Chapter 220 Will You Kill Me?

It's likely that the official authorities wouldn't want to see the pace of change arrive so quickly, and they will certainly do everything in their power to cover up related news. But to what extent can such efforts achieve?

Afterwards, countless people who are unaware of the existence of the strange world will want to investigate the truth of the incident. Although the nuclear explosion itself can be explained scientifically, there are many traces at the site of the nuclear explosion that do not make sense. For example, the former Humanitarian Office outpost, which was only a little over a kilometer away from the nuclear explosion, was not affected by the heat radiation and shock wave, but was destroyed by other forces. Another example is the forest fire that raged in the forest and disappeared for some unknown reason (I have now removed the fire in the forest).

You can't exactly say that a country launched a nuclear missile to extinguish a forest fire, can you? The Soviets did use nuclear missiles to extinguish fires, but the incident didn't seem to have occurred in a forest.

A nuclear explosion occurring within a country's borders is not a minor issue that can be easily dismissed. Panic will spread throughout society and may even have already reached the upper echelons.

It's said that the operating logic of nuclear deterrence between major powers is that whoever dares to launch a nuclear missile at them will be forced to commit annihilation along with everyone else. When the nuclear explosion summoned by the Silver Moon occurs, those in control of the nuclear launch buttons might already have their fingers on them. Since there's no such information yet, it means the situation probably hasn't reached its most serious point.

The battle between me and Silvermoon almost sparked World War III—even I'm not sure how to evaluate that.

The two or three diners at a nearby table, who were discussing the incident, were unaware that one of the two main figures in the nuclear explosion was sitting right next to them.

They didn't notice the human head lying at my feet—I had put the sharpshooter's head into a plastic bag I'd picked up from the roadside.

After having a late-night snack, I took Ma Zao to a nearby hotel to check in.

Fortunately, unlike hotels and other places, most places to stay are still open for business.

However, we encountered a slight obstacle along the way. To others, Asaho was just a child, and for me, a nearly twenty-year-old adult male, to bring a girl who looked like a middle school student to check into a hotel would inevitably seem suspicious. Asaho couldn't produce her own identification, and I didn't appear to be her guardian. When the receptionist questioned me, and I couldn't explain myself clearly, their professional smile seemed to conceal a scrutiny of a potential sex offender.

To avoid trouble, I quickly changed my accommodation to another hotel further away, checked in by myself, and then had Asa use her power of return to teleport me to the room, locking the door from the inside.

Also, since this was my first time booking a double room alone, I wasn't sure if it was a rule specific to this hotel or a general rule, but booking a double room required showing the ID of two people. So in the end, I could only book a single room.

Since it's a single room, there's only one bed. Asahi has to share a bed with me. This isn't the first time Asahi and I have done this, but the feeling is still quite strange.

Or to put it another way, without fear of being laughed at, I felt a mix of guilt and anticipation. It's because I'm not entirely without feelings for Asahi, and the fact that I've secretly brought her to a hotel adds to the sense of transgression. Even though I now possess power far exceeding that of conventional law, I still feel guilty for breaking the law—how immature of me.

However, saying this might make me seem perverted—even if it's so that I can continue to feel this sense of immorality in the future, I think it's necessary for me to maintain a certain level of moral thinking. Only moral people have the right to be immoral.

Having decided on a place to spend the night, I used fire teleportation to return to my home in Saltwater City, bringing back the medicine for treating soul trauma to give to Mazao so she could continue taking it. She still needs to continue healing her soul. Also, we've discarded the tool Lu Youxun gave us to take the burden of the soul; anything with a backdoor is better left unused.

Let me take this opportunity to talk about the situation with the Zhu family. There's a reason why I haven't taken Ma Zao to reopen the black mist vortex portal at the old Humanitarian Division's stronghold to help Zhu Shi bring Chang'an back to Xianshui City. It's because the Zhu family has now had to sever ties with me.

This was something we had agreed upon from the beginning. If I were to kill Luo Shan, a Grandmaster-level cultivator, or even become an enemy of Da Wuchang, the Zhu family would be unable to continue their relationship with me. On the way to the city with Ma Zao, I contacted Elder Zhu through the "Fireflies" left in Xianshui City, informing him of my situation. I also notified Zhu Shi through the "Fireflies" at the old Humanitarian Division's stronghold. The two of them quickly coordinated their efforts.

Actually, I still had some worries. Even if Mr. Zhu publicly said that the Zhu family and I didn't have a deep relationship, would outsiders really believe it? However, neither Mr. Zhu nor Zhu Shi seemed to think there was a problem, and they explained it to me carefully.

