Chapter 83 Another Attack
In the end, I refused Lu Youxun's persuasion.
However, he clearly wasn't planning to finish me off in one go, and my refusal was probably within his expectations. Seeing that I hadn't taken the bait, he maintained his composure and left his contact information. Then we finished our kebabs together and went our separate ways.
As for whether what he said earlier was true, and whether transcendentalism really had no intention of enslaving ordinary people, I am still not sure.
The black rope-locked heart ring told me he was telling the truth. However, this ring was originally a prop he handed over voluntarily. Perhaps he had planned from the beginning to use this ring to increase the persuasiveness of his point of view, so it's hard to say whether he had any means of countermeasures.
Moreover, even if everything he said is the truth, it doesn't mean he told the whole truth. He might have deliberately avoided viewpoints unfavorable to himself, only revealing part of the truth, and embellishing that part.
This feeling of uncertainty reminded me of what Zhu Shi had told me in the past: Once I reveal my true power, people with all sorts of ulterior motives will come up to me and pretend to have a different stance.
Not only Lu Youxun, but perhaps Zhu Shi also intentionally or unintentionally concealed his stance.
Wherever there are people, there are conflicts, factions, and alliances. I understand this rationally. Although I understand this, it's still hard not to be disappointed after clearly experiencing the complex calculations and intrigues between people, even within a supernatural organization like Luoshan.
Fortunately, Zhu Shi still offered me a trustworthy way to cope. She had given advice from the beginning on how to deal with this situation amidst disappointment: avoid arrogance and impatience, observe carefully—there's no need to make judgments prematurely; it's not too late to make a judgment after observing their true colors.
Now at least one thing is very clear: Lu Youxun was indeed loyal to the Transcendental. To offer one's own heart to be captured in order to gain someone's trust is an act that no normal person would even consider, let alone do. His audacity left an incredibly deep impression on me.
Considering this, his claim that he wouldn't reveal my ability to elementalize to his superiors and colleagues is likely true.
Judging from his and Zhu Shi's reactions, a "powerful being capable of elementalization" is of extraordinary significance in Luoshan, and concealing their existence is likely not a simple matter. If he were merely fulfilling his duty to his own territory, he wouldn't have covered for me. Only if he is truly loyal to the Transcendentalism and genuinely wants to extend goodwill to me on behalf of the Transcendentalism would he risk being held accountable by acting on his own initiative.
Even if all of this might be an act he put on to win me over, I have to admit, his performance was very successful. Now I do have a slightly different view of his stance.
Despite the change in my opinion, after returning home, I still focused most of my attention on the black rope heart-locking ring.
Aside from the non-functional divine seal fragments, this ring is probably the first proper "spellcasting item" I've obtained, and the only word to describe my feelings is "I love it so much." I used my ethereal right hand, after wearing it, to pass through the walls and furniture in my house, and even used it to touch my beating heart. The feeling was even more novel than touching a real gun for the first time.
It wasn't until quite some time later that I belatedly became aware of the danger.
Is this ring really safe? Although I don't think Lu Youxun would tamper with the gift he gave me, there shouldn't be anything like a GPS tracker or a magical backdoor in it, right?
Generally speaking, no one would put GPS in a gift, and most people wouldn't even think about whether the gift they receive contains GPS. However, I'm not an ordinary person in either of these aspects.
I plan to find a way to check it out.
The opportunity presented itself the following evening.
-
The following afternoon, Zhu Shi, Lu Youxun, and I met again.
Just as Lu Youxun himself said last night, his work of investigating the strange man's head using his divination skills has encountered some obstacles.
The other strange person we're looking for next likely does possess the ability to divination against others, as Lu Youxun couldn't divinate any information related to him. Fortunately, all other information can be divined. We can also use that information as clues to deduce the approximate time and area of activity of the other strange person.
The information also contained some clues related to the creator of the monster.
If the creator of the monsters really belongs to the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau, then the existence of monsters is actually somewhat puzzling.
The Humanitarian Division's goal is to create superhuman warriors who are completely obedient to the management of mortal society and completely subservient to mortal leaders, in order to fight against the demon hunters of Mount Luo. However, the freaks we've encountered are self-centered, treating ordinary people as prey and considering themselves superior beings on the food chain. Their attitude is far more radical than any superhuman I know. Where exactly does this align with the Humanitarian Division's design philosophy for superhuman warriors?
According to the information inside the monster's skull, the creator of the monster would contact it periodically to conduct a comprehensive physical examination and collect data on various aspects. Furthermore, the creator's attempt to disregard Agent Kong's wishes and imprison him in the labyrinthine space, forcing him to overcome his inner demons and elevate his soul, inevitably raises questions about the researchers' attitude towards their experimental subjects.
