The Eldritch Files

”Sighting of the suspected dangerous individual, Song Chushi, on Qingbei Street...”

”Song Chushi spotted on Shanghang Road...”

”Target made a brief stop at the West District transient shelter!”

”Update: Target’s taxi license plate confirmed as XX. Roadblocks have been implemented for this vehicle with the intent to intercept it on Jiangbei Street.”

”Update: Target has bypassed the cordon through unknown means and has now appeared in the Baisui Street area.”

”...”

Amidst the flurry of activity, the Investigator of Strange Birds, dispatched from the base, had been forced to rush to the Tree No. 5 Observation Room. This was one of the basic infrastructure facilities the Qinggang City Disaster Management Bureau had specially established in various city districts and at intersections.

They served multiple functions, including as safe houses, supply points, and containment observation posts.

Whenever a Level One alert was issued, all available Investigators had to immediately report to their nearest observation room and be on standby. This ensured that someone could arrive at any designated location in the city in the shortest possible time to handle the situation.

Throughout this process, the app on the Investigator of Strange Birds’ phone provided a continuous stream of real-time updates.

After listening to a few updates, the Investigator of Strange Birds grew extremely agitated and cursed, ”Dammit, what the hell are these guys paid for? It’s a huge city, and they can’t even stop a single taxi?”

His assistant couldn’t help but remind him, ”Mr. Strange Bird, the last section of road where he was spotted is only seven kilometers away from us.”

”Should we go take a look?”

”No.”

The Investigator of Strange Birds shot him a glare. ”Why bother joining the circus? I haven’t received any direct orders.”

Muttering to himself, he scrolled back through the previous updates. ”This guy’s crazy. What the hell is he doing in Qinggang City? Just taking a stroll?”

”Huh?”

As he scrolled through them, he suddenly froze. Comparing the locations Song Chushi had passed through and stopped at, they looked more and more familiar, and a very strange feeling welled up inside him.

Just then, the latest update came in: ”Target has appeared and made a brief stop at East District Line 2. Relevant personnel, please proceed to the location for interception.”

Hearing this, a jolt went through Mr. Strange Bird. ’That’s it. How is this guy following the exact same route I took when I was tracking that door?’

’Could it be that he came into the city to find those people, too?’

”...”

This unexpected discovery alarmed him more and more the longer he looked. Dozens of thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. He stared intently at the screen, and when the next location was announced, he suddenly understood.

He shot to his feet and said coldly, ”Let’s go. To Beidi Street!”

...

...

At the same time, back at the base, Han Su, Crow, Doctor, and Black Tiger arrived at the entrance, each carrying their own briefcase.

Doctor frowned and said, ”The Disaster Management Bureau is pretty stingy.”

”The three of us aren’t even qualified to participate in this mission. You’re qualified, but only to assist in the investigation. We don’t even have the authorization to draw sidearms. Our only weapon is a stun baton.”

”Worst of all, we couldn’t even requisition a car from the base. We have to take a taxi.”

”...”

Han Su stared at his phone screen and said thoughtfully, ”That’s not a big deal. I’ll pay for the taxi.”

Doctor shot him a sideways glance. ”Well, that certainly solves a huge problem.”

Black Tiger had already taken his briefcase to the roadside to hail a cab. Waving his arm, he looked back and asked, ”Cabs are easy to find. Where are we going?”

’Now *that* is the real question...’

Han Su stared at the official Disaster Management Bureau app on his phone. In addition to the permissions he held as an Executioner of D1 Group, two other sets of permissions had been unlocked for him, granting him access to new information and files.

One was for the real-time information updates regarding Song Chushi.

This was because he had received this task from Zhang Chiguo, so the app had granted him the relevant access.

The other one, however, was quite interesting.

He could see it was the mission information for the task the Investigator of Strange Birds was currently executing: [B3 Level Task: Investigate the Source of the Crystal Plague].

Further down were some of the investigation results for the task. Item by item, they were the real-time reports and logs made by the Investigator of Strange Birds during his investigation.

’Isn’t this the mission I participated in on Line 2?’

Han Su skimmed through the logs, a little surprised. ’So, because the system now lists me as the assistant to the Investigator of Strange Birds, his mission permissions have been opened up to me as well?’

