Zhu Shi and I simultaneously turned to look at the newcomer.

The person who walked through the door was dressed in a gray uniform. I had seen this uniform last night—it was the same outfit worn by the Mount Luo personnel who had retrieved the corpse of the fallen demon hunter.

As for this person’s face, it was even more unforgettable. It was none other than Agent Kong, who had once knocked on my door and later unintentionally disrupted my exploration of the basement.

"Hmm?" Agent Kong’s face turned awkward the moment he saw me. "You’re Zhuang Cheng..."

"Good morning, 'Officer.'"

Seeing his face again stirred up a mix of emotions within me.

Although I possess the supernatural ability to manipulate fire, having grown up in a society governed by law, I’ve been thoroughly marinated in its propaganda and slogans. Deep down, I have an unconscious sense of awe and reverence for official authority. Just the thought that I might be rejected by society instinctively fills me with unease.

Initially, I had firmly believed that Agent Kong was a real police officer. I even broke into a cold sweat worrying about harboring a "serial killer" and privately possessing firearms and ammunition. Now, however, the tables had turned—he was the one feeling guilty for having impersonated a police officer. Our roles had completely reversed.

"Don’t mock me. You’ve probably already heard from Zhu Shi—it was all part of Mount Luo’s assignments."

Hearing this, Agent Kong looked even more embarrassed. He quickly waved his hand and changed the subject. "I’ve already heard—it was you who defeated the fallen demon hunter, right? I’m the agent responsible for patrolling this area, so I have to thank you for your heroic efforts. By the way, are you planning to join Mount Luo? I’d recommend that you..."

Before he could finish talking about me joining Mount Luo, Zhu Shi frowned and immediately interrupted, "Agent Kong, how’s the progress on that matter I asked you to investigate?"

From Zhu Shi’s attitude, it was clear that she really didn’t want me to join Mount Luo. Was it because of the internal chaos and the potential conflicts she mentioned last time? Or was there another reason?

I didn’t rush to ask, nor did I continue mocking Agent Kong. Instead, I followed Zhu Shi’s lead and asked, "That matter—what do you mean?"

"It’s about the potential grudge between you and the fallen demon hunter," answered Agent Kong. "All information related to the fallen demon hunter incident is compiled and submitted to Zhu Shi by the ‘Probe’ responsible for this area—that’s me. If Zhu Shi discovers any suspicious points during the handling of the case, she will ask me to investigate further."

"And in her report, she mentioned that the fallen demon hunter seemed to harbor a very intense hatred toward you, with clues pointing to 'two years ago.'"

I added, "That’s right. However, back then, he shouldn’t have had the kind of power he has now, nor would he have transformed into a non-human appearance. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have failed to recognize him."

"Unfortunately, after his death, the fallen demon hunter did not revert to his original human form but retained his monstrous appearance. We’re unable to identify his original social identity or investigate the nature of the grudge between the two of you from two years ago," Agent Kong said with a regretful shake of his head before continuing. "However, another result was uncovered..."

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"It’s the cause of death," Zhu Shi interjected. "The fallen demon hunter’s cause of death was neither your flames nor my sword energy—it was acute organ failure."

I searched my limited knowledge of medicine: "So... it was death by shock?"

"Close, but not the burn shock you’re thinking of. It was an unexplained failure phenomenon," Zhu Shi explained. "For someone as powerful as the fallen demon hunter, acute organ failure might typically lead to a loss of control over their power and a self-detonation. However, it seems he consumed too much energy before dying, so he just died quietly."

It was probably because I kept chasing him and burning him while he was continuously regenerating his physical tissues, consuming a lot of energy in the process. After hearing Zhu Shi’s explanation, I formed a reasonable interpretation in my mind.

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But the fact that she referred to that fallen demon hunter as a "stronger being" made it hard for me to agree. Or was it possible that my standard for judging strength and weakness was the one that was skewed?

"Even though we can’t rule out the possibility that his acute organ failure was caused by excessive energy consumption, we still need to stay vigilant. When it comes to incidents involving supernatural, any unusual traces must be taken seriously and viewed with suspicion," Zhu Shi said earnestly. "Especially you, Zhuang Cheng... If the fallen demon hunter somehow makes a comeback, you’re very likely to become his target."

"I’ll be careful."

However, instead of worrying about myself, I was more concerned about how I could protect Ma Zao if she were caught up in any of this.

While I was lost in thought, Zhu Shi turned around and resumed examining the ritual magic circle in the room. She then crouched down beside it and began inspecting the black plush carpet.

A moment later, she let out a contemplative and puzzled sound. “…Something really doesn’t add up…”

“Is there an anomaly?” I shifted my focus to her.

