Chapter 56 The Disappearance of the Apocalyptic Girl 1
Entering my fire elemental form, I have essentially overcome all the weaknesses of a normal human body.
Because this body is made of flames, even if my head is blown off or my heart is pierced, it will only slightly deform me. Toxins are ineffective, of course, and chemical weapons are useless.
I can still see and hear things normally, and I can pick up objects normally as long as I have the intention. Since whether a flame will damage an object depends on my will, I don't need to worry about damaging it when I pick it up.
In this form, I am even able to immerse my spirit in the heat of nature.
It's said that the former Soviet Union once used nuclear weapons to extinguish fires. Although I've almost forgotten the specifics, even in extreme circumstances, if someone used a super-powerful weapon to extinguish all the flames that make up my body, I still wouldn't die. I could find refuge in the heat of the surrounding environment and reignite my existence.
To completely prevent my resurrection from a physical standpoint, the only way would probably be to create an extremely large absolute zero environment, provided that I don't set up "fireflies" or other fire-related entities elsewhere.
Assassinating me before I enter my fire elemental form would be futile; Agent Kong has already tried that method. Actually, dividing myself into "normal form" and "fire elemental form" isn't entirely accurate. Since my first entry into fire elemental form, I've become flame itself; my normal form's physical body is more of a flame mimicry. External attacks wouldn't inflict truly fatal damage; at most, they'd only force me from the first form into the second.
If there's any room for controversy, it's the battery life of this form factor.
It's not that the battery life isn't long enough; on the contrary, I can maintain my fire elemental form for a very long time. The longest I've maintained it is over two months, and I still don't feel the limit. In fact, I can't quite pinpoint the exact time limit. During this time, I don't even need to sleep. If the fire elemental form weren't so conspicuous and didn't emit a roaring burning sound, I would even want to use this form to continuously monitor Ma at night.
Logically, since I've become flame itself, I shouldn't need to worry about battery life. However, in my fire elemental form, I actually feel far less comfortable than in my normal form. It's like someone prone to motion sickness being forced into a car; even before the car starts moving, they feel extremely uncomfortable.
Perhaps because my spirit still belongs to the human side, the fire elemental form might place an unseen burden on my spirit. However, under normal circumstances, there's no need to worry about this.
In short, this is all I have now, and I have shown it all to Asaho.
"Elementalization..."
Asa looked at me in disbelief, her breathing seemingly becoming very heavy.
“A few days ago, I fought a human who had turned into a monster here. You might think that was the strange danger you attracted, and I can’t find any evidence to deny that possibility,” I said. “But as you can see, I didn’t die, or even get hurt. I defeated him and then went home as usual. You probably didn’t even realize I had fought someone.”
"You've seen this place in the news, and the news said it was damaged by a gas explosion, but that's not true. This is the scene of my battle with the enemy, and I personally chopped down this building."
"I'm telling you this now not to show off my power. I just want to tell you that I have the power to help you, and I won't die because of the calamities you've brought upon yourself."
"I did conceal my power and lied to you, and I must apologize. But I truly want to be with you and help you prove to the public that the end times are near. I swear to you, this is my heartfelt and genuine thought."
"I hope you can accept me, and let's fight together."
I finished my long-winded explanation and waited for her response.
As she listened to me speak, the disbelief on her face slowly faded, gradually transforming into a thoughtful and scrutinizing gaze.
After a long while, she still shook her head.
"With such power... even if you were placed among all the strong individuals of the apocalyptic era, you would certainly be an exceptionally outstanding one. However, the strange dangers I have attracted cannot be overcome simply by being strong."
What she said made sense; the alternate dimension beneath the cave was not a difficulty I could overcome with brute force alone. However, in this situation, I couldn't utter words of weakness, so I could only continue to say in an unwavering tone, "No, I can overcome it."
“If you’re willing, you can definitely live a life you want in this era.” She seemed completely unperturbed by my concealment, and instead spoke in an unprecedentedly gentle voice, “That’s precisely why you can’t be with me. If you’re with me, you’ll lose all your happiness and peace of mind, and ultimately face ruin.”
“I know what you mean… I’m so sorry, but this is to prevent you from being affected.”
For some reason, this sentence seems to have passed through my heart somewhere before.
