The Eldritch Files

”He’s still alive...”

A normal person would be dead without a doubt after being hit that hard by the Ghost Truck and run over back and forth. But Han Su and Wei Lan were anxious to see the man beneath the truck bed. Before they could get a clear look at his current state, a thick, foul stench assaulted their nostrils.

Both grew alert and took a step back instead.

HISS! A powerful neurotoxin was suddenly released from under the Ghost Truck.

Within a six or seven-meter radius, even the weeds began to wither. If a person were to touch it, they’d be done for in an instant.

The Drunkard escaped from under the Ghost Truck, his body having transformed into the bloated form of a Sea Beast.

There was no telling how many of his bones had been shattered, but he had managed to survive the Ghost Truck’s crushing weight by relying on the Sea Beast’s mucus and unique resistance to pressure.

The instant the Drunkard escaped from under the truck, he was already muttering an incantation: Zero Sequence, Number 08, Devil’s Kiss!

When he shot out from under the truck, every bone in his body had been pulverized. But as he rose and took a step with his left leg, its shattered bones were already rapidly mending. By the time his foot hit the ground, it could already support his body.

When he stepped with his right leg, it too was restored. When he threw a punch, his arm bones cracked as their twisted shape snapped taut and straight.

He even began to gather terrifyingly active Spiritual Power into that punch.

The punch shot straight toward Wei Lan.

Wei Lan was rushing to retract her three mirrors to prevent him from taking back the Spiritual Power she had stolen. She hadn’t expected his punch to be so fast. The series of refracting prisms she had set up in front of herself crumbled rapidly under the force of the blow.

At this critical moment, she steeled herself and suddenly tore off the cat-faced mask from her face.

A stunningly beautiful face appeared in the Drunkard’s line of sight, her red lips slightly parted.

The Drunkard was already filled with cold, hard killing intent, but upon suddenly seeing this face, his limbs actually stiffened for a moment.

It was as if his own will was no longer in control; his body was resisting his commands.

An answer instantly flashed through his mind:

’The Queen’s Organization’s three-second no-kill principle!’

Every official member of this semi-public Mysterious Organization possessed an ability that the entire supernatural community knew about, but had no way to counter: the three-second no-kill principle.

No matter the situation or the enemy, as long as they revealed their face at a critical moment, their opponent’s attack would falter, unable to bring themselves to deliver a killing blow right away.

Of course, it was called ”three seconds,” but it often didn’t last that long. Still, it was guaranteed to make someone freeze for a moment.

The Drunkard felt his mind go completely blank for a little over a second. By the time he snapped out of it, Wei Lan had already retreated quickly.

But unexpectedly, the Drunkard, sensing danger, also reacted on instinct. He instantly stumbled backward. In the next moment, the Banshee projection on his body solidified further, and its bizarre speed returned to him.

Banshee Sequence: Shadow of Swift Movement.

Still as a statue one moment, but once in motion, he was as elusive and unpredictable as a phantom.

”Fucking hard to kill!”

Across from them, Han Su saw the Drunkard regain his strange speed, and at the same time, he felt his own Spiritual Power about to run out.

They had made many preparations for this ambush, which was also meant to set the stage for another ”guest.”

But he never expected the Drunkard to be this hard to kill. If this dragged on any longer, wouldn’t everything be delayed?

If they both had to use their trump cards just to deal with the Drunkard, how would they ”entertain” their real guest?

”Superstar...”

With this thought, he clenched his jaw and yelled Wei Lan’s codename. At the same time, he focused all his Spiritual Power into his right eye.

In an instant, a vast expanse of white light shot out from his right eye. It was the Giant’s Eye.

The power of the Giant’s Eye was immense, but it took time to activate. With the Drunkard’s speed, it was difficult to lock onto him.

But now, as Han Su unleashed the power of the Giant’s Eye, Wei Lan, while rapidly retreating, swiped her hands continuously, instantly condensing mirror after mirror in the air.

The gaze from Han Su’s right eye had great difficulty tracking the Drunkard’s figure, but it struck one of the mirrors beside Wei Lan. After being reflected, it quickly pursued the Drunkard’s hazy gray form. Immediately after, the arrangement of all the mirrors changed constantly, simultaneously reflecting Han Su’s gaze.

In a flash, they even formed a cage of intertwining light, completely locking the Drunkard within their beams.

At this moment, the Drunkard’s expression finally changed drastically.

With his injuries only just healed and his Spiritual Power being stolen, caught in a pincer attack, the Drunkard seemed to feel real pressure for the first time.

As the vast white light was about to engulf him, he gave it his all. His Spiritual Penetration seeped into reality, summoning a patch of shadow at his feet, and he hid himself within it.

At the same time, he roared with all his might, ”Help me!”

”...”