“Zhuang Cheng, you mentioned last night that the alphabetic symbols on this carpet completed the missing parts of the ritual circle,” she said hesitantly. “From my perspective, what you said isn’t unreasonable. The ritual circle could indeed be completed in this way. However... even if it’s completed, it’s still a severely flawed circle. The chances of it successfully activating are astronomically low.”

“So it’s basically impossible to activate?”

She stated firmly, “If this kind of circle could activate, it would be nothing short of a miracle.”

“A miracle…” Once again, Ma Zao came to mind.

Could this also be Ma Zao’s influence? Was it her presence that brought about the near-zero-probability event of the basement appearing, just to entangle me in the anomalies within it?

But attributing all misfortune to Ma Zao’s “jinxed aura” seemed like an intellectual cop-out. Would I start blaming all my future bad luck on her as well?

Could there be other clues I hadn’t noticed yet? Slowly, the image of the black jade stone surfaced in my mind.

However, as a clue, the black jade was still far too vague…

“That said, this does confirm something. Perhaps opening the basement was indeed the fallen demon hunter’s goal in setting up this ritual circle. But the fact that the basement actually appeared wasn’t something he achieved intentionally, because he simply didn’t have the capability. In fact, he’s probably the one most desperate to understand why the basement appeared in the first place,” Zhu Shi said, straightening up with her hands on her knees. “Now, we can go ahead and erase this ritual circle.”

"How about trying to open the basement again using the method I suggested? Maybe we’d discover something new," I suggested, still feeling regretful that the basement in the fifteenth-floor room had been erased.

"No, the safest way is to eliminate it without triggering any anomalous phenomena."

Zhu Shi once again displayed her extremely cautious attitude before turning to deal with the ritual circle.

However, instead of wiping it away with a mop or similar tool, she took out a white chalk and began drawing entirely new mystical symbols around the outer edge of the circle.

Seeing my confusion, Agent Kong provided an explanation.

Since it was a bit complicated, I simplified it based on my understanding: essentially, the ritual circle might still contain residual energy. While a demon hunter’s power could suppress it when destroying the circle, there was still a risk of causing damage to the surroundings. What Zhu Shi was now doing was setting up a new circle designed to absorb any remaining energy and safely dissipate it into the environment.

Although the process was something you’d never witness in ordinary society, to me, it felt a bit tedious. Leaving without learning more would have been a shame, so I decided to chat with Agent Kong and ask about Mount Luo.

Agent Kong immediately picked up on my implied meaning after a few words. "So, you’re interested in joining Mount Luo, is that it?"

I hid my eagerness in my heart and pretended to be calm as I asked, "Yes. For an organization like yours that deals with the supernatural, what kind of requirements are there for recruits? For instance, do you think I’m suitable?"

Initially, I wanted to be more straightforward, but the only Mount Luo personnel I currently had access to were Zhu Shi and Agent Kong. At this level, while they weren’t official interviewers, they felt somewhat like it to me. I could relax a bit around Zhu Shi, but when it came to Agent Kong, I became keenly aware of myself as a candidate. I tried to suppress my bubbling enthusiasm, hoping not to let the "interviewer" see how eager I truly was.

Agent Kong nodded slightly, pondering aloud, "Well, as far as I can see, you..."

Suddenly, he stopped mid-sentence because Zhu Shi, who was busy drawing mystical symbols on the floor, had shot him a sharp glare.

"Alright, alright, I won’t say it, I won’t say it..."

Agent Kong quickly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. Zhu Shi’s expression softened slightly before she turned back to her work. Taking advantage of her focus on the symbols, Agent Kong gave me a sly wink.

I nodded in understanding and made up an excuse about needing to use the restroom, leaving the room on the fifteenth floor and heading straight downstairs.

After a while, Agent Kong seemed to have found his own reason to step away and met up with me downstairs.

"I told Zhu Shi that I needed to attend to some of my 'Probe' duties. It’s not entirely an excuse, though. Let’s talk as we walk," he said, leading the way out of the residential area. His tone carried a hint of melancholy. "You were asking earlier if you could join Mount Luo, right? My answer is clear: if someone like me, without any powers, can join, then of course you can."

"That’s great news! But if that’s the case, why is Zhu Shi so against me joining Mount Luo?" I asked, puzzled. "Is it because the organization is going through turbulent times?"

"Did Zhu Shi tell you about those issues? Only part of them, I’m guessing. It’s true Mount Luo is in a state of turmoil, but that’s something for the big shots to worry about. We little guys only need to focus on our livelihoods," he said. "As for why Zhu Shi is against you joining Mount Luo, it’s most likely because… you’re a flame-wielder."