42 Fallen Demon Hunter vs. Esper 5 (Fourth Update)

Unlike other special ability users I have encountered in the past, I cannot sense any high-quality soul aura from Zhuang Cheng, nor any fluctuations of mana. He is like any ordinary human one might pass on the street.

This level of feedback is not enough to conclude that Zhuang Cheng is truly an ordinary person. There have always been many anomalies skilled at concealing themselves; perhaps the power Zhuang Cheng possesses is simply one of those cases.

I intend to dispatch a double to probe Zhuang Cheng, while simultaneously, I must investigate the room on the fifteenth floor.

In truth, I do not believe the cave in that room is an entrance to the future; it is more likely an entrance to another divergent space. Its manifestation is fundamentally different from the theoretical effects of a ritual circle; it is likely the result of an incorrectly initiated ritual.

But even a faulty initiation is an initiation nonetheless. Zhu Shi will deal with the ritual circle tomorrow, so I must figure out the cause of its activation before then.

If I could, I would rather not inform Zhu Shi of the ritual circle’s existence, but that is impossible.

After all, it was Zhu Shi who commissioned me to investigate the room on the fifteenth floor. I cannot lie about what I have seen and heard, as Zhu Shi could learn the situation from Zhu Changan and Zhuang Cheng. Eliminating those two on the spot would only bring trouble upon myself. As a Luoshan agent, I cannot fail to file a request to handle this anomaly to Zhu Shi; it would violate my duties and appear highly unnatural.

Therefore, I have no choice but to suggest that Zhu Shi delay dealing with the matter after submitting my request. When she rejects that, I suggest she send someone else.

Anomalous phenomena like the cave are not something a "Black Impermanence" like Zhu Shi, who specializes in combat, is well-equipped to handle. It would be more reasonable to hand it over to a "White Impermanence," who is better suited for such tasks. If the obstacle were replaced by a White Impermanence, I could easily eliminate them while feasting on a high-quality soul.

However, Zhu Shi takes the danger of anomalous events too seriously, possessing an excessive sense of kindness and responsibility. As long as a danger appears within her jurisdiction, she does not want to leave it for others to bear. Similar situations have occurred several times in the past; the moment I saw the look on her face, I knew my plans were doomed, leaving me no choice but to abandon the struggle.

To be safe, and to ensure my alibi, I waited until I met with Zhu Shi in the evening to dispatch my double. Yet, when the double arrived below the room on the fifteenth floor, I saw through the sensory connection that Zhuang Cheng was walking out of it.

Clearly, Zhuang Cheng, with his fascination for anomalies, is also interested in the room on the fifteenth floor. He has walked straight into the tiger's den. I immediately ordered my double to test Zhuang Cheng's skills. The double had old grudges against him and appeared impatiently.

Suspecting Zhuang Cheng possessed anomalous power, I instructed the double to proceed with caution. He heeded my advice and probed carefully. However, he ultimately committed the error of recklessness; upon discovering that Zhuang Cheng was a fire-wielder, he rushed forward without hesitation.

To say the double was reckless is an understatement; even I did not anticipate that Zhuang Cheng would be different from most fire-wielders—he could ignite his opponents just by looking at them.

Even after he revealed his power, I still could not detect any mana fluctuations on him... No, to be precise, I could feel that his flames possessed quite intense mana fluctuations, yet he, as the source, showed no such signs.

Mana is a broad concept; whether it is the energy required to cast spells or the destructive power of the spells themselves, both can be considered mana. Even superpowers fall under the definition of spell-based mana. Although the sources of mana vary widely—some being soul power, some life force, others even kinetic, thermal, or electrical energy—as long as power is in operation, fluctuations must occur. It is impossible for there to be none.

Could the source of the fire not be him, but some external object he is carrying? But even an external object should be detectable as a source when activated. Those flames, appearing out of thin air like water without a source, left me baffled.

I have no choice but to accept this as a fact—the world of anomalies is full of inexplicable things. Perhaps this is simply an attribute of Zhuang Cheng as a special ability user; there is no other way but to accept it.

Having been struck, the double tried to escape via shadow displacement, but I wanted him to extract more information about Zhuang Cheng’s abilities, so I forbade him from using it. He seemed to have lost control out of fear after being burned, ignoring my verbal command and fleeing on foot. I originally intended to force him to turn back and attack Zhuang Cheng, but at that moment, I discovered something new.

Even after leaving Zhuang Cheng’s line of sight, the flames continued to harass the double. After watching for a while, I concluded that there seems to be a psychic connection between these flames and Zhuang Cheng. Though I do not know if it can extend his perception, he is certainly capable of adding fuel to the fire along that connection.

Unfortunately, this was all the information the double could extract. Once Zhu Shi arrived at the battlefield, I remotely retrieved the Seed of Heart to prevent it from falling into the hands of Luoshan.

In truth, this information is valuable enough. Based on the overwhelming power Zhuang Cheng displayed while defeating my double, devouring him would be enough to push the Seed of Heart to the next stage.

Not long after, I received new intelligence from Zhu Shi.

Zhuang Cheng had entered the cave in the room on the fifteenth floor, the entrance and exit vanished unexpectedly, and he was nearly trapped to death inside.

Yet, he used his own power to find a way to break the predicament and survived...

I have experienced similar desperate situations.

Trapped in a dead end that seemed absolutely impossible to escape, I can understand that fear, that despair... and the regret as vast as the ocean.

