"Zhu Shi, what are you thinking about?"

Noticing that I had been lost in thought for a while, Agent Kong curiously asked.

"Nothing much," I snapped out of it and shook my head. "You just mentioned the frequent occurrence of strange events, which reminded me of the apocalypse prophecy circulating in Mount Luo."

"You mean the one that says the world will be destroyed within ten years, with all life and matter wiped out in a great catastrophe?" Agent Kong paused for two or three seconds before recalling. "That's just alarmist talk, isn't it? Sure, the global situation feels a bit odd right now, but calling it the end of the world seems like an exaggeration."

Agent Kong's attitude was shared by most people in Mount Luo, and I thought the same way.

Apocalypse prophecies are not a recent phenomenon. Throughout history, there have always been alarming declarations that "the world will end at a certain time." Some predicted that a great terror would descend in 1999, destroying the world; others claimed the world would end in 2012. Yet here we are in 2023, and all those so-called apocalypse moments have proven to be nothing more than "just another ordinary day."

Periods of heightened strange phenomena are not unprecedented in history. From a long-term perspective, such events may not even pose a greater threat to human civilization than issues like global warming or the melting of the Arctic ice caps.

The people who propose these prophecies always like to exaggerate bad events, whether they are mystics or scientists. Of course, they can't really be blamed for this. When someone notices ominous signs, it's their responsibility to make those around them take them as seriously as possible.

The problem, however, is that the origins of this "apocalypse prophecy" are unclear. No one knows who started spreading it, and there is no direct evidence to lend it any credibility.

I didn’t underestimate the trend of strange phenomena becoming more frequent. The sands of time may seem insignificant, but when they fall upon an individual, they become an insurmountable mountain. Even if this trend isn’t enough to shake the entire world, it can easily disrupt my world and that of those around me.

"I don’t know if the world will end in ten years, but if I can’t complete the task assigned by my superiors, my world might end in ten days," Agent Kong sighed.

"You mean the task of finding someone?"

Agent Kong often shared the experience he had accumulated while investigating strange events. When I first became a demon hunter, his advice had helped me a lot. So, I wanted to repay him. "If there’s anything I can help with, I’d be happy to lend a hand."

"That won’t be necessary. Besides, this job is... not exactly something to be proud of," he said, shaking his head before complaining. "Honestly, I don’t know which genius came up with this idea—having me pose as a police officer and accuse a girl who doesn’t even look fourteen of being a serial killer, then going door-to-door investigating her whereabouts.

"Do you know what happened today? One of the houses I visited belonged to that Zhuang Cheng guy. When I handed him the girl’s photo, the look on his face was as if he was asking whether I was dreaming."

"If I remember correctly, that girl is currently the only known person in the world to have awakened from soul-loss syndrome, right?" I racked my brain for any information I’d heard. "I think her name is... uh..."

"It's 'Ma Zao.',' Agent Kong filled in for me. "It happened just yesterday morning. She woke up in the hospital and then vanished without a trace."

"I understand she’s incredibly important. If possible, I’d want to find her too. But is this really necessary? Accusing her of being a serial killer right off the bat—doesn’t that completely disregard her human rights?" The more I thought about it, the more wrong it felt. "And if they’re so desperate to find her, why not involve the Public Security Bureau? They’re far more capable than us in Mount Luo."

"It seems the higher-ups are in a huge hurry, and accusing the girl of being a serial killer was a decision made without proper approval. They’re currently negotiating with the Public Security Bureau, trying to push this accusation through, but the bureau hasn’t budged yet," Agent Kong said with a sigh. "As for why they didn’t ask the Public Security Bureau to help... you know how strained the relationship between Mount Luo and the official forces has become. It might not be long before an all-out conflict breaks out."

Many demon hunters in Mount Luo are arrogant, believing that power is the primary determinant of hierarchy and that they themselves should be the ruling class. This mindset makes them fundamentally incompatible with modern society.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Nominally, Mount Luo is an officially supervised and directed "demon hunter division." In reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. To the average person (if they even know about us), we probably come across as some kind of rogue, violent, and evil organization detached from society.

This kind of conflict is bound to erupt sooner or later.

In fact, the real question is how this society has managed to bury such a ticking time bomb for so long while continuing to develop. I can’t help but ask, "Does that even make sense?"

"Alright, let’s set that aside for now..." Agent Kong pulled out a tablet. "I’ve found combat footage of a fallen demon hunter for you. The official forces have been studying ways to counter demon hunters with modern weaponry. Not long ago, they tracked down a fallen demon hunter before we could and dispatched a team to engage him. This is the result."

