Chapter 22 Zhu Shi 3

"Zhu Shi, what are you thinking about?"

Seemingly noticing that I had been lost in thought for quite some time, Detective Kong asked curiously.

"It's nothing." I snapped out of my reverie and shook my head. "Weren't we just talking about the frequent occurrence of strange events? That's when I remembered the doomsday prophecy circulating in Luoshan."

"You mean that prophecy... that the world will be destroyed within ten years, and all life and matter will be wiped out in the catastrophe?" Detective Kong paused for two or three seconds before recalling, "That's just alarmist talk. It's true that the situation around the world is a bit strange right now, but to say it's the end of the world is a huge exaggeration."

Detective Kong's attitude reflects the attitude of the vast majority of people in Luoshan, including myself.

Doomsday prophecies are not a recent phenomenon. Throughout history, alarmist predictions claiming "the world will end at a certain moment" have never ceased. Some predicted the arrival of a terrifying king in 1999, leading to the world's destruction; others predicted the world's demise in 2012. But now it's 2023, and all those doomsday predictions have proven to be just "another ordinary day."

The occurrence of unusual phenomena is not a one-off event in history. From a long-term perspective, the threat these events pose to human civilization may not be as severe as global warming and the melting of the Arctic ice cap, among other environmental problems.

Those who make prophecies often tend to exaggerate the bad aspects, whether they are mystics or scientists. Of course, they cannot be blamed. When someone notices a bad omen, it is their responsibility to make those around them take it as seriously as possible.

The problem is that the origin of that "doomsday prophecy" is unknown; it is unclear from whom it started circulating, and there is no direct evidence to bolster its credibility.

I haven't underestimated this trend of frequent strange phenomena. The grains of sand in the sands of time become mountains on an individual's shoulders. Even if this trend isn't enough to shake everyone's world, it could easily shake the world of me and those around me.

“I don’t know if the world will end in ten years, but if I can’t complete the work my superiors have given me, my end will come within ten days,” Detective Kong sighed.

"You mean that task to find that person?"

Detective Kong often shares his experience in investigating strange events with me, which helped me a lot when I first became a Witcher, so I want to give back to him: "If there's anything I can do to help, I can offer my assistance."

“No need for that. After all, this job doesn’t sound very good.” He shook his head first, then complained, “I really don’t know which genius came up with this idea. They actually want me to impersonate a police officer and accuse a girl who looks less than fourteen years old of being a serial killer, and go door-to-door to investigate her whereabouts.”

“You know what? One of the houses I visited today was Zhuang Cheng’s house. When I handed him the little girl’s photo, his expression was as if he was asking me if I was talking in my sleep.”

"If I remember correctly, that girl is the only known case in the world of someone who has regained consciousness after suffering from amnesia, right?" I racked my brains, searching for any information I could recall. "I remember her name was... her name was..."

“It’s called ‘Ma Zao.’ Ma as in troublesome, and Zao as in early.” Detective Kong picked up where I left off. “It happened yesterday morning. She woke up in the hospital and then immediately disappeared without a trace.”

“I know she’s very important. If I could, I would like to find her too. But is it necessary to go to this extent? The higher-ups directly accused her of being a serial killer, completely disregarding her human rights.” I felt something was very wrong. “Besides, if we wanted to find her, why not ask the police? They are much better at this than we are in Luoshan.”

"For some reason, the higher-ups are in a huge rush. They accused the girl of being a serial killer without consulting me first. They're still negotiating with the police to solidify the suspicion. But the police haven't given their approval yet." Detective Kong sighed. "As for asking the police to help... you know, the relationship between Luoshan and the official forces is becoming increasingly tense. Perhaps a full-blown conflict will break out in the near future."

Many demon hunters in Luoshan are arrogant and believe that strength is the primary factor determining social class, thus believing that they themselves should be the ruling class. They are out of place in today's society.

In name, Luoshan is a "Demon Hunter Department" under the jurisdiction and command of official forces, but in reality, that's not the case at all. To the average person (if they knew about Luoshan), we're probably just an evil and violent organization operating outside of society.

This conflict was bound to erupt sooner or later.

Rather, I'd like to ask, "Is it reasonable that this society has been able to keep such landmines buried deep in the ground until now and allow them to develop to this day?"

“Alright, let’s not talk about that for now…” Agent Kong took out his tablet. “I’ve found some combat footage of the Fallen Witcher for you. The official forces have been thinking about how to deal with the Witchers with firearms. They found the Fallen Witcher before us not long ago and sent a team to clash with him. And this is the result.”

