The Eldritch Files

Shhh?

You're shushing me?

Miss Ai's reply appeared for just a moment before vanishing along with the rest of the messages. The last thing to appear was, of all things, an emoji of a face pulling its eyes down.

Even the message where she suggested I keep the Crystal Pendant was erased...

"?"

A jolt of shock coursed through Han Su. 'So that painting really is related to the Life Code?'

'But why is Miss Ai being so secretive? She's always so bold when we talk about other things...'

'Could it be that she's being monitored when it comes to related topics?'

'...'

He instantly grew vigilant. The first thing he confirmed was that the painting's "pollution"—or rather, the memory fragments it brought him—was extremely important.

Moreover, he could be certain it was related to the "Life Code."

He immediately focused his mind, meditating and recalling bit by bit the memories that had surfaced when he was "polluted" by the painting. He went over every single detail again.

Fortunately, his memory was good. He still remembered all of it.

To some extent, it felt as if he could use these memory fragments to "embody" those who had undergone mutations. However, he didn't seem capable of that yet. He could only "watch" the events unfold from a third-person perspective.

His mind wasn't active enough; he couldn't achieve a sufficient level of immersion in these memory fragments.

This mission had truly made him aware of his greatest weakness.

Spiritual Activity!

A Spiritual Activity of 35% was definitely not low for a newcomer. Previously, learning the Encrypted Spells had also given him a considerable advantage.

But now, as he encountered more and more things, it was becoming increasingly inadequate.

But how was he supposed to improve it further?

The questions churning inside him were piling up, but Miss Ai's attitude made him understand that he couldn't just ask about this anymore. After some deliberation, he decided to return to his apartment first to sort things out before making his next move.

Before leaving, he thought of Zhang Chiguo.

The stress was written all over Secretary Cui Qiao's face. Zhang Chiguo must be facing a serious problem right now.

He felt he should go check on him, but then he thought about his own current situation...

After a moment's thought, he picked up his briefcase and left. He wasn't in a position to take on too many other people's problems.

However, what Han Su didn't know was that as the questions swirling in his mind reached a boiling point, countless blue and red lights were intertwining within the complex and massive electronic components of some huge underground database, as if deep in arduous thought.

After a long while, this contemplation seemed to yield a result. Data began to process at high speed, exuding a faint air of jubilation. Even the sound of the components booting up seemed like a cheerful hum.

...

Han Su returned to his apartment. As usual, he first checked to see if anyone had broken in, then used his right eye to see if the room was normal. Only then did Han Su take out the Crystal Pendant, hold it in his hand, and let his Spiritual Power penetrate it.

He soon felt a certain Activity being stimulated inside the object. A barrier gradually formed and slowly spread outward.

Han Su's injected Spiritual Power was limited, so he only managed to generate a space of five or six square meters, which was enough to cover the room.

Just by testing it, he discovered that electronic signals seemed to lose their effect within this barrier.

This wasn't a good time to make use of it, so Han Su put it away again.

Pouring a glass of water and setting it aside, he picked up his briefcase, opened the hidden compartment, and looked at the Mechanical Fragment inside.

The pointer had now moved from its original position at "8" to its current position at "7".

Another day had passed. Seven days remained until the Flashing.

'I couldn't control the pointer before. Now that my Spiritual Activity has increased, will there be a change?'

He was well aware of the Mechanical Fragment's importance and knew how crucial it was to be able to change the pointer's position with his Spiritual Power. His expression turned serious as he slowly channeled his Spiritual Power into it. He soon saw the pointer begin to waver.

The movement was clearly more pronounced than before.

It seemed that with a little more effort, he could actually push the pointer and reverse it back to the number "8".

But at that very moment, his Spiritual Power was depleted, and the pointer returned to "7".

'The Activity still isn't enough...'

Han Su frowned, thinking to himself, 'But based on the pointer's reaction, the key is clearly Spiritual Activity!'

'And it needs Spiritual Power with both high enough Activity and sufficient quantity to move it...'

'...'

Realizing the crux of the problem, he picked up his phone again and tentatively sent a message: [Miss Ai?]

Still no reply.

'What am I supposed to do?'

They had just gotten to the crucial part, and she'd suddenly stopped. He could understand Miss Ai's caution, but how was he supposed to solve this problem?

This was the first time he'd encountered such a situation. He was pondering how to handle it when his phone suddenly chimed. He picked it up and was immediately struck by an indescribable sense of strangeness.

The message was from an acquaintance with a Black Rose avatar. As he recalled, it was rare for her to contact him proactively.

