Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 72 - 69 VS Monster 1 (Please subscribe!)

Chapter 72: 69 VS Monster 1 (Please subscribe!)

When I first awakened to my superpower, I had delusions of my power being exposed and afterward being arrested by the official forces on trumped-up charges, becoming a lab rat in a research facility.

Logically, I believed this possibility to be low. First, using priceless supernatural power users as mere experimental materials went against the fundamental principles of scientific research; second, it was necessary for official forces to act ethically. Ethics were not just facades for public scrutiny but also crucial flags for unifying internal morale.

But what if supernatural power users were not as precious in this world as I imagined? What if those who intended to strike against me did not value ethics?

For me, that terrifying scenario was merely a delusion, yet for Lu Youxun, it had been a reality.

"Eight months later, Lu Chan escaped from that underground organization’s research facility on his own. However, due to unimaginably cruel tortures, he lost most of his powers as Impermanence and could only serve as a Patrol offering us support from behind," lamented Zhu Shi. "Zhuang Cheng, you once asked me if I hated Lu Chan. Actually, I don’t hate him; on the contrary, I once greatly respected him. He was once an Impermanence heroically wielding his sword for the multitude and a role model in my heart.

"At Luo Mountain, an ’Impermanence’ of the ’Cheng’ level is also referred to as a ’National First-Class Demon Hunter.’ Those of this title often do not refer to themselves in that way because they don’t see themselves subject to secular government rule. However, the former Lu Chan took pride in that title.

"Even though his personality has drastically changed now, starting to believe that demon hunters should enslave ordinary people, I can’t blame him. Without experiencing another’s suffering, one should not preach about goodness; I understand this principle. The torture he underwent in that research facility is beyond anything ordinary people can imagine. If I had gone through what he did, I might have become just like him too.

"But because of my position, I find it impossible to engage with the current him, that’s all."

I nodded in understanding, while thinking of Lu Youxun’s modest and friendly face.

It was hard to imagine, a person as emotionally stable as him having endured such a horrifying experience. As a fellow supernatural power user, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of empathetic sorrow. Undoubtedly, Zhu Shi’s feelings about this would only be greater.

"Lu Youxun seems to have noticed the level of my powers," I said. "You mentioned that to prevent the various factions of Luo Mountain from pulling me into their ranks too early, you hoped I would hide my abilities. Can I no longer do that now?"

"The factions associated with Lu Chan will definitely try to win you over, but things haven’t deteriorated to the worst scenario yet," Zhu Shi mused after pondering. "At least you haven’t shown Elementalization in front of him. The difference between Flame Ability Users with and without Elementalization is vast. Right now, in his mind, your ranking has probably shifted from ’very strong attack power’ to ’overwhelmingly strong.’

"He should still be able to deduce from your defeating Agent Kong that your other weaknesses aren’t too significant, but he probably can’t connect them to the level of Elementalization."

"I see..." I first nodded, then suddenly remembered something.

I should have asked Zhu Shi about this earlier, but recently, with the search for Mazao and meeting Zhu Shi, there had been so much going on that it wasn’t until now that I finally remembered it.

"Zhu Shi, have you ever heard of the ’divine seal’?" I asked.

"Divine seal?" Zhu Shi was taken aback. "What is that, is it literally called ’divine seal’?"

"I guess?"

Hearing her question, I also realized that my query was vague. In Mysticism, the character for ’seal’ is not uncommon, at least it’s not rare. Adding ’divine’ in front probably wasn’t specific enough for an accurate search term.

I clarified, "I forget where I read it, but it said there is something called a divine seal in this world, capable of granting any wish."

"A divine seal capable of granting any wish..." She seemed to react a little. "It sounds vaguely familiar... Sorry, I can’t remember at the moment; I’ll look it up for you later. But why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"Just making conversation to pass the time. Aren’t we on the road?" I said. "How about ’Xuanming’? Have you heard of this person?"

In the Mist Dream Realm, both Number One and Number Two showed reactions when Number Four mentioned this name. Number One showed wariness, and Number Two showed fear.

If I wasn’t wrong, Number One, like me, was from the modern world. Yet both he and Number Two from the Doomsday Era showed a reflexive emotion towards the name, confirming that ’Xuanming’ was a renowned figure.

Sure enough, Zhu Shi also reacted to the name.

Her expression suddenly turned very serious.

"Zhuang Cheng, where did you hear this name?" she asked.

"It was Agent Kong who mentioned it to me," I kicked the ball to the departed, "though he only mentioned it in passing, without going into detail."

"How did he come to mention Xuanming to you?" She first looked puzzled, then a realization dawned, "Oh, I see... It must be because you are a Flame Ability User."

"Is this Xuanming indeed connected to the Fire God E Bo from the era of the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns?" I asked.

