Chapter 34: The Angel Investor

In the afternoon, perhaps due to the rain that fell the previous night, the temperature had dropped.

"Let's go. Where are we going to have fun now?" Bai Yuze asked after packing everything up.

"We're going to Luoshui Road in Tianxin District!"

"Is there an event going on over there?"

Since returning to Yeqiu City, Bai Yuze had lived a life of going straight from home to work and back, and he hadn't heard of any interesting places there.

Iris rolled her eyes at him. After living in Yeqiu City for so long, how could his information intake be worse than hers, a Demoness of the Abyss? He didn't even know that the city's major anime convention was being held in Tianxin District.

"I thought you liked watching anime, so I figured I’d take you to check out the convention."

"Oh."

"Do you want to take the bus or the subway?"

"Either is fine, but why didn't you drive here?"

"Let's take the subway then. I've heard human subways are very fast, and I haven't experienced one yet! As for why I didn't drive, you like to keep a low profile, don't you? So, big sister here is just indulging you."

The Demoness Iris turned her dark green eyes toward him and teased softly.

"What, are you starting to miss the comfort of crying inside a luxury car?"

Bai Yuze curled his lips; Iris was as off-the-wall as ever.

...

The convention was bustling; looking from afar, it was a sea of people. Every so often, one could spot various cosplayers on the street.

There were all sorts of anime characters to be found.

This included Qingning, the main character from the currently very popular magical girl anime.

As for Iris, she was even more direct:

She reverted to her true form.

That is, the Demoness Iris, one of the four great villains from that very same magical girl anime.

With a pair of alluring almond-shaped eyes and a lingering charm between her brows, her full-bodied black latex bodysuit outlined a perfect silhouette, and her abundant, snow-white skin was inscribed with abyssal markings.

Pitch-black scales covered her body, with only a small amount of her jade-like skin exposed.

Yet, her entire being radiated a unique charm; every movement and smile came from within, constantly drawing the gaze of everyone around her.

In contrast to the eye-catching Iris, Bai Yuze—transformed into the Demoness Huandie—wished she could hide completely in a dark corner and become invisible air.

The moment the two stepped into the convention venue, thousands of eyes converged upon them.

The gaze focused on her was so intense that it gave her the feeling of having burst into the Gao Family Manor restaurant from the movie *Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons*.

It was a sense of alienation she had never felt in either of her two lives.

...

Fortunately, after Iris explicitly refused requests for photos, those stares diminished significantly.

Though the intense gazes remained, it felt much easier than before.

Huandie, in the guise of a young girl, followed behind the tall, statuesque Iris, curiously observing the large-scale convention.

She saw many cosplayers, cover singers, and "otaku" dancers who were famous on P-Station, and she could even spot popular lifestyle content creators.

On the large electronic screen at the center of the convention, an anime was playing. Several sweet-looking magical girls in colorful dresses were waving plastic wands, and with the help of animated special effects, various powerful calamity beasts were being destroyed by magic light, turning into balls of black energy that drilled into their magic cores...

Around the screen, many men, women, and children could be seen waving glow sticks, cheering and shouting:

"Qingning, we will love you forever!"

"Qingning, you are forever the goddess in my heart!"

Among them, many were also dressed in magical girl costumes—some were incredibly lifelike, while others displayed their own unique and distinct aesthetic styles.

Overall, the styles were weird and wonderful, with otaku culture in full bloom.

Honestly, Huandie found it quite exhilarating.

For her, activities like anime conventions were things she had only ever watched on P-Station, seeing content creators attend or looking at photos taken by photographers. This was her first time actually attending one.

"Well, do you like it?"

Iris held Huandie's hand and smiled as she watched the latter’s dazzled expression.

"This was organized especially for you by your big sister! It cost me over a hundred thousand! Venue rental fees, cosplayer invitation fees, promotion fees, stage fees, security fees, catering fees... so many things. It really was like throwing money into a river. Moved yet?"

Huandie looked up and only then noticed a long banner hanging at the convention.

'Welcome Ms. Bai to this Yeqiu City Anime Convention!'

"Moved. I would be even more moved if I hadn't come here looking like this."

Before they left, Iris had given Bai Yuze two choices.

One was to transform into the magical girl Violet, and the other was to transform into the Abyssal Demoness Huandie.

After thinking for a long time, Bai Yuze had ultimately chosen the Demoness Huandie.

The magical girl Violet had been very popular in the past, but most people should have forgotten her by now. However, since Iris was bringing her here today, it certainly wasn't just for a simple stroll through the convention. Given Iris's mischievous nature, it was very likely she would try to make her famous, so to avoid unnecessary trouble, she had chosen the latter.

In reality, the war between humans and the abyss had reached a state of life-or-death, but one could not deny that the Abyssal Demonesses were beautiful, each in their own way.

In the world of 2D otaku fan fiction, it didn't matter if you were evil or good; as long as you were beautiful, you were guaranteed a place.

Currently, the four great demonesses also possessed a certain number of fans, though the nature of those fans remained unknown.

There were quite a few cosplayers portraying demonesses at the convention.

Who would have thought that the cold-blooded, ruthless demonesses would come to attend a 2D anime convention held by humans?

However, the attire of the Demoness Huandie was truly a bit too strange for Bai Yuze, giving her the inexplicable feeling of being taken advantage of.

She could only pray that no one would recognize her...

"You agreed to this yourself last night, I didn't force you. Alright, let's go check out the main stage."

Hand in hand, the two arrived at the talent competition stage for magical girl cosplayers. Next to it stood a huge, colorful poster of a magical girl, with bright, bold text reading: 1st Place 10k, 2nd Place 5k, 3rd Place 1k.

The prize money was extremely tempting, attracting the attention of many magical girl enthusiasts. Sitting below the stage was a row of guest judges, most of whom were popular P-Station otaku dancers. Behind them were crowds of spectators, and in the center, several high-end cameras were set up, seemingly broadcasting live.

As soon as they approached, a middle-aged man in a suit, his face oily and his hair slicked back with gel, came up to greet them with a beaming smile. "Ms. Bai, you've finally arrived."

He paused, then looked curiously at the girl next to her. "And who is this beautiful young lady?"

Iris shook hands with the man briefly, pulling away instantly. "Boss Xia, I heard you were holding an anime convention in Yeqiu City, so I specifically brought my younger sister along to have some fun and see the world."

Boss Xia's gaze lingered on Huandie for a moment before shifting away—his expression was calm, with a hint of appreciation and curiosity, but without the lustful greed seen in others.

"Ms. Bai, you're too modest. The success of this convention couldn't have happened without your financial support."

"Haha, 'support' is a strong word. I'd call it a win-win," Iris said with a faint smile.

"May I ask how to address your sister?"

"My sister is shy. You can just call her Xiaodie."

"Miss Xiaodie is a true beauty. The competition just started; would she be interested in performing on stage?"

Boss Xia recommended it with a touch of enthusiasm, worrying about how to build a closer relationship with Ms. Bai to further his business development.

Over the years, Ms. Bai had poured a massive amount of capital into Yeqiu City, investing here and there, never once questioning the company's operations. Whether they were making a profit or a loss didn't matter to her, as long as the profits were wired to her account.

She was known by Yeqiu City's entrepreneurs as the "Angel Investor."