The "police officer" said he had important matters to attend to, but his pace was calm and unhurried as he left through the east gate of the residential complex.
Meanwhile, Chang'an came to the south gate of the complex, the same one we had passed through when we arrived, and met up with me.
After seeing me, he openly told me everything that had been discussed between him and the "police officer," and then said worriedly, "I might be in danger recently, and I probably won’t be able to go to school. You’d better stay away from me too, so you won’t get caught up in this."
While keeping an eye on the "police officer's" movements, I responded, "I understand."
"But why did he send you away earlier?" Chang'an asked in confusion.
"It’s to avoid leaking the details of the case. You’re practically a party to the situation, so it doesn’t matter much. I’m more of an outsider," I said, giving a simple analysis based on my outsider perspective. "The victims in this case are mostly local elites, so the nature of it is probably more than just a few deaths. Until the truth is revealed, no one wants it to cause a citywide uproar or endless gossip."
Chang'an suddenly understood, then took out his phone, checked the time, and said to me, "I have somewhere to go after this, so I’ll say goodbye here."
"Aren't you supposed to have class this afternoon?" I asked in confusion. "Are you going to skip class again and head to the club? I mean, it’s already this late…"
One of the main reasons Chang'an was often criticized in university was because he was said to frequently visit places of ill repute.
What made it worse was that it wasn’t just a rumor—it was the truth.
Given his looks and financial situation, it was easy for him to get attention from the opposite sex. Even with his current reputation, he still had people throwing themselves at him. So, I could never understand why he had an interest in paying for sex.
"No, no, I'm going to visit my mom at the hospital!" he quickly explained. "As for today's class, I already took leave. I’ll be at the hospital until evening. It's a military hospital with strong security, so I can avoid the spotlight. My sister is probably going tonight too. She keeps nagging me, saying I’m not visiting mom enough..."
"Alright then. But you’d better stay away from the club in the future. Didn’t Zhu Shi keep criticizing you for not keeping a clean reputation?"
"Okay, okay, I get it... Ugh, I don’t know how to talk to my sister. She probably thinks I’ve lost my mind by now," he complained.
"Just act like nothing happened. Zhu Shi won’t bring up the whole ‘losing your mind’ thing either."
"I haven’t lost my mind!"
He protested loudly, muttered a few more complaints, then said goodbye and turned to leave.
I secretly placed a "firefly" on his back to keep track of him, just in case something happened. Although there was no evidence suggesting that he would become the next target of the serial killer, his background closely resembled that of the previous five victims, and he was involved in the case, so this level of caution was necessary.
After doing all that, I found a fried chicken shop on the street, sat down, and quietly monitored the "police officer's" movements.
---
Not long after I parted ways with Chang'an, the "police officer" took out his phone by the side of the road and dialed a number.
The "firefly" sensor had an all-around, no-dead-zone perception, allowing me to clearly sense every image and sound in the space. I could also see the exact digits of the number he dialed. I quietly took out my phone on the other end and recorded it while continuing my surveillance.
The call was quickly answered.
"I've done everything you asked of me," the "police officer" spoke first. "There were indeed unusual traces at Zhu Chang'an's residence. I didn't see the 'basement' he mentioned when he reported the incident, but the 'magic circle' is real, and it is indeed an almost effective ritual circle."
"Thank you, Agent Kong," a young woman's voice came through the phone, with a sense of meticulousness in her tone.
Through the "firefly," I was able to clearly eavesdrop on the conversation.
Agent Kong?
Is the "police officer" named Kong? But why the title "Agent"?
In my impression, police officers in our country don't usually use the suffix "Agent." I had some suspicions earlier, but now it seems this person really isn't a police officer?
The young woman on the other end of the phone continued speaking.
"You just said the ritual circle was 'almost effective.' What do you mean by that?"
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"It means that the ritual circle shouldn't have been effective," Agent Kong patiently explained. "Although I'm not one of your demon hunters, I did study ceremonial magic at Mount Luo in the past. So I can tell that, as a ritual circle, it has more than ninety percent of the necessary components. Its purpose is to open a gateway to another dimension that overlaps with our current space-time. However, due to missing one or two key magical symbols, it was unable to accurately access the intended dimension.
"To put it simply, the ritual circle is like a game of dominoes with a few pieces missing at the start. No matter how high the overall completion is, without those critical pieces, it just won't function."
The young woman understood and said, "I see... But there were indeed strange occurrences there, right?"
Agent Kong shook his head. "I wouldn't know. I believe Zhu Chang'an isn't lying, but I can't explain why the ritual circle suddenly activated."
Wait, what are they suddenly talking about?
A ritual circle? A different dimension?
Demon hunters? Mount Luo?
Is this the same kind of "demon hunter" I think it is—the ones who hunt magical creatures?
As for Mount Luo...
I’ve never heard of such an organization or power, but I do know the concept.
