The Eldritch Files

Realizing what was happening, a dust-like substance began to emanate from the briefcase in Song Chushi’s hand. Each particle shimmered, and wherever it went, everything slowed down, even coming to a standstill.

This perilous battlefield suddenly seemed detached and distant before his very eyes.

This was one of Song Chushi’s trump cards: the Sands of Time.

The situation had been perilous just moments ago, yet he hadn’t used this ace in the hole. It was only now, after sensing something amiss at the abandoned laboratory, that he deployed it to buy himself a moment’s reprieve.

Using this brief window of time, Song Chushi shot Li Moxi a dark look. "Abyssal Studio is constructing a displacement channel..."

"So, are you really investigating the case, or are you just trying to deliver him into that woman’s hands?"

"..."

This question made Zhang Chiguo, who was holding the rearguard position, look up sharply, his expression changing drastically.

Even Li Moxi, who was normally never swayed by external factors, grew visibly paler. He paused for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

"My true mission is to obey the Qinggang Council and cooperate with Abyssal Studio to investigate the real reason for the failure of the Seven Days of Divine Descent ten years ago, and..."

"...prevent the coming of the Tide!"

"..."

As he began to speak, his voice held a hint of guilt, but it was quickly replaced by conviction, as if he had already talked himself into it.

"I accepted this mission because it’s part of the plan to stop the Tide."

"As long as the Tide can be stopped, anyone can be sacrificed—whether it’s him or me!"

"..."

Song Chushi’s face twisted, anger finally flaring in his eyes. "The Tide, the Tide... You really believe sacrificing twenty-some children will stop the Tide for good?"

"What does it matter whether I believe it or not?"

An increasingly dense crimson aura emanated from Li Moxi, slowly pushing back the influence of the Sands of Time. His eyes grew redder. "As long as we are truly fighting the Tide, any attempt is necessary, isn’t it?"

RIIIIP!

With a final roar, he triggered a violent tremor in his Spiritual Power. At the same time, the Divine Material in his body—already heavily tainted by Crimson—coalesced in his palm, forming a blade.

As he swung the blade, he seemed to tear a rift through the space affected by the Sands of Time, charging straight for Song Chushi.

At this point, there was no need for more words.

There was no kidnapping investigation—only an escort sent to ensure Abyssal Studio could complete its plan without a hitch.

"Beneath the Tide, our existence is precarious. We are all just part of the same people."

His voice rang out again, though it was unclear if he was speaking to Song Chushi or to himself. "For the continuation of our people and the preservation of civilization, everyone must have the resolve to bear any burden!"

"He’s using his Divine Material?"

On the other side, Zhao Fantian and King Buddha were startled by Li Moxi’s ferocity, but as seasoned combatants, they instantly knew what to do. Both unleashed their own Crimson power to support him.

The crimson power, sharp as a blade, sliced a razor-thin fissure through the false Mirror World.

Through the fissure, one could faintly see oblivious pedestrians walking outside.

A boundless ocean of red in the air converged upon the blade of his hand. The bizarre power nearly surpassed the limits of Tier Two, reaching the Abyssal level.

Song Chushi, now understanding what he had to do, grit his teeth. He was desperate to get to the lab, but facing an attack of this magnitude, he could only clutch his briefcase, preparing to make his move.

But he never expected it. Just as the crimson hand-blade flew toward him, he felt a fluctuation of Spiritual Power from behind. A wave of relief washed over Song Chushi, and in that critical moment, his movements actually slowed, allowing him to leisurely take a single step to the side.

BOOM!

Immediately after, a figure shot past him from behind.

It was Zhang Chiguo. The one holding the rearguard position behind Song Chushi had suddenly burst into action.

He threw a punch, sending out crimson ripples that met Li Moxi’s hand-blade head-on.

It was as if two oceans crashed into each other. At the moment of contact, a massive wave surged into the air as the immense power split, with each man bearing half the force.

A horrifying gash instantly appeared on Zhang Chiguo’s body, the flesh nearly flayed open by Li Moxi’s hand-blade, revealing the stark white bone beneath.

But Li Moxi, caught off guard, was also sent tumbling back, the bones in his body emitting a dull, cracking sound. It wasn’t just him; the sea of Crimson formed by the three of them—King Buddha, Zhao Fantian, and himself—showed signs of collapsing from the immense impact.

"Are you insane?"

Zhao Fantian was the first to react. "Do you have any idea what you’re doing?" he roared at Zhang Chiguo.

"What I should have done long ago."

Zhang Chiguo’s head was slightly bowed. When Song Chushi confronted Li Moxi, their conversation had captured everyone’s attention. No one noticed Zhang Chiguo, and so no one saw the look of overwhelming shock and rage that had flashed across his face.

