Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo

I always considered my superpower rather ordinary, although I never claimed to be weak.

Though I had never gone all out, I estimated that if I were serious, casting a large fireball to destroy a street would be a piece of cake. However, did having great destructive power mean one was highly skilled? Not necessarily. Before, when I was trapped in a cave, it wasn't sheer destructive power that got me out, but analysis and reasoning.

Therefore, I harbored doubts about whether my power could be classified as "strong." Who knows what the average strength of the demon hunters is, not to mention the specific criteria for assessing strength and weakness. Perhaps many people would use "how big a hole you can smash in the ground" as a standard to measure strength, but I no longer saw it that way now.

"You have such powerful superpowers, yet you've never shown them to the people around you?" Zhu Shi became suspicious after calming down. "So many people criticize you, say you're insane, have you never thought about getting back at them?

"Since you have the 'power to kill with your eyes'...no, you don't even need to be present. As long as you're willing, you can ignite your targets from kilometers away. Whether you leave them lightly injured or severely wounded depends entirely on your will, others couldn't possibly suspect you, could they?"

Seeing her paranoia, I deliberately played along, "That's indeed a method, thank you, I might try it next time."

She glared.

"That was a joke. Don't worry, I've never thought about doing such a thing," I promised.

She glared at me for a while, then relaxed her shoulders and said helplessly, "I hope so, I really wouldn't want to see you become a Fallen Demon Hunter..."

"Thanks for your concern," I said. "So, this Fallen Demon Hunter isn't a traitor among you, but rather a villain who has been using unusual powers to do evil from the start?"

Since he's called "Fallen Demon Hunter," I initially thought he was a positive force demon hunter who had later fallen and became a thug who hunts humans. But since I could potentially become this "Fallen Demon Hunter," so could he.

Zhu Shi nodded, "Yes, he first appeared eight months ago during a murder case in a fifteenth-floor room. He was the murderer."

While I still had questions about the origin of the Fallen Demon Hunter, I first asked what concerned me the most, "In your opinion, is he strong or weak?"

"…He's considered strong," Zhu Shi gave a clear answer. "Luo Mountain roughly divides demon hunters into four ranks, from strongest to weakest: Cheng, Zhu, Huai, Kong. Most demon hunters rank at 'Huai,' while that Fallen Demon Hunter is at the 'Zhu' level, and he also possesses very comprehensive physical enhancement capabilities, making him a notable figure even within the 'Zhu' rank."

Cheng, Zhu, Huai, Kong—these are Buddhist concepts, used to describe the four stages from the formation to the destruction of the world.

"Cheng" represents the world in its birth and formative stages, "Zhu" represents the world in its sustained and stable form, while the final "Huai" and "Kong" represent the world in decline and after destruction, leaving nothing behind.

Ironically, although "Luo Mountain" stems from Taoist concepts, the classification of demon hunters uses Buddhist concepts. It sounds a bit odd, but looking back, the mutual influence between Taoism and Buddhism is historically evident. For instance, the concept of Taoist Hell initially formed under the influence of Buddhism, and "Fengdu Luo Mountain" was a notion formed thereafter.

Zhu Shi added, "I only started handling the Fallen Demon Hunter cases a week ago. Before me, two Luo Mountain Demon Hunters that were in charge of this case had been killed by the Fallen Demon Hunter."

"He's that dangerous?" I gasped.

"Extremely dangerous," she analyzed for me. "Since your superpower can damage the Fallen Demon Hunter's body, it means that your attack capabilities are at least at the 'Zhu' level, a rarity among demon hunters."

"So according to your analysis..." I promptly asked, "could I join Luo Mountain?"

To my surprise, she immediately frowned deeply. "You want to join Luo Mountain?"

"Is there a problem?" I wondered.

"With your personality, it's not surprising that you'd want to join Luo Mountain, but..." she hesitated, "I suggest it's best not to join Luo Mountain, especially now... It's very chaotic inside, and there might be conflicts erupting soon. I can't say much about the details, but I advise you not to join in such troubled times."

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Despite her very apprehensive expression, I switched to another subject which concerned me more, "Does Changan know about your demon hunting activities in Luo Mountain?"

"He does not. Not only does he not know I am a demon hunter, he is completely oblivious to our world."

