The Eldritch Files

’When you start a new job, you’re always supposed to bump into your colleagues and hit it off with them...’

’Ever since I joined the Disaster Management Bureau, I’ve been running around so much that I haven’t had time to build good relationships with my colleagues.’

Han Su wiped a splash of fresh blood from his face, thinking grimly, ’I guess this counts as a clash of opinions, right?’

The increase in his Spiritual Activity made him feel strangely energetic. Spiritual Activity above 70% was known as the Divine Forbidden Area. He had, in theory, already entered it, yet he didn’t feel anything particularly special.

’Maybe 70% isn’t the Divine Forbidden Area itself, just the threshold. Perhaps my Spiritual Power needs to be a little more active, reaching 71%, for it to count?’

Whatever. As long as this method worked.

He flicked his simple long-bladed knife, and drawing on this newly-birthed activity, he charged forward once more.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

In the chaos, it wasn’t as if no one noticed him. Someone desperately grabbed a gun and pulled the trigger.

It was the Black Star Investigator who had crashed through the guardrail on the small road and painstakingly rushed through the overgrown weeds. Just as he finally managed to catch up behind Han Su, he saw a thick fog rise up ahead.

Unwilling to miss this confrontation, he charged into the fog without hesitation. And then, he saw a scene straight out of a nightmare.

Relying on his outstanding skills and sense of danger, he had already dodged the Ghost Truck twice, surviving with great difficulty. It was only then that he finally spotted his target, Han Su. Filled with boundless fury, he opened fire.

But he never expected that Han Su would not only see him but narrow his eyes and close the distance.

Han Su raised his left hand. His entire palm, like it was cast from copper, moved up, down, left, and right, deflecting several bullets in succession.

The bullets struck his palm, even kicking up sparks.

Not only was the bullets’ own force negated, but even the Spiritual Activity the Black Star Investigator had imbued them with was easily dissipated.

The next instant, Han Su’s figure closed in like a phantom. The Black Star Investigator erupted, bolstering his courage with a furious roar. He gathered arcs of blue electricity in his palm and thrust them viciously toward Han Su’s neck.

But Han Su took a step first. He was only a few tenths of a second faster to react, his movements just a fraction quicker, but it was enough to preemptively land a knee strike to his groin.

While the Investigator let out a muffled grunt, his body doubling over, Han Su had already swung his simple long-bladed knife and run him through. He then pressed a hand to the man’s face and disgustedly pulled his blade free.

Until the moment of his death, the Black Star Investigator’s eyes were wide open, feeling that he still had so many powerful Encrypted Spells he hadn’t had a chance to use.

’My skills seem to be getting better and better...’

’Is this a change brought on by my Spiritual Activity? Or were these things in my head all along?’

...

Han Su couldn’t even describe the change happening to him. In his eyes, these Investigators suddenly seemed far less formidable.

The Investigator of Strange Birds he had first encountered possessed a madness and mystery that had made him cautious. But now, facing these Investigators—most of whom were, in theory, much stronger than the Investigator of Strange Birds—he felt nothing of the sort.

’They’re so ordinary!’

’Just ordinary people whose spirits have been activated, giving them slightly faster reflexes and the ability to use Encrypted Spells.’

’They have too many openings.’

’So many that I don’t even need to confront them on the level of Encrypted Spells.’

’I just need to dodge their Encrypted Spells and strike their vital points...’

With this strange feeling flashing through his mind, Han Su’s movements grew faster and faster as he continued to charge forward.

CRACKLE!

Someone lay stiffly on the ground, looking dead, but as Han Su stepped over their body, they suddenly reached out and grabbed his ankle.

A sinister, cold power, accompanied by arcs of blue electricity, began to invade his body.

Facing this sneak attack, Han Su didn’t even look down. With a mere thought, the flame-shaped scar on his body came to life. Like a rapidly shifting shadow, it covered his ankle, severing the enemy’s corruption while simultaneously incinerating their spirit.

The person on the ground pulled their hand back with a loud scream, but Han Su had already driven his knife through their neck.

THWAP! THWAP! THWAP!

Three from the Sea Beast Sequence had managed to survive with difficulty. Guided by each other’s foul, fishy stench, they navigated through the fog, found one another, and summoned a carpet of seaweed. Sliding across the ground, they closed in on Han Su’s position.

They leaped up like seals, simultaneously chanting a Spell and spitting out a deadly toxin and a yellowish mist, attempting to blend it with the fog to poison Han Su.

Han Su, however, merely took a step back, reached out with his left hand, grabbed half of a car from the ground beside him, and hurled it forward. He smashed the Sea Beasts, sending them sprawling, then drew his gun and fired.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Sea Beast Sequence, always known for being tough as nails, were now riddled with bullet holes.

