From the end of the world

Chapter 226: Sincere Advance
Ma Zao paused for a moment, then closed his eyes and gave his answer: "...I feel in pretty good shape, and I should be able to use more strength than before."

It is hard to say how clear this answer is. If she were to fight now, how well would she perform? When I was thinking about this, I suddenly realized that the last time Ma Zao took action was when he was dealing with the Shadow Changer.

After that, she was always in a supporting role. Although she was actively participating in strange events, she couldn't find a chance to show her skills because I took away all the opportunities to fight. Since the Shadow Changer, the enemies after that were either dangerous opponents with many cards like the Monster Maker, or great success-level enemies like Chen Long, so I was unlikely to let her take action.

She seemed unable to describe how much fighting power she could bring out at most. It's not that she couldn't give it a try, but it would be better not to put pressure on her soul if she had nothing to do. So the topic came to a standstill again.

I have to make a change soon.

Making Ma Zao believe that the reason I stayed with her was "love" was certainly a powerful persuasive move, but it was not necessarily a good move. Even without mentioning the current difficult situation, my hidden truth would be easily exposed. I have mentioned before that my pursuit of weirdness is not a secret in Xianshui City. Zhu Shi also told me that even some Luoshan agents knew about it. It was because Ma Zao didn't have many social connections there that it was kept secret until now.

Although we are far away from Xianshui City now, we cannot expect that this secret will never reach Ma Zao's ears. As my reputation spreads in Luoshan, news related to my past will inevitably spread in Luoshan. Sooner or later, Ma Zao will hear about it. Rather than letting the secret be exposed, it is better for me to take the initiative to tell it, which will make people feel better.

Moreover, even if I tell her all about my desire for weirdness, Ma Zao may not immediately extend it to the level of "Zhuang Cheng may be longing for the end of the world". The evidence is Zhu Shi, she knows very well what kind of person I am, but she still doesn't realize - at least she doesn't seem to realize my expectation of the end of the world.

Of course, this terrible possibility still exists objectively, and it is not small. After all, Ma Zao and I will be together day and night. Even if she does not have this association at the beginning, once time passes - especially if we are still on the road of investigating the truth of the doomsday, she is likely to more or less perceive my true feelings from my attitude towards the doomsday. I am not a person who is very good at disguising myself, and I cannot guarantee that I can conceal my thoughts all the time.

Anyway, I have to speak my mind.

Even if the worst comes to the worst and Ma has already known my entire nature and wants to leave me, I still have one last card in my hand, which is small bowl number two.

Now the only person who can help Ma Zao contact No. 2 Xiao Wan is me. If No. 2 Xiao Wan forgets his name again and falls into the desperate situation of becoming a demon, I am the only one who can save the situation in Ma Zao's heart. Just for this reason, Ma Zao can only be tied to me tightly.

Thinking of this, I felt that I had the confidence to speak my mind. Well, just in case, I thought about Ma Zao's possible responses and doubts, wrote several drafts in advance, and then gave them to Zhu Shi for review. Zhu Shi is also a woman, an insider, and also supports me to speak my mind. It should not be wrong to consult her on this aspect.

Maybe she can help me practice a bit, just in case.

While thinking, I took Ma Zao to a secluded place in the city, and then launched a fireball vertically into the night sky.

After reaching the sky, the fireball turned 90 degrees and headed north at dozens of times the speed of sound. After only thirty seconds, the fireball arrived over the target province and landed in a small forest in the suburbs.

Using this as a teleportation mark, I activated the fire teleportation and came to this place thousands of miles away.

Then, through the teleportation mark on my body, Ma Zao was teleported to my side.

According to the contact matters mentioned by Mr. Zhu, a special contact person should arrive in a while to take us to the nearby Luoshan Base. Fa Zheng will also arrive there to interview me later.

This "afterwards" should not be immediately. Mr. Zhu mentioned that Fa Zheng would probably need another three or four days to meet me. It seems that he is not trying to show off, but probably cannot come for the time being. If the Great Impermanence behind the Magic Gun has some kind of hostile relationship with Fa Zheng, then the two sides may have already started a dispute under the surface over the issue of Ma Zao, and the reason why the former did not take action personally may also be related to this matter. At this moment, the two sides may be in a state of high-intensity confrontation.

