The Eldritch Files

Their voices and volumes were all different.

Some even recited the words perfunctorily, with no sense of deliberate "imitation" at all.

But as they uttered the Spell, something in the surroundings suddenly seemed to be activated.

The surrounding stench of decay instantly intensified, and the sunlight overhead seemed to dim.

Whirlwinds kicked up from all directions, carrying what sounded like the faint song of a conch shell. But when one tried to listen closely, the sound vanished without a trace.

Han Su felt the changes around him and paused, a thoughtful look in his eyes as he glanced at them.

'The effect is too good!'

These D7 personnel had recited the Encrypted Spell with a careless attitude, yet the effect was surprisingly better than that of many ordinary people who deliberately studied and imitated it. It was as if they possessed something innate that effortlessly triggered the Spell's activation.

'Is this the difference that high Spiritual Activity makes?'

After completing the Ghost Truck incident and before the arrival of the Flashing, he had crammed on the foundational theories of the supernatural that he had missed.

He knew that the effects of various Encrypted Spells could vary from person to person, but the ultimate deciding factor was Spiritual Activity.

Without chanting the Fishing Song, his own Spiritual Activity was now around 30%.

In a way, he could almost be considered a genius.

And because his initial Spiritual Activity was so high, he'd even had to hide it from the Lady in the Red Windbreaker and Secretary Cui Qiao at the beginning.

Investigators, on the other hand, generally had Spiritual Activity between 40% and 50%. This meant that in his current position, he no longer needed to hide his high Spiritual Activity; in fact, he was now a cut below other Investigators.

Regardless, looking at these D7 members with this new understanding, his surprise was palpable.

Their Spiritual Activity far surpassed his own—more than double, in fact.

They probably had a clear advantage even over ordinary Investigators.

'As expected of people who have survived wave after wave of death missions...'

HUMMM!

Likewise, as the Spell was uttered, the "Two-bodied People" guarding the Sea Workshop, who had already grown vigilant as the group approached, now reacted as if they had provoked some unseen entity.

WHOOSH! The expressions of all the Two-bodied People changed drastically.

Their cold, gloomy faces twisted into unnatural expressions. They straightened their bodies one by one, and the faint CRACKLE of their bones could be heard.

Like statues waking from a heavy slumber, they rapidly switched from a state of rigidity to that of living people.

With eerie smiles plastered on their faces, they quickly moved to greet the D7 members.

"Hello, are you here to buy crafts wholesale? I'm terribly sorry, but this is a private area. If there's something you want, I can..."

With the intrusion of strangers, their "social attributes" had been restored. The one in the lead even politely extended a hand toward Jackal at the front, an apologetic look on his face.

Jackal looked at the approaching smiling face and felt the formless pressure in the air.

He took a deep breath, an excited expression spreading across his face.

As the being extended its hand toward him, he also smiled and reached out, shaking it.

But the next moment, he suddenly yanked the Two-bodied Person toward him and sank his teeth into its neck.

RIP!

He bit down with such force that he not only tore a chunk of flesh from the Two-bodied Person's neck but also snapped it.

Blood spurted from the Two-bodied Person's neck, instantly drenching half his body, but he only let out an excited whimper.

However, the Two-bodied Person whose neck he had broken still wore that enthusiastic smile, as if it hadn't had time to switch expressions. Its head was still facing backward, but its limbs suddenly lunged for him.

At the same time, its arms and legs seemed to turn into octopus tentacles, rapidly wrapping around his body.

Jackal was caught by surprise and tripped.

But he wasn't flustered at all. Instead, he laughed out loud, rolled on the ground a couple of times, grabbed a rock, and viciously smashed it into the head of the Two-bodied Person on top of him, worsening the already broken neck.

Using the momentum, he rolled over and brought the rock down again and again, seeming to grow happier with each blow.

A savage ferocity grew within him, so strong that even the faint whispers in the air couldn't affect him.

Looking at the other D7 members, their performance was more or less the same. They had all seemed lazy just a moment ago, but now they appeared almost ecstatic.

They didn't even have any decent weapons. No guns, not even stun batons. Their gloves, however, seemed special, covered in barbs. The three of them faced more than a dozen Two-bodied People, yet it was as if they were the ones with superior numbers.

They charged forward like vicious wolves, their limbs becoming immensely powerful the moment they struck.

