The Eldritch Files

Time to write reports!

Upon returning to the Disaster Management Bureau, Han Su, along with the other Investigator Assistants and relevant Executioners, was sequestered to write reports.

They had to explain the full story from beginning to end: the process of resolving the incident, who they saw upon entering the door, who they saw when they came out, and what exactly had escaped from within...

Every single detail had to be clearly explained. They even had to follow a specific format.

Han Su had already mentally drafted all of this and was prepared for the challenge. He interlaced his fingers, stretched, and downed two cups of coffee sent over by Secretary Cui Qiao before starting to write with eloquent ease.

Since he’d already mentally drafted it, the writing itself came easily. However, Han Su still took great pains to make his first official report in this life sound reasonable.

’Of course, I can’t mention the power of my right eye and left hand, or the Spell handed down by the Gods. I also have to leave out reading the memories from the Crystal Skull’s consciousness.’

’But even without all that, I have more than enough justification for how I resolved this B Level incident!’

’Isn’t the guidance from my dear mentor, the Investigator of Strange Birds, and the courage he instilled in me enough?’

’The Disaster Management Bureau’s specially made Shield of Protection for my left hand and Mysterious Sword for my right—aren’t these extremely powerful weapons?’

’Add to that my own exceptional skills, sharp eyes, and keen judgment. What’s so difficult about taking out a few infected individuals and one Mysterious Believer who was already a dead man?’

’What’s more, on the way back, the Doctor mentioned that they had followed my instructions. While I was inside assisting Mr. Strange Bird, they set up a defensive blockade outside. That played a huge role in resolving this B Level incident, so I have to include that too.’

So, a report it is!

This report wasn’t just written with ornate rhetoric and elegant sentence structures; Han Su even used parallelism!!

”So, what will the result be?”

After checking it one last time for typos, Han Su submitted the report to Miss Ai. Then, he waited with eager anticipation for the outcome.

...

...

”So, this dangerous individual just waltzed into Qinggang, killed one of our Investigators, and then swaggered out?”

The invasion by this dangerous individual had thrown all of Qinggang into a flurry of activity.

Upon returning to the base, all relevant personnel immediately split into two groups. After quickly conferring with Zhang Chiguo and the others and preparing the relevant materials, the Lady in the Red Windbreaker went with them to a secure and secretive office.

They sat at an oval conference table as the surrounding lights dimmed. One by one, figures materialized in the empty chairs.

Sitting at the head of the conference table was a gaunt middle-aged man.

His voice was tinged with self-mockery. ”And during all this, he effortlessly infiltrated the Disaster Management Bureau. Stealing confidential information wasn’t enough for him—he even put on a little wonton-eating livestream for the staff in the base cafeteria.”

”And to top it all off, he scared our Qinggang Investigators into submission with a single glance, so not one of them dared to make a move as they watched him leave Qinggang?”

”...”

Everyone could hear the self-mockery in his tone, but no one dared to speak.

Because it was the truth.

The atmosphere in the conference room was exceptionally tense. Some even considered whether they should put on a shamed expression to match the mood.

”That all depends on how you look at it.”

Just then, the Lady in the Red Windbreaker spoke up. ”From another perspective,” she said, ”this dangerous individual—who is highly monitored and wanted in seventeen regions and super-metropolises worldwide—was discovered the very moment he infiltrated Qinggang City.”

”We then mounted the swiftest possible response, encircling and intercepting him. Ultimately, thanks to the sacrifice of a brave Investigator who stood against him, we successfully drove him out. By any metric, that is an impressive result.”

”Furthermore, theoretically speaking, we also managed to thwart his objective, forcing him to retreat in failure.”

”...”

”Oh?”

The important figure at the head of the table smiled faintly. ”How so?”

”Based on Song Chushi’s locations and route, his objective was the door that spreads the Spiritual Plague.”

As the Lady in the Red Windbreaker spoke, the display screen showed Song Chushi’s route after entering Qinggang, alongside the times and locations where the door had appeared. The two paths overlapped by more than ninety percent.

She continued, ”In fact, at the very end, Song Chushi had clearly found the door. He was just one step away from making contact with the secondary source of the Crystal Plague.”

”At that critical moment, it was our Investigator of Strange Birds who engaged him, preventing him from entering. Meanwhile, another Executioner from the Bureau performed exceptionally, dealing with the Crystal Plague and the Death Believers inside the door in a very short amount of time.”

”In the end, he even confiscated the secondary mysterious object these Mysterious Believers were using to spread the Spiritual Plague. It was an absolutely flawless victory.”

”Of course, we still need to investigate Song Chushi’s exact purpose for seeking that door and his connection to the Crystal Skull, but there’s no doubt that our actions resulted in his sound defeat.”

