chose somewhere with fewer people. In a while, we’ll have to enter a sleeping state before we can find it.”

Lin Qizhi suddenly grew curious. “Is that thing a ghost? So ghosts really do exist in this world…”

“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t. If you want to die, go ahead and keep digging.” Qin Xian stared straight into Lin Qizhi’s eyes.

Lin Qizhi shuddered. In the end, fear won out over curiosity.

After that, he played the eager lackey in earnest, grilling the food and respectfully handing each portion to Qin Xian. Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, Lin Qizhi crawled into the tent and lay down, while Qin Xian simply sat beside him.

Lin Qizhi tugged the blanket up and poked his head out. “Brother Qin, you’re not going to lie down?”

Qin Xian bent one leg and casually rested his arm on it. “No need. I can fall asleep like this.”

Lin Qizhi looked at him and gave him a thumbs-up. “Brother Qin, you really are the definition of cool.”

Qin Xian tugged the corner of his mouth into a smile that wasn’t a smile. “Sleep.”

Lin Qizhi immediately stiffened and lay flat, pulling the blanket up near his nose, leaving only a pair of worshipful eyes staring at Qin Xian. The impression Qin Xian had previously given him was that he was very handsome, but also somewhat gloomy and withdrawn, not very sociable. But now Qin Xian’s aura was nothing but mysterious, aloof, and powerful. Of course, there was also the beauty.

So this was what Qin Xian was like in private? Too… too cool!

Most of the unease in his heart had already vanished. With someone this strong helping him, there probably wouldn’t be any major problems…

Lin Qizhi secretly glanced at Qin Xian one last time. Qin Xian was already sitting there with his eyes closed.

He yawned too, and before long, drifted off to sleep.

————

When Qin Xian opened his eyes, he almost thought he had gone back to yesterday.

The familiar office. The familiar computer. The familiar 99+ WeChat notifications.

Qin Xian immediately kicked off the floor. His chair scraped across it with a creak, drawing the attention of everyone around him.

He stood up from the chair, ignored all the assessing looks around him, and pointed at the empty seat beside him. “Where’s Lin Qizhi?”

The people around him exchanged looks. One of them said weakly, “You mean CEO Lin? He, uh, I don’t know what he went off to do.”

“CEO Lin?” Qin Xian raised an eyebrow.

The other person replied, “Yeah. He just got promoted, and he’s been acting really arrogant. You’d better be careful.”

Qin Xian sneered.

As expected of a dream. The guy had even made himself CEO.

He folded his arms and looked around, calling out, “Lin Qizhi, where are you? Get out here!”

Everyone else in the office immediately looked at Qin Xian in terror.

A few seconds later, thudding sounds came from the doorway. The entire office trembled, as if some gigantic thing was stomping closer.

Then, through the tiny office door, a muscular, hulking man squeezed in like a balloon, the stiff black-rimmed glasses on his face proclaiming his identity.

It seemed that in this dream, he had projected all of his usual fantasies onto himself.

Lin Qizhi roared, “Who is it?! Who’s being so rude?! You have to call me CEO Lin now, CEO Lin, got it?!”

He looked at Qin Xian and snapped, “So it’s you, huh? Making noise during work hours, kicking office property, and calling your superiors by name with no respect. What, are you trying to reform the workplace?!”

Qin Xian rolled his eyes at him outright.

Lin Qizhi flew into a rage. Right now, his body looked bigger than three Qin Xians put together, and his courage had inflated countless times over as well.

“Looks like if I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll never learn the rules of surviving in the workplace!!” he roared, raising his muscle-packed right arm, clenching his fist, and swinging it at Qin Xian’s head.

But in the next second, Qin Xian lightly ducked and dodged the attack. Then his bent legs erupted with force, his right fist shot upward, and he landed a perfect “Shoryuken” straight on Lin Qizhi’s chin!

“Awoo!” Lin Qizhi let out a miserable howl and crashed backward onto the floor.

Qin Xian rubbed his fist, looked down at him with a cold smile, and said, “Well? How’d that taste? The righteous iron fist of workplace reform. Want another serving?”