The Eldritch Files

”Of course.”

Seeing Han Su’s thoughtful expression, Secretary Cui smiled again and said, ”For Zhang the Head’s sake, I should give you another reminder. Now that you’ve entered our organization, you need to be prepared.”

”You’ll undergo our special training here, then be assigned to different operational groups.”

”As for school, we’ll arrange a leave of absence for you. If you have any other personal matters, you’ll have to figure out how to resolve them yourself when you get out.”

Han Su was a little surprised to hear this.

’Seeing Zhang Chiguo at the Public Security Bureau looking like he was facing a great catastrophe, I thought I was going to be locked away somewhere for the rest of my life, never to see the light of day again!’

His interest piqued, he asked, ”What kind of training is it, exactly? Is a few days really enough?”

”The training isn’t the main point.”

The secretary in the black suit glanced at Han Su and said flatly, ”We don’t have time to train suitable personnel from scratch. We’re more accustomed to recruiting already established elites from all sectors of society.”

”You can think of this period as training, because we will indeed expose you to information that the outside world doesn’t have access to. But the most important thing is...”

She paused. Thinking of Zhang Chiguo’s relationship with the young man, she continued, ”To perform as well as you can, so you get assigned to one of the better groups.”

”Based on Zhang the Head’s expectations for you, you’d best get into the D1 or D2 Group.”

”However, I also know those two groups are extremely difficult to get into. You’d need to earn at least three A Level evaluations to even have a chance, so it’s a bit much to ask of you.”

”But even if you can’t get into the D1 or D2 Group, you have to fight for it. Whatever you do, don’t end up in the D5D6 groups!”

Han Su asked, ”Why?”

Secretary Cui Qiao said, ”Because you’ll die easily.”

”The D1 and D2 Groups are the reserve Investigator training groups.”

”They’re the groups that offer a real opportunity to encounter Superreal Power and obtain clearance for special investigations and ciphers.”

”Didn’t you say you were interested in ciphers? Only by joining the D1 or D2 Group will you have the clearance to access these things. You could consider it advance study for working as an Investigator.”

”The D3 and D4 Groups are just the regular workhorse groups. They just come in to do the grunt work. The pay is decent, though. It’s a riskier but still good job.”

”As for the D5D6 groups, you can think of them as...”

”...the cannon fodder groups!”

”...”

’No wonder Zhang Chiguo was so insistent on persuading me to stay away from this. It really is a dangerous line of work.’

’I just wonder if that Young Master Zhang, who spent his entire family fortune and even gave up his life for this, knew he was trading it all for such a perilous path?’

Han Su now had a general impression of the Disaster Management Bureau.

’But if the D1 and D2 Groups—the ones Zhang Chiguo wants me to join—are really that good, the competition must be incredibly fierce, right?’

’But it’s not like I have any other choice. I have to get access to those ciphers. And the secrets hidden within the Disaster Management Bureau... they’re all incredibly alluring.’

Han Su’s day was long and exhausting. He went through a lot of registration procedures, detailing his education, skills, physical fitness, and more. Only after leaving behind a sufficiently detailed file was he led by the secretary in the black suit to a room with a stark, metallic aesthetic.

Before entering the room, Han Su’s belongings were searched. By the end of the night, not even the underwear he had on was his own.

With his training scheduled to start the next day, Han Su finally had some time to calm down and think about his own situation.

’In this timeline, can I still use the ability in my right eye?’

He reached up and touched his right eye. It was whole now, with no scar. The feeling wasn’t unfamiliar.

Although his experience in the Ancient Castle and his memories of this timeline both indicated the ability was still there, he still felt a little anxious.

With that thought, he silently raised his left hand.

On the back of his hand was an ugly, cross-shaped scar.

His whole hand seemed to be affected. It was slightly curled, only able to perform simple opening, closing, and grasping motions. It was sluggish, with a stiff, rusty feeling.

’Will this hand also awaken some new monster ability?’

Thinking about how he had relied on the Spell’s power to escape the Ancient Castle this time—even managing to save a girl—Han Su suddenly felt an endless craving for this Mysterious Power.

’Logically, I should be cautious now that I’m at the Disaster Management Bureau. But I’m going to be here for several days. Am I really not going to try anything at all?’

’My life is already in a precarious state. I can’t afford to waste a few days, let alone a few hours.’

’I’ll just be extra careful.’

He pondered this silently as he slowly raised his left hand.

’Gods, grant me your oracle!’

