The Eldritch Files

”He’s still inside...”

Even the man in camo outside was stunned. His expression immediately turned serious as he looked at Han Su.

Han Su just shot him a cold glance and said, ”If you have a problem with it, go ahead and pull open this iron gate yourself.”

The man in camo frowned deeply at Han Su. After a long moment, he suddenly spoke. ”If you’re scared, then get behind me. I told you I’d be the one to charge ahead when trouble starts.”

With that, he actually reached out and started pulling at the iron gate, intending to rescue the Little Fatty inside. Meanwhile, Han Su simply stood to the side and watched, making no move to stop him.

’In my judgment,’ Han Su thought, ’the assessment should have reached its conclusion by this point.’

And just as he expected, the Little Fatty inside, who had only worn a dull expression when Han Su pulled the gate shut, now showed a clear look of panic when he saw what the man in camo was trying to do. He had the instinct to talk him out of it.

But in the end, he held back. He raised his hands high and yelled, ”That’s about enough! It’s time to end this!”

Amid his shout, one could faintly hear him mutter a few more unintelligible syllables. Immediately, the tense feeling in the air returned.

The line of blood he had drawn on the floor, which had been scattered by the charging Pseudo-humans, suddenly reformed. It then snaked its way in front of the iron gate, encircling all the Pseudo-humans. The bloodline was actually becoming clearer and more distinct.

Han Su focused his gaze and saw that blood was still dripping from the Little Fatty’s palm. It was this blood that reinforced the line, which then began to rapidly contract inward.

As the bloodline tightened, the Pseudo-humans inside were squeezed together, forced backward by an invisible power.

Not only were they pushed back step-by-step to the elevator, but even the suits and ties that had gradually materialized on their bodies, along with their facial features, rapidly de-materialized as they retreated, until they reverted to being dough-like figures.

They were forced all the way back into the elevator. As the doors closed, the red light on the display panel flickered one last time and went out completely. The elevator had lost power again.

Only then did the Little Fatty stop. He took several deep, ragged breaths and turned to the man in camo, who was still holding up the iron gate.

”You just never learn your lesson, do you?”

”...”

This time, it was the man in camo’s turn to be dumbfounded. ”Huh?”

”So, this is the real end of it?”

After pulling the iron gate shut, Han Su felt the relaxed ease of a completed mission. He hadn’t stopped the man in camo, nor had he fired his gun again. He simply watched the Little Fatty’s actions, a flicker of great interest in his heart as he observed the strange blood.

As for the ultimate purpose of this assessment, a faint sense of Understanding began to dawn on him.

’What kind of potential is the Disaster Management Bureau actually looking to test?’

He could understand why the man in camo’s evaluation was lowered at the beginning for firing without orders.

He recalled his experience in the Dark Castle. Compared to intelligence, bravery, or skill, his own selection criterion had also been ”obedience.”

But after using the suppression of the man in camo to ensure the other trainees deeply understood the principles of confronting the grotesque, why suddenly arrange for this wave of Pseudo-humans? What was the point?

”When you face the grotesque, the most important thing is interdiction, interdiction, interdiction!”

The Little Fatty snapped irritably at the man in camo, ”You tried to save me, but you almost let the grotesque out! Have you ever thought about the consequences? Have you ever thought about what would happen if the world was destroyed? Have you ever thought about getting your pay docked?”

His loud rebuke left the large man completely stunned, looking utterly at a loss.

The scolding also brought the other panicked team members back to their senses. Realizing the problem was resolved, they began peeking out from the stairwell.

Seeing the man in camo’s embarrassment, Han Su stepped forward to smooth things over. ”Captain, so what exactly were those things that came out of the elevator?”

The Little Fatty was still fuming at the man in camo, and his expression soured even more when he saw Han Su approach. ”You can think of them as shadows. Or as a negative force that can distort reality. You can even think of them as buried Gods.”

”In short, they will use every means possible to penetrate into our reality.”

”Our job is to discover them, find their source, and then perform a Penetration interdiction. At the same time, we must deal with any witnesses.”

”...”

He shot a glare at Han Su as he spoke.

’This guy still has the nerve to come over and ask questions?’

’I was very dissatisfied with the man in camo’s performance, but even though he made a mistake, he was trying to save my life. You, on the other hand, locked me right inside with them...’

