Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 97 - 94 Reconnaissance 1

Chapter 97: 94 Reconnaissance 1

The three of us met at the pedestrian street in the new district.

Mazao and I currently live in the new district, which is less than a twenty-minute walk from our home. Zhu Shi’s home is on the edge of the new district, so she needed to take a taxi to get here. By the time we arrived, Zhu Shi had already taken a taxi and was waiting for us.

For the time being, Mazao had still put on her cat whisker mask. Although she said she didn’t mind being discovered by the Transcendentalism Mountain, she still had the criminal charge of stealing firearms and ammunition, so hiding her true identity was probably to avoid trouble from that side, which would hinder our joint action.

Upon meeting, Zhu Shi looked towards Mazao, or more precisely, at Mazao’s left wrist.

Then she gave me a speechless glance.

Needless to say, Mazao still hadn’t removed her GPS bracelet. It wasn’t that I persuaded her to keep wearing it, just that she seemed to really like the first gift she received after time traveling, and I couldn’t find a proper reason to convince her to take it off.

However, Zhu Shi might not see it that way. She might think that by keeping Mazao wearing the GPS bracelet by my side, it looked as if I were a pervert who claimed that a collar was a necklace, gifted it to an unsuspecting girl, and then, even after being exposed, kept walking around blatantly with the girl wearing the collar—such shamelessness, moral degeneracy. But I swear I definitely had no such filthy motive, and I hoped Zhu Shi could understand my dilemma.

This GPS bracelet was also a mine that could be triggered at any moment. As Mazao’s understanding of modern society deepened, I believed she would soon realize that the red bracelet was absolutely not an ordinary decoration. When that time came, what kind of excuse would I have to offer? My past cleverness had now turned into retribution waiting to fall upon me at any moment.

To avoid Zhu Shi saying something unnecessary, I went straight to the point, "How’s the divination progress with Patrol Lu You?"

"Lu Chan’s side is still completely ineffective, we can only look at the clues Mazao has investigated," Zhu Shi said as she looked at Mazao.

Mazao nodded in response, "I can take you to the place regularly frequented by the strange individuals now."

"Let’s get going," Zhu Shi said, once again showing her concern for Mazao, "How’s your physical condition now? I suppose the soul injury caused by the Great Demon should not be so easy to heal?"

"I’ve been trying to use the blessing power to restore it, but the injury inflicted by the Great Demon is completely different from ordinary injuries. Just physical... material-level damage is easy to heal, but soul-level damage isn’t so simple," Mazao touched her chest, "But at least I’m a lot stronger than I was a week ago, and I can barely fight."

"Your recovery should be of a time-reversing nature, right? The Doomsday Demon’s power can even affect time..." Zhu Shi pondered, "Speaking of which, I’ve always been curious about something. Since your Space Transfer mechanism is to send you to places you’ve been before, why were you able to transfer out of the hospital as soon as you arrived in this era? You hadn’t been outside the hospital back then, right?"

"I’m not sure. At that time, all I could think about was wanting to save my friends, to return to the place where the Great Demon attacked me and my friends, yet the blessing power teleported me to the streets of this city..." Mazao recalled, "Perhaps my power couldn’t transport me to the future, and a failed activation resulted in a random transfer; or perhaps the original owner of this body had been to the streets of this city, and the blessing power considered it as the destination point for my transfer."

"Your body’s identity indeed belongs to a resident of Saltwater City," Zhu Shi followed her words, "The hospital she was previously in, and the one my mother stayed in, are the same."

"Your mother?" Mazao inquired.

Zhu Shi hesitated, still not immediately revealing the fact that her own mother was a patient with soul loss. What was she being mindful of? Did she feel that if she said it, it would seem as if she was trying to morally blackmail Mazao?

After a brief pause, she changed the subject, "Mazao, the clothes you’re wearing now seem similar to what you wore last night; doesn’t Zhuang Cheng have other clothes for you to change into?"

"It’s because I bought too few," I said. "But you haven’t changed either, have you?"

Zhu Shi was also wearing the same white blouse and black skirt that had become her signature outfit, carrying her large black guitar case. In fact, she should have other clothes to wear; they’re just of the same style. She probably has many identical white blouses and black skirts in her closet.

She seemed to quite like this simple outfit. However, based on my impression of women, unless it’s a situation where a uniform is required, many women, even if satisfied with their current outfit, wouldn’t wear the same clothes every day. This approach of sticking to the same choice due to laziness in thinking about outfits seemed more common among men.

The past impression of "Sister Zhu," filled with feminine softness, was clearly an act; the real her is more true to her authentic self. She’s not the kind of small girl who hides trembling behind others when a crisis strikes, but rather a warrior who strikes down enemy’s heads with awe-inspiring presence.

