Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 69 - 66 Lu Chan Patrol 1

Chapter 69: 66 Lu Chan Patrol 1

I carefully observed the Luoshan Patrol named Lu Chan standing before me.

He had a handsome and suave appearance, no less striking than those from Changan. His walk was vigorous and forceful, while his stance was tall and proper. Despite being the former Impermanence who saved Agent Kong from a strange incident twenty years ago, he didn’t seem as mature as I had expected. Judging solely by his face, he seemed only a few years older than me, and it wouldn’t even be impossible for him to disguise himself and blend into Saltwater University as a student.

After all, he was a demon hunter, so it wouldn’t be strange for someone in his twenties to harbor a soul in his forties or fifties. In reality, there also exist so-called "witches" who utilize makeup and health techniques to maintain a youthful appearance. Compared to various superpowers, this level of specialty could only be described as the power of "staying young."

"Hello, I’m Zhuang Cheng." I shook his hand.

Lu Youxun’s gaze moved between Zhu Shi and me before he asked with a smile, "The two of you seem to be getting along well, are you dating?"

I replied with mock seriousness, "She’s my guide."

"I see, a teacher-student relationship," Lu Youxun seemed to take it seriously.

"No, I’m not!" Zhu Shi’s face flushed with embarrassment as she hastily clarified, "I’m not at the level where I can teach!"

"He who excels is the teacher," I said.

"Alright, let’s leave the jokes there. Zhuang Cheng, I hope you won’t get the wrong idea about me because of what Zhu Shi said earlier. I truly had no intention of tripping you up," Lu Youxun retracted his hand and explained, "Kong Da’s fall to becoming a Fallen Demon Hunter and his eventual defeat at your hands... it was just karmic retribution. While I deeply regret his downfall, I certainly do not hold any grudges against you."

"Who knows what you really think?" Zhu Shi looked at him coldly, "If you really have no issue with Zhuang Cheng, why interfere with him becoming Luoshan Impermanence?"

"Isn’t that your problem?" Lu Youxun shot back.

"Ah, me?" Zhu Shi was taken aback.

"In your report about Zhuang Cheng, there are many instances where you are clearly vague, as a Luoshan Patrol, I cannot overlook this," Lu Youxun pointed out before speaking to me, "Rest assured, regardless of the results of this assessment, I will agree to your appointment as the new Outer Path Impermanence, as the ’marks’ your power left are still sitting there at that abandoned construction site. However, I have a responsibility to monitor civilian demon hunters and must understand your true capabilities."

He paused for a moment before adding, "Besides, I have a personal interest in you."

"What interest?" I asked.

"An ordinary Flame Ability User, no matter how powerful their attacks, would struggle to defeat that kind of flawlessly powerful Fallen Demon Hunter in a one-on-one fight," he said meaningfully, "At least in other cities, such a case has never arisen."

"You mentioned ’other cities’..." This sparked another line of thought for me, "Are there Fallen Demon Hunters like Agent Kong in other places?"

He nodded, then uttered words as startling as thunder.

"Lu Mountain now calls this type of Fallen Demon Hunters ’monsters,’" he said.

I doubted my hearing for a moment: "Monsters?"

Monsters are another name for Sin Demons, and Sin Demons are beings from the Doomsday Era, who become monsters due to their insanity.

Isn’t this supposed to be a distinctive phenomenon of the Doomsday Era? Or was the ’monster’ he mentioned merely a coincidental duplication of names, actually referring to something else?

No, I shouldn’t see it purely as a coincidence. Just like in the Mist Dream Realm, where I suspected number two was Mazao’s friend before she revealed her identity, I should now connect this clue to Mazao. Not for anything else but because I am still caught in a whirlwind centered around Mazao.

Reflecting on the battle with Agent Kong, he indeed transformed into a monstrous form. Although he did not forget his own name and past like the Sin Demons Mazao described, I think it’s worth assuming there is a connection to the "signs of Doomsday."

Based on this, the act of Mazao taking away Kong’s charred finger becomes more intriguing.

From her perspective, that may not be an ordinary charred finger, but instead, "the remnants of a Sin Demon inexplicably present in this era." Coupling this with the fact I told her I had recently fought against "humans turned monsters," she might believe she should be searching for evidence of the impending Doomsday in Saltwater City.

No wonder she is still active in this city. Honestly, with her absence these past few days, I even worried she might have returned to the Doomsday Era. After all, she had inadvertently come to the present due to Space Transfer; who could guarantee she wouldn’t experience another such accident after transferring away from me last time? Now I can let go of one of the worries in my heart.

"Let’s not talk on the side of the road, let’s find a place to sit down," Lu Youxun suggested.

-

We headed to a nearby tea house.

