I am Kong Da, a probe of Mount Luo.

In professional settings, I am usually addressed as "Agent Kong."

Looking at Zhuang Cheng’s lifeless body before me, I reverted my blade-shaped arms back to normal.

"I’ve warned you before, Zhuang Cheng," I said, pulling out a handkerchief to casually wipe my hands, then tossing the soiled cloth onto his corpse. "The weakness of a flame user lies in their lack of tolerance for mistakes. All it takes is one ambush like this, and there’s no coming back."

Yes, I am the true Fallen Demon Hunter.

At this moment, Zhuang Cheng was undoubtedly dead. His severed head lay on the ground, his eyes destroyed by the blade, and the slash had cut deep into his skull, utterly obliterating his brain tissue.

There were still traces of blood and brain matter stubbornly clinging to my hands. After killing so many people, I no longer felt remorse or melancholy for taking lives. However, the sticky, disgusting sensation always managed to irritate me.

This is one of the drawbacks of being a body-enhancement type. Unlike those who use firearms, authority, or abilities that kill without leaving a trace, body-enhancement hunters must take lives with their own hands. Sometimes, they’re even forced to listen to the screams of the dying and witness their anguished faces up close.

If I had Zhuang Cheng’s flame ability, perhaps I could kill with more ease and precision. But, of course, if I were actually offered a trade for such an offensively one-dimensional power, I would never accept it.

The current situation is the best justification for my reasoning. Zhuang Cheng's superpower is incredibly potent—he only needs a glance to destroy the clones I summon. Even if I personally faced him, the outcome wouldn’t be much better. But so what?

Being able to kill an opponent in one strike has never been something to brag about; it’s merely the most basic requirement.

In ancient melee combat, piercing an enemy’s vital point with a blade or spear was enough to take their life. In modern warfare, victory comes to whoever raises their gun and fires first. Even in street fights, there are instances where an accidental elbow strike can be fatal. In human-on-human combat, overwhelming offensive power is commonplace. Thinking that "one-hit KO" is impressive is just a game-centric mentality.

What truly matters is striking first. Even if you're wielding a dagger against an opponent armed with a cannon, victory is assured as long as you land the first hit. Someone like Zhuang Cheng, who’s essentially an amateur in combat, probably doesn’t understand this.

So what if he can kill with a glance? A simple sneak attack from behind is enough to take him down. A regular person could kill him if they were determined enough. In the bizarre world we inhabit, there are far more unfair and overpowered abilities than his. His skill is relatively easy to counter once you identify its weaknesses.

…That said, when he unleashed that omnidirectional fire attack earlier to kill my clones—and incidentally engulf me as well—I was so startled I nearly transformed on the spot. I genuinely thought I had been exposed, or that he’d gotten so carried away with the fight that he forgot I was his “ally.”

Turns out his flames can distinguish between friend and foe, and he simply forgot to warn me in advance. What a guy—completely lacking in team awareness.

I’ve analyzed his personality briefly, and in my view, he is a very typical case of someone who becomes arrogant after obtaining great power.

Many might assume that such individuals would inevitably act recklessly in society after gaining their abilities, but that’s not necessarily true. Based on the cases I’ve observed over the years, at least half of these individuals merely see themselves as superior to others around them, while still showing a measure of reverence toward powerful national institutions.

These people tend to see themselves as elevated above ordinary people and often exhibit a certain degree of disregard for human life. This is entirely natural. Anyone who possesses the ability to kill someone just by looking at them—and lives with the constant awareness of being able to kill without any cost—will inevitably experience a psychological distortion over time. As the saying goes, “When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” and “Those who wield sharp tools develop a killer instinct.”

He likely frequently envisions scenarios of killing in his mind, perhaps even wanting to test it out in reality—not because he has any particular motive, but simply because he can. There’s a lawless glint in his eyes, suggesting he may even ponder how to fight back if confronted by the police or military. Outwardly, he appears modest and cautious, but deep down, he harbors immense confidence in his power. While he wouldn’t actively seek trouble, he genuinely believes that if it came to a fight, he would undoubtedly emerge victorious.

