The Eldritch Files

A Zero Sequence Spell was merely a basic tool at the Disaster Management Bureau; seasoned Investigators only used it for support. But right now, it was the only thing Han Su could rely on.

Whether it was effective in a direct confrontation didn’t matter. It was perfect for fishing in troubled waters.

The moment his presence was erased, he darted out from behind an unnoticed pillar and sprinted forward, intending to snatch the box in Wei Lan’s arms.

In this secret chamber interwoven with Mysterious Powers, he had relied solely on this one Spell—Zero Sequence number one—to turn himself into a Ghost. No one noticed his appearance, not even Wei Lan, who was focused on dealing with the Crystal Skull members.

What he didn’t know, however, was that as he chanted the Fishing Song, the Copper Armor Statue in the corner trembled slightly. The movement was too faint for anyone to notice.

”Hmm?”

But Han Su had only taken two steps before he sensed something was wrong.

There was nothing around Wei Lan, yet as he drew near, he heard the faint, crisp sound of shattering glass. Only then did Han Su realize that she was surrounded by a dense web of mirror-like fibers, invisible to the naked eye.

She couldn’t see him, but the breaking of those delicate fibers alerted her to his presence. She immediately turned her head to look his way.

With just a single glance, Han Su felt his Spiritual Power rapidly drain as an immense pressure bore down on him.

In that brief delay, a member of the Crystal Skull Organization on the other side let out a low growl. He rapidly chanted a Spell, and one after another, blurry shadows crawled out of their eyes, beginning to roam the cramped secret chamber.

The air grew distinctly ”crowded.”

”The Crystal Plague?”

Han Su’s eyes narrowed. He realized his chance had come.

The ordinary Crystal Plague could wipe a normal person’s mind clean and destroy their will within seconds.

Now, unleashed by these Crystal Skull Organization members, it was far more dangerous. It clung to its victims like maggots on bone, swarming in vast hordes, a sea of bodies that completely surrounded Wei Lan.

Han Su, however, was still under the effects of Spell 01. In his erased state, the Crystal Plague didn’t notice him at all.

But just as he took a step, Wei Lan, who was besieged by the Crystal Plague, suddenly shifted her gaze. A mischievous smile played on her lips as she pushed the box she was holding directly toward Han Su’s position.

”?”

Han Su didn’t have time to think. He caught the box in his hands, and in that same instant, he became visible to everyone. The members of the Crystal Skull Organization were all stunned.

”He has an accomplice?”

”...”

Han Su knew at once that he had fallen into a trap.

Wei Lan couldn’t see him, but she had sensed him, so she pushed the box his way.

The box had been the center of everyone’s attention. The moment he took it, that attention shifted to him.

His presence was instantly magnified, forcing him to become visible.

It was a brilliant move, one based on the fundamental logic of how Mysterious Powers worked.

’This woman set me up?’

Han Su caught a glimpse of Wei Lan out of the corner of his eye. After forcing him to appear, she too seemed momentarily surprised. But then she recognized him, and a look of amusement entered her eyes.

At the same time, the crowded air surged toward him. Han Su’s vision filled with blurry shadows from all sides.

Just as it had besieged Wei Lan, the Crystal Plague now turned to trap him.

”Take it back!”

At the critical moment, Han Su acted without a second thought. He immediately threw the box toward the Crystal Skull professor, spun around, and dashed for the entrance.

”You’re that much of a coward?”

Even Wei Lan was taken aback. She subconsciously lunged a few steps toward the box, then abruptly stopped, her expression thoughtful.

Meanwhile, the Crystal Skull professor and his members had their eyes glued to the box, their attention completely diverted. They breathed a sigh of relief only when the box landed securely in the professor’s hands. With a grim face, the professor opened it immediately.

It was empty.

They could even see a hole in the bottom of the box. From the shape of it, someone had punched it out with their hand.

Fury instantly flooded their faces.

...

Clutching the Mechanical Fragment, Han Su ran exceptionally fast.

He had seen how the Crystal Skull member had handled the fragment earlier and knew the thing was dangerous. He hadn’t dared to grab it directly.

First, he had put a low-sensitivity fiber glove from the Disaster Management Bureau on his left hand, turning it inside out. Then, he focused his attention on his left hand and activated the power of ”copper.” With these two layers of protection in place, he had finally gripped the Mechanical Fragment and made a break for the exit.

As he put distance between himself and the others, he planned to chant the Fishing Song again and disappear into the shadows.

He never expected that even while holding the Mechanical Fragment, his Spiritual Power would continue to drain so severely.

The Mechanical Fragment was like a black hole, devouring his Spiritual Power at a frantic pace despite the two layers of insulation.

All of a sudden, his Spiritual Power bottomed out. He didn’t even have enough left to chant the Fishing Song.

In a flash of inspiration, Han Su suddenly yelled in Wei Lan’s direction, ”Boss Lady, this job’s a bust! Give them the stuff! I’ll go outside and cover our retreat!”

He shouted as he sprinted away.

Behind him, Wei Lan: ”?”

Farther back, the enraged members of the Crystal Skull Organization abruptly fixed their countless gazes on her.

