Chapter 493 Blood Tracking

The white light from the lantern could only cover a limited area, and the amusement rides in the abandoned amusement park appeared and disappeared in the darkness.

At one point, the white lights stopped illuminating the amusement park rides from the surrounding darkness and instead shone on a gray wall beside us with slogans encouraging students to study. We had somehow left the abandoned amusement park and arrived at a middle school.

Few leaders in the world would think of building a primary and secondary school next to an amusement park. Our rapid arrival at this school after leaving the abandoned amusement park seems highly unusual. Clearly, we have experienced another chaotic transfer in an unstable space.

Fresh bloodstains and shoe prints reappeared on the concrete ahead of us. Even fresher than before, yet the shoe prints were identical. The cartographer had indeed successfully traced the shoe prints.

"Can the guidance of the blessing also be used to track down survivors?" I asked.

"Blessing itself doesn't have this function; it's more of a personal skill of mine. And it doesn't always succeed; in fact, I'd say I'm lucky if it succeeded even once out of ten times." The cartographer smiled. "I'll explain this skill to you in detail when we get back. For now, let's focus on the present."

"Although I didn't follow this with the intention of failing, the fact that I've had this much luck makes me a little worried."

What he considered dubious luck, I took for granted. Whenever there was a possibility of getting involved in something, there would always be some kind of coincidence that propelled me forward.

In other words, at the end of this trail of shoe prints, perhaps there is some "deeper, strange vortex" waiting for me.

I was worried that the power of the jinx might have disappeared from me, but considering how easily I obtained clues related to the small bowl before, and how smoothly I am now tracing the source of the bloodstains, it is possible that the power of the jinx is still attached to me.

These two seemingly unrelated clues may actually have a connection that is currently impossible to discern.

However, this favorable situation is probably only temporary. If he cannot reunite with Asahaya, he will eventually lose this protection.

While keeping this matter in mind, I analyzed the chaotic time and space around me.

For me, being able to grasp the surrounding situation through the perception of heat is just as natural as an ordinary person being able to see the scene around them with their eyes; especially after becoming a Great Impermanence, the perception of metaphysical concepts has become an instinctive ability.

My current perception of nature is completely in the dark. Even the information I receive through heat feedback is full of chaotic noise, like walking in fog with visibility so low that it's impossible to adapt.

If we can analyze and adapt to the remaining order in this chaotic spacetime, although we can't achieve a complete recovery, we should at least be able to regain our senses to some extent. This kind of analysis and adaptation is not my forte, and I have never studied the magic of analyzing nature and spacetime. Such a task should have been left to demon hunters who specialize in this.

However, most Witcher spells, including those that analyze the order of spacetime, are ultimately clumsy imitations of the inherent abilities of the Great Impermanence. Observing the patterns of spacetime fluctuations is a trivial matter; if I calm down and work diligently, I should be able to accomplish it. I want to resolve this problem as soon as possible.

Just then, a panicked cry came from afar.

I looked up and met the cartographer's gaze. Then the cartographer ran off in that direction, and I followed closely behind him.

The source of the noise was just one school building away from us, and it was moving towards us. We hadn't run far when we saw a young man in khaki casual clothes with a wound on his shoulder sprinting towards us like a 100-meter dash, with a strange monster that looked like a polymer of ink chasing closely behind him.

The monster was as big as a horse, and its shape was constantly changing. Overall, it had the outline of a four-legged carnivorous beast. It was getting so close to the young man that it could pounce on him and pin him to the ground to prey on him.

The young man also saw the two of us. He probably didn't even have the energy to think carefully anymore. Without thinking twice, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Help me! Help me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the monster behind him lunged forward, its head splitting open like a pair of pincers, and biting at the back of its prey's neck.

The cartographer seemed to have limited options. Although he possessed immense strength, he appeared to lack any decent ranged attack methods. For now, he only had a steel pipe he had salvaged from an abandoned amusement park, presumably intending to use this type of object as a projectile weapon.

Both his movements and the monster's movements appeared as slow as stillness to me. The monster seemed far heavier than the previous oddity; the cartographer's projectile attack might not be enough to knock it away, let alone kill it instantly. To be on the safe side, I stood behind him, raised my arm, and launched a fireball.

In a world where time seemed to stand still, only the fireball appeared to be moving at a normal speed before striking the ink monster frozen in mid-air.

