Chapter 32 Approaching the End 2

Zhu Shi and I both looked at the newcomer.

The person who entered through the door was a man in a gray uniform. I had seen this uniform last night; it was the same uniform worn by the Luo Shan personnel who retrieved the corpses of the Fallen Witchers last time.

I remember this person's face even more clearly; it was Agent Kong who had knocked on my door and then unintentionally hindered my exploration of the cave.

"Huh?" Detective Kong looked embarrassed the moment he saw my face. "You're Zhuang Cheng..."

Good morning, 'police officer'.

Seeing the other person's face again filled me with mixed emotions.

Although I possess the superpower to manipulate fire, I grew up in a society governed by the rule of law, steeped in various propaganda and slogans, and unconsciously harbor a sense of awe for official power. The thought that I might be ostracized by society reflexively triggers feelings of unease.

At first, I was convinced that Detective Kong was a real police officer, and I was even worried that he had been protecting a "serial killer" and illegally possessing firearms and ammunition. Now, it was he who was feeling guilty because he had once impersonated a police officer. The positions had suddenly reversed.

"Don't mock me. You should have already heard Zhu Shi tell you, those were all Luo Shan's tasks."

Upon hearing this, Detective Kong's embarrassment deepened. He quickly waved his hand and then changed the subject: "I've already heard that you were the one who defeated the Fallen Demon Hunter, right? I'm the detective responsible for patrolling this area, and I must thank you for your act of punishing evil. By the way, are you planning to join Luo Shan? I suggest you..."

Upon hearing him mention my joining Luoshan, Zhu Shi frowned and immediately interjected, "Detective Kong, how's the progress of 'that matter' I asked you to investigate?"

Judging from Zhu Shi's attitude, she genuinely doesn't want me to join Luoshan. Is it because of the internal chaos and potential future conflicts she mentioned last time, or are there other reasons?

I didn't rush to ask questions, nor did I continue to mock Detective Kong. I simply followed up on Zhu Shi's words: "'That matter' refers to?"

"It's about a possible grudge between you and the Fallen Witcher," Agent Kong replied. "All information related to the Fallen Witcher incident was compiled and handed over to Zhu Shi by the 'probe' in charge of this area—that is, me. If Zhu Shi discovers any new suspicious points during the handling of the incident, he will also ask me to continue the investigation."

"And in her report, she mentioned that the Fallen Witcher seemed to harbor a very strong hatred for you, with the clue being 'two years ago'."

I added, "That's right, but he probably didn't have the power he has now back then, nor could he transform into a non-human form, otherwise I would have recognized him."

"Unfortunately, the Fallen Witcher didn't revert to his original human form after death; instead, he retained his monstrous form. We can't determine his original social identity, and we can't investigate what kind of grudge he had with you two years ago." Detective Kong shook his head regretfully, then continued, "However, another result has been uncovered..."

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

“The cause of death,” Zhu Shi continued, “The cause of death of the Fallen Witcher was neither your flames nor my sword energy, but acute organ failure.”

I mentally searched my rudimentary medical knowledge: "So... it was death from shock?"

"More or less, but not the burn shock you're thinking of. It's an unexplained organ failure," Zhu Shi explained. "A powerful being like a Fallen Witcher might actually self-destruct after acute organ failure due to loss of control of his power. But he seemed to have used up too much power before he died, so he died without making a sound."

Perhaps it was because I was constantly burning him before he died, and he was rapidly regenerating his physical tissues, losing a lot of energy in the process. After hearing Zhu Shi's statement, I came up with a reasonable explanation for this.

But the fact that she called that fallen witcher a "strongman" really makes it impossible for me to agree with her. Or is it that I'm the one whose criteria for judging strength are wrong?

"While we can't rule out the possibility that his acute organ failure was caused by excessive exertion, we must remain vigilant. In cases involving strange entities, any unusual traces must be taken seriously and questioned," Zhu Shi said earnestly. "Especially you, Zhuang Cheng...assuming that fallen witcher returns, you're very likely to become his target."

"I will be careful."

However, I am more concerned about how to protect Masako's safety if she is affected, than about myself.

While I was pondering these things, Zhu Shi turned around and continued to observe the ritual array in the room. She then walked over and squatted down to examine the black plush carpet.

After a moment, she uttered a hesitant and puzzled tone: "...Something's definitely not right..."

"Is something wrong?" I turned my attention to her.

