From the end of the world

Chapter 426: Demonstration of Strength
Junior sister Xiao Qiao nodded first, then shook her head, and said carefully: "If you have a way to save me, I hope you can help me...

"However, I don't mean to drag you down with me. I just hope you can give me some advice... Of course, if you can help me directly, I will definitely repay you with all my strength..."

She looked very conflicted. It was obvious that she was terrified of the situation she had gotten herself into and hoped that others would save her at all costs; at the same time, she was worried that doing so would pass on the disaster that had befallen her to me, making it impossible for me to escape unscathed.

This kind of conflicting mentality is completely understandable, and I certainly didn’t want to stand by and watch him die. The other person was Zhu Shi’s classmate, and he was also the “benefactor” who indirectly allowed Ma Zao and I to meet. Since the other person’s life was in danger, I would definitely help him.

Moreover, if it is a purely bizarre phenomenon that is causing trouble for one party, then let’s not talk about it for now. This kind of man-made bizarre story has basically no suspense when it comes to someone like me who is very unpredictable. I also have a sense of déjà vu about the ability displayed by the mysterious man described by Xiao Qiao, and I want to find out.

Manipulating shadows to create clones, and the ability to open portals... Maybe the mysterious man is a weirdo.

Speaking of weirdos, that's the Humanity Department.

Although the Humanitarian Department has been destroyed, its technology may not be lost. The seeds of the heart, which are its raw materials, are probably still in the hands of Taoyuan Township. Assuming that the true identity of the mysterious man is a weirdo, the mastermind behind the scenes may be Taoyuan Township. Or, it may be that the "new Humanitarian Department" mentioned by Fa Zheng has already sprouted, and the Wuyou Ghost Talk is its precursor.

After deep thinking, I had already made up my mind. Zhu Shi did not speak rashly, but waited quietly for my answer.

Xiao Qiao's eyes were roaming back and forth between Zhu Shi and me, and she suddenly asked, "By the way... could it be that Xiao Zhu knows the senior?"

Zhu Shi cleared his throat and explained, "It's like this, my brother and Zhuang Cheng are friends. After a few visits, I also got to know Zhuang Cheng."

"Your brother... I remember it was senior Zhu Changan from the second grade, the playboy who was rumored to frequent brothels... Oh, I did hear that he had a good relationship with senior Zhuang Cheng." Junior sister Xiao Qiao suddenly realized, "In other words, senior is just a 'friend of my brother' to Xiao Zhu?"

"That's right." Zhu Shi nodded.

"Is it more than that?" Junior sister Xiao Qiao asked suspiciously, "I feel like your attitude in front of senior is different from your attitude in front of us. Usually you give people a more light-hearted feeling..."

Zhu Shi turned his eyes away stiffly: "Is... is that so?"

I often forget recently that Zhu Shi actually has a lighthearted "Junior Sister Zhu Mode". In that mode, Zhu Shi behaves like a lady from an ink painting, totally uninvolved in fighting and killing, and will not get excited and complain loudly when seeing others behaving inappropriately. I suddenly miss Zhu Shi in that mode.

Junior sister Xiao Qiao also added: "And you sat next to the senior very naturally."

“——Uh!” Zhu Shi seemed to have just reacted.

"So... who are you..." Schoolmate Xiao Qiao looked at Zhu Shi.

I answered without hesitation: "Zhu Shi is my fiancée."

"Fiancée!?" Schoolmate Xiao Qiao opened her mouth wide.

"Wait, why do you have to say it out loud?" Zhu Shi was shocked.

"I think it's irresponsible to be ambiguous at a time like this," I said, "or do you think that being your fiancé would be embarrassing for you?"

"It's not like that... Although it's not like that..." Zhu Shi covered his face with his hands.

Xiao Qiao showed an expression of gossip with great interest, and looked at Zhu Shi with eyes that looked like he had found an interesting toy. I suddenly felt that Xiao Qiao's true character might not be as innocent and well-behaved as she had shown before, and at the same time, I vaguely realized why Zhu Shi didn't want to expose his relationship with me in front of him.

But that is Zhu Shi’s next problem to worry about, so I decided to be irresponsible and get the topic back on track.

"That mysterious man asked you to go to the abandoned construction site later and accept the test he gave with the others, right?" I asked, "How many days later exactly?"

Xiao Qiao also straightened her expression, and with a hint of nervousness, she answered seriously, "Tomorrow night."

"So, do you have any clues about why you were not brainwashed by the white book like the others?"

Originally, I didn't expect Xiao Qiao to give any decent clues, but she nodded and took out a wooden sculpture slightly larger than a thumb from her arms.

It looks like just an ordinary Buddha sculpture. If you have to say what's special about it, it is that you can see a deep crack in the middle of the sculpture, which almost splits the entire sculpture in half.

