The Eldritch Files

”Hmph. A waste of my time!”

As Investigator Bai Yang walked back, he happened to see Han Su and Rong Qiyue exiting the tent one after the other.

He didn’t know what the two had discussed, but he suddenly felt a little worried.

However, after stepping out of the tent, the arrogant Doctor of Archaeology seemed even more insufferably smug. He snorted coldly, ”A mere Independent Investigator is worthy of my investment?”

”The Rong Family has always chosen to work directly with Independent Investigators.”

”So what if he’s a star Investigator? A dead star is ultimately just a regular Investigator!”

”...”

Hearing these words, Investigator Bai Yang actually felt a sense of satisfaction. ’This star Investigator from Qinggang, is he taking himself too seriously? Daring to ask for a private chat with Dr. Rong?’

’Heh, being talked to like a piece of trash. Feels good, doesn’t it?’

He immediately plastered a smile on his face and stepped forward. ”Dr. Rong...”

Rong Qiyue immediately took a disgusted step back, giving him a look that screamed, ”You’re trash, too.”

Investigator Bai Yang’s grin vanished. He respectfully took a step back and said in a low voice, ”The connection work for those few from D7 has been completed!”

”Hmph!”

Rong Qiyue turned and walked away, leaving behind an arrogant silhouette.

No one else dared to say anything at this moment. Li Yiting of the Magic Box Group, however, steeled his resolve, his eyes narrowing.

’Should I call in a few ruthless guys with knives and guns...?’

’I’ll have to pay extra to get the really tough ones...’

”Let’s get down to business. I don’t want to stay in this place, Qinggang, a second longer than I have to!”

Rong Qiyue walked over to the group of infected individuals with a cold expression. He observed the image sketched out by the Spiritual Range emanating from the contaminated death row inmates. After a close look, his face suddenly changed dramatically.

”Report this to your headquarters. I’m afraid this incident needs to be elevated to an A-Level threat.”

”A-Level?”

Upon hearing Rong Qiyue’s words, everyone’s first reaction was disbelief.

How could it be A-Level?

Normally, the highest Level of threat these Qinggang Investigators had to face was B-Level. That represented an anomaly that had already achieved Penetration into reality, or individuals severely contaminated by a Mysterious Power.

An A-Level mission, on the other hand, was itself a nearly unbelievable existence.

Such threats could easily devastate an entire city.

If everything before A-Level was merely Penetration, then A-Level represented the dam breaking.

”And you think A-Level is the limit?”

Rong Qiyue’s face was now faintly flushed as he shouted, ”This is one of the ten World-Destroying Level disasters from the Radiation Age! The Mother Divine Tree! It has a codex number in the Secret Scrolls. Before the Reconstruction Era, the entire human race was once wiped out because of it.”

”To this day, remnants of this surreal phenomenon still exist around Insect Island.”

”I’m suggesting you raise its threat to A-Level now only because the flower bud has not yet fully matured.”

”Once it blooms and the spores spread, the entirety of Qinggang will fall under its influence!”

”At that point, the incident will escalate directly into an S-Class threat!”

”...”

Hearing his words, everyone’s expression changed drastically. After saying so much in one breath, Rong Qiyue suddenly jumped on the spot.

”Well, go on!”

”Don’t you Investigators have phones?”

”...”

Only then did Investigator Bai Yang snap back to reality and scramble to make a call.

Not only was he panicked on the outside, but he was also filled with so much regret he could have puked his guts out.

This was a huge mess.

An incident with the potential to escalate to S-Class was delayed because of him. How could he possibly come out of this unscathed?

He knew, of course, that having the potential to become S-Class didn’t mean the threat was currently at that Level. It usually referred to something with the potential to rapidly escalate in a short time, just as a normal contamination event, if left unchecked, could see its area of effect expand several times over.

But then again, the mere possibility made this one of the highest-level threats the Qinggang Disaster Management Bureau had ever faced. The responsibility was astronomical!

This was a crisis that could justify mobilizing all available Investigators, even Qinggang’s Four Great Investigators.

Han Su, standing to the side, found this a bit strange. ”For real?”

’The plan was to have this guy draw people out, but I didn’t say we needed to make such a huge scene...’

But looking at Rong Qiyue’s expression, it didn’t seem like he was faking it.

After ordering someone to make the call, Rong Qiyue remained deeply worried. He glanced at the infected individuals and said in a low voice:

”These people need to be locked up, too. We need to set up high-level containment measures for them as quickly as possible and be ready for anything.”

”Right now, they’ve been forcibly transformed into Divine Tree Believers. But if the source of the contamination is threatened, Divine Tree Guards will be born directly from these believers. I’m afraid each of those Divine Tree Guards will have the individual strength of a B-Level threat.”

”...”