’Most importantly...’

He quickly scanned the information from both sources, surprised by what he found. ’Is Song Chushi also chasing this door?’

Mr. Strange Bird’s report on the door mentioned several locations where the door and Penetration phenomena had previously appeared. The last one was Line 2.

In the real-time updates, the locations where Song Chushi appeared seemed random, as if he were just driving in circles around the city. However, several of these spots strangely overlapped with the investigation conducted by Mr. Strange Bird.

Having discovered this, a slight smile touched Han Su’s lips. Shortly after, when the next real-time update on Song Chushi came through, he instantly made up his mind:

”To Beidi Street!”

’Judging solely from the app’s real-time updates, it looks like Song Chushi is aimlessly trying to find a way out of Qinggang City. But if you compare it with the records from the Investigator of Strange Birds’ investigation, his final destination will likely be an unexpected one: the West District.’

’Only then would the locations form a symmetrical pattern with the previous spots.’

’But why would such a dangerous person, entering Qinggang under such tense circumstances, start investigating Qinggang’s anomalous events?’

...

...

’Is this really the place?’

While Han Su and the others were deciding on their destination for the taxi, the Investigator of Strange Birds was already one step ahead, rushing to the corresponding location.

No one knew this door better than he did. He had committed to memory every location and pattern of its past appearances in Qinggang. That was why he immediately guessed that Song Chushi’s objective was related to the same door he had investigated before.

Even so, upon arriving at Beidi Street, he still felt a sense of uncertainty.

”Mr. Strange Bird, are you sure that dangerous individual will show up here?”

The assistant also looked at his phone, using his own permissions to confirm something. He was startled. ”In that case, should we notify headquarters?”

”Report it!”

With no trace of doubt left, he nodded immediately.

According to the updates, the bulk of the Disaster Management Bureau’s forces were still gathered in the East District. No one had expected Song Chushi to have already crossed nearly half of Qinggang City to reach the West District.

’Previously, I didn’t know why Song Chushi was looking for the door or where he got his information. What if the first three locations were just a coincidence? Reporting it under uncertainty, if I was wrong, would have sent most of our personnel on a wild goose chase. That would have been a considerable mistake. Only now that it’s confirmed is it safe to report.’

His eyes were already darting through the car window, rapidly searching for the figure he suspected was here, but a question still lingered in his mind: ’Is it really this street? Why don’t I see any figures with blurry faces?’

”Right!”

Hearing this, the assistant let out a sharp sigh of relief and was about to report to headquarters when his expression suddenly went blank. Staring at the red ”X” in the top-right corner of his phone, he said dazedly:

”No signal? This is the city center, how is that possible...?”

”Heh. He’s probably already driven out the electronic signals in this area.”

The Investigator of Strange Birds glanced around and saw many people on the street staring at their phones in confusion. Even the advertisements playing on loops at the entrances of some shops were stuttering and showing distorted images.

He gave a cold laugh. ”That just makes it even more certain that this guy’s target is here.”

”But don’t worry. Miss Ai will soon notice the lack of electronic signals in this area and will actually send people here faster because of it.”

”Besides, my mission trajectory and Song Chushi’s path into the city basically match. Miss Ai won’t overlook that. She should analyze it soon and arrange for others to surround this place.”

”It’s just a matter of how long they’ll take...”

”...”

As he was muttering to himself, his eyes suddenly froze.

He stared blankly ahead. A taxi had just pulled up to the entrance of a hotel in front of them. A tall, thin man carrying a silver briefcase got out, turned around, and looked ready to pay the fare.

But with a WHOOSH, the taxi sped off, not even taking his money.

The man who had gotten out could only offer a helpless smile. He put his wallet away, then picked up his briefcase, crossed the street, and sat down in front of a cake shop.

’It’s him, it’s him!’

Watching from inside the car, the Investigator of Strange Birds felt his heart stop for an instant, then begin to pound wildly. ’The man the entire Qinggang Disaster Management Bureau is looking for just appeared right in front of me?’

’Should I go up to him? Or should I retreat?’

”...”

’If I retreat, it’ll be hard to explain later.’

’But if I go... this is the dangerous individual that even Red Windbreaker couldn’t handle... ’