Chapter 35 is drawing to a close.
Standing in this abandoned construction site, I was filled with mixed emotions.
I found Mazao in this very place. Having always possessed incredible power but been unable to embark on incredible adventures, it was from that moment that I finally turned the first page of my life. This is my destiny's place, the place where my story begins.
Even though this place appears so desolate and empty to outsiders, it seems to me as if a magical filter has been applied. Whether it's the weeds swaying in the cold wind, the construction waste piled up beside it, or especially the unfinished building standing in front, everything seems to have a suggestive charm.
The lower floors of this unfinished building have relatively intact exterior walls and partitions, while the upper floors are still without exterior walls and partitions. At first glance, it looks like a series of parking lots built high in the air.
Detective Kong's unmoved voice came from the side: "Zhuang Cheng, are you aware of the strange tales circulating around here?"
“I know,” I said. “They say this place is haunted. Back when this area was under construction, a supervisor who wasn’t wearing a hard hat walked under the building under construction. Unfortunately, a hard object fell from a great height and hit him on the head.”
"After his death, the construction site began to be mysteriously haunted, causing widespread panic. Eventually, the development and construction project was abandoned, and the construction team left the site."
Detective Kong nodded in agreement and led me into the unfinished building, where my view changed from bright to gloomy and dark.
He seemed to mentally organize the information he knew before taking over my sentence and continuing, "That's roughly it. This is what happened before I was transferred here. And there's a sequel to this story, which has only recently become a hot topic. You've probably already heard about it; it's said that the evil spirits lurking here try to kidnap female college students who are passing through this area after school."
"The person involved claimed that when she was passing by this place late at night, she witnessed a man covered in blood standing on the unfinished building. Then, in a moment of distraction, she found herself inside the unfinished building, and the twisted, blood-covered figure appeared in front of her, approaching her step by step."
"However, the evil spirit seemed to be weak. After moving the person inside the building, it could not continue and could only watch helplessly as the person fled in panic, unable to catch them again."
This is something I've heard before, but unfortunately—no, I should say fortunately—I didn't encounter any unoriginal evil spirits here, but rather Asahi who brought me "luck."
Detective Kong is obviously here to investigate the local ghost stories as Detective Luo Shan, while this is my first time investigating ghost stories with members of a paranormal organization.
In the past, I always went my own way and was not understood by those around me; now, however, I am exploring with people who take strange things seriously, and I find it very novel, and I even feel a sense of emotion that is hard not to say is touching.
He asked, seemingly casually, "Have you investigated this place before?"
“I…” I was about to say that I had been here before, but then I suddenly remembered some traces inside the unfinished building, so I changed my mind and said, “I haven’t been here before. I was planning to come and see it soon.”
“Really? Well then, let’s take a look. I came to investigate twice after the rumors started spreading, but I didn’t encounter any evil spirits. However, the expressions on the faces of the people involved when they talked about their experiences didn’t seem like they were lying, so I think it would be better to come back and take another look.” He was quite solemn when he was impersonating a policeman, but now he had become humorous. “Maybe it’s because I’m not a female college student, and the evil spirits aren’t interested in a middle-aged man like me, so they don’t appear in front of me.”
At this point, as we walked along the corridor past the outside of a rough-and-ready room on a lower floor, Detective Kong suddenly exclaimed "Eh!" and went inside to check.
That's where I found Ma Zao. There are still traces of blood left from the night before on the ground, which is why I said I hadn't been there.
Detective Kong squatted down and touched the bloodstains.
"This is...blood, is it human blood?" He looked thoughtful. "It looks like it was left not long ago...has someone already been murdered?"
"Perhaps there really is an evil spirit here. Detective Kong, do you have a way to find it?" I feigned ignorance of the blood and asked with feigned concern, "What if the evil spirit doesn't come out?"
"Don't worry. I'm a professional, so I naturally have a way." He smiled confidently and then stood up. "Some anomalies have special rules of operation. For example, they only target children, or only target the sick, or like this time, only target people of a specific gender... Therefore, they won't easily show themselves to other targets."
"But we agents can't abandon our investigations for reasons like this, and we must have the means to circumvent those special rules to some extent."
My appetite was whetted. Was he going to show me his true ability to force the strange to reveal its existence?
To be honest, I'm more interested in Agent Roshan's real skills in investigating the supernatural than in the Witcher's fighting techniques.
Detective Kong took out a silver-gray square piece about the size of a cell phone from his pocket.
