Investigation Report of the Gods

Chapter 81: Mysterious Machine Theft Case

【At this point I hope the reader will remember our domain Taiwan Novel Network → 𝑡𝑤𝑘𝑎𝑛.𝑐𝑜𝑚】

Carrying a deep sense of gloom, Han Su returned to the apartment where he no longer had to pay any property management fees.

Before entering, he checked the strand of hair he had wedged in the door seam, the note stuck underneath it, and glanced at the peanut jammed between the door panels. All were still in their original positions. Only then did he feel at ease, open the door, and walk in.

The window was undisturbed as well, with dust settled as before.

Only within this small room did he feel somewhat relieved.

「Miss Crow and her mentor, why exactly are they watching me? Is it just because they received some sort of order, or could it be that they themselves are also related to that kidnapping case?

.

Previously, during Spiritual Penetration training, he had peered into Miss Crow’s memories. She had been very concerned about him seeing too much, but he had deceived her, and she hadn’t grown suspicious.

After all, it was his first time performing Spiritual Power penetration.

A rookie could never become a master of memory search.

However, having returned to the past time and again, he had developed an instinctual memory search ability and had seen far more than she imagined.

She had returned after accepting a certain mission.

Then, considering how she had shown intense interest in him since her appearance, despite her poor acting skills, always clinging to his side—it wasn’t hard to speculate:

Her mission was, in fact, related to him?

If so, then the one interested in him was naturally the Red Trench Coat who gave her the order.

During this round of Mysterious Power Training, the woman in the Red Trench Coat had shown excessive concern for him, too hasty—rushing to teach him those Zero Sequence Encrypted Spells without any foundational ability training.

Was it for observation?

Someone of her status actually accompanied him through more than ten days of training. Every session, she kept a constant watch on him,

As if his reactions mattered greatly to her.

This went beyond the normal bounds of training.

Fortunately, he did not use the Fisherman’s Chant, so all his behavior appeared ordinary. That secret remained hidden from prying eyes.

But then, what would happen after that “he” mentioned by Song Chu‑shi awakened?

Han Su, thinking of this, felt uncertain.

Perhaps due to the time spent undergoing Mysterious Power Training, his usual self had gradually become more attuned to spiritual activity, increasingly sensitive—he could now instantly sense if someone was watching him from behind.

Because of this heightened sensitivity, he felt an indescribable sense of oppression within the Disaster Management Bureau.

Now and then, he would suddenly feel the gaze of some mysterious presence, making him uncomfortable all over.

And this oppressive feeling intensified with each passing day, especially as the “half a month” mentioned by Song Chu‑shi drew closer.

Luckily, that gaze’s “observation” wasn’t continuous—only occasional glances, like someone busy who could only spare brief looks his way. That allowed him to successfully complete the Mysterious Power Training.

Standing quietly at the room’s entrance for a moment, Han Su finally set down the suitcase. He turned and walked to the bathroom, poured himself a glass of water using the tooth cup, and stared silently at the ripples on the water’s surface.

The ripples and bubbles lingered; the surface shimmered faintly. Before the bubbles vanished, Han Su dared not relax. Only when the bubbles fully disappeared and the ripples completely settled—remaining still for several seconds—did he feel slightly at ease.

Then he looked up at the mirror, gazed into the gloomy eyes of his reflection, and silently recited the Fisherman’s Chant in his heart:

【Gods descend with their divine decree!】

In that instant, he felt the spiritual ocean within his mind come alive, churning up towering waves, surging with great force.

Immediately following, came the first Zero Sequence entry from the Disaster Management Bureau: 【I shall cast myself into the abyss!】

Even Han Su himself didn’t realize that his chanting of the Fisherman’s Chant had added two syllables, trailing into the next spell, turning it into:

【I, for the gods, descend with the divine decree──I shall cast myself into the abyss!】

【.】

In that instant, Han Su sensed his Spiritual Power surging wildly. Everything around him seemed to resonate at once, and the sound of countless shattering glass pieces burst in his ears.

He saw the ever-present shadows of the world, which suddenly came alive and rushed toward him like a massive, bottomless cloak, enveloping him in an instant.

Even he trembled at the transformation in that moment, but with sheer willpower, he stood his ground and observed calmly.

In his own perception, he was still standing firmly inside the bathroom, without having moved a single inch.

But when he looked into the mirror, his body still existed, yet it felt as if it was separated from the world by a layer of vague shadow.

