Chapter 268 Departure from Moon Hidden Mountain

I saw a lot of skeptical comments online. Most people couldn't immediately accept the existence of supernatural events, believing that the government was blaming its powerlessness on ghosts and gods. Some even thought that the government's accounts on media platforms had been hacked, or that it was all a prank from beginning to end.

This shows that even with the credibility of official forces, it is impossible to immediately convince the public, who have been exposed to scientific concepts over the years, of the supernatural phenomenon of loss of soul.

Some people believe in supernatural phenomena, but think that they are just things that cannot be explained by current science, rather than things that truly transcend the scientific realm. Perhaps this is the truth. In fact, the Humanitarian Affairs Department is trying to analyze supernatural forces using scientific methods. Although most of the results are based on suspicious external forces, they cannot be said to be completely unsuccessful.

There are many who immediately express their acceptance of the supernatural. As someone with supernatural abilities and a lover of ghost stories, it might not be appropriate for me to speak on this, but in every era, there are superstitious people who believe in the supernatural and supernatural. Even if this judgment was correct, the logic behind it cannot be said to be based on correctness; it was merely a lucky accident that led to the correct answer.

However, whether they believe or not, they will all accept the existence of the supernatural world in the near future. The current debate and skepticism are likely to last only a short time. As official authorities acknowledge the supernatural world, more evidence confirming its existence will be released to the public. In this process, concepts such as Luo Shan and the Witcher, and the concepts of social order and supernaturalism, will also become known to the general public.

Chaos is about to descend.

According to the general laws of historical development, chaos inevitably leads to order, just as order inevitably leads to chaos. However, this time is different. At the end of chaos, what awaits everyone will be an even more chaotic turmoil. That is the end of the world.

In the face of true doomsday, governance and transcendence, nation and Roshan, mortals and witchers are nothing but illusions.

If this catastrophe cannot be overcome, the impending chaos may very well become society's last hurrah.

Ma Zao finally woke up and apologized to me guiltily for accidentally falling asleep. Of course, I couldn't blame her, especially since I had also suddenly fallen asleep last night. After a few exchanges, she asked about the reason for my sudden sleeplessness. It was clear that she had already deduced that I had entered a virtual realm last night.

There was no point in hiding it, so I told them everything. At the same time, I also revealed the truth about time travel that I had learned from Xiao Wan.

Furthermore, considering that Asaho had been worried about Kobo's survival, I then revealed Kobo's power. Of course, I didn't say it verbatim. If Asaho knew that Kobo might actually have an easier life after leaving her, she would definitely fall into negative thinking again. That's not what I wanted to see, nor is it what Kobo wanted to see. So I explained Kobo's ability as "a power that suddenly awakened under the influence of the Divine Seal Fragment."

Mazao's worried expression immediately cleared up.

"Oh, I see. Little Bowl is safe now..." She rarely showed a smile.

“Although she’s alone now, as long as I regularly enter the virtual realm, even if she accidentally forgets her name, I can help her remember it in time. So you don’t need to worry about her for now,” I said.

She nodded first, then sighed, "However, I didn't expect the reason for my time travel to be explained so quickly. It turns out it was because of the little bowl..."

I also thought this mystery would take a long time to solve. Although Xiaowan had said a long time ago that it was related to her, I was prepared to doubt whether I would only get partial clues and that the truth was still far away. But to my surprise, she revealed the answer directly.

After our conversation, we went to the base canteen for breakfast. Dongche and Fufeng appeared before us as usual, and I said goodbye to Fufeng.

"You're leaving already?"

Fu Feng was taken aback, then asked me, "So what about Fa Zheng? He's coming to see you in two or three days. Are you planning to stand him up?"

“If he were willing to come see me now, I could take a day to talk to him, but he’s busy right now, isn’t he?” I said. “I have important business to attend to this time, so I have to leave. But dealing with things over there won’t take long; if things go smoothly, it should be resolved by tomorrow. I can come back and wait for Fazheng to come to my door after I’m done.”

"You know my pace; going back and forth won't take more time than going out to throw out the trash and coming home. Just think of me as going out to throw out the trash."

“That…makes sense.” Fu Feng thought for a moment and then said, “But if you leave here, there’s no guarantee that the Great Impermanence behind the Divine Spear won’t attack you.”

"Whether he will take action against me or not does not depend on where I am, but on Fa Zheng's intervention, right?" I said.

