Non-Daily Communication 2

I believe my superpower is quite ordinary, but I've never said I was weak.

Although I've never gone all out, based on my expectations, if I were to seriously act, destroying a street with a single large fireball would likely be no issue. However, does great destructive power mean high skill? Not necessarily. When I was trapped beneath the cave, it wasn't destructive power capable of leveling the entire basement that got me out, but analysis and deduction.

Therefore, I have doubts about whether my strength can be classified as "strong." Who knows what the average strength of Demon Hunters is, or what their specific criteria for evaluating strength are. Many people might use "how big a crater can be made in the ground" as a standard for strength, but I can no longer view it that way.

"You have such a powerful superpower, yet you've never revealed it to those around you?" Zhu Shi suddenly became suspicious after calming down, "So many people criticize you, saying you're crazy, and you've never thought about getting revenge on them?

"Since you have this ability to 'kill with your eyes'... no, you don't even need to be present, as long as you have the intention, you can set your target ablaze from kilometers away. Whether it's a minor injury or a severe one is entirely up to you, and no one else would suspect you, right?"

Seeing her suspicion, I deliberately played along, "Oh, there's such a method? Thanks, I'll try it next time."

She glared.

"That was a joke. Don't worry, I've never thought of doing such a thing," I promised.

She stared at me for a while, then relaxed her shoulders and said helplessly, "I hope so. I don't want to see you become a Fallen Demon Hunter..."

"Thanks for your concern," I said. "Speaking of which, that Fallen Demon Hunter isn't a traitor among you, but an evil person who has been doing bad things using extraordinary power from the very beginning?"

Because the title was "Fallen Demon Hunter," when I first heard it, I thought the person was originally a Demon Hunter from a righteous faction who later fell and became a thug hunting humans. But since I could "job change" into a "Fallen Demon Hunter" on the spot, the other party could certainly be one too.

Zhu Shi nodded and said, "Yes, his first appearance was eight months ago, during the murder case in the Fifteenth Floor room. He was the killer."

I still had some questions about the origin of the Fallen Demon Hunter, but I first asked the question that concerned me the most: "From your perspective, is he strong or weak?"

"...He's considered strong," Zhu Shi gave a very clear answer. "Luoshan roughly divides Demon Hunters into four levels, ranked from strongest to weakest: Formation, Stability, Decay, and Void. Most Demon Hunters are at the 'Decay' level, while that Fallen Demon Hunter is at the 'Stability' level, and he also possesses very comprehensive physical enhancement abilities, making him an outstanding one even within the 'Stability' level."

Formation, Stability, Decay, Void – these are Buddhist concepts used to describe the four stages of the world from its creation to its destruction.

"Formation" corresponds to the world of birth and creation, "Stability" corresponds to the sustained and stable world after formation, and the final "Decay" and "Void" correspond to the world entering decline and the stage of utter nothingness after destruction.

It's strange that "Luoshan" is a Taoist concept, yet the Demon Hunter ranks use Buddhist concepts. But then again, the mutual influence between Taoism and Buddhism has always been common throughout history. For example, the Taoist concept of the underworld was gradually formed under Buddhist influence, and "Fengdu Luoshan" also became a concept after that.

Zhu Shi added, "I only started handling the Fallen Demon Hunter case a week ago. Before me, two Luoshan Demon Hunters responsible for this case had already been killed by the Fallen Demon Hunter."

"He's that dangerous?" I was astonished.

"Extremely dangerous." As she spoke, she analyzed for me, "Since your superpower can damage the Fallen Demon Hunter's body, it means your attack methods are at least at the 'Stability' level. Such power is rarely seen among Demon Hunters."

"Then, according to your view..." I seized the opportunity to ask the question that concerned me most, "Can I join Luoshan?"

Unexpectedly, she immediately frowned deeply, "You want to join Luoshan?"

"Is there a problem?" I was surprised.

"With your personality, it's not strange that you'd want to join Luoshan, but..." she hesitated, "I advise you it's best not to join Luoshan, especially at this time... Luoshan is in great turmoil internally, and conflict might erupt soon. I can't go into specifics, but I suggest you don't join during this troubled period."

Turmoil? Conflict? I perked up immediately. Unknown chaos and conflict within a supernatural organization sounded very appealing. She wanted me to stay away from the vortex of conflict, and I could tell she meant well. All I could do was apologize; whether to get involved would depend on my understanding of the detailed inside story.

However, her expression seemed very resistant, so I could only switch to another question I was more concerned about: "Does Chang'an know that you're working as a Demon Hunter for Luoshan?"

