He hesitated, then keyed in the message: 【If the task is already completed, does that mean I can become an Investigator?】
Miss Ai replied: 【I am merely a machine, responsible for task issuance and review. Any prior agreement the Butcher had with the Disaster Management Bureau is beyond my jurisdiction! According to my assessment standards, Mr. Butcher should have already been promoted to Investigator.】
Han Su gave a slight nod and changed the question: 【Then, what changes will there be after I become an Investigator?】
Miss Ai paused briefly, then a large block of text was inputted: 【Once an Execution Member is promoted to Investigator, their initial rating from the Execution Member stage will be reset to zero, reverting to D+ status, and will be upgraded based on performance through a series of tasks and investigations.】
【Foundational data related to Spiritual Penetration will be accessible to Mr. Butcher. The task-locking function and Execution Member reassignment application privileges will also be unlocked for Mr. Butcher. The three core sequences of Encrypted Spells and access to core training of Mysterious Power will be simultaneously opened.】
【Upon promotion to Investigator, the level of data confidentiality will be elevated, and you will enter a stage directly supervised by me. Within my capabilities, I will protect Mr. Butcher!】
【……】
‘So this is what Song Chu‑shi meant when he said Miss Ai would protect me?’
A thought stirred within Han Su, and he quickly replied: 【This protection, what does it specifically entail?】
This time, Miss Ai didn’t reply as quickly. After a while, the message finally appeared: 【You’ll know when the time comes.】‘?’
Is this something a machine should say?
While he was still confused, Miss Ai continued sending messages: 【Meanwhile, Mr. Butcher will receive a new Investigator suitcase.】
Han Su frowned: 【What is the suitcase for?】
Miss Ai sent him an informative reply: 【In the work of the Disaster Management Bureau, the suitcase plays a crucial supporting role and also helps distinguish between different levels of responsibilities.】
【Basic Execution Members typically use the most common level of black suitcase, which only offers the most fundamental functions like bulletproofing and infiltration resistance. Squad Captains, senior Execution Members, and Investigator Assistants usually use gray suitcases with similar functions.】
【Investigators will be equipped with the Disaster Management Bureau's exclusive high-grade silver suitcase, featuring multiple functionalities such as bulletproofing, fire resistance, positioning, and fingerprint unlocking.】
“Black, gray, silver…”
Hearing this, Han Su became interested and smiled: “What about higher levels?”
Miss Ai replied: 【At higher levels, Independent Investigators use specially customized suitcases. They can choose their preferred colors. Some senior Investigators may also designate the color of their suitcase.】
【However, once at the level of Independent Investigator and above, they often prefer using old suitcases.】
“Old suitcases?”
Han Su thought of Song Chu‑shi.
The suitcase he always carried seemed quite old and worn, with many signs of use.
While he was thinking, Miss Ai spoke again: 【Additionally, Investigators have the authority to investigate suspicious incidents in Qinggang City and submit reports. Even cases that have already been determined can be reopened for investigation if new evidence is found!】
【……】
“Hmm?”
If it was just about other privileges or benefits, Han Su felt indifferent.
But upon seeing the final message from Miss Ai, he suddenly sat upright: “Submitting information on suspicious incidents, reopening investigations?”
Miss Ai—is she hinting that even that already determined kidnapping case can be reinvestigated?
【Of course.】
As he pondered, Miss Ai took the initiative to send another message: 【Investigating certain dangerous incidents involves significant risks and hostility. Before that, Mr. Butcher, please upgrade yourself to ensure you have the capability to withstand such risks!】
‘There it is again, another sentence with a tone particle…’
Whenever Miss Ai used a tone particle, Han Su would feel an unusually strange sensation. He quickly typed: 【Then, what do you think I should do to upgrade?】
Miss Ai: 【I am merely a machine, but I believe that before upgrading, one must have sufficient self-awareness. Some spaghetti code may run, but I don’t believe it can run far!】
“Spaghetti code?”
Han Su squinted slightly, confused by the term, and curiously typed: 【What does that mean?】
Miss Ai answered: 【The first stage of Mysterious Power includes activation, penetration, and transformation. The second stage involves understanding, stealing, and mastering authorities. Although the first stage can elevate one’s level through various Encrypted Spells, it is merely superficial.】
【If one cannot understand the essence between Mysterious Power and Spiritual Power, great obstacles will arise upon entering the second stage!】
【……】
After sending all that, the screen flickered—and she actually exited the chat on her own?
The most crucial part was that Han Su saw the final few messages from her begin to gradually fade… and then disappear.
‘She actually retracted the messages?’
The odd feeling in Han Su's heart grew deeper.
Miss Ai's words touched a certain chord in him, reminding him of the moment when he subdued the Ghost Freight Truck and the bronze-colored blood that seeped from the back of his left hand. He also thought of the summoning ability toward the Ghost Freight Truck.
In his heart, he confirmed that the key lay in that phrase he had blurted out.
The phrase that had chased him from the Ancient Castle into reality, causing the bronze-colored blood to seep from the back of his left hand.
This blood had coated the core of the Ghost Freight Truck, allowing him to control it.
Why would that phrase have such a mysterious effect?
Han Su had only undergone about ten days of Mysterious Power Training, and his foundation was still unstable.
However, the knowledge he had acquired was beginning to merge with the changes in his body, allowing him to deduce a clear answer: ‘The first stage of Mysterious Power consists of activation, penetration, and transformation, and must be followed step by step.’
‘But what if someone does not follow the progression of these three stages?’