‘This is me looking at myself—then, what about others?’

Han Su felt the draining of his Spiritual Power and turned to leave the bathroom.

He walked slowly to the computer desk, opened the surveillance software he had installed, and clearly saw the footage of himself entering the room, up until he entered the bathroom.

And when the bathroom door opened, the screen seemed to flicker for a moment—at a quick glance, there was no one in the camera.

Only a faint shadow passed through the living room, arrived at the computer, and then the computer screen lit up.

Disappeared?

Even on the surveillance footage, he could disappear?

Han Su was vaguely a little thrilled, but that thrill was mostly built upon a wariness of the unknown power.

He had only just completed the most basic phase of the Mysterious Power Training, and through the blessing of the Fisherman’s Chant, he had already achieved such an effect?

To a certain extent, the invisibility effect seemed even better than that of the Monster Investigator.

However, along with the surprise, he also felt the rapid depletion of Spiritual Power—his head was already starting to feel empty.

‘Seven seconds?’

He glanced at the time and took note of it.

At the same time, he imagined: ‘This was under the condition that no one was paying attention to me—if someone was watching me, then what?’

According to theory, the more people watched him, the faster his Spiritual Power would be consumed.

By then, how long could he maintain it?

Also, this Invisibility Spell was so effective for him—could he teach it to someone else?

At the very least, if he held someone in his arms, could it affect them too?

He had asked the Red Trench Coat about this before and received a confirmed answer, but it still needed to be tested personally.

He sat quietly for a while, waiting for the emptiness in his head to dissipate.

Although reaching a certain threshold of exhaustion could activate a new segment of memory, Han Su found no need to push himself that far, so he simply rested briefly before opening his Second-Hand Laptop.

[I’m back!]

Black Rose replied almost instantly: [Could you not make it sound like I’d come out of the kitchen in your white shirt to welcome you home every time you start a conversation?]

[You’re not even coming back to my place!]

[ ]

Han Su was caught off guard by the question: [Did I?]

Before waiting for a response, he typed another message: [I have a question for you.]

Black Rose’s reply seemed a bit helpless: [Are we that familiar now? You don’t even bother with foreplay anymore.]

Han Su didn’t know how to respond to that and simply continued his topic: [Ten years ago, on July 30th, there was a tech exhibition held in Central City’s Science Museum. Do you still remember it?]

Black Rose said: [Nope. Who in their right mind remembers things like that for no reason?]

Han Su said: [It’s related to our kidnapping case.]

Black Rose: [Sorry, I can’t make the connection.]

Han Su said: [It’s okay. I just want to ask—since you’re so resourceful, could you find a report on that exhibition from the Public Security Bureau or somewhere?]

Black Rose said: [Hold on.]

Not long after, a link was sent over: [See if this is it.]

Han Su suppressed the excitement in his heart and clicked on it. As expected, it was a report detailing the excavation of ancient Mechanical Fragments from the ruins, soon to be displayed at Central City’s Science Museum, signifying further progress in the excavation of the ruins, and so on.

Now, having seen the actual footage, he became even more certain. The report included many photos, and one of them was exactly the photo he had seen within the will of the Crystal Skull.

Was this also what the Crystal Skull was searching for?

But if the Mechanical Fragment was already at the Science Museum, why go through all this trouble?

As he pondered, Black Rose sent over several more links, reporting on the theft incident at Central City’s Science Museum. Judging by the timestamp—

It happened on the very night of their kidnapping?

For some reason, upon seeing this news, he wasn’t surprised at all.

Of course it had been stolen!

That invisible hand—was it really trying to erase every piece of information related to this matter?

Black Rose: [Look at this news. Your kidnapping case back then caused chaos throughout the city. Everyone knew that some bigshot’s kid had gotten into trouble, so the Public Security Bureau, armed forces, and even the underground thugs were all mobilized.]

[But in the end, someone took advantage of the situation and stole one of the machines being exhibited at the Science Museum. This one.]

[Apparently, the case was left hanging. There were so many security personnel, yet no one knew what happened. In a daze, the item just went missing.]

[Originally, this case was considered bizarre and actually listed as an unresolved case by the Public Security Bureau, but your kidnapping case completely overshadowed it. It never sparked much discussion in public.]

[....]

I just feel like someone deliberately erased all these things, while the public believes our kidnapping led to their disappearance?

After a long contemplation, Han Su finally typed a message: [So, what exactly is this Mysterious Machine for?]