Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 158 - 150 Another Divine Seal Fragment 1

Chapter 158: 150 Another Divine Seal Fragment 1

Due to Zhu Shi and Lu Youxun’s previous cautionary remarks about the space across the Teleportation Door, I had also prepared for the "Firefly" to encounter enemies after passing through the Teleportation Door.

In fact, there were no enemies on the other side of the Teleportation Door, not even a living creature to be seen.

The space the "Firefly" entered looked like a storeroom.

Calling it a storeroom might be an overstatement; it was practically empty, with few miscellaneous items, just a row of shelves and a few empty cardboard boxes that gave me the impression of a "storeroom". The room also had a half-open window, with the afternoon sunlight streaming in. Outside was not a city, but a forest where the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling could be faintly heard.

I divided the "Firefly" into two, one to explore the outdoors and the other to explore indoors.

While Mazao had just opened the Teleportation Door, Zhu Shi and Lu Youxun were not idle. They seized the opportunity to investigate the Teleportation Door itself. Zhu Shi appeared to be using "Buzhou Mountain", while Lu Youxun seemed to use some kind of Array for exploration. At this moment, they both shifted their attention to my side.

While controlling the "Firefly", I relayed what I saw to them.

"There’s nothing in the room opposite the Teleportation Door? Strange," said Lu Youxun, puzzled, "The black mist that Mazao reproduced and the mana fluctuations it emitted are neither hers nor seem like those a human would possess. It might be the product of some unknown technology. Which means there should be related equipment or an Array on the other side of the Teleportation Door."

"Could it be hidden in the walls?" Zhu Shi asked.

"My perception can penetrate walls. The walls are just walls, nothing out of the ordinary."

While I responded, the "Firefly" had already grasped a rough overview of the place.

It appeared to be a large research facility located in a suburban forest, with the storeroom leading out to a corridor that interconnected many rooms of various sizes; notice boards and regulations were posted on the walls.

Centering on my "Firefly", my perception spread out and allowed me to see many places that looked like laboratories and living areas.

Still, I found no living persons. The facility seemed as though it had been abandoned like the "clinic", with all laboratory instruments and equipment gone. Naturally, there was no trace of any equipment that had been transferred from the "clinic".

Something was not right. This place actually fit my impression of a secret base for the Human Bureau—the organization conducting secret evil experiments. It was indeed a research facility, located far from human habitation, meeting the criterion of "secrecy". Yet, it was abandoned—why would the Weirdo Maker choose this location for transporting equipment?

There had to be a catch here.

I couldn’t let my guard down in this place, which should be rife with danger and oddities, yet nothing was visible. I wasn’t sure how to explain this unease—whether I was on alert for some unknown danger or simply uncomfortable with the situation itself.

Like an abandoned amusement park from a horror game or a school silent in the dead of night, this deserted research facility gave me a similar sense of unease. It should be filled with an air of orderly work, yet it had become so vacant and desolate. It was difficult to feel like "there really is no one here"; it felt more like many "people" were lingering around, just invisible to me.

—Was this just an illusion, or the intuition of a supernatural power user?

I had to probe deeper into this seemingly calm surface that hinted at eeriness.

Suddenly, I recalled what Zhu Shi and Lu Youxun had said earlier.

"You both kept mentioning ’mana fluctuations’... what exactly are they?" I asked, "I’ve never been able to feel the fluctuations you talk about. Can you explain them to me?"

"As long as one is a demon hunter capable of perceiving and manipulating one’s own Mana, one can definitely sense Mana fluctuations. Essentially, Mana fluctuations are signals dispersed by external Mana, similar in nature to light and sound signals—those could disturb your own Mana," Lu Youxun explained. "The reason you can’t feel external Mana fluctuations is that you’re too powerful. The fluctuations of the external Mana are too subtle to perturb your own Mana.

"Let’s say, if a cockroach crawls onto your skin, you’d certainly feel itchy. But what if it’s just a mosquito that lands on you?"

After thinking for a moment, I replied, "Even a mosquito isn’t completely imperceptible. Although I couldn’t always feel a mosquito landing on my skin before, most people would experience it occasionally."

