Non-Daily Communication 3

Life cannot be assumed, just as one cannot know how they will live ten years from now. Similarly, one cannot know how their present life would be if a certain condition in the past had changed.

Therefore, I could only offer a noncommittal response to Zhu Shi's statement. However, she still misunderstood one thing. I've emphasized it before: the object of my true obsession isn't the uncanny, but unpredictable adventures that transcend reality. It's just that the world of the uncanny is the closest answer to that. While it seems similar, this difference is quite important to me.

"Since you mentioned my superpower, there's a question I want to ask you," I said solemnly. "This question has bothered me for years, and it's very important to me."

Seeing my seriousness, she also became serious. "Ask away."

I then voiced my question.

"What exactly is my superpower?"

"Huh?" she asked, confused. "You're asking me this question? Don't you know best yourself?"

"Actually, it's like this..."

I explained the whole story of how I awakened my superpower.

"Ah, no wonder you always carried candles with you in junior high and stared at them from time to time..." After listening, she suddenly understood, then immediately spoke words of unintentional cruelty, "I even wondered if you were really possessed by some evil spirit, which is why you acted so strangely. Turns out, it was your brain that was strange."

"Did you just say something?"

And why did she know about my junior high school days?

"Cough, cough!" She finally reacted, quickly clearing her throat, and finally became serious. "Um, I understand. So, you want to know the principle behind the generation of your superpower, right?"

"Yes. Even in fictional story worlds, the source of superpowers is always explained clearly, right? Is it caused by some alien gene that scientists haven't discovered yet, or by radiation from some special mineral, or is it that humans could always awaken superpowers, just in very small proportions..." I gave a few examples.

"It's difficult for me to answer this question accurately," she said, observing me from head to toe.

I didn't know if she was using some special power at this moment, but I suddenly had a strange feeling, as if all my clothes had been stripped off and I was being scrutinized naked.

Soon, this feeling disappeared. She retracted her gaze and concluded, "There are many reasons for the emergence of superpowered individuals. The cases you mentioned earlier are all real. As for you, I can only say that you are at least not mixed with demonic bloodlines. I can't come to a more specific conclusion. Perhaps only a detailed examination can reveal it."

Asking Luoshan for a detailed examination... I weighed this option repeatedly in my mind.

"But, this is strange..." Zhu Shi suddenly remembered something. "Uncanny phenomena should attract each other. Since you've been a superpowered individual for a long time, you should be one of us. The fact that you haven't encountered any uncanny phenomena so far is even more inexplicable."

"Uncanny phenomena attract each other? Why is that?" I asked curiously.

She gave an irresponsible explanation: "I don't know, it's just a recognized phenomenon."

"Isn't that answer a bit too rough?" I quipped.

"And the places you investigated before, I've investigated them too," she continued, saying something I couldn't understand at all. "Many of those places truly have uncanny phenomena. It shouldn't have been that difficult for you to find them. But you just never encountered them..."

Her words stirred up a storm in my heart: "Wait, I don't understand, what you're saying is..."

"I can't figure it out either. It's as if you and uncanny phenomena aren't attracted to each other, but rather repel each other," she said, full of doubt.

Many of the uncanny events I investigated in the past were real? I repel uncanny phenomena?

This was the first time I had heard of such a thing!

But if what she said earlier was true, then I should indeed encounter uncanny phenomena more easily than normal people. It was illogical to have had no success after years of investigation.

I calmed my thoughts a bit and tentatively asked, "...Then, following this trend, if I join Luoshan..."

"If the reason cannot be clarified, even if you become a member of Luoshan, you will probably be destined to not have any connection with uncanny phenomena," she concluded first, then fell into thought. "Speaking of which, logically, this time you should have passed by the cave in the fifteenth-floor room, just like in the past... Has something special changed, causing you to finally encounter an uncanny event this time?"

Upon hearing this, I could only think of one decisive change—that I met Maza.

Earlier, I thought that as long as I could connect with Luoshan, I wouldn't need Maza's "jinx constitution" anymore. Now it seemed that was just wishful thinking.

I really couldn't let Maza leave!

She was still an indispensable person, even more important than before.

I had to hold her tightly in my grasp, absolutely not letting her go.

