Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 86 - 83 Mazao reappears 1

Chapter 86: 83 Mazao reappears 1

I immediately felt a wave of sweat soaking my back.

Could Zhu Shi’s ability see through lies? Reflexively, I began to recall whether I had ever lied to Zhu Shi and just how many lies I had told.

Fortunately, unlike when facing Mazao and Changan, I had been relatively sincere towards Zhu Shi overall, so I hadn’t really lied much... That was impossible. I had lied right to her face before, always using Agent Kong as an excuse, saying I had heard this or that, and even pretending not to recognize Mazao while gathering information in front of her and Lu Youxun.

Although I hadn’t lied to Zhu Shi as much as I had to Mazao, to say I had been very sincere to Zhu Shi normally would be a huge absurdity. With all the lying I had done recently, I didn’t even know if there were lies I had forgotten the moment after I said them.

Had Zhu Shi seen through all of that? I even used to mock her in my mind for being easily deceived!

"Zhuang Cheng, what’s wrong, do you feel unwell?" Zhu Shi asked curiously.

"No, it’s nothing..."

Wait, had she really seen through all those lies? Stay calm, don’t panic now. If she truly could discern every lie she came across, then the past Agent Kong wouldn’t have been able to temporarily pass on the seed of the heart and conceal his monster identity from her.

Besides, if she had previously pretended not to know about my lies, there was no need for her to reveal to me now that she had the power to see through lies.

Considering the clues I had observed in the past, her ability must not have been the type to activate constantly. I needed to probe further.

Perhaps sensing that my reaction was somewhat off, Zhu Shi wore a thoughtful expression: "Did you ever lie to me before?"

Did she truly not know?

"I have." I admitted directly, then turned the tables and asked with a testing tone, "Do you know which statement it was?"

Seeing my straightforward demeanor, she seemed to think it wasn’t a very serious lie, and answered in a relaxed tone, "I don’t know. Which one was it?"

"It was the one I just said about not forcing you to explain your ability if you’re not comfortable." I said.

"Ah, that one!" She suddenly understood, "That’s right, you’re so interested in weird stuff, you’d definitely want to get to the bottom of my ability. So that was just a polite remark, huh!"

It appeared she truly didn’t know. Also, I really hadn’t intended to dig deep before. The unknown has its own allure, and I wasn’t that desperate.

"Do you usually not use that power?" I inquired.

"I generally don’t use it on our own people, because it can easily offend. Plus, using it all the time can be tiring on the eyes." She answered.

I first breathed a sigh of relief internally, then noticed a problem in her words: "Does seeing through lies easily offend people?"

I tried to construct that logic in my mind. Although it wasn’t illogical, it still didn’t seem entirely convincing.

"It’s not just about seeing through lies; my ability also makes it easy to see through other people’s powers." She said, "Do you remember the monster from last night?"

"I do. You made his ability unable to activate. Is that also related to the fact that you found his weakness?" I asked.

"When an opponent uses their ability in front of me, I can find vulnerabilities in their power. During this process, the truth behind their powers gets exposed to my eyes too. That’s why I recognized at once that his ability was ’damage transfer’." She explained.

I see. She had previously mentioned the importance of hiding one’s power. For those who wish to keep their trump cards hidden, her ability posed a significant threat. It made sense not to use it carelessly on allies.

In those superpower strategy comics, her ability could even be seen as a "Golden Finger" that fundamentally upended the entire theme. It’s funny how she used to say my skills were excessive; in some ways, her ability was far more excessive than mine.

"But what exactly did you see as a flaw in the ’damage transfer’ power that let you suddenly render it inoperable?" I pondered.

"There wasn’t such a flaw. It’s just..." She paused, then revealed something even more outrageous, "When there’s no objective flaw in the target, or no exploitable vulnerabilities, my ability allows me to subjectively force out a flaw that I can exploit.

"As long as I attack that flaw, it can have a remarkable effect. Since his ability was ’damage transfer’, I was able to inflict damage that couldn’t be transferred."

What kind of rule-breaking power was this? If I hadn’t misunderstood, was she able to create out of thin air a weakness in the opponent that even they weren’t aware of?

"Your ability is actually far more excessive than mine..." I said.

"Not at all." She seemed to have a hint of pride.

"Does your power have a name?" I was curious.

"It does. My grandfather gave it a name." She put her fist to her mouth, coughed lightly, and then said seriously, "The name of this ability is ’Buzhou Mountain’. ’Bu’ means ’negation’, ’Zhou’ is ’complete’. Buzhou means the negation of completeness.

