Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 91 - 88 Mutual Benefit3

Chapter 91: 88 Mutual Benefit3

Since I had previously advised Mazao to leverage the power of Luo Mountain to investigate the Doomsday card, it became unavoidable for Mazao and Zhu Shi to continue interacting. On this basis, it was necessary for me to tell Zhu Shi about Mazao’s Broom Star Physique, so that Zhu Shi could understand the risks of continuing contact with Mazao.

Besides, even if I didn’t mention it, Mazao would have taken the initiative to disclose it herself, concealment was impossible.

Once mentioned, Zhu Shi was within reach of my truest motives.

I briefly explained Mazao’s Broom Star Physique. Just as expected, after listening, Zhu Shi paused for quite a while. She first looked puzzled, then she had a sudden realization, and finally, it seemed like she had solved many mysteries, revealing an enlightened expression.

"So that’s how it is...so that’s how it is!" she said, "In the past, your too-powerful abilities repelled bizarre entities, but recently you somehow began to normally interact with strange incidents... I said there must be significant reasons behind this shift, so it was because you interacted with that soul loss girl!"

"Yes." I nodded.

"And the reason you took her in, considered her so important, and even gave her a GPS bracelet is because she could fulfill your desires!"

"That’s right." I admitted.

"Now it all makes sense..." she became visibly refreshed and then couldn’t help but criticize, "But no matter what, the GPS bracelet is still a bit..."

I sincerely confessed, "I was wrong, it won’t happen again."

"Why not tell her the truth?" she observed my reaction, then said, "Isn’t it because you’ve lied too much before, have baggage on your mind, and worry that telling the truth would ruin the image you’ve built in her eyes?"

Having already been so transparent, I simply concurred with her speculation, "Pretty much."

Mazao is a Doomsday survivor who is highly vigilant about her surroundings. During my interactions with her, I often felt her wariness and defensive mentality, but as things turned out, the process of us getting closer went rather smoothly. This was because she held stereotypical, or one might say, unrealistic fantasies about people living in a peaceful era, and I just went along with her preconceived notions, playing the role of a kind-hearted person.

In other words, her trust and favorable impression of me were likely built on that false image.

Although I had also concealed my superpowers from her, there was still room for argument on that front. After all, in this era, supernatural power users are in hiding. It was sensible for me to hide my powers before she demonstrated any superpowers herself.

However, if I conceal my real motive for taking her in, it’s a different matter altogether. She might doubt my very character.

What’s worse, I am clearly aware of what my true nature is like. If it becomes public knowledge, not just Mazao, but even Zhu Shi might distance herself from me, and Changan would be extremely disappointed in me.

Where am I the good-hearted person Mazao imagines? Clearly, I am a villain who puts personal desires as the topmost priority.

"To worry that revealing your true self would destroy the image you’ve laboriously crafted in her heart, Senior Brother Zhuang, are you some love-struck girl..." Zhu Shi first was astonished, then said, "Besides, I think there’s really no need for you to hide it, just be honest. As long as you’re sincere, she will definitely accept it.

More importantly, the truth cannot be hidden; as long as you interact over time, she will surely learn about your pursuit of strange entities from other sources and then realize the purpose of your association with her."

"I understand, I’ll find a way to explain clearly to her," I said, "so I hope you can cooperate with me during this period and not disclose the truth."

Upon hearing this, she hesitated, thought for a long time, and then agreed, "Alright...since you’ve been honest with me, I can help with this little request."

"Then it’s your turn to answer me..." I looked at her earnestly, "When you were interacting with Mazao just now, you secretly used ’Buzhou Mountain,’ right? In your view, is what Mazao said about the Doomsday and time transmigration true or false?"

She admitted directly, "Everything she said is true."

"Do you believe her?" I asked.

"To be honest, it’s hard to believe," she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Perhaps she has a way to deceive my eyes; or maybe she had a nightmare related to Doomsday during her soul loss period and believed it was real after awakening; or possibly soul loss itself has an effect that causes mental confusion..."

She paused again for quite a while before she struggled to say, "...but since she is so convinced of her own thoughts, I can’t dismiss her words entirely as empty talk, and just laugh it off."

From her perspective, she probably hopes to purely see Mazao as a soul loss recoverer, to find clues to cure soul loss from her.

Her mother is a sufferer of soul loss; it’s inevitable she has mixed personal feelings.

However, she still forced herself to make a calm analysis.