Even in some ways, she behaves more "manly" than me. She tends to take as much responsibility for handling strange events onto herself as possible; even suggesting I stay away from this mission, wanting to handle it alone. Trapped in a maze space, even knowing my power was much stronger than hers, she would always be attentive to my mood, trying to keep me from panicking, promising to lead me out of the predicament.

Just like the name "demon hunter Zhu Shi," which on first glance doesn’t reveal gender, beneath her beautiful, ink-painting reminiscent face seemed to hide an indefinable hard edge. I couldn’t solely perceive her as female, yet on the other hand, I sensed a strange allure.

While talking, we moved along. Mazao walked ahead of us, leading us towards the regular haunt of the strange individuals.

"Zhuang Cheng, before you came here, did anyone from Luo Mountain come to your door, or call to inform you?" Zhu Shi asked.

"No," I pondered the reason why she would ask that, "have you already reported Mazao’s situation?"

"Uh-huh. Normally, the Transcendentalism Mountain under which I serve should have sent someone to talk with you about the soul loss, like when to have Mazao come over to cooperate with research on curing soul loss..." She seemed a bit puzzled, "Even if they came knocking before dawn, it wouldn’t be surprising, or at least they should have called you first. Why hasn’t anyone come?"

After she mentioned it, I also felt it was strange. It couldn’t be that her affiliated Mountain was tied up in disputes like the Transcendentalism Mountain, could it? Such that specific actions were always hindered?

And speaking of Transcendentalism, I then shared Mazao’s decision from last night to act openly and boldly with Zhu Shi. After listening, she asked Mazao, who was walking ahead, if it was true, and he nodded in confirmation. Zhu Shi furrowed her brows deeply, but they soon smoothed out.

"...Mazao’s analysis makes sense, and in the off chance, perhaps we could try to ’ride on your coattails’," Zhu Shi said to me.

"My coattails?" I hadn’t considered this possibility.

"Yes." She nodded, "You may not realize what being a powerhouse like you means at Luo Mountain. Let me put it this way, as long as you’re willing to reveal your true power to the various forces on Luo Mountain, the only ones who could possibly overshadow you in terms of influence would be Impermanence."

"Even if I’m alone?"

"On Luo Mountain, it’s not the strong who rely on forces, but forces that rely on the strong," she said very seriously, "A true warrior is an army unto themselves, and even alone, they can represent a power. So, Zhuang Cheng, you shouldn’t see yourself as a person lying dormant, but rather as a formidable force in hiding.

"I didn’t want to tell you these things initially because I hoped you could stay away from the bizarre in the future, but now the situation has changed. You need to forge as many connections as possible in the demon hunter’s world from now on, and I will do my utmost to help you. Using Mazao to flaunt your proverbial ’banner’ could actually serve as a sort of debut and might also protect Mazao. It’s also convenient since you need Mazao close by..."

Mazao, walking in front, suddenly turned back, curious, "Zhuang Cheng needs me by his side? Why?"

Zhu Shi, realizing she had almost given something away, quickly coughed loudly twice, while I jumped in to cover, "Because you were out there on your own these past few days, I’ve been really worried about you, unable to eat or sleep. Now that I’ve found you, I can finally eat well and sleep well."

"That’s right, that’s exactly it!" Zhu Shi unexpectedly joined in on my side.

"To think you’d worry about someone you’ve only known for a few days to this extent..." Mazao turned her face back, seemingly a bit embarrassed, "You’re hopelessly too kind."

She didn’t suspect a thing... though I wasn’t lying either. When I hadn’t found her, I really couldn’t eat or sleep well.

"You don’t need to worry so much about me. If it’s going to cause you trouble, I’ll leave on my own when the time comes," Mazao said.

"There’s no need for such formalities at this point, we’re going to investigate the Doomsday together, aren’t we?" I said gravely, "Or do you still think that I don’t believe in the Doomsday? Or perhaps you think I would remain indifferent even if I knew the end was near, as someone who would just sit back and wait for death?"

I possess a Divine Seal Fragment closely related to the Doomsday, and I’ve had contact with Bowl Number Two from the Doomsday Era. From Mazao’s perspective, besides herself, the person most likely to believe in the Doomsday is probably me. She definitely could no longer feel that I didn’t believe in the Doomsday.

As expected, she was moved by my words, "This..."

"Let’s save the world together," I said solemnly.

She turned back again, observing my face very seriously.

After a moment, she nodded slightly, "...Uh-huh."

Perhaps it was only at this moment that she finally stopped seeing me as just someone caught in her own troubles, and began to regard me as a person of like mind.

Unsure of what I meant, Zhu Shi whispered to me, "Senior Brother Zhuang, you’re going to incur divine retribution someday..."

Don’t act like it has nothing to do with you, Sister Zhu, now you’re part of this too.

I looked straight ahead.

After a while, we reached our destination.