Chapter 16 First Steps into the Apocalypse 1
After finishing the fried rice, Ma Zao patted her stomach again.
This time, it wasn't hunger anymore; she had already filled her stomach. But she still seemed a little unsatisfied, her eyes lingering on her plate. The plate was completely empty, not a single grain of rice remained.
At first, I expected her to react with a caveman-like astonishment, but now, seeing how much she cherished the rice I cooked, I felt flattered. This was the first time in my life that someone had valued something I made with my own hands so much.
Did I really make it myself? I just threw ready-made takeout food and rice into a pot, heated it up, and stirred it together. My handmade contribution was probably less than 10%.
"This is all the food I can offer tonight. I'll prepare something better tomorrow." I planned to learn from my mistake and improve. "So there's no need for you to feel bad. There will be something much better next time."
"Really?"
She suddenly raised her head, her eyes shining brightly, then realized she had been too excited and coughed shyly.
"Really." As I said this, I revealed my true purpose. "If you stay a few more days, you can eat even more different and delicious things."
Upon hearing this, her face darkened.
"...You've been very kind to me. Although I don't know what you really think of me, you've certainly treated me well and cared for me so much, and I must thank you. Thank you." She said slowly, "That's precisely why I must stay away from you. Otherwise, sooner or later you'll despise me, curse me, see me as an enemy, and regret ever associating with me."
"I would never do that." I tried my best to make my promise seem sincere.
"If you don't do that, it means you're dead before you even have a chance to do it."
She seemed to have erected thick walls around herself, and my voice could not reach her closed-off heart.
I only regret that I'm not a playboy skilled at seducing and wooing women, unable to open her heart with words at such a crucial moment. Despite my immense reluctance, I could only temporarily give up trying to persuade her.
Besides, I don't have any more free time now. The sun has completely set outside, and it's utterly dark. From the beginning, my purpose in returning home was simply to report my itinerary to Asaho and, incidentally, to ask her about my jinxed constitution and the method of time travel. I must complete my investigation of the cave in the fifteenth-floor room by tomorrow morning.
As I got up, I said, "I have to go out again, and I might not be back tonight."
"Where are you going?" she asked warily.
"I'm going to a bathhouse with my friends, and after the bath, we might have a late-night snack and spend the night there." I started talking nonsense. "If conditions allowed, I would really like to take you with me, but it's probably not convenient for you to go out right now, is it?"
"Yes, I am currently wanted by the authorities." She nodded with great regret.
"So just relax and recuperate at my place for now. Like I said before, you can use whatever you need in my house. You can watch TV, use the computer, or even read the novels I have in my collection."
Later, I walked to the cabinet next to the TV, took down a suspense novel, handed it to her, and tentatively asked, "Have you read this type of book before?"
She glanced at the book cover, flipped through the contents a few times, and then shook her head: "I haven't read it. But since you recommended it, I'll give it a look."
After saying that, she got up from the dining table, sat on the sofa not far away, and then actually started reading.
It seems she is literate.
Assuming the apocalypse is real, I wonder what the literacy rate would be like in that era? Would she understand the many modern concepts mentioned in suspense novels? When she spoke to me, she didn't seem to have any questions. Perhaps she received a good education in that apocalyptic era.
In a post-apocalyptic world, there shouldn't be a concept of "calling the police," yet she asked me not to when we first met. This could be explained by her previous interactions with the police, but there are other, more difficult-to-explain aspects. For example, even in peaceful societies, people from different eras can experience communication gaps, let alone people from civilized times and post-apocalyptic times. However, I rarely felt any such gap when communicating with her.
That being said, she did indeed naturally reveal the shadow of a post-apocalyptic survivor in certain details...
I felt once again that I genuinely wanted to believe her. That's why I had unconsciously overlooked many suspicious points before, and even now, I'm still actively searching for evidence that she's a time traveler from the apocalypse. Without realizing it, I've become increasingly fascinated by her—this enigmatic girl.
I picked up my backpack, walked out of the house, and then turned back to close the door.
Through the increasingly narrow crack in the door, I quietly gazed at her petite figure as she read with her head down on the sofa, until the crack completely closed.
-
I entered the residential complex where the fifteenth-floor room was located once again.
