Zhu Shi and I turned toward the newcomer at the same time.

  The person who had just stepped through the door was dressed in a gray uniform—one I'd seen last night, the same kind worn by the Luo Shan personnel who had retrieved the fallen demon hunter's body.

  And this individual's face was even more familiar to me: it was Investigator Kong, the one who had knocked on my door before and later unintentionally obstructed my exploration of the cave.

  "Hmm?" As soon as Investigator Kong saw my face, he looked distinctly awkward. "You're Z..."

  "Good morning, 'Officer' sir."

  Seeing his face again stirred a mix of emotions in me.

  Even though I possessed the supernatural ability to manipulate flames, I'd grown up in a society governed by law, marinated in all sorts of propaganda and slogans. Deep down, I unconsciously held a sense of awe for official authorities. The mere thought that I might not be tolerated by society triggered reflexive anxiety.

  At first, I'd fully believed Investigator Kong was a real cop, and I'd broken into a cold sweat over sheltering a "serial killer" and illegally possessing firearms and ammunition. Now, the tables had turned—it was him feeling guilty for impersonating a police officer.

  "Don't mock me like that. You must have heard from Zhu Shi already; it was all part of a Luo Shan mission."

  Hearing this, Investigator Kong's embarrassment deepened. He waved his hands quickly and changed the subject: "I've heard about it—you're the one who defeated the fallen demon hunter. As the agent patrolling this area, I have to thank you for taking down that threat. By the way, are you planning to join Luo Shan? I suggest you..."

  When he brought up me joining Luo Shan, Zhu Shi frowned and immediately interjected: "Investigator Kong, how's the progress on 'that matter' I asked you to look into?"

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

  I didn't rush to ask, nor did I keep teasing Investigator Kong. Instead, I followed Zhu Shi's lead: "'That matter' refers to?"

  "It's about any possible grudge between you and the fallen demon hunter," Investigator Kong replied. "All information related to the fallen demon hunter incident is compiled by the 'probe' in charge of this area—that's me—and then handed over to Zhu Shi. If she spots any new suspicious points during her handling of the case, she'll delegate further investigation back to me.

  "And in her report, she noted that the fallen demon hunter seemed to harbor an unusually intense hatred toward you, with the clue pointing to 'two years ago.'"

  I added my own detail: "That's right, but back then, he shouldn't have had his current powers or transformed into that non-human appearance. Otherwise, I would have recognized him."

  "Unfortunately, after death, the fallen demon hunter didn't revert to his original human form; he stayed in his monstrous state. We couldn't identify his original social identity, let alone investigate what kind of grudge he had with you two years ago." Investigator Kong shook his head regretfully before continuing, "However, we did uncover another finding..."

  "What is it?" I asked curiously.

  "It's the cause of death," Zhu Shi took over. "The fallen demon hunter didn't die from your flames or my sword energy, but from acute organ failure."

  I racked my amateur medical knowledge: "So... like dying from shock?"

  "Something like that, but not the burn-induced shock you're thinking of—it's an unexplained failure." Zhu Shi explained, "For a powerhouse like the fallen demon hunter, acute organ failure might normally lead to an uncontrolled explosion due to power overload. But it seems he expended too much energy right before death, so he just quietly passed away."

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Probably because I'd been relentlessly burning him in his final moments, while he kept regenerating tissue at high speed, draining a ton of energy in the process. After hearing Zhu Shi's explanation, that seemed like a reasonable interpretation in my mind.

  But her calling that fallen demon hunter a "powerhouse" really didn't sit right with me—I couldn't agree at all. Or was it my standards for strength that were off?

  "While we can't rule out that his acute organ failure was due to excessive power consumption, we still need to stay vigilant. In incidents involving anomalies, any unusual traces must be taken seriously and scrutinized," Zhu Shi said earnestly. "Especially you, Z... If that fallen demon hunter were to make a comeback, you'd likely be his target."

  "I'll be careful."

  That said, I was more worried about Alice getting caught up in it than myself—how could I protect her if that happened?

  While I pondered this, Zhu Shi turned away, resuming her examination of the ritual circle in the room. She then crouched down beside it to inspect the black shag carpet.