Luoshan also seemed to be looking for Maza now, but I didn't know Luoshan's purpose. Could I learn a thing or two from Zhu Shi? I carefully considered the wording of my questions in my mind. With the slightest mistake, I might expose a weakness and cause the other party to discover that I knew Maza's whereabouts.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" Zhu Shi seemed to notice the question I was holding back. "It's okay. We've gotten to know each other again today. I've also learned a lot from you, so feel free to ask me any questions, and I'll do my best to answer."

"It's just about the Fallen Demon Hunter," I finally formulated the specific wording in my mind. "Didn't you say before that this Fallen Demon Hunter was the murderer in the homicide case eight months ago? And I met a police officer earlier who said that the murderer from eight months ago was the serial killer who appeared recently."

She thought for a moment. "The police officer you're referring to is Agent Kong, right? I asked him to investigate the fifteenth-floor room for me."

"Is that police officer also from Luoshan?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"Yes, but his main job is as a frontline investigator for Luoshan. He only impersonated a police officer for mission purposes; he's not a real police officer."

"I see..." I continued. "In short, Agent Kong told me that the murderer and the serial killer are the same person, and it's a girl of thirteen or fourteen years old. Could it be that the Fallen Demon Hunter was a girl before she transformed?"

"Ah, you mean that..." She showed an embarrassed expression. "No, it's not. Don't worry, you didn't burn a girl that young."

"So, Agent Kong lied to me at the time, intentionally accusing someone who hadn't killed anyone of being a murderer?" I pressed. "Why? Who is the girl he's looking for?"

"This matter is related to the mission Agent Kong is currently undertaking, and it's not convenient for me to disclose it from here..."

Judging from her expression, it seemed she also felt that Luoshan's accusation of Maza as a serial killer was unethical. However, I was an outsider to Luoshan, and in her eyes, this matter didn't concern me. If I pressed too hard, I might arouse suspicion. I had to think of other ways to probe.

Just then, Zhu Shi's phone rang.

She looked down at the caller ID, her expression turning businesslike, and then answered the call.

Meanwhile, I quietly put my right hand behind my back, secretly activated "Firefly," and used my special senses to eavesdrop on the phone conversation. The person on the other end seemed to be one of the gray-uniformed personnel who had previously retrieved the Fallen Demon Hunter's body. Their tone was a bit strange, saying that the preliminary results of the body examination were out and hoping Zhu Shi would come to see.

What could possibly require Zhu Shi, a frontline operative, to go back and check?

Zhu Shi agreed and hung up the phone. She then gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I have to go back for a bit. It's about work."

"Is it related to that Fallen Demon Hunter? He said before he died that he'd met me two years ago and we had a grudge, but I don't remember him at all."

I had mentioned this earlier when describing the fight to her.

"I'll investigate," she nodded first, then said, "Actually, I think there's something very strange about the Fallen Demon Hunter's death."

"What is it?" I asked.

"He had a skill that allowed him to use shadows as a passage to move between different spaces," she said. "However, according to your description, he didn't use this skill, which is perfect for escaping, during his escape. Although, it might just be me overthinking things... This incident might not be over yet."

The skill she mentioned wasn't entirely unfamiliar to me.

The Fallen Demon Hunter had first appeared before me by emerging from the shadows.

If he could come out of shadows, he could definitely go into them.

Yet, in his panicked flight, he hadn't escaped into the shadows until his death. Was it because the flames burning on him dispersed the shadows wherever he went? But even when he tried to manipulate shadows to extinguish his own flames, he wasn't affected by the firelight. The shadows he manipulated back then were simply burned away by the flames, not dispersed by the firelight.

This incident might not be over yet—the thought couldn't help but cross my mind as well.

After saying goodbye, Zhu Shi turned and left in a hurry. I was also about to head home.

Actually, if the conditions had allowed, I had originally wanted to take out the black jade stone I obtained from the basement and ask Zhu Shi to appraise it for me. But seeing her wary attitude towards strange objects and her sense of duty as a Luoshan Demon Hunter, I might not get the black jade stone back after handing it over, so I had to abandon that plan for now.

Suddenly, I noticed Zhu Shi turn back to look at me after walking a few steps, her eyes seeming a bit hesitant.

Not knowing what she wanted to say, I stood still, waiting for her to speak.

After a moment, she finally let out a sigh. Her expression gradually softened, and her voice returned to its usual tone. She gave me a slight smile.

"See you tomorrow, Senior Brother Zhuang."

She said this with a smile and made a waving gesture to say goodbye.