’I was going to hold out a little longer,’ he thought. ’I wanted to force out the person behind Han Su first, or maybe call that person out after I’d grabbed the data. But I can’t worry about that now.’

’I miscalculated. I can’t suppress this rookie and the Queen’s Organization member on my own. Survival is the only priority now.’

’The original plan was to have D7 make his move, and then I’d take care of him here too, just to make the report easier to write. But now, I have to save my own skin first!’

WHOOSH...

The wind all around suddenly turned dark and gloomy. The weeds were all blown flat, as if parting to make a path.

And at the other end of the flattened weeds, a figure suddenly shot forward, fast as lightning.

When it was still twenty or thirty meters away, the figure leaped into the air.

In the night sky, the clouds parted, and a huge moon appeared.

It happened to illuminate everything between heaven and earth.

A scarred, bald head—it was Pot Lid Head. An excited smile spread across his face. His body contained a level of Spiritual Activity that ordinary people could not comprehend, allowing him to seemingly fly, crossing an impossible distance to strike directly at Han Su.

Just then, Han Su had only just reacted, retracting his Giant’s Eye and barely managing to turn to face the attacking monster.

The Drunkard was overjoyed!

He seized the opportunity to reappear. With his body Flashing, he passed through the gaps in the mirrors Wei Lan had set up and quickly crept toward Han Su’s motorcycle, which was parked in the distance.

The advantage was tilting in his favor.

But in that same instant, a change no one could have expected occurred. The monster charged to Han Su’s side, and without a second thought, Han Su shot out his left hand and shoved the monster.

With the monster’s own momentum, plus the push from Han Su’s left hand, its speed instantly increased. It did several frantic somersaults in mid-air and arrived right in front of the Drunkard.

In that split second, the Drunkard only saw a rapidly approaching face wearing a delighted smile, and then a heavy blow struck his chest.

A dagger plunged straight into his chest and, with the same motion, sliced downward.

The cut was so vicious it seemed intended to disembowel him on the spot.

An indescribable look of shock flashed across the Drunkard’s face. He suddenly flung his arm out, pushing the other person away as he staggered backward.

Feeling the gash in his chest, he knew that not even Devil’s Kiss could repair it quickly.

It was the Spiritual Activity!

Wounds inflicted by someone with sufficiently high Spiritual Activity could not be healed in a short time.

For this person to stab him so unexpectedly was equivalent to inflicting a grievous, irreparable wound.

But as he struggled to lift his head and look at the three figures standing before him, his expression was one of utter confusion. He stared especially at the person to Han Su’s left, who was crouched on the ground, lips curled into a grin of unspeakable excitement.

”Why?”

”...”

He only had time to ask that single question, but there was so much more he wanted to know.

The Drunkard’s expression was distorted with extreme confusion, as if his entire perception of the world was about to shatter.

’Is this some kind of fucking joke?’

’Has everyone gone insane?’

’Why are you also against me?’

’I actually had my suspicions about you, which is why I made you sign a contract. Only then did I feel safe enough to keep using you.’

’But why would you willingly suffer the contract’s backlash just to stab me?’

”Because I just wanted to see the look on your face right now...”

Pot Lid Head savored the confusion and shock on the Drunkard’s face, explaining in a friendly tone, ”I knew you were getting suspicious of me, so when you wanted to sign a contract, I agreed. Because, as long as I could see this expression on your face...”

”...even suffering a little backlash is completely worth it.”

”...”

”Madman! You’re a madman!”

The Drunkard Investigator’s face was a twisted mask of incomprehension, disbelief, and a sense of utter absurdity. His rage toward Pot Lid Head now surpassed even his anger at Han Su and Wei Lan.

Those two just wanted to kill him, at most. But this D7... he was clearly just toying with him!

Roaring in fury, he ignored the wound in his gut. Strange, garbled syllables escaped his throat as his entire being became shrouded in a hazy gray aura, and he lunged straight for Pot Lid Head.

At this moment, Han Su found himself surprisingly sympathetic to the Drunkard.

’He had decided to leave this matter to Pot Lid Head, and he had truly left it to him. After all, focusing single-mindedly on one thing was Pot Lid Head’s nature.’

’Han Su didn’t particularly care *how* he did it.’

’You could have quietly found the evidence and killed the Drunkard, and I would have had no objections.’

’But looking at it now, this guy’s understanding of the task seems a bit... off.’

’His greatest ambition was to see that shocked expression on the Drunkard’s face?’

’And for that, he was even willing to sign a contract with the Drunkard first and suffer the backlash himself?’

’You didn’t have to go that hard, bro...’

As the Drunkard screamed ”madman” and lunged at Pot Lid Head, Han Su cursed inwardly, ’Sicko!’

Then he felt a wave of relief that this sicko was on his side.