Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 154 - 146 Imaginary Enemy 1_2

Chapter 154: 146 Imaginary Enemy 1_2

Thinking of Mr. Zhu on the other end of the phone, I, while earnestly seeking advice, reminisced about the private school teacher’s impression he had given me when we first met, and my tone of questioning involuntarily became a mix of formal and colloquial.

Mr. Zhu did not hesitate and said, "Kill."

"Ah?" I was stunned.

"Chop off the hands of those who dare to reach out, and pull out the tongues of those who dare to speak disrespectfully. Anyone who shows you claws and fangs, just kill them all," he replied as if it were the most logical thing to do.

"No, is that..." I said, "Do you really mean kill?"

I’m not one who fears killing, especially since my hypothetical enemies could likely harm Mazao, which kindled a fierce desire to kill within me. However, in such situations, Zhu Shi would likely try to stop me. Being Zhu Shi’s grandfather, how would Mr. Zhu act? I certainly had not expected him to encourage me to kill.

Or was he dissuading me in an unorthodox way? By intentionally expressing what I might need to do in the most extreme manner to make me feel it was impossible and thus give up?

Suddenly, I recalled something.

In Mr. Zhu’s generation, all his siblings fought and killed each other over the Yama Sword, and he was the only survivor.

"Zhuang Cheng, are you good at plotting schemes or skilled in political negotiation? You are not only unskilled in these areas, but you are also a young man who is easily annoyed by talks of temple computations and politics, right," Mr. Zhu said. "What you excel in is strength, destruction, and being a greenhorn directly on the scene, you are utterly unaware of the power dynamics on Luo Mountain, but that is your biggest advantage.

"Do not engage in plots with those high-ranking individuals who believe themselves to be puppet masters; bring the competition to where you excel. Whoever wants to harm you, just kill them! You have a natural and legitimate right to react this way in their eyes. Those who plot against you will certainly pull out all sorts of reasons, but these reasons won’t convince themselves, much less the other onlookers. Just go ahead and kill boldly, make them fear you!

"As long as no demon hunters of Great Success Rank or above intervene, you are invincible. Even if an Evil of Great Success Rank does appear, do not be afraid. If you can defeat them, fight them to the death! Just try not to actually kill anyone; most Evils of Great Success Rank are close confidants of Impermanence, and killing them would mean opposing Impermanence. If they seem too strong, then know when to back off; your goal isn’t really to kill but to intimidate those vile creatures.

"The first impression is very important. As long as you show ruthlessness, you will find that Luo Mountain doesn’t really harbor such vile creatures; everyone is just peacefully making money.

"Also, remember not to start conflicts. Once you instigate, you will be the one at fault. But as long as they start it, you can go ahead and kill. Being young and hot-tempered, accidentally killing a dozen or two more people can be completely understandable. As long as your display of power is overwhelming, the fault will lie with those who provoked you...

"And one more thing..."

Mr. Zhu spoke earnestly and in great detail, imparting his wisdom to me. Words like "fight," "kill," and "die" appeared frequently in his speech, completely overturning my impression of him.

Is it really okay to do as this man says? Is the Zhu family’s poor social standing on Luo Mountain today really just because it used to stay away from the abnormal world? And talking about killing a dozen or two more people, I had never even considered killing that many.

As he spoke, Mr. Zhu seemed to get thirsty as well; faintly, I could hear the sound of drinking water from the other side of the phone, and then he sighed in relief and asked, "That’s about it. Do you have anything else you don’t understand?"

"Um..." After hesitating for a moment, I asked, "Is Zhu Shi really your granddaughter?"

He was taken aback and then sighed in despondency, "Ah, Ah Jiu... my daughter has always forbidden me from interfering in the upbringing of my granddaughter’s character..."

Normal parents wouldn’t allow their children to receive that kind of character education, would they?

Furthermore, I could hardly imagine Sister Zhu adopting the stance of "those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish."

No, if I have to say it, it was after her eyes changed color in battle that she seemed to have that implication. She possessed a chilling demeanor that viewed human life as disposable. Normally so kind as to border on naive, Zhu Shi had transformed into a ruthless fighting machine in that moment; the contrast was akin to some anime where the weak and mild protagonist suddenly becomes a dependable figure, exuding a unique charm.

Mr. Zhu seemed eager to pour out his regret of not having been able to instruct his granddaughter in matters of sentiment onto me, for his words truly suited my tastes. I worried that if I continued to listen, I would indeed become a murderer, so I sought a reason to end the call.

But just before that, a dark cloud formed in my mind.

"Mr. Zhu, I have a question," I asked.

"Go ahead," he replied.

"What if the source of the malice isn’t even a demon from the Great Success Rank of Impermanence, but Impermanence itself?" I asked.

Even through the phone, I could hear Mr. Zhu’s breath briefly stop.

Although he had previously mentioned that Impermanence might also be observing the situation, Mr. Zhu seemed to have never considered that Impermanence might stand on the opposing side. Whether he hadn’t thought of it purely by oversight or due to unwillingness to consider it was unknown. I also realized that my question was a bit overwhelming. Assuming Impermanence as a hypothetical enemy without any basis might sound to him like a distasteful joke.

In a demon hunter’s worldview, viewing Impermanence as an enemy could essentially mean viewing God as an enemy.

The difference between "Impermanence" and "Great Impermanence" seems to be just one word, but they are separated by more than a single dimension.

In terms of Rank, ordinary Imps belong within the four ranks of existence, cessation, destruction, and emptiness; whereas Great Impermanence transcends these and leaps beyond another threshold. In terms of power, ordinary Imps, regardless of how powerful, are merely seen as powerful individuals, whereas Great Impermanence is regarded as the embodiment of a natural disaster. Organizationally, while ordinary Imps form factions within Luo Mountain, Great Impermanence stands above the organization; it’s not accurate to say that the Great Impermanence belongs to Luo Mountain – it’s Luo Mountain that belongs to Great Impermanence.

Even in terms of their relationship with the abnormal creatures, ordinary Imps struggle with a fate of mutual attraction to the aberrant, whereas the aberrant flee in all directions from Great Impermanence. Moreover, on the subject of waging war against official forces, Luo Mountain could easily conquer this country with the aid of Imps of the Great Success rank and other accomplished ranks, with Great Impermanence representing an overwhelming excess in Luo Mountain’s battle power.

As described in novels about immortal cultivation, Great Impermanence are like powerful beings who should ascend to another world; it’s only because our world lacks the concept of "ascension" that these immortals are forced to stay in the real world.

Being an enemy of Great Impermanence — frankly, even the notion is heavier than being an enemy of Luo Mountain.

Perhaps because I lack a thorough understanding of Great Impermanence, and I possess a few traits similar to it, even being once evaluated as "potentially becoming Great Impermanence," I do not harbor a sense of fear. To Mr. Zhu, however, this question is likely not easily taken lightly.

After a moment, Mr. Zhu provided his answer.

"If that situation arises, my suggestion is to try as much as possible to resolve the other party’s malice, or else to resolutely give up on that young girl by your side."

Without hesitation, I declared, "I could never give up Mazao."

"If you cannot bring yourself to do that, then when the time comes, take the young girl and run immediately," he said.