The Eldritch Files

Just as Han Su was about to lose his patience, Rong Qiyue’s expression suddenly changed. He carefully put the item down, then picked up the pair of Glasses. After observing them for a long while, his body trembled violently. He cautiously set the Glasses down again before quickly backing away.

He gave Han Su a strange look. ”Bro, what kind of things do you usually deal with?”

”Get to the point.”

Han Su cut him off with a frown, also looking down at the two items. ”Can you determine their function or origin?”

”This isn’t about function or origin...”

Rong Qiyue, catching the disdain in Han Su’s eyes, remembered the lofty standards of his own Mysterious Organization. Realizing he had just embarrassed them, he hastily composed himself and said, ”The appraisal of relics usually follows several lines of inquiry:”

”First is applicability.”

”Many modern technologies trace their origins to certain relics. By analyzing and reverse-engineering their technology, we’ve developed related applications.”

”Second is historical value.”

”Some relics aren’t special in themselves, but they can solve historical mysteries, which makes them extremely valuable...”

”And third...”

He paused before speaking gravely, ”Is mystical nature!”

”Mystical nature?”

”Exactly!”

Rong Qiyue took a deep breath. ”Throughout history, many Mysterious Powers and creatures have appeared. They’re semi-corporeal beings. Objects they come into contact with will retain their power, and the more contact, the stronger the residue.”

This wasn’t new to Han Su. The first time he met Song Chushi, he had explained a similar theory.

”Then these two items...”

Rong Qiyue suppressed the panic in his heart, but his voice still trembled slightly.

”These two items both possess an extremely pure and exceptionally powerful mystical nature. I can’t classify it or determine its upper limits right now, but I can confirm that the amount of Mysterious Power within them is of a terrifying magnitude.”

”I even suspect they are items that were once used by the Gods...”

...

’Gods?’

Han Su immediately thought of the one-legged, near-sighted old man from the tenth floor, and it all clicked into place.

’Without a doubt, he used both of these items. The power clinging to them must belong to that old man.’

’Just as the Giant on the fourth floor possessed ”Pale” and the monster on the fifth floor possessed ”copper,” does this old man’s power also fall into its own unique category?’

’Judging from that ”Codename: Pale Giant” file, the real world’s research into the Mysterious Powers within the Ancient Castle has been ongoing in secret, but it has mostly ended in failure. This suggests the real world’s understanding of these powers is insufficient.’

It was no wonder, then, that Rong Qiyue couldn’t recognize the power of the old man from the tenth floor—a power on the same level, or perhaps even higher.

’But I’m fundamentally different from Rong Qiyue. After all, I’ve already come into contact with so many.’

’From the Giant’s Power to the Ghost Flame, I’ve seen them all.’

’Including the Mysterious Power contained within these Glasses and the Pocket Watch, I now have four different types of power from the Ancient Castle in my hands.’

’Copper’s Will is the highest-level power I currently Master, but it’s actually an exception.’

’The monster on the fifth floor specifically gave me that Spell, which imbued it with a different significance.’

’As for the Giant’s Power and the Ghost Flame, I came into contact with them by accident, and then used the Fishing Song to activate the residual Mysterious Power.’

’If I can activate residual Mysterious Power from accidental contact, can the power on these two items be activated as well?’

’Theoretically, there’s no problem at all.’

’I just need to be careful. The scar on my body came from brief contact, yet it became so powerful when activated by the Fishing Song. These Glasses and the Pocket Watch, however, were personal belongings. The Mysterious Power they contain could be unimaginably terrifying.’

’If I want to try activating it, I must take some safety precautions to avoid causing some major disaster.’

”Wait...”

As he pondered this question, a thought suddenly struck Han Su.

He wasn’t in a hurry to activate a new ability. Instead, the power made him consider another possibility:

’If these two items contain power similar to the Giant’s Power and Ghost Flame, could this power be used to help me complete the Tier Two Stealing?’

’Li Moxi mentioned that I’ve been blacklisted by the Hidden School.’

’Although I don’t know the details, I understood from the beginning that in my current predicament, it’s almost impossible to get advanced training in Mysterious Power from the Disaster Management Bureau.’

’Therefore, the only path forward is to rely on my own strength to advance.’

’For ordinary people, advancing requires contact with a mystical source, which is the biggest hurdle.’

’But that’s not the case for me. Never mind what’s inside the Ancient Castle; these two items right here are extremely useful!’

’The Pocket Watch and Glasses, in terms of magnitude, are practically two treasure troves. Who knows what kind of immense and terrifying Mysterious Power they contain?’

’What could be more suitable for Stealing?’

