Non-Daily Communication 1

"If I really said 'inconvenient' here, would you just let me go home like that? I had that thought, then replied, 'Convenient.'"

"Although I really wanted to go home first to check on Maza's condition, unlike the choice of whether to re-enter the cave before, choosing to communicate with Zhu Shi wouldn't sever my connection with 'Firefly.'"

"And on the way to this forest, I had already released a few 'Fireflies' to return home to confirm things in my stead."

" 'You just said this monster was a Fallen Demon Hunter?' I didn't miss Zhu Shi's term for the demon, 'So, it's actually... human?' "

"In other words, this demon could possibly be Maza? Absolutely not. Maza now, let alone being so lively, can barely walk on flat ground without falling."

"The suspicion that Maza is a Fallen Demon Hunter (Serial Killer) can probably be ruled out."

" 'That's right. You didn't know he was human before? ...It's a good thing too. You shouldn't show mercy to such heretical fiends. If you knew he was human, you might have found it hard to act directly...' Zhu Shi nodded thoughtfully, then walked towards the demon lying on the ground. 'You should have heard from elsewhere that a serial killer recently appeared in Xianshui City. Actually, he eight months ago... Hmm?' "

"Suddenly, she hesitated, her gaze fixed on the demon."

"The demon was motionless."

" 'What's wrong?' I asked, alerted, sensing through the residual fire on the demon's body."

"Zhu Shi moved forward again, first circling the demon twice, then bending down to touch its chest, and then exclaimed in surprise: 'He...' "

" '...is dead?' I also reached the conclusion, 'Did you kill him?' "

"The demon now had completely stopped breathing. This wasn't faking death; I could sense he was faking death earlier. Now, he was less like a living being and more like a large piece of dead, charred-on-the-outside, raw-on-the-inside meat."

" 'No, I didn't,' Zhu Shi shook her head. 'I just knocked him out earlier.' "

" 'I only damaged his skin and some muscles, without causing any harm to vital organs or other fatal areas,' I also explained. 'Although I blew off his legs, I quickly cauterized the wounds with fire. He didn't lose much blood, so it's unlikely he died from excessive bleeding... Could it be burn shock? Did he die from shock?' "

"If the cause was me, does that mean I killed someone?"

"I wanted to find some guilt within myself, but let alone guilt, I couldn't even feel a sense of reality. This demon didn't look like a person, and burning didn't feel like burning a person. It was really hard for me to feel like I had killed someone."

" 'Impossible. A physical reinforcement type Demon Hunter of his level, as long as his brain and heart are fine, wouldn't die from this degree of physical damage in such a short time...' Zhu Shi shook her head again, then walked forward. 'In any case, let's have the organization come to collect this corpse first, and then we'll do an autopsy analysis.' "

"Hearing her say autopsy, I withdrew all the residual fire from the corpse."

"Before withdrawing it, considering there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance the demon had suddenly grasped the ultimate art of faking death on the brink of death, I sensed it carefully one more time. This demon—this Fallen Demon Hunter—now not only had no breath, but no heartbeat either. His blood wasn't flowing normally, and I couldn't feel the slightest bit of life force."

"I judged that he was truly, unequivocally dead. Even that one-in-ten-thousand chance didn't exist."

"Zhu Shi's method was even more direct. She drew the sword from her back again."

"With a flash of sword light, she severed the Fallen Demon Hunter's head on the spot; then she thrust her sword into his chest and churned his heart, completing a perfect 'life-and-death check'—only by personally killing someone could the conclusion of death be verified as correct even if it wasn't."

"It was simple and brutal, yet it revealed the coldness and efficiency of a professional. It seemed she had done this more than once. Unlike me, a novice who had just started fighting anomalies, she was already very skilled."

"She then swung her sword in the air, shaking off the blood clinging to the blade onto the ground, and then sheathed it again."

"Zhu Shi took out her phone and made a call. Before long, some people in gray uniforms arrived at the scene, loaded the demon's corpse into a vehicle, and left."

"She then led me to another secluded spot. On the way, I carefully observed her attire. A straw cape, a bamboo hat, and a sharp sword, paired with her beautiful face, she looked like a protagonist from a historical martial arts drama."

"Did this unusual attire have any special meaning? Or was this the exclusive uniform for Luoshan combat personnel? Whatever the truth, this outfit was very much to my liking, and I couldn't help but look at her a few more times. It wasn't that I liked the martial arts style, but rather that on this surreal night, she intervened in my fight with the demon in an equally surreal outfit. Not only was it not out of place, but it made me even more excited."

"Recalling her ruthless and seasoned demeanor when she 'finished off' the demon earlier, it further showcased the battlefield style of a 'monster hunter' that I envisioned."

"The only flaw was that under the straw cape, I could vaguely glimpse her wearing casual clothes and short boots. Such a 'flaw' would be considered a continuity error in a historical martial arts drama. But perhaps there was beauty in that too; beauty born from incongruity also existed, I convinced myself."

"It wasn't just me repeatedly observing Zhu Shi; Zhu Shi was also repeatedly observing me."

