Investigation Report of the Gods

Chapter 52: Find That Door

This time, Han Su did not leave immediately after receiving the task information.

He waited for another five to seven minutes, confirmed that the flickering would not descend again, and only then felt puzzled.

Being dragged back when he didn’t want to go was naturally unpleasant. But having prepared himself only for nothing to happen—this too brought an inexplicable strangeness.

As he pondered this, he stepped out, took a cab back to the base, presented his credentials, received a gun, shoved it into the suitcase, and then hurried by cab toward the Pinghu Road Intersection.

“What’s the mission this time?”

As he neared the destination, he adjusted his mental state, thinking to himself: “Back when I just finished the assessment, the instructor said the baton was better than a gun, that Investigators didn’t like firearms because they were too classical and full of flaws. Now it seems—that was total nonsense.”

“They simply didn’t trust us, so they fobbed us off with the baton.”

“Otherwise, why would they notify us to collect guns and bullets at the base the moment a dangerous mission appears?”

……

Upon arrival, he found the place bustling and lively.

Located at a crossroad, roads crisscrossed in all directions. When he arrived at the gathering point, he unexpectedly saw several familiar faces: the Doctor with Gold-rimmed Glasses, Hei Hu in casual camouflage, and Miss Crow in tight jeans and wearing earphones.

Apart from them, there were also several people who had been assigned to the D3D4 Workgroup after training.

In contrast to the D1D2 Workgroup members who wore plain clothes, these individuals wore standard uniforms.

When they saw each other, they merely greeted briefly. Everyone’s gaze turned to a small restaurant nearby.

That restaurant was the designated gathering point. It looked temporarily requisitioned; the owner and staff were nowhere to be seen.

By a table deep inside sat a man with sleekly combed hair and a silver suitcase at his feet.

His eyes were triangular, his mouth protruded slightly like a bird’s beak—hardly attractive, but his aura clearly marked him as the center of everyone’s focus.

At the moment, he was looking at a map of the street and speaking in a cold voice: “How many Operators have been transferred over?”

Beside him, someone who looked like an assistant answered softly, “Sixteen.”

The man with the triangular eyes immediately looked annoyed, raised his head and glanced out coldly. “The Bureau’s getting stingier by the day. Just a few people—what can they even accomplish?”

The assistant replied quietly, “Most have been dispatched to capture the Ghost Freight Truck. That thing’s been running wild for too long. The higher-ups are getting impatient.”

He spoke in a low voice, but Han Su read his lips and understood him.

The triangular-eyed man, however, made no effort to lower his voice at all even when mentioning such secrets. His expression darkened: “Useless trash. Taking this long to catch a C-class grotesque? Are we not supposed to be working too?”

Even while cursing, he checked his watch and issued orders: “Send out everyone who’s arrived already.”

“Keep pressuring the Bureau. Whoever else they have, send them all over.”

“Today, we must find that door!!”

……

The assistant-like man quickly nodded and stepped out. When he reached the entrance, he puffed out his chest, no longer displaying the caution he had shown inside. Instead, he gave a cold glance at the gathered crowd and said:

“Who is paired with whom?”

……

Everyone looked at each other. Some stood together, but more—including Han Su, Hei Hu, the Doctor, and Miss Crow—remained standing alone.

“We’re Operators from the D2 Workgroup, so we usually work solo. We…”

Seeing the others grouping up, Hei Hu feared a misunderstanding and began explaining, but the assistant cut him off impatiently: “What D1D2—aren’t you all Operators?”

As he spoke, he casually pointed, “You and you, team up and check Fustreet. You and you, check Line Two. And you and you…”

He arbitrarily assigned pairs. His expression turned stern: “Remember, I need you to clearly observe every face that passes by. If you see anyone whose face is unclear, you are permitted to open fire immediately—and alert us at once!”

“Mark my words, you bunch of idiots—it’s when the face can’t be clearly seen, as if there’s fog or a double image on it. That’s not the same as not seeing the face. Wearing a mask doesn’t count. Got it?”

……

Although his attitude was unpleasant, at least he explained the task clearly.

Everyone understood the Bureau of Disaster Management’s rules well and asked no further questions. They quickly scattered according to the groupings and began patrolling the assigned areas.

Still—open fire directly?

Looking at the pedestrians coming and going on the street, they all felt a little tense.

Although they had mentally prepared themselves when collecting their guns, it was still hard to imagine shooting at civilians before encountering anything abnormal.