The ink monster burst into flames instantly, then evaporated completely in the firelight.

Time began to turn again.

The cartographer, about to launch the steel pipe, abruptly stopped. He glanced in the direction the ink monster had vanished, then looked at me, who hadn't concealed my attack, and said as if finally revealing himself, "That was you... You're a Blessing Cultivator? But I didn't sense any magical fluctuations at all..."

"I did it," I admitted directly. "As for the blessed monk you mentioned, although I have some recollection of the term, I don't think I am a so-called blessed monk."

"Then what are you?"

When it comes to humans who can manipulate supernatural powers in the apocalyptic era, the Blessed Monks are the ones who are mentioned, so it's no wonder the cartographer has this question.

“I think I have superpowers,” I said.

"Superpowered..." the cartographer murmured the term in a strange tone.

Although I didn't intend to reveal my true strength level to him, this level of performance was still acceptable. It's always better to proactively show some of your abilities than to be forced to reveal them when faced with danger.

This would certainly make him suspect that I am a Blessed cultivator who kills and refines souls, but on the one hand, he himself is very likely a Blessed cultivator; on the other hand, judging from my fearlessness in the face of the strange creatures before, he has obviously already suspected that I have extraordinary abilities.

He probably decided to invite me to be his teammate based on that. If I were to be too secretive, it would only make me seem suspicious and arouse further suspicion.

The young man seemed to realize that the monster chasing him had been dealt with, but he still sprinted to our location before daring to look back. Then he stopped, supporting himself on his knees, panting heavily, making a sound like a broken bellows.

"You...you..."

The young man looked at me and said haltingly, "Did you kill that monster? I think I saw... a light flash in your palm..."

“That’s right.” I glanced at his injured and bleeding shoulder.

This young man is probably the owner of the shoe print; he might bring me some surprises.

As I answered, I observed him carefully.

The other party gave me a somewhat strange impression. Take the cartographer next to me, for example. Although he had shown a steady and patient demeanor since we met, which was completely different from my stereotypical impression of survivors in the apocalypse as selfish, cold-blooded, and treacherous, he possessed the skill and vigilance that a survivor in the apocalypse should have.

Even now, I can sense that the cartographer hasn't completely let down his guard against me. It sounds contradictory that he's wary of me while simultaneously inviting me to be his partner, but this wariness seems ingrained in his very being. Even if there's nothing suspicious about me, he'd probably maintain this vigilance as naturally as breathing.

This tendency can also be seen in Asaho, and I think it's a common trait among post-apocalyptic survivors.

The young man, however, was different. He was standing so close to us, panting heavily, in a position that made it difficult for him to counter our surprise attack. His body was so vulnerable that I couldn't bear to look at him.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind, and the lie I told the cartographer when I introduced myself came to mind.

"You...don't you know about the end of the world?" I asked.

"Doomsday? What do you mean by doomsday?" The young man looked completely bewildered.

"So that's how it is. Another unfortunate soul who got separated from his group and lost too many memories?" The cartographer sighed. "Perhaps forgetting everything isn't such a bad thing after all..."

"However, before we begin our formal discussion, could you please answer one question for me?"

As he spoke, he gripped the steel pipe in his hand, his expression seemingly calm, but his eyes seemed to reveal murderous intent.

"Do you remember your name?" he asked.

Unlike his previous attitude towards me, the cartographer's attitude was now much more blatant. He seemed certain that if the young man answered incorrectly, he would mercilessly smash the young man's head with the steel pipe in his hand.

This difference in attitude might be due to the different auras between me and the young man. My initial impression was that I could handle strange events on my own even without his intervention, and he couldn't immediately gauge my strength; while the young man was a weakling struggling to keep up, and in the eyes of this "strongman," he was undoubtedly a fish on a chopping board.

I knew it! That explained why the cartographer, a survivor of the apocalypse, had been so kind and benevolent. There's a saying that if you're strong enough, you'll encounter good people wherever you go—and it's absolutely true!

The cartographer's face was covered in small scars, and his appearance—wearing a burlap cloak and holding a broken steel pipe—seemed to frighten the young man. However, the young man didn't seem to sense the cartographer's murderous intent, displaying a kind of sluggishness characteristic of those immersed in a peaceful and safe environment.

He smiled humbly, like an ordinary citizen who had unfortunately encountered gangsters on the street, while looking at me, his savior, with pleading eyes.

(End of this chapter)