"Although she maintained a composed demeanor, her initial expression of disbelief was probably her true state of mind. Even now, she seemed unable to accept it, her gaze searching me as if trying to find a flaw to prove I wasn't the Zhuang Cheng from her memory."

"While I wasn't as unable to accept it as she was, I could understand her feelings. Her friend's sister being a Demon Hunter working in supernatural anomaly containment was such a miraculous and coincidental event, something that probably only happens in stories. Tonight truly felt like a dream."

" 'You just said I was also a Demon Hunter, what did you mean by that?' I initiated the conversation first."

"Zhu Shi steadied herself and then replied, 'It means exactly what it says. A person, as long as they possess powers related to anomalies, will be called a Demon Hunter.' "

" 'Can I understand it this way...' I said as I thought, 'Suppose there's a superpowered individual. They just have superpowers, but they've never hunted demons, nor do they have the intention to, and their abilities aren't even suitable for combat... Would they still be classified as a "Demon Hunter"?' "

" 'Yes,' she affirmed."

" 'Isn't that a bit strange? Why not just call them superpowered individuals, or sorcerers, or like in web novels, 'transcendent beings'?' I asked, confused."

" 'I don't know either. Everyone just calls them that,' she replied casually."

"After a moment of thought, some unformed ideas surfaced in my mind."

"She clearly didn't intend to dwell on such minor issues of terminology, so she got straight to the point: 'Zhuang Cheng, when did you become a superpowered individual?' "

'Don't you usually call me "Senior Brother Zhuang"? Why are you suddenly calling me by my name...' I swallowed that sentence."

"Before, when Zhu Shi called me that, I always felt like she was putting me on a pedestal, which made me somewhat uncomfortable, and I had suggested she just call me by my name. Now that she actually did, I felt uncomfortable from a different angle. I really am a troublesome person."

"But those were minor details. I still answered her normally: 'I awakened my superpower more than four years ago.' "

" 'More than four years... so, right when you started high school? Or a little before that, near the end of middle school... I see, no wonder you've always...' "

"Slowly, she seemed to have figured something out on her own."

"After a moment of contemplation, she asked again, 'Judging from the injuries sustained by the Fallen Demon Hunter, your superpower is likely related to fire?' "

" 'My superpower allows me to summon and manipulate flames,' I answered generously."

"You actually took care of that Fallen Demon Hunter with such an ordinary ability?"

She seemed very surprised, but was it necessary to be so surprised?

Flame Manipulation is indeed one of the most basic abilities in superpower battle manga, but compared to transforming into a muscle-bound monster, I feel it's at least more stylish. In many battle stories I've read before, a big, physically attacking character like a Fallen Demon Hunter would probably only serve as an early-game villain. And even for those more sophisticated main villains, if they used a giant monster transformation skill, it would be tantamount to admitting they were about to be defeated, with their end likely being less than a complete corpse.

However, I also know very well that I know nothing about the world of the strange, let alone Luoshan's evaluation standards for Demon Hunter powers. Using half-baked story knowledge as a reference is not feasible. Perhaps other flame ability users are unexpectedly weak, making Flame Manipulation seem like a flashy but useless ability in the eyes of others.

"Can you tell me the whole story?" Zhu Shi pressed.

"Sure."

I recounted everything from when I encountered the Fallen Demon Hunter until Zhu Shi intervened, including all the skills I used in the fight.

Zhu Shi then took out her phone again from inside her straw cape, using it as a temporary voice recorder to document my account.

In reality, for a superpowered individual like myself, if the goal is merely self-preservation, it's best to keep my fighting methods hidden. But I hope to leave a good impression on Luoshan through Zhu Shi. In the future, through Luoshan, an official supernatural organization, I might be able to obtain more credible clues about strange incidents and encounter a richer variety of them.

In my heart, the importance of contacting Luoshan is even higher than that of Maza.

Furthermore, if I could join Luoshan and become a member, Maza would no longer be necessary to me.

Luoshan is a very large organization. As the saying goes, the monk can run away, but the temple can't. Now that I know of Luoshan's existence, I'll have plenty of ways to contact them later.

But what about Maza? Setting aside her own strong desire to leave, she even claimed to possess the power of spatial transfer. If what she said is true, she could teleport to a place I don't know once she recovers. While it's not impossible to track her down using superpowers, I seem to have a more appealing option now.

Of course, I actually have an even better option.

That is, "I want it all."

There wasn't much to say about the encounter between me and the Fallen Demon Hunter; it was basically a one-sided suppression on my part. Soon, I clearly explained the entire process to Zhu Shi.

From the moment I started talking about my abilities, Zhu Shi silently put away her phone, which had been serving as a temporary recorder, and a look of undisguised shock gradually appeared on her face.

"You can ignite targets with your gaze, and burn targets beyond your line of sight... an inextinguishable flame that burns no matter where the opponent flees?" After a moment of stunned silence, she couldn't help but exclaim, "What kind of 'ordinary Flame Manipulation' is that!"