Chapter 57 The Disappearance of the Apocalyptic Girl 2
GPS is an abbreviation for "Global Positioning System." As its name suggests, GPS can theoretically cover most of the Earth's surface and near-Earth space. At least that's what I've found online.
But now, my phone can't receive the GPS signal from Mazao.
How should I interpret this situation? Did Ma Zao go to an area with poor signal? Or is there a problem with the equipment?
First, we should rule out battery life issues. The red GPS bracelet on Ma Zao's left wrist has a maximum standby time of three months, and the battery was fully charged when I put it on her. Second, it shouldn't have been damaged by water while she was showering. I specifically checked when I bought it, and the bracelet has a very high waterproof rating.
Perhaps she discovered the problem with the bracelet and destroyed it immediately... Is that really the case? Judging from the gentle tone she used when we parted, it's hard to imagine that she had realized my true intentions towards her.
All the prior preparations ended in failure, and I truly experienced the feeling of being helpless.
No, we can't give up yet!
I must struggle until the very last moment.
With that in mind, I re-entered fire elemental form, simultaneously conjuring a large fireball and launching it into the sky.
The giant fireball exploded high in the sky, transforming into thousands upon thousands of "fireflies" that shot out in all directions like exploding fireworks.
Although Asaha has disappeared from my sight, she may not have left Saltwater City yet. My next step is to conduct a thorough search of Saltwater City until I find her. This is a very foolish and inefficient method, but it's the only way I can do it right now.
In my fire elemental form, the more flames condense within my body, the stronger my physical capabilities become. Strength, speed, perception... even the speed of my conscious processing can be considered an enhancement of my "physical capabilities."
Therefore, even if images were transmitted from thousands upon thousands of "fireflies," I could now process them. However, strictly speaking, this cannot be called "simultaneous and precise processing." Perhaps due to my mental structure still leaning towards humanity, my consciousness still suffers from a focal point problem.
Ordinary people without superpowers should be able to understand my predicament. Imagine someone takes out three pieces of colored paper, each with a line of writing on it, and shows them to another person. The latter can easily identify the colors of the three pieces of paper at a glance. However, to identify the writing on each piece of paper, they would have to examine them one by one.
I could only process the images from different locations in a rush, filtering out those that showed "people with similar clothing colors or heights to Mazao," and then focusing my attention to distinguish them one by one.
Moreover, Saltwater City is still a city in size. Thousands upon thousands of "fireflies" may seem like a lot, but conducting a thorough search of the entire city would be extremely difficult. What's worse, the city not only has outdoor areas but also a complex network of indoor areas, making searching these parts even more challenging.
I searched until dusk, and then until night deepened and the silver moon hung high in the sky, until my mind was completely numb, but I still hadn't found any clues.
Meanwhile, I kept monitoring the GPS signal, because Ma Zao might have just moved to an area with poor signal... but the GPS signal never appeared, so relying on it was obviously unrealistic.
I can only temporarily exit the fire elemental form to give my stiffened consciousness some time to regain its elasticity.
Looking around, I realized it was already late at night. Cicadas chirped nearby, and the streets were lit up with colorful lights, a testament to the vibrant nightlife. This abandoned construction site felt like another world. For no apparent reason, I felt a chill in the wind and turned to go downstairs.
As I walked down the corridor, I saw the room where I first met Asahi. Her blood was still there, now just a black stain, its original form indistinguishable. A lone scaffold lay overturned nearby; she must have accidentally knocked it down, making a noise that drew me to her side.
On my way home, I weaved through the crowd and bought two servings of spicy roasted pig's trotters. Then I entered my residential compound and opened my front door.
The lights were off at home. Ma Zao has a bad habit: if I don't turn on the lights when I go out, she won't turn them on herself after nightfall, leaving the room pitch black.
I tell her she can eat whatever she wants from the fridge, but she won't take it herself. I have to take it out and hand it to her before she'll eat it. If I buy her food but only one portion, she won't accept it. Either I buy one for myself too, or we split it in half.
At first, she was reluctant to turn on the TV herself. I told her that she could learn about how society works through television programs, and only then did she turn it on when she was alone. She didn't watch entertainment programs, only current affairs programs. She didn't watch for very long; most of the time she was reading the books and magazines in my house. Her expression was very serious.