I took the tablet and began to watch intently.

The confrontation took place in a bamboo forest on the outskirts, captured entirely from a drone's overhead perspective.

The footage showed the bamboo forest illuminated by several flares, turning night into day. In one corner of the screen, a grotesque creature emerged.

The creature resembled a demon straight out of an oil painting, with a monstrous goat-like head, a massive body over two meters tall, and dark red skin. It wore no clothing or accessories, and patches of black fur covered its wrists, ankles, and groin.

This demon-like figure was the fallen demon hunter.

Of course, it wasn’t truly a demon but a human with the ability to transform.

In the bamboo forest, a well-trained, modern combat team was also present. They were not only heavily armed with guns and ammunition but also had combat vehicles equipped with heavy weaponry.

The moment the fallen demon hunter appeared openly, the team immediately raised their weapons and launched a coordinated assault from multiple angles. The serene natural setting instantly turned into a battlefield. A storm of bullets and shells tore through large swathes of the bamboo forest, completely engulfing the fallen demon hunter in the onslaught.

But it was all completely ineffective. The fallen demon hunter didn’t even bother to dodge. He simply crouched into a sprinter’s starting stance, then, like an arrow loosed from a bow, his body blurred into a shadow that shot forward explosively.

The terrifying shadow effortlessly tore through the web of firepower. It wasn’t just bullets and shells that were useless—flamethrowers, sonic weapons, and other specialized armaments had no effect either. The fallen demon hunter moved as if in a realm of his own, rampaging through the bamboo forest in a massacre.

This wasn’t a battle anymore—just the mechanical slaughter of one-sided carnage by the fallen demon hunter.

Before long, the footage ended.

"…What do you think?" Agent Kong asked, his voice seemingly calm.

"It aligns with what I gathered during my last encounter with him," I said, voicing my conclusion. "He’s at least at the 'Existence' level and excels in comprehensive physical enhancements. Within Mount Luo’s demon hunters, he ranks among the top-tier elites. Defeating him with firearms isn’t impossible, but not with firepower of this caliber."

In novels and manga, physical enhancement abilities often feel mundane, almost like the standard skill of a low-level grunt.

But from a warrior’s perspective, physical enhancement is undoubtedly a top-tier ability. A powerful body means enhanced attack power, defense, and mobility. Some physical enhancement abilities even boost the user’s sensory perception, recovery speed, and immunity, granting superior reconnaissance capabilities, higher survival rates, and resistance to toxins and curses.

And what about other abilities? Take fire manipulation, for example.

The ability to summon flames out of thin air certainly looks impressive and packs considerable destructive power. However, it offers no defensive capabilities, meaning the margin for error in combat is extremely low. A single gunshot from an ordinary person could take the user down instantly if fired from behind. It also doesn’t enhance mobility, so the user moves at the speed of an average human, leaving them vulnerable to quick and agile opponents. The saying “speed is invincible” isn’t just for show.

Not to mention its shortcomings in reconnaissance and other areas. Many fire manipulators have even accidentally injured themselves—getting burned by their own flames, causing explosions at close range and getting caught in the blast, or choking to death in smoke-filled environments. Cases like these are so common that Mount Luo’s internal magazine has compiled them into a black comedy anthology.

This issue isn’t limited to fire manipulation. Many special abilities, due to their "high offense, low defense" nature, make their wielders less like true demon hunters and more like ordinary humans armed with a special weapon. And as long as they remain human, there are countless ways to defeat them.

The amount of water a bucket can hold is always determined by the shortest plank.

A mortal, even one capable of stopping time itself, becomes as fragile as any other when faced with poison or an ambush.

Don’t be fooled by how the modern combat team in the footage was utterly powerless against the fallen demon hunter. If their opponent had been one of those with special abilities, there would likely have been countless ways to bring them down.

"And what about you?" Agent Kong put away his tablet. "If you were to face this fallen demon hunter, what are your chances of winning?"

"I can’t calculate it precisely," I replied cautiously. "All I can say is that if I fought him with my current abilities, the outcome would be uncertain. Whether he dies or I die, neither result would be surprising."

"And what if it were one of the top-tier ‘Formation’-level demon hunters? Or perhaps..."

Before Agent Kong could finish his sentence, I suddenly sensed a powerful surge of mana. Instinctively, I stood up.

I turned my gaze to the distance.

In the far-off direction, two distinct waves of mana were clashing violently.

One of the mana waves I recognized—it belonged to the fallen demon hunter.

The other, however, was unfamiliar. To me, it felt like a blazing inferno.

In an instant, the overwhelming force of the flames completely suppressed the former.