The Eldritch Files

Chapter 41: Chapter 39: Assessment Ace

’This is my left hand’s ability?’

’But there was clearly no Spiritual Penetration, so how do I have this seemingly superhuman strength?’

’No, my Spiritual Power was still consumed. It’s just that compared to directly penetrating reality, the consumption is much lower, and far more subtle...’

In that instant, Han Su noticed the abnormality of his left hand. Though he had secretly tried to use it before, he’d never had the chance. Now that he had, it proved to be unexpectedly convenient.

If he had used his right eye’s ability, the commotion would have been huge and noticed long ago. But the power in his left hand was undetectable when used. Perhaps the only anomaly was that it made Han Su seem a bit too strong, but as long as he controlled it, it wouldn’t be too outrageous.

Even the man in camo he had pulled out managed to use the momentum to flip over and land steadily on his feet. He looked down to see five white marks where Han Su had squeezed his hand.

He rubbed his arm, nodded at Han Su, and said, "You’re skinny, but you’re really strong."

’...’

"These things are too vicious! Retreat, retreat!"

Just then, seeing that the man in camo had been rescued, Little Fatty immediately started shouting and was the first to charge toward the stairwell.

But after reaching the stairwell, he suddenly spun around, stood his ground, and yelled, "We’ll make our stand here! We absolutely cannot let the Pseudo-humans get out! If they reach society, they’ll evolve into humans!"

However, when he had yelled to retreat, all the panicked trainees had rushed out in a single wave. By the time he stood his ground, they were already so overwhelmed by panic that no one was willing to stop, desperately scrambling into the stairwell.

Some even shoved and pushed each other, tumbling wretchedly down the stairs.

Only Han Su and the man in camo stopped beside Little Fatty. Flanking him, they raised their guns. The camo guy’s gun was out of bullets, but Han Su picked one up from the ground nearby and shoved it into his hands.

Before them was a dense, countless mass of dough-like figures. One after another, they emerged from the elevator, marching toward them with stiff, synchronized steps.

As they moved further from the elevator, the changes in their bodies became faintly visible.

From their initial dough-like, soft, and bizarre state, their bodies entirely waxy-white, black color gradually appeared on them, and facial features began to take form on their heads.

At a glance, they already somewhat resembled a group of humans wearing black suits.

The closer they got, the more human they looked.

The intangible eeriness and oppressive feeling pressed in, wave after wave, to the point that even without chanting, Han Su could feel his Spiritual Power begin to stir.

But he forced himself to endure it, silently thinking, ’So, this is actually still part of the assessment?’

’This Little Fatty team leader’s acting is terrible. He was convincing at first, probably because he didn’t know about this part of the plan. But later, after the Pseudo-humans appeared, he never once used his walkie-talkie to ask what was going on. Instead, he just stood there stunned, as if listening to something in his earpiece.’

’So, this whole thing, from start to finish, is an assessment!’

’...’

Since it was an assessment, he naturally couldn’t use his right eye’s ability. Han Su just grit his teeth, put on a fearless expression, and raised his gun, aiming at the Pseudo-humans with an extremely professional stance.

However, on a whim, he switched from holding the gun with his right hand to his left.

He wasn’t left-handed, so holding the gun with his left felt extremely awkward. But his left hand felt abnormally steady and powerful. Aiming at the Pseudo-humans, he unleashed a spray of bullets, the recoil completely nullified.

’Am I a fucking shooting genius?’

Han Su was unusually surprised, feeling that his left hand’s grip on the gun was so exceptionally steady it was like a machine was firing.

Although his accuracy was still a bit off due to his lack of aiming skill and shooting experience, he could already predict how much this hand would improve his shooting Talent once he got used to it.

Amid his surprise, he was still thinking calmly, ’If this is an assessment, what’s next? Will it end here, or is there another stage waiting?’

...

...

"His Talent is that good?"

At that moment, in the Disaster Management Bureau’s base, Zhang Chiguo and a group of staff were watching the monitor feed, their faces filled with unexpected delight.

It seemed they hadn’t expected Han Su to perform so well.

"These guys... even the ones who knew about the existence of surreal and grotesque things before joining the Disaster Management Bureau are mostly just armchair enthusiasts. When they see it for real, the shock is enough to make their legs go weak."

"Normally, just seeing these things without panicking or wetting your pants is enough to get a C Level rating."

"Being able to understand and successfully follow the team leader’s orders already makes you B Level."

"But these two... not only have they avoided all the potential risks, they even saved other trainees. People who haven’t lost their minds to this kind of grotesquerie from start to finish are... they’re practically born to be Investigators..."

"Right, his skills are good, and his shooting Talent is surprisingly good too..."