They didn’t doubt Han Su’s words. After all, they had just seen Wei Lan give him the box, which meant they were a team. And from Han Su’s slightly stumbling figure, they could tell his rank was too low; the Mechanical Fragment couldn’t possibly be in his hands.

...

...

’Sorry, Miss Wei Lan...’

’You helped me before, but I have to take this Mechanical Fragment...’

’Besides, with your skills, escaping these guys shouldn’t be hard for you!’

As these thoughts ran through his mind, Han Su rushed toward the entrance, his urgency even reminding him a little of his time in the Ancient Castle.

While holding the Mechanical Fragment, he was unable to use any Mysterious Power, which meant he could no longer use his right eye to see the path to the exit. But the memory of what he’d seen was still fresh in his mind. It was like running blind, purely on instinct.

For someone like him, who was used to running through the Ancient Castle, this was child’s play. Relying on memory, he bypassed the ”Refraction Wall” Wei Lan had set up earlier and entered the exit corridor.

But at that same moment, he heard the furious sounds of the Crystal Skull Organization members attacking from behind, along with a cold, enraged laugh from Wei Lan.

Facing the charging Crystal Skull members, she raised her hands in the air and called out, ”Look! Do you see anything on me?”

As she raised her hands, the Crystal Skull members did indeed hesitate for a second.

One looked doubtfully in the direction Han Su had fled, while another eyed Wei Lan’s oversized clothes.

...’It wouldn’t be unreasonable to hide a Mechanical Fragment in clothes that baggy, would it?’

But there was a ferocious one in the crowd. Seeing so many of his comrades injured just to retrieve the Mechanical Fragment, only to have it snatched away repeatedly, had sent him into a blind rage. He abruptly pulled out a gun.

Without a second thought, he fired a shot at Wei Lan, who was still smiling and gesturing with her hands up.

”BANG!”

As the deafening shot echoed through the narrow space, Wei Lan’s expression froze. She glanced down at where she’d been hit, a strange look on her face, before glaring with a hint of dissatisfaction at the Crystal Skull member who had fired.

”You’re definitely never going to find a girlfriend!”

”...”

The next moment, her body was suddenly covered in glass-like cracks. It shattered into pieces all over the floor, and she vanished.

What had seemed so real was merely a mirror-like illusion.

”A gunshot?”

The moment the shot rang out behind him, a chill went down Han Su’s spine.

Though his mind was empty, he instantly squeezed out a burst of energy, running even faster and adding an S-shaped weave to his path.

Guns were the most damn dangerous things!

Even though he had now Mastered several Mysterious Powers, he would never dare to act tough in front of someone with a gun.

”CLACK!”

He failed to notice it, but as that genuine terror exploded in his mind, his instinctive shudder seemed to trigger some kind of mysterious resonance. The Copper Armor Statue in the corner, which no one had been paying attention to, suddenly trembled, as if it had sensed something.

”Don’t fire your weapon recklessly! You’ll alert the people outside.”

The gunshot didn’t just scare Han Su. The leader of the Crystal Skull Organization behind him paled as well. He grabbed his reckless subordinate’s arm and saw that the space before them was now empty.

He simply closed his eyes and flared his nostrils.

The Crystal Skull infection effectively increased one’s Spiritual Activity, which in turn enhanced the five senses. Soon, the faint scent of perfume wafted into his nose. Having determined the direction, he immediately led his men forward to encircle his target.

”Well, well. I even got my face ruined for you, and you’re still trying to screw me over?”

Further ahead, Han Su was striding toward the end of the corridor when he heard a voice behind him, tinged with the sound of grinding teeth.

’You’re the one who screwed me over first...’ Han Su thought.

Suddenly, he looked up and saw a figure rushing toward him. The person was strikingly handsome, dressed in an exquisite suit, and holding a mechanical device.

He looked closer. Was that... himself?

The thought hadn’t even fully formed before he collided with the approaching figure.

With a crackling sound in the air, his body lurched forward into emptiness. When he looked again, the scene before him had changed dramatically. The pursuing members of the Crystal Skull Organization were now in front of him. He, who had just been rushing toward the exit, was now heading back toward the secret chamber.

Han Su’s mind went on high alert. He couldn’t even begin to describe the bizarre sensation.

He had been rushing forward, but his reflection in the mirror had been rushing backward.

In that collision, his actions had been altered, his escape route reversed. He had gone from getting away to willingly walking into a trap.

Was the Mysterious Power Wei Lan Mastered really this bizarre?

But before the thought could fade, he felt his hand tighten. Wei Lan had reached out and snatched the Mechanical Fragment away.

For Wei Lan, snatching something from Han Su was trivially easy.

What she hadn’t expected, however, was that at this very moment, Han Su’s completely depleted Spiritual Power triggered a second battery. A full reserve of Spiritual Power was born from nothing. As his left hand surged with strength to take back the Mechanical Fragment, he also tried to chant the Fishing Song.

Each holding one side, they gripped the Mechanical Fragment as their Spiritual Power simultaneously seeped into it.

In that instant, an utterly freezing aura was triggered from deep within the Mechanical Fragment, penetrating their bodies.

Both of them froze on the spot.

The sound of machinery began to fill their ears. TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK.

It was crystal clear.