’Besides, while performing the Stealing, wouldn’t it be more convenient to verify the text in the Emperor’s Book?’

...

...

He now had an intuition that this could lead to an earth-shattering change. But with only his and Rong Qiyue’s combined knowledge of the mystical, they couldn’t find a method right away, so he could only put the items away for now.

Rong Qiyue, however, blinked as he watched Han Su carelessly toss the items into his case.

”A big shot is a big shot, after all. Treating something so valuable like it’s junk...”

”But you have to be extremely careful. In terms of mystical nature, these two items are both extremely pure and high-level.”

Rong Qiyue racked his brain for a suitable description. ”If word gets out, Bro, you’ll either achieve financial freedom overnight or bring a fatal disaster upon yourself...”

...

Han Su noticed his eager gaze. A thought suddenly crossed his mind, and he smiled.

”If outsiders find out about these two items, will people try to snatch them?”

Rong Qiyue said gravely, ”People would fight to the death for them!”

”Let me put it this way, even a sanctimonious old man like my grandfather might tear off his hypocritical mask for something like this.”

...

”Then I truly Understand the value of these two items.”

Han Su nodded, the idea that had just popped into his head growing stronger.

’This time, before I return to the Ancient Castle, besides figuring out the purpose of the Emperor’s Book, there is one other thing I must do.’

’And that is to awaken that guy, Skinny.’

’However, according to the information from Wei Lan, that guy has been acting too crazily and is wanted by the Hidden School factions in Qinggang and the surrounding areas. He’s hiding far too well.’

’Finding him would be extremely difficult, so... what if I lure him out instead?’

He mulled it over for a moment, then asked Rong Qiyue, ”So if word gets out that I have these two items, will a lot of thieves be drawn to me?”

Rong Qiyue was stunned when he heard this. ”Even my grandfather would be drawn in, let alone a bunch of thieves!”

”Then the challenge will have to be designed to be even greater...”

Han Su sat down and thought carefully. ”First, I can’t let people easily discover that the items are on me. Second, even if it raises suspicions, I can’t let it become a huge, widely known spectacle. I have to use these two items as bait...”

After pondering for a while, he said to Rong Qiyue, ”Take a picture of this Pocket Watch and send it to Wei Lan.”

”Then, have Wei Lan find a way to get the photo to a guy surnamed Lu—she’ll know who—and tell him I intend to trade the item in the photo for the Merfolk Coffin he has.”

”Beyond that, find a way to leave some information about me in your office. You don’t need to worry about anything else.”

”Oh, and you can even take a picture of this case I’m holding...”

...

Rong Qiyue was dumbfounded as he listened. ”Bro, are you trying to deliberately attract thieves?”

Han Su thought that was a good way to put it and nodded with a smile. ”You could say that.”

Rong Qiyue couldn’t quite follow Han Su’s line of thought anymore, but since he couldn’t understand, he let it go.

’What a big shot of his caliber does is not something a little brother like me needs to worry about, right?’

After making these arrangements, Han Su didn’t dwell on it. A guy like Lu Neng, even if wanted by all the major factions, would surely maintain a channel of communication with the outside world.

Wei Lan was now the ”Empress” of Qinggang. Her Master of Mysterious Power and her authority were completely different from before; finding that channel wouldn’t be difficult for her.

All that was left to do was pique the guy’s curiosity and leave clues for him to find his way to him.

’I can’t leave too many clues, or the situation might spiral out of control.’

’If he’s as capable as I suspect, he should be able to follow the breadcrumbs and find me soon. I’m actually looking forward to the day he reaches for this black briefcase of mine...’

As he thought, he added an extra bit of insurance. ”Oh, and when Wei Lan sends the message, have her add this line: ’This Pocket Watch is more valuable than all his other treasures combined.’”

”Take it or leave it!”

...

”And finally...”

He held out his hand to Rong Qiyue. ”Give me the information regarding the Tier Two advancement.”

”It’s about time I made an attempt myself.”

...

Just as he had once asked Rong Qiyue about the experience of the forbidden surgery, the knowledge about the Tier Two advancement was equally important to him. Even if it wasn’t directly applicable, it could still serve as a reference.

Rong Qiyue had no intention of keeping it a secret, but when he heard Han Su ask for this information, his expression turned truly bizarre.

”Big bro, you haven’t actually completed the Tier Two advancement yet, have you?”

...

Han Su was taken aback. ”What’s wrong?”

”Oh, nothing much...”

Rong Qiyue looked as if he’d been hit by a shockwave. ”It’s just that... I can’t help but feel you’ve gone a bit off track?”

’Holy shit, the great demon lord bent on world destruction is actually an elementary school student?’