Simultaneously, they manipulated the "fireflies" to scout the area around the fifteenth-floor room.
Although I had heard that this place would be protected as a crime scene again, it was obvious that it was just a fabricated excuse to drive away ordinary citizens like me and Chang'an; there was no one actually protecting the scene. It seemed that Luo Shan believed there were no clues to be searched again, only negative remnants that needed to be dealt with by tomorrow morning.
I even used the "Firefly" surveillance system to conduct a preliminary reconnaissance of the area, but I didn't see anyone resembling Luo Shan keeping watch nearby. Were they lying in wait, or was there really no one around? If it was the latter, it was rather negligent and careless. Even I could sense that the Fallen Demon Hunter might still be watching the fifteenth-floor apartment; a proper police officer would have no reason to miss it.
However, Luoshan is not a public security department, and the female demon hunter has admitted that Luoshan lacks criminal investigation experience. Leaving aside combat capabilities, at least in terms of criminal investigation, they are far inferior to the professionals I encountered when investigating feudal superstitious forces outside the province.
So what about Detective Kong, who claims to be a police officer?
I tried to confirm the movements of Detective Kong and Chang'an.
Detective Kong referred to himself as a "probe" to the female witch hunter. Judging from his words and the literal meaning of his speech, his duty in the supernatural organization in Luoshan should be to investigate supernatural events and report them to the organization, which would then dispatch witch hunters to the front line to handle the events.
"Police officer" is likely just his cover, or to be more precise, it's probably just a false identity. Information obtained through "Firefly" surveillance shows that he wasn't doing any work befitting a police officer.
In the morning, he seemed to be tracking Asahi under the guise of tracking a serial killer, but now he's wandering around the city, occasionally venturing into secluded areas to observe, and taking notes with a pen and paper. He's probably fulfilling his duty as a "probe."
I couldn't help but realize this possibility: could it be that the organization actively searching for Ma Zao's whereabouts is not the public security department at all, but rather the Luo Shan organization?
Why? Could it be that Ma Zao unknowingly revealed his identity as a time traveler from the apocalypse, and Luo Shan is searching for time travelers?
I put aside my confusion for the time being and turned my attention to Chang'an.
Chang'an is currently at the hospital visiting his mother with his sister. Details about his sister and mother won't be elaborated here, but in short, I noticed several suspicious men nearby. These men weren't tailing Chang'an, but rather his surroundings. Although they were acting discreetly, their lack of awareness about the "Fireflies" (a spy network) still gave them away.
I think they're probably from Luoshan. As for the whereabouts of the witch hunter woman, I have absolutely no idea. According to what she told Detective Kong on the phone, she should have arrived by now.
But on second thought, this situation actually makes perfect sense. Agent Kong said she had fought off a Fallen Witcher head-on, so perhaps her face was remembered by the enemy, and she was hiding in the shadows to avoid alerting them.
If the Fallen Witcher (serial killer) really is Asao, then their precautions have been in vain. Because Asao is now unable to fight, let alone move around normally.
While observing and thinking, I arrived at the door of the room on the fifteenth floor.
Since Chang'an already has protection, I'll take charge of investigating the cave. Chang'an has encountered this strange phenomenon before, and doesn't know if it's like a curse in some supernatural stories, relentlessly haunting the person involved in a mysterious way until they're dragged into an abyss.
Therefore, for my friend's sake, I must find a way to investigate it thoroughly.
No, I still need to be honest with myself. I'm doing this because of my own desires... I want to explore this myself.
I am a villain who prioritizes my own desires over my friends.
I gripped the doorknob of the fifteenth-floor room. The door was locked, and I didn't have the key. But I didn't worry about how to get in. With my superpowers, the lock melted away instantly. I pulled the door open and walked in as if it were my own home.
The house was dark inside, as it was nighttime. I waved my hand, and several "fireflies" that had arrived beforehand flew out from the corners, emitting a bright orange-red glow that illuminated the living room with a mystical, candlelight-like effect.
I closed the door behind me, then went to the black plush carpet and bent down to lift it.
The black ritual array appeared before my eyes as before.
The wooden lid, which had disappeared, reappeared on the floor.
(End of this chapter)
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