In the absence of any conflict, he might try to conceal his identity as a superpowered individual. However, if circumstances force his hand, he wouldn’t hesitate to reveal himself. According to Zhu Shi’s report, when he encountered him at the scene of a battle and spoke with him, the man didn’t attempt to hide his actions. This stems from a latent desire to showcase his uniqueness to those around him.

To him, a mundane life feels suffocatingly restrictive. This is why he yearns to venture into an extraordinary world, much like a fish thrown onto land longs to return to water. He likely believes that such a world is where he truly belongs.

It is an utterly naïve and arrogant dream.

---

I first came into contact with the world of the supernatural and demon hunters twenty years ago.

Back then, I was very young and fascinated by all sorts of incredible phenomena recorded in casual books. Ghost ships where all the crew mysteriously vanished, the voices of hell coming from the world’s deepest drilled wells, ghostly encounters, spiritual photos, and doppelgängers—all these things fascinated me from the moment I could remember. I had an interest in the supernatural that went beyond that of others.

These inexplicable events that defied common sense far surpassed my life and experience. They both frightened and captivated me, making me wonder how I would react if I really encountered such events. Would I be as clever and brave as the characters in those stories, and perhaps even gain supernatural powers after overcoming such predicaments?

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Likewise, I was also drawn to metaphysical and spiritual knowledge—meditation, spiritual communication, exorcism, divination... For a period, I secretly tried these things, practicing as if I truly believed in them, hiding it from my family and friends.

If my family and friends had known what I was doing, they would have thought I genuinely believed in it. Of course, I didn’t truly believe in it, but I wanted to believe. These practices allowed my mind to escape from the dull monotony of studies and work, transporting me to a fantastical world of imagination. Over time, my obsession grew, reaching almost fanatic levels.

However, the good times didn’t last. When someone becomes truly obsessed with something, it inevitably shows in their life. When my family and friends discovered my secret, they began to look at me strangely, treating me as an eccentric, and whispered behind my back.

In fact, I never considered myself to be an extraordinary person. If I were to openly express my true thoughts, not everyone, but at least most people would be able to relate. The desire to escape the gravity of reality and venture into a realm of incredible time and space, where one could experience exciting encounters and adventures, is a dream many people have had in their youth. Even those who mock fantasy and pride themselves on being realists, deep down, haven’t they secretly wished that such fantastical things were real? I am simply more honest with my desires and have allowed myself to dream this dream for longer than those around me.

After graduating from university, I didn’t give up on these interests. In fact, I even found some like-minded new friends. External criticism doesn’t always make people abandon their hobbies; it can, in fact, make people more determined and united. We began spending our free time and holidays investigating urban legends and supernatural phenomena, sharing the clues we discovered and our failures along the way.

One day, I finally encountered the supernatural event I had always dreamed of.

In a supposedly haunted, forgotten alley, my friends from an offline gathering and I stepped in with a casual “just checking it out” attitude. What we didn’t expect was that this seemingly insignificant exploration, one that wouldn’t even make it into the list of failed attempts, hid a real and dangerous evil spirit.

At first, we walked to the end of the alley and found nothing. The strange events began on our way back. We chatted and laughed as we walked, but gradually, no matter how long we walked, we couldn’t see the alley entrance we had come through. By the time we realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

Panicking, we desperately searched for an escape, but one by one, our friends disappeared. The sounds of the bustling city outside grew increasingly distant, until they were completely gone. The neon lights and stars above us slowly flickered and went out. The alley gradually transformed into a realm far removed from civilization—a cursed place.

When I came to my senses, filled with dark and terrifying thoughts, my companions had all disappeared. I was left alone, abandoned in this eerie dead-end alley.

It was truly haunted!

In an extreme state of panic, I began to run, sprinting towards the exit.

However, no matter how far I ran, it felt as if I were standing still. The dead-end alley, which should have been a straight path, now seemed like a Möbius strip, with its ends connected. I was an ant futilely running along the surface of this loop.

