Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 87 - 84 Mazao reappears 2

Chapter 87: 84 Mazao reappears 2

I had imagined countless times the scene of my reunion with Mazao.

Maybe she would finally come around, deeming my strength sufficient to counter the disasters she brought with her, and feeling unable to cope with modern society, she would come to me famished for help; or perhaps I would trace her down from the clues I had already gathered, finding her wandering in the darkness of the outer world; or even more dramatically, I would find her just as she fell into peril and rescue her from the fire and water as if a god-sent soldier.

And, just like now, running into her who was also investigating the bizarre person on my way, naturally fell within the realm of my imagination.

But imagination is just imagination. When her figure actually burst into my field of vision, my heart still felt as if it had been unexpectedly struck by a bullet, and my brain plunged into a brief void under the impact of surprise.

Mazao appeared!

Right after she appeared, she decapitated the monster’s head, but the fight didn’t end there.

The moment the head fell, the monster’s body suddenly disintegrated, turning into a pool of black ink-like liquid, spilling on the ground.

That was not the monster’s real body, but a Shadow Clone created by its Shadow Power.

The black ink-like substance hit the ground and turned into a shadow. As Mazao’s feet touched the ground, a huge figure leaped out from that shadow, which was none other than the monster from before.

Taking advantage of Mazao’s momentary inability to follow up with another move as she absorbed the impact of landing, the monster transformed its arms into mantis-like Curved Blades and initiated a high-speed crisscross slash as if closing scissors, targeting Mazao’s throat.

Although it doesn’t seem so fast when described in words, these changes actually happened within the blink of an eye. Even with my dynamic vision, I could not say that I saw everything clearly. In that extremely short time, more exchanges may have occurred, but the only things I could clearly see and describe were just those mentioned above.

Compared to me, Zhu Shi must have been able to understand and react to the changes more correctly. Before I could even get over the shocking fact that "Mazao appeared," Zhu Shi had already vanished from my side like an arrow off its string, apparently to come to her aid.

However, it seemed Mazao didn’t need anyone else’s help.

The stiffness of her landing seemed not to have hindered her dodging the monster’s slash attack at all. Whether it was due to her extremely fast movements or her use of Space Transfer, her figure instantly disappeared from in front of the monster and returned to the air where she had initially launched the beheading strike, which was right behind the monster, and once again she swung the Curved Blade, aiming a fatal slash at the back of the monster’s neck.

It was unbelievable. Mazao, who had been so weak in the past, suddenly exhibited movements even faster and stronger than those of the monster.

The monster might have realized Mazao was behind him, or maybe not. At this crucial juncture, he at least didn’t freeze; instead, he quickly guarded his vitals and rolled forward, timely dodging the attack.

The timeliness mentioned here merely means he managed to save his life from the blade, but injury was inevitable.

A flash of the Curved Blade, and Mazao severed the monster’s left wrist.

The latter couldn’t help but emit a painful howl as its body tumbled forward several times.

She didn’t immediately pursue but instead instantly adopted a defensive stance toward the suddenly appearing Zhu Shi, shouting very vigilantly, "Who’s that!?"

"I..." Zhu Shi seemed to want to explain something.

But the injured monster clearly did not have the patience to listen to their conversation. Seeing that Mazao had temporarily ceased her pursuit, the monster leveraged its ungainly yet efficient movements to get up from the ground, intending to escape towards the distance.

Its initial fleeing action was likely a ruse, meant to strike back at Mazao with a surprise attack. Now, however, it truly seemed to be attempting to escape.

Unfortunately, it might have been aware of Mazao and Zhu Shi out in the open, but it hadn’t noticed me lurking in the shadows.

As much as I wanted to speak with Mazao first, I couldn’t afford to turn a blind eye to the monster’s attempt to flee. My gaze concentrated on the monster’s body, immediately igniting it.

Normally, I should have evaporated the monster’s body below its head, and before its death, Zhu Shi should have severed the connection between it and the source of its power—the seed of the heart. By doing so, we could take the monster’s head to Lu Youxun to extract information. However, given the sudden turn of events, Zhu Shi and I hadn’t had the chance to coordinate, so I had to slow down my attack just enough for Zhu Shi to keep up.

The monstrous being, set ablaze, howled in piercing agony.

