The Eldritch Files

’So it’s true. That guy really is in the Disaster Management Bureau’s D7.’

’And to think, I ran into him on my very first joint mission with D7 personnel?’

A flicker of relief passed through Han Su’s mind, quickly followed by a helpless sigh.

’How did these guys end up like this?’

For some reason, Han Su felt like a disappointed father. ’Whether it’s Wei Lan or Pot Lid Head, I’m the one who worked so hard to get them out of the Ancient Castle. I didn’t expect you all to become famous, but couldn’t you at least be contributing members of society?’

But what happened? One was a perfectly good celebrity who ran off to become a Mercenary, chasing after a few Ancient Gold Coins and diving headfirst into any and every hotspot.

The other not only killed someone on a live broadcast but had now actually managed to become a D7 member of the Disaster Management Bureau...

”To think they sent *these* guys...”

The Executor captain beside him also looked grim, as if feeling the pressure, but he still stepped forward to handle the transfer.

Han Su caught the change in the captain’s expression and whispered to Little Fatty next to him, ”Is there a problem?”

Little Fatty, who maintained a stern and serious demeanor next to his captain, saw that Han Su was asking him privately. Out of consideration for their acquaintance, he explained in a low voice:

”There are many D7 members. Some of the more capable ones can even participate directly in A Level missions. This is just a B+ Level mission. Although it’s risky, it’s not unmanageable. I can’t believe they sent these few.”

”Jackal, Sawtooth, Iron Hook, and Jack the Ripper.”

”...These are all notorious hardcases, even within the Disaster Management Bureau...”

”...”

”Oh?”

Han Su glanced up at the D7 members. ”They’re still Executors, after all. How ’hardcore’ can they be?”

”Before he was imprisoned, Jackal was an underground enforcer, a Double Flower Red Stick. He was responsible for wiping out entire families. The old Erli Street ’Flying Corpse’ case? That was him.”

Little Fatty lowered his voice, looking at one with tattoos. ”The guy doesn’t even spare children.”

”Jackal and Sawtooth are brothers, and they’re the most infamous criminals in Qinggang in recent years. They only target young girls. One likes to rape then kill, the other likes to kill then rape. Truly a pair of animals who deserve to be executed ten times over.”

”And the last one...”

The words reached his lips, but he paused, spitting out just one word: ”Pervert!”

”What do you mean?”

Han Su wasn’t interested in the others, but he was genuinely curious about Pot Lid Head, now code-named Jack the Ripper.

”I don’t need to tell you what he did back then. You must have recognized him, right?”

Little Fatty shook his head slightly. ”This guy once killed someone on camera, even pulled out their intestines, and then smiled at the lens. Back then, all of Qinggang’s media and the public were demanding his death.”

”Later, he got lucky and was secretly transferred to the Disaster Management Bureau. But who would’ve thought that even after his life was spared, he wouldn’t just lie low.”

”The D7 members are all difficult to deal with, and he’s the most difficult of them all.”

”...”

Han Su grew even more curious.

”You know D7 members don’t get paid for completing missions, right?”

Little Fatty said, ”When they complete a mission, they have only two choices. One is to indulge a little—fine food, alcohol, cigarettes, movies, books. Besides women, we try to satisfy any other request. The other choice is to have their sentence reduced.”

”Many D7 members have no hope of ever getting out alive, so they choose the food or other pleasures. But this guy, he chooses sentence reduction every single time.”

”There was even one time when someone got special approval to give him a chance to ’interact’ with a female death-row inmate. An opportunity like that would make the other guys in D7 go crazy, but he wasn’t interested at all. He still just wanted his sentence reduced!”

”...”

Hearing this, Han Su was a bit taken aback. He smiled, ”Isn’t it normal to want to get out early?”

Little Fatty frowned at his words. ”Do you know what his sentence was when he was first transferred to the Disaster Management Bureau?”

Han Su raised an eyebrow slightly. Little Fatty said, ”Seventy years!”

”For death-row inmates, it’s publicly announced that they’ve been executed, but they’re secretly transferred to the Disaster Management Bureau to become D7 personnel. But the crimes they’ve committed aren’t so easily erased. Their sentences are converted according to a set of rules.”

”For example, someone who would have been sentenced to death in regular society has their death sentence naturally canceled upon transfer to the Bureau, but they’re automatically given a default thirty-year sentence.”

”But even death sentences have different weights. For some, one execution is enough to pay their debt to society. For others, three executions wouldn’t be enough.”

”So, most people who enter the Disaster Management Bureau’s D7 start with a thirty-year sentence, and for some, there isn’t even a cap.”

”And this guy, when he entered the Disaster Management Bureau, his sentence was seventy years.”

”...”

Han Su was pensive. ”So what is it now?”

’It’s been a few years since Pot Lid Head committed his crime. If he’s still alive, it means he must’ve been on a lot of missions, right?’

’If he chose sentence reduction after every completed mission, then theoretically, he might even be eligible for release by now.’

Little Fatty said, ”Three hundred and fifty years!”

”?”

”How did it get even longer?”

