From the end of the world

Chapter 245: Inhuman Discussion
Being accused of not being human is something that most people have never experienced. I don't know if it's the same for Dongche, but I don't think he would admit it so easily. He has been talking to us from a human perspective from the beginning to the end. If he admits it as soon as I ask him, it would be like all the previous efforts have been wasted.

I carefully observed his expression, and sure enough, his eyes revealed a vivid confusion, even a bit of bewilderment and grievance. In daily life, if someone says "you are not a human being", it is more likely that they will accuse you of bad character. This reaction is reasonable.

He seemed to be thinking whether he had offended me in any way. After a moment, he seemed to be trembling with fear and felt a little wronged, and asked: "Um... why do you say that?"

"It's a feeling." I said, "Just like you know, I came into contact with Silver Moon not long ago, and you give me a feeling similar to Silver Moon. You don't seem like human beings."

"In other words, Senior Zhuang Cheng, I haven't done anything to make you angry?" he tested cautiously.

"Promise not," I said.

He heaved a long sigh of relief, while Fu Feng helped to speak up: "Could it be that your standards for judging humans are different from ours?"

"How do you say it?" I asked.

He explained: "In terms of pure biological power, it is impossible for humans to break steel with their flesh and blood, nor can they run faster than a train, let alone fly in the sky... However, these are very easy for a demon hunter of Dongche's level to do.

"Most demon hunters of the first level will also show obvious characteristics that completely surpass ordinary people in some aspects. Although the weirdos in the Humanitarian Department often use unknown forces to transform into demon-like postures, they are still classified as demon hunters in Luo Shan's classification. In fact, many demon hunters also master similar spells to transform into monsters. Even if they don't transform, their bodies will show the results of being transformed by magic spells. Some demon hunting inheritances may also cause a certain degree of change in genetic factors.

"If ordinary people who know nothing about demon hunters knew about us, they might think that we are a completely different species from humans. However, for us, Luo Shan, the most important material for judgment is not biological evidence, but the subject's cognition, thinking, and spirit... As long as the soul still belongs to the human realm, then it is still human."

Dong Che nodded repeatedly, and then added as if he had mustered up the courage: "And... let me make it clear in advance, Senior Zhuangcheng, I say this without any bad intentions. It's just that when it comes to being less human, there's probably no one here who is less human than you."

"Me?" I asked.

"Yes, now you are not even a body of flesh and blood, but a life formed by the condensation of flames," he said.

As the saying goes, the hardest thing for a person to see clearly is himself. I have always taken it for granted that I am a human being. But at this moment, when this boy who vaguely looks like a non-human in front of me suddenly said "You are the least like a human", I couldn't find any words to refute.

After hearing what they said, I couldn't help but reflect on my doubts. But I still couldn't let it go.

Because Dong Che's temperament is different from those demon hunters. For example, Chen Long and Shen Qiang are too powerful to be human, but I have never doubted that they are not human. What I feel from Dong Che is not that he surpasses humans in strength, but a kind of rebellious and heterogeneous feeling that is completely opposite to his well-behaved and cute appearance.

However, the power inheritance of each demon hunter is different. Although the power used by everyone is mana, it is just a general term. According to Zhu Shi, the mana used by some demon hunters may not come from the soul, but may also be refined life force, or mysterious energy absorbed from the outside world, etc. Such inconsistency has caused the demon hunter group to be mixed, and the degree of individuality is extremely high.

I haven't seen many demon hunters above the master level, and even if one suddenly appears and makes me feel very special, it is not enough to prove that the other party is not human.

Moreover, if Dongche was so interested in Mazao because he was a weird thing, then why didn't he pay attention to me from the beginning, but instead paid special attention to me? This doesn't seem to make sense. It can't be that he is my fan and relied on his fan spirit to overcome his unlucky body's attraction to weird things.

After thinking about it, I still think that the human component of Dongche is very suspicious. There is no so much reason and logic, I just prefer to trust my increasingly evolved intuition.

I couldn't ask any more questions at this point, so I could only apologize to Dongche and comfort him for being wrongly accused "for no reason". He seemed to get over it quickly and smiled innocently. Could this smile also be his acting? I wondered.

