Chapter 86 The Return of Aspergillus 3
Zhu Shi looked at Ma Zao with suspicion, then at me.
This situation was quite predictable.
If Zhu Shi and I cooperate in investigating the strange man, it would be strange if we weren't together when we found Asao. Without prior planning with Asao, there's a high chance she'd reveal the truth that we already knew each other.
"Preparation is the key to success, and lack of preparation leads to failure." While this isn't exactly my personal motto, I do often follow this principle in my actions. Therefore, in this situation, I should have been prepared beforehand.
But in theory, have I actually made any preparations?
Actually, there really isn't.
This might surprise those who know me, as I hadn't even considered the possibility of this happening.
As the saying goes, "Concern leads to confusion," meaning that when people are extremely concerned about someone, they lose their composure and become unable to maintain their normal pace. It wasn't until this moment that I truly understood the power of this proverb. For the past few days, I've repeatedly imagined myself finding Ma Zao, but those imaginings have proven utterly useless in guiding my reality.
I can think about things before I found Asaho relatively normally, and I can also think about things after I found Asaho relatively normally. The only thing I can't be at peace about is the scene of "finding Asaho" itself. This is because this matter is too important to me; it's no exaggeration to say that it relates to my life itself. Whenever I sketch the scene of finding Asaho in my mind, the ink of my imagination is entirely focused on Asaho, lacking any description of other elements in the scene.
Simply put, I would imagine what Asa might say to me after I found Asa, and what I might say to Asa, but I never considered whether anyone would hear us while we were talking, or how the bystanders would react.
This is really bad.
In the past, I lied to Zhu Shi to avoid Luo Shan finding out that Ma had been by my side for a long time, but now it's finally time to pay the price.
While I was still racking my brains, Zhu Shi's eyes turned dangerous: "—Senior Brother Zhuang?"
So could you please not call me "Senior Brother Zhuang" at a time like this?
"Let's talk somewhere else," I reflexively changed the subject. "There was too much noise here just now. Look, people are already looking this way."
Earlier, the strange man had crashed through the community wall and was screaming after I burned him. Some residents from the surrounding buildings had already appeared, either on their balconies or with their windows open, to see what was going on. There seemed to be a few security guards moving over in the distance.
Asaha's expression suggested she wanted to get away from this place alone. I was all too familiar with this reaction; she would often show similar emotions when we lived together.
To prevent her from suddenly teleporting away, I immediately said to her, "Ma Zao, don't go, we have clues about that strange person."
She had already started to turn around, but upon hearing this, she immediately turned back and asked warily, "Really? Zhuang Cheng, if you're just trying to fool me again..."
What kind of talk is this? Have I ever lied to you? I almost said those words out loud, but after looking at Ma Zao and then at Zhu Shi, I swallowed them back and said instead, "I promise I won't lie to you."
“You two seem to know each other quite well…” Zhu Shi seemed to have realized that I was hiding many things from her.
Ma Zao released the phantom recurve knife from her hand, and the knife quickly disappeared into thin air. Then she picked up the severed hand from the ground, took out a plastic bag from her pocket, and put the severed hand inside.
We left that place of trouble immediately. On the way, my mind kept racing with all sorts of thoughts. I was thinking about how to explain things to Zhu Shi, and I wanted to ask Ma Zao what he had been doing these past few days, and why the thermal imager and GPS bracelet had stopped working, and so on.
At the same time, an emotion that overwhelmed me was joy. I finally found Ma Zao, and I was overjoyed beyond words. I even wanted to make today my lucky day.
After leaving the residential area for a while, we stopped outside a small grove of trees.
Ma Zao put the cat whisker mask back on her face.
"Zhuang Cheng, you just said you have clues about that karmic demon, what's that about?" she spoke first. "And who is she?"
"Senior Brother Zhuang, what is your relationship with her?" Zhu Shi also looked at me seriously. "You told me before that you didn't know anything about her. Were you lying to me?"
"Wait, wait..." I gestured with my hands, "One at a time, one at a time..."
I feel like I've been caught cheating on two women, and I'm being confronted by them. It's so disorienting. Of course, neither of them has any intimate relationship with me. Zhu Shi is just a friend, and Ma Zao is just... what am I? My target? My ex-live-in partner? My criminal object? In short, it's not some messy romantic relationship.
Let me think about the good things first to calm myself down. Luckily, Lu Youxun didn't come to the front lines with us, otherwise he would have discovered Ma Zao's presence. Last night before he left, he told me that he wouldn't use electronic telescopes or anything like that to secretly spy on me anymore, and he probably hasn't seen that. I hope he keeps his word.