Vaguely, Han Su noticed that their mouths weren't moving, nor were they reciting any Spells. Yet their attacks were extremely powerful, dispatching the infected one by one with the most basic methods.

Unlike those three, however, Pot Lid Head—or rather, Jack the Ripper—remained as lazy as ever.

He didn't charge forward. Instead, he uncomfortably stretched his neck and slowly shuffled forward, dragging his shackles. When he finally crossed the line, he attracted the attention of a Two-bodied Person, which dropped to all fours and lunged at him. He merely raised an eyebrow.

BANG!

In the nick of time, he lashed out with a kick that caved in the Two-bodied Person's chest, sending it flying backward. Whether by coincidence or not, it landed squarely on an Iron Hook behind it and swung back and forth like a pendulum.

'These guys... they're like Butchers!'

The scene startled even Han Su. He thought to himself, 'Is this the advantage their innately higher Spiritual Activity gives them?'

It wasn't just their brutal methods. Most importantly, their high Spiritual Activity seemed to make them immune to the mental influence of the Two-bodied People. It was as if they were already mad and had no fear of going even madder.

When ordinary people dealt with these Two-bodied People, their first concern was contamination and mental invasion. But these guys didn't need to consider that problem at all.

This made them seem like weapons specifically forged to eliminate these infected individuals.

'Of course, not all death-row inmates are like this. The files of ordinary D7s are deleted, so no record of them exists in society. The ones who have gone from a serial number to a personal codename must be the elite among the D7, right?'

'The longer they live, the more terrifying they become!'

As he thought this, he turned to Black Tiger. "Brother Hu, you should stay outside, or just leave the containment zone entirely."

Black Tiger glanced warily at the D7s. "I'd better go in with you to watch your back."

"No need!"

Han Su shook his head. "They'll be watching my back. I feel pretty safe."

It was the only explanation he could give for now. The mission had seemed controllable, even easy, up to this point, but Miss Ai had specifically warned him to be careful. Who knew what he might encounter?

The unease in his heart grew stronger. There was no need for Black Tiger, a trustworthy Investigator Assistant, to take this risk with him.

"I shall enter the Abyssal!"

After reciting Spell 01, Han Su's form became extremely faint as he walked straight into the Sea Workshop. There were a great number of Two-bodied People around, but none came to stop him.

The Disaster Management Bureau's operational procedures had clearly been tested. The stark contrast between the Investigator who recited Spell 01 and the D7s who recited Spell 05 effectively drew attention away from the Investigator, facilitating his movement.

However, on the path into the factory, a Two-bodied Person came rushing out from inside. The passage was narrow, and Han Su had to dodge carefully. But a chain suddenly whipped out from behind him, wrapped around the Two-bodied Person's head, and instantly yanked it back.

Han Su turned his head and saw Pot Lid Head holding the chain.

The shackles on his wrists were surprisingly long; he had just kept them wrapped around his wrists, which was why they didn't look so exaggerated before.

Han Su nodded at him and offered a polite smile.

Even though Han Su's form was extremely faint, Pot Lid Head still saw the smile and merely narrowed his eyes.

There was no response to the polite smile, only an inhuman numbness and coldness in his eyes.

Confident that he had left an impression on the man, Han Su turned and walked into the factory.

Following the intel fed to him by the Doctor through his earpiece, he reached the manager's office at the very back with almost no effort and found a hidden door inside.

The storage room the Doctor had speculated about appeared right before him.

'That guy didn't even come inside. He just observed from the perimeter and figured out the general situation.'

Han Su couldn't help but shake his head, thinking to himself, 'Once he gets a little more experience, will he be able to write the report directly?'

Pulling himself together, he looked at the large, brassy lock. He shifted his briefcase to his right hand, focused his Spiritual Power into his left, and gripped the iron lock. With a slight twist, a faint sound of bending metal came from his left hand.

The sturdy lock was instantly warped and shattered by his grip. He then gave it a light tug, pulled it off, and tossed it aside.

Then, he switched the briefcase back to his left hand and lightly squeezed a mechanism on the handle.

WHIR! A fully charged stun baton popped out from the top of the case.

'I have to say, the Disaster Management Bureau's cases are really convenient!'

Han Su found the case so convenient it was almost cool, and he chuckled to himself.

Grabbing the stun baton with his right hand and holding the case in his left, he slowly kicked open the storage room door and cautiously stepped inside.

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