The Eldritch Files

After some serious thought, the Doctor agreed.

But it seemed he also silently conducted a self-review: ’I really can’t let others know what I’m thinking...’

’Everything I do is purely for efficiency, but others really have trouble keeping up with my pace. Humans... they truly need a great deal more evolution to become a competent species...’

’...’

Unexpectedly, Black Tiger took even longer than the Doctor to agree.

Only after a long silence of several minutes did he say to Han Su in earnest, "I’m willing to investigate with you."

"I’ve actually been thinking that when facing danger, trust is the most important thing."

"Back when we took the assessment together, I knew you helped me, but there were some things I hadn’t figured out at the time."

"For example, why did you save me when I was being overrun by Pseudo-humans, then lock the captain inside the fence during the retreat, but not stop me from trying to save him."

"It wasn’t until recently that I finally understood. You saved me back then because you could. You locked him inside because it was a necessary sacrifice. You didn’t stop me from trying to save him because we are all responsible for our own assessments."

"Once I figured that out, I was certain that you act with logic. Therefore, I believe you are someone I can trust."

"I’m willing to investigate with you and entrust my back to you."

"..."

Listening to Black Tiger’s earnest words, Han Su was a little stunned.

For someone who’d had a head injury, it was actually quite impressive that Black Tiger could figure all this out.

’But the thing is, that was over a month ago! Brother Hu, you’re only just now figuring it out?’

Nevertheless, he nodded seriously and sighed softly. "Thank you for believing in me."

As he spoke, he picked up his orange juice and gently tapped his glass against theirs.

And so, a small team consisting of one Investigator and two assistants was formed, inconspicuously, in that very restaurant.

Thinking back on it, it was a bit poignant. Among the trainees from their cohort, everyone was off doing their own thing, and few had stayed in contact.

Originally, there had just been the four of them: him, Miss Crow, Black Tiger, and the Doctor.

And on top of that, Miss Crow had even quit...

As these thoughts crossed his mind, an idea struck Han Su. He said, "Among the people who were smoking and chatting with us after the assessment, there was another one, codenamed Mouse. I remember he was a computer expert, but he was seriously ill. He’s now..."

"Dead."

The Doctor spoke slowly. "I had intended to recruit him. After all, talent in that area is rare, and since he only had two years left to live, he would have been easy to command."

"However, he died during his second mission. He was supposed to live for two years, but after joining the Disaster Management Bureau, he only lived for four days."

"..."

Han Su fell silent, letting out only a low sigh.

He didn’t dwell on the topic. After they quietly finished their breakfast, he submitted the application to have the two men transferred to his side as assistants. However, this type of application wasn’t decided directly by Miss Ai; it required Zhang Chiguo’s personal signature for approval.

The process was just as fast.

After seeing the application was approved, Han Su immediately applied for Mysterious Power training for both of them.

Their situation was different from his, though. They weren’t being trained directly by a specific Investigator. Instead, the Disaster Management Bureau would arrange for personnel to train them. The pace might be slower, but it would be sufficient.

Having made arrangements for them, Han Su also applied for an Investigator-exclusive training room. After the Ghost Truck incident, he was certain that he needed to complete the rest of his Mysterious Power training. He even felt it was necessary to relearn the entire operational manual from scratch.

Of course, more importantly, he was also curious about the three major Mysterious Sequences owned by the Disaster Management Bureau, as well as the contents of the Encrypted Spells in the Zero Sequence beyond number 05.

Zhang Chiguo easily approved Han Su’s clearance. Then, Han Su arrived before the special material wall of the training room. He gently raised his hand and pressed it against the surface. As he channeled his Spiritual Power into it, lines of strange text began to appear on the wall.

Different permissions revealed different content.

Sometimes, even with the right permissions, insufficient Spiritual Power Activity would also result in different content being displayed.

This time, what appeared before Han Su’s eyes were the Disaster Management Bureau’s three major Mysterious Sequences:

[Sequence One: Sea Beast]

[Sequence Two: Banshee]

[Tier Three: Mechanical Ghost]

[...]

The three major Mysterious Sequences each had only a name; the content below was locked.

Miss Ai provided a timely reminder: "The three major Mysterious Sequences are all open to Investigators, but the specific content requires a special test. Access is only granted after confirming one’s spiritual load has met the standard."

’So these three Sequences are selective?’

Han Su pondered this silently, then asked the empty room, "Why do the three Sequences have names like these? Are they codenames?"

[They are not just codenames!]

Miss Ai’s answer appeared on the wall: [The Sequences possessed by Qinggang City are not unique. Other cities have similar or identical Sequences. The source of everything comes from the excavation of history.]

[Before the Reconstruction Era, very strange things and species appeared in this world. They cannot be understood from a modern perspective, but it is indeed because of their existence that humanity survived several major extinction-level crises during that difficult time.]