If Fa Zheng suddenly came to my side under such circumstances, he might be noticed by the Great Impermanence behind the Divine Gun. However, if that were the case, wouldn't it be possible to use other means of communication? Or does Fa Zheng value the ritual of talking face to face?
I turned my head and glanced at Ma Zao. Perhaps because she was aware of her covert activities, she once again wore a cat whisker mask. This made it even harder for me to see the changes in her expression. The evening breeze blew over, and her shoulder-length hair swayed lightly in the wind.

I felt the slight chill in the wind. Zhu Shi had said that this province should be very cold now, but I couldn't feel much cold air. It didn't seem out of place to be standing here in summer clothes.

During this time before the contact person arrived, I didn't plan to just sit around. Through the "fireflies" left in the Zhu family villa in Xianshui City, I saw Zhu Shi sitting on the sofa in the living room looking at her phone. Taking this opportunity, I decided to seize the time to consult her about what to say to Ma Zao.

The "firefly" turned into a small fireball and formed a vocal organ, and then made a sound: "Zhu Shi."

"Hmm?" Zhu Shi put down his phone, "Zhuang Cheng? What's the matter?"

"Is such that……"

I described in as much detail as possible what I was going to do next.

After listening, Zhu Shi fell silent.

"...In other words, Senior Brother Zhuang, you want me to help you with some advice on how to confess your love to Ma Zao... to a thirteen-year-old girl?" she asked.

"It's not really a confession..." I said. "Confession also means 'revealing one's true feelings'."

"Then I do want to confess my feelings to Maha."

“Then you not only want to consult me, you want to practice with me,” she said.

"That is, if you don't mind," I added.

She said in an inexplicable tone: "You are not going to practice kissing with me again..."

"There is no kiss in the plan."

"That's not what I meant!" She said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Okay, I understand what you mean. I also support you in speaking your true feelings to Ma Zao. Rather, I have told you over and over again countless times since the beginning, and you have finally made up your mind, and I am very happy.

"Didn't you say you had some prepared speeches? Forget about asking me to practice, just tell me the general story first."

Hearing this, I recited the speech I had prepared in all seriousness. There was no need to describe the details, I just apologized for my past deception and stated my true desires. Hearing these words, Zhu Shi nodded repeatedly with a smile on his face.

"Yes, that's it. This is the right way, Brother Zhuang!" She said with a smile, "You just need to speak your mind as always, and this is the demeanor you should have. Lying, acting, and so on are not suitable for you at all. This is the most correct way now."

"I think so too, but when the time comes I start to worry about gains and losses," I said.

"Are you a girl in love? Why didn't you seem so anxious when you killed the God Spear?" She complained, "If you were half as indecisive as you are now when killing people, you wouldn't have fallen into a situation where you were hostile to the Great Impermanence."

"How come indecision is an advantage in your words?" I said.

"Because most people are missing an accelerator, but you are different. You are missing a brake."

As she said that, she threw her phone aside, then looked at the ceiling, her face thoughtful: "But, love..."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She thought for a moment and said, "Brother Zhuang, do you know what my grandfather thinks? I mean, what he thinks of the relationship between you and me."

"Mr. Zhu probably wants you to marry me," I said.

She asked tentatively, "So, what do you think about this?"

"Even if I don't do that, I will still help the Zhu family," I said.

"That's not what I meant..." She said in a strange tone, "I meant...you don't have any feelings for me?"

I looked at Zhu Shi very carefully and tried to figure out how I felt about her.

Zhu Shi is a very beautiful woman. Although I always think that it is vulgar to rate women's appearance, if I have to rate her, I will give her a 10 without hesitation. When she is quiet, she has a dignified face that reminds people of ink paintings, and when she speaks and does things, she has a dignified spirit. Her figure in a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat is natural, and she has the majesty of a knight when she fights the enemy with a sharp sword in hand.

She has both feminine and masculine qualities, but she doesn't keep people away because of her uniqueness. In her daily life, she is like an ordinary girl next door, chatting with people in a casual tone, making people feel close and comfortable.

I like being called "Brother Zhuang" by her, and when she doesn't call me that, I feel a little disappointed. In my heart, she is a woman who can't be faulted in both appearance and inner qualities. So if you ask me if I have feelings for her, I can only give one answer.

"Yes." I said honestly.

(End of this chapter)