"Ku... ku... pu... pu... ge... ge... ka... pu... ah!"
The date was February 13th. The time was 4:35 PM. The location was the entrance of Building 7, Apartment 183, Spine District.
One could further refine the details, pinpointing the time to the microsecond or measuring the location to the exact centimeter from the door—Gongsun Ce personally preferred counting by "the number of bricks from the threshold"—but those were trivial details. A child writing like this would be scolded by their elementary school language teacher: "Don't just pad the word count! Focus on what actually happened!"
The language teacher was right.
The young man agreed wholeheartedly in his mind. Spending paragraphs describing a withered branch is often a sign of fear—fear of the story about to unfold. Unable to grasp how the plot will develop, the writer stalls, dragging out the moment like a student unprepared for a speech, babbling nonsense to fill the allotted time.
So, back to the main topic. Why was this young man, who held such enlightened views on writing, currently counting bricks in his head?
The answer was simple: To buy time. To delay thinking.
Even though his feet were rooted to the spot, his mind soared on wings of escapism, using this nonsensical mental gymnastics to flee from the absurdity of reality.
"Ge... ge... ge... ka... pu... ku... ka... ka!"
The grotesque creature at the apartment entrance let out another wretched scream and spat a mouthful of blood.
The blood splattered onto the ground, turning the pavement a sickly pale color. The young man tested a brick touched by the blood with his telekinesis, applying a force lighter than a middle school girl poking her cheek to look cute.
Crumble.
The brick disintegrated into dust instantly.
"Ka... pu... lo... ku... ku..." the bizarre lifeform groaned again.
Gongsun Ce pushed up his glasses and retreated two steps, terrified that it—he, she, or whatever—would spit that terrifying corrosive blood again.
I quite like these clothes. It would be a hassle if they got ruined.
Calm down. Calm down. To avoid getting splashed by strange fluids, he needed to make a calm decision.
He had just remembered his elementary school teacher's advice, but that kind, simple, slightly neurotic middle-aged woman probably wouldn't know how to deal with this situation. He needed higher-level guidance. What did his middle school teacher say? That newlywed young woman?
Ah, right. "If you can't master advanced narrative techniques, just write the narrative honestly in chronological order. The teacher will appreciate your sincerity."
Although she never gave Gongsun Ce high marks and occasionally used his essays as examples of what not to do, the young man wanted to thank her now.
Right. Chronological order.
Five minutes ago, he parted ways with Qin Qianbai, watching her walk toward the nearby White Feather Station.
Three minutes ago, he received a text message from someone and decided to pretend it never happened, at least for today.
One minute ago, he arrived at the entrance of his apartment building—
And then, a grotesque creature fell from the sky, crashing right in front of him, screaming "Ku... ku... pu... pu... ge... ge... ka... pu... ah!" while vomiting a large amount of blood.
The reason he used the term "creature" was that Gongsun Ce couldn't be sure if the unfortunate soul who fell from the sky was human.
After all, a green mohawk could be explained as a unique fashion sense. A leather jacket studded with thick iron nails might be proof of a dream to become a wild motorcycle racing champion. But the hands with only three sharp claws, the crimson eyes, the protruding muzzle, and the sharp fangs dripping with saliva and bloody foam... that was hard to connect with the word "human."
"Hmm..."
The young man noticed two jet-black arrows piercing the ankles of the Wild Mohawk Motorcycle Hunter.
The arrows were short, with the color of iron but the luster of wood. They had pierced deeply through the hunter's ankles, pinning him—or it—to the concrete pavement of the apartment entrance. He guessed that was one of the reasons for the fall.
Let alone in The Azure City, such a monster and such weapons shouldn't appear in any city in the world.
If the Espers of this city tried their best to suppress their strangeness and live under a peaceful facade, then the scene before him was like a denizen of the dark world brazenly stepping onto the main stage.
Grotesque. Bizarre. Out of place.
A departure from daily life.
A normal person—no, anyone with common sense—would have run away and called an ambulance or the police.
But upholding basic humanitarianism, Gongsun Ce decided to ask if this poor soul needed help.
He walked up to the strange figure, stopping at a distance where Miss Peace—a popular personal alarm among young women in the city, also known as the "Social Death Engine"—would start screaming hysterically.
"Hello, Mr. Kukaka Alien. I don't know if your ability went out of control or if you escaped from some lab, but I'll ask anyway: Do you need me to call an ambulance or a private doctor?"
The wondrous lifeform, tentatively named Mr. Kukaka Alien, struggled to turn its head. "Ku... Ka... lo... lo... ku..."
"I'm sorry, I don't speak Kukaka-ese. I hope you can communicate in the Imperial language or the Common Tongue of the United States or the Kingdom."
"Ku... ku... ka...!"
Whether it felt offended or was struggling with pain, the only part of the Wild Mohawk's face that resembled a human—his nose—twitched a few times.
He propped himself up with his claws, swaying unsteadily. Saliva and blood dripped from the corners of his mouth, corroding the surrounding bricks.