In my perception, this Buddha sculpture is just an ordinary wooden sculpture, or more precisely, "now just an ordinary wooden sculpture." It should have had the power of protection in the mystical sense, but it lost that unique power due to being destroyed.

"This is a birthday present that Xiao Zhu gave me when we were in high school. He said he bought it from a temple we passed by during our fall outing." Xiao Qiao said, "It is said that this mini Buddha sculpture was baptized by the incense of the temple and can protect you from bad luck. I always keep it in my bag as a psychological comfort.

"When I escaped from the incident a few days ago, I found that the mini Buddha statue had cracks for no apparent reason. So I wondered if it was the mini Buddha statue that warded off disaster for me. "The day before yesterday, I took a train to the temple I had passed by before, and it seemed that the mini Buddha statues were no longer for sale there. I asked the monks there, but they were not sure."

Would the temple sell wooden Buddha sculptures? I had no impression of such a thing, and I glanced at Zhu Shi from the corner of my eye. Zhu Shi nodded almost imperceptibly.

It seems that the statement that "the Buddha sculpture was bought from the temple" is false. In fact, it is an evil-repelling item that Zhu Shi specially gave to his good friend, and it may have warded off disaster for his schoolmate Xiao Qiao more than once.

The reason why Xiao Qiao was able to escape from the evil spirit in the abandoned construction site a few months ago might not be because the evil spirit had low magical powers, but because this mini Buddha sculpture exerted its power in secret.

And in the Wuyou Ghost Story incident a few days ago, the mini Buddha sculpture finally couldn't bear the weight and was damaged.

Xiao Qiao didn't seem to connect his power with Zhu Shi. After all, she wasn't even sure whether the damage to the Buddha statue was actually related to the strange incident. Or did she have some ideas about it?
"--I see."

After roughly organizing the information I had obtained earlier, I said, "First of all, I want to tell you that I can't give you any useful advice about the strange incident you encountered."

After hearing my reply, Xiao Qiao first showed disappointment, and then seemed to sense something from my tone: "Senior, you..."

"So starting tomorrow, I will protect you closely," I said.

"Close protection!?"

Junior sister Xiao Qiao was shocked and turned to look at Zhu Shi, who showed an expression of approval and relief.

"No..." Junior sister Xiao Qiao said, "Does Senior have to protect me closely when I go to the abandoned construction site?"

"Of course," I said.

"But you weren't invited by that mysterious man, right? If you showed up at that place at that time, would you be in danger? No, you would definitely be in danger, right? If you're lucky, you might just be brainwashed like everyone else. If you're unlucky..."

Junior sister Xiao Qiao paused for a moment, then continued, "Although I am very grateful that you intend to protect me, if you do so, you will be put in danger..."

"I hope I'll encounter some danger later, but unfortunately, it's unlikely that I'll encounter any real danger this time."

As I spoke, I spread my palms on the table.

A fireball as big as a basketball suddenly appeared above the palm of his hand, creating a gust of hot air and illuminating the faces of Xiao Qiao and Zhu Shi. Xiao Qiao could not help but close her eyes and use her palm to block out the dazzling firelight.

Soon, she seemed to realize what was happening in front of her, then slowly lowered her hand and looked at the huge fireball burning out of thin air in shock.

"As you can see, I am a person with super powers," I said, "and, as you guessed before, the reason why I have been missing recently is because of strange events, which have happened again and again.

"As you can see, I have now overcome all of them and returned to you intact. I can be said to be an expert in how to deal with weirdness, and you can fully trust me.

"You are Zhu Shi's friend, so you are also my friend. No matter what happens, I will protect you until everything is over."

Xiao Qiao swallowed her saliva and said, "But, but the other party also has supernatural powers... and there may be more than one of them..."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not acting just for you. This is also for my own benefit." I said, "Have you forgotten? I'm Zhuang Cheng, and I'll do anything to get in touch with strange events. So even if you refuse here, I will follow you all the way and follow you into the place where the event will take place.

"The result doesn't matter anyway. Don't you think it's better for you to obey me? That way I can protect you at the same time."

Junior sister Xiao Qiao was shocked as if she had just escaped from a wolf's den and entered a tiger's mouth: "Ah?"

Zhu Shi couldn't help but complain loudly: "What do you mean by 'follow'? Is this a word that should be used by someone who just said 'I will protect you no matter what happens'? And since when did protecting my friends become a casual thing?"

"This is a rhetoric. As long as I say this, she will have no reason to reject me." I said seriously.

"Is it really just a rhetoric? At the beginning you sound like some crappy tsundere character, but why do I feel like all of your words are from the bottom of your heart..." Zhu Shi said.

Junior schoolmate Xiao Qiao looked at Zhu Shi, who suddenly started to complain, with astonishment, as if she had realized a hidden side of her friend, and then she laughed in front of me for the first time.

(End of this chapter)