Objectively speaking, the relationship between the Zhu family and me is actually quite shallow. Although Chang'an and I are friends, not only is Chang'an not well-liked in the Zhu family, but we also only officially started dating in college, and I'm only a sophomore now. I usually prefer to be alone, and when it comes to outsiders' impressions of Chang'an's friendships, the first thing that comes to mind is Chang'an's "joyful daily life" with those fair-weather friends.

As for my interactions with Zhu Shi, to outsiders, they were even less close. Zhu Shi and I used to chat sporadically online. I officially met her as a demon hunter in mid-September, and it's only the beginning of October now.

I recalled some of Lu Youxun's past attitudes. Although I never hid my stance of standing by Zhu Shi's side from him or others, he never seemed to take it to heart, continuing to try and recruit me into the Extraordinary Sect. Clearly, in his eyes, my commitment to Zhu Shi wasn't that strong, and those statements of support were just blindly following the crowd and supporting an acquaintance.

Thinking about it this way, even though I always think in my heart about what I'm willing to do for my friends, and I'm not afraid to fight for them in action, how do they see me?

For example, Zhu Shi, when she's with me, does she also think I'm too easily moved by emotions, someone who's inexplicably heavy-hearted and says things like I'd go through fire and water for you? Thinking of this, I felt an unusual unease.

At the same time, Dr. Silver Mask's evaluation of me also surfaced from my memory.

You will still care about your friends, and you can't help but pay attention to even acquaintances you have some contact with.

—Because you are actually very lonely, and yearn for someone who can be your equal...

These words bothered me, and after thinking about them for a while, I tried to subtly ask Ma Zao about it.

Do I really give off a heavy or serious vibe?

She gave me a strange look.

“Zhuang Cheng, you’re only realizing this now?” she said. “But it’s alright, don’t worry about it. We’re partners who would entrust our lives to each other. If you ever have any difficulties, I’ll go through fire and water to help you.”

No, actually you're not much better than me...

After hearing her words, I couldn't help but have this thought, and at the same time, for some reason, I felt at ease.

Afterwards, perhaps the effects of Lu Youxun's rapid hypnosis were still lingering, or perhaps it was simply because it was late at night, Ma Zao yawned like a kitten and went to bed first. She even deliberately adopted a side-lying sleeping position, leaving me with most of the space on the bed.

I sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her lovely sleeping face, and then at her left wrist.

The red GPS bracelet was still on it. Previously, the bracelet had been frozen and damaged by hostile witchers, and Mazakura had used the power of resurrection to carefully repair it as if it were a precious treasure after waking up.

But at this moment, I recalled the scene I saw in the Silver Moon's "illusion".

On the vast Arctic glacier, Asaho, wielding a phantom recurve sword, stood before me.

She was not wearing anything on her left wrist.

I could almost hear her slightly trembling voice again.

—Zhuang Cheng, I want to save the world…

—So, so… I have to fight you.

Mazao, if I were to tell you my true feelings...

Will you kill me?

-

For the next two days, Ma Zao was busy in her hotel room using the power of reversion to trace back and investigate the charred head of the Divine Spear, trying to find out the identity of the hostile Great Impermanence hiding behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, Mr. Zhu also took the time to help me find out the political climate in Luoshan and relayed the information to me. Although he claimed to have severed ties with me, it was ultimately just a facade; he didn't seem to have truly given up on maintaining our friendship. His actions surprised and moved me deeply. Even if I truly possessed the potential to become a Great Impermanence, this enemy was a genuine Great Impermanence, and exposing myself would be utterly catastrophic.

Our means of communication was the "fireflies" left with him and Zhu Shi. To prevent being exposed, I had considered removing the "fireflies" there, but he persuaded me to leave them behind.

On a side note, because the Zhu family mansion was destroyed by Chenlong, Zhu Shi was originally supposed to move next door to me. However, since I estimate it will be inconvenient for me to return to Xianshui City for a long time, I won't be able to welcome Zhu Shi as my new neighbor. After Zhu Shi and Mr. Zhu met up, I talked to Zhu Shi about this matter, and we both felt somewhat regretful. Surprisingly, Mr. Zhu was even more regretful than we were.

"I actually missed it..."

For some reason, he felt particularly regretful about this, yet for some reason, he cheered up again and whispered, "No, perhaps there is still a chance...!"

What kind of opportunity is it? I wondered to myself.

"What kind of opportunity is it anyway?" Zhu Shi complained.

Mr. Zhu sighed deeply: "So that's what you're lacking, my granddaughter."

Putting aside the strange words spoken by the old Mr. Zhu, the next thing to do is to talk about Lu Chan, who was transported back to Luoshan.

Through the hidden device on Lu Chan's body, I monitored his awakening.

(End of this chapter)