He spat out vague, sticky, unpleasant words. "Esper... You... are?"
Gongsun Ce recognized it. He was speaking the Common Tongue used in the Kingdom and the United States.
Is this hunter a foreigner?
"Of course I am. I assume you haven't forgotten this is The Azure City. Every student here is an Esper."
The hunter's nose twitched, seemingly sniffing his scent with intensity.
His eyes widened, and the corners of his mouth split upward in a grin.
"Good... Good..."
"It looks like you don't need help? Then please make way, I'm leaving."
"No... No... Come here..."
The content of the words was fine, but the tone was disturbing.
Would a person in need of help speak in such a tone?
"I need you... Come... Hurry..."
Would a weak person asking for assistance speak with such a greedy, vicious, impatient tone filled with violent desire?
The young man narrowed his eyes.
The Green Mohawk raised a claw. "Give me... your heart!"
As the malicious declaration was made, the non-human entity lunged. He thrust his hand forward.
All the weakness shown before was a lie. His movements were incredibly agile—there was no sign of injury!
Even with his feet nailed to the ground, a distance of less than two meters was enough for him to attack. The hunter aimed his claws at the young man's chest and spat a mouthful of toxic blood at his prey's head. He didn't need the brain, nor the limbs. He just needed the heart! The heart would be enough to escape this predicament!
"I refuse."
The hunter's eyes widened in shock.
His right claw had just thrust out when it hit an invisible obstruction in mid-air. The sharp tips of his claws shattered against the barrier, the sensation akin to striking a solid iron wall. The toxic blood he spat spread out in the air, dripping down to reveal the calm face of the young man behind the invisible shield.
"Ku... ka...!"
Gongsun Ce clenched his fist.
Simultaneously, the Green Mohawk's abdomen caved in deeply.
Although the young man simply stood there, the dull thud of a blunt impact on flesh was audible meters away.
"I am not kind enough to gift my heart to a stranger."
He watched as the Green Mohawk flew into the air, screaming, reaching a height of about three or four stories. "No matter which planet you're from, I have no choice but to report this to the school authorities now."
He pressed his hand down.
The Kukaka Alien smashed into the ground at high speed, creating a large crater at the apartment entrance.
The impact tore the two short arrows from its ankles. The weapons were coated with some sticky, flesh-colored substance that the young man decided not to think about.
The creature's eyes rolled back, and its limbs twitched. It seemed to have lost its combat capability.
Gongsun Ce scrolled through the contacts on his phone, pondering which department to report to. If the uninformed teachers decided to send regular, kind-hearted police officers meant for student disputes, it would be dangerous...
The moment the creature attacked, he understood. This was a beast that had no regard for human life.
Those were eyes that viewed "killing" as common sense, eyes filled with the stench of blood. In that case, there was no reason not to fight back.
Just then, heavy panting came from beside him.
The Green Mohawk moved its mouth, muttering something. "This strength... isn't... a Superpower..."
Gongsun Ce paused.
"I don't know what you misunderstood. Did you think Espers were just adolescents who could bend spoons? If that were the case, the people of this city wouldn't have such headaches every day."
Gongsun Ce's words didn't get through. The creature continued to mutter to itself. "Different from my Impermanence Arts... Not... Empty Aspect... Solitary Aspect? Desolation Aspect... Desolation Aspect..."
The young man frowned.
He shoved his phone back into his pocket.
"What did you say?"
"Ku... ka... ka... Thinking... Ku... ka... Understood... Desolation Aspect... Desolation Aspect...!"
A sudden alarm bell rang in the young man's heart. The grotesque creature, which should have been incapacitated, was now writhing on the ground, its voice growing louder.
While retreating, Gongsun Ce created a barrier in front of him. He saw the creature open its mouth to its limit—
"OOOOOOOOH! Cross all barriers and devour the fresh blood!"
It roared maniacally, yet with a tone of heartfelt joy. Then, a red bolt of lightning shot from its mouth!
"Desolation Aspect · Channeling Deity! Sky-Piercing Serpent!!"
Emerging from that split maw was a scarlet snake.
The snake had no eyes and no patterns on its body. The teeth standing upright in its mouth resembled the fangs of a large carnivore, yet its tongue looked human. The snake slammed headfirst into the invisible barrier—and passed through it without the slightest resistance, as if moving through air!
"!"
Realizing his barrier was useless, Gongsun Ce immediately changed tactics.
He levitated the broken stones from the shattered bricks and fired them like bullets.
Powered by his ability, the stones flew with the speed of pistol rounds. Hitting this snake would be no problem—
Or so the young man thought. In the next instant, he was shocked.
The strange snake made no attempt to dodge. It charged straight ahead, allowing the debris to strike its head and body.
He saw the stones reach the red snake.
But the impossible happened again. No wounds appeared. No movement was hindered. There wasn't even the compression of skin. His stone bullets simply passed through the red snake's body!
"Ku... ka... ka... pu... ku... ku... ka!"
Amidst the hunter's maniacal laughter, the red snake charged forward.
Now, it was only inches away from Gongsun Ce's face...!