Also, what was the gender of that friend?

Although I was indeed curious about this, I felt that asking would change the nature of the conversation, so I swallowed the question down.

It seemed that my question had caught her off guard. After a while, she answered, "…She is an exception."

"An exception?" I pressed.

"She was a ten-year-old little girl. In such a dangerous environment, if there was no one to protect her, she would have died even faster." She explained. "Although being around her would also bring danger, it was still better than leaving her all alone."

"A ten-year-old girl..." I nodded. "Then, do you remember her name? Since you were with her until the very end, you must at least remember her name. We can check the records of the soul-loss syndrome patients later to see if we can find her."

She seemed somewhat moved, but then sighed and denied, "I don't know her real name. She had already forgotten it."

Once again, an unexpected obstacle appeared. I asked, "Why is that?"

"As I mentioned before, I've forgotten many things from the past. This is a very common phenomenon in the apocalypse era." She showed a reflective look. "The world in the apocalypse era was shrouded in an invisible madness, and the people living there would gradually be consumed by this madness, losing themselves and forgetting their past experiences. The people I caused to die, I can't even remember their appearances or names anymore.

"And when a person forgets their own name, even forgets everything, they lose themselves, descend into madness, and become monsters that devour others."

"These transformed monsters are called 'Oddities,' or 'Demon Beasts.'"

The term "Oddities" is quite vivid.

As for "Demon Beast"... I recall this term originates from Buddhism.

In Buddhism, the obstacles that hinder a practitioner's enlightenment are called "demons." The so-called "demon beast" is the root cause that causes the practitioner to uncontrollably commit evil deeds—more commonly put, it is what makes a person do bad things. Buddhism believes that the reason humans commit evil is because their hearts have been invaded by a demon, and that demon is the "demon beast."

"The reason I acted together with my friend was partly to prevent myself from forgetting everything and becoming a demon beast," Ma Zao continued. "In the apocalypse era, it's best to team up with at least two people so you can call out each other's names and confirm each other's memories. Even temporary codenames will do. The key is that everyone must have a name."

"I see..." I processed this information and then said, "But even if you don't know your friend's real name, you must remember her face, right? This world doesn't have the madness you spoke of, so there shouldn't be any risk of forgetting her again."

"I remember," she nodded. "I will follow your advice and investigate the records of soul-loss syndrome patients... though I don't believe the souls of these patients went to the apocalypse era."

It seemed she still intended to go solo. I had to convince her to give up that idea.

After visiting the aquarium, I took her to an abandoned construction site near Xianshui University.

"This is..." Ma Zao hesitated.

This was where I first met her, the place I considered the location of fate. Although it had changed beyond recognition, she probably hadn't forgotten that she had been here before.

Now, it had become a dangerous area. The half-demolished, unfinished building still stood, but it was a true hazard now. A perimeter had been set up to prevent people from approaching. In a while, this place would probably be demolished.

If I couldn't convince Ma Zao no matter what, I would reveal my abilities here.

I led Ma Zao past the caution tape and into the unfinished building, climbing the stairs in the undamaged section. Although she looked confused, she followed me.

"I suggest you avoid exposing yourself recklessly. Right now, it's not just the obvious forces tracking you. According to what my friends have found out, there seems to be some significant underground forces investigating you as well," I tried once again to persuade her. "The police who came to accuse you of being a serial killer were probably just the tip of the iceberg. If you expose yourself, you won't be able to gather the information you're looking for anymore."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Underground forces... Even if such forces exist, they are something I have to face," she said firmly. "From the beginning, I made my purpose clear. That is to announce to as many people as possible that the apocalypse is approaching, and stop it from coming in this era."

"Then why did the first thing you say to me when we met was 'don't call the police'? Wouldn't it be better to report the impending apocalypse to the official authorities first?" I asked.

Without hesitation, she answered, "Because I need to gather enough evidence first to gain people's trust."

"This evidence, I will gather for you outside," I said. "You should hide here for now. At least wait for the current storm to pass."

"No, you can't do it," she asserted.

"Why?" I asked, completely confused.

By this time, we had reached the middle section of the unfinished building.

Though it was called the middle section, it was effectively the rooftop, and above us, the structure consisted of a crisscrossed framework of steel and concrete.

The rooftop had also been split in two, with a gap of about ten meters between the broken edges. We were standing on one half of the rooftop. The ground was slightly slanted. She walked to the edge where the rooftop had split. The sky was a clear blue, and the sun was shining brightly. A cool breeze blew from above, and her medium-length black hair swayed in the wind.

