The Eldritch Files

Chapter 39: Chapter 37: Reacting Too Fast

An elevator that had long been out of service, in a building already cleared of all staff.

So, who could possibly come out of the elevator? Or rather, would the thing that came out even be human?

Han Su didn’t know. When he asked the question, Little Fatty had clearly pressed his lips together, but his expression didn’t look like he was unwilling to answer. It was more as if he didn’t know either.

Han Su was starting to get a better Understanding of an Executioner’s mission for the Disaster Management Bureau. It meant that no matter how bizarre or absurd a task was, it had to be strictly carried out. And all you had to do was carry it out.

But then, a thought suddenly struck him. ’If it’s just about execution, then people like the camo guy, or highly trained agents, would probably be better at it. Why does the Disaster Management Bureau need to recruit from the outside?’

’Is this related to some deeper issue?’

’Is my mission really just to stand guard like this? If something does come out of the elevator, am I supposed to open fire?’

’Or what about that Spell I Mastered? Can I use it at a critical moment, not just my gun?’

As these thoughts churned in his mind, Han Su felt like his head was about to explode. Carrying out such a bizarre mission easily led to this kind of situation, where the questions just seemed to multiply.

"It’s time."

But not all of his questions were answered. Just as he’d said he would, Little Fatty only answered what he felt was necessary. For anything else, he would just shake his head and say nothing.

At exactly ten o’clock in the evening, he gave a quiet reminder, tightened his grip on his gun, and faced the elevator squarely, falling silent.

Han Su and the other trainees followed his lead, turning to face the elevator.

In an instant, the air seemed to grow still. The surrounding lights were already dim, and now, a rigid, heavy atmosphere seemed to spread through the silence, enveloping them.

The feeling made Han Su’s skin crawl.

He followed the mission’s instructions, staring intently at the elevator. The more ordinary it looked, the more bizarre it seemed in this situation.

It felt as if the elevator door could open at any moment. Gradually, he even started to feel that no matter what came crawling out, it wouldn’t be surprising in the least.

But time ticked by, second by second, minute by minute.

Every half hour, a voice would come over the walkie-talkie to announce the time and issue reminders. Little Fatty would pick up his to respond, but Han Su and the camo guy remained silent, unmoving, like clay statues in the night.

Their hands never left the grips of their guns. The cold steel warmed up, then gradually became damp with the sweat seeping from their palms.

The mission briefing didn’t forbid bathroom breaks.

But since the mission began, none of the trainees had moved, as if by unspoken agreement.

The strangeness of the mission, combined with the apparently crucial rating, put immense pressure on them, both internal and external. They chose to endure the suffocating stillness, remaining silent and vigilant in the eerie environment.

Until three o’clock in the morning.

Nothing happened.

"Mission complete. All Executioners, return to base immediately."

Only when that hoarse voice suddenly crackled through the walkie-talkie did Han Su and the others finally let out a small sigh of relief.

Glancing at Little Fatty out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man already getting to his feet. Han Su followed suit, stretching his stiff back and massaging his numb rear, asking in a bewildered tone, "It’s over just like that?"

"How come... we stared at it all night and nothing happened?"

"..."

The other trainees around him clearly felt the same, their expressions strange, their vigilance not yet fully relaxed.

’I have a feeling this evaluation can’t be this simple. There must be a catch.’

"What did you want to happen?"

Hearing this, Little Fatty’s eyebrow twitched. He gave Han Su a strange look and said, "This ’nothing happening’ state is the normal state for our line of work, okay? The moment something *does* happen, you might not live to clock out."

Han Su froze for a moment, but he understood what the man meant. He stood up, pounded his lower back, and said, "So, we can go back now?"

"How will our evaluations be calculated?"

Little Fatty said, "I’ll submit a report based on your performance, but I’m not the one who makes the final call. All I know is the mission’s finally over, and it’s time to grab a late-night snack."

As he spoke, he was already tucking his walkie-talkie into his backpack.

At that moment, perhaps because everyone was exhausted from staring at the elevator for so long, they all seized the chance to move. They quickly stood up, stretched, and twisted their stiff backs, coincidentally turning away from the elevator.

Behind them, on the dark instrument panel of the now-unwatched elevator, an eerie red light suddenly began Flashing.

Like an eye, stealthily opening in the dark.

The elevator car vibrated slightly. Faintly, the twang of a steel cable being pulled taut could be heard. Silently, the elevator they had guarded all night had, without anyone noticing, slowly opened a crack.

