Life cannot be hypothesized, just as people cannot know how they will live ten years from now. Similarly, one cannot know how their life would have turned out if a certain condition in the past had been different.

Therefore, regarding Zhu Shi’s statements, I can only remain noncommittal. However, she still misunderstood one thing. I’ve emphasized this before: the true object of my obsession is not the supernatural but the unpredictable, transcendent adventures beyond reality. The world of the supernatural merely comes closest to this answer. It may seem similar, but to me, the distinction is quite significant.

"Since you mentioned my superpower, there’s a question I want to ask you," I said solemnly. "This question has troubled me for years and is very important to me."

Seeing my serious demeanor, she grew serious too. "Go ahead and ask."

So, I voiced my question.

"What exactly is the deal with my superpower?"

"Huh?" She looked confused. "This question... you're asking me? Aren't you the one who knows best?"

"Actually, it’s like this..."

I recounted the origins of how I awakened my superpower.

"Ah, no wonder you always carried a candle around in middle school and kept staring at it from time to time..." After hearing my story, she suddenly had an epiphany. Then, without thinking, she blurted out a cruel remark. "I even wondered if you'd been possessed by some evil spirit to act so strangely. Turns out, the real issue is with your brain."

"What did you just say?"

And why does she even know about my middle school years?

"Ahem!" She quickly realized what she’d said, coughed twice, and finally adopted a serious tone. "Right, I get it now. So, what you want to know is the principle behind your superpower, right?"

"Exactly. Even in fictional worlds, the origins of superpowers are always explained somehow. Like whether it's caused by some undiscovered mutant gene, radiation from a special mineral, or if humans inherently have the potential to awaken superpowers but it’s just incredibly rare..." I listed a few examples.

"This is a tough question for me to answer definitively," she said, scanning me up and down.

I wasn’t sure if she was using some special power at that moment, but I suddenly felt an unsettling sensation, as if all my clothes had been stripped off and I was being scrutinized completely exposed.

Thankfully, the feeling disappeared quickly. She withdrew her probing gaze and gave her conclusion: "There are many reasons why someone might develop superpowers. The examples you mentioned earlier are all legitimate cases. As for you, I can at least say you're not someone with the bloodline of demons or monsters. Beyond that, I can't draw a more specific conclusion—perhaps only a precise examination could shed light on it."

A precise examination conducted by Mount Luo? I mulled over the idea in my mind, weighing its pros and cons.

"But this is strange..." Zhu Shi suddenly remembered something. "By all accounts, supernatural are supposed to attract one another. Since you're already a superpowered individual, that means you're one of us. Yet the fact that you've never encountered any supernatural events before just doesn’t add up."

"Supernatural attract one another? Why is that?" I asked, intrigued.

She offered an irresponsible explanation: "I don’t know; it’s just a widely recognized phenomenon."

"Isn't that answer a bit too rough?" I complained.

"Besides," she continued, saying something I found completely incomprehensible, "I’ve also investigated some of the locations you’ve looked into in the past. Many of those places did have genuine supernatural. For you, it shouldn’t have been that hard to discover them. But somehow, you just never encountered any..."

Her words set off a storm of turmoil in my mind. "Wait a second, I don’t get it. Are you saying that..."

"I can’t figure it out either. It’s almost as if you and supernatural events aren’t drawn to each other but repelled instead," she said with genuine puzzlement.

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Many of the supernatural I investigated before were real? And I’m repelled by supernatural events?

This was the first time I’d ever heard of such a thing!

But if what she said earlier is true, then I should indeed be more likely to encounter supernatural events compared to ordinary people. It’s unreasonable that after tracking them for years, I’ve had no results at all.

I took a moment to calm myself, then tentatively asked, "...So, following this trend, if I were to join Mount Luo..."

"If the cause can’t be determined, even if you become a member of Mount Luo, you’d probably still be destined to never encounter supernatural events," she concluded, then fell into thought. "Speaking of which, logically speaking, this time you should have passed by the basement in Floor 15th like you always do... What special change occurred this time that made you finally encounter an supernatural event?"

Upon hearing this, the only decisive change I could think of was that I met Ma Zao.

Before, I thought that once I connected with Mount Luo, I wouldn’t need Ma Zao's "bad luck" anymore. But now, it seems that was just my wishful thinking.

Sure enough, I can’t let Ma Zao go!

She remains indispensable, even more so than before.

I must keep her firmly in my grasp, I absolutely cannot let her slip away from me.