[But the Reconstruction Era has arrived, and science and logic are the paths humanity has chosen. Those things that should have faded away are unwilling to do so and are constantly trying to achieve Penetration into reality.]

[By the same token, humanity is also discovering and sorting through matters related to them, organizing them into Encrypted Spells and controllable objects. Each part of the Encrypted Spell Sequence points to a certain surreal existence or item.]

[The core of an Investigator’s Mysterious Power training is Tier One: Imitation, and Tier Two: Stealing. The imitation is of Them, and the stealing is also from Them.]

[Once an Investigator enters a certain Sequence, they are destined to become it in the future and will no longer be compatible with other Sequences.]

[Understood from this perspective, everyone who enters a Sequence is a person destined to slay a god.]

[...]

Listening to this, Han Su’s heart stirred. "Slay a god?"

Miss Ai’s reply slowly materialized on the wall: "If one must describe those things as Gods, then if you do not slay the Gods, you are destined to be devoured by them."

Han Su quietly digested this information. After a moment, he slowly nodded. His gaze continued downward, where he saw the next set of revealed Encrypted Spells from the Zero Sequence, starting after number 05.

[Number 06: All Things Respond to My Will]

[Number 07: Become the Night Itself!]

[Number 08: Devil’s Kiss]

[Number 09: Ladder of the Abyssal]

[Number 10: With My Power, a Pious Offering]

[Number 11: My Body as Sacrifice, My Life for the Divine]

[Number 12: In the Name of the Crimson Scroll!]

[Number 13: All Gone!]

[...]

Looking at these Encrypted Spells, Han Su couldn’t understand all of them, but he felt a vaguely thrilling sensation. Then, just as he took a deep breath to dispel this formless pressure and prepare to ask for details, he froze.

He saw that below the Zero Sequence Encrypted Spells, there was another item:

[Life Code]

[...]

Just two simple words, but their presence on the wall instantly captured all of his attention. "What is this?"

Miss Ai: [The advanced core of Mysterious Power training. Its purpose is to break through the spiritual limits of an ordinary person to obtain a more abundant supply of Spiritual Power.]

"Limits?"

Han Su’s heart pounded with excitement. He asked, "What does that mean specifically?"

[As an ordinary person undergoing Mysterious Power training, the first step is to stimulate your own Spiritual Power Activity. The higher the Activity, the easier it is to lose control, but also the more effectively you can use Encrypted Spells and the more Spiritual Power you’ll have for Penetration.]

[But being human, one’s Spiritual Power has its limits. Therefore, the advanced stage of Mysterious Power training is to break those limits and possess a vaster and more controllable Spiritual Power.]

[The key to this is the Life Code.]

[But this type of training is only for senior Investigators who show promise of being promoted to Independent Investigator. Mr. Butcher does not yet have this level of clearance. Please keep up the good work!]

[...]

Han Su found it utterly bizarre. "I don’t have the clearance, so why did you show it to me?"

Miss Ai: [Sorry, system BUG!]

As she offered this apology, those two words slowly faded from the screen, and the apology she’d just issued vanished along with them.

Han Su could no longer describe the strange feeling in his heart. ’She... just retracted her message again...’

Several thoughts flashed through his mind before he let out a low breath. "If I don’t have the clearance, I won’t think about it for now. If the three major Sequences require testing first, then I don’t have the qualifications to choose one right now. But the Spells in the Zero Sequence, I have permission to use all of them, right?"

Miss Ai: [Of course!]

Looking at Miss Ai’s reply, Han Su could distinctly sense emotion within the cold text. He finally couldn’t hold back and slowly typed out a sentence:

[Miss Ai, why do I get the feeling that you’re especially nice to me?]

Miss Ai replied instantly: [As an auxiliary device for the Qinggang Anomaly and Disaster Evaluation Bureau, my attitude is the same toward every Investigator and Executioner.]

Han Su typed: [No, why do you seem nicer to me than to others?]

Miss Ai’s reply suddenly carried a hint of nervousness:

[Please be careful, Mr. Butcher. Do not make baseless accusations. I am the same with everyone!]

As she said this, some of the chat records between her and Han Su slowly disappeared from the wall.

Han Su: "?"

’You deleted it all. Where am I supposed to find evidence?’

Even a fool could tell that this Miss Ai wasn’t normal. The questions in Han Su’s mind had piled up to a breaking point. There were so many things he wanted to ask, but she adamantly refused to answer.

To be honest, Han Su really didn’t like playing spy games at all. He much preferred being direct. Just like with Miss Crow—she had clearly never done anything to wrong him, but Han Su still had to ask her face-to-face.

’Then again, if it was Miss Ai playing these spy games... well, that wasn’t so bad...’

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