After their sea-beast transformation, their movements were already slow, and the pistol in Han Su’s left hand was hitting its mark with near-perfect accuracy.

The Ghost Truck continued its frenzied ramming and crushing. After more than seven people had died under its wheels, it seemed to develop a sense of excitement, its demand for Han Su’s Spiritual Power even lessening slightly.

Han Su also felt his Spiritual Power quickening and the pressure around him lightening. He could feel that abnormal sense of excitement growing even stronger. The stimulation from this slaughter was actually more intense than when he endured contamination.

He did indeed feel his Spiritual Activity rise another notch. It was still very slow, of course, but it had clearly reached the height of 71% before stagnating once more.

’So I’ve crossed the threshold...’

Han Su savored the feeling. He never imagined it would happen so quickly.

Without the right method, after entering the Divine Forbidden Area, every one percent increase in Spiritual Activity was incredibly difficult, and it was even possible to regress.

Before, when he was outside the threshold, he couldn’t think of any way to get in. He never expected that this accidental confrontation would grant him such an advantage.

’There’s nothing better for raising my Activity than a scene like this.’

’This... this is more like a special Mysterious Power training session conducted for me by the veterans of the Disaster Management Bureau...’

Han Su even felt like saying thank you!

The surrounding fog grew thicker and thicker, becoming impossible to see through. In the pitch-blackness where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, an unknown amount of slaughter lay hidden.

An unknown number of people who hadn’t been caught in the fog initially had rushed in, afraid Han Su might escape, only to come face-to-face with the Ghost Truck’s big eyes.

And so, those who died, died; those who went mad, went mad. Some were terrified the moment they entered and immediately turned to flee.

Some exhausted all their strength just to crawl past the highway guardrail, only to find the road was unnaturally wide. The fog-shrouded area was nothing but smooth asphalt in every direction. They felt like they had crawled for over a hundred meters, yet they were still in the middle of the road.

Han Su ignored the chaos born from the terror of these countless people. He just coldly reaped lives, helping Uncle Zhang solve the Disaster Management Bureau’s redundancy problem.

On this battlefield, he used every means at his disposal, no longer having the slightest intention of hiding anything.

He wasn’t worried at all about anyone seeing or escaping.

The Ghost Truck’s innate fog could block all observation. The special characteristic of this battlefield was simple: you could come if you wanted, but if you wanted to leave, you couldn’t!

In this desperate environment, under the repeated crushing of the Ghost Truck, someone finally broke down. They went mad, screaming in despair and waving their phone around frantically.

The Cigar Investigator was one such person. He was of the Mechanical Ghost Sequence. He was the one who had blocked the signal in this area at the very beginning to prevent Han Su from calling for help. Now, he was the one desperately crawling away, trying to restore that same signal.

But for some reason, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t detect the slightest hint of a signal.

It was as if his earlier act of blocking the signal was a joke. Because before he had even blocked it, someone else had already jammed all signals in the area.

”Strange, isn’t it?”

Han Su, now drenched in blood from his killing spree, appeared behind him at some point and said slowly,

”Before you all cornered me here, I also asked someone to help me block the signal in this area...”

”Otherwise, what if I scared that guy off and he didn’t dare to show up?”

...

Speaking slowly, he aimed the gun at the Black Star’s back and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

As the recoil from the gun shook his body, he could even feel his Spiritual Activity being impacted, rising once again.

The stench of blood all around was so thick it was almost overwhelming. Within the fog, everything had fallen deathly silent.

In the distance, the Ghost Truck was still ramming and crushing its way back and forth through the fog.

Its massive truck bed swayed quite cheerfully.

And Han Su, feeling the increase in both his Spiritual Range and Spiritual Activity, felt the pleasure of releasing all his pent-up frustrations:

’I’ve got the dog bone. Time for some team building!’

...

...

”Zhang the Head, Zhang the Head, can you read me?”

”Zhang Chiguo, something’s happened!”

Meanwhile, at the Disaster Management Bureau, Secretary Cui Qiao had realized something was wrong with certain personnel deployments. She was frantically sending messages and trying to call Zhang Chiguo.

But it was no use. Without exception, none of the calls would go through.

The messages just kept saying, ”Sending.”

She realized the horrifying problem and rushed out of the base, her heart trembling. ’The Drunkard’s people have almost all been transferred out of the city under the pretense of the ”pink eye incident,” and that arrogant kid just so happened to leave the city too.’

’And of all times, you get called into a meeting...’

...

She could already smell a conspiracy. She just never thought they would make their move so soon. What terrified her even more was that this was happening inside the city.

Who could block the signal of the Disaster Management Bureau’s deputy director, making him completely unreachable?

Things having reached this point, she had no other choice. She slammed her foot on the gas and sped directly to the Academy of Sciences to inform Zhang Chiguo in person!

Your nephew is in danger!