Only during mealtimes would she unconsciously reveal a childlike, innocent, and happy smile, savoring the ordinary food I prepared as if it were a delicacy. Whenever I saw her eating so heartily, I felt as if the mealtime was shining brightly, and I wished time could slow down.
Without a word, I pressed the light switch in the entryway. Ma Zao used to always stay in the living room. When the dark living room was illuminated by the white light, it was as if she would appear in the light as well. Then she would jump off the sofa and run to me. I would hand her a plate of spicy roasted pig's trotters, and she would grumble that I was treating her like a child, but she would obediently accept the roasted pig's trotters.
But this scene did not occur. The living room was empty; no one was sitting on the sofa, and emptiness filled the space.
I slowly walked into the living room, tossed the plastic bag containing the food onto the dining table, and then sat down on the sofa, starting to space out like I used to do. I wasn't specifically trying to recall or think about anything; I just wanted to clear my mind for a while.
But less than a minute had passed when I couldn't sit still any longer and went to check out the bedroom. Of course, Mazao couldn't be there; I was just checking in. After that, I paced around the house, memories of our time living together flooding my mind.
A moment later, I returned to the refrigerator. There was an old backpack on top of it, hidden close to the wall; you wouldn't know it was there unless you knew beforehand. Inside the backpack were several things, including Ma Zao's tattered hospital gown and a real gun loaded with four bullets.
I went back to the sofa and opened my old backpack. The hospital gown and the pistol were both neatly inside. I took out the hospital gown and unfolded it.
Unlike its initial appearance, which was covered in blood, this hospital gown had been lightly washed. It wasn't me who washed it; Ma must have secretly scrubbed it during my first shower at home, but clearly it wasn't clean enough. Afterwards, I didn't wash it again, but instead used my superpowers to dry and sterilize it before storing it away.
Will I ever see her again?
What will become of me in the future? Will I just go back to a life where I can't encounter anything strange?
Is she doing alright out there? She doesn't even know how to use mobile payment, she has no money, no phone, and no ID. What will she do if she gets hungry, and where will she spend the night?
With lingering resentment, I packed the hospital gown into my old backpack.
Just then, I noticed something was wrong.
This old backpack contained more than just a hospital gown and a pistol; it also held other secret items, including Detective Kong's charred finger. I put it in an empty glass jar at the bottom of the backpack's main compartment.
The empty glass jar is still lying in my backpack, and as its name suggests, it really is an empty jar now.
It was completely empty!
I immediately took out the empty can and thoroughly searched the old backpack, even turning it upside down and shaking it, but I still couldn't find the charred finger.
Impossible. I remember very clearly that I hid the charcoal finger in the empty can, and the lid was sealed tightly; it couldn't have fallen out. Furthermore, I haven't taken the charcoal finger out since then, nor have I taken the old backpack off the top of the refrigerator. The charcoal finger couldn't have disappeared on its own.
Unless someone takes it!
Who is it?
For the past few days, besides me, only Mazao has been in this house. Since I didn't take it out, it could only have been Mazao who did.
It couldn't have been a burglar who broke into the house, otherwise there would definitely be valuables missing, and I didn't find any signs of that when I was wandering around the house just now.
Even assuming a thief breaks into my house and finds this old backpack on top of my refrigerator, along with a real gun inside, but only takes the charred finger—which seems meaningless to the average person—and even puts the empty glass jar containing the charred finger back in its place, is that possible?
Asaha found this old backpack, which is my fault for not hiding it well enough. But the question now is... why did she take the charred finger?
Did she realize that the source of this charred finger was unusual?
But why did she leave the pistol behind? She clearly wanted it back a while ago... Wait, she said that even if she left, her influence on me would continue for several days... Did she want to leave the weapon to me?
Can I use the charcoal finger clue to analyze her subsequent movements?
I kept thinking and analyzing as I stared at the empty can.
Perhaps it was the exhaustion from the previous carpet search of thousands of "fireflies" that made me feel tired, and coupled with the high-speed brain activity I was having now, I soon felt sleepy and fell asleep without realizing it.
After that, I had a dream.
A dream shrouded in gray mist...
(End of this chapter)
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