“I knew I couldn’t hide it from you,” he said. “Alright, I understand. Since we’ve come this far, I’ll just tell you directly. At least for the next two days, the Great Impermanence behind the Divine Shot will absolutely not be able to take action against you.”

"So, Fazheng can keep the other side in check for at least two more days?"

I find his statement rather strange. Fazheng is the Great Impermanence, and so is his adversary, both being equally powerful. Yet Fufeng claims the latter will "definitely" be restrained for two days. This is a significant statement, and Fufeng doesn't seem to be exaggerating. Could it be that Fazheng is far more powerful than his adversary? Or has Fazheng invested heavily in this matter? Or is there some shady dealing involved that I'm unaware of?

Or is it that... the enemy of the Great Impermanence is Fazheng himself, which is why he can say so confidently that he won't take action? If so, then it was indeed the right thing for me to do now to leave here with Mazao. After resolving the matter at Yueyin Mountain, it would be best not to return to Fufeng Base.

“Things aren’t quite what you think. In short, you’re safe for now.” Fu Feng was clearly reluctant to discuss the inside story. “Also, if you’re worried about getting into a conflict with the Great Impermanence while entering the city and potentially affecting innocent bystanders, there’s no need to worry for now. At least for the next two days, you can move around freely.”

"I understand. Also, since we're leaving, we should release the winter wagon now."

I brought this up intentionally, and Dongche next to me also perked up his ears.

Fu Feng glanced at Dong Che with a deep look in his eyes. He might be having an affair with the Humanitarian Affairs Department, and Dong Che had relevant clues. Even if he was planning to keep it a secret, he would probably want to keep Dong Che under house arrest for a while longer, while he himself would try to cover up his "criminal traces" during this time. My suggestion was contrary to his interests—provided that he was indeed having an affair with the Humanitarian Affairs Department.

However, after a moment's hesitation, he nodded: "...If you think it's okay, then it's fine."

Dongche breathed a huge sigh of relief.

After breakfast, Dongche solemnly bid us farewell and then left the Fufeng base.

To prevent Fufeng from secretly pursuing me and doing anything afterward, I stayed at Fufeng's base until almost noon before setting off with Mazao. This approach could only deter Fufeng himself at best. If he contacted his subordinate high-level demon hunters to silence Dongche, then it would be up to Dongche to handle the situation. If he were to be defeated like this, he could only blame his own lack of strength or bad luck.

In any case, there's nothing I can do to help Dongche now. Due to the anti-detection barriers inside and outside the Fufeng base, I couldn't continue tracking the thermal energy signature on his body after he left. If it were a "firefly," this wouldn't be the case; this is the first time I've noticed this difference. A thermal energy signature that exists purely as a source of heat, while highly concealed, isn't as stable as a "firefly."

The "fireflies" that remain at the Zhu family's place haven't disappeared yet. As long as I concentrate enough, I can force my way in even from inside the Fufeng base. Thermal energy signals can't do the same thing.

As we were parting, Fufeng saw us off at the base entrance. He looked at me and suddenly said, "Zhuang Cheng, your inner self seems to be closer to transcendence."

"What do you want to say?" I asked.

“You’re neither the Old Fist God nor Willow Shadow. If you don’t intend to be won over by either side, you’ll end up being an enemy of both,” he said.

“Transcendentalism has always been my enemy. Are you threatening me that if I don’t join the Socialist movement, they will turn against me?” I asked.

“Yes,” he confessed. “If you don’t join the hegemonism, Fazheng will definitely choose to eliminate you. Because you are more likely to join the transcendentism. At that time, I will also become your enemy.”

This was something we'd always kept quiet about, and now he'd actually said it outright. However, compared to his previous subtle hints and probing, I actually prefer this approach. Would someone like him really be secretly colluding with the Humanitarian Affairs Department? I even had that thought myself.

“We’re not politicians after all, we’re witchers. You probably prefer this more direct way of speaking, right?” He smiled slightly.

“You’re right,” I said. “Whether we’re friends or foes, we’ll see in the future. But isn’t it a bit presumptuous of you to say you might become my enemy? You might not be able to be my enemy next time we meet.”

Upon hearing this, Fu Feng laughed heartily, said goodbye, and then turned and went back into the base.

Meanwhile, Asahi and I set off towards Mount Tsukikage.

(End of this chapter)