“Really miraculous……”
Han Su carefully examined the photo of the Long-Haired Classmate who had hanged herself and compared it to the girl now sitting beside him. “Because of that fanatical faith, even in death, she could remain in the real world, becoming a ghostly follower who only spreads the Gods’ teachings?”
So, it turned out he had encountered grotesques before—not only encountered them, but even had close contact with them. However, back then, everything had seed normal. So normal that one wouldn’t rember it afterward.
Then why was it that, now, when he encountered her again, he could finally see her true nature?
Was it because he had now mastered Normal Penetration, his Spiritual Power had revived, or because that monster was currently undergoing transformation and didn’t have ti to monitor him?
As he spoke, he reached down, picked up the Silver Briefcase by his feet, clicked it open, and grabbed the Electric Baton.
Then, squeezing the Trigger chanism, he directly jabbed it at the Long-Haired Classmate.
With a crackling noise, the Long-Haired Classmate was jolted backward by the electric force. Her entire body flickered as if affected by unstable voltage. Despite being struck by the Electric Baton, she didn’t fall to the ground. Instead, with bones crackling and popping, she slowly straightened mid-air.
Her feet hovered above the ground as though hanging in mid-air. Her head tilted to the side, with a bewildered, twisted, cold, and eerie expression.
Her body swiftly retreated while slowly descending in the air, aligning perfectly with her image in the photograph.
“So this is a Ghost Follower?”
Han Su stood up with the Electric Baton, carefully scrutinizing her face. For a mont, a strange sense of déjà vu surfaced in his heart:
A grotesque polluted by the Mysterious Power that seeped through from history…
She kept chanting about the Gods’ return, yet sohow, it reminded him of…
…that “Seven-Day Descent of the Gods” the Withered Butler had ntioned?
History—especially history before the Reconstruction Era—was that the source of all this penetration?
In his mind, the third item in the Disaster Managent Bureau’s Operational Code flashed by. The one even the Disaster Managent Bureau regarded with great importance, granting access only at a certain clearance level to any information from before the Reconstruction Era.
…… Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs N0velFire.ɴet
……
“Despicable, filthy, ignorant! Once the Gods escape from the dust of history, all of you will be destroyed by the calamity descending from the heavens!”
One strike from the Electric Baton had turned the once pure and cute Long-Haired Classmate into a twisted, grotesque monster, exuding a rancid stench.
It slled like sothing that had been buried underground for a very, very long ti.
All around, the lights began to Flicker, alternating between bright and dark. Her voice was filled with loathing and hatred. Han Su could even discern that this hatred wasn’t directed at him specifically—but at all of humanity.
Whoosh!
A cold wind burst forth from her body, sending the pages of every book around them fluttering and rustling violently.
Han Su felt like he was facing a mass of swirling, contorting shadows that rapidly enveloped him.
Wherever the writhing shadow touched his body, a chill spread through each part. It stiffened him, as though this cold aura was seeping into his bones, taking control of his body, invading his spirit, and branding chaotic phrases into his mind.
“Worship the Gods……”
“Humanity is dood……”
“Becoming a follower is the only path to salvation……”
“……”
‘Is this what Spiritual Pollution is?’
As these polluted phrases surged at him from all directions, Han Su wasn’t greatly affected—but he remained on alert.
He suddenly raised the Silver Briefcase, blocking part of the shadow from hitting him, then stepped back and silently chanted:
【I Now Enter the Abyss】
【……】
With that step back, his figure blurred slightly, and the cold bindings fell away from his body.
In the next instant, Han Su lunged forward, raised the Electric Baton, and pushed it to full intensity.
100% Strength.
A crackling explosion rang out. The Long-Haired Classmate’s entire body seed to rot visibly as she was slamd backward. This attack at full power had already reached a terrifying level of lethality.
The only issue was the battery drained too fast—after just two hits, it ran out of power.
But it was obvious that one blow was enough to terrify this ghost. She let out a shrill scream and fled swiftly between two rows of bookshelves.
As she neared those thick and ancient tos, her figure faintly began to fade, as if preparing to hide inside the books.
This eerie power was hard to comprehend, but Han Su had already figured out a plan. Watching her retreat into the bookshelves, he stood still and slowly chanted:
【By My Command, Appear in the Light!】
【……】
The mont the Spell left his lips, a sudden gust of dark wind surged forth—ten tis more intense than before. The Ghost Follower had already begun to dissipate, but due to this Spell, her body uncontrollably re-solidified and even drifted back toward Han Su.
She could no longer control her movents, and on her face—astonishingly—a human-like expression of fear erged.