It seems like Mount Luo is also searching for Ma Zao now, but I don’t know their purpose. Can I find out through Zhu Shi? I carefully considered how to phrase my questions in my mind. A small misstep, and I could inadvertently reveal a flaw, exposing that I know Ma Zao’s whereabouts.

“Is there anything else you want to know?” Zhu Shi seemed to notice the question lingering on my lips. “It’s fine, today we’ve gotten to know each other again. I’ve learned a lot from you, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’ll answer as best as I can.”

“It’s about the Fallen Demon Hunter,” I finally came up with a specific line of reasoning in my mind. “You mentioned before that the Fallen Demon Hunter is the murderer from the murder case eight months ago, right? Well, I met a police officer before, and he said the murderer from eight months ago is the same as the serial killer who has recently appeared.”

She thought for a moment. "You mean Agent Kong, right? He's the one I asked to investigate the Fifteen Floor room for me."

"That officer is also from your Mount Luo group?" I asked, pretending not to know.

"Yes, but his primary job is as one of our front-line investigators. He only posed as a police officer because of the task at hand; he's not a real police officer."

"I see..." I continued, "Anyway, Agent Kong told me that the murderer and the serial killer are the same person, and it's a 13- or 14-year-old girl. Does this mean that the Fallen Demon Hunter, before transforming, was a girl?"

"Ah, you're talking about that..." She showed an awkward expression. "No, no, that's not it. Don't worry, you haven't burned a little girl that young."

"So, Agent Kong lied to me then, deliberately accusing someone who didn't kill anyone as the murderer?" I pressed. "Why? Who is the girl he was looking for?"

"This matter is related to a task Agent Kong is currently handling, so it's not convenient for me to disclose much..."

From her expression, it seemed like she also felt that Mount Luo’s accusation of Ma Zao as the serial killer was morally questionable. But after all, I was an outsider to Mount Luo, and to her, I had nothing to do with this matter. If I pressed further, it might raise suspicion. I would have to think of other ways to probe.

At that moment, Zhu Shi's phone rang.

She looked down at the caller ID, and her expression shifted to a more businesslike one before answering the call.

I quietly turned my right hand behind my back and activated "Firefly," using my special sensory ability to eavesdrop on the conversation. The voice on the other end seemed to belong to the gray-uniformed personnel who had collected the body of the Fallen Demon Hunter. Their tone was a bit strange, saying that the preliminary results of the autopsy had come in and they hoped Zhu Shi could come over to take a look.

What could be so important that Zhu Shi, a frontline investigator, needed to go back to check?

After agreeing to the call, Zhu Shi hung up and gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry, I need to head back for work."

"Is it related to the Fallen Demon Hunter? Before he died, he mentioned that he had seen me two years ago and had some kind of grudge with me, but I don't remember him at all."

I had mentioned this situation briefly to her when I described the battle earlier.

"I'll look into it," she nodded and then added, "Actually, I think there's something very strange about the Fallen Demon Hunter's death."

"What is it?" I asked.

"He had a skill that allowed him to use shadows as a portal, transferring between different spaces," she said. "But according to your description, during his escape, he never used this skill, even though it's perfect for fleeing. Maybe I’m just overthinking it... but this case might not be over yet."

The skill she mentioned wasn’t unfamiliar to me.

When the Fallen Demon Hunter first appeared in front of me, he had come out of the shadows.

Since he could emerge from shadows, it meant he should also be able to enter them.

Yet, in his desperate escape, he never once used the shadows to flee — why?

This incident might not be over yet — I couldn’t help but have that thought.

After saying goodbye, Zhu Shi hurriedly turned around, and I was also preparing to head home.

In fact, if circumstances allowed, I originally wanted to take out the black jade stone I had obtained from the basement and ask Zhu Shi to help me identify it. However, judging by the cautious attitude she had toward the abnormal phenomena, and her sense of duty as a demon hunter for Mount Luo, I figured that once I handed over the black jade, I might not be able to get it back. So, I decided to abandon that plan for now.

Suddenly, I noticed that after taking a few steps, Zhu Shi turned around and looked at me again, her gaze seemingly hesitant.

Not knowing what she wanted to say, I stood still and waited for her to speak.

After a moment, she let out a sigh, and her expression slowly softened. Her voice returned to its usual tone, and she gave me a slight smile.

"See you tomorrow, Senior Zhuang."

As she spoke with a smile, she waved goodbye.