The Eldritch Files

”I suppose so...”

Seeing Miss Ai’s serious tone, Han Su suppressed all his dissatisfaction.

’How could I possibly doubt Miss Ai’s professional competence?’

’We’ve worked together for so long. I’ve always had the utmost trust in her fairness, impartiality, and professionalism...’

He didn’t rush to look at the second task. Instead, he checked his own Spiritual Activity and was immediately stunned.

40%!

’Just for catching a fish, my Spiritual Activity increased by 4%?’

Thinking back to how his stats had barely budged after the initial Activity boost, he couldn’t help but sigh. ’The difference between a ten-year range and a two-hundred-year range is just absurdly large...’

He then looked at the second task: [B Level Task: Proceed to Wutong Courtyard District and assist in the capture of a hidden, high-risk member of a Mysterious Organization.]

Great. Another difficult B Level Task.

Han Su arrived at the scene and, with almost no effort, cooperated with the armed personnel from the Disaster Management Bureau’s base to force out the member of the Mysterious Organization hiding there. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a member of the Crystal Skull Organization.

This person was quite powerful. Nearly half of his skeleton had undergone crystallization, and he possessed various superhuman abilities like hypnosis, Physical Enhancement, and Thought Perception.

Even under the Executioners’ heavy firepower, the man tried to escape over a wall, but Han Su and Black Tiger had already moved ahead to block his path.

Facing the man’s counterattack, Han Su used Cross Copper Hand, grabbing his Crystal Arm Bone. With a slight exertion of force, his five fingers crushed the bone. He then activated his Spiritual Activity, forcefully resisting the contamination from the crystalline light pouring out of the man’s eyes.

This time, the performance of his Spiritual Activity was markedly different.

He had been mentally invaded by a Crystal Skull member before. On that occasion, the enemy had succeeded instantly, and he had only managed to defeat them by relying on his strange Spiritual Corridor.

This time, the opponent’s Spiritual Activity was still clearly higher than his, but to successfully contaminate him, they would need to completely suppress his own Spiritual Activity.

He calculated that he could actually hold on for more than ten seconds.

In a fierce battle, never mind over ten seconds, even a few would be enough. Black Tiger saw his chance and slammed a hard elbow into the man, who was already at the end of his rope, knocking him to the ground. From around the corner, Doctor also put a bullet in him.

Han Su looked at the fallen Crystal Skull member, savoring this remarkably different experience. He felt a sense of vindication.

He had a vague feeling that just from this one confrontation with a desperate fugitive, his Spiritual Activity had risen a little more.

Looking at Black Tiger beside him, Han Su was also extremely pleased.

The Black Tiger of today was not to be underestimated. He had not only accepted Zero Sequence Number 02 [My Limbs], but also Number 08 [Devil’s Kiss] and Number 09 [Ladder of the Abyssal], which Han Su had taught him in private. His overall strength had become exceptionally well-rounded.

This innate War God Physique, enhanced by the Encrypted Spells, produced an overall effect that was...

If he had to describe it, Han Su felt that the three D7s who had attacked him before would be no match for Black Tiger in a one-on-one fight using only Zero Sequence abilities.

Someone who had been on a battlefield, taken a bullet to the head, and still managed to survive was bound to be different from others.

As for Doctor, Han Su hadn’t neglected him either. He privately taught him Number 06 [All Things Respond to My Will] and Number 07 [Become the Night Itself]. Of course, more importantly, he also showed him the other Spells, letting him choose and absorb them himself.

After the Crystal Skull member—who had been ceaselessly shouting things like ”You will incur the wrath of God for offending the Crystal Skull!” and ”That monster will bring disaster to Qinggang!”—was taken away, Han Su found himself slightly curious.

The Crystal Skull Organization was a deeply entrenched and well-hidden Mysterious Organization in Qinggang. But now, listening to him, it sounded like they were being pushed to the brink.

’The monster they mentioned, which abnormal person in the Disaster Management Bureau are they referring to?’

But he had no time to ponder it. Miss Ai, who seemed to have gotten into the swing of things, had already sent a new mission.

”Still more?”

Han Su glanced at Black Tiger, who had only just fought once and wasn’t even properly warmed up. He steeled himself. ’Might as well keep going then.’

So, he accepted another mission: [B+ Level Anomaly: The Giant Infant Incident]

He rushed to the scene, which turned out to be a maternity and infant hospital in the South City District. The area was already completely locked down. The medical staff, who had been evacuated by the Executioners, all wore looks of sheer terror.

Han Su identified himself and entered the hospital with Doctor and Black Tiger. He soon discovered that the source of the anomaly was a Penetration crisis caused by a pregnant woman, a secret believer, giving birth to a contaminated infant.

When he saw the infant, it had already grown to be over three meters tall.

It sat on the floor, babbling, stuffing any living thing it could reach into its mouth.

The mission objective was to seal its abnormally active spiritual characteristics, restore it to its original state, and then contain it.

