Entering the Finale 5

Standing in this abandoned construction site, my heart was filled with emotion.

It was in this very place that I found Maza. For a long time, I had possessed incredible power but had never encountered an incredible adventure. It was only from that moment on that I finally turned the first page of my life's story. This is the place of my destiny, the place where my story began.

Even though it appeared desolate and empty to outsiders, in my eyes, it was as if it were filtered through a magical lens. Whether it was the weeds swaying in the cold wind, the construction debris piled up nearby, or especially the unfinished building standing before me, everything seemed to possess an evocative charm.

The lower floors of this unfinished building had relatively intact outer walls and partitions, while the upper floors remained without exterior walls or partitions. At first glance, it resembled a multi-story parking garage suspended high in the air.

Agent Kong's emotionless voice came from beside me, "Zhuang Cheng, do you know about the ghost stories circulating around here?"

"I do," I replied. "They say this place is haunted. Back when this area was still under construction, a supervisor who wasn't wearing a hard hat was walking beneath a building that was under construction. Unfortunately, a hard object fell from high above and struck him on the head.

"After he died, this construction site inexplicably became haunted, causing widespread panic. Eventually, the development and construction projects were abandoned, and the construction team withdrew from the site."

Agent Kong nodded in agreement and led me into the unfinished building. My vision shifted from bright to gloomy and dim.

He seemed to organize the information he knew in his mind, then picked up where I left off, saying, "That's roughly it. These were events that happened before I was assigned here. And there's a continuation to this story, something that's become a hot topic in recent days. I'm sure you've heard about it. It's said that the lurking evil spirits here try to abduct female university students who pass by after school.

"The victims claim that when they passed by late at night, they witnessed a blood-soaked man standing on the unfinished building. Then, in a flash, they found themselves inside the building, with the distorted, blood-covered figure appearing before them and approaching step by step.

"However, the evil spirit seems to have low magical power. After transferring the victim to the interior of the building, it couldn't maintain the spell and could only watch as the victim fled in panic, unable to recapture them."

This was also something I had heard. It was a shame, no, it was fortunate, that what I encountered here wasn't an evil spirit unoriginal in its ghost story, but Maza, who brought me "luck."

Agent Kong was clearly here to investigate the local ghost stories as an agent of Luoshan, and it was my first time investigating a ghost story with someone from a supernatural organization.

In the past, I always went solo, misunderstood by those around me. Now, exploring alongside someone who took the supernatural seriously felt incredibly novel, even stirring emotions that were hard to describe as anything but moving.

He asked, seemingly casually, "Have you investigated here before?"

"I..." I was about to say I had, but then I suddenly remembered some traces inside the unfinished building and changed my mind mid-sentence, "No, I haven't. I was planning to come and take a look recently."

"Is that so? Then it's perfect, let's take a look together. I investigated twice after the rumors first started, but I didn't encounter any evil spirits. However, the victims' expressions when discussing their personal experiences didn't seem like lies, so I thought it would be good to take another look." When he was impersonating a police officer, his attitude was very serious, but now he had become more lighthearted. "Perhaps it's because I'm not a female university student and the evil spirit isn't interested in an old uncle like me, so it doesn't appear before me."

As he spoke, we walked along the corridor, passing the exterior of a rough-finished room on the lower floor. Agent Kong suddenly exclaimed "Hmm?" and walked into the rough-finished room to examine it.

This was the place where I found Maza. There were still bloodstains on the ground from the previous night, which was why I had said I hadn't been here.

Agent Kong squatted down and touched the bloodstains.

"This is... blood? Is it human blood?" He looked thoughtful. "It looks like it was left not too long ago... Has someone already been harmed?"

"Perhaps there really is an evil spirit here. Agent Kong, do you have a way to find the evil spirit?" I feigned ignorance about the blood, pretending to be worried, and asked, "What if the evil spirit doesn't come out?"

"Don't worry. I'm a professional, after all. I naturally have a way," he said with a confident smile before standing up. "Some anomalies have special rules of activity, for example, they only target children, or only target the sick, or like this time, only target specific genders... Therefore, they won't easily reveal themselves to targets outside of these categories.

"But we agents can't give up our investigative work for such reasons. We must also possess methods to bypass those special rules to a certain extent."

My appetite was whetted. Was he going to show me his true skill in forcing anomalies to reveal themselves?

Honestly, compared to the combat methods of a Demon Hunter, I was more interested in the true abilities of a Luoshan agent in investigating anomalies.

Agent Kong took out a silver-gray square piece, about the size of a phone, from his pocket.

