Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 166 - 158 Chen Long 1

Chapter 166: 158 Chen Long 1

The unidentified enemy with the Great Success Rank never reappeared again.

Perhaps he teleported himself to the Zhu’s mansion, attempting to take the life of Zhu Shi’s grandmother—this possibility was also ruled out during the waiting process. My residual fire remained at Zhu’s mansion, and I could sense the movements there whenever and wherever. He didn’t show up at that place either.

It seemed he had used "Shadow Transmission" to escape. Thinking it over, it was the only thing he could do at the moment. His speed and strength were both inferior to mine, and his skills and experience gradually lost their effectiveness during the fight. His last hope relied on the Teleportation Door Armor inflicting soul damage to me unilaterally.

But if even the Teleportation Door Armor was at risk of being broken through, it could be said that from that moment on, he was already defeated in reality. The consequence of continuing to fight was nothing more than "being burned to death by me immediately" or "being burned to death by me after a while."

Having said that, I was still somewhat dissatisfied with the outcome of this battle. Not only had I failed to take the enemy’s life, but also my method of cracking the enemy’s tactic was somewhat lazy—in the battle, expanding my own limits and forcefully solving the puzzle presented by the opponent with overwhelming power may also be a kind of king’s way; however, from another perspective, it resembled facing a knot that couldn’t be untangled no matter what and then choosing to cut it open with a knife. Although it is a form of wisdom, it also reveals a sense of giving up the challenge.

I certainly also hoped that I could, like the protagonist of a superpower comic, use intellect to solve the opponent’s trump card. Was there no way to solve that Teleportation Door Armor from a technical level? I pondered over and over. This kind of thinking might not yield results smoothly, but merely contemplating the strong enemy was enough to lift my spirits.

However, more important than solving the Teleportation Door Armor for me, perhaps, was finding a way to prevent the opponent from running away. I planned to kill him the next time I encountered that guy, but if he escaped again using the same method, it would be troublesome. That would not do.

Moreover, in this battle, I was not without gains.

I put away the super Fireball in my hand and raised my hand; some objects from a distance swiftly moved towards me.

It was the severed arm that had burned the Great Success Rank enemy into char the moment before. Although it was blasted into pieces at that time, my residual fire still remained inside. Under a manipulation similar to psychokinesis, the internal residual fires pulled all the flesh and blood fragments together, gathering them in the sky where I was.

Then, like assembling blocks, the pile of blood and flesh fragments barely pieced together into the shape of a right arm, still with many blackened spots and pits.

If I handed this thing over to Mazao, perhaps some clues could be extracted for tracking, and at the very least, it would be possible to figure out who the enemy was.

And a mere ten-plus minutes later, I obtained the identity of the enemy.

Unexpectedly, it was Lu Youxun, not Mazao, who told me the true identity of the enemy.

-

After my battle with the Great Success Rank enemy had ended, Zhu Shi and Lu Youxun hurried over to the vicinity of Zhu’s mansion.

Even I could feel the Great Success Rank’s mana fluctuations from several kilometers away, these two were naturally no exception. Not just them, all the demon hunters in Saltwater City probably felt the mana fluctuations that emitted during my battle with the enemy.

I teleported myself to the outside of Zhu’s mansion and reverted from my Fire Element form. Mazao was waiting obediently outside the iron gate as I had instructed, while Zhu Shi and Lu Youxun ran over from a distance. Zhu Shi immediately asked what had happened. I took them to the collapsed ruins of Zhu’s villa and explained everything that I had encountered.

Zhu Shi’s grandmother was resting beside the ruins, and Zhu Shi ran to her side. Lu Youxun told me about the things on their end. They were at the Luoshan Office submitting an application at that time and hadn’t managed to get the "artifacts that can endure the soul burden on behalf of the user" approved yet when they felt the mana fluctuations here.

Mazao could determine that the source of the mana fluctuations was Zhu’s mansion, and for Zhu Shi, it was even more obvious. She immediately set aside the application matter and rushed over to Zhu’s mansion. Logically, Lu Youxun should have been able to stay there and continue his application process, which was also proposed by him. From a public perspective, being a rear guard member, he should not have gone to the front line; from a private stance, he should have been more concerned with matters related to the Human Bureau. But for some reason, he still hurried over with Zhu Shi.

"Zhuang Cheng, did that Great Success Rank enemy reveal his face to you?" he asked.

"Yes."

I took out the severed arm and briefly described the enemy’s appearance. White short hair, piercing eyes, and a tall and strong physique... I probably won’t forget that appearance in a short time.

Lu Youxun looked at the severed arm and listened to my description, his expression turning very ugly.

"There should be very few Great Success Rank demon hunters, right? Are there any matches with that person’s appearance?" I asked.

"No, there aren’t," he said, "in the records of Luo Mountain, there is no Great Success Rank that matches these characteristics, neither inside nor outside... But... Zhuang Cheng, can you give me that arm? I might be able to investigate."