It was obvious that the girl codenamed Miss Crow had intended to pair up with Han Su.

However, everyone was new at this point, no one dared cross any lines. They could not refuse any assignments, and so she could only head in another direction with the Doctor.

Han Su, meanwhile, was teamed with another stranger and headed toward Line Two, starting from the beginning and walking along.

This person also appeared to be from the D1D2 Workgroup, but unfamiliar—likely someone who had joined the assessments earlier than he did.

Neither of them introduced themselves. They simply walked silently through the streets. Dressed in plain clothes, they didn’t draw any attention.

Those on the other side wearing standardized gear were assumed by pedestrians to be from the Public Security Bureau, so there was no suspicion.

Reporting every five minutes, the mission proceeded this way.

But as time passed and the night deepened, the commercial district grew even more crowded with pedestrians. However, the type of person mentioned in the task—those with unseeable faces—had yet to appear.

‘Could this be another dull and flavorless patrol?’

Han Su was already thinking so when, suddenly, a voice came through the earpiece. It sounded like the voice of that Investigator: “This isn’t working. Listen carefully. I need you all to recite a spell.”

“It’s simple. Just follow my lead and repeat these syllables…”

……

He vaguely heard, on the other end, the assistant give a startled shout: “Mr. Strange Bird, this…”

“Shut up!”

……

That Investigator codenamed Mr. Strange Bird harshly reprimanded the other, then his tone softened: “You should all remember the first rule of carrying out tasks—”

“Obedience!”

“Once this mission is complete, I will report our merits to the Bureau. This will help you boost your evaluation and earn a promotion to Investigator.”

No voices of protest arose.

Everyone silently listened. Mr. Strange Bird chuckled a few times and slowly uttered several syllables: “[Wu Ling] [Ru] [Xian Shen] [Guang Ming]!”

He spoke with long pauses and at an extremely slow pace. Though it sounded like the words had those meanings, each syllable was twisted by his intonation, becoming disturbingly eerie—hair-raising even.

If one were to describe it, it was as if a simple phrase was spoken with a strange power.

“Wu Ling Ru Xian Shen Guang Ming?”

Han Su felt slight suspicion, but did not recite it.

Though he had known since joining the Bureau of Disaster Management that the first principle for Operators was obedience, the first spell he encountered in life had been too mysterious. So he would not lightly chant another incantation.

Just then, his phone buzzed. Han Su looked at the screen and was surprised to see a message in the small group chat he had created with the Doctor and Miss Crow after the assessment.

A message had been sent by someone with a black profile picture:

“Do not!”

……

‘Is Miss Crow warning me too?’

Han Su felt a chill in his heart.

In that group, they occasionally chatted, but due to the Bureau’s regulations, conversations were always cautious and vague.

Now, during an active mission, she didn’t even attempt to conceal it—just sent this direct message?

As this thought crossed his mind, he noticed from the corner of his eye that his teammate’s lips were moving. Judging from the shape, he was clearly chanting the incantation.

Han Su immediately tensed slightly, feeling as if a chilly breeze had brushed past him, sending goosebumps across his skin.

At that moment, his companion, noticing Han Su’s gaze, raised a hand to his earpiece and said calmly, “Trying to be clever like this isn’t right. As an Operator, if you want to survive, want promotion, sometimes you have to gamble.”

“That door might not even be along our patrol route. Even if you chant, there’s still a twenty percent chance of survival. But if you don’t chant, and offend Mr. Strange Bird, he’ll make sure you understand…”

“…how worthless the life of an Operator is!”

……

“Is the senior passing on his wisdom?”

Han Su let out a quiet breath, his gaze already alertly sweeping over the faces of passing pedestrians. He said in a low voice, “Then what if you just happened to draw that twenty percent?”

As soon as he spoke, his body slightly stiffened. Every hair on his body stood up.

Right ahead of him, he saw a figure approaching. She looked like a young woman carrying a small bag, just off work, with a slender frame and weary posture—an everyday sight in the city.

But the key point was—Han Su couldn’t see her face. Her face seemed obscured by a warped glow. At a glance, passersby might not notice anything.

Only upon careful observation could one detect this subtle strangeness.

“Bang!”

For a moment, Han Su was still processing the situation in his mind. But then a sudden gunshot rang out near his ear. He saw that his teammate had already raised his hand, and the muzzle was still emitting smoke.

That faceless woman collapsed straight to the ground.