In Taoist beliefs, the underworld is called "Fengdu," which is also referred to as "Luofeng Mountain" or "Fengdu Luoshan." The so-called "Mount Luo" refers to the realm of the dead, the underworld. The Taoist text Dongyuan Ji also records: "Fengdu Luoshan is in the north, where the ghostly gates are located. It is the root of the dark realm, the mountain rises 2,600 miles high and has a circumference of 30,000 miles. Within the mountain are caves and palaces, the capital of ghosts and spirits."
I suddenly realized that I had inadvertently stumbled into another unfamiliar world. Who exactly are these people?
The conversation continued.
"Perhaps the source of the phenomenon isn't the ritual circle itself?" the woman, referred to as a demon hunter, speculated.
"I don’t know," the man, known as Agent Kong, replied. "I'm just a 'probe,' responsible for notifying you of the existence of these strange events. The follow-up investigation is up to you demon hunters." He then adopted a detached attitude and added, "By the way, I also saw another person there, probably one of Zhu Chang'an's friends, named Zhuang Cheng. Does that name ring a bell?"
Hearing my name suddenly mentioned, I instinctively straightened up in my seat at the fried chicken restaurant.
"Zhuang Cheng..." The demon huntress repeated my name.
"I've also heard rumors about this person. He's a well-known supernatural enthusiast in Xianshui City and has been investigating paranormal phenomena for a long time." Agent Kong seemed to know quite a bit about me. "Three or four years ago, wasn't there a Feng Shui master from overseas who came to offer advice to local tycoons, only to be exposed as a fraud on the spot? I heard he even assisted official forces in another province to dismantle feudal superstition organizations."
"It seems that he's now noticed many suspicious points in this case, like why the ritual circle was only discovered now..."
"It's because our people in Mount Luo lack criminal investigation experience," the demon huntress sighed. "If it were real police officers handling the case, they definitely wouldn't have missed such a huge clue. Mount Luo's methods in recent years have been problematic. At the very least, they should have deepened their cooperation with the public security departments during the investigation process. How could they monopolize all the work and still fail so miserably?"
"This is not something we on the frontlines should be discussing." Agent Kong avoided the topic, but continued with his previous point. "From the way he looks, he probably has never given up on pursuing supernatural events."
"You mean..." The demon huntress's voice became more serious.
Agent Kong nodded on the phone. "You're aware of the trends in the past two years. Zhuang Cheng may have already come into contact with the world of demon hunters, and perhaps even gained some level of power."
Huh? I've already come into contact with the world of demon hunters?
Do I know about this?
What does "the trend in the past two years" mean? From his tone, it seems like this is a period when people like me are more likely to encounter the "world of demon hunters." But how come I’ve never encountered it before?
"Are you saying that the source of the strange phenomenon is not the ritual array, but him?" the demon huntress asked, rebutting.
Hearing this, I slightly calmed my thoughts, and then realized that this speculation might not be without merit.
If it is true that I was affected by the strange, disruptive nature of Ma Zao, and Chang'an, being my friend, was caught up in the strange occurrences, then it would make complete sense to trace it back to me. Even if the source wasn't me, but Ma Zao, I couldn't escape responsibility.
Agent Kong and the demon huntress's analysis might very well be correct.
"I just had this thought, but there are no actual clues in this regard. Ultimately, we don’t even know why the fallen demon hunter left the incomplete ritual array in that room…" Agent Kong merely brushed over my doubts, then moved on to a more practical topic. "Do you have time later to come and deal with the ritual array in that room? Something like that is beyond someone like me, but it's something you demon hunters can handle."
"I have something to do in the evening, a hospital visit, but I can take care of the ritual array in the afternoon." The demon huntress responded quickly. "However, we still don't know the cause of the basement. If worse comes to worst, we can just tear up the living room floor and remove the conditions that created the basement from a physical perspective."
"That's one way to do it." Agent Kong agreed.
And immediately, a huge sense of urgency surged in my heart.
They want to eliminate the basement?
No, I haven't explored it yet.
I can't accept that.
For me, whether it's the "apocalypse" and "blessed monks" that Ma Zao mentioned, or the "Mount Luo" and "demon hunters" that these two are talking about, they're all just concepts that exist on a verbal level—things I can't see or touch.
But that basement is different. That basement is the only supernatural phenomenon I have witnessed with my own eyes, and it holds unique value.
The basement can be destroyed, but it must be after I've explored it.
I have to do something to stop them.
Just then, Agent Kong spoke again.
"Also, I'm a bit concerned that the next target of the fallen demon hunter might be Zhu Chang'an. If someone of that level targets him, no matter where we take him, we can't guarantee his safety. I can't provide any protection either, so it will be up to you. Didn't you repel a fallen demon hunter last time? If you don't have any other leads, I suggest you lie in wait at Zhu Chang'an's place."
"Alright, I'll go protect him," the demon huntress agreed promptly, then paused and added, "But if I do that, I won't have time to deal with the ritual array and the basement."
"We don't need to rush over there for now; after all, no casualties have been reported so far."
"No, unknown anomalous events must be dealt with quickly..." The demon huntress thought for a moment before saying, "Tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, I'll ask other hunters to temporarily take over my protection duties. I'll personally handle it, or I'll have someone else take care of the ritual array and the basement."