The Eldritch Files

”Go help him!”

”...”

Song Chushi froze for a moment, swallowing the words on the tip of his tongue. He now felt there were even more things he couldn’t understand about this young man.

Nearby, many passersby drawn in by the red light were watching in amazement and taking photos. One of them turned his head, froze, and excitedly told the person next to him:

”I just saw two people carrying briefcases walk right into the glass.”

A nearby reporter immediately jotted it down: The strange red light in the city center clearly had a potent hallucinogenic effect.

’Such a fierce confrontation is unfolding in Qinggang City Center, and the Disaster Management Bureau isn’t even clearing the area?’

As Han Su entered the Mirror World, he felt a heavy weight settle on his shoulders. He knew it was because someone had seen him come in.

Some things in the Mysterious World could be done with ease if no one was watching. But if there were witnesses, they became far more difficult.

There were even instances where tasks normally easy to accomplish would fail under the watchful eyes of many.

’He was also a bit confused. Whenever he’d carried out B Level Tasks before, the area was always cleared first.’

’This time, it was Independent Investigators taking action, so why were they just letting it happen?’

”Are you referring to these ordinary people?”

Song Chushi chuckled at the question, his tone somewhere between a sigh and a sneer. ”Ordinary people are also part of reality’s defense, you know. They’re the third line.”

”Normally, we keep them in the dark about the Mysterious World to maintain that third line of defense. But when the time comes, they’re expected to step up and act as a buffer against the contamination of the world by mysterious phenomena.”

”...”

Han Su fell silent as he listened. ”If everyone in this entire city is just the third line of defense,” he asked, ”then who is that defense protecting?”

Song Chushi smiled. ”Ostensibly, it protects everyone who isn’t deemed a necessary sacrifice.”

’How reasonable...’

Han Su found himself speechless. He turned to look at the battlefield. Now that they were here, there were no more pedestrians, and he could see everything much more clearly.

He had been worried—that’s why he’d rushed in. Hearing that Zhang Chiguo was fighting three other Independent Investigators all by himself was hardly a reassuring situation, no matter how you looked at it.

But now, he took one look and felt something was off. He took another, and his expression grew strange.

’Is my level too low to understand what’s happening?’

’Why does it look like Uncle Zhang isn’t losing? Who was that who just nearly got his chest torn open by him? And who was that other guy who just had half his arm ripped off by a single claw?’

”An honest man who’s truly angry is a terrifying thing.”

Song Chushi seemed to sense Han Su’s confusion and sighed quietly. ”I have to admit, I used to underestimate Zhang Chiguo.”

”I used to look down on him because I knew his principles were largely meaningless and the people he trusted were misguided. He was meant to be a guardian, to stand apart from the flock, yet he insisted on hiding in the sheep pen, pretending he was one of them.”

”But despite my disapproval, I have to admit... you can say his ideals are wrong, you can blame him for holding onto illusions about certain people, but his ferocity... it’s the real deal.”

”...”

”If you have time to talk, why aren’t you up there helping?”

Han Su couldn’t help but press him, seeing how unhurried Song Chushi was.

’I’ve already run through several different angles to intervene, made a few plans, but I’ve had to scrap every single one.’

’I can’t get involved.’

’This really isn’t a fight someone at my level can interfere with. The only reason I can stand here and watch safely is because I’m far enough away, and because the four of them have their powers locked in resonance, like a vortex binding them tightly together.’

’But I can’t. Song Chushi can.’

’If he doesn’t hurry up and deal with this, are we just going to wait for Abyssal Studio to show up and make things even worse?’

”I haven’t found an opportunity to act either.”

In response to Han Su’s prodding, Song Chushi suddenly felt that the young man was a complete amateur again. He sighed and explained, ”Confrontations in the Mysterious Domain are different than you imagine. The four of them draw their power from the same source. They’re mutually invading and entangling each other, becoming a single, solid mass. If I were to intervene, it would be useless unless I could suppress all four of them simultaneously.”

”So, all we can do now is wait for an opportunity when one or two of them are split off from the others.”

”...”

Han Su understood every word Song Chushi said, but he couldn’t grasp the overall meaning.

Song Chushi had no choice but to be more direct. ”There are only ever two factors that determine the outcome of a confrontation in the Mysterious Domain: authority and knowledge.”

”Authority is a matter of the sheer quantity of Mysterious Power one wields. Knowledge is the understanding of that power. All four of them are merely individuals tainted by the Crimson; none of them possesses true authority.”

”As for knowledge, the Crimson is one of the most difficult mysteries in the world to decipher, known as one of the twelve forbidden zones of humanity.”

”...”

Han Su’s eyes narrowed. ”So, if you were given knowledge about the Crimson,” he said suddenly, ”you could help Uncle Zhang take care of his three opponents?”

Song Chushi froze at his words. It was such an absurd question that he found it difficult to answer.

’Knowledge of the Crimson... is that something you can just *give* someone?’

Han Su took a deep breath. ”I know you’re very powerful, but when I’m preparing to do something in a moment, I need you not to watch.”

After Song Chushi nodded, Han Su picked up his case and walked into a building in the Mirror World. He went straight up the stairs until he reached a spot with a clear view of the entire battlefield.

He slowly opened the case, revealing the Emperor’s Book inside.

’Is knowledge of the Crimson really what will decide this?’