The surface of the piece had a dark gray paper-like film. He peeled it off, revealing simple, mysterious intaglio symbols, like a talisman made of metal.

"I wonder if you've heard this saying: anomalies are attracted to each other," he explained to me. "Although the specific principle of this rule is still unclear, if we narrow it down to evil spirit anomalies, there are theories that can explain it.

"It's like how hungry humans find high-calorie, high-fat foods delicious. Those evil spirits with inner emptiness also like to devour high-quality souls. And when such a soul appears before them, even if it's not a target that fits their hunting interests, they can't control their instincts and will involuntarily strike."

I looked at the "metal talisman" in his hand and guessed, "Is this item sealed with the kind of soul you mentioned?"

"How could that be! What you're talking about is too evil. This is just a tool that emits the same scent as nearby evil spirits," he said, speechless at first, then continued, "If the ghost story is true, the evil spirit here should be a low-level evil spirit with only instincts. Even if it usually only targets female university students, it will definitely covet this item and pounce on it uncontrollably."

"I see..." I looked around, vigilant for any potential enemies. "But if the evil spirit really appears, won't you be in danger, Agent Kong?"

"I have a protective charm provided by Luoshan for its agents. Low-level evil spirits can't harm me," he smiled. "And even if something unexpected happens, aren't you here? Let me see your true abilities, trainee Demon Hunter Zhuang Cheng."

Hearing this, I made up my mind to show off here.

A simple display might not be enough. Since Zhu Shi felt my defensive power was insufficient to go far on the path of a Demon Hunter, I would demonstrate a skill I hadn't used before here. Even if Zhu Shi herself wasn't present, letting Agent Kong see it would be good.

If I just said it verbally, they might think I was bragging, but if I performed in a real combat situation, I believed no one could deny it.

I concentrated, vigilantly scanning my surroundings, eagerly anticipating the evil spirit suddenly jumping out to attack. Agent Kong also closed his mouth and peered intently.

But after a long while, the space remained silent. Agent Kong showed a look of confusion.

After a few more moments, he finally couldn't help but say, "Why... nothing happened?"

"Could it be that the ghost story here is also fake?" That was my first thought.

"That shouldn't be the case. Based on my past experience, there's a high probability that an evil spirit really exists here..." He was puzzled and looked down at the metal talisman. "The Soul Luring Talisman Card shows no problems either... Could there be some other factor preventing the evil spirit from coming?"

"Rumor has it that evil spirits appear late at night. Could it be the wrong time?" I asked.

"Evil spirits do fear sunlight, but this is indoors, and it's the place where the evil spirit was born. Even if it dislikes the daytime, it should definitely appear under the attraction of the Soul Luring Talisman Card," he pondered repeatedly. "Could it be that there really is no evil spirit here? Or is there some other influencing factor that makes the evil spirit unwilling to approach here..."

"Let's wait a little longer. Maybe the evil spirit is still waking up." I was long accustomed to disappointment and had more patience in this regard.

He nodded slightly and waited with me. However, after a long time, there were still no signs of an evil spirit appearing.

Zhu Shi had said last night that the supernatural and I seemed to repel each other, which was why I had always been unable to encounter the things I pursued.

Is the reason the evil spirit isn't coming out now also based on the same reason?

Even the Soul Luring Talisman Card, which could attract evil spirits, seemed unable to counteract this unknown repulsive phenomenon. But logically, Maza's jinx constitution should have already canceled out my unknown repulsive phenomenon... How should this be explained?

Could it be that there really is no evil spirit here?

Or perhaps, as my "destined land," this place was meant to showcase a unique style even in this regard?

With things as they were, Agent Kong could only put away the Soul Luring Talisman Card for now and leave the unfinished building with me.

We went to a place far from the abandoned construction site, and along the way, he apologized to me, saying, "I'm sorry. I originally brought you here to show you something strange, but I didn't expect it to be a wasted trip."

"It's fine, I don't mind. I'm used to it." My mindset was still quite stable.

"Used to it..." He first gave a wry smile, then mused, "In that case, I do have a question..."

"What question?"

"Since you're so persistent in pursuing the strange and possess extraordinary superpowers, why have you never revealed yourself?" he observed me inquisitively.

"What do you mean?" I retorted.

"Although you only just learned of our Luoshan's existence, you could have deduced the existence of supernatural organizations in this country from the very beginning, right?" He showed a curious expression. "If you had just displayed your superpowers to the passersby in broad daylight, Luoshan would naturally have found you, and you could have made contact with them. Why didn't you do that? Were you perhaps afraid of being captured as an experimental subject by the official forces, or even dissected and studied?"