From the end of the world

Chapter 46: Dream of the Fantian Moment
I am Zhuang Cheng.

It’s been over four years since I awakened my super powers, and I’ve re-evaluated my current level.

To evaluate your own level, you must have a clear evaluation standard. The concept of "superpower" covers a wide range. If someone's superpower is "mind reading", it is not appropriate to use "how strong the material can be destroyed" as the standard for judging their level. But my superpower is good at destruction and fighting, so here I will use how strong the enemy I can fight against as a hypothetical judgment material.

Suppose - a well-trained army from the cold weapon era appeared in front of me and wanted to fight me to the death. I think no matter whether this army is 100,000 or 1 million, I will be the winner in the end. Even if all the armies in the world were gathered together, I couldn't imagine why I could lose. This is due to the nature of my superpowers. Direct physical attacks cannot cause any harm to me.

What if it was a modern army that mainly used firearms? I still don't think I would be defeated. Bullets, artillery shells, missiles, chemical weapons, biological weapons, etc., all of those things are useless to me. Even nuclear bombs can't kill me.

However, I have never been hit by a nuclear bomb, so I don't have enough confidence to stick to this conclusion. Maybe it's just like what some science fiction stories say, that the human soul is electromagnetic, and the explosion of a nuclear bomb can disrupt the electromagnetic field, so it can also destroy the soul.

Moreover, scientists’ wisdom should not be underestimated. In monster movies, there are sometimes scenes where seemingly flawless ultimate life forms are found to have weaknesses by human scientists. Sometimes I can’t help but put myself in the shoes of the monsters. I think if I really think my superpowers are invincible, I might suffer a setback in an unexpected situation.

As for what would happen if I were to become an enemy of someone with super powers other than myself, I really couldn't judge. As I mentioned before, there are too many types of super powers. What if the enemy directly attacks my soul, how can I defend myself?

I am not a violent person who thinks too much about fighting, but in an "adventure beyond reality", conflicts with others, or even with one's own kind, must be considered in advance. Similar plots have appeared in many fantasy stories.

I think if there really is someone with super powers who is good at reading minds and can often read my mind, he might wonder why I always mention "fantasy stories".

Or, in other words, how do I define “adventure beyond reality”?

I often make a clear distinction in my mind between "pursuing supernatural things" and "pursuing adventures beyond reality". This is because in my mind, "beyond reality" does not necessarily require "supernatural".

Everyone's reality is different. Ancient people thousands of years ago would think that modern airplanes are surreal, fools who know nothing about science would think that quantum mechanics phenomena are surreal, and people living in peaceful countries might also think that the chaos in war-torn countries is different from the reality they experience. What I think of as an "adventure beyond reality" is an unpredictable and incredible adventure that goes beyond my experience and life.

So not long ago, Ma Zao just fell in front of me with blood all over her body and a real gun. Even though she had not shown any supernatural signs at that time, I couldn't help but take her back home.

Yes, adventures beyond reality do not necessarily exist in fantasy stories, but also in the real world. War correspondents who risk their lives to collect materials in war-torn countries, explorers who travel between mountains and jungles, mercenaries who live and die on the edge of a knife, and even criminals who undermine social stability... Even if there are no superpowers or weird things, there are still many people in the real world who are experiencing absurd adventures.

Even in the battlefields of politics and business, there are legends from generation to generation. Even if the reality I face is monotonous and boring, it does not mean that the reality faced by everyone in the world is the same.

I actually figured this out when I was fourteen, but...

I had a dream.

That was a dream I had not long before I awakened my super powers. Among all the dreams I had since childhood, this dream was not special. I dreamed that I was standing in a long corridor, with gray concrete on all sides and above.

It looked like the corridor of an abandoned building, without even a light bulb, but I could inexplicably see the scene around me like a character in a horror game. It was limited to the nearby area, not farther away. The front and back of the corridor were as dark as the mouth of the abyss.

I walked forward with a vague premonition in my mind. Before long, I found an iron door beside the corridor. I opened it and saw an empty room. In the middle of the room was a set of wooden tables and chairs, facing the door, with a person sitting on them.