Dong Che seemed to have some daily practice to do, so after dinner, he said goodbye to us and went back to his room.

Fu Feng took Ma Zao and I out of the cafeteria and continued to visit other parts of the base. On the way, he suddenly asked me: "Do you really think Dong Che is not a human?"

I thought about it and answered, “Really.”

"My perception is pretty good for a master, but I didn't find anything particularly unusual on Dong Che..." He pondered, "Rather, all demon hunters have a tendency towards mysticism. After all, we delve into the power of the mysterious realm, and there is always a bit of suspicious temperament on us. As the saying goes, the leaves are hidden in the forest, and it is difficult to capture the particularly suspicious parts from them.

"However, you are qualified to be a Great Impermanence, so perhaps you can really capture the parts that I cannot perceive..."

"Are you going to do anything with the winter car?" I asked.

"How is that possible? Even if Dong Che is really not a human, that is a problem that Gua Tianshi needs to worry about. He is the disciple of Da Wuchang. If there is no special reason, I will never take action against him."

He said so, but he seemed to have other ideas about Fuyuki. Maybe he really is a traitor who is secretly colluding with the Humanitarian Department and wants to find an opportunity to assassinate Fuyuki who is suspicious of him, but in that case, he may also need to deal with me and Mazao, otherwise there will inevitably be trouble. I don't think his motives are strong enough to be my enemy.

If he wasn't thinking about assassination, what was he thinking about? Was there something deeper going on with him about the possibility that Dongche wasn't a human? I tried to think from his perspective, and slowly, other suspicions emerged.

If that Dong Che is not a human, then it is doubtful whether that Dong Che is Dong Che himself. After all, from their conversation, it can be seen that in the general perception, Dong Che should be undoubtedly a human being.

Could it be that the real Dong Che has been killed by the strange creature, and what appears before us now is the strange creature in the skin of the murdered boy?
Fu Feng shook his head slightly, then glanced at Ma Zao, then looked at me, and suddenly asked curiously: "Come to think of it, Zhuang Cheng, you said before that you two are in a relationship..."

"Is there any problem with this?" I asked calmly.

Maybe Fu Feng also thought that Ma Zao was still too young, so my claim was not credible in his mind. Or maybe he thought I had a fetish for petite girls and had some opinions in his mind. He paused for a moment, as if he was thinking about how to talk to me, or maybe he realized that he shouldn't touch on this topic after he said it. Then, he seemed to have figured something out on his own, and showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"I see. It's to facilitate joint action, right?" he said.

That's not the case...at least not entirely for me. However, that's probably what Mazao just thought.

Although she admitted that we were lovers in front of Dongche and Fufeng, it was unknown what she, who grew up in the apocalyptic era, understood the term "lover". Maybe she was exposed to this concept for the first time after entering modern society. Or maybe she knew it very well, but she didn't have any feelings for me as a person of the opposite sex, and she just accompanied me to play a show in front of outsiders.

Fufeng did not mention this topic again afterwards, but instead concentrated on walking in front as our tour guide, taking us around the base.

After a while, we finally arrived at the last area, which was the medical area.

For the Fufeng base, providing treatment services for demon hunters who are injured after performing missions is also a very important function. At the same time, it not only accepts demon hunter patients, but also some ordinary patients who have been injured by strange events.

If ordinary people who are injured by strange things are just ordinary injuries, they can be transferred to hospitals outside for treatment. But if they are cursed and injured at the soul level, it is necessary to treat them in the way of demon hunters. The extraordinary people may let those injured mortals fend for themselves, and since the hegemonists claim to integrate into the society of ordinary people, they naturally have to shoulder the corresponding social responsibilities.

Speaking of the most influential strange phenomenon in today's society, it is the amnesia incident. Therefore, the Fufeng base also accommodates a large number of amnesia patients. The three of us moved in a passage that looked like a hospital corridor. Unlike the relatively lively area for treating demon hunters, the area dedicated to amnesia patients was as silent as a morgue. Here were all amnesia patients sleeping like corpses, and some silent nurses working.

"Official forces intend to announce the existence of amnesia to the whole society tomorrow," said Fu Feng.

(End of this chapter)