"Right, so as long as you find the knack for it, you should also be able to sense other Mana fluctuations," he said. "As for the specifics... I’m sorry, but if you were a complete beginner, it would be easy to say, but I don’t know how to teach someone of your level to catch up on a skill that should have been mastered at the most basic stage."

Zhu Shi suggested, "The most direct method is to find a demon hunter of at least Great Success Rank to release Mana fluctuations in front of you, allowing you to physically feel what Mana fluctuations are like, and then you would learn."

Though I knew her reasoning was sound, what I needed was to grasp this technique immediately, to sense whether there were other Mana fluctuations lurking in this abandoned research facility.

Having no other options, I closed my eyes and began to meditate on the spot, giving it a try.

I had meditated before, back when I had not yet awakened my superpower. At that time, I was keen on mystical discipline and had also attempted to enter a state of meditation by focusing on an extinguished candlewick. Although I never had a successful experience, it wasn’t without some insight.

I slowly recalled my past experiences and gradually dispelled distracting thoughts, imagining myself dimming my senses one by one like turning off a light switch, focusing all my attention on the profound and mysterious perception of the "Firefly."

Then, I even blocked out the sensations from the "Firefly" itself, attempting to capture external signals that I had never before grasped.

The world seemed to grow dark.

In this focused darkness, I couldn’t tell the passing of time, or rather, I chose not to discern it. I felt like I was sailing on a small boat in a dark sea. I didn’t even know if I was moving through the sea, which itself was eerily calm, with no waves reaching me.

No, to be strict, there were still fluctuations—ones that originated from me. Being on the surface of the sea, it was impossible not to create any ripples.

Could this be what they call "mana fluctuations"?

Had I really found the knack for sensing mana fluctuations on my first try? Could it be that I had a talent in this area?

Wait, I seem to have overlooked something.

Zhu Shi had said that to sense mana fluctuations, it would be best to bring a demon hunter of at least Great Success Rank, implying that I should be faced with an opponent on my level. But in fact, there was already someone of my level here—myself.

I am a demon hunter above the Great Success Rank and also possess mana fluctuations. The trick to sensing mana fluctuations had been within me all along. It’s just that I had always taken my own fluctuations for granted, much like how people accustomed to their own smell can’t detect it. The more familiar something is, the harder it is to identify.

Do I really have a talent in this area? If I were truly talented, why would it have taken me until now to become aware of it? This was more a sign of my own dullness.

Let’s put aside the self-deprecating thoughts for now. The most important thing at this moment is to sense this abandoned research facility.

Unfortunately, even though I should now be aware of the concept of "mana fluctuations," I still couldn’t sense any fluctuations other than my own here.

Is there really nothing abnormal about this place? Or is it that even in this state, I can’t capture any mana fluctuations other than my own?

Or had I misunderstood, and what I had seized was not my own mana fluctuations, but just an illusion borne of meditation?

Just then, I seemed to finally perceive a trace of something abnormal.

Something seemed to be stirring, not far away, but nearby. No, not even nearby, but within me—in my consciousness?

I quickly understood what the source of the restlessness was and exited my meditative state.

Seeing me suddenly open my eyes, Lu Youxun seemed even more concerned than Zhu Shi and Mazao. He hurriedly asked before anyone else, "Did you find something?"

"...No, nothing."

I couldn’t reveal the truth in front of him; instead, I just slipped my right hand into my pocket and summoned the Divine Seal Fragment.

The Divine Seal Fragment vibrated in the palm of my hand. It wasn’t a vibration loud enough to make a sound, it was a subtle quiver, barely perceivable unless felt carefully.

The Master of Divine Seal had said that if other Divine Seal Fragments appeared nearby, the one bound to us would vibrate.

And this situation undoubtedly indicated that a Divine Seal Fragment had appeared near me.

But where was nearby?

The "clinic," or the abandoned research facility?

My "Firefly" acted as an extension of myself; it made complete sense that the Divine Seal Fragment bound to me would vibrate if another appeared near my "Firefly."

I immediately controlled the "Firefly" inside the abandoned research facility to leave, and the vibration ceased after it moved several hundred meters away. When I made the "Firefly" return to the facility, the vibration appeared again.

There was no room for doubt now.

Another Divine Seal Fragment was inside this abandoned research facility!

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