Perhaps because this is a dream, I cannot describe the other person's specific appearance and clothing. I only know that this is a man. After seeing him, my premonition became stronger. This strange person can fulfill my wish.

——Do you want power?
A weird person asked me this.

--strength?
I asked back.

——Yes, power.

- The power of dreams, the power of fantasy, the power to match the adventures that you have in your mind that transcend reality.

Weird people tempt me like the devil.

I hope I can firmly reject him, because I have already seen clearly that adventures beyond reality do not need to be pursued in dreams.

The real world is wonderful in its own way. I just need to abandon my fantasies, face reality, and work hard to get there.

However, I must not have been strong enough at that time...

More than four years later, I had this dream again and came to that dark and dilapidated corridor. I could recognize that this was a dream I had had before, and I could even clearly recall all the details of the last conversation with the strange person. This time, without the guidance of a strange premonition, I walked in the corridor relying on my memory, and soon found the iron door, and then opened it.

The wooden table and chairs from that time were placed alone in the room, but the strange person was no longer there.

I entered the room and closed the iron door casually, then sat down on the wooden table and chair, observing the surroundings idly.

After a while, footsteps were heard outside the door, coming closer and closer.

Someone opened the door and walked in.

He was a boy of about fourteen years old, with a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar to me. His eyes were alert and his movements were tense, revealing a temperament that rejected others.

He is me, another me, the me who still hasn't grown up.

His eyes were focused on me, as if silently urging me to report my name quickly.

I didn't introduce myself. Instead, I recalled my past conversations with weird people and asked questions.

"—Do you want power?"

"Power?" he asked.

"Yes, power..." I consciously used a bewitching tone, "The power you dream of, the power of fantasy, the power that matches the adventure beyond reality in your mind..."

Hearing this, he fell silent, as if he was in an inner struggle.

I stopped talking and waited silently for his response, hoping that he would give a different answer from last time.

However, this time, I didn't wait for his answer.

In this closed room, a gray mist appeared for some reason.

The fog soon became so thick that it was difficult to see the scene. I could no longer see the boy who was both familiar and unfamiliar, and I couldn't even see my own body.

My vision gradually faded into darkness amid the layers of fog.

Until I opened my eyes and woke up from the dream.
-
One day has passed since the death of the real fallen demon hunter, Agent Kong.

When I was fighting with Agent Kong later, I don't know why he suddenly yelled in despair, "Impossible, I don't admit it", but because he finally used an ingenious move, I got excited and couldn't help but fight back with a more powerful move.

Although I call it a "movement", I don't have any particular way of using strength. I just gathered a lot of flames together and blasted them out. The result was that I accidentally split the unfinished building in half, and the shock wave that spread out seemed to have shattered the windows of nearby buildings.

Such a huge commotion naturally attracted Zhu Shi, who was still dealing with the room on the 15th floor in the distance.

I could only tell her about Agent Kong's death and collect most of the bodies that were shattered and scattered in the explosion. Fortunately, there was still the residual heat of my flames on them, so it was not that difficult to find. In fact, this should not have been caused by my attack. I deliberately showed mercy to him at the time. Who could have expected that he would explode in the air after flying backwards? It was confusing from beginning to end.

It would be fine if he blew himself up, but his body actually turned back into a human form. It was as if I had lost control and murdered the innocent Agent Kong. At first, I didn't know how to explain this to Zhu Shi, so I could only tell him the truth.

Fortunately, Zhu Shi did not doubt me. She carefully observed the remains of Agent Kong. Her focused eyes reminded me of the last time she judged that my superpowers did not come from the blood of demons and monsters. After a long while, she seemed to come to a conclusion and admitted that Agent Kong was indeed the fallen demon hunter. I was relieved.

It was just that she seemed in shock at the rest of what I said.

"So... you smashed this building with your own hands. You can also transform your body into flames, and it won't matter if your head falls off. Even if Agent Kong attacks you from behind, you will be fine..."

"That's right." I nodded. "Can I join Luo Shan now?"

(End of this chapter)