Perhaps in the eyes of the Humanitarian Affairs Department and the creators of these monsters, monsters are merely transitional creations. Because they are simply guinea pigs, there are no further expectations placed upon them. Loyalty and integrity are unnecessary; all that's required is for them to fulfill their role as guinea pigs.
That being said, the fact that the creator of the monsters allowed them to indiscriminately kill innocent people seems to reveal the despicable nature of the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau.
Is their goal to maintain secular society, or do they want to use the power of "superhuman warriors" to become the dominant force in secular society?
Incidentally, after Lu Youxun agreed to let me become a heretic, Zhu Shi felt it was unnecessary to continue taking up my time and energy, and suggested that he investigate the strange incidents on his own.
I almost forgot that I was nominally involved in this incident to become a heretic, Wuchang. Naturally, I couldn't give up halfway. Lu Youxun also said to Zhu Shi again, "It's unsettling to have you, a woman, carrying out this mission alone," I don't know if he meant it sincerely or was just playing along.
That wouldn't convince Zhu Shi, so I said to her, "We can't just sit and watch our city be ruined by weirdos." This reason seemed to perfectly match her expectations of me, and she immediately nodded happily.
At 8:30 p.m., Zhu Shi and I met up again in an old residential area in the new district.
Although it's called the "New District," this area actually has some history; it's just called the New District. This old-style residential area is some distance from the bustling city streets, and it's deserted at night, with hardly any passersby. Our target, a strange individual, enjoys hunting down local elites, and the clues unexpectedly point to him operating in this area—it's truly unbelievable.
"An old neighborhood doesn't necessarily mean the residents are poor," Zhu Shi told me, then steered the conversation towards the Divine Seal. He said he'd looked up information about it for me last night after getting home, and the content was largely the same as what Lu Youxun had told me.
“The Divine Seal is a divine artifact recorded in ancient books from long ago, but there are only a few books that mention it, and the records about it are only a few words long. If the Divine Seal really has the power to grant any wish, how could there be only such a small record of it?” Zhu Shi said. “If someone in Luoshan hadn’t brought it up when speculating about the origin of the ‘Fantian Incident,’ probably no one would know what the Divine Seal is.”
The power that prevented Luo Shan from influencing the human world has now disappeared, and Luo Shan refers to the disappearance of that power as the "Fan Tian Incident"—that's what Zhu Shi told me.
The character “番” means to change or replace. “番天” means “change of the world”.
"But where did you hear about the Divine Seal?" Zhu Shi asked.
I answered seriously, "I don't remember clearly either. It must have been Detective Kong who told me."
I gradually molded Detective Kong into an image of someone who would chat idly with anyone he could find, about anything and everything.
"How does Detective Kong even know about this kind of thing?" She was puzzled at first, then suddenly realized, "Right, he used to really want to become a demon hunter, and he went to Mount Luo repeatedly to study, but he could never achieve his goal. I don't even know as much as he does about rituals and arrays. A divine seal that can grant any wish... it's normal for him to be curious about that kind of thing. Maybe he became a weirdo for the same reason..."
In the end, she shook her head, ending the conversation, and then seemed to want to find a new topic.
Taking this opportunity, I asked her about a question that I had been concerned about since last night: what exactly were her abilities?
I added, "If it's inconvenient to say, there's no need to force yourself to answer."
“It’s alright, Zhuang Cheng. You’re my partner now. To make our cooperation easier, I needed to explain my abilities to you anyway. It was actually my oversight that I missed this step.” She seemed apologetic, and then said, “My ability is actually very simple: I can find the opponent’s weaknesses.”
"Find the flaws..." I struggled to grasp the specific effects of this ability. "For example?"
“For example, if my opponent is very skilled in swordsmanship, I can find the flaws in his swordsmanship and catch him off guard,” she explained. “And if my opponent has an indestructible body, then I can also use this ability to find the weak points in his body and deliver a highly effective blow.”
“I see. This ability can greatly enhance your insight…” I thought about her performance last night. “When we were first trapped in the maze, was your plan to use this ability to find the flaws in the maze and then destroy them?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “It’s just that my ability is far less effective against inanimate objects than against living ones, so it’s difficult to find the flaws in that maze space immediately.”
"When dealing with living beings, it shouldn't just be about finding their technical oversights and physical weaknesses, right?" I recalled what she had done to that strange man last night.
That strange person clearly has the ability to transfer the damage she suffers to her clones, yet she cannot restore the limbs that she severed.
“Yes, besides flaws in technique and physicality, we can find flaws in many other areas, such as flaws in language.” Zhu Shi suddenly said something that could not be ignored.
"Wait, what do you mean by finding 'flaws in the language'?" I immediately had a very bad feeling.
She said casually, "That is to say, if Senior Brother Zhuang is lying to me, I can tell at a glance."
(End of this chapter)
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