Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 78 - 75 The Emerging Shadow of the Enemy 2

Chapter 78: 75 The Emerging Shadow of the Enemy 2

The monster was originally a sheep-headed demon about three meters tall, and even after being beheaded and its limbs severed, as it lay tragically on the ground, its massive body still emanated a profound sense of oppression. Facing it felt like standing before a heavily loaded truck, involuntarily giving rise to the illusion that one’s body could be crushed by its bulk at any moment.

When it transformed back into a human, that feeling of oppression quickly turned abstract and faded. Not disappeared, but receded. It was as if the heavy loads on the truck were being removed by invisible hands, and not only the cargo, but the truck itself was dismantled into scattered parts, most of which were also taken away. What was left was a driver in confusion, clutching an ignited gas tank.

We couldn’t even take the ignited gas tank from him, because he himself was that gas tank.

Zhu Shi remained the fastest among us.

At the moment the signs of self-destruction emerged, a silver blade, swift as a fan, decisively severed the enemy’s head. This strike gave me a strange feeling. If that invisible hand was continuing to unload something from the body, this sword was what cut that hand off.

Almost simultaneously, it was impossible to tell whether Zhu Shi had thrown a punch or a kick because her movements were too fast, and my eyes only caught a blurred afterimage colliding with the monster’s torso, sending it flying.

In the blink of an eye, the headless body was struck and sent flying over twenty meters away, then it burst into flames in midair.

The head spun and fell through the air, trembling faintly as if it too were about to explode. Zhu Shi, on the other hand, sheathed her sword and caught the head in a clapping motion. As soon as she clamped down on the head with both hands, the trembling stopped, as if forcibly suppressed by her strength.

"It seems to be just like speculated in the data..." Lu Youxun observed the series of changes and spoke with an air of calm understanding, "The reason why the monsters self-destruct is not because they are programmed to do that. It’s because when the source of their power departs, the energy within their bodies becomes ungoverned and eventually explodes out of control."

Seeing that he made no comment on Zhu Shi’s swift reaction, I felt it was up to me to compliment her, "Zhu Shi, you’re really fast."

"Really? Hehe..." Zhu Shi seemed pleasantly surprised and laughed shyly.

She still held the head of the monster in her hands, a scene that was indescribably bizarre. But I liked the bizarre. A beautiful woman dressed in wuxia style, smiling while holding the head of an enemy, was a stark contrast that hit right in my wheelhouse.

"It’s just a pity that there wasn’t time to get more information out of him, nor do we know the conditions that trigger the self-destruction of the monsters. Why didn’t it self-destruct when we forced it to answer questions earlier, and why did it suddenly self-destruct after its resistance failed?"

With a thoughtful expression, Lu Youxun looked at the head in Zhu Shi’s hands with even more puzzlement and asked, "That reminds me, Zhu Shi, why did you keep his head? I mentioned before you left that even if the head you brought back was intact, I wouldn’t be able to extract any information from it."

"That might not be the case." Zhu Shi stuffed the head into Lu Youxun’s arms, "I’ve sealed the remaining power inside the head; it won’t explode for now. Take it and see."

Not understanding her intention, Lu Youxun simply followed Zhu Shi’s words and observed the head closely.

God knows what he saw from which angle, but within two or three seconds, he froze in place, exclaiming in astonishment, "The information in the brain tissue is undamaged?"

"The moment its power source detached from the body, I cut off the connection between them. Thus, the source couldn’t destroy the spiritual information in his body as it departed," Zhu Shi stated as if she had done something incredible.

Lu Youxun was taken aback, "You can do that? None of the other Evil that have fought monsters have ever accomplished that."

I too was surprised. Cutting off the connection with the power source—it sounded like something out of a fantasy novel with a Sword Immortal, not only severing tangible objects but even the intangible bonds between things. Zhu Shi had such an impressive ability?

Despite her usually being amazed by my Flame Ability, which sometimes gave the impression she was rather ordinary, it was clear she herself was extraordinary.

"Compared to me, you should pay more attention to this head for now. Can you really extract information from it?" Zhu Shi urged.

"Okay, okay, I’ll look now, I’ll check at once," Lu Youxun was not irritated at all; he seemed quite thrilled and shifted his focus back to the head, "The brain tissue is largely undamaged, very fresh, and still retains enough vibrancy. Hmm... Your slash seems to have also retained part of the spiritual body inside it. Good, with that, I can do more."

"More?" I realized he intended to do more than just investigate information.

"Yes, like this—" He tossed the head forward, then lifted his right hand and pointed.

The head was fixed in place by his fingertip, hovering in the air. Then, with his empty left hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a yellow talisman, seemingly drawn with cinnabar ink, and slapped it on the forehead of the head.

