The Eldritch Files

’Can it be killed?’

Han Su, who had left Dingxiang Mansion an hour earlier, was silently pondering the same question.

Unlike his first encounter with the Copper Armor Statue, where he was completely clueless, this time he had deliberately studied it.

First, the code he had designed seemed to work.

Second, the Copper Armor Statue itself seemed incapable of movement. It needed to be activated beforehand with Spiritual Power, and the amount required was immense. Even the ten-year span of his own Spiritual Power had vanished into it like a stone dropped in the ocean.

However, Spiritual Power could carry information. By attaching his own commands to his Spiritual Power, he could control the statue.

So, he felt he could make the Copper Armor Statue move this time, but he wasn’t sure to what extent.

After all, he could only expend a ten-year span of Spiritual Power at most this time.

The last time he was able to control the Copper Armor Statue was because the master of Dingxiang Mansion had already activated it, and he had simply seized the opportunity to issue his own commands.

Unfortunately, this was the only way he could use it. He still couldn’t take the Copper Armor Statue home.

As for whether this would make anyone suspect him, he couldn’t care less.

’After all, these people believe you need evidence for everything, don’t they?’

These people seemed obsessed with so-called rules and forbearance. Even Zhang Chiguo detaining that technical department was seen by some as starting a war prematurely. But in Han Su’s eyes, the war had already begun the moment they tampered with his Nail of the Dead Sea.

The only reason it had dragged on this long was that he wanted to avoid them and focus on his own affairs in peace.

But since they were determined not to let him go, what illusions were there left to hold onto?

On the car ride back to his apartment, he sat in silence the entire way, organizing the information he had gathered that night in his mind.

’So, these people represent the interests of the Hidden School?’

’They do have many methods for increasing Spiritual Activity, and their words revealed they have a knack for breaking through the Divine Forbidden Area. No wonder these four Investigators have so much prestige in the Disaster Management Bureau, enough to clash with Uncle Zhang.’

’It’s just a shame...’

’...’

Their methods were useless to him.

He couldn’t stomach the Red Light District Group’s method of eating dried corpses. Besides, it came with restrictions.

As for the methods for the Divine Forbidden Area, that was still a long way off for him.

The first problem he needed to solve now was how to quickly increase his Spiritual Activity, given his immense span of Spiritual Power.

He didn’t have the time to slowly grind it out using the Disaster Management Bureau’s methods.

But if things continued like this, wouldn’t he be stuck at this step forever, never able to smoothly enter the Divine Forbidden Area?

After pondering in silence for a while, he picked up his phone and was surprised to see a new message in the small group chat he shared with three others.

Miss Crow: [Thumbs up]

Black Tiger: [Grinning]

”?”

Han Su didn’t know why Miss Crow had sent that in the group, and he assumed Black Tiger didn’t either.

Black Tiger’s response was likely just a friendly gesture, considering Miss Crow had reappeared after being gone for so long.

The Doctor was silent. Given his personality, he was probably lurking.

’Why did she suddenly send this message?’

’Could it be that she’s telling me about the progress of the situation at Dingxiang Mansion?’

’But sending a message like this directly is risky. It makes it seem like I was the one who did it. Do you have any proof?’

He thought this to himself but didn’t reply in the group. Instead, he opened his phone’s app and sent a message to Miss Ai: [Are you there?]

Miss Ai didn’t reply, even though she had been very responsive when she was helping him record earlier.

Han Su then sent the message to someone else: [Are you there?]

Black Rose replied instantly: [Sending such a moving phrase to a single woman on a lonely, cold night... aren’t you afraid of causing trouble?]

”?”

Han Su was speechless...

He felt really conflicted right now. One moment he wanted to be direct, the next he wanted to probe her.

But in the end, he decided that solving the problem was the top priority.

Sometimes, playing dumb was more efficient.

Shaking his head to clear her influence, he went straight to the point: [You mentioned the term Spiritual Activity last time. The more I think about it, the more interesting it is. In the data you found, did it mention what to do if a person’s Spiritual Power is very... long?]

Black Rose: [How would I know? I’m just a lonely, cold, broke psychologist.]

Han Su: ”Sigh...”

Black Rose: [But I’ve been reading a story recently. It’s a pretty interesting one about a Black Demon King who fights three middle schoolers. This Black Demon King split his soul into seven pieces, but in the end, they were all found and he was taken down...]

’Heh, I’m trying to talk business, and you’re telling me about some Black Demon King...’

’Wait...’

A thought suddenly struck Han Su, leaving him a little shocked: [How did he do it?]

Black Rose: [?]

[Avada Kedavra?]

[...]

’What’s with the ”Avada Kedavra”?’

Han Su had no intention of joking with her. He just followed his train of thought, delving deeper and deeper.

’Splitting one’s own soul...’

