Shooting Star 1

The female Demon Hunter's death sentence for the strange cave had changed from "to be executed immediately" to "execution suspended."

That turn of events allowed me to breathe a small sigh of relief.

Since the time when the cave would be destroyed had been postponed until tomorrow, I could explore it again today.

However, I had no idea how much I could discover in such a short time. The most pressing problem was that I didn't know the pattern governing the cave's appearance and disappearance.

Why had the cave appeared when Chang'an was alone the night before last, then appeared again when Chang'an and I were both present, only to disappear after Agent Kong arrived? The answer had to lie somewhere in those events.

I continued monitoring Agent Kong and the female Demon Hunter's conversation while thinking over the terms they had mentioned.

The "Fallen Demon Hunter" they spoke of was undoubtedly that Serial Killer. As for whether they specifically meant Maza, I still couldn't say. In any case, it was clear from the literal meaning that a "Demon Hunter" should be someone who hunted things related to demons. The definition of "demon" probably wasn't limited to strange things like "caves"; it also encompassed the Fallen Demon Hunter.

As for "fallen," perhaps it meant that some Demon Hunters' prey had changed from "demons" to "humans." This speculation lined up with the Serial Killer's recent crimes.

The female Demon Hunter's tone carried a sense of mission to eliminate strange things. She had also mentioned that Luoshan should deepen its cooperation with the Public Security Department. I believed "Luoshan" was either an anonymous supernatural organization officially recognized by the authorities, or simply an anonymous official organization belonging to a system separate from the Public Security Department.

An organization dedicated to handling supernatural incidents really did exist!

I was exhilarated in a way I couldn't share with outsiders, as though I were watching fantastical flights of imagination gradually become reality before my very eyes.

After that, the female Demon Hunter seemed to have nothing more to discuss with Agent Kong. Agent Kong soon ended the call, then turned around and returned to the residential compound, arriving at the door of that house.

He took out his key, unlocked the door, entered the house, and checked everywhere.

His main focus was still the ritual formation on the floor. He didn't rashly step inside it, instead walking around its perimeter and observing its condition from different angles. He even took out his phone and snapped several consecutive pictures of the formation.

To avoid suddenly being seen if he turned around, I simply had the "Firefly" I was controlling stick to his back.

"That shouldn't be possible." He muttered to himself, "Why can even this incomplete formation be activated? There clearly aren't any conditions nearby capable of making up for its flaws..."

He went around it several more times before finally giving up. He casually pulled the black plush carpet rolled up beside it back over the formation, then turned and left the house.

-

While continuing to monitor Agent Kong, I didn't remain idle myself.

I maintained the surveillance while moving to a nearby computer mall to buy the equipment I would need for exploring the cave later.

After Agent Kong left, I didn't hurry back to that house. Instead, I released several more "Fireflies" around the inside and outside of the residential compound, checking for anyone suspicious.

Even Agent Kong and the female Demon Hunter had no idea why the Fallen Demon Hunter had set up a ritual formation in that house. Therefore, I had to consider the possibility that "the cave's appearance had been in accordance with the Fallen Demon Hunter's expectations"—that it might have been the Fallen Demon Hunter's deliberate doing.

Had the Fallen Demon Hunter been closely observing what was happening in the Fifteenth Floor apartment all along? It was unlikely that he had monitored it closely for eight months, but it was entirely possible that he had kept a close eye on it whenever someone was living in the Fifteenth Floor apartment.

I didn't want some unknown dangerous person watching my every move from the shadows while I explored the cave.

Perhaps I should add the landlord to my list of suspects. Someone in that position would know when tenants moved in and could reasonably keep track of changes in the apartment.

At present, I was simultaneously monitoring four different areas: Maza, Chang'an, the place where Agent Kong was, and the inside and outside of the residential compound where the Fifteenth Floor apartment was located. In other words, that many scenes were being presented in my mind at the same time, with the last one being the most demanding. It felt like intensely thinking about several unrelated problems at once. Even though I allocated most of my attention to the last one, my concentration was rapidly being depleted.

I took a break from time to time, looking at the distant scenery to relax my mind before continuing the search. However, by the time I had searched until evening and gone through every place I could think of, I still hadn't found anyone inside or outside the compound who fit the label of "suspicious."

Were they truly not here, or had I simply failed to find them? I couldn't spend too much time on this. I still had to explore the cave afterward.