"..."

Among the admiring group, a bald man spoke from the heart, "This one, this young man... he’s truly worthy of being the one Zhang the Head has his eye on!"

"At first, when Zhang the Head wanted to give him an A Level evaluation, I thought he was trying to pull some strings!"

"Turns out, my judgment was just poor. Although his Spiritual Intuition is low, it’s precisely what makes him most suitable for this kind of mission. Indeed, indeed, Zhang the Head’s judgment is on another level..."

"..."

Hearing his emotional remarks, a muscle in Zhang Chiguo’s brow twitched.

...

...

"Calling, calling..."

"Yes, yes, copy that, copy that..."

Meanwhile, in the ongoing confrontation with the Pseudo-humans, the Little Fatty team leader was also shouting and yelling, really getting into his role.

Though he was loud, his movements were few. His attention was focused more on Han Su and the man in camo. Only when a Pseudo-human got too close would he casually fire a shot, always managing to knock it down with precision.

Watching the two of them coolly and decisively firing their guns, he was filled with admiration, but also a little horrified:

’The soldier boy is one thing, that’s professional training. But the other one...’

’Who the hell touches a gun for the first time and just starts eagerly firing, BANG BANG BANG, non-stop at things that are looking more and more human...?’

’He... he’s even smiling! That grin is harder to suppress than his recoil...’

’...Everyone was saying there was a psycho in this batch of new recruits with a dozen lives on his hands. It couldn’t be him, could it?’

’...’

This observation continued until he heard something from his earpiece. He then shook his head forcefully and shouted to Han Su and the man in camo, "Stop! Stay alert!"

Han Su and the man in camo immediately stopped shooting, even as they watched the "Pseudo-humans" draw closer, some of them even opening their eyes.

The color on their bodies grew more distinct, faintly forming the folds and lines of suits. The tops of their heads were no longer ghastly white; strange black threads began to appear, forming hair.

It was just as Little Fatty had said: they seemed to be evolving into "humans."

Clothes were appearing on their bodies, hair on their heads, and some even evolved Glasses, leather shoes, and pink socks.

Little Fatty, however, took a large stride forward, pulling out a dagger with one hand and raising the other. He swiped the blade across his palm, and blood immediately seeped out. Then, using his blood as ink, he drew a straight line on the ground.

The Pseudo-humans, who had been advancing rapidly, stopped abruptly just as they were about to cross the bloodline.

It seemed the bloodline exerted some kind of pressure on them.

Then, Little Fatty stood before the bloodline and silently chanted something. It was extremely short, yet full of mysterious meaning, and the very air around them seemed to vibrate slightly in response.

A bizarre scene unfolded: the bloodline he had drawn on the ground seemed to come alive.

It squirmed and twisted slightly. The entire line of blood looked as if it were made of a swarm of red ants, and it slowly moved forward, following Little Fatty’s steps.

As the bloodline advanced, the group of Pseudo-humans retreated.

Little Fatty seemed to be trying to use this method to force the Pseudo-humans back into the elevator. But unexpectedly, at that moment, the elevator chimed again with a DING!

Immediately after, countless wax figures suddenly surged out of the elevator. It looked like a white tide, overwhelming everything, sweeping up the figures in front and rushing forward madly.

The bloodline Little Fatty had laid down was instantly crushed and then collapsed.

"It’s bad, I can’t hold them back..."

Little Fatty cried out in alarm. Waving his still-bleeding hand, he dodged to the side, as if to prevent the wax figures from rushing at him.

Seeing this, the man in camo beside him was about to rush forward to rescue Little Fatty, who looked to be on the verge of being trapped.

’So that’s how it is...’

But Han Su understood in an instant: ’The final step of the assessment is to see what the trainees will do when the ’defensive line’ can’t be held.’

He suddenly grabbed the man in camo and yelled, "Fall back!"

The man in camo stopped short, a look of confusion on his face.

Just moments ago, Han Su had saved his life while everyone else was panicking. This made him trust Han Su in a way he didn’t trust others, but he still couldn’t understand this decision.

But Han Su had no time to explain. He grabbed the man in camo with his left hand and forcibly dragged him backward.

About four or five meters behind them, there was a row of stainless steel roll-down security gates embedded in the ceiling of the corridor. Han Su had noticed them when he first arrived here. For someone who frequented an Ancient Castle, this was basic observation.

Now, seeing more and more Pseudo-humans pouring out, Han Su dragged the man in camo to the security gate, leaped up, and yanked it down, solidly sealing off the corridor.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The Pseudo-humans were instantly sealed inside by the gate. Trapped along with them was Little Fatty, who wore a stunned expression:

"What are you guys doing?"

"I’m still in here..."