At this mont, Han Su could only sigh faintly, push the Electric Baton to 100% again, and jab it forward as she floated close. This ti, the dazzling electric light beca the final trace she left in this world.
With the collapse of her will and the dispersal of the dark wind, her final scream faded into obscurity.
“Hm?”
But just as Han Su was sure that final strike had completely annihilated her, a strange voice suddenly echoed in his mind the mont he recited the Spell. It sounded like tal scraping and vaguely included words like “Bronze” and “Reflection”.
This sound seed buried deep within his brain and was accidentally triggered—drifting through his mind before slowly quieting down again.
‘That voice again…’
Han Su stood still and slowly raised his Left Hand. On the back of it, the Cross-shaped Bronze Scar faintly flickered.
It was as if this scar left behind by a previous Life Line was trying to return to his hand.
‘Why would that voice appear now? Coincidence? Or did the Spell I chanted activate it?’
‘……’
Han Su stood silently for a mont. After the sound in his head faded, he slowly raised his head, took a walk around the library, and confird that the Ghost Follower had indeed been completely dealt with. Only then did he send Miss Ai a task summary:
【Complete】
Miss Ai replied: 【Thank you, Butcher, for your contribution to the real-world defense line of Qinggang City. Please leave the scene now. Professional personnel will scan the Penetrated Area.】
【The other two tasks have also been sent to your inbox, Butcher. Please schedule your ti accordingly.】
【……】
Han Su still felt a lingering sense of unease in his heart. He tentatively replied:
【Could you send so data on this Undead Follower—or rather, the Gods in the history she spoke of?】
After thinking for a bit, he added:
【I’d like to understand more, which will help with future work.】
But what he got was a big grinning emoji from Miss Ai:
【Butcher has not yet acquired the Investigator license. Insufficient clearance!】
【Also, a friendly reminder: There are no Gods in this world!】
【So-called Ghost Followers are rely abnormal ntal states. In life, they observed sothing unusual from historical texts and beca polluted. This resulted in intense world-weariness and a desire to reveal the anomaly to others.】
【Thus, they choose to remain in libraries, waiting for those curious about this history to appear—so they can pollute them.】
【……】
Han Su frowned as he put down the phone. He picked up the Silver Briefcase and turned to leave the library—only to find, just as he reached the entrance, soone was arguing with the Gatekeeper:
“Why can’t I co in to study just because it’s late?”
“I brought my girlfriend here to learn at night—what’s wrong with that?”
“Don’t talk about surveillance. Who says coming to the library ans doing that stuff? This is a sacred place of study……”
“……”
Hearing that familiar voice, Han Su froze on the spot. Looking closely, he confird that the guy trying to get into the library with his girlfriend was indeed his “good son.”
He gently cleared his throat.
“Eh?”
That person turned around. The mont he saw Han Su, he froze completely.
Blinking rapidly to confirm it was indeed Han Su before him, he burst into tears and wailed, “Old Han, I missed you so much…”
Han Su raised the Silver Briefcase to block Xu Ji, who had shoved his girlfriend aside and was now rushing over excitedly. He asked in surprise, “Weren’t you supposed to be grounded at ho?”
“I was grounded, not imprisoned.”
Xu Ji replied, “It was way too boring. I told my mom I wanted to go out to study. She’s gotten smarter and didn’t fully believe —insisted soone tag along. So I had no choice but to bring my girlfriend…”
“I was hoping I might run into you here—and look, I actually did!”
“……”
‘I don’t even co here every day…’
Han Su thought helplessly, but then recalled the reason Xu Ji was grounded and the issue he’d just resolved here. His expression turned serious.
He pushed Xu Ji away and said, “I don’t care how bored you are. Stay away from . I’ve already accepted your family’s compensation—they told not to go near you again.”
“Damn, so typical of my family’s way of doing things.”
Xu Ji cursed and said, “But Old Han, our bond has to endure trials! You can’t just abandon like that…”
“Get lost.”
Han Su said, “Wherever I show up in the future, you’re not allowed to appear. Got it?”
Xu Ji flared up: “Old Han, you…”
“I’m saying…”
Han Su looked into his eyes and said, “Wherever I show up in the future, you are not allowed to appear. If we et, you must leave imdiately. Understand?”
Xu Ji froze, suddenly understanding sothing. His gaze fell onto the Black Notebook in Han Su’s hand, and he lowered his voice:
“Don’t tell you ran into that kind of thing again…”
Han Su: “Scram!”
Xu Ji: “Got it!”
And with that, he slipped away imdiately. The girl who ca with him was left dumbfounded, thinking, “What kind of guy is this? Acts all like so rich young master but runs away at a single scolding…”
‘My taste is clearly off. I really thought I’d finally found a rich one this ti…’
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