The Eldritch Files

’Spiritual Penetration, the language of the Gods...’

Han Su glanced at the girl, then slowly looked away.

It was the first time he’d heard this theory, but thinking of his right eye and left hand, he felt a faint sense of familiarity.

’Others rely on a single Talent, or perhaps on acquired training, to achieve Penetration. But I managed it with a Spell from Song Chushi and the scars a monster left on me. So, is my ability innate or acquired?’

Vaguely sensing he had grasped something, it was as if Han Su had secretly opened another door. He gently squeezed his slightly numb left hand, standing off to the side, lost in thought.

Nearby, the instructor was watching the clock. Seeing that the time for the assessment was up, he immediately signaled for the staff to stop the recording and open the door to the room.

The other trainees in the room had all woken up. They stared at each other blankly. Some looked confused, others dejected, and some were pensive, as if they felt they’d understood something but couldn’t quite grasp it.

A few even thought of the people who had just been escorted out. Dazed and unconvinced, they demanded, ”Was that for real?”

”It was the same sound, so why did it just sound like a jumble of noise to me, while she could hear two Spells in it?”

”Was she cheating?”

”...”

Amid the commotion, the instructor walked forward, snorted coldly, and made a sarcastic remark, ”Well, it looks like you’re all just a bunch of guys with no Talent.”

”Look at him!”

He turned and pointed at Han Su. ”He didn’t even have to take the assessment to get an A Level rating!”

Han Su, who had been deep in thought, was taken aback. ’You really don’t have to praise me like this right now...’ he thought.

After impartially mocking every trainee present, the instructor sighed again and said, ”This was the easiest event to get a high score on, and none of you reaped any benefit. Which group you get assigned to will now depend solely on your efforts from here on out.”

Hearing this, those who hadn’t performed well felt a flicker of hope, only for the instructor to add, ”Although the rest of the training won’t really affect your evaluation much.”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s hearts sank with despair.

The instructor continued, ”It will only be relevant to your survival.”

The trainees were starting to get angry. ’What a fucking windbag. Does he love hearing himself talk or what?’

But as it turned out, the instructor’s words were somewhat prophetic. Over the next few days, the initial novelty of joining the Disaster Management Bureau wore off, and the trainees finally experienced the feeling of having all sorts of new knowledge crammed into their brains.

The internal structure of Qinggang City, its topography, population distribution, confidential locations, power dynamics, the implementation of policies inside and outside the city, and so on.

This even included some combat and firearms theory, as well as the operation of related electronic equipment.

If the so-called training at the beginning had really just been two assessments, what they were doing now finally felt like actual training.

But it all happened very quickly, as if the Bureau was in a hurry to stuff all this essential information into their heads before kicking them out of the base. It left them with no time to even memorize the rules.

Strangely, while they were taught a lot of this seemingly useless stuff, the topics of grotesqueries, contamination, and anomalies were never touched upon. Furthermore, no matter how well the trainees learned the current material, it was no longer tied to their evaluations.

Six days later, the instructor came to the training room. He smiled at the trainees, whose expressions ranged from pleased to miserable, and said, ”Congratulations, everyone.”

”Your training is now basically complete. Although the final evaluation results aren’t out yet, you all have a good idea of how you performed.”

”Those few trainees with high Spiritual Intuition already have bright futures ahead of them. Two of them will be assigned directly to the D1 Group.”

”The third one has successfully secured his own bunk in a psychiatric hospital. He might even be sent to a lab to carry out the solemn duty of being a research subject.”

”As for the rest of you, the ordinary ones, you will now face your final evaluation assessment.”

”Of course, there’s no need to be discouraged. I told you from the beginning that we don’t eliminate anyone. This whole training—or rather, assessment—is just to help sort you into groups.”

”...”

It would have been better if he hadn’t said anything. His words plunged many of the trainees into despair.

They now regretted signing their names on that contract as much as they had been excited to do so a week ago.

Many of them knew what they would face by joining the Disaster Management Bureau. They knew the social status and extraordinary power they would have as Investigators. But they weren’t prepared to be sorted into D5D6.

Of course, there were still many who suppressed their emotions with logic, calmly considering one question: ”What exactly is the final assessment?”

’...’

”This one is very important. A large part of your evaluation will be based on it.”

Just then, the instructor clapped his hands. Someone from outside walked in carrying a tray laden with sealed envelopes. He beckoned for everyone to gather around and said cheerfully,

”Of course, this is also your opportunity.”