She removed her black cat whisker mask and turned to face me, her expression calm.

"Because, Zhuang Cheng... you don't actually believe in the apocalypse, do you?"

"Why would you say that?" I asked in return.

Her next words left me speechless.

"Have you ever once asked me, 'When will the apocalypse arrive?'"

Her words struck me like lightning.

"If you truly believe in the apocalypse and are wary of it, you would inevitably care about when it will arrive. Whether it's in a few years, a few months, or just a few days... it would be impossible not to ask, because that is the countdown to destruction," she gazed into my eyes. "But you never once asked. It's only natural, because you don't believe in the apocalypse, so you don't feel a sense of crisis, and naturally, you don't have the concept of a countdown."

"So, in your view, I can't collect evidence for the approaching apocalypse for you..." I murmured.

"I'm not blaming you, nor am I accusing you of lying to me earlier," she said in a firm tone. "Because just a few days ago, you emphasized to me that you 'cannot believe' me, but you 'want to believe' me. Even up until this moment, you have been trying to believe me, which is why you've been talking to me about so many things related to the apocalypse.

"I truly appreciate your intention, but simply 'wanting to believe' is not enough. The apocalypse will be stopped by me, and I will protect your future.

"But we cannot be together."

"......"

Her evaluation of me was largely correct, but there was one thing she misunderstood.

In my heart, the apocalypse was not a taboo subject. Even if I truly believed in it, what I likely felt toward it was anticipation.

So, the reason I never asked about the countdown to the apocalypse was that I didn't feel enough anticipation toward it?

It’s not like that. In my heart, the apocalypse is undoubtedly something worth anticipating. However, it may be similar to someone dreaming of becoming a wealthy person by winning the lottery — while dreaming of hitting the jackpot, it’s hard to truly imagine that scenario happening in real life, and it’s impossible to anticipate it with a realistic mindset. The apocalypse, to me, is that kind of unreachable thing.

Whenever I think about the apocalypse and the time travel she mentioned, I always start with “hypothetically” or “if” as a prefix. If it’s true, if it really is... how could I not think that way? Indeed, the things she has said before have been proven true, whether it’s the "harbinger of misfortune" physique or the "blessing power"... But the apocalypse is ultimately a different scale of event, and even calling it “the difference between heaven and earth” doesn’t seem sufficient.

No matter how much I want to believe her, the reality is that so far, there hasn’t been a single clue to prove the existence of the apocalypse.

Rather than relying on the distant “apocalypse,” I might as well focus on the nearby “harbinger of misfortune.” This is the irrefutable truth in my heart.

“Do you want to just leave like this?” I asked.

“You have shown me kindness. This favor, I will surely repay. But I cannot repay it by staying by your side, because that would not be repaying a favor, but returning kindness with harm,” she said, her tone as firm as iron.

“...If you’re worried that your ‘harbinger of misfortune’ physique will bring disaster to me, there’s no need for that.”

I had finally been pushed to my last step.

“I must be honest with you. In the past, I’ve been lying to you…” I said slowly. “Actually... I’m a Superpower User.”

“—What?”

Upon hearing this, she showed an expression of complete confusion and astonishment.

I exhaled.

In front of her, I raised my right hand, palm facing up.

A blazing fireball appeared in the palm of my hand, its flames reflecting on her face, which now wore a look of surprise.

However, I knew that this alone might not be enough to convince her. To people like Zhu Shi and Agent Kong from Mount Luo, fire abilities were typically seen as a mere offensive power, not a means of survival in a bizarre world. Maybe Ma Zao would view my ability the same way, so I had to go further.

I quickly slapped the fireball onto my chest.

As the fireball made contact, my entire body was set aflame. Skin, muscles, bones, blood, organs... not a single part of me was left untouched by the fire. Long ago, I had learned to ignite myself in this way to comprehend my second form. In an instant, my body was engulfed by a blazing inferno.

The flames didn’t harm my body; instead, my body merged with the flames, taking on the same color and becoming slightly transparent. Not just my body, but even my clothes were assimilated into the flames. I had changed my form countless times in front of a mirror in the past, and in this state, I resembled a ghost woven from orange-red light, my body’s outline flickering like flames. This seemingly unstable form was, in fact, my strongest trump card.

This was my second form—Fire Elemental Form.