The Eldritch Files

”Qinggang is a huge city, so large that even the Disaster Management Bureau can’t control everything. But now, with the Bureau established and Secretary No. 5 overseeing things, all individuals who have had deep contact with the bizarre must face three choices.”

”But before the Disaster Management Bureau existed, there were still many talented people who accidentally got involved, managed to survive, and even came to understand something from their experience.”

”Of course, both the Disaster Management Bureau and the various mysterious organizations want to recruit them. However, not all of these people are willing to pick a side, preferring to remain neutral.”

”Regardless of their choice, everyone needs to eat in the end. The Black Table is a huge platform, and it happens to be visible to them. So, Mr. Han, don’t worry. As long as the pay is good enough, we should be able to recruit enough people to help.”

”...”

Special Assistant Xu led Han Su to the clubhouse’s private study. Xu Ji wanted to follow, but was denied.

Xu Ji puffed up his cheeks like a toad and glared at Special Assistant Xu, then turned a pleading gaze toward Han Su.

Han Su ignored him too, so Xu Ji glared at them both.

The two of them walked and talked until they reached the study. As Special Assistant Xu turned on his computer, he asked with a smile, ”The question now is, how many people do you need to recruit?”

Han Su thought for a moment. ”Six.”

”That shouldn’t be a problem.”

Special Assistant Xu said, ”Your operation will be outside the city, which is inherently less risky. Plus, since we’re just posting the commission, we have even less to worry about.”

Hearing this, Han Su frowned. ”But what I need to do is very dangerous.”

Special Assistant Xu just smiled at his words. ”Mr. Han, for someone new to the Mysterious Circle, the Ghost Truck is certainly very dangerous. But the people who dare to take bounties on the Black Table should be...”

”No, you misunderstand.”

Han Su shook his head slightly. ”I’m not worried about the Ghost Truck. I’m actually looking for six bodyguards.”

Special Assistant Xu was genuinely taken aback. ”Bodyguards?”

”Yes.”

Han Su let out a soft breath, glancing at the water glass he habitually kept by his side. ”I just want to ensure that this mission can be completed without any interruptions.”

’That monster has been watching me for too long. Its rank is so high that I can’t even detect its gaze.’

’According to Song Chushi, as long as I get my Investigator License, I can get rid of it. In that case, I can’t guarantee that something unexpected won’t happen while I’m dealing with the Ghost Truck.’

Furthermore, the Lady in the Red Windbreaker was paying far too much attention to him. Even the Ghost Truck mission seemed like it had been prepared for him in advance. Han Su couldn’t see through it all right now, but he had made up his mind to use this opportunity to get his Investigator License.

That being the case, he had to be fully prepared to face not only the Ghost Truck, but also that monster, and anyone else who might become an enemy.

Hearing this, Special Assistant Xu’s expression turned serious. He lowered his voice. ”Then what level of threat are you anticipating?”

Han Su frowned in thought, finding it hard to describe precisely. He said slowly, ”About half a month ago, Qinggang actually faced an invasion. It took a lot of Investigators to resolve it. Do you know about that?”

Special Assistant Xu’s expression changed slightly at his words. It seemed he knew about Song Chushi’s existence.

He looked at Han Su’s face with some hesitation, only to see Han Su give a slight nod. It was as if the air had been knocked out of his chest. After a long moment, he whispered, ”That is indeed a very difficult level to deal with...”

This time, it was Han Su’s turn to ask, ”What level of threat is that, exactly?”

Special Assistant Xu paused for a moment. ”A Demigod in the city!”

His voice suddenly dropped. ”Mr. Han, do you know why the Mysticism expert we hired was so afraid of you?”

”She wasn’t afraid of the Executor’s case in your hand. What she’s afraid of is the Disaster Management Bureau. The department hasn’t been around for long, but it truly has some exceptionally terrifying figures within it!”

”They aren’t just responsible for stopping certain things in the shadows; they’re also responsible for suppressing those who are trapped in the shadows.

”I didn’t expect you to make an enemy like that so soon after joining the Disaster Management Bureau.”

”...”

At this point, he paused, instinctively wanting to say a word of caution to Han Su, but his position prevented him from saying such things.

Han Su could only shrug in response. ”He started it.”

”However, he won’t come directly, but he might use some method to spy on or influence me. What I need are people who can firmly guard a specific area for me, unaffected by the mission. Can we find people like that?”

”No.”

Special Assistant Xu said this as he logged into his friend’s account. He quickly asked Han Su for the relevant locations, commission details, and so on. Han Su, in turn, pulled out the plan the Doctor had made for him and extracted the information piece by piece.