”Memory and Spiritual Intuition are both matters of Talent. They can’t be changed, or even improved. But in this next assessment, you’ll have a chance to shine.”

”These envelopes contain the mission you’ll need to carry out tonight. Do your best to complete it, but don’t feel pressured. Professionals will be watching, so in theory, the mission should be risk-free.”

”But trust me, this may also be the only risk-free mission you’ll ever get from the Disaster Management Bureau.”

”...”

’A mission already?’

Han Su and the other trainees all felt a slight tremor in their hearts. They exchanged glances, and then someone stepped forward to take an envelope.

When it was Han Su’s turn, he casually drew one from the middle of the stack. He opened the envelope and saw his mission for the night printed on the sheet of paper inside:

[From 10:00 PM to 3:00 AM, guard elevator B3 in the Huaguang Building. Report all observed anomalies in a timely manner and terminate any humanoid creature that emerges from the elevator.]

Below that was information on where to pick up a firearm.

”Guard an elevator?”

The content of the mission thoroughly confused Han Su. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it could be. Glancing up at the others, he saw that many of them looked just as baffled as he was.

Observing anomalies seemed somewhat understandable, but this ”terminate”... were they serious?

His doubts peaked after they had rested for a while and followed the instructions to pick up their issued firearms.

When they received the heavy, dark objects, many of them could hardly believe it.

They were real.

And they came with two magazines.

Gun control in the city was incredibly strict these days. When gangs fought, they used baseball bats and chainsaws. Guns were something you only saw in movies and TV shows.

Most of the people in this training were indeed the elite of the elite, but being elite meant they were experts in a particular field. Having never touched a gun before, how were they supposed to use one when it was suddenly thrust into their hands?

The staff member handing out the firearms had a cold expression. He watched Han Su fiddle with the gun in front of him and asked, ”Do you have a problem?”

Han Su said, ”I do.”

This staff member clearly didn’t know about the relationship between Han Su and Zhang Chiguo. His attitude was unfriendly as he said impatiently, ”Spit it out.”

Han Su looked up. ”How do you shoot this thing?”

”...”

The staff member was stunned for a moment, then said with displeasure, ”The people they’re recruiting these days are less and less professional. If you want to know how to shoot it, go find your instructor.”

”?”

”But the instructor skipped that part of the training. He said we’d find out when we got our guns...”

Han Su was dumbfounded. ’Just handing real guns over to a bunch of people who’ve never even held one before... Is the Disaster Management Bureau really just a shoestring operation?’

”What’s your mission tonight?”

As he was thinking, he felt a gaze from the side, accompanied by a soft voice.

Han Su turned his head and saw it was the girl who liked to wear a black hoodie. He immediately became wary. ’They’ve repeatedly emphasized confidentiality for this assessment. Don’t tell me asking about other people’s missions is part of the test?’

When he didn’t answer, the girl looked at the gun in his hand and said, ”I heard you say you don’t know how to use a gun, right?”

Han Su replied, ”You’re awfully curious, aren’t you?”

The girl in the black hood said, ”Do you need me to teach you?”

Han Su gave her a wary look, then smiled. ”An offer this good?”

’He didn’t let his guard down. Who knew if these people, all vying to get into the D1 and D2 Groups, weren’t feeling competitive? Maybe she was just trying to set a trap for him.’

But as it turned out, the black-hooded girl took Han Su aside and, in a very methodical manner, showed him how to load the gun, release the safety, aim, and change the magazine.

She explained everything in great detail, her voice soft and gentle, almost like a kindergarten teacher showing a child how to use chopsticks.

Han Su listened, and after a moment, a few other trainees who were also unfamiliar with guns gathered around. They watched silently from the side, and she didn’t seem to mind.

Han Su followed her instructions carefully for a while but couldn’t find anything amiss. A new doubt began to form in his mind. After the girl had gone through the detailed demonstration one more time, he couldn’t resist holding out his hand.

”Thanks. I’m Han Su.”

The girl in the black hood was taken aback for a second. She lowered her head but still extended her hand. ”My name is Dong Wei.”

”Dong Wei...”

Han Su felt a pang of disappointment, but he still asked, unwilling to give up, ”Then, have you ever used another name, like Mei Lan, or something similar?”

”Mei Lan?”

The black-hooded girl paused, then shook her head with a smile. ”No...”

Han Su’s heart fell. ’Looks like it really isn’t her,’ he thought secretly. ’But if she wasn’t setting a trap and had no other reason, why was she so nice to me?’

’Could it be because I’m good-looking?’

’What a disappointing reason that would be.’