32 approaching the end2

Mazao and I simultaneously looked toward the newcomer.

The person who entered the door was dressed in a gray uniform, the same one I had seen the previous night, worn by the Luo Mountain personnel who had come to collect the body of the Fallen Demon Hunter.

And the face of this person was even more memorable to me; it was Agent Kong, who had once knocked on my door and had inadvertently hindered my exploration of the cave.

"Um?" As soon as Agent Kong saw my face, he immediately looked embarrassed, "You are Zhuang Cheng..."

"Good morning, 'Officer' sir."

Seeing his face again, I felt somewhat emotional.

Although I possessed the superpower to manipulate flames, having grown up in a law-abiding society, steeped in various propaganda and slogans, I subconsciously revered the official forces. The thought of possibly being ostracized by society always reflexively made me uneasy.

At first, I truly thought Agent Kong was a real police officer, and I had even secretly worried about shielding a "serial killer" and unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition. Now, it turned out that he was the one feeling guilty for having impersonated a police officer. The tables had turned.

"Don't be sarcastic, you must have heard it from Zhu Shi already, it was all Luo Mountain's assignment."

Hearing this, Agent Kong's embarrassment deepened, and he quickly waved his hand, then changed the subject: "I've heard that you were the one who defeated the Fallen Demon Hunter. I'm the agent in charge of patrolling this area, and I must thank you for your action in eradicating evil. By the way, are you planning to join Luo Mountain? I would advise you..."

As he spoke about me joining Luo Mountain, Zhu Shi furrowed her brows and immediately interjected: "Agent Kong, how is the 'matter' I asked you to investigate progressing?"

From Zhu Shi's attitude, it was apparent she truly did not want me to join Luo Mountain. Was it because of the chaos within Luo Mountain she had mentioned last time, and the potential conflicts that could arise, or was there another reason?

I decided not to rush to inquire further nor continue to tease Agent Kong, but simply continued along the lines of what Zhu Shi said: "'The matter' you refer to is?"

"It concerns the possible vendetta between you and the Fallen Demon Hunter." Agent Kong replied, "All information related to the Fallen Demon Hunter event was compiled by me, the 'probe' in charge of this area, and then passed on to Zhu Shi. If Zhu Shi discovers any new suspicious details in the course of handling the issue, she would also ask me to continue the investigation.

"She mentioned in the report that the Fallen Demon Hunter seemed to harbor a very strong hatred towards you, the clue dating 'two years ago.'"

I added to this: "Right, but back then, he probably didn't have the power he has now, nor the non-human appearance, or else I wouldn't have recognized him."

"Regrettably, after the Fallen Demon Hunter died, he did not revert back to his original human form but retained the appearance of a monster. We can't determine his original social identity, nor can we investigate what kind of grudge he had with you two years ago." Agent Kong said with pity, shaking his head, then continued, "However, another result has been unearthed..."

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"The cause of death." Zhu Shi took over, "The cause of death of the Fallen Demon Hunter was not your flames or my Sword Qi but acute organ failure."

I searched through my layman-level medical knowledge in my head: "You mean... he died of shock?"

"Sort of, but it wasn't the thermal shock you're thinking of, but an unexplained failure," Zhu Shi explained, "For a powerhouse like the Fallen Demon Hunter, acute organ failure might usually lead to a power surge causing an explosion, but it seems he had exhausted too much power before he died, so he just died silently."

Perhaps because I had been relentlessly burning him while he continuously regenerated his flesh during the final moments, causing him to lose a lot of energy. After hearing Zhu Shi's remarks, I naturally formed a reasonable explanation in my mind.

However, to describe that Fallen Demon Hunter as a "powerhouse" truly made it hard for me to agree. Or could it be that the person with the incorrect evaluation of strength was actually me?

"Though we can't rule out the possibility that his acute organ failure was due to his excessive power consumption, we still need to be vigilant. In incidents involving supernatural entities, any unusual trace must be taken seriously and doubted," Zhu Shi said earnestly. "Especially you, Zhuang Cheng... assuming that Fallen Demon Hunter comes back, you're likely to be his target."

"I'll be careful."

However, more than my own safety, I was more concerned about how to protect Mazao if she were to be affected.

While I pondered these thoughts, Zhu Shi turned around to continue inspecting the ritual array in the room, moving to the side to squat down and examine the black plush carpet.