The biggest problem he faced now was his own Spiritual Power. His experience in the Ancient Castle, where time had repeatedly folded, had made it completely different from an ordinary person’s. It had the advantage of being like a swappable battery, giving him far greater endurance than others—an advantage he had used to accomplish a great deal.

But now, that advantage had become a disadvantage, severely dragging down the rate at which his Spiritual Activity could increase.

Because of Flashing, his Spiritual Power was already divided into segments.

Each segment was only ten years in length.

’So what if, when increasing Spiritual Activity, I could ignore the whole and instead pick one of the ”batteries” to work on first?’

That way, the two-hundred-year span would become a short ”ten years.”

’Then, would the Spiritual Activity of just those ten years be enough for me to comprehend the Life Code and control the Mechanical Fragment?’

He didn’t know if this idea would work, but he immediately abandoned his chat with Black Rose and opened the Disaster Management Bureau’s application.

Just then, he happened to see a message from Miss Ai:

[I’m here!]

Without hesitating, Han Su asked directly: [Miss Ai, I’d like to know if the Disaster Management Bureau has any methods for Spiritual Cutting?]

[Something that can, for example, divide the span of one’s own Spiritual Power into different units?]

Miss Ai replied in a serious tone: [To my knowledge, there have indeed been cases of Spiritual Cutting in the Mysterious Domain. It was originally devised by people who had accidentally entered two different Sequences, allowing them to split their spirit to cope with the different spiritual characteristics.]

[However, this does not belong to any Sequence, and the Disaster Management Bureau has not conducted in-depth research in this area.]

[It is only at the D7 Base that there are said to be cases where such a forbidden procedure has been performed.]

’It really exists?’

Han Su was overcome with surprise and delight. He even felt a certain smoothness in Miss Ai’s current reply:

[Then do I have the authority to learn this Encrypted Spell?]

Miss Ai: [This Spell is already within your authorized permissions!]

Han Su was amazed: [What?]

Miss Ai’s reply this time was very simple: [06!]

’06? Number 06?’

Han Su thought carefully about this Zero Sequence Spell, a trace of hesitation flashing across his face at first.

But as he thought it through, his expression grew more and more astonished, until finally, he suddenly understood. Everything became clear.

...

...

Zero Sequence Encrypted Spell Number 06: [All Things Respond to My Will!]

Among the Zero Sequence, this was one of three Spells that were practically required for all Investigators, and its applications were extremely broad.

It could allow one’s Spiritual Power to infiltrate the bodies of others or even certain objects. It could also erase or suppress the Activity of another’s Spiritual Power and be used to seal mysterious items.

Because the Spell’s applications were so broad, it was difficult to categorize. But if one delved deeper, they would discover one of its key features.

Self-control!

Whether invading others or sealing mysterious items, the first priority was to protect oneself. Therefore, the simplest characteristic of this Spell was the ability to partition one’s own Spiritual Power to form a shield for one’s brain.

’So, if I wanted to proactively cut my own Spiritual Power...’

The more he thought about it, the deeper he went, until he could no longer contain his excitement. He immediately fired off numerous questions to Miss Ai, trying his best to clarify every problem, at least in theory.

The results were very positive.

Although D7 of the Disaster Management Bureau had touched upon this research direction, it hadn’t been developed into any major Sequence or path. Therefore, the secrecy Level was not high, and Miss Ai was able to provide him with answers in full compliance with regulations.

With this small but significant help, by the time the taxi arrived at his apartment building, Han Su had already figured out the basic principle behind this forbidden procedure.

He suppressed his excitement, went upstairs, splashed his face with cold water, and then put on some music. Only then did he sit down on the sofa, sitting there quietly.

A raspy voice sang from the speakers: *So many wine glasses hanging in the air, your face is red as a strawberry,*

*Tonight we won’t go home ’til we’re drunk, tomorrow the sun is my quilt...*

...

His consciousness drifted along with the song as he slowly analyzed the situation. ”First, it’s theoretically feasible. I can cut my own spirit, first increasing the Spiritual Activity of one part, and then slowly integrating the other ’batteries’.”

”Not only would this solve my current problem, but it would also solve the issue of my Spiritual Power being disjointed.”

”Second, theory alone isn’t enough. I also need successful operational experience.”

”But that kind of experience can only be found in D7, and it’s likely that only those mysterious researchers have it...”

”Wait...”

”I actually know someone in D7...”

”...”

His eyes snapped open, his gaze firm. He first turned on the TV, flicked through the channels until he found the program broadcasting Wei Lan’s beauty pageant, and then silently recited Zero Sequence Encrypted Spell Number 11:

[My body a sacrifice, my life for divine use!]

[...]

As he uttered the Encrypted Spell, the space around him seemed to dim, and something living in the shadows seemed to be slowly raising its head.