“I will prove to this society that the apocalypse exists, or I will find the divine seal and end the apocalypse directly.” With that, she took a step back towards the edge of the rooftop. “Go back to the life you were meant to have, Zhuang Cheng. The darkness ahead belongs to me alone.”
Divine Seal? What is that?
Just as I reflexively began to wonder, she took another step back, her body leaving the edge of the rooftop and falling downwards.
"etc--"
She was leaving. The instant I realized this, I rushed towards her and tried to grab her.
However, it was too late. The moment my fingers touched her, her body shattered and vanished without a trace, like the moon's reflection in water.
Ma Zao used spatial teleportation to escape!
I stood on the edge of the rooftop, grasping at the air in vain, unable to process this fact for a while.
After more than ten seconds, I finally withdrew my hand, exited the fire elemental form, and let out a long sigh.
It's finally come to this...
Persuasion was useless, demonstrating her social and intelligence value was useless, even revealing the truth that she was a superpowered individual was useless. Asahaya's insistence on fighting alone, and her fear of harming those around her, seemed to present a truly formidable challenge.
Expressing my strength to her might be a mistake, making her even more convinced that she shouldn't stay by my side.
If I were to express to her that I am weak and cannot survive without her, she might actually be willing to stay by my side, just like the ten-year-old girl she mentioned. Despite experiencing the cruel apocalypse, Asahi seems to still have a rather kind heart; perhaps appealing to her sympathy is the right approach.
But how can a young, able-bodied man like me, living in a peaceful society, possibly make her feel that I can't live without her? Am I supposed to say that I fell in love with her at first sight and that I would commit suicide by cutting my wrists if we were apart for more than a day? That would be too heavy and morbid, wouldn't it? ...Although it's not impossible for me to do that.
There's nothing we can do now; there's no point in dwelling on past mistakes. We can only face reality.
Preparation is key to success; lack of preparation leads to failure. I was prepared for this situation, thanks to my thermal imaging and GPS bracelet. Since she's so extreme, I'll have to be even more extreme. First, I'll capture her, then I'll figure out how to imprison her in some secluded place.
I wouldn't want to do something so morally reprehensible unless absolutely necessary, but if I had to choose between my desires and my morals, I would choose my desires without hesitation.
I am a wicked person who prioritizes my own desires over morality.
With this mindset of constant self-examination, I closed my eyes and began to perceive the location of the thermal energy markers.
However... things didn't go as I expected.
I couldn't even sense the location of the thermal energy markers.
It's like a thermal energy signal going to some distant place I can't perceive, or it simply disappearing altogether.
An extremely unpleasant feeling rose up in my heart.
Wait, wait...
Wait, wait, wait... This, this is impossible!
How could I possibly be unable to perceive my own thermal signature?
In the past, I've conducted many tests on my superpowers, such as testing the limit of the mental connection between myself and "fireflies." One of these tests involved going to an international airport and placing a "firefly" on a flight bound for Argentina.
The country furthest from China is Argentina, literally on the other side of the Earth. Imagine digging a hole vertically underground from Saltwater City and emerging on the other side of the Earth; that location is Argentina. If I could sense the "fireflies" in Argentina from Saltwater City, it would mean that the spiritual connection between me and the "fireflies" on this planet could not be severed by distance.
The conclusion is that I can.
My spiritual connection with the thermal energy symbol is no different from my spiritual connection with the fireflies. If the latter can do it, there's no reason the former can't. Since I can't perceive it now, that means…
I can only make two assumptions about this:
First, Mazao is no longer on Earth. He has either gone to another planet (although I haven’t tested whether my mental connection can connect to other planets), or he has gone to a “space that does not exist in reality”, such as a basement under a cave.
Secondly, Ma had already discovered the thermal energy markers and erased them through some supernatural means.
I find it hard to believe it's the first possibility, because Asaho's goal must be on Earth, in the real world, to be achieved. ...Then could it be the second? That's a possibility; I've long doubted whether she could even perceive the "fireflies" and thermal signals.
Even if it's the second scenario, it's okay. Luckily, I had the foresight to anticipate this possibility and equipped her with a GPS bracelet.
I took out the phone that was paired with the bracelet and used the GPS signal to confirm Ma Zao's current location.
However, the situation once again spiraled out of my control.
The phone failed to display Ma Zao's current location.
The GPS signal has disappeared.
(End of this chapter)
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