The surface of the square was covered with a dark gray paper film. He tore it off to reveal simple and mysterious engraved symbols, just like a talisman made of metal.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever heard the saying that strange things attract each other,” he explained to me. “Although the specific principles behind this rule are still unclear, there are theories that can explain it if we narrow the scope to evil spirits and strange things.”
"Just as a starving human finds high-calorie, high-fat food delicious, those evil spirits with inner emptiness also enjoy devouring high-quality souls. And when such a soul appears before them, even if it is not a target that aligns with their hunting interests, they cannot control their instincts and will involuntarily strike."
Looking at the "metallic talisman" in his hand, I guessed, "Does this item seal the kind of soul you mentioned?"
"How could that be! The thing you're talking about is too evil. It's just a tool that emits the same scent to nearby evil spirits." He was speechless for a moment, then continued, "If the ghost stories are true, the evil spirits here should only be low-level evil spirits with instincts. Even if it usually only attacks female college students, it would definitely be drooling over this item and pounce on it without any self-control."
“I see…” I looked around, wary of any potential enemies. “But if the evil spirit really appears, Agent Kong, won’t you be in danger?”
“I have the protective charms that Luo Shan provides to his agents; low-level evil spirits can’t harm me.” He laughed. “And even if something happens, aren’t you here? Let me see your true skills, Zhuang Cheng, the prospective demon hunter.”
Hearing this, I also made up my mind to show off my skills here.
A simple demonstration isn't enough. Since Zhu Shi believes my defenses are insufficient to go far on the path of a demon hunter, I must showcase skills I haven't used before. Even if Zhu Shi isn't here, it would be good to let Agent Kong see them first.
If I just talk about it, they might think I'm bragging, but if I demonstrate it in real combat, I believe no one can deny it.
I focused intently on my surroundings, eagerly anticipating the evil spirit's sudden attack. Detective Kong also kept his mouth shut and stared intently.
But after a while, the space remained silent, and Detective Kong looked puzzled.
After a few more moments, he finally couldn't help but say, "How come... nothing happened?"
"Could the ghost stories here also be fake?" That was my first thought.
"That shouldn't be the case. Based on my past experience, there's a high chance that there really are evil spirits here..." He was puzzled and looked down to check the metal talisman. "The soul-attracting talisman doesn't have any problems either... Could there be some other factor preventing the evil spirits from coming over?"
"Rumor has it that evil spirits appear in the dead of night. Could it be that the timing is wrong?" I asked.
“Evil spirits do fear sunlight, but this is indoors, and it's where evil spirits are born. Even if it hates daytime, it should still be drawn out by the Soul-Attracting Talisman.” He pondered repeatedly, “Could it be that there really aren't any evil spirits here? Or are there other influencing factors that prevent evil spirits from approaching this place…”
"Let's wait a little longer; maybe the evil spirits are still getting up." I'm used to disappointment and have more patience in this regard.
He nodded slightly and waited with me. However, after a long time, there was still no sign of the evil spirit appearing.
As Zhu Shi said last night, I am like a creature that repels strange things, which is why I have always been unable to encounter the things I seek in the past.
Could the reason why evil spirits are not appearing now be for the same reason?
Even the Soul-Attracting Talisman, which can attract evil spirits, seems unable to counteract this unknown rejection phenomenon. But logically, Asahi's jinx constitution should have already neutralized my unknown rejection phenomenon... How can this be explained?
Could it be that there really are no evil spirits here?
Or is it that this place, as my "place of destiny," must exhibit a unique style even in this aspect?
With things having come to this point, Detective Kong could only put away the Soul-Attracting Talisman and leave the unfinished building with me for the time being.
We went to a place far away from the abandoned construction site, and on the way, he apologized to me, saying, "I'm sorry, I originally brought you here to show you something strange, but it turned out to be a wasted trip."
"It's okay, I don't care, I'm used to it." My mindset was relatively stable.
“I’m used to it…” He smiled helplessly at first, then seemed thoughtful, “Speaking of which, I do have a question…”
"What's the problem?"
"Since you are so obsessed with pursuing the supernatural and have extraordinary superpowers, why have you never revealed yourself?" He observed me inquisitively.
"How so?" I asked in return.
"Although you only learned of Luo Shan's existence now, you were able to deduce from the beginning that this country has supernatural organizations, right?" He revealed a curious look. "If you had simply demonstrated your superpowers to passersby in broad daylight, Luo Shan would naturally have come looking for you, and you could have used that as an opportunity to make contact with them. Why didn't you do that? Were you afraid of being used as a test subject by the authorities, imprisoned, or even dissected and studied?"
(End of this chapter)
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