The difficulty lay in having to withstand the contamination from the giant infant’s terrifying cries, cross a distance of three hundred meters, and ultimately pacify it without causing harm.

Han Su understood the Disaster Management Bureau’s requirement. So, without even using an electric baton, he pushed forward step by step, enduring the cries. His Spiritual Power was affected by the wailing at one point, making him want to sit down and grab a toy, but he persevered and helped expel the contamination.

As he walked out of the hospital holding the now-normal infant, he felt an almost terrifying increase of a full 10% in his Activity and found it somewhat unreal...

”Just like that, 47%?”

’Wait, I know missions can increase Spiritual Activity, but is it really okay for it to rise this fast?’

Miss Ai quickly sent a reassuring message: [I’m proud of Mr. Butcher’s performance!]

[Please continue to work hard...]

[...]

[...]

”This is already the third mission he’s completed today...”

”And they were all B Level!”

Han Su, who had already accepted a fourth mission, was unaware of the dumbfounded expressions on the faces of some people back at the Disaster Management Bureau.

Following a decision made in some secret meeting, a smokeless battle had been brewing within the Disaster Management Bureau.

This manifested as a backlog of missions and a passive approach to handling them.

Qinggang often experienced sudden anomalous incidents that required the cooperation of Investigators, and efficiency was key.

Now, several temporary incidents requiring the cooperation of Disaster Management Bureau Investigators had been sent out to the various Investigators on time. However, unlike usual, these Investigators had been cleverly arranged to already have missions in progress.

By using their unfinished missions as an excuse, they could refuse to accept new temporary tasks, leaving these sudden incidents in a vacuum with no one to handle them. This, in turn, would invisibly increase the risk and put pressure on the Disaster Management Bureau.

They just hadn’t expected the first investigative mission that was rejected to be completed so quickly.

Seeing that it was Han Su who completed the mission wasn’t surprising. They just sneered and tossed the report aside.

’Looks like this rookie is dead set on opposing the entire Investigator community.’

’He’ll never learn if he doesn’t suffer a loss.’

But when the second rejected mission was also completed by him, those Investigators who were enjoying the show began to feel a little surprised.

When the third rejected mission also showed as completed by him, countless Investigators in the Disaster Management Bureau were utterly astonished. ”Is this rookie insane? He’s completed three B Level Tasks in a single day...”

”Is he really so capable that he can solve all the missions the other Investigators are unwilling to take?”

”...”

”...”

Han Su was baffled too...

He never would have imagined that Miss Ai, who seemed so honest and proper, was capable of such a move.

On the first day, the missions she recommended were mostly sudden incidents. They were certainly a bit difficult, but manageable.

Starting from the second day, they were mostly difficult or backlogged missions, like the Ghost Truck, which were anomalous incidents that had been around for a while but were not easily resolved due to various difficulties.

The mission types were also exceptionally complex: tracing sources, sealing dangerous items, even overseeing high-risk projects and carrying out targeted eliminations of high-danger anomalous individuals...

But for him, these missions were just too easy.

For tracing sources, all the necessary data and analysis came directly with the mission briefing.

Never mind Doctor; even he could determine the specific solution at a single glance.

For sealing a dangerous anomalous item, it turned out to be just a matter of dispatching Executioners to lock down the phenomenon, and then Han Su would personally go in and retrieve the item.

For high-risk projects, he just had to rush over to oversee things, watching the Executioners carry out various construction procedures. If an accident occurred, he would have to step in and arrange for the construction crew to retreat...

...But the key thing was, no accidents happened.

So, during the entire mission, all he did was eat a boxed lunch at a street corner.

Targeted elimination of an anomalous individual confirmed to be extremely dangerous...

...He didn’t even have to lift a finger. Doctor handled it!

After just looking at the files, that guy arranged for more than enough Executioners under Han Su’s name, applied to use special weapons, and simply wore the target down wave after wave without a single casualty.

When Han Su arrived on the scene, Doctor just handed him the report to sign.

”?”

Han Su was actually a little touched at the time. ’At least the guy remembered I was the one who needed to sign.’

However, as he completed mission after mission, Han Su’s worldview was finally starting to crumble.

’Wait, is this right?’

The Disaster Management Bureau had all sorts of missions. Some were high-risk tasks that seemed extremely difficult, where one mistake could cost an entire team their lives. But as long as the intelligence and information were detailed enough, they could be resolved without injury in half an hour.

There were also missions that only required an Investigator to be present for oversight, while the Executioner and logistics teams did the actual work.

Of course, on the surface, they were all high-Level tasks...

’So, has Miss Ai been recommending all the easy-to-complete missions currently available in the Disaster Management Bureau to me?’

’And even mixing in some that are exactly what I need right now to increase my Spiritual Activity?’

”I’ve underestimated you, Miss Ai...”

After a few busy days, Han Su couldn’t help but reflect, ’And to think I actually believed you had reached your limit before...’