”Because even though he chooses sentence reduction every time, during his confinement, he repeatedly gets into fights with other inmates, especially the most notorious ones.”

”Especially inmates who’ve committed crimes like sexual assault or pedophilia.”

”Since he was taken into custody, he’s found opportunities to disembowel at least seven other serious offenders in D7. The last four were after he was already in solitary confinement, and he *still* found a way to get to them.”

”That’s how he got the code name Jack the Ripper.”

”And because of that, his sentence reductions keep getting infinitely added back on. He gets more time added than he earns off.”

As he spoke, a deep-seated fear showed on Little Fatty’s face. ”You can’t understand a person like that.”

Han Su could only nod in agreement. Even though this guy was a member of the first team he had personally rescued, he also found him completely incomprehensible.

He had chosen him for that first team back then simply because he was excellent at executing every task.

”When the mission starts, you pass all directives to me, and I’ll issue them to them.”

Just then, the Mountain Crocodile Captain, who had gone to take custody of the D7 members, returned. Little Fatty immediately shut his mouth, looking as if he hadn’t said a word. The Executor captain looked grave and said to Han Su in a low voice, ”Avoid contact with them as much as possible during the mission.”

This took Han Su by surprise for a moment. He chuckled, ”Are they a threat to the investigators too?”

The Executor captain’s expression faltered. Little Fatty reminded him from the side, ”Captain, this investigator is new.”

Han Su also smiled apologetically. ”Yes, my promotion was too fast. I admit there are a lot of fundamentals I haven’t caught up on yet.”

The Executor captain was a little dumbfounded. ’Is this guy for real?’

Only the Doctor, standing nearby, listened and gave Han Su a look of deep approval. ’This is what it feels like to have connections and backing. This is one of the main reasons I became Han Su’s assistant. It gives you such a sense of security.’

The Executor captain, sighing at the state of the Disaster Management Bureau’s promotion system, still explained to Han Su in a low voice, ”There’s something off about these D7 members. And their Spiritual Activity is generally very high.”

”Especially the ones who have survived mission after mission. They’re all lunatics. No one knows what they’ll do, so you must be extremely careful.”

’High Spiritual Activity?’

Han Su made a mental note of it. ”Let’s start the mission!”

The Executor captain’s warning unexpectedly echoed the final advice Miss Ai had given him, which suddenly piqued Han Su’s curiosity about this mission.

He picked up his briefcase and walked into the cordoned-off area, with Black Tiger following behind him.

The Doctor stayed outside with a clear conscience, ready to provide off-site intelligence support for Han Su.

The armed guards escorting the D7 members removed their handcuffs and handed them equipment like daggers and special gloves. Jack the Ripper, however, was left in both handcuffs and shackles. He shuffled lazily into the area as if being sent to his death.

Han Su walked in the lead, and the D7 members behind him all raised their heads to look at him.

Jackal, Sawtooth, and Iron Hook seemed to exchange a look, fiddling with the short knives in their hands, their expressions full of amusement.

But Pot Lid Head, trailing at the very back, just gave a lazy yawn, seemingly uninterested in any of it.

...

...

As they slowly advanced deeper into the cordoned-off area, they saw that it was completely deserted. The intense stench from before was also rapidly dissipating.

It had transformed into a strange odor, one that was noticeable enough to deter anyone from returning casually but wouldn’t hinder the staff from entering. It seemed the Disaster Management Bureau had truly perfected the art of blowing up septic tanks.

Han Su and the others didn’t speak, moving deeper in silence until they gradually reached the heart of the blockaded area, long since evacuated.

Looking ahead, the Sea Workshop came into view. The place was littered with seashells and fish bones that gave off a rotten, fishy smell. It was a small workshop that specialized in marine handicrafts.

Everything was now silent, but in front of the factory, there were more than a dozen figures, some sitting, some standing. They held various rigid poses and expressions, like statues, surrounding the Sea Workshop.

These were all infected Two-bodied People. When outsiders were present and they were in a normal social environment, they would interact normally with ordinary people, acting as the person they possessed.

But now, with all the ordinary people evacuated, they were left with only each other, and their social personas had been stripped away.

They wouldn’t interact with each other by putting on an act; instead, they now looked as if they had been switched off.

”The manager’s office is inside!”

Black Tiger said to Han Su, ”We had just reached this spot when we confirmed the source of the Penetration is inside.”

”This line, Glasses drew it.”

Following Black Tiger’s gesture, Han Su saw a straight line on the ground ahead, made with spray paint. Black Tiger continued to explain, ”Glasses had me test it just now. As soon as you cross that line, these things will attack.”

Han Su nodded, slowly coming to a halt before the line. Then, he spoke into his earpiece, ”It’s time.”

”Roger that!”

The Executor captain on the other end replied instantly.

The next moment, whatever command the captain issued, the four D7 members who had followed them in immediately started limbering up.

On their somewhat numb faces, expressions of excitement began to appear.

They ignored the line on the ground that represented safety, ignored the rigid crowd standing around the Sea Workshop, and just slowly walked forward. Then, including Pot Lid Head, they simultaneously and slowly raised their palms forward:

”I command you to appear in the Light!”