I took the tablet and started looking at it.

The conflict took place in a bamboo forest on the outskirts of the city, and the entire incident was captured by a drone from an overhead perspective.

The bamboo forest in the scene was illuminated by several flares, as if it were daytime, while a strange-looking monster appeared in one corner of the scene.

The monster looked like a demon from an oil painting, with a ferocious sheep-shaped head, a huge body over two meters tall, and dark red skin all over its body. It was not wearing any clothes or ornaments, and its wrists, ankles, genitals and other parts were covered with black hair.

This demon-like creature is the Fallen Witcher.

Naturally, he is not a demon, but a human with the ability to transform.

There was also a well-trained, modern team in the bamboo forest. They were not only fully armed with guns and ammunition, but also brought combat vehicles equipped with heavy firepower.

When the Fallen Witchers appeared so brazenly, the attackers immediately raised their weapons and launched a fierce offensive from different angles. The natural scenery instantly transformed into a battlefield, and the hail of bullets swept through the bamboo forest like a destructive storm, completely engulfing the Fallen Witchers.

But all of this was to no avail. The Fallen Witcher didn't even try to dodge. He simply assumed a crouching starting position and shot out like an arrow, his body becoming a blurry shadow.

The barrage of fire was easily torn apart by this terrifying shadow. Not only were guns and cannons ineffective, but flamethrowers, sonic weapons, and other special weapons were also completely useless against it. The Fallen Witcher moved with impunity, wreaking havoc in the bamboo forest like mowing grass.

This is no longer a battle; it's merely a one-sided, mechanical operation by the fallen witchers.

The battle video ended shortly afterward.

"...What do you think?" Detective Kong asked, seemingly calmly.

"It's similar to the information I gathered from my last fight with him," I said, stating my conclusion. "He's at least at the 'Dweller' level, and a very well-rounded physical enhancement type at that. He's a top-tier expert among all the demon hunters in Luoshan. Defeating him with firearms isn't impossible, but this level of firepower is simply out of the question."

In novels and comics, physical enhancement abilities seem quite ordinary, almost like a standard skill for minor characters.

However, from a warrior's perspective, "physical enhancement" can be considered a top-tier ability. A powerful physique means strong attack power, defense, and mobility. Some physical enhancement abilities also increase the user's sensory abilities, recovery abilities, and immunity, giving them strong reconnaissance capabilities, a higher survival rate, and resistance to toxins and curses.

And what about the other abilities? Take the ability to manipulate fire, for example.

The ability to summon flames out of thin air certainly has a dazzling visual effect and considerable destructive power. However, the inability to provide the user with defense means that the margin for error in combat is extremely low; an ordinary person could easily be killed on the spot by a single shot from behind. The inability to provide the user with mobility means that they can only move at the speed of an ordinary person, which will put them at a disadvantage when encountering fast and agile enemies. The saying "speed is the only way to break through" is not just a casual remark.

Not to mention the deficiencies in reconnaissance and other aspects, many fire-element users would accidentally burn themselves with their own flames, or cause explosions nearby that would engulf them, or suffocate to death by filling the surrounding environment with thick smoke. Such cases of death and injury were so numerous that they were collected into a collection of dark jokes by the magazine published internally by Luoshan.

In fact, it's not just fire abilities; many special abilities, due to their "high attack, low defense" nature, make the wielders less like true witchers and more like ordinary people wielding special weapons. And since they are ordinary people, there are naturally countless ways to defeat them.

The shortest plank always determines how much water a bucket can hold.

Even a mortal who can stop time becomes just as vulnerable as any other mortal when faced with attacks, poisoning, and other such methods.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the modern combat teams in the video are powerless against the Fallen Witchers. If they were to face those with special abilities, there are countless ways to kill them.

"And what about you?" Agent Kong put away his tablet. "If you were to face this fallen witcher, what would your chances be?"

"I can't calculate the exact percentage," I said conservatively. "I can only say that if I were to fight him with my own cultivation level, the outcome would be uncertain. It wouldn't be surprising if either he or I died."

"What if we replace them with the top-tier 'Master' level demon hunters? Or..."

Before Detective Kong could finish speaking, I suddenly sensed a strong fluctuation of magical power and involuntarily stood up.

I turned my head and looked into the distance.

Two waves of magical energy appeared in the distance, and they were clashing with each other.

One of them I recognized was the magical fluctuation of a fallen witcher.

The other one was unfamiliar; it felt like a raging fire.

The flames instantly overwhelmed the former.

(End of this chapter)