As he made these arrangements, he shot a furtive glance at Han Su, then yelled, ”Where is the person in charge? Take me to see those relic items now! I must find the source of the contamination as soon as possible!”

”Yes... Yes...”

Hearing his roar, Investigator Bai Yang, who had just finished his call, returned.

The call had brought a pleasant surprise. With the situation escalating, he had been able to request that the Four Great Investigators be dispatched.

Once the Drunkard arrived, he could pass off this hot potato.

But he never expected Rong Qiyue to say this. Wiping away cold sweat, he came forward and said, ”Can we... wait a bit?”

”I’ve already notified the Disaster Management Bureau. The Four Great Investigators are on their way. You can go then...”

”...”

”Wait?”

Rong Qiyue whipped his head around to look at him. ”With this type of contamination, speed is paramount.”

”The longer you delay, the worse it gets. One misstep and B-Level becomes A-Level. A-Level can become S-Class in the blink of an eye. Don’t blame me for not telling you beforehand—if this really turns into an S-Class event, Qinggang is finished. Can you take responsibility for that?”

”...”

Investigator Bai Yang certainly didn’t want to take responsibility, but thinking of the Drunkard’s arrangements, he didn’t want to disrupt them completely either.

He gritted his teeth. ”Then... then can’t we just destroy all those relic items?”

For them, that would be the best outcome.

Destroy everything, wipe the slate clean. The favor the Drunkard would owe him would be immense.

”Destroy them?”

Rong Qiyue’s brow furrowed tightly. ”Are you brainless?” he scolded.

”Simply destroying something with a mysterious source doesn’t mean you’ve destroyed the source of the contamination! On the contrary, it might cause the source to lose its vessel and dissipate. There’s a chance that could solve the problem, but it’s far more likely to free it from its restraints and allow it to spread even more severely!”

”Then it really could escalate to S-Class!”

”...”

”I...”

A tremor entered Investigator Bai Yang’s voice this time. A war was waging within him.

The Drunkard Investigator would be here soon, and his only order had been to guard these materials...

But now...

”Remember this!”

Rong Qiyue’s explosive temper suddenly vanished. He turned to Investigator Bai Yang, his voice cold and sharp.

”This is a Qinggang matter. I can walk away at any time and wash my hands of whatever happens.”

”But out of a sense of duty to the frontline of reality, I will report everything to the Qinggang Disaster Management Bureau!”

”As for now, a wise man doesn’t stand under a crumbling wall. I’m leaving!”

”...”

”Don’t, don’t...”

Seeing him actually turn to leave, Investigator Bai Yang panicked. He stomped his foot, hardened his resolve, and said:

”I won’t waste any more time! Let’s go! I’ll take you there now!”

”...”

With that, he turned and led the way. Rong Qiyue naturally followed behind him, and Han Su slowly got to his feet as well.

Investigator Bai Yang suddenly turned to Han Su. ”Are you really going to follow?”

Han Su gave him a lazy glance. ”I was sent by Miss Ai to provide support. Don’t I have the right to come along?”

Investigator Bai Yang said no more, only muttering in a low voice, ”Then I just hope you don’t regret it!”

The group followed behind him. Before long, they had followed a small path next to the temporary containment facility and emerged into a desolate, empty field. The wild grass was waist-deep, but as far as the eye could see, there was nothing there.

”It’s here!”

Investigator Bai Yang took a deep breath, raised the cane in his hand, and waved it through the air while muttering an incantation. It was as if a dense web of threads in the air was rapidly unraveling.

The next moment, everyone’s vision blurred. When it cleared, the scene in the empty field before them had changed dramatically.

A truck bearing the Magic Box Group logo now stood in the field. On the ground around it were relic items that had been unloaded from the truck.

They looked to have been preliminarily cataloged, with numbers placed beside them.

And as the relic items appeared, so too did the seven or eight figures who had been sitting or lying beside the truck. They slowly stood up and raised their heads, their expressions all grim.

Their gazes, as if by silent agreement, all focused on Han Su’s face, a murderous glint hidden in their eyes.

Among the group, Han Su even saw a cold-faced girl in a black hood, playing a single-player game on her phone. It was Miss Crow, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

She must have seen Han Su’s arrival out of the corner of her eye, but she remained expressionless, playing on her phone without even looking up.

But then Han Su’s phone buzzed. He took it out and saw that in the small group chat he shared with the Doctor and two others, two words had just popped up:

”Go now!”

”...”

Han Su felt the murderous aura wash over him. He glanced at the assorted individuals who looked like they had been guarding this place for a long time, and a slight smile touched his lips. He now understood the precautions the Drunkard had taken with these materials.

Returning the favor for Miss Crow’s goodwill, he replied with two words of his own:

”Be careful!”