Since I had previously suggested to Ma Zao that she could leverage Mount Luo power to investigate the apocalypse, further interaction between Ma Zao and Zhu Shi was inevitable.

  On this basis, it became necessary for me to tell Zhu Shi about Ma Zao's "Camity Magnet Physique" and make her understand the risks of continued contact with Ma Zao.

  Besides, even if I didn’t tell her, Ma Zao herself would eventually bring it up.

  Hiding it wasn’t an option.

  And once I spoke the truth, Zhu Shi would be incredibly close to uncovering my true motives.

  I expined Ma Zao’s Camity Magnet Physique in just a few sentences.

  As expected, after listening, Zhu Shi paused for a long time.

  At first, she seemed puzzled, then realization dawned on her face, and finally, she appeared as though many mysteries had suddenly been unraveled—a look as if the clouds had parted and the sun was shining through.

  “So that’s it… That’s it!” she excimed.

  “In the past, your overwhelming power caused you to repel anomalies, yet recently, for some unknown reason, you’ve become able to interact with them normally… I knew there had to be a major reason behind such a dramatic shift. So, it’s because of that girl!”

  “Yes,” I nodded.

  “And the reason you took her in, why you value her so much, and even gave her a GPS wristband, is because she can help you fulfill your wish!”

  “That’s right,” I admitted.

  “Now everything makes sense…” Her expression lightened, and she couldn’t resist adding a little jab.

  “But still, that GPS wristband thing is a bit…”

  I admitted my mistake sincerely.

  “That was my fault. It won’t happen again.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell her the truth?” She studied my reaction carefully before continuing.

  “Don’t tell me… after lying so many times, you started feeling guilty, and now you’re worried that revealing the truth would ruin the image you’ve built in her mind?”

  Having already confessed so much, I no longer felt the need to hide anything.

  I simply acknowledged her deduction: “That’s pretty much it.”

  Ma Zao is an apocalypse survivor with an intense wariness of her surroundings.

  In my interactions with her, I’ve often sensed her guardedness and defensive mindset.

  Yet, despite this, our retionship had progressed retively smoothly.

  This was because she carried a preconceived notion or perhaps an idealized fantasy about people living in peaceful times.

  And I… fit into that preconceived role perfectly, pying the part of the kind-hearted good guy.

  In other words, her trust and fondness toward me are likely built on that false image.

  Although I had once hidden my superpowers from her, that was still somewhat justifiable.

  After all, in this era, superpowered individuals live in secrecy.

  It was perfectly reasonable for me to hide my abilities from her until she proved that she herself possessed powers.

  However, if what I was hiding was the true reason I took her in, the nature of the matter would change entirely.

  She would start to doubt my character.

  The worst part is, I know exactly what kind of person I truly am deep down.

  If that side of me were ever fully exposed, not only would Ma Zao distance herself from me, but even Zhu Shi would likely cut ties with me, and Chang'an would be deeply disappointed.

  How could I possibly be the kind-hearted person Ma Zao imagines me to be?

  I’m clearly someone who prioritizes my own selfish desires above all else.

  “You’re seriously worried that exposing your true self will ruin the image you’ve carefully built in her mind?

  Senior Brother Zhuang, are you some lovestruck teenage girl…?”

  Zhu Shi was initially stunned but then continued.

  “Honestly, I don’t think you need to tiptoe around this issue.

  Why not just be upfront and tell her the truth?

  If you’re sincere enough, she’ll definitely be able to accept it.

  “More importantly, the truth always comes out.

  The longer you interact with her, the more likely she’ll eventually discover your obsession with supernatural and realize the true reason behind your actions.”

  “I understand. I’ll find a way to expin it to her properly,” I said.

  “So, for now, I need your cooperation. Please don’t reveal anything to her.”

  Hearing this, she hesitated, thought about it for a long time, and finally agreed.

  “Alright… Since you’ve been honest with me, I can help you with something this small.”

  “Then it’s your turn to answer me now…” I looked at her seriously.

  “When you were talking to Ma Zao earlier, you secretly used ‘Buzhou Mountain,’ didn’t you?

  From your perspective, do you think what Ma Zao said about the apocalypse and time travel is true?”

  She admitted without hesitation, “Everything she said was true.”

  “Do you believe her?” I asked.

  “…To be honest, it’s hard to believe.” After a brief hesitation, she continued, “Maybe she has some method to deceive my abilities.

  Or maybe, during her Soul Loss Syndrome episode, she had apocalyptic nightmares and mistook them for reality after waking up.

  Or perhaps the syndrome itself has some psychological hallucinatory effects…”

  She paused again for a long time before finally speaking with difficulty,

  “…But since she believes her own story so firmly, I can’t just dismiss her words as mere delusions and ugh them off.”

  From her standpoint, she was most likely hoping to purely view Ma Zao as a Soul Loss Syndrome patient—someone who could potentially provide clues to curing the syndrome.

  After all, her mother was also a Soul Loss Syndrome patient, so it was inevitable that her personal emotions would be involved.

  Yet, despite those emotions, she was forcing herself to remain calm and analytical.

  “Are you going to report her situation to your superiors?” I asked.

