From the end of the world

Chapter 493 Blood Tracking

The white light from the lanterns could only cover a limited area, and the amusement facilities in the abandoned amusement park appeared and disappeared in the darkness.

At a certain moment, the white light no longer illuminated the amusement facilities from the surrounding darkness, but instead illuminated a gray wall with a slogan encouraging learning beside us. At some point, we had left the abandoned amusement park and arrived at a middle school.

I guess there aren't many leaders in this world who would think of building a junior high school next to an amusement park. It was unusual for us to come to this school so quickly after leaving the abandoned amusement park. It was obvious that we were experiencing another chaotic transfer in an unstable space.

On the cement ground in front of us, fresh bloodstains and shoe prints appeared again. They were fresher than before, but the shoe prints were the same. The cartographer was really tracking the shoe prints successfully.

"Can the Blessed Guidance also be used to track down survivors?" I asked.

"Blessing itself does not have this function. This is my personal skill. It is not always successful. It is better to say that it is good luck to succeed once in ten times." The cartographer smiled and said, "I will explain my skill to you in detail when I go back. Now focus on the present.

"Although I didn't follow him with the intention of failing, I'm a little worried that his luck was this good."

What seemed suspicious to him was commonplace to me. As long as there was a chance to get myself into the heart of an incident, there would always be one or another coincidence that would push me forward.

In other words, at the end of this trail of shoe prints, perhaps there is some "deeper strange vortex" waiting for me.

Before, I was still worried that the power of the unlucky star might have disappeared from me. However, judging from how I was able to obtain clues related to the small bowl so smoothly before, and how I can now track the source of the bloodstains so smoothly, perhaps the power of the unlucky star is still lingering on me.

These two seemingly unrelated clues may actually have connections that are difficult to understand at the moment.

However, this smooth flow is probably only temporary. If I cannot reunite with Maha, I will eventually lose this protection.

While I was thinking about this matter, I was analyzing the chaos of time and space around me.

For me, being able to grasp the surrounding situation through the perception of heat is as natural as an ordinary person being able to see the surrounding scenes clearly with their eyes; especially after becoming the Great Impermanence, the perception of the metaphysical conceptual level has become an instinctive ability.

But now my perception of the concept of nature is completely in the dark. Even the information fed back through heat is full of chaotic noise. It is like walking in fog with extremely low visibility. I really can't adapt to it.

As long as I can analyze the remaining order in this chaotic space and time and adapt to it, although I cannot fully recover, I should be able to at least restore my perception to a certain extent. This kind of analysis and adaptation work is not my strong point, and I have never learned the spells of analyzing nature and space and time. Such tasks should be given to demon hunters who specialize in this.

However, most of the demon hunter spells, including the spell of analyzing the order of time and space, are ultimately a poor imitation of the inherent ability of the Great Impermanence. It's just a small matter of observing the law of time and space changes. As long as I calm down and do it seriously, I should be able to do it. I want to solve this problem as soon as possible.

At this time, a panicked cry came from a distance.

I looked up and exchanged glances with the cartographer. Then the cartographer ran in that direction, and I followed closely behind him.

The source of the screams was only one teaching building away from us, and was also moving towards us. Not long after we ran out, we saw a young man in khaki clothes with a wound on his shoulder sprinting towards us with the momentum of a 100-meter sprinter, and behind him was a strange monster that looked like an ink polymer chasing closely.

The monster was as big as a horse, and its specific shape was changing all the time. Overall, it still had the outline of a four-legged carnivorous beast. The distance between it and the young man was almost close enough that it could pounce on him and knock him to the ground to prey on him.

The young man also saw the two of us. He probably didn't even have the energy to think carefully. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Help me! Help!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the monster behind him pounced, its head opened like a vise, and bit the back of the prey's neck.

The cartographer seemed to have limited options. Although he was extremely strong, he did not seem to have any decent long-range attack methods. At the moment, he could only take out a steel pipe that he had dismantled in an abandoned amusement park. He probably wanted to use this kind of object as a projectile weapon.

Whether it was his movements or the movements of the monster, they all seemed to be as slow as standing still in my eyes. The monster seemed to be much heavier than the last strange creature, and the cartographer's projectile attack might not be able to knock it away, and it was even harder to say whether it could be fatal. To be on the safe side, I stood behind him, raised my arm, and fired a fireball.