"Will you report her situation to the higher-ups?" I asked.

"Of course. We can’t be sure yet whether she is purely a soul transmigrator or if her soul transference is linked to soul loss," she analyzed. "Perhaps other patients with soul loss, after awakening, will also believe they had lived in the Doomsday Era like her."

"It’s simple to verify this hypothesis," I suggested. "She had a friend in the Doomsday Era; if Luo Mountain could bring out photos of all the soul loss patients and let her identify them, finding one that matches her friend’s characteristics, then it likely means the souls of other patients have also transmigrated to what she refers to as the Doomsday Era."

"You’re right!" she perked up, then puzzled, "Wait, had you also mentioned her friend to her before? And since you gave her a GPS bracelet and she didn’t realize it, does that mean you actually always knew her location?"

"It’s not convenient for me to discuss how I encountered her friend right now," I said. "As for the GPS bracelet... Somehow, that bracelet has been failing to send a signal since she left me, and I too am puzzled about what happened..."

She didn’t dwell too much on my contact with Mazao’s friend but upon hearing the latter part, she thoughtfully said, "Perhaps it’s related to her abilities..."

"What are her abilities?" I was very curious. "You mentioned ’Power of Return’ earlier, is that the name of her ability?"

"Yes," she explained. "Her ability is ’Return,’ or ’Reset’ might be an easier term to understand.

"She can reset her state in time as well as her position in space. Thus, even if she gets injured, she can immediately recover, or she can transfer herself to a route she has previously taken.

"At the same time, this ability might also apply to objects she has touched, including clothes and accessories. If I’m not mistaken, the reason the GPS bracelet isn’t sending a signal might be because she reset it to a state before it was paired with your device.

"Her beyond-normal agility could also be derived from this ability, though it seems to embody a far more complex operation. I was mostly focused on the creatures at that time and didn’t clearly see how she accomplished it."

Hearing this, the clouds of doubt hanging over my heart immediately dispersed.

Since the GPS bracelet was reset in that manner, the thermal energy marker I left inside her body was likely reset by the same principle.

This meant that if Mazao wanted to escape from me, I could neither forcibly stop her nor discreetly leave any meaningful contingencies.

Indeed, using Number Two as bait to lure Mazao was the right approach.

As for why she chose to immediately reset the GPS bracelet three days ago after leaving me, I can only think of one reason... It wasn’t because she noticed a problem with the bracelet, but because I had taken her to too many places on our "date," and she might have sweated, felt hungry, or simply wanted to restore her energy, so she reset her entire body.

The creature last night that had the "damage transfer" superpower mentioned it had escaped under Mazao’s pursuit; she probably didn’t use Space Transfer because the creature ran in a direction she hadn’t passed.

Many once perplexing mysteries become so simple once they are solved.

Zhu Shi turned off the Barrier that isolated sound and then joined me in returning to where Mazao was.

"Have you finished talking?" Mazao looked at us. "Then, what do you plan to do with me next?"

"Let’s work together from now on," Zhu Shi said amiably. "We need to resolve the creature incident, and you need to collect evidence of the Doomsday approaching through the creature; it’s mutually beneficial. Besides, regarding the soul loss, we will also need your cooperation in the investigation, is that okay?"

Mazao, seemingly having anticipated this, nodded without much hesitation: "Okay."

"Then, without delay, may I ask you to provide some clues?" Zhu Shi asked. "About that creature that escaped earlier, we too lack information about him. Since you were pursuing him, it means you must have had sufficient clues to track him down, right?"

"No, I don’t have any clues," Mazao shook her head. "I was just wandering around outside and happened to run into him."

"Wandering... by chance..." Zhu Shi was stunned, then couldn’t help asking, "Is this how you investigate the Doomsday?"

"Yes," Mazao asserted confidently. "I have a physique that attracts the bizarre. As long as I walk around outside, strange things will eventually come to me. Is there a problem with that?"

"Uh..." Zhu Shi looked at me helplessly.

I had also speculated about how Mazao planned to investigate the Doomsday. I originally thought that being a transcender of time and space, she must possess some clues unknown to me, which gave her the confidence to investigate Doomsday alone. Unexpectedly, her approach was so straightforward and rudimentary.

"I have a question for you too," Mazao looked at Zhu Shi. "You said you could see through others’ abilities. So, about that Sin Demon... or rather, the creature that escaped earlier, do you know how he managed to escape?"