  “Of course. Right now, we can’t fully confirm if she’s just a soul traveler.

  It’s also possible that her soul traveling is somehow connected to Soul Loss Syndrome” Zhuxi analyzed.

  “Maybe other Soul Loss Syndrome patients, after waking up, might also believe they came from an apocalyptic world.”

  “It’s actually quite simple to verify this hypothesis,” I suggested.

  “Ma Zao mentioned having a friend in the apocalyptic era.

  If Mount Luo provides her with photos and data of all the Soul Loss Syndrome patients, and she identifies someone matching her friend’s description, then it would strongly suggest that other patients’ souls also traveled to the apocalyptic world she described.”

  “You’re right!” Zhu Shi’s eyes lit up with realization, but then she frowned slightly.

  “Wait a minute… Did you already mention her friend to her before? And since you gave her a GPS wristband, and she didn’t notice its real function, does that mean you’ve been tracking her location this whole time?”

  “As for how I came across her friend… it’s not convenient for me to expin right now,” I said.

  “As for the GPS wristband… For some reason, after she left me, the wristband stopped transmitting signals.

  I’m also puzzled about what happened…”

  She didn’t dwell too long on my connection with Ma Zao’s friend.

  Instead, focusing on the second point, she muttered thoughtfully, “It’s probably reted to her ability…”

  “What’s her ability?” I asked, genuinely curious.

  “Earlier, you mentioned something about ‘Regression Power.’ Is that the name of her ability?”

  “Yes,” she expined. “Her ability is called ‘Regression,’ or perhaps the word ‘Reset’ might be easier to understand.

  “She can reset her state in time or her position in space.

  That means even if she gets injured, she can instantly recover, or she can move herself to a previously visited location.

  “Additionally, I believe this ability extends to objects she’s in contact with, including clothes or accessories.

  If my theory is correct, the reason her GPS wristband stopped transmitting signals might be because she reset it to a state before it was paired with your tracking device.

  “Her extraordinary mobility, surpassing even Oddities, was probably achieved using this ability.

  But this seems to involve a more complex application or manipution of her power.

  At the time, most of my focus was on the Oddities, so I couldn’t clearly see how she achieved it.”

  Hearing this, the fog that had been clouding my mind finally cleared away.

  If the GPS wristband had been reset in that manner, then the thermal marker I had secretly pnted on her body had likely been reset in the same way.

  This also meant that if Ma Zao wanted to escape from me, I wouldn’t be able to forcibly stop her, nor could I leave behind any effective backup measures to track her.

  It seems that using “No. 2” as bait to draw Ma Zao in was indeed the right strategy.

  As for why she chose to immediately reset the GPS wristband after leaving me three days ago, I can only think of one reason for now…

  It wasn’t because she noticed anything wrong with the wristband, but rather because during our “date”, we went to too many pces.

  She might have sweated too much, felt hungry, or simply wanted to restore her energy, so she ended up resetting her entire body.

  The Oddities with the “Damage Transfer” ability st night mentioned that he had once escaped Ma Xao’s pursuit.

  The reason she probably didn’t use spatial teleportation at the time was likely because the Oddities had fled in a direction she had never set foot in before.

  Many seemingly complex and confusing mysteries become incredibly simple once unraveled.

  Zhu Shi removed the sound-isotion barrier, and the two of us returned to Ma Zao together.

  “Are you done talking?” Ma Zao looked at us.

  “So, what do you pn to do with me next?”

  “Let’s work together from now on,” Zhu Shi said in a gentle tone.

  “We need to resolve the Oddities incidents, while you need to collect evidence of the impending apocalypse through these Oddities, It’s mutually beneficial.

  Additionally, regarding Soul Loss Syndrome, we’ll need your cooperation for future investigations, Is that acceptable?”

  Ma Zao seemed to have anticipated this and nodded without much hesitation. “Sure.”

  “In that case, let’s not waste any time. Could you provide us with any leads?” Zhu Shi asked.

  “That Oddities who escaped earlier—we don’t have any solid clues about him.

  Since you were pursuing him before, it means you must have some kind of clue or tracking method that led you to him, right?”

  “No, I don’t have any clues.” Ma Zao shook her head.

  “I was just wandering around and happened to bump into him by chance.”

  “Wandering around… by chance…” Zhu Shi froze for a moment, then couldn’t help but ask, “Is that how you investigate the apocalypse?”

  “Yes.” Ma Zao said confidently,

  “I have a constitution that attracts anomalies.

  As long as I keep walking around outside, Oddities will eventually come to me on their own.

  Is there a problem with that?”

  “Uh…” Zhu Shi looked at me, clearly at a loss for words.

  I had previously specuted about how Ma Zao pnned to investigate the apocalypse.

  I assumed that, as a time traveler, she must have had some hidden clues or knowledge that gave her the confidence to investigate the apocalypse alone.

  I never expected her method to be so crude and straightforward.

  “I also have a question for you,” Ma Zao said, turning to Zhu Shi.

  “You mentioned that you can see through other people’s abilities. So, the Oddities who escaped earlier—the ‘Demon Beast’—or rather, that creature, do you know how he managed to escape?”

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