The Eldritch Files

’Of course I do!’

’Whether it’s her identity or her connection to the kidnapping, I want to be the first one to see her.’

Li Moxi’s question was almost pointless.

However, Han Su didn’t show his eagerness. He just looked up at Li Moxi and saw an unyielding certainty in his eyes.

’Although he’s asking for my opinion on the surface, this guy has no intention of giving me any other choice.’

’Does he want me to act as bait to lure that woman out?’

Han Su was reminded of Zhang Chiguo’s description of Li Moxi: a calm madman.

’From imprisoning me to now making me cooperate with this tracking attempt, this guy will use anyone to achieve his goals.’

Without a word, Han Su just gave a slight nod.

The two staff members in white lab coats from Red Sea Studio let out a slight sigh of relief. They led Han Su to the machine and into a strange, two-meter-wide circle of runes outlined with an unknown dark-red material.

”Please wait here within the Ciphertext Array, Investigator. Also, your standard-issue Disaster Management Bureau briefcase might interfere with the flow of Spiritual Power. It would be best to leave it with us for now...”

Han Su looked up slightly. ”Mr. Moses, I’m supposed to be cooperating with you, not your prisoner, correct?”

Li Moxi paused, hearing the discontent in his tone. ”Putting the case down is for your own protection,” he explained.

His gaze swept to the whirring machinery. ”Once the device for the array begins operating at full power, it will generate an extremely high Spiritual Level. As someone who hasn’t started Tier Two Mysterious Power training, you’ll be under immense pressure.”

”Furthermore, if the target we’re trying to locate resists the attempt, the pressure will be even greater. You might not be able to handle it.”

Han Su just smiled faintly. ”I can try.”

Li Moxi’s eyes narrowed. He said no more, simply nodding to the staff member nearby.

’Young people never know their own limits.’

The staff member, already prepared, didn’t mind watching Han Su suffer a little and activated the machine directly.

Han Su stood quietly within the Ciphertext Array and watched. As the machine started up, blue arcs of electricity sparked across its surface.

Bai Senmang, who was sitting in the chair with his skull opened, suddenly began to tremble and convulse violently, his brain matter looking like a boiling pot. Waves of spiritual ripples, visible to the naked eye, spread outward.

Immersed in these ripples, Han Su felt an invisible tide surging toward him, layer after layer.

The invisible tide compounded, multiplying the pressure on his body and impeding his circulation.

Han Su activated his Spiritual Power and withstood the pressure. He didn’t even frown, and his body remained perfectly still.

But as his gaze swept across the room, he was surprised to find that Red Sea Studio’s intelligence officer, security staff, and researchers all remained in the room, their expressions unchanged.

’Have all these studio members who follow Li Moxi already started Tier Two training?’

’There really is a huge gap between an Independent Investigator and a regular one. Based on the abilities they’re showing, every single one of them would probably qualify for an Investigator License from the Disaster Management Bureau.’

’...’

Meanwhile, the members of Red Sea Studio were equally surprised to see Han Su standing ramrod straight, his expression unchanged.

The machine finished its calibration, and the power level began to climb higher and higher.

Soon, the machine was roaring, and layers of spiritual ripples saturated the entire room.

The very air seemed to come alive, becoming difficult to breathe. Everything around him became a blur of real and unreal.

The two researchers in white lab coats, having finished activating the machine, could no longer bear the pressure and were the first to leave the room. The female intelligence officer followed, and soon after, even the middle-aged security officer looked uncomfortable and frowned.

Li Moxi, however, kept his eyes on Han Su, ready to intervene and protect him the moment he could no longer hold on.

He never expected, however, that Han Su would remain standing quietly in the room, withstanding the ambient pressure using only his Spiritual Activity.

However, by the time even the middle-aged security officer was thinking of leaving the room, Han Su’s Spiritual Activity was beginning to prove insufficient against the surrounding influence.

So Han Su let out a soft breath. The Divine Material within his body vibrated gently, resonating with his Spiritual Power. In that instant, his Spirit World stabilized, and the ever-increasing pressure around him seemed to vanish completely.

”You...”

For Han Su, this was the first time he had revealed the fruits of his own Tier Two Mysterious Power training.

But Li Moxi, who had been watching him intently, was suddenly taken aback.

An indescribable light flashed in his eyes as he asked in a low voice, ”You’ve already started Tier Two training?”

”Yes.”

Han Su turned to look at him, his voice steady and his laugh as casual as ever. ”And I have you to thank for the guidance, Mr. Moses.”

Li Moxi’s expression immediately became incredibly complex.

’Did this young man really train according to the principles I explained to him?’

He had assumed Han Su was simply interested in his theories, and it was his own loneliness as a pioneer that had made him willing to share them with someone.

’If the opportunity arose, he certainly wouldn’t have minded guiding Han Su bit by bit, carefully verifying his theories.’

’But he never imagined that Han Su had already started training on his own—and that he’d followed the exact path he had described and had already successfully taken the first step?’