Standing in this abandoned construction site, I was overwhelmed with emotion.
This was where I had found Maza. All this time, I had possessed an incredible power but been unable to embark on an incredible adventure. It was only from that moment onward that I had finally opened the first chapter of my life. This was the place of my destiny, and the place where my story had begun.
Though it looked so desolate and empty to outsiders, in my eyes, it seemed to have a magical filter over it. Whether it was the weeds swaying in the cold wind or the construction debris piled up nearby, especially the unfinished building standing ahead, everything seemed to carry an air of implication.
The lower floors of the unfinished building had relatively intact outer walls and partitions, while the upper floors still lacked both. At a glance, they looked like layers of parking lots suspended high in the air.
Agent Kong's indifferent voice came from beside me. "Zhuang Cheng, do you know about the Ghost Story circulating in this area?"
"I do," I said. "They say this place is haunted. Back when this area was still under construction, a foreman who wasn't wearing a safety helmet happened to pass beneath a building in progress. Unfortunately, a hard object fell from high above and struck him in the head.
"After he died, this construction site began to experience strange hauntings, throwing everyone into a panic. Eventually, the development and construction projects were abandoned, and the construction team evacuated the area."
Agent Kong nodded in agreement and led me into the unfinished building. My view shifted from bright and open to gloomy and dim.
He seemed to organize the information he knew in his mind before continuing from where I had left off. "That's more or less the story. Those were the events that happened before I was transferred here. But there was more to it, and that part only became popular in the past few days. You must have heard about it too. Apparently, the evil spirit lurking here tries to abduct female university students passing through after school.
"The victims claimed that when they passed through here late at night, they saw a man covered in blood standing atop the unfinished building. Then, in the blink of an eye, they found themselves inside the building. The twisted, blood-soaked figure appeared before them and began approaching step by step.
"However, the evil spirit seems to be rather weak. After transferring the victims inside the building, it couldn't sustain the effect and could only watch helplessly as they fled in panic, unable to capture them again."
This was also what I had heard. Unfortunately—or rather, fortunately—the evil spirit I had encountered here wasn't an unoriginal evil spirit straight out of the Ghost Story. It was Maza, who had brought me "luck."
Agent Kong was clearly investigating this place's Ghost Story as Agent Luoshan, and this was my first time investigating a Ghost Story alongside someone from a supernatural organization.
In the past, I had always acted alone and remained misunderstood by those around me. Now, exploring the place alongside someone who took supernatural phenomena seriously felt incredibly fresh. I even found myself experiencing emotions that could hardly be described as anything other than moving.
He casually asked, "Have you investigated this place before?"
"I..." I was about to say that I had, but then I suddenly remembered certain traces inside the unfinished building and changed my answer midway. "No, I haven't. I was planning to come take a look recently."
"Is that so? Then this works out perfectly. Let's take a look together. I came to investigate twice just after the rumors began spreading, but I didn't encounter any evil spirit. Still, the victim's expression when recounting her firsthand experience didn't look like she was lying, so I figured it would be better to come back and investigate again." When he had been pretending to be a police officer, his manner had been quite solemn, but now he had become more humorous. "Maybe it's because I'm not a female university student. The evil spirit isn't interested in a middle-aged man like me, so it won't appear in front of me."
As he spoke, we passed along the outside of a rough room on one of the lower floors. Agent Kong suddenly exclaimed in surprise and entered the unfinished room to inspect it.
This was precisely where I had found Maza. Traces of blood from the night before still remained on the floor. That was why I had said I had never been here.
Agent Kong crouched down and touched the bloodstains.
"This is... blood. Is it human blood?" He looked thoughtful. "It seems to have been left here recently... Has someone already fallen victim?"
"Perhaps there really is an evil spirit here. Agent Kong, do you have a way to find it?" I pretended not to know about the blood and asked with feigned concern. "What should we do if the evil spirit refuses to come out?"
"Don't worry. I'm a professional, after all. Naturally, I have my methods." He smiled confidently before standing up. "Some supernatural phenomena have special activity rules. For example, they may target only children, only the sick, or, as in this case, only people of a particular gender... As a result, they won't easily appear before targets outside those categories.
"But our agents can't abandon an investigation over such a reason. We must also possess methods that allow us to bypass those special rules to a certain extent."
My curiosity was piqued. Was he about to demonstrate before me his true skill at forcing a supernatural entity to reveal its existence?
To be honest, I was more interested in Agent Luoshan's true investigative abilities than in the Demon Hunter's combat methods.
Agent Kong took a silver-gray square about the size of a phone from his pocket.
Its surface was covered by a dark-gray paper film. He tore it off, revealing simple yet profound engraved symbols, like a talisman made of metal.