In a world where time seemed to have stopped, only the fireball seemed to be moving at a normal speed, and then hit the ink monster that was solidified in the air.

The ink monster exploded instantly and then evaporated in the flames.

Time starts moving again.

The cartographer who was about to throw the steel pipe suddenly stopped. He glanced at the direction where the ink monster disappeared, then looked at me who did not hide my attacking movements, and said as if he had finally made it clear: "It was you who did it just now... Are you a blessed monk? But I didn't sense any fluctuations in mana..."

"I did it." I admitted directly, "As for the blessed monk you mentioned, although I have some impression of this term, I should not be the so-called blessed monk."

"Then what are you?" Speaking of humans who can manipulate supernatural powers in the doomsday era, they are the blessed monks, so the cartographer can't help but ask this question.

“I feel like I have super powers,” I said.

"Superpower..." The cartographer pronounced the term in a strange tone.

Although I didn't intend to reveal my true strength in front of him, it was still okay to show this level of strength. It was always better to actively show some of my abilities than to be forced to expose them when I was in danger.

This would certainly make him suspect that I was a blessed monk who killed people and refined souls, but on the one hand, he himself might very well be a blessed monk; on the other hand, from the fact that I had no fear in the face of the strange creatures before, he obviously already suspected that I had extraordinary abilities.

He probably decided to invite me to be his teammate based on this. If I were to be overly secretive, it would appear suspicious and would arouse further suspicion.

The young man seemed to realize that the monster chasing him had been dealt with, but he still sprinted to us before he dared to look back. Then he stopped, propped up his knees, panting, and making a sound like a broken bellows.

“You…you…”

The young man looked at me and said intermittently: "You killed the monster? I seemed to see a flash of light in your palm..."

"That's right." I glanced at his injured and bleeding shoulder.

This young man is probably the owner of the shoe prints, and he may bring me some surprises.

While answering, I observed him carefully.

The other party gave me a strange impression. Take the cartographer next to me for example. Although he has been showing a steady and patient attitude since we met, which is completely different from my stereotype of the selfish, cold-blooded and deceitful survivors of the apocalypse, he has the proficiency and vigilance that a survivor of the apocalypse should have.

Even at this moment, I could sense that the cartographer had not completely let go of his guard against me. It sounded contradictory to be wary of me and invite me to be his partner, but this wariness seemed to be ingrained into his bones. Even if there was nothing suspicious about me, he would probably maintain this vigilant mentality and posture as naturally as breathing.

This tendency can also be seen in Ma Zao, and I think it is a common trait among doomsday survivors.

But it was not the case with the young man. He was actually standing so close to us, breathing heavily, in a posture that made it inconvenient for him to counter our sudden attack. There were so many flaws on his body that I couldn't bear to look at him.

Suddenly, an inspiration flashed through my mind, and the lie I told to the cartographer at the beginning emerged in my mind.

"Don't you... know about the end of the world?" I asked.

"Doomsday? What doomsday?" The young man looked stunned.

"I see. Another unlucky guy who is alone and has lost too much memory?" The cartographer sighed. "Perhaps forgetting everything can be considered a kind of happiness...

"However, before we start the formal communication, please answer a question for me."

As he spoke, he tightened the steel pipe in his hand. His expression seemed calm, but there seemed to be murderous intent in his eyes.

"Do you remember your name?" he asked.

The cartographer's attitude was much more blatant than before. If the young man answered incorrectly, he would ruthlessly smash his head with the steel pipe in his hand.

This difference in attitude may be due to the different auras between the young man and I. At first, I showed that I could solve the strange incidents alone even if he didn't take action, so he couldn't immediately figure out my strength; while the young man was a weakling who was exhausted and was undoubtedly a piece of fish on the chopping board in the eyes of a "strong man" like him.

I was wondering why the cartographer, a survivor of the apocalypse, was so kind before. It is said that as long as you are strong, you will meet good people wherever you go. It is true.

The cartographer's face was covered with small scars, and he was wearing a linen cloak and holding a broken steel pipe, which seemed to scare the young man. However, the young man did not seem to feel the cartographer's murderous intent, and had a kind of dullness that was unique to being immersed in a peaceful and safe environment.

He smiled humbly, like an ordinary man who had the misfortune of encountering gangsters on the street, and looked at me, his savior, with a look for help.

(End of this chapter)