"Can I tell you about your situation?" I first asked Mazao for her opinion.
"Are you talking about the apocalypse and time travel?" Asaha seemed to be observing my stance. "It's okay, I've always intended to make those things public from the beginning. It's just that even if I say it now, no one will believe me."
"Doomsday? Time travel?" Zhu Shi asked in confusion.
Asahi thought for a moment, then said, "Let me explain."
In the past, she told me the truth in order to test how people of this era would react to the apocalypse she described. Now, she seems to be using Zhu Shi as a similar sample of reaction.
Ma Zao told Zhu Shi about her identity as a time traveler from the apocalypse and the impending doom, as well as her interactions with me over the past few days.
In exchange, Zhu Shi also revealed his identity as a demon hunter and the existence of Luo Shan to Ma Zao.
During this process, I occasionally interjected a few words to explain my relationship with Zhu Shi, while also observing Ma Zao's current state.
Her health is significantly better than when she lived with me. Before, when she was with me, she looked pale, would occasionally sway when walking, and would get tired even after standing for a long time. Now, her walking and standing posture is very stable, and although her complexion is not exactly rosy or energetic, she at least doesn't look weak.
Not only that, she had even been able to fight the monsters in close combat, and even decapitate them. Lu Youxun had said that the monsters' bodies could withstand a hail of bullets and that they possessed dynamic vision and reflexes capable of detecting the trajectory of bullets. However, all those extraordinary qualities were easily surpassed by Ma Zao when facing her.
Given his formidable fighting capabilities, Asahi in the past wouldn't have needed to steal real guns while infiltrating the Public Security Bureau to gather intelligence. However, from another perspective, perhaps Asahi at that time was so weak that he even needed to use ordinary firearms and ammunition.
A wound to the soul—that's how she described the injury she suffered. It's unknown to what extent that wound has healed now.
“Luoshan… Demon Hunter…” Ma Zao processed the information from Zhu Shi, “So that’s how it is. The cultivators of this era really do hide themselves…”
I noticed that she used the word "monk".
In the past, she also used terms like "blessed monk" when introducing herself.
"Cleric" is the term used by the Transcendentalists to refer to Witchers, and one of their fundamental demands is to change "Witcher" to "Cleric".
If the term "witch hunter" has disappeared in the post-apocalyptic era and has been replaced by "cultivator," does that mean that the supernatural will prevail in the internal conflicts of Luoshan in the future?
Although Zhu Shi frowned upon hearing the term "cultivator," he did not dwell on it but instead appeared thoughtful.
During our previous conversation, I noticed that she would occasionally reveal a penetrating gaze. Although her eyes didn't change color, she must have used "Mount Buzhou" to discern whether Ma Zao's talk of the apocalypse and time travel was a lie or the truth.
She had previously stated that this ability was generally not used on her own people. Clearly, Ma Zao was not considered "one of her own" by her, but rather a "folk demon hunter" whose morality was still unknown.
After a moment, Zhu Shi said cautiously, "...I'm sorry, I still can't believe what you're saying about the apocalypse and time travel."
"You mentioned before that you planned to make these things public, probably hoping that people of this era could mobilize their own power to nip the apocalypse in the bud. But without evidence, no one can believe your prediction."
Can you provide evidence for what you said?
"Can't my blessing power be used as evidence?" Asaho probably said this because she remembered what I had said before: as long as she used her superpower in front of me, I would believe her.
Zhu Shi glanced at her and asked, "Are you referring to the power of reversion you used on that strange person before?"
"You!" Asahi exclaimed in surprise.
The power of return? Does this refer to the ability that Asaha had previously demonstrated? I analyzed the information revealed by this title in my mind.
"I'm sorry, I can see through the function of other people's special abilities when they are activated. I accidentally saw it when you were fighting the monster just now," Zhu Shi said calmly. "I admit that the power you used before did not belong to any system I have ever seen before, but in the world of Witchers, there are countless mysterious magical systems. Your power cannot be evidence that the end of the world is coming."
"Hmm..." Asaha's eyes showed a wary yet troubled expression.
"And...can I ask you a question?" Zhu Shi's expression turned suspicious. "At first, I thought I was seeing things, but the more I look at this, the more something seems off..."
"What do you mean?" Asa asked, puzzled.
Zhu Shi's gaze fell on the other person's left wrist.
"What's that on your wrist?" she asked.
I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles.
At that moment, she was staring at the red GPS bracelet on Asahi's left wrist.
(End of this chapter)
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