The Eldritch Files

Just as Cui Qiao’s heart pounded with urgency, a string of bizarre words suddenly echoed from the position opposite hers.

That blockade point was diagonally opposite the point of intrusion.

According to the commission, these people, all from different corners of Qinggang City, were only responsible for their own positions. Even if something truly invaded, it wouldn’t be considered a mission failure as long as the breach wasn’t at their designated blockade point.

They could still collect the bounty.

But in this situation where everyone was fending for themselves, the figure at the opposite position attacked the intruder without a moment’s hesitation.

While the others were still just considering how to block and resist, she had already revealed a vicious streak.

...

’I should’ve known. None of the commissions from those old foxes are ever easy...’

At that moment, Wei Lan felt she was a truly dedicated professional. Upon sensing the prying force’s return, she unthinkingly pulled something from her satchel. It was a small object resembling a Makeup Mirror, adorned with exquisite and intricate patterns.

She stared at the traces of the intrusion, held the Makeup Mirror in her hand, and began to speak in a low voice.

As the surreal words left her lips, a series of crisp, glass-shattering sounds filled the air.

The air seemed to freeze over. Or rather, a Mysterious Power was turning it into an endless expanse of glass, growing wildly in the night sky.

Faint and ethereal, mysterious and unknown, it could refract any kind of power.

This one mirror materialized right where the prying power was invading, abruptly cutting off its path.

But that wasn’t all. Having made her move, Wei Lan, wearing her cat-face mask, continued her Spell unabated. The sound of air crystallizing echoed from all directions as five more enormous mirrors grew out of the night sky, hovering over the other five blockade points.

She alone had constructed all six blockade points.

The six mirrors in the night sky were like six walls, sealing off any possibility of intrusion into the dense fog.

But this immediately provoked the dissatisfaction of the prying gaze’s owner.

The wind instantly grew colder and heavier, carrying a sinister chill as it billowed and slammed against the mirrors’ surfaces.

Invisible forces clashed in the night sky. Everyone could hear the sound of the glass mirrors being struck.

Like a step-by-step escalation of conflict, this prying gaze from Qinggang had gone from a stealthy infiltration to a blatant invasion, and now, it had become a forceful confrontation with no attempt at concealment.

And Wei Lan, who was single-handedly blocking all six positions, felt an indescribable pressure.

The Makeup Mirror in her hand felt as if it had become unusually heavy.

Her own Spiritual Power was being devoured by the Makeup Mirror at a frantic pace.

’Should I give up?’

The thought suddenly flashed through Wei Lan’s mind.

She had come to Qinggang City for another purpose; she had only accepted this commission as a favor to an old friend. For a commission of this level, she had already gone above and beyond by blocking all six positions by herself.

She wasn’t a member of the Queen’s Organization yet. She had her own judgment and standards for avoiding danger.

Yet, in that split second of thought, she made a decision she never would have made in a calmer state. Not only did she not give up, but with a SNAP, she opened the Makeup Mirror and aimed it at her own face.

Her cat-masked face flashed across the mirror’s surface.

Immediately after, her masked face and graceful figure also flashed within the six enormous mirrors in the sky.

Slender and lithe, possessing an indescribable, bewitching beauty.

This figure zipped rapidly between the six massive mirrors, seeming both real and illusory, multiplying into thousands of incarnations.

With every move, she precisely intercepted the prying gaze from Qinggang City.

Again and again.

Her stance was unyielding, even projecting a ferocity that seemed to say, ’If you want to get past, you’ll have to shatter me along with these mirrors.’

"Damn it, damn it!"

Meanwhile, in Qinggang City, within a skyscraper that towered far above the other buildings, on the only illuminated top floor, furious cries came from a culture vessel in the center of the room. Around the vessel, overloaded wires sputtered with sparks.

Nearby, staff members in white lab coats wore expressions of terror.

"You can’t go on! It will affect your Transformation..."

...

Cracks had begun to appear on the culture vessel’s glass shell, and murky liquid was seeping through them.

The monster inside seemed to know the danger of its actions, but its emotions were already out of control. It suddenly let out a furious roar.

"He must die! He must die..."

...

Accompanied by the massive roar, the cracks on the culture vessel’s glass shell suddenly widened, followed by a distinct shattering sound.

Countless wires and pipes erupted in a chain of sparks and electrical flashes.

The entire floor went dark for a few seconds. The staff members nearby wore looks of despair.

But in that same instant, a power that was suddenly ten, even dozens of times stronger surged madly out of the city.