This brought me some joy. Not because "Changan does not know," but because she referred to "our side of the world." Being a demon hunter herself, she verbally placed herself and me in the same sphere, which made me feel like I was receiving a form of recognition.

She continued, "Also, I hope you don't tell him. Neither about my job nor about anything related to strange beings."

"Is it necessary to keep it a secret? But he has already encountered the strange phenomena in the fifteenth floor room," I pointed out. "After all, why does Luo Mountain insist on concealing information about strange phenomena from the general public?"

"I don't know how to explain this to you, but I suppose you will feel the same way eventually," she sighed. "As for the fifteenth floor room, that was an accident. We can only reluctantly accept it; it's not like we can completely give up on it, right? Tomorrow morning, I will go and take care of the ritual array and the cave."

"The ritual array, is that referring to the Magic Array?" I pretended that I hadn't eavesdropped on her phone call with Agent Kong.

"Yes," she nodded. "However, the appearance of the ritual array and the cave aren't necessarily related, the latter still remains an unknown event. You have no experience dealing with real strange phenomena. I advise you not to get involved…"

At this point, she noticed something suspicious. "—Hmm? Wait, where did you say you encountered the Fallen Demon Hunter again?"

I didn't respond to her latter question immediately but instead began proactively providing her with information about the cave.

"That cave is actually related to the ritual array. I have solved the mystery of its appearance—the answer is the missing symbols from the array. The letters on the carpet perfectly complement the missing parts. So, whenever the carpet is laid over it, the cave switches between disappearing and appearing."

"Ah?" She was startled and then asked subconsciously, "But the carpet and the floor aren't on the same level, right?"

"It doesn't matter if they aren't on the same level; even if it's beneath the floorboards from the cave, as long as the symbols are completed at the corresponding locations, the cave can be reopened," I patiently explained. "However, there are still other unclear aspects, such as why the cave entrance disappears on its own when outsiders enter. I haven't yet found the reason for this phenomenon. You must be cautious of this if you decide to enter…"

"Wait, wait, just wait…" she finally regained her senses, staring at me in astonishment. "Can you first explain why you know that the cave can be reopened even from beneath, and why the entrance disappears after someone enters…"

"Because I went in."

"You went in!?" she exclaimed loudly and then, realizing her excessive excitement, quickly calmed herself down. "Aren't you afraid you might never come out?"

"That's not important."

"No, that's very important…" she retorted.

I continued, "Anyway, since you're going to deal with that cave, I'll first give you all the information I know…"

Then, I began to recount all the information I knew.

Actually, I hoped she wouldn't deal with the cave just yet, so I could continue investigating the other unknown aspects of it. But, firstly, I still didn't know if the existence of the cave would affect Changan as a contactee; and secondly, instead of standing against Zhu Shi and preventing her, I preferred to facilitate things for her to build a good relationship with her and the Luo Mountain forces behind her. After all, I am clear about keeping myself well-nourished.

As she listened to my personal experiences beneath the cave, her expression grew increasingly strange.

After I finished speaking, she let out a long sigh, and it took her a while to digest everything before her expression turned very vacant.

"I always thought you just liked weird tales," she said, "and when those people outside called you a madman, I thought it was because they didn't understand you as I did, deeply misunderstanding you…"

"Regardless of whether they misunderstood me or not, you and I have only met in person a few times, haven't we?" I questioned.

"We chat online a lot, don't we?" she replied as if it were obvious.

That was just online, though.

She did indeed often discuss Changan topics with me online, and we communicated a lot. But, ultimately, online is just online; how can we ensure sincerity in communication when we can't even see each other's faces? I couldn't just talk to a friend's sister about my failed investigations into weird tales, which are actually the main focus of my life.

She couldn't be one of those people easily deceived by online scams, could she?

It seemed she had unilaterally considered me a good friend all this time, and I was just realizing this now, inevitably feeling a bit embarrassed.

"But now I must admit, the one truly mistaken is me," she said dejectedly. "When I heard a long time ago that you had awakened your superpower, I even thought that the reason you pursued weird tales for so many years was that you were evidence of the existence of strange phenomena. It seems that was also my misunderstanding."

"No, that's actually how it is," I said. "Without my superpower, I don't know if I could have persisted until today."

"Believing in the existence of strange phenomena and the depth of obsession with them are two different things," she shook her head. "Now I really believe that, superpower or not, you would definitely keep going."