The memory of how decisively Han Su had pulled down the gate made him shiver.

’What a psycho...’

’Does the Disaster Management Bureau really only recruit based on ability now, without any regard for character?’

Han Su’s focus sharpened. ’Things that penetrate into reality?’ he mused. Within the Disaster Management Bureau, there seemed to be a transcendent ability that relied on Spiritual Penetration to manifest in reality.

And these grotesque things also wanted to penetrate reality. ’Could there be a connection?’

But he could tell the Little Fatty didn’t want to explain. They were still in the assessment phase, and the ratings hadn’t come out yet. Asking too many questions might lower his own evaluation, so Han Su held his tongue.

’Of course, the main reason is that I can see the Little Fatty is in a pretty bad mood right now...’

’It’s got nothing to do with me. I’m definitely the best performer among this batch of trainees he’s leading.’

’The performance of the others, on the other hand, was truly infuriating.’

As before, he followed the Little Fatty with the Glasses downstairs and, along with the others, boarded the van that was already waiting. The ride back was silent. Upon returning to the base, just as they were about to enter the training hall, Han Su was surprised to see Zhang Chiguo waiting for them.

He seemed to be in a very good mood. He walked right up, clapped Han Su on the shoulder, and said with a smile, ”I have to say, I didn’t expect you to perform so well in the assessment.”

”You’re a natural for this line of work!”

”I’ll be able to rest easy once you’re assigned to your team.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the man in camo and the other trainees beside him, then pulled something from his pocket, stuffed it into Han Su’s, and said, ”Take this. Training is about to end, and it’s important to build good relationships with your colleagues.”

Han Su glanced down and chuckled to himself. ’This thing really is a powerful tool for building relationships.’

After turning in their firearms and remaining ammunition, they returned to the briefing room to find all the other trainees already present.

The numbers were correct; it looked like there had been no casualties or injuries, which perhaps meant that every team had completed its mission successfully. However, the expression on each person’s face was stranger than the last.

Some were smug and self-satisfied, some looked mortified, and others still bore the lingering traces of terror. It seemed that during this training, they had all witnessed some incomprehensible things.

’There must have been quite a few who were frightened out of their wits and tried to flee.’

Most of the people who had made it here to participate in this training were already somewhat mentally prepared to witness such things. But to actually encounter them in person still left one with an indescribably bizarre feeling.

It was as if, from that single glance, a normal life was forever beyond their reach.

In the beginning, the instructors had constantly told them that the great thing about the Disaster Management Bureau’s training department was that no matter how you performed, you wouldn’t be kicked out. That had sounded like a good thing.

But after genuinely witnessing something like this, their thoughts had changed.

’If we have to deal with this kind of shit all the time in the future, then it’d be better if they just kicked us out right now...’

”The evaluation results for the execution portion are in.”

Just then, the instructor sitting in a chair at the very front waited for the last two trainees to enter before turning around. He said, ”You all have thirty minutes of free time. Afterward, we will arrange the final assessment, which is on the Code of Conduct.”

”Once the results of this final item are in, all of your evaluation scores will be displayed. You will then be assigned to your respective teams based on these evaluations.”

”Of course, if anyone feels they don’t need to wait and wants to begin the Code of Conduct assessment immediately, the venue is prepared. You may come over directly.”

”...”

The trainees all looked at each other. Many who had been looking pale and distraught a moment ago suddenly had a change in expression. They hurriedly pulled out their copies of the Code of Conduct and began to silently recite from them.

Just then, the man in the white shirt and gold-rimmed Glasses spoke up. ”I’m ready. Allow me to go first.”

”Huh?”

Even Han Su was taken aback. ’Wasn’t this the guy who was the first to put down the manual after they were handed out?’ he thought.

’I’ve never seen him diligently studying the code like everyone else.’

’And now he’s volunteering to be the first one to take the test...?’

’Has he just given up?’

As everyone watched in surprise, the man with the gold-rimmed Glasses walked into a room across the hall. Time ticked by, second by second. About ten minutes later, the man pushed the door open and emerged.

Above his head, an electronic information panel flickered to life, displaying his scores:

[Codename: Doctor]

[Code of Conduct: A]

[Insight: A]

[Adaptability: A]

[Interdiction: B]

[Cipher: C]

[Execution: A]

[Additional Evaluation: None]