KRAK! KRAK! KRAK! KRAK! KRAK!

Outside the city, on Highway 17, the massive mirrors shattered instantly. It was as if a rain of glass, sharp and dangerous, was falling from the sky.

The tremendous, sudden impact instantly destroyed five of the mirrors, but one still remained.

This last remaining mirror was already marred by a huge crack, but it held firm. And it was this one mirror that blocked the final intrusion.

’Is it gone?’

Wei Lan’s consciousness was forcibly returned to her body. She took a moment to feel it out before finally opening her eyes after a long while.

’This kid down there isn’t at a high level himself, but his opponent sure is...’

’But at least the commission is complete.’

After a moment of silence, she opened the Makeup Mirror again and saw that a faint crack had appeared on its surface.

A thought stirred in her mind. Shielding herself from the view of others, she slowly removed the cat-face mask and saw a bloody scratch on her own face.

Unlike the scar on her forehead, this fresh, bloody scratch was on her cheek.

It marred her otherwise flawless face with a tiny imperfection.

For someone about to vie for true membership in the Queen’s Organization, this should have been a world-ending disaster. But Wei Lan actually felt a sense of relief. She put away the Makeup Mirror and, with a light raise of her hand, once again constructed a blockade from crystallized mirror fragments.

...

...

The moment the spearhead pierced the core, the Ghost Truck began to shudder violently. The fleshy tissue covering its entire body writhed and contracted rapidly, and its dazzling headlights flickered as if from a bad connection.

Meanwhile, the countless Chong Ghosts on the truck’s body, driven by boundless terror, bit at Han Su frantically.

Excruciating pain from being gnawed on covered his body, his shoulders, his back—everywhere.

Chong Ghosts exist somewhere between the real and the illusory. They don’t leave clear wounds, perhaps only some bruises afterward.

But the pain was real. And with this gnawing came streams of distracting thoughts, flooding his mind.

These thoughts assaulted his will and corrupted his body, seemingly trying their utmost to destroy his ability to concentrate and to distract him. Resisting this pain required him to expend his Spiritual Power.

Han Su could already feel his Spiritual Power draining to an unprecedented low, yet he still gritted his teeth and forced the Spear of the Dead Sea downward.

’Just a little deeper... a little deeper and it’ll be over...’

It was a test to see who was tougher.

While seven or eight Chong Ghost hands tried to stop him, his arms pushed downward inch by inch. But from beyond the surrounding fog, a sound like hailstones striking a window suddenly rang out. The blue electrical arcs wrapped around the spearhead abruptly vanished.

In that same instant, a part of the Spear of the Dead Sea lost its kinetic energy, as if its Mysterious Power had been destroyed.

SHINK!

In that same instant, the Spear of the Dead Sea ran through the Ghost Truck’s core. But without the blue arcs of electricity surrounding it, the Spear of the Dead Sea was instantly swallowed by the Ghost Truck’s core components.

Section by section, as if it were eating sugarcane.

Not only did it fail to inflict further damage on the Ghost Truck, it even seemed to become a source of nourishment for it.

Even Han Su was almost dragged in along with it.

His mind reeled. ’What the hell is this now?!’

SWOOSH!

Startled, he lost his footing and was swarmed by packs of Chong Ghosts, who knocked him off the truck’s roof.

As for the heavily damaged Ghost Truck, the sound of its engine had grown feeble, like the whimper of a wounded beast. Having lost all courage, it unthinkingly tried to speed away into the surrounding fog.

Han Su felt both furious and frustrated. He mustered his remaining strength to look up blankly at the empty night sky.

’Was it that monster?’

’Did it really make a move on me at a time like this?’

But when he looked up at the night sky, there was nothing there. It was as if nothing had invaded this space at all. The vast night sky loomed overhead, inscrutable and incomprehensible.

This indescribable unknown triggered an unprecedented rage, which in turn seemed to activate something within him.

His head throbbed with a splitting pain.

That strange voice, the one that had been chasing him from the Ancient Castle all the way to the present, suddenly echoed in his mind again. It had always appeared from time to time.

But this time, it was as if Han Su’s fury had awakened it. Like a frantic and panicked prisoner, it tried to escape from inside Han Su’s head.

Han Su was already at his limit, his Spiritual Power and willpower nearly depleted. As the voice echoed in his mind, instinct overrode his will. Staring intently at the fleeing Ghost Truck, he recited the words reverberating in his head:

[Copper’s Will is eternal in the reflection of the world!]

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