"Ugh, ugh, ugh—"
Park Jung-chul was currently undergoing a thorough session of torture.
The process was a bit more complicated than the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director had anticipated. Mainly because after the transformation with mysterious powers, Park Jung-chul's pain tolerance had increased substantially. Even without professional training, conventional methods of torture had no effect on him.
However, Park Jung-chul's physical transformation was not complete yet. He still fell within the human category, and although his pain receptors were significantly dulled, it didn't mean he had none. Under the intensified dosage of drugs administered by S.H.I.E.L.D. professionals, Park Jung-chul still experienced unbearable pain.
Through psychological tactics and physical stimulation, the ordinary person Park Jung-chul finally couldn't withstand it and began to mentally collapse, revealing all the information S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to know.
"What is this book?"
Behind a display monitor and camera, Smith was questioning Park Jung-chul with an image of the book.
Smith didn't intend to open it until a decision was made at the White House and the tome was sealed in a safe location.
"That book is called 'Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan'. It's an ancient book from China, but it seems to be corrupted by an evil god!"
Park Jung-chul, on the verge of mental collapse, shouted hoarsely.
China again……
Smith, sitting in his office, frowned slightly and sighed.
Indeed, with a civilization history of five thousand years, China was the only one among the four ancient civilizations whose culture had not been severed. The United States, founded only two or three hundred years ago, couldn't compare. There were truly many valuable things there.
Smith believed Park Jung-chul's words because Alex had mentioned the evil aura in the book. It seemed to be related to the Cthulhu Mythos, aligning perfectly with Park Jung-chul's response.
"Where did you find this book?"
"Chinatown. I'm fascinated by the ancient culture of China. When I saw that ancient book, it seemed unique, so I bought it. After reading the contents, I tried some of the techniques it recorded and found that they were real," Park Jung-chul gasped.
Smith turned to an underling, "Send someone to the location he just mentioned. Find the person who sold the book. Be careful and see if that person is suspicious. Find out if he sold the item with knowledge of its abilities. If he seems ordinary, search his collection carefully to see if there are any other mysterious items."
His orders were meticulous, considering every detail, even speculating that the person selling the book might be someone with supernatural powers, using Park Jung-chul. Therefore, he instructed the agents to observe first.
"Yes, Director!"
The agents who received the orders immediately went into action.
Smith took a deep breath and continued interrogating Park Jung-chul.
"Tell me about your personal history."
"My name is Park Jung-chul, from Seoul, South Korea. I am a follower of the Christian New Century Church. Last year, I was admitted to Cornell University in the United States to study computer science..."
Park Jung-chul eloquently recounted almost his entire life.
"Christian New Century Church, what is that?"
Smith asked an expert beside him. Within Christianity, there were thousands of sects, and unless one were a professional, one wouldn't know about all of them.
A Christian theologian frowned slightly and then said decisively, "This is not a mainstream Christian denomination. South Korea is full of cults. I suspect this is a cult using Christianity as a cover."
Smith nodded silently.
"What does 'Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan' record? Do you remember?"
Smith asked again. Compared to opening that evil and terrifying book, learning about its contents from someone who had already seen it seemed safer.
"The book records seven secret techniques. I experimented with a resurrection technique on a dead white mouse, and it worked. That's how I confirmed the truth of the book's contents. It also contains secret art to summon many evil creatures. The method I used before to control the ghoul was also from the book. It mentions that once the ghoul is cultivated, I can merge with it and gain an extended life!"
Listening to Park Jung-chul's rambling words, Smith roughly imagined an evil ritual.
"Besides the resurrection techniques and ghouls, what else can be summoned?"
Upon hearing about the resurrection technique, Smith was intrigued. If this information reached the White House, those representatives of financial conglomerates and high-ranking officials of the American government would probably not hesitate to open the safe.
"It can also summon entities that cause earthquakes, droughts... And the last thing the book records is the summoning of the 'Crawling Chaos'!"
Towards the end, Park Jung-chul suddenly became enthusiastic.
"Nyarlathotep!!"
A certain Cthulhu researcher who was listening to Park Jung-chul's words beside Smith exclaimed. He trembled and said to Smith, "Director, Nyarlathotep is..."
"No need for a detailed explanation. I know what the Crawling Chaos is."
Smith's face turned pale. He was well aware of the horrors associated with the messenger of the evil gods.
"Tell me, where is the original text of this book?"
"How did you know that there is an original text?"
Park Jung-chul sounded surprised.
"Don't waste time. Quickly tell me where the original text is!"
"Haha, I won't tell you, I won't tell you! &*(#&$(*@(@ NYARLATHOTEP (*()@*$!!"
Park Jung-chul, bound to the chair, vigorously shook his body and shouted gibberish and the name 'Nyarlathotep.'
"Inject him with a sedative!"
"Director, we've already injected him. The dosage is enough to tranquilize an elephant!"
"Up it regardless!"
“Yes!”
Under the use of a large amount of sedatives, Park Jung-chul finally calmed down. Foam dripped from the corner of his mouth, and his pupils dilated.
"Is he dead?"
Smith nervously asked. He didn't care about Park Jung-chul's life or death, but all of this was premised on whether or not he still had utility.
"No, Director. His brain is still active."
"That's good."
Smith sighed.
At that moment, the restrained Park Jung-chul's body trembled again. His dilated pupils once again contracted, and his expression turned terrified as he looked around. He let out another hysterical scream, "It's coming, it's coming!! It's coming again! Don't come near, don't kill me! I don't want to die, ah ah ah ah ah!! Don't come near!!"
Smith's expression stiffened, and he quickly said, "Is there something in the interrogation room?"
"Director, we're conducting a 360-degree comprehensive surveillance, and there's nothing inside. I suspect Park Jung-chul is seeing hallucinations. You should know we've administered too many drugs to him."
However, Smith felt it wasn't a hallucination. He asked sharply, "Tell me, Park Jung-chul, what did you see? What is coming? What is trying to kill you?"
"The Hound of Tindalos!! It's the Hound of Tindalos that I summoned. It's coming to kill me, ah ah ah ah ah!!!"
"Save me, save me!!!"
Park Jung-chul cried out loudly.
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