"I don't know whether you've heard this saying: supernatural entities attract one another." He explained, "Although the exact principle behind this rule remains unknown, there are theories that can explain it when narrowed down to evil spirits.
"Just as starving humans find high-calorie, high-fat food especially delicious, those internally empty evil spirits also enjoy devouring high-quality souls. When such a soul appears before them, even if the target doesn't match their usual hunting preferences, they can't restrain their instincts and will attack involuntarily."
I looked at the "metal talisman" in his hand and made a guess. "Is the kind of soul you mentioned sealed inside this item?"
"Of course not! That thing you described would be far too sinister. This is merely a tool that emits the same scent as nearby evil spirits." He first looked speechless, then continued, "If the Ghost Story is true, the evil spirit here should be a low-level evil spirit possessing nothing but instinct. Even if it normally only attacks female university students, it will certainly be overcome with desire for this item and rush over to devour it, completely losing itself."
"I see..." I looked around, alert for a possible enemy. "But if the evil spirit really appears, won't you be in danger, Agent Kong?"
"I have the protective talisman that Luoshan provides its agents. A low-level evil spirit can't hurt me." He smiled. "And even if something unexpected happens, aren't you here? Let me see your true ability, trainee Demon Hunter Zhuang Cheng."
Hearing this, I made up my mind to show off a little here.
A simple demonstration probably wouldn't be enough. Since Zhu Shi thought my defense was inadequate and that I wouldn't be able to go far on the path of a Demon Hunter, I would display a skill I had never used before. Even if Zhu Shi herself wasn't here, it would still be good to let Agent Kong see it first.
If I merely claimed it verbally, they might think I was bragging. But if I demonstrated it in actual combat, I believed no one would be able to deny it.
I focused intently on guarding against my surroundings, eagerly anticipating the evil spirit suddenly leaping out to attack. Agent Kong also fell silent and watched carefully.
However, after quite some time, the area remained utterly silent, and a puzzled expression appeared on Agent Kong's face.
Another moment passed before he finally couldn't hold back. "Why... did nothing happen?"
"Could the Ghost Story here be false too?" That was my first reaction.
"That shouldn't be possible. Based on my past experience, there should be an evil spirit here nine times out of ten..." He was utterly perplexed and lowered his head to examine the metal talisman again. "The Soul Luring Talisman Card doesn't seem to have any problems either... Could there be some other factor preventing the evil spirit from coming over?"
"The rumors say the evil spirit appears late at night. Could the timing be wrong?" I asked.
"Evil spirits are indeed afraid of sunlight, but this is indoors, and it's also the place where the evil spirit was born. Even if it dislikes the daytime, it should still be unable to resist appearing under the attraction of the Soul Luring Talisman Card." He pondered it repeatedly. "Could it be that there really isn't an evil spirit here? Or is there some other factor causing it to avoid this place...?"
"Let's wait a little longer. Maybe the evil spirit is still getting out of bed." I had long since grown accustomed to my expectations falling through, so I had more patience in this regard.
He nodded slightly and waited with me. Yet after a long while, there was still no sign of the evil spirit appearing.
Zhu Shi had said last night that supernatural entities and I seemed to repel one another. That was why I had always been unable to encounter the things I pursued.
Could the evil spirit's refusal to appear now also be based on the same reason?
Even the Soul Luring Talisman Card, which could attract evil spirits, seemed unable to offset this unknown repulsive phenomenon. But logically speaking, Maza's jinx constitution should already have canceled out my unknown repulsion. How was this supposed to be explained?
Could it be that there really wasn't an evil spirit here?
Or was this my "place of destiny," meaning that even in this regard, it had to display its unique style?
At this point, Agent Kong could only put away the Soul Luring Talisman Card and leave the unfinished building with me for the time being.
We went somewhere far from the abandoned construction site. On the way, he apologized to me. "I'm sorry. I originally brought you here because I wanted to let you witness a supernatural entity, but I didn't expect you to come all this way for nothing."
"It's fine. I don't mind. I'm used to it." My mentality was fairly stable.
"Used to it..." He first gave a helpless laugh, then looked thoughtful. "Speaking of which, I do have a question..."
"What question?"
"Since you're so obsessed with pursuing supernatural entities and possess such extraordinary superpowers, why have you never revealed yourself?" He studied me inquisitively.
"What do you mean?" I asked in return.
"Although you only learned about the existence of Luoshan today, you must have been able to infer from the beginning that this country had a supernatural organization." His expression showed curiosity. "As long as you displayed your superpowers to the pedestrians around you in broad daylight, Luoshan would naturally have come looking for you, and you could have used that opportunity to make contact with Luoshan. Why have you never done that? Were you afraid that the authorities would imprison you as a test subject, or even dissect you for research?"
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