I must extract the clues I need from this distant Oddities.

That said, I had no idea in what form such a clue might present itself.

Perhaps this Oddities had encountered traces of Ma Zao in the past two days, or maybe it would draw Ma Zao out in the future.

Either way, I firmly believed that the "seemingly investigating-the-Oddities Ma Zao" would inevitably have some sort of connection with this creature—even if the specifics remained unclear.

To achieve this, I needed to ensure the Oddities stayed alive.

Either it would stay alive long enough to reveal information about Ma Zao, or it would live until it attracted Ma Zao's attention.

But Zhu Shi would undoubtedly object.

In the worst-case scenario, I might have to disagree with her outright, or even end up fighting her.

Perhaps I could find a middle ground—a way to respect Zhu Shi's principles while still pursuing my own objectives.

I needed to think fast…

Time was running out.

The Oddities was moving further away.

I glanced over at Zhu Shi.

She was intensely focused on the creature.

Then I noticed something strange about her eyes.

It wasn't the emotion in her gaze that was strange, but rather, it was as if her eyes were radiating a piercing intensity, a sharpness that could see through anything.

I remembered seeing this look before—once when she deduced that my superpowers weren't derived from demonic bloodlines, and again when she identified from Agent Kong's remains that he was indeed a "Fallen Demon Hunter."

Zhu Shi closed her eyes briefly, and when she reopened them, her gaze had returned to normal.

"Zhuang Cheng, let's follow Lu Chan's suggestion this time—let's just kill this Oddities outright," she said firmly.

"He's only the second Oddities after Agent Kong. What if there are a third or fourth Oddities in Xianshui City? Shouldn't we at least try capturing him alive to extract some information?" I spoke, trying to buy time while I desperately searched for that middle-ground solution.

To my surprise, Zhu Shi beat me to it.

"Capturing him alive is pointless, and it’s not even necessary. I have a way to extract clues from him," she said calmly.

"What way?" I asked, surprised.

"As long as we keep his head intact when we kill him, we can let Lu Chan use a spell to extract information directly from his brain tissue," she explained.

"But didn't Patrol Lu already say that method doesn’t work? The source of the monster’s power will destroy the information as it fades away," I asked, confused.

"I know how to prevent that destruction," she said confidently.

I could tell she wasn’t lying—not about something like this. Yet, it was still hard to believe. "Really?" I asked.

She nodded, her expression unwavering. "Really."

This was fantastic news!

In my mind, I weighed the options—if I stubbornly insisted on my tailing plan, I would only end up losing Zhu Shi's trust and would no longer be able to rely on Patrol Lu's support.

Furthermore, even if I continued tailing the monster, I would essentially be leaving everything to chance, with no guarantee that Ma Zao would actually show up.

Although I firmly believed Ma Zao would eventually be drawn here, if that didn't happen within three days, it would be meaningless.

These three days were my countdown, not the countdown for Ma Zao and the Oddities to cross paths.

Right now, time was the most important factor.

If there was a way to extract information directly from the Oddities's brain, then killing it immediately would be the better choice.

Even if this attempt yielded no results, I could still rely on Zhu Shi and Patrol Lu's assistance to continue searching for Ma Zao later.

In truth, neither "tailing" nor "Zhu Shi's plan" was entirely reliable, but if I had to choose, the latter better aligned with my style.

"I understand," I said, making my final confirmation before the attack.

"As long as the head remains intact, right?"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"That's right…"

As she spoke, Zhu Shi swiftly donned her rain cloak and bamboo hat, drawing her sharp sword with a practiced motion.

Suddenly, she froze for a moment and then seemed to realize something.

"Wait, are you planning to attack right now?"

"Yes," I said, my gaze locked onto the monster.

"But isn't this supposed to be my big moment?!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

Too late. I had already launched my attack.

By the way, this time I had no intention of using my "ignite the target with my gaze" ability, which was far too slow.

When facing the Fallen Demon Hunter and Agent Kong, I had taken my time because I was excited to face supernatural opponents for the first time.

But now, having established initial contact with Lu Chan and Mount Luo, I no longer felt the need to savor every encounter.

In my normal form, I could actually use all my fire-element abilities, and their power wasn’t necessarily weaker—just less fluid and instinctive.

Skills that I could fire off ten or twenty times in a single second in my fire-element form might take several seconds in this form.

The ability I used on the monster now was "Summon Flames Directly Inside the Enemy's Body."

To activate it, I needed to merge my consciousness with the heat in the surrounding environment.

In my fire-element form, this process was as natural as breathing air, but in my normal state, it required total concentration.

Through my perception, I could clearly visualize the Oddities's internal structure in my mind.

It was similar to how someone might imagine the inner workings of their body after reading about human anatomy.

In that imagined image, I planted an enormous fireball—one that was larger than its torso.

The outcome of an enormous amount of heat appearing suddenly in a confined space was self-evident.

From afar, the Oddities exploded under my gaze.