”...”

In the conference room, many exchanged bewildered glances, the shocked disbelief clear on their faces. ’Can you really spin it like that?’

The important figure at the head of the table, however, had a clear hint of a smile. He turned to someone beside him and said, ”Not bad. Remember to include this in the briefing.”

The atmosphere in the conference room relaxed noticeably.

But when the important figure turned back, his expression grew serious again. ”But don’t think a few clever words are enough to put this matter to rest. I don’t want Qinggang to become a sieve that anyone can just walk in and out of.”

”And I certainly don’t want the Qinggang Disaster Management Bureau’s confidential files to become his personal library to browse at will.”

”...”

The room fell silent once more. Then, someone spoke in a low voice, ”This matter is simple. We just need to open the locks on Miss Ai. We don’t even have to open all of them—just two, or even one, would be enough...”

No one took up that thread of conversation.

It was as if there was an unspoken agreement regarding this issue: it could be discussed, but the conclusion was invariably to table the discussion for another time.

”Before this meeting concludes, I have a small matter to bring to your attention. It’s related to the recent incident, so I’m not going off-topic.”

During a lull in the tense meeting, just when someone needed to step up, Zhang Chiguo raised his head. ”Just a moment ago,” he said, ”Miss Ai issued her analysis of the incident, along with performance evaluations for the personnel involved.”

”The sacrifice of the Investigator of Strange Birds is worthy of commendation.”

”But what’s more noteworthy is that among them is an evaluation report so outstanding, we haven’t seen its like since the founding of the Disaster Management Bureau.”

”As you all know, Miss Ai assigns all missions to our Executioners and adjusts their ratings based on their performance. Only when a rating reaches A+ Level are they granted Mysterious Power training or issued an Investigator License.”

”But just now...”

He paused for a moment before saying, ”An Executioner’s evaluation has just reached S-Class.”

”S-Class?”

A murmur of surprise rippled through the conference room. The members exchanged glances, finding the news rather extraordinary.

This S-Class referred to Miss Ai’s assessment of an Executioner’s value.

It was a comprehensive rating based on their potential, ability, and contributions. The higher the rating, the greater their value.

Since the founding of the Disaster Management Bureau, no one’s evaluation has ever reached S-Class.

Theoretically, it shouldn’t even be possible.

That was because any Executioner who reached the A+ Level would have already been promoted by the Disaster Management Bureau to become an Investigator.

At that point, their rating would naturally be reset to D- Level, and they would have to prove themselves all over again as an Investigator.

And now, an Executioner with an S-Class rating had appeared.

It was like scoring one hundred and fifty points on a one-hundred-point test.

”Miss Ai’s report came out this quickly?”

The Lady in the Red Windbreaker was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. ”I thought this would be a topic for our next meeting.”

Her voice took on a slightly more emphatic tone as she said, ”I know about this. This particular Executioner has only been with the Disaster Management Bureau for half a month and only just completed his Spiritual Penetration. Yet, he single-handedly resolved a B Level Spiritual Plague outbreak.”

”Furthermore, according to his report, his mentor was sacrificing himself to fight Song Chushi, so he had no direct support and only received assistance from a few other Executioners.”

”Most importantly, it was precisely because he resolved the Spiritual Plague outbreak that Song Chushi’s invasion of Qinggang ended in failure.”

”An achievement like that... heh. Forget Executioners; even for an Investigator, that’s a contribution significant enough for a major Level increase.”

”...”

As she spoke, the relevant report appeared on the screen. The attendees fell silent as they read it. When they saw the codename ”Butcher,” many shook their heads in silent disapproval.

’What kind of codename is that?’

’Kids these days love to be flashy.’

’You can tell from the codename alone that he isn’t a sensible person. Miss Ai would never assign something like that, even randomly.’

”To single-handedly resolve a B Level Crystal Plague incident, and even have an encounter with Song Chushi and retreat unscathed...”

Just then, someone interjected in a cold voice, ”That is absolutely not something an Executioner can do. Even the Investigator of Strange Birds died, so how could this one succeed? We should send people to investigate him. There must be something wrong with his report.”

Zhang Chiguo replied calmly, ”This is a report that Miss Ai has approved.”

The conference room fell silent once more. No one dared to suggest a report approved by Miss Ai could be flawed, but neither did anyone voice their agreement with Zhang Chiguo.

”Are you all playing dumb?”

The question came from a hoarse voice that suddenly rang out, laced with a cold sneer. ”Everyone here has the clearance to view this Butcher’s file directly. Don’t tell me you haven’t yet recalled this person’s background?”