They didn’t specify who the target was. The mission was issued as an interception task, but even the word ”interception” wasn’t explicitly used. It just designated six locations.

The content was split into six parts:

[Commission: 10 million. Proceed to the designated location and ensure that no surreal phenomena cross this boundary for the duration of the mission.]

[Time to be provided via private message!]

[...]

Han Su noticed that the Level of Special Assistant Xu’s friend’s account was probably extremely high. Instead of editing the post directly, he sent his requirements to a professional liaison on the platform.

After asking a few questions, the liaison provided several tier options. Special Assistant Xu chose the highest tier, ”Elite,” without hesitation, but his expression showed he still wasn’t confident.

As he thought, he said to Han Su, ”The Black Table will help us screen for suitable candidates. If any issues arise during the commission, like a breach of professional ethics, the Black Table will also handle the cleanup. So the people they select can be trusted.”

”But when facing an opponent of that level, even if the task is split among six people, it’s impossible to find anyone who can guarantee your complete protection from him.”

Han Su frowned, looking at the number—ten million. For six people, that was sixty million. ’Even with that much money, it’s this difficult?’

Then Special Assistant Xu mused for a moment and said, ”We need to make more preparations.”

As he spoke, he moved the mouse and multiplied each commission by ten.

The mission, already split into six parts, was now broadcast with a tenfold increase in payment. Han Su, standing beside him, could only stare, his eyes wide.

Wait...

One mission, split into six parts. Each part worth ten million. And now multiplied by ten...

...H-how much?

After confirming, Special Assistant Xu closed the page. ”Since individual ability isn’t enough, we’ll have to make up for it with numbers.”

Han Su watched from the side, at a loss for words. He even felt a little guilty:

’The monster possibly interfering with my mission is just a guess...’

’Now that all this money has been thrown out there, what if the monster doesn’t even show up?’

...

...

With Special Assistant Xu’s actions, this flood of commissions immediately sent shockwaves through the Mysterious World in Qinggang and its surrounding areas.

These were practically gimme missions.

Even on a platform like the Black Table, known for its generous commissions and diverse ways to make money, such simple and lucrative missions were a rare sight. What’s more, the account that posted them was one of the few mysterious accounts with the highest privileges on the Black Table.

With a BEEP BEEP BEEP of notifications, the mission was instantly sent to countless terminals in Qinggang and the surrounding cities.

Despite being filtered so that only specific people would see it, the mission still caused a huge uproar.

...

...

”You go too!”

Meanwhile, at the Qinggang Disaster Management Bureau base, Secretary Cui Qiao, who had been monitoring this bounty on her personal account, immediately guessed its connection to the Ghost Truck mission. Instead of asking Han Su directly, she went straight to find Zhang Chiguo.

The moment she entered the room, she heard Zhang Chiguo, who was organizing documents behind his desk, look at her and say, ”I’ve already accepted this commission for you. Go under the pretext of monitoring the movements of those from the mysterious organizations.”

Cui Qiao’s mouth fell slightly open. She stared at Zhang Chiguo in astonishment for a good while before saying, ”Didn’t you warn him not to actually go after the Ghost Truck?”

”The guy went behind your back, and not only are you not stopping him, you want me to go help him?”

”...”

Zhang Chiguo was silent for a while before replying, ”The young have their own ways of doing things.”

”What I can teach him is to be cautious. In terms of experience, I do have more than him. But from the perspective of actually getting things done, I am just a failure.”

”Ten years have passed, and I’ve made no progress on that kidnapping case.”

”So, I will still remind him at every critical juncture and pass on my experience to him. But I can’t force him to walk my old path, lest he replicate my failure.”

”...”

Secretary Cui Qiao looked at Zhang Chiguo intently. After a long moment, she suddenly smiled and nodded. ”The fact that you can still think like that shows you’re not that old yet.”

...

...

In another room at the Disaster Management Bureau, the Lady in the Red Windbreaker also received the information from her assistant. She immediately understood the situation. She stared at the bounty for a long time, her expression turning very ugly.

After a while, she picked up the phone and said directly, ”It seems he’s starting to suspect us. That’s why he hid this from Weiwei and didn’t give us any time to react.”

”Time is too tight. We no longer have the opportunity to make other arrangements.”

”Unless...”

”...”

”...”

What no one knew was that just after Special Assistant Xu had posted the numerous commissions and reported back to Xu Ji’s father, in a certain room with old-fashioned, somber decor, the old man pondered for a moment before personally making a call on a private line:

”Miss Wei Lan?”

”This may seem abrupt, but I am willing to offer three gold coins to hire you to protect someone.”

”No, not my son. He already has the best protection.”

”The person I want you to protect... is someone who is having a very hard time.”