Black Rose: [Are you still alive?]

Black Rose: [Weren't you curious about the Mysterious Circle before? I recently stumbled upon something good. Interested?]

Seeing these two messages, Han Su already had a vague suspicion. He tentatively replied: [What is it?]

'It can't be that her cat learned to do gymnastics, can it?'

Black Rose: [I recently saw a patient who told me a lot of strange stuff. Something about Spiritual Activity, some great meditation technique... said he could perceive the Mysterious Power in this world. Fun, right?]

With that, the strange feeling in Han Su's heart was confirmed. His scalp tingled slightly.

He sat frozen for about two seconds, then suddenly replied: [Should I come to your place to get it?]

[Huh?]

Black Rose seemed to panic, her reply carrying the fluster of someone caught in an affair: [I'm not at the office right now!]

Han Su typed: [Then I'll go to your house? I'd really like to see that cat you mentioned before...]

[Well...]

Black Rose replied frantically: [That's not convenient either. My cat is tired from practicing breaking stones on his chest... Can't I just send you his consultation records?]

"?"

Han Su didn't know what to say: [What about your professional ethics?]

...

'Wrong, wrong, this is all wrong. A thousand times wrong.'

Black Rose wasn't like this before. She was always eager for him to come to her house to see the cat...

...Of course, that was in the timelines where his face wasn't disfigured.

Besides, her professionalism wasn't just an act. Over the past three years, he had talked to her many times, and some of their conversations included sensitive content that was never leaked to the Public Security Bureau.

How could a person like that casually show her interview records with other patients to an outsider?

Also, just after Miss Ai took the mission and vanished, she conveniently popped up. How could that not be suspicious?

For a moment, Han Su felt a sense of cognitive dissonance.

'Is Black Rose really her?'

But thinking about it carefully, he had met this psychologist at the Public Security Bureau before. She was a living, breathing person...

The only way now was to visit her in person. But unexpectedly, where she had previously gone to great lengths, even tormenting her cat, just to get him to visit, she was now making all sorts of excuses, refusing to agree to Han Su's request to meet no matter what.

'Anyone who didn't know better would think her husband was home!'

Han Su felt a mix of strangeness and bewilderment, and a flash of temper rose in him. 'So you refuse to see me, huh?'

'In that case, this chat log...'

...He still had to look at it.

He wasn't a child. How could he let his temper get in the way of serious business?

Suppressing the overwhelming sense of strangeness, he opened the chat log. He heard a woman's voice. Having met Black Rose before, he could tell one of the voices was hers.

The other was a middle-aged man whose voice carried a trace of confusion. At first listen, the content sounded like a conversation between a psychologist and a delusional patient obsessed with researching Mysterious Power.

Middle-aged Man: "Doctor, you have to believe me. I've found a way to make the spirit come alive."

Black Rose: "Are you dead?"

Middle-aged Man: "No, I'm alive, but my spirit is dead. That's why I've never been able to discover true Mysterious Power. Now, I've finally found a way. I've decided to try and make my spirit come alive."

"How will you do that?"

"I'm going to die!"

"?"

"When a person is in an extreme environment or a dangerous situation, their spirit has a chance to come alive. So I'm going to seek out death to experience that state of coming alive."

"..."

Black Rose's voice carried a hint of pity. "If you're going to talk like that, then I can just increase your dosage."

"Why are you making that face?"

The middle-aged man's voice was full of confusion. "You're a member of the World Dust Forum too, a high-level one at that. I've seen your long essays arguing for the existence of true Mysterious Power in this world. You even have a lot of fans on the forum who give you donations..."

"I'm one of your fans. I really agree with your analysis, which is why I came to see you..."

"..."

A barely perceptible note of embarrassment entered Black Rose's voice. "Is it possible that I was just looking for potential clients on the forum?"

"You're insulting me with those words, but it doesn't matter."

The middle-aged man sighed and said, "I only know that what those people told me is true. If you want to see this world clearly, Spiritual Activity is the focus, and the Life Code is the key."

"I just need to make my spirit come alive. When its Activity reaches 70%, I will see the Life Code."

"I will glimpse the key information on how the pre-era wasteland pioneers completed their life Transformation. Then, I will follow in their footsteps and become one of the Gods that existed in the historical records..."

"..."

'Wasteland pioneers? Life Code?'

Hearing these two keywords, Han Su couldn't help but feel his heart stir. A faint shock ran through him, and he straightened his back considerably.

'Could it really be such a coincidence?'

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