“Zhuang Cheng, you said last night that the letter symbols on this carpet filled in the missing part of the ritual array…” she said hesitantly, “In my opinion, what you said makes sense. The ritual array can indeed be completed in this way, but… even if it is completed, it is still an array with serious defects, and the probability of successfully activating it is almost astronomically low.”

"So you're saying it's basically impossible to launch?"

She stated with absolute certainty, "If this kind of magic array can be activated, it can only be described as a miracle."

“A miracle…” I thought of Asahi again.

Could this also be a blessing from Asahi? Just so that I could be dragged into the strange events in the cave, the cave, which originally had a probability of appearing that was almost zero, appeared with a miraculous "misfortune"?

But isn't it a bit too "unthinking" to blame all the bad luck on Asaha's jinxed nature? Should I also blame all the bad luck I encounter on Asaha from now on?

Could there be other clues that I haven't noticed...? Slowly, the existence of the black jade came to mind.

However, the black jade stone remains too vague as a clue...

“However, now we can be certain. Perhaps opening the cave was indeed the Fallen Witcher's purpose in setting up this ritual array, but the cave's eventual appearance wasn't intentional on his part, because he simply didn't have the ability. Perhaps he's the one who most wants to know why the cave appeared.” Zhu Shi straightened up, supporting himself on his knees. “Now we can erase this array.”

"Should we try opening the cave ourselves using the method I provided? Perhaps we'll make another discovery." I was still disappointed that the cave in the fifteenth-floor room had been eliminated.

"No, the safest way is to eliminate it without triggering any strange phenomena."

Zhu Shi once again displayed an extremely conservative attitude, and then turned to deal with the ritual array.

However, instead of wiping it away with a tool like a mop, she took out white chalk and began drawing new mysterious symbols from the outer edge of the magic circle.

Seeing my confusion, Detective Kong offered an explanation from the side.

Because it's somewhat complex, I've simplified it based on my own understanding. Simply put, the ritual magic circle may still contain some power. When the circle is destroyed, the Witcher's power can suppress it, but it could still potentially cause damage to the surrounding area. What Zhu Shi is currently setting up is a new magic circle that absorbs any potential power and safely releases it into the environment.

Although this work process was something I would never see in normal society, it was rather tedious in my opinion. I felt it would be a shame to leave like this, so I asked Detective Kong about Luoshan.

Detective Kong, quick to understand my meaning, grasped my intention after just a few words: "So, you want to join Luo Shan?"

I suppressed my anticipation and asked calmly, "Yes. What are the requirements for members of a supernatural organization like yours? For example, do you think I'm suitable?"

Actually, I initially wanted to be more direct, but the only people I could contact in Luoshan were Zhu Shi and Detective Kong. While they weren't the interviewers, they held a certain air of authority for me. I felt relaxed around Zhu Shi, but with Detective Kong, I felt like an interviewee, trying to control my restless emotions to avoid letting the "interviewer" detect my eagerness.

Detective Kong nodded slightly and pondered for a moment before saying, "Well, as far as I'm concerned, you..."

Suddenly, he stopped speaking. Zhu Shi, who was drawing mysterious symbols on the floor, was glaring at him.

"Okay, okay, I won't say anymore, I won't say anymore..."

Detective Kong quickly made a surrender gesture, and Zhu Shi's expression softened slightly as she returned to her work. While she was focused on drawing the mysterious symbols, Detective Kong gave me a wink.

I nodded in agreement, made an excuse to go to the restroom and left the fifteenth-floor room, then went straight downstairs.

After a while, Detective Kong seemed to have found an excuse to leave and met me downstairs.

“I told Zhu Shi that I had to go and take care of my ‘probe’ job. It wasn’t entirely an excuse, though. Let’s talk as we walk.” He walked ahead, leading me out of the residential area, his voice tinged with a sigh. “You asked yourself earlier if you could join Luoshan, right? My answer was clear: if even someone like me with no magical powers can do it, then of course you can too.”

"That's wonderful! But if that's the case, why is Zhu Shi so resistant to me joining Luoshan?" I asked, puzzled. "Is it because Luoshan is going through a turbulent period?"

"Did Zhu Shi tell you those things? Only part of it, right? It's true that Luoshan is going through a turbulent time, but that's a problem for the big shots to worry about. We little people only need to worry about our own livelihoods," he said. "The reason Zhu Shi resisted your joining Luoshan is mostly because you are a fire-type user."

(End of this chapter)