Chapter 56: The Chūnibyō Maiden's Descent into Madness

When a person is startled, the brain may not function clearly.

That was certainly the case for the young woman. She sprinted all the way back to her rented apartment, slammed the door shut, and without even taking off her shoes, dived straight into bed and hid under the covers.

According to the old folks' lore, monsters and humans share a binding pact: as long as you hide under the blanket, even if you are a ghost capable of walking through walls, you cannot come in and scare me!

Trembling violently under the quilt, weeping and wailing with snot and tears streaming down, she finally managed to calm down after more than an hour.

Then, over the next two hours, the young woman first fell into a state of self-doubt. Did I really see that? Was I hallucinating? How could there possibly be monsters in the real world? One must believe in science, right?

Next, she began to wonder if it was some sort of prank, like a street prank. Could there have been hidden cameras nearby? Wouldn't all her ungraceful moments have been captured on film?

Oh no! If this gets uploaded to the internet, won't I make a complete fool of myself?

No, wait, it couldn't have been a hallucination. Sure, I might be a little tired from working overtime, but there's nothing wrong with my brain, and my eyes are fine too. The two eyeballs beneath my eyebrows are big and round, and my eyesight is top-notch. How could I have seen wrong?

So... could it be that it was real?

Yet, how is that even possible?

The world has gone completely mad.

Wait, could it be that this world has actually never been as simple as we imagined?

For a brief moment, the untamed imagination and adolescent spirit of a fresh graduate, as yet uncrushed by the gears of society, began to burn brightly.

Could it be, just like in the cartoons, that in the dark corners of this world, there exist... superheroes?

Spider-Man? Batman? The Avengers?

Then this one must be... Suit-Man?

Are there any women among these superheroes? Like... the Black Widow, or perhaps, a Magical Girl?

Could there even be little fairy-magic warriors?

The more she thought about it, the more excited the young woman became, completely forgetting her fear.

According to the plots in movies and animations, when an ordinary person accidentally discovers the other side of the world, that is precisely the moment they open the door to a brand-new world!

Wait, that face... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before...

The young girl hurriedly crawled out of bed, turned on her computer, and began searching.

After a short while, she slapped the desk, an excited expression blooming across her face: "Ha, I found it! I knew it looked familiar. He really is a celebrity in Shangshi!"

Wang Zhong, the principal of the Shangshi Martial Arts Academy.

Aside from that, he held a massive list of titles, making him a truly pivotal figure in Shangshi from an ordinary person's perspective.

"I never imagined it would be him. The internet says his wealth ranks second in Shangshi," the young woman muttered, staring at the computer screen. "On the surface, he's just an ordinary wealthy young master, but in secret, he protects the peace of the city and strikes down bizarre monsters in the shadows. It really is you—the Shangshi branch of Batman, Suit-Man!"

For a moment, the young woman was convinced she had uncovered the truth.

No, I have to go see him tomorrow. A serious expression settled on the young girl's petite face. Perhaps this is my chance to open the door to a new world? After all, that's always how it happens in the movies.

At that moment, the girl didn't even consider whether meeting Wang Zhong might put her in danger.

She picked up her phone and dialed her company supervisor's number.

After a heartfelt and earnest explanation, the supervisor's speechless voice came through the receiver: "Xia Xiaoyou, I know working overtime these past few days has been exhausting, and wanting to take a day off is normal, but do you even hear yourself? You encountered a monster attack on your way home at night, and then you were saved by Suit-Man? And now you want to take a day off just to go find your savior and thank him in person?"

"Supervisor, everything I said is true, absolutely true!" Xia Xiaoyou held the phone, her small face sporting an earnest expression reminiscent of someone applying for party membership.

On the other end of the line, the supervisor sighed. "Fine, I'll give you three days off. Get some good rest, and maybe go see a psychologist while you're at it."

"Supervisor, you have to believe me, I'm not lying," Xia Xiaoyou insisted. "If you don't believe me, you can come with me to find Suit-Man tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, sure, sure, I believe you." The supervisor hung up directly. Shortly after, Xia Xiaoyou received a text message from him: Dr. Du, Shangshi Psychologist, Contact Number: 1XXXXXXXXX9.

"Supervisor, you still didn't believe me!" Xia Xiaoyou puffed out her cheeks in anger as she stared at the number.

Forget it, Supervisor. You brought this rejection upon yourself. After all, I, Xia Xiaoyou, was trying to bring you into the new world. What a pity; I gave you a chance, but you couldn't seize it.

After spending a long time searching online for more information about Wang Zhong, Xia Xiaoyou drifted off to sleep with an excited smile on her face.

Meanwhile, in other parts of Shangshi.

Incidents similar to Wang Zhong slaying the ghost-ape were happening continuously.

Chu Tian had dispatched all of his subordinate ghost runners. The number of lingering spirits pouring into Shangshi was still relatively small, and newly appointed ghost runners like Song Shiyin, Feng Sanniang, and Old Man Li needed the practice.

As for Chu Tian himself, he chose to follow alongside Wang Dali, genuinely witnessing how Wang Dali, a martial artist lacking any cultivation talent, went about dealing with these demons and ghosts.

"Has the monster's location been locked down?" Inside Wang Dali's moving vehicle, Wang Dali drove while his secretary sat in the passenger seat, staring at a sophisticated piece of electronic equipment in her hands. "Locked down. It's on the second floor of the East Trade Building."

"Are all the personnel in place?" Wang Dali asked while steering the wheel.

"Everyone has arrived. It's nighttime, so the surrounding area has been cordoned off, the crowds evacuated, and we have confirmed that there are no living humans inside the building." the secretary replied.

"Good." Wang Dali executed a sharp drift, pulling the car to a halt right in front of the East Trade Building. Stepping out, he turned to Chu Tian, who was sitting in the back seat, and said, "Brother Chu, let's go. Let me show you how we've been doing our job all these years."

"Alright!" Chu Tian nodded and got out of the car alongside Wang Dali.

Arriving at the entrance of the East Trade Building, Chu Tian noticed that the area had already been surrounded by a large contingent of men.

"Are the snipers in position?" Just as he stepped down, Wang Dali took a communication device handed over by his secretary and asked.

"All twenty-four sniper vantage points surrounding the East Trade Building are fully manned and in position," a man's voice reported through the device.

Hearing this, the corner of Chu Tian's mouth twitched involuntarily.

Is catching a mere demon really this elaborate?

"Brother, don't think we're making a mountain out of a molehill," Wang Dali said, patting Chu Tian on the shoulder. "If we had any choice, we ordinary mortals wouldn't want to deal with these demons and ghosts either. But... duty demands that we step to the front lines. And when ordinary humans do this job, we have to be meticulous to the extreme. We must contain every single incident within our lockdown protocols while ensuring the survival of every single soldier! Everyone, let's get to work!"

Wang Dali gave the order to the soldiers who had been standing by in full readiness. The soldiers squared their shoulders, picked up their weapons, and followed closely behind Wang Dali as they entered the East Trade Building.