He had a million questions he wanted to ask, but after hearing Li Moxi’s reply, he couldn’t be bothered anymore.

He didn’t look at Song Chushi, but his words were clearly meant for him. "When Miss Ai was locked away again, she left a letter for me."

Song Chushi exhaled softly. "And it was enough to convince you?"

Zhang Chiguo hesitated, not raising his head. "By itself, it shouldn’t have been..." he said in a low voice.

An aura of weary decline clung to him, a sense of exhaustion and defeat so palpable it seemed countless times denser than his own Crimson aura.

"Zhang Chiguo, have you lost your mind?"

Zhao Fantian stared at Zhang Chiguo as he stood against them alone, his anger simmering. A man as proud as him never imagined that Zhang Chiguo, the most unassuming of the Four Heavenly Kings, would have the gall to betray them.

"Maybe I have gone insane..."

Zhang Chiguo thought of the email Miss Ai had left him, and his expression twisted in anguish.

It was a simple email, containing a draft plan from an internal report submitted to Secretary No. 5.

The contents were simple as well: a draft proposal on measures to restrain and control Qinggang’s four highly-infected individuals.

The email only mentioned the section pertaining to Zhang Chiguo. It roughly stated that the so-called Four Heavenly Kings were all infected by an anomalous power that exceeded Qinggang’s capacity to handle. Therefore, there was no foolproof method to restrain the four of them.

The options were to either find a chance to eliminate them or to devise practical, viable restrictions to keep them firmly in check.

To the Qinggang Council, individuals wielding such immense power were all ticking time bombs.

This was especially true when these individuals possessed some kind of obsession or a specific goal; it was imperative to prevent them from going rogue.

And among the Four Heavenly Kings, Zhang Chiguo was undoubtedly the most dangerous.

Because he was obsessed with investigating the Ancient Castle kidnapping case from ten years ago, the higher-ups worried his obsession would derail one of their ongoing plans.

But the suggestion in the report was deceptively simple. Its core boiled down to three words: Distract his attention.

Just give him seemingly important and urgent tasks to do so that he never has a spare moment.

As long as he always had some difficult and pressing matter at hand, he could be led by the nose, forever unable to focus on pursuing that kidnapping case.

It was an almost cynical suggestion.

But Zhang Chiguo immediately thought of his own life over the past few years. He had indeed always been busy, unlike the other three, who had become Independent Investigators responsible for overseeing secret prisons or monitoring and researching mysterious species.

First, he had been kept at the Qinggang Council, involved in the containment of various anomalous phenomena. Each task seemed to carry immense risk; any misstep could lead to hundreds, even thousands, of casualties, so he never dared to be careless.

Later, he was transferred to the Disaster Management Bureau to oversee internal reforms for the Executioners and Investigators—work that also directly impacted the lives of ordinary civilians, leaving no room for complacency.

He had always thought his work was meaningful. After all, he had saved so many people.

But after reading that email, he realized...

...it was all just a joke.

’It looked like I was doing everything, but in the end, I accomplished nothing...’

’I saw myself as human, and a human should bear his responsibilities, suppress his own desires, and focus on maintaining the defenses of the real world...’

’And in the end, my own principles became the very carrot you used to control me?’

With every step he took, the rage in Zhang Chiguo’s heart intensified. But if he had only seen Miss Ai’s email, his anger wouldn’t have reached this boiling point.

After all, he had just been doing his job, and he had always been wary of Miss Ai.

It was only at this very moment—hearing Li Moxi’s decision, realizing the report he had worked so hard to submit had changed nothing, and had instead sent Han Su straight into a trap—that his fury truly ignited.

’How absurd! How utterly laughable!’

’To spend ten years preparing for this, only to end up delivering the sole survivor back into the hands of the original kidnappers?’

’Not even the devil could come up with a joke this cruel!’

"Excellent, just excellent..."

Zhao Fantian and Li Moxi were still staring at Zhang Chiguo with shocked anger, but King Buddha, having assessed the situation, clapped his hands and roared with laughter. "Now it’s three against two! This is even more interesting than before!"

"No!"

Zhang Chiguo took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the weary aura clinging to him. He looked up, his gaze cold, and said in a low voice, "It’s one against three."

"You need to go! Now!"

"Right now... I’m too ashamed to face him! All I can do is hold them off for you."

"..."

"Alright!"

Even Song Chushi looked surprised by his decision, but he agreed at once. He began to retreat, his gaze sweeping over Li Moxi and the others. "The quiet one is finally getting angry. You’d better be careful..."