As if by no accident, he was the last monstrosity in Saltwater City, and also the primary culprit behind the recent series of murders. I was acutely aware that the one being scorched by flames was in fact human, yet I couldn’t muster the slightest sympathy for this wounded member of my own kind. It must have been him who dispatched a Shadow Clone to attack Changan. I didn’t care why he had killed those local dignitaries, but it was imperative that I extract his reasons for assaulting Changan from his mind.

The creature seemed intent on fleeing despite the flames, but I made a clapping motion with my hands. The fire that raged on his body suddenly bloomed furiously, taking the shape of a giant palm. Just as I had seized my enemy last night with my arm of Elementalization, this massive Flame Palm, sprouting from his body, likewise clasped him firmly, pinning him to the ground.

Zhu Shi had already hurried over in cooperation.

Her eyes turned a piercing lake blue, her demeanor as cold as snow, seemingly pinpointing the connection between the creature and its source of power, ready to sever it at a moment’s notice.

Seeing this, I held back no longer. To prevent this monster from employing any inexplicable superpower, or, like the previous one, locking us into some Different Space, I simply vaporized his body below the head.

It was then that I felt an inexplicable sensation.

It was as though something was slipping through my palm—specifically, out of the giant Flame Palm formed from fire. This feeling was utterly unexpected, and I wasn’t prepared for it in the least. It was like inadvertently brushing against a fly while stretching my arms lazily above. Although I attempted to close my fingers immediately and catch it, I was, after all, caught off guard.

In the end, the "fly" managed to escape first, slipping through the gaps between my fingers and vanishing without a trace.

Zhu Shi seemed to observe some unseen change with her special ability "Buzhou Mountain," her face betraying a look of astonishment, "—What?"

Visually, it appeared as if nothing had slipped out of my giant Flame Palm. The monstrosity’s body below the head had been outright evaporated by my flames, while the skull had rolled out from the tiger’s mouth (the space between thumb and index finger).

But the sensation in my hand was clearly abnormal. It didn’t feel like the touch of a dead flesh-and-blood body; instead, more like the destruction of an unremarkable Shadow Clone.

As expected, the moment the head stopped rolling, it transformed into an ink-like substance, spreading and pooling on the ground before finally dissipating into a shadow that faded away.

"Was that a clone?" Mazao stared blankly for a moment, then quickly turned to look at a severed hand not far away.

It was the left hand she had just chopped from the monstrosity, still shaped like a Curved Blade of a praying mantis. If the monster just now was a Shadow Clone, then the left hand should also be a construct of shadows.

However, the reality was quite different—the left hand wrist remained vividly in place. Not only vivid, but perhaps due to its separation from the creature’s body, the inherent power inside went berserk and out of control, causing the flesh to swell as if it were about to explode any second.

But it ultimately didn’t manage to explode successfully. Mazao promptly stepped forward and forcefully stamped on the wrist. For some unfathomable reason, her stomp caused the wrist to immediately wilt and even degenerate straight from the Curved Blade form, returning to an ordinary, coarse male palm.

Mazao picked up the bleeding severed hand from the ground, glanced hastily, then turned her wary gaze towards where I was.

Zhu Shi had already exited the state of "Buzhou Mountain." Her eyes had returned to their natural color, and her expression was no longer so indifferent. Seeing Mazao’s cautious demeanor, she seemed to be pondering how to introduce herself in a way that would put the other at ease for the moment.

I, on the other hand, simply walked out from the shadows to present myself before Mazao, closely observing her current state.

She was still dressed in the black patterned hoodie, short skirt, cotton leggings, and black ankle Martins boots that I had given her in the past. Although she must have worn them for many days, I couldn’t tell whether she had washed them or not, as the outfit appeared as pristine as when first worn.

She was wearing the black cat whiskers mask as well, although likely for comfort, she had let it hang around her neck.

The red GPS bracelet was still on her left wrist, while her right hand clasped a large Curved Blade. Her actions had been too quick for me to see clearly before. Now that I took a closer look, I realized the sword flickered with a strange, unstable ethereal shadow, making it obvious to anyone that it was no ordinary weapon.

The sight of me emerging shocked her, and she nearly dropped the bloodied hand she forgot to grip tightly, letting it fall to the ground.

"Zhuang Cheng—?" she uttered my name in astonishment.

Zhu Shi, who seemed about to introduce herself, heard my name suddenly come up from the other’s mouth and couldn’t help but open her mouth wide in surprise, "Ah?"

Her gaze shifted back and forth between me and Mazao, taking a few seconds to finally grasp the implication behind the latter’s recent reaction, she asked hesitantly, "You... know each other?"

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