After a moment, she let out sounds of contemplation and confusion: "…something is indeed amiss…"

"Is there something abnormal?" I shifted my attention to her.

"Zhuang Cheng, you mentioned last night that the symbols on this carpet complement the missing parts of the ritual array..." She hesitated, "From my perspective, what you said makes sense. The ritual array indeed could be completed this way, but... even if completed, this is still a severely flawed array, and the likelihood of it successfully activating is astronomically low."

"So, you're saying it's basically impossible to activate?"

She stated confidently, "If this array were to activate, it would be nothing short of a miracle."

"Miracle..." I thought of Mazao again.

Could this also be Mazao's doing? Was this all to involve me in the strange incidents in the cave, this nearly impossible cave appearing miraculously as a 'Calamity'?

But, is it too much of "abandoning reason" to attribute all my misfortune to Mazao's Broom Star Physique? Am I planning to blame all the calamities I encounter on Mazao?

Could there be other clues that I haven't noticed yet? Gradually, the presence of the black jade came to my mind.

However, as a clue, the black jade remained too vague...

"But, this confirms it. Perhaps opening the cave was indeed the goal for the Fallen Demon Hunter who set up this ritual array, but its appearance wasn't something he intended because he simply didn't have the capability. Perhaps he's the one who's most eager to find out why the cave appeared," said Zhu Shi as she stood up straight from her crouched position, "Now we can erase this array."

"Want to try opening the cave yourself, using the method I provided? There might be other findings." I still regretted the removal of the cave in the fifteen-story room.

"No, the safest approach is to remove it without triggering any strange phenomena," she argued.

Zhu Shi again demonstrated her extremely cautious demeanor before turning to deal with the ritual array.

However, when she said she would erase it, she didn't use a tool like a mop to wipe it away. Instead, she took out white chalk and began drawing new, mysterious symbols from the outer circle of the array.

Agent Kong noticed my puzzled look and explained beside me.

It was complex, so I simplified it with my understanding. Simply put, there might still be some power accumulated within the ritual array. When breaking the array, a demon hunter's power can suppress it, but it could still potentially cause damage to the surroundings. What Zhu Shi was setting up was a new array designed to absorb any persisting power and safely dissipate it into the environment.

This task, though a scene not normally seen in everyday society, felt somewhat dull to my perception. I was reluctant to leave just like that, so I started to inquire about Luo Mountain from Agent Kong.

Agent Kong quickly caught on to the undertone of my question; after a few words, he clearly understood my intentions, "That is to say, you want to join Luo Mountain?"

I hid my eager anticipation, feigning calmness, "That's right. What are the requirements for joining an organization with supernatural traits like yours? Do you think I'd be suitable?"

Truthfully, I wanted to be more straightforward, but the only Luo Mountain representatives I could access were Zhu Shi and Agent Kong. At this level, although they aren't interviewers, there was a hint of that vibe in my heart. I could relax in front of Zhu Shi, but with Agent Kong, I felt the awareness of a job candidate, hoping to restrain my eagerness to avoid letting the 'interviewer' detect my impatience.

Agent Kong nodded slightly, pondering, "Well, in my view, you..."

Suddenly, he stopped speaking because Zhu Shi, who was drawing the mystical symbols on the floor, had glared over.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop talking," Agent Kong quickly gestured his capitulation, and Zhu Shi's expression slightly relaxed as she continued her task. While she was focused on the drawings, Agent Kong gave me a meaningful glance.

I nodded understandingly, made an excuse about needing to use the restroom, and left the fifteen-story room, heading directly downstairs.

After a while, it seemed Agent Kong had also found a pretext to withdraw, and he met me downstairs.

"I told Zhu Shi that I needed to deal with my official duties with 'probes'. It's not entirely a pretext; let's walk and talk," he led me outside the complex, his voice somewhat wistful, "You were asking whether you could join Luo Mountain, right? My answer is clear, if someone devoid of Mana like me can, then of course you can too."

"That's great news! But if that's the case, why is Zhu Shi so resistant to my joining Luo Mountain?" I asked, puzzled, "Is it because Luo Mountain is undergoing turbulent times?"

"Did Zhu Shi tell you those things? Only partially, right? It's true that Luo Mountain is facing tumultuous times, but that's a concern for the higher-ups, we minions just need to worry about making a living," he explained, "The reason Zhu Shi resists your joining Luo Mountain is likely because you are a Flame Ability User."