‘Like my left hand—it had a scar before, and Spiritual Power could be concentrated into the scar, producing an extremely terrifying force, but Spiritual Power couldn’t achieve penetration here.’
‘That means it was still in the activation stage all along.’
‘Until I recited that spell, the cross-shaped scar on my left hand began to bleed, turning bronze in color—that’s the sign of penetration.’
‘Only then did the power in the back of my left hand reach the same level as the power in my right eye.’
‘……’
Silently organizing his thoughts, he let out a long breath.
The various changes brought about by his left hand were too apparent, yet they helped him comprehend the most essential part of the Mysterious Power Training.
Mystery was not truly mysterious. As long as it fit into the theoretical framework, everything became traceable.
But because of that, he suddenly thought of his right eye.
‘The power in my right eye also doesn’t follow these three stages.’
“The recitation of the Fisherman’s Chant caused the power in my right eye to simultaneously exhibit activation, penetration, and transformation.”
‘But if that’s the principle…’
‘……’
His heart stirred slightly. He slowly reached out and covered his left eye.
Using only his right eye, he looked at the world.
A small amount of Spiritual Power was activated and concentrated in his right eye. Immediately, the world seen through this single eye began to blur. Everything began to show double images, and then the shadows began to separate layer by layer.
“Holy—!”
Han Su suddenly understood and was somewhat pleasantly surprised.
His right eye, like his left hand, possessed a first-stage application beyond penetration, something he had previously overlooked.
And the manifestation of this power was…
Han Su looked around the all-metal-style lounge. At first, he only noticed that the surroundings appeared as double images, lacking clarity. Moreover, the more Spiritual Power he concentrated, the more intense the overlapping images became. But no other abnormalities appeared—until he suddenly saw a shadow.
That shadow seeped through from the ceiling, a patch of darkness.
His right eye suddenly ached slightly, as if it were plunged into that darkness, where he saw a blood-red pupil staring dead at him.
“……”
“Whoosh!”
A shiver of terror suddenly surged through Han Su’s entire body, raising every hair on his skin.
His gaze shifted slightly, and he saw the water cup habitually placed nearby. The surface trembled as though affected by a vibration, rippling with fine waves, just like the goosebumps on his body.
‘That monster is watching me?’
He immediately recalled Song Chu‑shi’s earlier warning. All this time, he had been careful, but never had he directly met eyes with it like this.
The other party already knew that he had seen him. A ruthless determination rose within Han Su, and he simply stared directly at it.
You’ve been watching me all along—then it’s only fair I watch you too, right?
They were not outside the city now, but inside the Disaster Management Bureau’s base. If it really dared to kill him, why hadn’t it acted earlier?
Yet this direct gaze clearly enraged the eye. Originally, it had only intended to peek quietly. But having been detected this time, an indescribable, overwhelming malice surged forth and accumulated toward Han Su through some connection beyond reality.
In that instant, Han Su felt as if the skin on his body were peeling away in layers. He knew it wasn’t real; it was the overwhelming Spiritual Power of the other party suppressing him, producing this sensation as if his camouflage had been ripped apart.
But at that same moment, a crisp warning suddenly sounded in Han Su’s ear: “This is the base—aren’t you underestimating me too much?”
With that voice came a mechanical rigidity that could only come from machine operation. That voice unmistakably resembled Miss Ai’s, but it was filled with a sense of humanity.
The next moment, he seemed to see countless metallic tendrils, hazy and overwhelming, rising from the depths of an infinite abyss. One after another, they pierced into that eyeball, shattering it and plunging into its deepest core.
Simultaneously, that cold voice echoed again: “Since you like to look around so much—then don’t bother keeping this eye!”
“Ah…”
An indescribable scream of agony rang out, followed by an enraged and shocked voice: “He hasn’t even received his Investigator license yet!”
More tendrils surged from the abyss, madly drilling into that eyeball, ferociously as if they meant to rip the opponent’s brain out. At the same time, the voice nearly identical to Miss Ai’s said coldly: “But he’s already someone under my protection…”
Boom!
An endless shockwave spread outward, and Han Su suddenly snapped back to consciousness.
That agonized scream still echoed in his ears, stirring both shock and fury—but even more than that, a sense of exhilaration.
So this was Miss Ai’s protection?
He originally imagined it to be some mysterious power intertwining and clashing—but why did it seem more like hacking someone with a watermelon knife?
His emotions surged. After waiting a long while, there was no further movement. Miss Ai did not send any messages, and the water in the cup no longer rippled. It was as if everything had settled into silence.
That level of confrontation had not caused the slightest disturbance in reality.
Only then did Han Su slowly lift the cup of water: ‘The first manifestation of my right eye—is it the ability to see Mysterious Power?’
In theory, Han Su had not truly “gained” this power, only discovered it within himself.
Yet the encouragement in his heart was unprecedented.
Not only because the prying monster had suffered a setback, but also due to his growing understanding of Mysterious Power.
Before, he could only use it without comprehension—that was the “Spaghetti Code” Miss Ai had mentioned?
But now, beyond just using it, he had gained some understanding. Only now did the Mysterious Power in his body truly become his own, no longer just the remnants left by the Ancient Castle monster…
No—
He immediately corrected himself. Even now, it didn’t actually belong to him. He simply “happened” to be able to use it.
If he truly wanted to make this power his own, then that would belong to the next stage:
Stealing?
“At last, I can give myself a position in this mysterious world.”
Han Su let out a soft breath: “Without reciting the Fisherman’s Chant, I’m still just an ordinary Investigator with two advanced spells.”
“If I do recite the spell…”
“…I’m still just a cheat-level ordinary Investigator!”