He stepped back and moved his lifted finger through the air several times before putting it down. The face of the head then began to tremble and, astonishingly, slowly opened its eyes, looking at us in bewilderment.

Witnessing this, Zhu Shi gazed intently at Lu Youxun.

"I... I must have died..." The head was initially in a daze, then its eyes lit up with excitement, "...I’m not dead!?"

It immediately saw us and spoke with both fear and anger, "What else do you want to ask me? Just let me go!"

Lu Youxun actually resurrected this head? After my initial shock, I thought for a moment and then said to the head, "Haven’t you realized yet, you’re already dead."

"Dead? Impossible, I’m clearly still alive!" He first spoke loudly, then paused, "Wait, why can’t I control the shadows anymore... Have you sealed my power!?"

Lu Youxun watched the other’s reaction, muttering to himself, "My craftsmanship seems to be still imperfect..."

"What did you do to him?" I asked, curious.

"Well, it’s like this. His head had just been severed, the consciousness died, but the brain tissue was actually still alive, even retaining some fragments of the soul. So I used this brain as a medium, combined with the spell of Spirit Communication, and called him back to life," Lu Youxun appeared to be talking about something quite preposterous, "Only now he seems to have some mental issues, I’m not sure if it’s because he’s escaping reality due to the shock of death, or because my craftsmanship is immature, leading to this situation where he can’t recognize reality."

"This counts as a resurrection, doesn’t it..." I said.

"Not really, he’s still going to die after a while," he shook his head, "So if you have any questions, it’s best to ask them quickly."

I had already received certain answers to the questions I was most curious about but as for further questions...

"How did you become a monster?" Zhu Shi asked the head, now reverted to the appearance of a normal human, "You’re not a local demon hunter from Saltwater City, are you?"

"I’m also very curious about this," Lu Youxun also showed curiosity, "I am a Patrol from Saltwater City, familiar with all the monks in Saltwater City, whether they belong to Luo Mountain or the locals. But, I have no recollection of your face."

"A monk?" I caught onto a new term.

And Zhu Shi gave Lu Youxun an unsatisfied glance.

"Oh, sorry, a slip of the tongue. I mean demon hunter..." Lu Youxun quickly corrected himself, then continued speaking to the head, "If I’m not mistaken, you used to be an ordinary person, right? How exactly did you obtain power to rival that of Residence Level demon hunters?"

Hearing this, the head seemed unwilling to answer at first, but being "awakened" by Lu Youxun, he probably couldn’t resist the questioning and ended up answering honestly, "The Weirdo Maker... The Weirdo Maker turned me from an ordinary person into a monster."

"The Weirdo Maker..." Lu Youxun frowned.

I put aside my curiosity about the word "monk" for a moment, then asked the head, "You mentioned this title in the labyrinthine space as well. How did the Weirdo Maker turn you all into monsters?"

"I don’t know the specifics, just that he implanted something called a ’seed of the heart’ into my body, and then I was able to transform into a monster," the head seemed not only unable to control his answer but also involuntarily revealed more information, "The seed of the heart gave us power, and it also made us crave the consumption of human souls. And once we die or fall into despair, the seed of the heart will leave our body."

"No wonder you didn’t self-destruct when we first captured you, only doing so after your resistance failed. Because at the beginning, you had not yet given up on survival and struggle..." I suddenly realized.

Lu Youxun abruptly asked, "What does the Weirdo Maker look like?"

"He... he wears a white suit," the head showed an effort to recall, "He should be a man in his forties, thin and tall. He might have done some kind of posture training, sometimes his way of speaking feels contrived. As for his facial features... I don’t know, because he wore a mask, a silver mask..."

"You say... a silver mask?" Lu Youxun suddenly twisted his face, clenched his fists, emitting a creaking noise.

"Lu Chan, what’s wrong?" Zhu Shi was surprised.

But Lu Youxun seemed deaf to the question, pulling out a blank photograph from his pocket, stepping forward to grab the head, and said loudly, "Think hard in your mind about his appearance!"

The head’s eyes widened, seemingly forced to do as Lu Youxun instructed, desperately recalling the appearance of the Weirdo Maker.

Lu Youxun lowered his gaze to the blank photograph in his hand, and Zhu Shi and I leaned in to look as well. It seemed Lu Youxun, through contact, had read some information from the head, which was now materializing on the blank photograph. Gradually, a portrait of a person emerged on the blank paper.

It was a person wearing a white suit and a silver mask.

As soon as he saw this person, Lu Youxun’s eyes burst with rage, crumpling the photograph into a ball, and he let out a hate-filled growl, "Human Bureau!"