Even the high walls on both sides began to show inexplicable distortions. I tried to climb the wall to escape, but aside from not having much experience with urban climbing, when I strained every muscle to reach a higher point, the wall seemed to grow taller before my very eyes.

I had no choice but to return to the ground and try to continue moving toward the exit. However, I had already lost all hope in my actions.

Time passed second by second, and the hours turned into a never-ending, terrifying night in the dead-end. Thirst and hunger gradually crept up.

I didn’t know how much time had passed—maybe a day, maybe two—but the burning thirst and hunger finally reached a point where it was unbearable.

Unable to distinguish whether it was my physical strength or my spirit that had first exhausted, I finally could no longer move. The prolonged anxiety and panic had numbed my soul, making it feel like a piece of flesh that had completely lost its elasticity.

After this long numbness, I finally broke down and cried out in despair in the dead-end alley, which seemed to have no end.

I regretted it.

I hated myself for what I had done until now.

Why did I enter this strange place?

Why was I so foolish to chase after strange and supernatural things?

The life that once disgusted me—boring, uneventful, but safe—seemed so warm and dazzling to me in this moment.

I just want to go back there, back to my home, back to my soft and comfortable bed, to sleep well and forget everything that happened here today. After that, I’ll work and live properly, never thinking about those unrealistic things again.

So, please, let me go... Please, let me return...

I knelt and bowed, crying uncontrollably, to the ghost that I didn’t know was watching me, unsure whether it even was watching me.

However, there was no response from the darkness, and my spirit was consumed by despair. Perhaps I was going to die here, losing all dignity and respect, dying in this place like a starving animal, without any value.

By some stroke of luck, I didn't die there after all.

I had fallen into a coma from hunger, and then someone woke me up.

It turns out that during my unconsciousness, a new visitor had entered the dead-end alley. This visitor personally eliminated the evil spirit that had been haunting the alley. And that was how I was saved, somewhat inexplicably.

After saving me, the person asked about my previous experiences. I was mentally exhausted, but I still forced myself to tell him everything, detail by detail.

After reluctantly finishing my story, I couldn't help but ask, "...Who are you?"

"I am Wu Chang," he answered.

"Wu Chang... is that your name?"

"No, Wu Chang is my identity. In Mount Luo, I am a demon hunter on the front lines, referred to as 'Wu Chang,'" he said, his tone quite friendly.

Mount Luo, demon hunters, Wu Chang... My mind had not yet escaped the nightmare, making it difficult to process these concepts.

Suddenly, I remembered the friends who had entered the dead-end alley with me, and I asked the person in front of me, "Wu Chang," if he had seen them.

"I didn't see them. They were all probably devoured," he said. "You're the only one who survived. It seems you were placed last in the order of the evil spirit's consumption, which is why you managed to survive by a stroke of luck."

"Only... me..." Fear surged through me like acid reflux, making me tremble uncontrollably. "You... how did you destroy that ghost?"

"You want to know how I destroyed it... I just found it normally and struck it with a sword," he said. "This evil spirit didn't have any particularly strong powers. It was good at invading people's minds and manipulating panic to create illusions. It was fine against ordinary people like you, but it couldn't do anything against us demon hunters, as we are immune to it. Even ordinary people, if they can hold onto their inner peace, wouldn't be harmed by it."

"Take you as an example. If you hadn't let fear control your mind in that alley, you wouldn't have been trapped for so long. Or, if you had faced death and accepted it as a possible outcome, that level of illusion would have been ineffective on you."

"However, to be fair, not even many demon hunters can stay unaffected by fear in such a helpless situation, or face death calmly. To ask an ordinary person to do so is indeed asking too much..."

Hearing this, I silently lowered my head.

Yes... it wasn't my fault.

Anyone who realizes they will die alone, far from everything, would eventually break down. Because humans are social animals; they cannot endure absolute loneliness and death.

Those who live in isolation are either gods or beasts.

Humans stripped of their societal roles are nothing but beasts who succumb to primal fear, and I was just one of those beasts.

No matter who was in my position, they would eventually become like me.