"And ’mountain’ represents the hope placed in this ability. Grandfather hoped I could grow to the extent that I could sever a mountain peak with a single sword strike, just like the ancient gods toppling Buzhou Mountain..."

Towards the end, she seemed very shy, her voice growing lighter and lighter.

I understood her completely. Explaining the meaning behind the name of one’s ability so seriously was like explaining the settings written in one’s adolescent notebooks to someone. Although those "settings" were written by her grandfather, it was definitely embarrassing to say them out loud. At first, she seemed not to realize there was anything amiss, but from the midpoint, her face grew redder as she spoke.

Seeing her so embarrassed, I knew to tactfully change the subject. "Since your ability can be activated on inanimate objects as well, could you take a look at this for me?"

She eagerly asked as if grasping a lifeline, "What is it?"

I took out the Black Rope Heart-locking Ring given to me by Lu Youxun.

"Black Rope Heart-locking Ring?" She paused slightly, "This is a tool that simulates the authority of Underworld Yama, preventing the subject from lying or remaining silent, or else they face the penalty of death... But I remember this should be Lu Chan’s item, why is it in your possession?"

"This was given to me by Lu Youxun," I said, "as a personal gift because I helped him track down a lead on the Human Bureau. Since I’m not familiar with him and he suddenly gave me a gift, I felt uneasy and thought I should have you take a look."

"What!" Zhu Shi was visibly shocked upon hearing that Lu Youxun had given me a gift, "You’ve been meeting with him in private!"

"Ah? Yes." Thinking she was worried I could be swayed by Lu Youxun, I quickly explained, "He wants to recruit me into Extraordinaryism, but rest assured, I refused. But before that, could you take a look at this ring?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shi immediately took the ring from me and closely inspected it.

Her expression grew increasingly grave.

I too began to feel anxious. Could there actually be something wrong with this ring? Should I better abandon it? After all the trouble to acquire a usable supernatural tool, I really didn’t want to let it go.

After a long time, she finally looked up and said seriously, "There’s nothing wrong with this ring."

"Then why such a grave expression..."

"That damned Lu Chan, I haven’t even given Senior Brother Zhuang a gift yet..." She didn’t seem to hear my question, just muttering resentfully, and then suddenly asked me, "Senior Brother Zhuang, is there any gift you’d like?"

"You don’t need to give me a gift, I haven’t done anything for you," I said, not very adept at this kind of conversation, so I shifted the topic again, "Besides, you seem to have gone to a lot of trouble to conceal my Elementalization. But I have to say, Lu Youxun already knows I can Elementalize. Last night he was spying on our battle from a distance with a telescope."

"Ah? So there’s that trick too! That scoundrel Lu Chan..." Again, her face conveyed deep frustration.

I pondered how to explain to her my conversation with Lu Youxun the previous night.

Although Lu Youxun accused Zhu Shi’s faction of being the ones who would eventually enslave humanity, I didn’t think they harbored such intent now. At least Zhu Shi didn’t, and even Lu Youxun wouldn’t be able to deny this.

I had no interest in thoroughly studying the ideologies and programs of both sides, and even less in participating in their overt and covert struggles. I would concentrate on pursuing the things I wished to chase, walk the path I’d chosen, and accept the difficulties and retribution that came with such choices.

And if Zhu Shi couldn’t bear her faction when it came down to it, I would still stand by her as a friend. That would be enough.

Before I could voice these thoughts, an abnormal roaring came from afar, rapidly moving in our direction.

Zhu Shi and I exchanged glances and immediately hid behind the car parked nearby.

We’d barely concealed ourselves when the housing complex’s exterior wall was smashed from the outside. A massive black shadow forcefully entered the premises. Even though it was night, the distinct outline of the body let me identify it at first glance. It was a humanoid monster with a grotesque, terrifying goat’s head, a towering body three meters tall, bristling with muscles.

It was the monster we were actively hunting!

After bursting into the complex, the monster didn’t stop, charging towards us at an alarming speed.

Had it spotted us? No, it felt more like it was fleeing. And just as it got within less than twenty meters of us, a new figure appeared out of nowhere behind it.

This new figure emerged without any warning, as if ejected by the air itself, materializing midair, wielding a large Curved Blade.

Upon arrival, the newcomer swung the weapon, aiming a strike at the back of the monster’s neck.

I recognized the true identity of the figure instantly.

It was a girl, about thirteen or fourteen, with a face that haunted my dreams, a small and soft body, but her actions were absolutely fierce. She would remain quiet until she didn’t, and when she did, she was awe-inspiring.

The blade fell like a guillotine, severing the enemy’s solid muscles and sturdy bones with a single stroke.

Mazao, suddenly appearing, had decapitated the monster with one slash.

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