Therefore, I can empathize with Zhuang Cheng’s emotions.

Although Zhu Shi sighed to me over the phone about Zhuang Cheng’s calm attitude toward the anomaly, it is obvious that unless one is a complete maniac, no one can remain calm in such a situation. I am the same, and so is Zhuang Cheng. Presumably, Zhuang Cheng put a great deal of effort into containing his panic and worked hard to suppress his lingering fear while recounting his experience to Zhu Shi.

If it were me, I would also want to put on a brave front in front of Zhu Shi. She is a woman of exceptional beauty and figure; it is perfectly reasonable for a man to posture in her presence. If I were ten years younger, I might have pursued her myself.

At the same time, I admire Zhuang Cheng; in the past, I could not even manage this level of superficial effort.

Moreover, I did not escape my own predicament through my own strength in the past. Perhaps it is because he has the confidence of having overcome his own plight that he can barely maintain his dignity. In this sense, while I admire him, I am also somewhat envious.

His unknown fears are hidden beneath that veneer of dignity; perhaps I am the only one who can truly understand him.

Thinking of this, an uncontrollable sense of intimacy toward Zhuang Cheng welled up within me.

In the early hours of the morning, I finished tailing Zhu Changan and paid another visit to the room on the fifteenth floor. Although there were agents guarding the vicinity, they had no guard against me, a colleague. I entered the room with ease, hoping to test if I could open the cave using the new information provided by Zhuang Cheng.

But it was a failure again. The ritual circle itself had become complete, but opening the cave still required a high element of luck. The reason Zhuang Cheng succeeded was likely due to some additional factor that even he had not discovered. With no time left to continue exploring, I had to abandon the location.

After Zhu Shi and Zhuang Cheng arrived one after another, I approached as if I had just arrived, then took Zhuang Cheng to an abandoned construction site near Xian Shui University, intending to probe his abilities further using the evil spirits there.

Understanding Zhuang Cheng does not mean I will not kill him.

To let the Seed of Heart reach the next stage, I will not let this opportunity slip by.

However, it seemed there were no evil spirits at the abandoned construction site to begin with. I had to switch to my second plan: summoning a shadow clone to attack Zhuang Cheng, observing him using his abilities at close range.

Zhu Shi had already written and submitted a report on Zhuang Cheng that night. Although it mentioned his abilities, it only contained the sentence, "It is just an ordinary fire ability"—likely to help Zhuang Cheng keep the details of his power secret. My display of excessive understanding of his abilities during our conversation on the way was merely to probe him.

Even if he asked me how I knew, I had prepared an excuse in advance. It seems Zhu Shi did not take credit for it with him; what a socially inept girl, wasting all my effort.

The only intelligence I truly wanted to probe was whether Zhuang Cheng had countermeasures against a sneak attack from behind.

Since Zhuang Cheng can ignite opponents with his gaze and possesses such powerful offensive capabilities, a sneak attack from behind is naturally the most correct solution. During the battle between my double and Zhuang Cheng, I had already attempted a shadow ambush from behind, but it was evaded.

I could not distinguish whether it was just Zhuang Cheng’s good luck or if he could truly perceive what was behind him. Furthermore, that shadow lunge changed its path mid-way to avoid Zhuang Cheng’s flames, shifting from a back attack to one from the left side of his feet. It is possible that Zhuang Cheng reacted precisely because of this change.

In my combat experience, the most taboo thing is vague terminology like "possibly." I must have a definitive answer. Therefore, I had one of my clones launch a sneak attack from behind, while I simultaneously attacked the clone with a pistol. My purpose was to prevent Zhuang Cheng from questioning why I was just watching if he successfully handled the ambush.

It was a successful probe. Zhuang Cheng had no reaction to the sneak attack from behind, and by saving his life, I increased his trust in me.

I did not expect him to have hidden his power during the last battle. His firepower could actually be raised to this extent, sufficient to turn my clone into ashes in an instant.

However, even with such powerful firepower, his weaknesses remain pitifully glaring.

The moment the blade strikes his neck, it does not matter if he is holding a pistol, a cannon, or even a missile—none of it will be of any use.

Thus, taking advantage of the moment he turned around and relaxed his vigilance, I manipulated my arm to partially transform, turning it into the blade of my monster form, and severed his head.

When a human is decapitated, the brain retains consciousness for several seconds.

To prevent him from igniting me with his gaze before he died, I swung my blade again, slicing into his eyes and crushing his brain tissue directly.

The mana fluctuations generated by Zhuang Cheng’s previous battle with my clone must have already attracted Zhu Shi. She will arrive here soon.

I cannot stay here long.

I turned around, intending to leave this place immediately.

What I told Zhuang Cheng earlier, about being "transferred to another region," was not entirely a lie; I did indeed plan to leave Xian Shui City once I completed my breakthrough.

From now on, I am no longer Agent Kong, the Luoshan probe, but the monster Kong Da.

However, having taken only two or three steps, I sensed that something was wrong.

Logically, when I kill a human, I should be able to feel their soul entering my body. Especially with a super-powered individual, the sensation of the soul entering should be particularly distinct. But right now, I feel absolutely no sense of predation... It is as if...

It is as if Zhuang Cheng is not dead yet.

At this moment, I felt the air behind me being heated.

From the spot where Zhuang Cheng had fallen, the sound of burning echoed, and the firelight spread out in front of me.