It was pitch-black inside; nothing was visible.

But a deathly pale hand slowly reached out from the elevator. Slowly, slowly, it approached Little Fatty’s shoulder...

The camo guy reacted first. The moment he caught a glimpse of that deathly pale color by the elevator out of the corner of his eye, his spine jolted. Acting on pure instinct, he spun around, drew the pistol from his hip, and gripped it with both hands.

"BANG!"

He opened fire.

As muzzle flashes lit up the dark, he aimed at the hand emerging from the elevator and fired shot after shot.

The bullets struck true, accurately hitting the hand. The hand and the attached arm were torn to shreds by the barrage. The deafening gunshots made everyone’s ears ache.

They heard the gunshots, and they even heard the sound of bullets ricocheting off the metal elevator doors and the concrete floor nearby.

But they heard no scream of pain.

In the midst of it all, not only Han Su but even Little Fatty failed to react in time. In fact, he was so startled that he clapped his hands over his ears and took two steps back.

Only when the camo guy had emptied his magazine did he stop. He single-handedly pulled out a new magazine and reloaded, keeping the gun trained steadily on the elevator the entire time, his face showing not a hint of panic.

The gunshots, however, had activated the sound-controlled lights in the elevator lobby, allowing them to see everything clearly.

The door of the out-of-service elevator was riddled with bullet holes and flecked with metal shards. Wisps of gunpowder smoke were still drifting in the air. But other than that, there was nothing.

No spontaneously activated elevator, and no abnormal arm reaching out from within.

The camo guy stared for a long moment. After confirming that nothing else unusual was happening, he turned his head slightly to ask Little Fatty, "What was that?"

"You’re fast..."

Little Fatty was also looking at the elevator. After a while, he answered slowly, "Good marksmanship, too. More importantly, no panic. When you saw that thing appear, you weren’t flustered at all. Drawing, firing, reloading... all steady as a rock."

The camo guy remained expressionless, as if such praise was beneath his notice.

Then Little Fatty shook his head and said, "In my report, I’ll recommend you for a B Level."

At first, the camo guy didn’t quite hear him. When the words finally registered, his clay-like face at last showed a reaction.

He blinked, then turned stiffly. "What?"

"The mission is over..."

Little Fatty, startled by him, took half a step back but continued, "The mission is over. That means whatever happens here has nothing to do with us anymore. We’re supposed to withdraw as quickly as possible."

"Even if you observe an anomaly, the first thing you’re supposed to do is report to the captain and wait for orders before opening fire, isn’t that right?"

"It’s all written clearly in the regulations. Didn’t you memorize them?"

The camo guy was still in a state of extreme bewilderment. He slowly shook his head. He’d only managed to memorize two paragraphs from that thick stack of regulations.

Little Fatty didn’t seem surprised. He shook his head and said, "Even if you didn’t memorize it, your instructor should have at least reminded you of two words."

"Follow orders!"

His cautious gaze swept over the trainees. "During a mission, you only do what I say you can do."

"So..."

Having said his piece, feeling he had explained himself clearly enough, he nodded at the camo guy. "The best I can do is recommend you for a B Level rating in the report."

"But it’s different for the rest of you..."

He looked at the other trainees. "During the mission, you didn’t violate a single regulation. When faced with an unexpected but unclear anomaly, you drew your weapons in time, but since I didn’t give the word, you didn’t fire."

"Excellent performance."

"..."

Hearing this, smiles couldn’t help but appear on everyone’s faces, though they were a bit strained.

’Is it possible we just didn’t react in time?’

’Still, the Disaster Management Bureau is really something else,’ Little Fatty thought to himself while packing his things. ’An Executioner’s job is just to understand the procedures and run errands, but they actually set up a hallucination to test you guys...’

He casually turned around and said, "Let’s go. Time for a late-night snack."

Many of the others were feeling relieved, some even shooting the camo guy a look of schadenfreude. They were just about to follow Little Fatty and leave when a "DING" echoed behind them, clear and sustained.

Little Fatty froze. He turned back around and saw all four elevators. Red lights were Flashing on all of them, and the floor indicators showed they had arrived at their level.

His expression turned strange. "Did one of you idiots get itchy fingers and press the button?"

No one beside him spoke. They all felt an inexplicable stiffness creeping over their bodies.

It was as if the elevator lobby had suddenly plunged into the depths of winter. An intangible, sinister chill was slowly creeping up their spines.