"Hmm... where should I start?" she pondered and said, "I’ve told you before that in the myths passed down to this day, some of the prototypes of the Gods are actually the Impermanence that once devastated the land or brought benefit to a region."

"You mean..." I instantly realized the truth.

"Exactly, Xuanming was once one of Luo Mountain’s Impermanences," she said.

Xuanming, Number Four, was an Impermanence of Luo Mountain? In my surprise, I also came to a sudden realization. No wonder, even in the Mist Dream Realm, where no superpowers could be utilized, Xuanming still managed to emit an overwhelmingly palpable presence and a distinct sense of danger.

Moreover, if it was an Impermanence of such caliber, who could even command natural disasters, it was not surprising that their fame lasted even into the Doomsday Era.

I quickly responded, "You said ’was once’?"

"About half a year ago, Xuanming rebelled against Luo Mountain," Zhu Shi said, "I’m not clear about the specifics, but I know that one day he suddenly went mad, burned another Impermanence, Fu Hongchen, to death in full view of the public, and then heavily wounded and defeated another Impermanence, Ming Zhuo, before leaving Luo Mountain.

"Impermanences are the rulers of Luo Mountain. Typically, whatever an Impermanence does can’t be considered a betrayal of Luo Mountain, just as a subject cannot accuse an emperor of rebellion. There is only one exception; that is if the Impermanences fight among themselves.

"After that, Xuanming was branded a traitor of Luo Mountain, and his whereabouts have since been unknown."

Xuanming, Number Four, had done such things...

Burning one Impermanence to death and heavily wounding another, could it be that he was not only an Impermanence but one of the most distinguished among them?

I had conversed with Xuanming before; his speech and manners did not seem those of a madman. Saying he attacked other Impermanences in a fit of madness, I find hard to believe. He likely had some considerations behind his actions.

I recalled his angry questioning of a giant in the Mist Dream Realm. To him, the giant seemed to be the hidden hand behind the world’s near destruction—his only lapse in composure... Could it be that his mad attack on other Impermanences was also related to this?

"Xuanming is an Impermanence skilled in Flame Power. The reason Agent Kong mentioned Xuanming to you was probably because of this," Zhu Shi explained on her own, then suddenly stopped moving.

She raised her right hand, lowered her voice, and said, "Target spotted."

On hearing this, I tensed, held my breath, and looked ahead.

We had moved to the sports park in the old city district by then. There was a desolate playground with a red running track surrounding a weed-infested soccer field. We sneaked along the outer side of the track. I had been here before, and people occasionally came to jog or exercise. I heard it used to be popular but gradually declined into the lonely place it is now.

On the other side of the playground, at its edge, I saw a strange figure. Clearly not a fitness enthusiast or a dieter who came to jog, but a creature with a goat’s head, walking on two feet, nearly three meters tall with a body full of muscles, resembling a demon.

"Monster..." Zhu Shi gazed intently at it, pulling me to hide behind nearby bushes.

The monster didn’t notice us. It seemed to just be passing by, or perhaps it considered this place its hunting ground. If it intended to attack ordinary people to devour their souls, this sparsely trodden yet not completely deserted place was the perfect dining arena. It just needed to wait here a while for food to arrive.

Although the thought of "asking about its evil intentions" had crossed my mind, clearly this was not the situation for that.

I contemplated what I should do next.

First, eliminate "killing it directly." Although Lu Youxun recommended that I kill the monster directly, to glean Mazao’s whereabouts, hastily killing the monster was undoubtedly the worst decision.

However, I couldn’t capture the monster alive either. According to information from Lu Youxun, all of Luo Mountain’s attempts to capture monsters alive ended in failure. Monsters had a self-destruct mechanism, which I couldn’t even persuade the monster not to activate. This self-destruct did not fall under the monster’s own volition.

Unable to kill nor capture, it seemed my only option was to tail the monster until the "monster" attracted the "suspected Mazao investigating the monster."

However, choosing to "tail" meant that when the monster killed, I could only silently observe.

Or could I also prevent his murders every time, while forcibly inserting a thermal marker into his body, like a zoologist implanting a transmitter on a wild animal, making him forever remain under my surveillance? This approach seemed feasible. Even if he later used Space Transfer, he couldn’t escape my sight.

The problem was I didn’t know whether his range of using mental power to control Shadow Power for killing exceeded my sensory range. Moreover, I also had no way of knowing whether there were more demons summoned from the shadows elsewhere, active and killing.

Ignoring these unknown factors was essentially gambling with the lives of unrelated passersby, and Zhu Shi would definitely advocate for immediately killing the monster.

This was the decision most considerate of others’ safety, yet it was also the decision most contradictory to my personal interests.

What should I do?