Like a brilliant firework in full bloom, countless fragments of flesh and viscera erupted outward, mixed with searing streams of flame.

For an instant, the football field was illuminated by the blinding flash of the explosion, casting sharp shadows across the overgrown grass in the dead of night.

Of course, I didn’t forget to preserve the head.

The explosion had only torn apart the torso, while the head was launched skyward by the shockwave.

My vision couldn’t clearly capture the distant scene in the dark, but through my heat-infused perception of the environment, I could distinctly see a look of bewilderment and confusion frozen on that face.

It’s said that a human head can retain brief moments of consciousness after being severed.

It seemed that Oddities were no different.

After a brief moment, the Oddities’s head plummeted back down like an inflexible rubber ball, landing smack in the middle of the football field.

Only then did it occur to me—What if the head cracked on impact? I focused my gaze, relieved to see that it was still intact.

Truly, a head strengthened by physical enhancements was just as durable as a real football.

"Is… is it over just like that?" Zhu Shi asked, dumbfounded.

"It seems so," I replied.

"No, listen," she said, still processing what had happened.

"Setting someone on fire with just a glance was already over the top, but now… making someone explode with a glance?" She seemed at a loss for words and finally settled into an exasperated expression.

"You don’t have… even more outrageous skills than this, do you?"

"I wouldn’t say it’s that outrageous…"

In my opinion, this skill wasn’t particularly complex on its own.

And if we’re talking about "overpowered abilities," Agent Kong’s ability to banish opponents to the Shadow Realm when he couldn’t win was arguably far more unreasonable.

Don’t let my easy victory against Agent Kong fool you.

If I hadn’t been able to teleport via flames, even with the highly-praised elementalization abilities Zhu Shi had talked up so much, I would have been defeated right there.

After just a few encounters, I had come to understand a simple truth: in the world of supernatural, victory isn’t determined by raw strength but by compatibility.

One wrong step could lead to utter annihilation, and if someone discovered your weakness, defeat was almost inevitable.

Patrol Lu had once wielded the power of a High-Ranking Wuchang, yet he had been captured, imprisoned, and studied because someone found a way to exploit his weaknesses.

It was probably due to this same principle.

However, if I said I wasn’t happy with Zhu Shi’s astonished reaction, I’d be lying—to her and to myself.

This was the first time I had formally demonstrated my abilities in front of her, and naturally, I hoped to see an extraordinary reaction and gain her recognition.

Come to think of it, could she have done this intentionally, knowing it would make me happy? Though, even if that were the case, I’d still be thrilled.

Back to the matter at hand—the fight wasn’t over yet.

As the saying goes, “There’s always someone stronger, and there’s always something beyond your imagination.”

If you become complacent because you believe you have an “overpowered ability,” sooner or later, you’ll find yourself countered by another overpowered ability.

And now, it seemed I was witnessing exactly that.

Just when I thought the enemy had been defeated, the severed head of the Oddities began to undergo an astonishing transformation.

He came back to life.

I’m not even sure if “resurrected” is the right word.

It was as if several frames had been cut from a movie reel—a perfectly intact version of him suddenly reappeared in place.

There was no flash of light, no sound, and not even a traceable process.

The scattered remains of his exploded body had vanished without a trace, as if he had never exploded at all.

And I was certain—this wasn’t a fluke.

The Oddities had likely anticipated this outcome.

After his resurrection, he hesitated for just a moment.

It wasn’t the confusion of someone brought back to life, but rather the puzzlement of someone analyzing how they had been attacked in the first place.

His gaze snapped toward my location, and with an enraged roar, he charged at me.

Despite having been blown to pieces moments ago, he showed no hesitation in charging forward once he identified his enemy.

Clearly, he didn’t fear injury or death.

It was apparent that his ability wasn’t a simple "healing factor so strong he couldn't be killed."

No, it was something far more elusive and incomprehensible—a mystical immortality ability.

I recalled the blessing power that Ma Zao once showed me.

She had, right before my eyes, restored an empty bag of sweet soy milk back to its original full state.

Could this Oddities possess an ability that could reverse time itself?

Before the Oddities could cover much distance in his charge, he was intercepted.

The moment he revived, Zhu Shi had already vanished from my side, moving with such incredible speed that she seemed like a superhuman warrior, too fast to track.

A brilliant flash of sword light burst from the Oddities’s rear flank, slicing cleanly through his neck.

Blood erupted into the air as the severed head fell to the ground, and the devil-like body continued forward briefly under the momentum of its charge.

But all of that was instantly undone.

As if nothing had happened, the gushing blood, the falling head, and the stumbling body all disappeared.

The Oddities regained his balance, and his head inexplicably reattached itself to his neck.

Zhu Shi was right behind him, relentless in her pursuit.

Meanwhile, the Oddities’s hand morphed into a massive warhammer of shadow, and without even turning his head, he swung it viciously in Zhu Shi’s direction.