I probably wouldn't be able to return home tonight, so I had to notify Maza first. Unfortunately, I didn't have a landline at home, and Maza didn't have a phone either—at least, I hadn't found one on her when I searched her last night. It seemed I would have to make time to return home first and tell her.

As it happened, there were also some questions I had to ask her in person.

I was hungry, too. I could have a meal when I went home.

...Speaking of which, I had the vague feeling that I had forgotten something.

-

I quickly returned to the door of my home.

Through the "Firefly" inside the apartment, I saw Maza before I even unlocked the door. She was sitting on the living-room sofa, hugging her knees and curled into a small ball. Her rolled-up sleeves and pant legs were bunched up in layers, while her oversized, loose clothes made her look even tinier.

She hadn't turned on the lights or the television. She simply sat there in silence, gazing at the view beyond the floor-to-ceiling window, reminding me of a small household appliance that had entered standby power-saving mode.

At that moment, the sky outside the window was in the dusk stage, fading from dark blue into a murky yellow. This made her small back seem to carry a faint air of sorrow.

I inserted the key into the lock. The slight sound instantly made her awaken as if someone had pressed an invisible switch, and her head turned sharply toward the entryway.

By the time I opened the door, she had already sprung off the sofa. She failed to land steadily, however, and tumbled to the floor.

"...What are you doing?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"..." She pushed herself up with the tea table beside her, then straightened her face as if trying to hide her embarrassment.

Then she slowly walked up to me and circled me twice, examining me from head to toe. She leaned closer and inspected me even more carefully, as though trying to find some sign through the gaps in my clothes. From time to time, she sniffed, apparently trying to detect some particular scent.

I didn't understand what she meant, but I cooperated by raising both arms for her inspection and asking again, "What are you doing?"

She looked up at me, then took two steps back.

"...You came back really late." She sounded as though she was probing for something, though there also seemed to be a trace of displeasure in her voice.

Before leaving, I had told her I was only going out for a short while, yet I had ended up staying outside for most of the day. It was indeed my fault. Even so, I couldn't tell her the truth, so I answered vaguely, "I had something to deal with with a friend."

"You didn't run into something out there, did you?" she asked with a frown.

"Run into what—exactly?" I asked, pretending not to know.

She began listing possibilities one by one. "For example, did someone who should already be dead suddenly appear alive in front of you? Or did a road appear somewhere there shouldn't be one? Or did some inexplicable limbs or organs that humans shouldn't grow suddenly sprout from your body..."

What was that last one supposed to be? So the various calamities she might attract even included indescribable phenomena that sounded like human genetic mutations? I complained inwardly while answering without changing expression, "No."

She asked uneasily, "Really?"

"Really." I lied through my teeth, though the "cave" perfectly matched the second example she had listed.

"That's good." She seemed to feel that I had neither a reason nor the nerve to deceive her about this, and her expression relaxed.

Then she hesitated and glanced at the door behind me. "But perhaps I should leave first after all. If I stay here..."

"No!" The words came out reflexively.

"Huh?" She jumped.

"How could I let a girl who can't protect herself wander around outside alone?" I hurriedly lowered my voice, trying to sound as reliable as possible. "Don't worry. I won't have any accidents, and I'll protect you as much as I can during this time."

"Uh, th-thank you?" Her face was filled with bewilderment.

I also felt that my reaction had been excessive, but I couldn't help it. I genuinely didn't want to let her go. Not only had I yet to unravel the secrets surrounding her, but when I thought about how the first supernatural incident I had encountered in all these years might have happened thanks to her "jinx constitution," I almost wanted to buy a baby carrier online and hang her from myself like an infant, staying glued to her side twenty-four hours a day.

I admitted that having such thoughts about a younger adolescent girl of the opposite sex was truly disgraceful. Even if I were actually given the opportunity, I probably wouldn't really do it. I was only saying this to express my state of mind.

But speaking of Maza's calamity-attracting constitution, there was something else I had to ask her.

Although this might make her suspicious of what had happened to me earlier, I had to confirm it as soon as possible out of a sense of responsibility.

I placed my backpack beside the shoe cabinet, then switched on the living-room lights and looked at her.

"Maza, I want to ask you a question. Is that okay?"

"Go ahead." Maza answered cautiously. "Whether I answer depends on what you ask."

"People around you are affected by your special constitution, making them more likely to encounter strange things. That's what you said before, right?"

"Yes."

"Is this phenomenon limited only to the people around you?" I asked. "Or can it spread farther outward, affecting even the people around those people and causing them to encounter bizarre and dangerous incidents as well?"