Han Su didn’t say it out loud. He just recited it in his mind while observing his surroundings.

Nothing else changed, but the moment the Spell sounded in his mind, the unspoken syllables still sent ripples across his placid Sea of Spiritual.

Han Su once again felt it—the sensation of Spiritual Power flowing.

Perhaps because he had only recited it mentally, the flow of Spiritual Power was exceptionally gentle this time.

Han Su could clearly feel that in this gentle state, the Spiritual Power was far easier to control than when he spoke the words aloud. It was as if wherever he focused his attention, the Spiritual Power would follow.

What was even more miraculous was that when he wasn’t intentionally directing it, the Spiritual Power seemed to move with its own inertia.

It first started to flow toward his right eye, but it was suddenly pulled by something and changed direction, moving toward his left hand instead.

A familiar pain immediately appeared.

It was as if because his attention was focused on the back of his left hand, this surge of Spiritual Power was also drawn to his left hand.

The cross-shaped scar sent out a clear, sharp pain, as if the flesh were being torn anew. More than that, as Han Su stared at the back of his hand, he began to have a faint hallucination.

It was as if the cross-shaped scar on his hand was faintly changing color, a coppery glint threatening to seep out from deep within the wound.

”This is... a new Mysterious Power?”

Han Su clenched his left fist tightly. The sharp pain, however, brought him an indescribable sense of delight.

’If Song Chushi’s theory was correct, this Spell merely activates the residual Mysterious Power left in my body. In that case, it makes sense that my injured left hand would now retain a new Mysterious Power.’

’But why does the Spiritual Power subconsciously flow to my right eye?’

After another silent attempt, Han Su discovered that with intentional control, the Spiritual Power could indeed flow smoothly to his right eye. He could even imagine the feeling of the Spiritual Power ”Penetrating” more smoothly than ever before when his right eye opened.

’I can use my right eye’s ability much more easily than before...’

’Could it be...’

A thought began to form in his mind, and he grew faintly excited. Through analysis and speculation, he felt he was getting closer to the truth:

’When Spiritual Power is activated, it needs an outlet to carry out its Penetration into reality.’

’If it seeps out from the right eye, then I use the Pale monster’s melting ability.’

’And if it seeps out from the cross-shaped scar on my left hand, then it seems I’d be using the ability of the monster from the coffin on the fifth floor...’

”No, that’s not right. It hasn’t reached the level of Penetration yet. That’s why the Spiritual Power only subconsciously flows to my right eye, allowing me to use the Pale monster’s ability. It only gathers in my left hand when I focus my attention on the scar...”

”Because the left hand’s ability hasn’t been ’unlocked’ yet, it can’t achieve Penetration. That’s why there’s only intense pain. But, along with the pain, this hand seems to have become more flexible? And stronger?”

”However, since I can’t fully release my Spiritual Power, I can’t really test it...”

’...’

’In short, I have both abilities!’

’I just need to recite the Spell again, or even just think it, and my Spiritual Power will be activated. Whichever place it flows to determines which ability I can use?’

The feeling was so profound and mysterious that Han Su didn’t dare to jump to conclusions. He had, however, keenly identified a key point.

More important than his left hand or right eye was the Spell itself.

This Spell was definitely far more powerful than he had imagined!

In this timeline, his right eye was uninjured, which meant the Pale monster hadn’t been able to leave its power within it. And yet, this Spell still allowed him to use the ”melting” ability.

Did this mean that in the previous timeline, when he first recited this Spell, the ”melting” power in his right eye had been ”recorded” by the Spell?

Because in the previous timeline, the Spell had ”recorded” the Mysterious Power in his right eye.

Was that why he could still use his right eye’s power when he returned to the Ancient Castle, and why the Spell had also helped him drive off the Ghost Truck in this different timeline?

No matter how bizarre, it seemed to be the only answer.

For some reason, a sentence Black Rose had once said to him flashed through his mind, and Han Su’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

”Some Mysterious Powers can transcend time and space!”

”...”

’This Spell... maybe it can travel with my consciousness, moving between the present and the past, appearing in different timelines, and recording all sorts of different effects.’

’Damn it, who the hell is Song Chushi? Why is the Spell he gave me so damn amazing?’

’And he called it a Fishing Song.’

’Are fishermen these days all this incredible?’

’More importantly, who the hell *is* Song Chushi? Where did he find this Spell? And why did he give it to me so casually?’

’And in this timeline, the very act of him giving me the Spell... doesn’t even exist?’