The Eldritch Files

When the first rays of morning sun streamed into the room, Han Su could already feel that things were different.

Wei Lan was gone. He was alone in the small apartment.

He gazed out the window. The city, bathed in the morning light, looked crisp and vibrant.

Strangely, many of his memories had become more concrete and vivid. It was as if his memory had improved significantly, and his understanding of things had changed. He could focus on any given subject with ease, and even his own reflexes felt much faster than before.

’So this is the power of Spiritual Activity?’

He was a little surprised. His spirit had been activated a long time ago, yet this was the first time he had truly experienced such mental acuity.

’Was it because I was dragging around such a bloated mass of power before that I couldn’t feel such a subtle change?’

With a soft sigh, Han Su brewed a cup of tea, sat on the sofa, and took a moment to carefully experience the changes.

The most obvious change was that his Spiritual Range had decreased.

Previously, he had been burdened by the total Spiritual Power of two hundred intermittent years—a vast but bloated mass that he couldn’t use freely.

Now, his Spiritual Range was only ten years’ worth, far less than that of an ordinary person. Yet, this seemed to make him more focused. He felt a newfound mastery over the Spiritual Power that possessed such Activity.

The Activity was still only 36%, which was to be expected.

His total Spiritual Power was divided into twenty-one segments, and each segment’s Spiritual Activity was 36%.

But whether it was Penetration, carrying information, invading, or attaching, everything felt effortless.

’So, the next thing to consider is how to increase my Activity from this new baseline, right?’

After sitting for a long while, Han Su picked up his phone and sent a message to Miss Ai.

[Miss Ai, as an ordinary person, what’s the most efficient yet safest way for me to increase my Spiritual Activity?]

[Good morning, Mr. Butcher. The weather today is just delightful.]

Miss Ai replied instantly, her words seeming to radiate an effortless calm. [Based on the Disaster Management Bureau’s current experience, the safest method to increase Spiritual Activity is to experience adventures and crises, maintain your curiosity about the world, and be sure to sleep early, wake up early, and eat your meals on time!哦!]

[As for the most *efficient* method, that would be to try accepting contamination while maintaining the integrity of your own will!]

Han Su considered this. [Contamination? Wouldn’t that make me the same as the believers of a Mysterious Organization?]

Miss Ai: [A person’s spiritual nature, be they an Investigator or a Mysterious Believer, is inherently no different!]

[It’s just that Mysterious Believers can increase their Spiritual Activity by actively accepting contamination. Non-believers, on the other hand, need to sever the source of the contamination afterward. This is the only way to ensure their Spiritual Activity increases while keeping their will intact!哦!]

[...]

Hearing this, Han Su felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

So, whether it was eating dried corpses, so-called meditation, or consuming potions...

...in reality, there was only one truly efficient method for increasing Spiritual Activity: actively accepting contamination.

This was exactly what Mysterious Organizations did. As long as they remained in a constant state of contamination, their Spiritual Activity would continuously increase. The method was also viable for Investigators; however, since Investigators didn’t want to lose themselves, their process had an extra step.

After accepting the contamination, they had to ensure they could sever it.

This was the disadvantage the Disaster Management Bureau faced compared to the Mysterious Organizations.

It was also a disadvantage for everyone who wasn’t a believer. But this couldn’t be changed; it was the most direct and simplest path!

In fact, when he had resolved the Two-bodied People incident, his total Spiritual Power had jumped by 5%—a full 5% of his entire reserves. The reason was the same: the contamination from that painting had been unprecedentedly powerful.

This also highlighted the importance of the third Mysterious Power he’d brought back from the Ancient Castle: ”Ghost Fire.” Back then, the Ghost Fire had helped him sever the painting’s contamination in an instant!

It was just that his total Spiritual Power had been too vast at the time, so the boost from such intense contamination hadn’t been very noticeable.

’But what about now, after the forbidden surgery?’

A thought flickered in his mind, and he asked directly: [Miss Ai, are there any more tasks similar to the last one with the Two-bodied People?]

Miss Ai replied: [The Two-bodied People task was confirmed to originate from a relic left by the ”Round Table Altar,” a well-known Sect from the Radiation Age. Similar tasks are extremely rare worldwide! I wouldn’t recommend Mr. Butcher get his hopes up about encountering another one anytime soon!]

Han Su mulled over her words and translated them into what she really meant: ’You’re dreaming...’

It seemed sources of high-quality contamination like that oil painting were currently unavailable...

’But on the other hand,’ he thought, ’before the forbidden surgery, I needed something as potent as that oil painting to increase my Spiritual Activity. Now that the surgery is done, maybe even an ordinary mission can boost it?’

After some consideration, a bold idea suddenly struck Han Su, and he excitedly typed: [Miss Ai, do you have any more tasks involving contamination you could recommend to me?]

[Nothing too low-Level. After all, I’m an Investigator now, and low-Level tasks won’t help improve my rating!]