On the road, I checked on the "Firefly" I had dispatched to the Zhu’s mansion. I didn’t know if I should say it was "expected," but that "Firefly" had now lost contact. Zhu Shi had mentioned that the Zhu’s mansion was protected by a barrier specifically designed to guard and defend against external enemies, and my "Firefly" was, after all, no more than an insignificant Mars, perhaps like a mosquito zapped on an electric grid, eliminated by that barrier.

I’d been worried that my "Firefly" might bring Calamity to Changan, so this was good in a way, conveniently severing my concerns.

At the same time, Lu Youxun gave me a brief update on the investigation into the Fallen Demon Hunter from the Luo Mountain side.

Regardless of what he truly thought of me, at least on the surface, he was quite polite and dutiful, making it hard to harbor any ill feelings.

First off, in the matter of the Fallen Demon Hunter (hereafter referred to as "monster"), Agent Kong had concealed much from Zhu Shi.

The biggest concealment was that the monster’s crimes weren’t just happening in Saltwater City, but had occurred across the country. Although not frequent enough to be common knowledge, there were still dozens to hundreds of cases, tracing back as far as eighteen months. With enough effort to connect them, they would certainly be linked.

Agent Kong’s previous task had been to provide Zhu Shi with the relevant data, but he intentionally withheld this information, most likely to prevent Zhu Shi from realizing "there are more monsters out there." Such concealment could not last forever. Perhaps he had already planned to give up his agent status and leave Saltwater City.

It wasn’t until Lu Youxun took over the role that the complete information finally reached Zhu Shi’s hands.

By the way, it was also Lu Youxun who used his Divination abilities to gather those photo clues. This type of investigative skill seemed to be his specialty.

However, Zhu Shi didn’t seem to have much regard for Lu Youxun, and not just because Lu Youxun had interfered with my becoming the Outer Path Impermanence.

Walking at the front, Lu Youxun, I sneakily took out my phone at the back, like passing notes in class behind the teacher’s back, and covertly sent Zhu Shi a message:

"Do you dislike Lu Chan?"

Zhu Shi took out his phone, glanced at it, and then at Lu Youxun, before starting to type, taking quite some time before replying:

"Lu Chan belongs to the faction within the organization that believes ’demon hunters should become gods of the mortal world and turn all mortals into slaves.’ I don’t get along with him."

Seeing this response, I involuntarily looked at Lu Youxun’s back again.

Looks can be deceiving, indeed!

That’s right, Agent Kong had said that his faction was the "extreme ideologists," and Lu Youxun, being Agent Kong’s superior, how could he possibly be a man of moderate and peaceful thoughts?

However, I now needed Lu Youxun’s help.

The photos of Mazao were also obtained through his Divination abilities, and I had come to understand in the past two days that I could not find Mazao relying solely on my abilities. Although relying on his help might mean that Mazao would ultimately end up exposed to his view, there was no time to worry about those things now.

We sat down inside a private room of a teahouse, and Lu Youxun took out the photos from his pocket, spreading them out like playing cards, which were the same ones Zhu Shi had shown me before.

"There are two demon hunters in charge of the monster case in Saltwater City, one is Zhu Shi, responsible for combat, and the other is me, responsible for investigation," Lu Youxun said. "Now we must add one more person, and that is you, Zhuang Cheng. So from now on, please join us in analyzing the case."

"Alright," I nodded.

"In the past five days, the number of local dignitaries killed by the monster in Saltwater City has increased by two. Or rather, to be precise, it’s four..." Lu Youxun pulled out two of the photos, each corresponding to different murder scenes.

One scene was outdoors, where the victim, presumably a portly elderly man, appeared to have been mauled by a wild beast, his body so torn apart that he lay in a horrific state among the outdoor bushes;

The other was indoors, where the victim was a burly middle-aged man, also torn apart, the perpetrator’s hysterical rage palpable. Nearby were two more bodies, belonging to a middle-aged woman and a young boy, seemingly mother and child.

Unlike the elderly man and middle-aged man, the mother and son were killed with a single blow, apparently by severe head trauma, as both skulls were visibly deformed. They were probably the middle-aged man’s family, casually murdered by the killer.

The indoor scene was also marred by many chaotic bloody footprints, not those of a human, but like that of a large wild beast. I compared it in my mind with Agent Kong’s transformed state—yes, those were undoubtedly the monster’s footprints.

Lu Youxun briefly outlined the situation he had investigated. Just as the photos suggested, on a day that seemed ordinary to the victims, the monster suddenly invaded, brutally killing them, then left as quickly as it had come. The formation of both scenes was that simple.

Then, he brought out a third photo—Mazao walking down a street at night.

"Zhuang Cheng, do you know who she is?"

"I have some idea," I said.

"It must’ve been Zhu Shi who told you," he said. "So, what’s your take on this soul loss girl?"

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