The Eldritch Files

"Who's following us?"

Alerted, Han Su and Xu Ji felt a chill and looked back. Behind the car, the night was a blur of shadows. Squinting, they could just make out several ghost-like vehicles creeping slowly behind them in the darkness, which seemed even deeper than usual.

There were three of them, and none had their headlights on.

'Are they following Wei Lan? Or Xu Ji? Or are they here for me?'

'And who sent them?'

The questions flashed through Han Su's mind, and his brow furrowed. For a moment, he couldn't figure any of it out.

He only knew one thing: how were they supposed to safely hand over the Mechanical Fragment with these guys tailing them?

"Change of destination. Find somewhere you think is safe."

Seeing they couldn't shake the cars behind them, Han Su spoke to Xu Ji.

Xu Ji immediately responded, "To the Haiyan Clubhouse. Signal the car behind us, have the security team meet us at the next intersection, and get someone to force those cars to a stop and find out who they are!"

The driver nodded and accelerated. As they passed Wei Lan's vehicle, he flashed the turn signal a few times, signaling for her to follow.

Meanwhile, in Wei Lan's car behind them, her chubby assistant was already sweating with anxiety. "Didn't they say the mission wasn't completed? Why are we being followed again?"

"And what happened to you back there? A little run-in with the Crystal Skull's people shouldn't have left you like this, right?"

"It's not like you went head-to-head with their Priest..."

Wei Lan was in bad shape, but her mood was surprisingly good. She smiled. "What's the hurry?"

"The Xu Family's young master is in the car up ahead. Isn't his life more precious than mine?"

The assistant was speechless. "Is that really how you calculate it?"

Amidst their lighthearted banter, Wei Lan watched the trailing cars in her rearview mirror, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Go on a mission outside the city and run into a high-level malevolent Penetration. Attend a cocktail party and get a lesson from an old-timer. Even just heading home gets you tailed by mysterious cars..."

"I finally understand why you're so unlucky..."

"..."

As she mused, a ferocious, murderous glint flashed deep within her gold-shadowed eyes.

At the same time, the car carrying Xu Ji and Han Su was accelerating. As long as they could get off the private road of Dingxiang Mansion and into the city proper, the situation would improve. The identity of their pursuers was unknown, but there was no need to invite trouble.

But just as they were about to exit the private road, the three cars behind them suddenly flashed their high beams and accelerated, charging forward.

At the same moment, the car's dashboard went haywire. The radio filled with static, a mysterious signal having hijacked the frequency.

A hoarse voice crackled through, chuckling. "Gentlemen, we mean you no harm. We just want to see what you have in your car. Rest assured, we'll let you go after a quick inspection."

"An inspection?"

Han Su's eyes turned cold. He spoke slowly, "What department are you from that you need to inspect our car? Do you have any identification?"

"Identification..."

But the voice on the radio just let out a mocking laugh. "That would certainly be a hassle inside the city. But out here, things are much simpler, aren't they?"

As the voice finished, the radio dissolved into loud, crackling static.

Han Su reacted instantly.

That wasn't static. It was an obscure, incomprehensible Spell being chanted from the cars behind them.

The night outside suddenly seemed to grow thicker, more viscous.

It was as if the air itself was filled with incomprehensible, chaotic things.

The older driver up front, who had been calm and steady, suddenly paled and wrenched the steering wheel hard.

"SCREECH..."

The tires shrieked against the asphalt, filling the air with the acrid smell of burnt rubber as the car swerved sharply.

Han Su and Xu Ji were thrown about in the car. When they looked up, they understood why the driver had turned so violently.

The road ahead of them was supposed to be straight, but at some point, it had suddenly veered off, twisting like a snake and abruptly extending in a new direction.

The driver had no choice but to follow the curve, but only after making the turn did he realize they had failed to enter Qinggang City. Instead, the fork had diverted them onto a road leading out of the city.

Looking back, he saw Wei Lan's vehicle had been affected as well, swerving abruptly onto the new path.

The two cars that had been tailing her most closely, however, continued straight along the original road.

When he looked again, the original road was still perfectly straight. The sudden turn had been like an illusion.

'No identification means they're not on our side, huh?'

Han Su thought to himself. He turned his head and saw those cars picking up more and more speed, closing in on them.

They had been driving without lights, just hanging back in the distance. But now that they had successfully forced the two cars outside the city, they became brazen. Not only did they switch on their lights, but they also flipped on their high beams without hesitation, the glare exceptionally blinding.

Faintly, a few gunshots rang out. They weren't shooting at their vehicles, but into the night sky, as if to intimidate them.