  A moment later, she let out a thoughtful hum of doubt: "...Something's definitely off..."

  "Is there an anomaly?" I shifted my attention to her.

  "Z, you mentioned last night that the alphabetic symbols on this carpet completed the missing parts of the ritual circle..." she said hesitantly. "From what I can see, you're not wrong—the circle could indeed be filled in that way. But even completed, it's still a severely flawed array, with the odds of successful activation being astronomically low."

  "So, basically impossible to trigger?"

  She stated firmly: "If this array could activate, it'd have to be a miracle."

  "Miracle..." I thought of Alice again.

  Could this be Alice's influence too? Just to drag me into the cave anomaly, a cave with near-zero odds of appearing manifested through a miraculous "misfortune"?

  But blaming all my bad luck on Alice's jinx-like nature felt like giving up on thinking altogether. Was I planning to shove every misfortune I encountered onto her from now on?

  Maybe there were other clues I hadn't noticed yet... Gradually, the black jade stone came to mind.

  But as a clue, the black jade was still too vague...

  "That said, this confirms it. Opening the cave might have been the fallen demon hunter's goal in setting up this ritual circle, but the cave's actual appearance wasn't his deliberate doing—he simply didn't have the capability. Maybe he was the one most eager to know why the cave appeared," Zhu Shi said, pushing herself up from her knees. "We can erase the array now."

  "How about trying to open the cave again using the method I suggested? We might discover something new," I suggested, still regretting the loss of the fifteenth-floor cave.

  "No, eliminating it without triggering any anomalies is the safest approach."

  Zhu Shi showed her extremely cautious side once more, then turned to handle the ritual circle.

  That said, rather than directly wiping it away with something like a mop, she took out white chalk and began drawing new mystical symbols starting from the outer edge of the array.

  Seeing my confusion, Investigator Kong explained from the side.

  It was a bit complex, so I'll simplify it based on my understanding. Essentially, the ritual circle might still hold residual power. Destroying it could be suppressed by a demon hunter's abilities, but it might still cause collateral damage. What Zhu Shi was setting up now was a new array to absorb any potential power and safely discharge it into the environment.

  The process was something you wouldn't see in normal society, but to me, it felt a tad boring. I didn't want to just leave like that, so I started asking Investigator Kong about Luo Shan.

  He caught on quickly, and after a few words, he grasped my intent: "So, you're interested in joining Luo Shan?"

  I hid my eager anticipation and asked calmly: "Yes. For a supernatural organization like yours, what are the requirements for new members? For example, do you think I'd fit?"

  I had wanted to be more direct at first, but the only Luo Shan people I could contact right now were Zhu Shi and Investigator Kong. In that sense, they weren't exactly interviewers, but they felt like it to me. I could relax around Zhu Shi, but with Investigator Kong, I adopted an interviewee's mindset, trying to rein in my bubbling excitement so the "interviewer" wouldn't notice how desperate I was.

  Investigator Kong nodded slightly, pondering: "Well, from my perspective, you..."

  Suddenly, he stopped. Because Zhu Shi, who was drawing mystical symbols on the floor, had shot him a glare.

  "Alright, alright, I won't say anything, I won't say anything..."

  Investigator Kong raised his hands in surrender, and Zhu Shi's expression softened as she returned to her work. While she focused on the symbols, he gave me a knowing wink.

  I nodded in understanding, made an excuse about using the bathroom, and left the fifteenth-floor room, heading straight downstairs.

  A little while later, Investigator Kong seemed to find his own excuse to slip away and met me downstairs.

  "I told Zhu Shi I had to handle my 'probe' duties next. It's not entirely a lie—let's talk while we walk," he said, leading the way out of the complex with a somewhat wistful tone. "You asked if you could join Luo Shan, right? My answer is clear: if even someone like me with zero magical ability can, then you definitely can too."

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

  "Did Zhu Shi tell you about that? Only part of it, I bet. Luo Shan is indeed in a period of upheaval, but that's for the big shots to worry about. Us little guys just need to focus on making a living," he said. "The main reason Zhu Shi opposes you joining is probably because you're a flame wielder."