[Nothing too complicated. I’m short on time and can’t afford to waste any.]

[But also nothing too difficult. My abilities are limited right now, so I can’t handle anything too hard...]

[...]

’Wait a minute.’ After excitedly typing out all those demands, Han Su realized something was off. ’This is Miss Ai, not my mother.’

’Aren’t these demands a bit much?’

Then he saw Miss Ai’s reply: [I have just the thing!哦!]

Han Su: ”?”

Immediately after, a series of messages from Miss Ai came through: [Given that the mission-processing efficiency of many Disaster Management Bureau Investigators has dropped significantly due to their personal status or other reasons, a backlog of urgent tasks has accumulated with no one to handle them.]

[Having an Investigator like Mr. Butcher, who voluntarily requests missions and strives to protect the frontline of reality, is a blessing for Qinggang. On that basis, satisfying a few of Mr. Butcher’s requests is a demonstration of fairness, justice, and reason.]

[I have already selected the following assignments for Mr. Butcher that meet his criteria. In these troubled times, with survival on the line, I hope Mr. Butcher will disregard personal gains and losses and strive to protect Qinggang’s frontline of reality!哦!]

[...]

”??”

This time, Han Su was genuinely baffled. ’Something feels weird,’ he thought.

His gaze shifted down. The mission prompt had appeared: [B- Level Task. Traces of the Mysterious Sect ”Devilfish” proselytizing have appeared in the Binbin District of North City. Please proceed immediately to investigate their method of indoctrination and put a stop to it. Relevant members are to be taken into custody or eliminated on sight!]

’B Level...’

He stared at the mission from Miss Ai in silence for a long time before directly contacting Doctor and Black Tiger.

”How are you doing with the new Encrypted Spell I taught you?”

Doctor said, ”It’s been very helpful.”

Han Su said, ”That’s good. Now, are you two perhaps ready for some overtime?”

”...”

”...”

Doctor was already pushing up his Glasses and beginning to ponder, but Black Tiger’s enthusiasm surged. ”I’m in!”

And so, Han Su immediately grabbed his briefcase and headed out, making a beeline for his first mission.

Han Su finished reviewing the files on the way. According to Miss Ai’s information gathering and intelligence analysis, it was confirmed to be an indoctrination event by a Mysterious Organization.

’So, Miss Ai must have been having a little fun, right?’

’A B-Level Task related to a Mysterious Sect... there’s no way it’s going to be simple...’

He now understood that similar Mysterious Organizations, and even Sects, were constantly popping up in the depths of a huge city like Qinggang. Anyone from an old man scavenging on the streets to a mild-mannered teacher could have secretly joined some faith-based Sect.

But merely joining a Sect was one thing. What the Disaster Management Bureau feared most was the subsequent spread of mysterious contamination, and the emergence of abnormal individuals from within who, due to their deep faith, had mastered a Mysterious Power.

Such individuals usually possessed immense destructive capabilities. Having mastered a Mysterious Power, dealing with them through conventional force required an enormous price. Even Investigators had to be willing to risk their lives.

With this in mind, Han Su, Doctor, and the others arrived on the scene. By cordoning off the area, analyzing the secret followers, and screening the transient population, they very efficiently narrowed the list of suspects in this Mysterious Sect incident down to the ten most likely individuals.

Then, Doctor stepped forward. He adjusted his Glasses and, after a thorough analysis of the suspects’ education, backgrounds, ages, and personalities, his gleaming lenses turned toward the ultimate source...

...the Devilfish in a tank at the seafood market!

In the end, Han Su personally took action, catching the fish just as it tried to leap from the tank and escape.

Han Su found the whole thing absurd, but the moment he grabbed the fish, he knew for sure it was the one.

It was a Low Tier contaminated creature that lived in the deep sea. It had been corrupted by some bizarre entity and, after being caught by a fishing boat, had ended up in Qinggang’s seafood market. From there, it had begun to spread its mysterious contamination.

Its ability to spread was limited. The most it could do was influence the stall owner’s mind with a Secret Curse when no one was watching.

It gradually twisted his will, making him worship mysterious things and offer the Devilfish three meals of fresh worms a day...

...that last part was the Devilfish’s own selfish addition!

...

As he watched the Executioners toss the fish into a special sealed tank and carry it away, Han Su stood there, completely dumbfounded. He almost couldn’t believe the mission was really over just like that.

[Miss Ai, this qualifies as a B- Level Task? Just catching a fish?]

[Mr. Butcher, please note that this Devilfish contamination incident resulted in no fewer than thirty contaminated individuals and the formation of a Mysterious Sect with over one hundred members. In terms of both the damage to the frontline of reality and the threat level, it fully meets the standards for a B-Level Task!哦!]

[That’s not what I meant, I just didn’t expect it to be...]

[I hope Mr. Butcher can retract his doubts about my professional judgment and focus on the mission itself!]

[Now recommending a new task as follows...]