The night air was thick with a sense of oppression and panic.

"Young Master..."

Hearing the gunshots, the driver up front let out a heavy sigh and suddenly reached down to pull a handgun from a compartment.

With one hand on the steering wheel, he expertly racked the slide with the other. SHLICK-SHLACK. He looked up at Xu Ji in the rearview mirror.

His expression startled Xu Ji, and even Han Su became instantly wary.

Then the driver spoke. "They're forcing us away from the city. I don't know what they want, but if we keep driving like this, we'll be playing right into their hands. I'll find a chance to get out and hold them off for a bit. Young Master, please come up here and take the wheel."

"There's a road back to the city in three kilometers. I know you go out street racing often, so you should be able to handle it, right?"

Xu Ji was stunned by his words, blinking in bewilderment.

"They're shooting..."

In Wei Lan's car, her small-eyed, chubby assistant was also sweating profusely. "Why did we follow them and turn off? Things are different outside the city..."

Wei Lan, meanwhile, had taken a Makeup Mirror out of her handbag. Though her face was still deathly pale, she acted completely at ease, as if she were just heading out for a stroll.

She said to her assistant, "Head back to the city with them later. Don't wait for me. And remember to give him this makeup case."

The small-eyed, chubby assistant, his forehead slick with sweat, grabbed her arm. "What are you going to do?"

"You've recovered less than 20% of your Spiritual Power! If you force a fight and something goes wrong, you'll miss the competition..."

Wei Lan smiled. "I have no choice. I took someone's money to protect him..."

The assistant was going crazy. "It was only three gold coins! And how long ago was that? Are you going to protect him for the rest of his life?"

...

...

"Call Miss Wei Lan! Tell her not to do anything rash!"

In the car ahead, Han Su suddenly spoke to Xu Ji. He had guessed that Wei Lan, who loved to get involved in trouble, was probably thinking of making a move.

He then looked up at the driver. "Put your gun away, keep your hands on the wheel, and maintain this speed!"

His expression was so calm, and Xu Ji had such immense trust in him, that the driver glanced at Xu Ji's face and had no choice but to obey the command, facing forward and increasing their speed.

Han Su, however, was watching the lights of Qinggang City recede in the rearview mirror, a ruthless glint suddenly flashing in his eyes.

'You're the ones who forced me outside the city...'

He had no idea who was following them or why they wanted to search the car.

But it didn't matter. Hadn't he faced enough trouble already?

He didn't have time to investigate every single one. Right now, he just wanted to get back quickly and study the Mechanical Fragment. As for these people, since they had followed him, they must have been prepared for the consequences, right?

'I don't have time to play games with you...'

He thought to himself as he slowly raised his left hand, gradually clenching it into a fist.

An imperceptible Spell slipped from his lips. Neither Xu Ji beside him nor the driver in front could hear what he was chanting.

They only felt a dangerous aura begin to permeate the air. The wind grew heavy, and faint whispers filled their ears. Vaguely, they seemed to hear the horn of a truck.

...

...

"It's about time. Force them to stop!"

Seeing that they were a good distance from the city, someone in the pursuing cars gave the order.

The men in the car drew their guns. The one in the front passenger seat smirked, slowly reaching for the radio dial as he silently recited a Spell. Outside the car window, an invisible power began to manifest.

But before they could finish the Spell, the driver suddenly froze, craning his neck to look at the night sky.

"Boss, it's getting foggy."

"Foggy?"

The man in the car, filled with anger, was taken aback and looked outside.

The fog was real—a disorienting, extremely thick blanket. It not only obscured their view of the car ahead but also concealed the roadside and guardrails. An indescribable feeling of oppression spontaneously rose within their hearts.

"Quick, get through this section of road..."

He suddenly looked up to give the order, but before he could finish, a horn blast cut him off.

The strangest thing was, why did the horn sound come from their left?

"BLAARRRE—"

It didn't leave much time for imagination.

Lost in the thick fog, unable to even see the guardrails, the men heard the horn from the left side of their car and had the fleeting thought that they had gotten disoriented and somehow turned their own vehicle sideways on the road.

But in the next instant, a primal fear washed over them. They felt an unseen gale slam into the car, and the very ground seemed to tremble.

A sudden, palpable sense of urgency gripped everyone in the car, and they all scrambled to grab their guns.

"This is bad..."

But the quickest among them had already sensed it. With a great shout, he ignored the fact that the car was still moving, wrenched open the back door, and, with all the strength he could muster in his life, flung himself out of the vehicle.

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