"It’s possible, but I need to take it to Mazao for an investigation first," I said.

"Um... It’s definitely more appropriate to have her investigate."

With a sullen expression, he sank into prolonged contemplation.

I waited beside him for him to reach a conclusion. His reaction was a bit strange, perhaps he had some thoughts regarding the true identity of the enemy.

But perhaps sensitive to my gaze, he still temporarily interrupted his musings and then said to me, "Zhuang Cheng, I’m in charge of managing the intelligence here in Saltwater City. I can help you fabricate a false report. However, the fluctuations of mana from your battle with that Great Success Rank enemy have probably spread to the neighboring city by now; I think it won’t be long before your affairs can no longer be concealed."

"Conceal?" I had nearly failed to recover my wits.

He asked curiously, "Aren’t you supposed to conceal your true strength?"

"Ah, you’re talking about that..." I shook my head, "It doesn’t matter anymore, let it be exposed."

"Is that so..." he nodded.

After not too long, Mr. Zhu finally arrived at the scene. First, he went to comfort his wife, then he inquired about the details from Zhu Shi, and afterwards, he came over to us and sincerely thanked me for drawing my sword to help in their time of need.

Mazao also returned to my side.

Because there was no trace of Changan, I asked her to investigate his whereabouts. If Changan had simply gone out to play secretly, that would be the best; or, it was also possible that Zhu’s mansion had some sort of hidden passages or secret rooms specially designed for concealment during an invasion, and Changan might have hidden himself there.

"Our family does indeed have such hidden passages," Mr. Zhu nodded.

"Wait, really?" I asked.

"Yes, but I haven’t told that boy Changan yet," he said. "And even if he knew about the passages, he wouldn’t have had time to hide in them."

"Right, the mansion was destroyed in one blow, along with the barrier protecting it, shattered to pieces. Even if my brother happened to be standing right in front of the hidden passage entrance, he wouldn’t have been able to open it and hide inside before the house collapsed instantly," Zhu Shi observed and came to her own conclusion, then asked her grandfather, "Grandpa... do you have any clue about that Great Success Rank enemy? Why would he attack our Zhu family?"

As she spoke, she seemed a bit hesitant but still voiced her thoughts, "It couldn’t be that he is one of your past enemies, Grandpa, who, having achieved Divine Skill Great Success, has come back for revenge..."

"..." Mr. Zhu silently turned his head away, "I don’t think so..."

What exactly was Zhu Shi’s impression of her grandfather? And why did Mr. Zhu’s tone sound so uncertain when he denied it?

Although I thought the Great Success Rank enemy probably had something to do with the Human Bureau and Ying Lingyun, considering that no Great Success Rank mutant had ever appeared before, it was normal for Zhu Shi to think in other directions. Maybe that was just a Great Success Rank who was very good at manipulating Shadow Power.

Zhu Shi looked troubled, "Since our Zhu family was the target, that Great Success Rank might come looking for us again..."

"Just in case, each of you should take one of my ’Fireflies,’" I said while several reddish light points emerged in my palm, "I also have a bone to pick with that Great Success Rank, so if he goes after you, I will have the chance to return the favor."

I offered a roundabout reason, but my real intention was to continue following the promise I made last time. Should the Zhu family be in trouble, I would draw my sword to help them. However, considering the Impermanence lurking in the shadows might be harmful to Mazao, I didn’t plan on emphasizing my deep ties and agreement with the Zhu family in front of outsiders—particularly referring to Lu Youxun here.

Mr. Zhu seemed to understand the subtext of my words, and he glanced at Lu Youxun.

Everyone present accepted my "Firefly," including Mazao, of course, and I also casually gave one to Lu Youxun. He absently accepted it, apparently pondering other matters.

"So, in the end... where did Changan go?" I asked Mazao.

Mazao revealed her findings: "At the same time Zhu’s mansion was destroyed, he was swallowed up by a Shadow Teleportation Gate."

"...Ordinary people swallowed up into the Shadow World would certainly die, and the same goes for Changan, despite being half demon. But since the enemy deliberately made that move at that moment, it means the purpose of the portal was not to kill, but to relocate..." Mr. Zhu furrowed his brows.

"Does that mean, my brother has been abducted?" Zhu Shi exclaimed, "Is this how many times he has been kidnapped now? What is he, a princess or heroine?"

If I counted my first encounter with Changan, then this was the third time.

At least he probably wasn’t dead—this was the only good news in an unfortunate situation... I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Lu Youxun looked toward Mazao, asking with an indescribable tone, "Can you Mind-Write the perpetrator’s appearance?"

"I can."

Mazao took out a Mind-Written Photo, and it showed the appearance of that Great Success Rank enemy.

Lu Youxun quickly looked at the photo.

His lips quivered, then, with a voice as if mixing a curse, he uttered a name: "Chen Long..."

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