"He doesn't know. Not only does he not know I'm a Demon Hunter, but he's also completely unaware of our world."

Her words made me a little happy. It wasn't because "Chang'an doesn't know," but because she said "our world." As a Demon Hunter, she personally bound me and herself to the same domain, making me feel a sense of recognition.

She continued, "Also, I hope you won't tell him. Neither about my job nor about matters related to the uncanny."

"Does it need to be kept secret? But he's already encountered the uncanny phenomenon in the Fifteenth Floor room, hasn't he?" I pointed out, "Ultimately, why does Luoshan conceal information about the uncanny from ordinary society?"

"I don't know how to explain this to you, but I believe you'll feel the same way in the future," she sighed. "As for the Fifteenth Floor room, that was an accident. We can only accept it helplessly, can't we just let it go? I'll deal with the ritual array and the cave there first thing tomorrow morning."

"Ritual array, do you mean that Magic Circle?" I pretended not to have listened to her phone call with Agent Kong.

"Yes," she nodded. "However, the appearance of the ritual array and the cave aren't necessarily related; the latter is still an unknown event. You don't have experience dealing with truly uncanny events, so I advise you not to get involved..."

At this point, she noticed a discrepancy, "--Hmm? Wait, where did you say you encountered the Fallen Demon Hunter before?"

I didn't answer her question first, but instead proactively provided her with information about the cave.

"That cave is actually related to the ritual array. I've already solved the mystery of the cave's appearance—the answer is the missing symbol in the array. The letters on the carpet perfectly completed the missing part. So, every time the carpet is placed, the cave switches between disappearing and reappearing."

"Huh?" She was stunned for a moment, then instinctively asked, "But the carpet and the floor aren't on the same plane, are they?"

"It doesn't matter if they're not on the same plane. Even from below the cave, through the floor slab, as long as the corresponding position is filled with the symbol, the cave can be reopened," I explained patiently. "However, there are still other unresolved issues, such as why the cave entrance disappears on its own after someone from outside enters. I haven't found the reason for this phenomenon yet. If you go in, you must be vigilant about this..."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on..." She finally came to her senses, staring at me with wide eyes. "Can you first tell me... how you knew that the cave could be reopened even from below, and why the cave entrance disappears on its own after entering..."

"Because I went in."

"You went in!?" she exclaimed loudly, then realizing she was too agitated, she quickly calmed herself down. "Weren't you afraid of never being able to get out?"

"That's not important."

"No, this is very important..." she retorted.

I continued, "In any case, since you're going to deal with that cave, I'll give you all the information I have first..."

Then, I began to recount everything I knew.

Actually, I hoped she wouldn't deal with the cave for the time being, so I could continue investigating its other unknown aspects. But firstly, I didn't know if the cave's existence would affect Chang'an, who had come into contact with it. Secondly, rather than opposing Zhu Shi and stopping her, I wanted to make things convenient for her and build a good relationship with her and the Luoshan forces behind her. As I said before, I know the difference between immediate gratification and long-term benefit.

As she listened to me recount my personal experience beneath the cave, her eyes grew increasingly strange.

After I finished, she let out a long sigh. It took her a while before she seemed to have finally digested the content, and her expression became very vacant.

"I always thought you just really liked Ghost Stories. When people outside called you a madman, I dismissed it because they didn't know you as well as I do; they all deeply misunderstood you..."

"Regardless of whether they misunderstood me or not, we've only met offline a few times, haven't we?" I asked, confused.

She asked back as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Don't we chat online often?"

That was only online, though.

She did often chat with me online about Chang'an, and we exchanged a lot. But the internet was still just the internet. How could I be sure I understood her true feelings when we couldn't even see each other's faces? I couldn't possibly talk to my friend's sister solely about my failed investigations into ghost stories, which were actually the focus of my life.

Could she be the type who easily falls for online scams?

It seemed she had always considered me a good friend unilaterally, and now that I was finally realizing it, I couldn't help but feel ashamed.

"But I have to admit now that I was the one who truly misunderstood," she said, sounding very frustrated. "When I heard you awakened your superpower a long time ago, I even thought that the reason you've been pursuing ghost stories for so many years was because you yourself were proof of the existence of the strange. Looking back, I misunderstood that too."

"No, that's pretty much how it was," I said. "Without my superpower, I don't know if I could have kept going until today."

"Being convinced of the existence of the strange and the depth of one's obsession with the strange are two different things," she shook her head. "Now I'm truly convinced. Whether you have a superpower or not, you definitely would have kept going."