Investigation Report of the Gods

Chapter 84: A Cat with Spiritual Sensitivity

This kind of thing that had only recently appeared in reality suddenly appeared in the Ancient Castle, giving Han Su a feeling that the boundary between reality and illusion had been broken.

Judging by the shape, it looked like a phalange, placed inside a Kerosene Lamp, emitting a crystalline brightness that was almost on par with a flame.

The Crystal Skull had the ability to infect nearby humans, and those infected would undergo skeletal crystallization, gaining strange strength and regenerative abilities, while also emitting an abnormal glow.

But seriously, who in their right mind would think of using a crystal for lighting?

As he thought this, he confirmed that it was still only the Hunch‑Backed Man who had come to check, and since there were no other living creatures outside the Earth Cellar at the moment, he took advantage of the chaos and quietly took a step back.

He slowly raised his Right Hand, activated his Spiritual Power, and silently recited the spell:

【I shall descend into the Abyss!】

【..】

Once the spell was spoken, Han Su's Right Hand surprisingly had no sensation of Spiritual Power seeping out.

He was momentarily stunned before he realized—this was because his Right Hand had only in the “future” been penetrated with the help of Miss Crow. So at this moment, the ten-year-old version of himself did not yet have the ability to allow Spiritual Power to seep into reality through that “crack”?

But even as he was thinking, his Right Eye began to ache slightly. A cool sensation surged forth—Han Su recognized that sensation. It was the familiar feeling of Spiritual Power penetration.

Still, only phenomena related to that Fisherman’s Chant could be brought back to the Ancient Castle—

At that moment, the Crew‑Cut Boy who had been beaten was climbing up from the ground, flailing in panic. Compared to the ambush from behind, the light from the Hunch‑Backed Man above seemed to give him a glimpse of hope.

He bawled loudly while pointing and tattling, “He hit me! He hit me———”

But as he cried, he turned his head to point at the audacious child who had dared to hit him, yet the moment he turned, his raised finger froze—he didn’t know which direction to point to.

“He——”

“.—.Where is he?”

1

At the same moment, Han Su also recited the spell inside the dark Earth Cellar. As soon as the spell was spoken, it felt as if the surrounding darkness had gained vitality, converging in front of him and concealing his form.

Originally, there had only been a faint shadow left. After he hid behind a certain child, even that faint shadow disappeared.

Then, he nimbly made his way to the staircase and carefully tested the first step with his foot.

In front of him, the light flickered. The Hunch‑Backed Man was straining to hold up the Crystal Kerosene Lamp, trying to observe the situation below. The only source of light cast the children's silhouettes into a jumble, and no one noticed the faint and barely perceptible shadow moving upward.

Step by step, Han Su ascended three steps. He was nearly able to see the rough, sandpaper-like skin on the Hunch‑Backed Man’s face. He even slightly held his breath.

But the Hunch‑Backed Man still didn’t see him, instead letting out raspy growls, seemingly scolding the children in the Earth Cellar to stay quiet.

That encouraged Han Su. Just as he was about to take another step, the Hunch‑Backed Man suddenly sensed something off and sharply turned his head to look in Han Su’s direction.

Immediately afterward, he swung the Crystal Kerosene Lamp toward Han Su’s position.

Han Su instantly stepped back, narrowly avoiding the beam of the lamp by a hair’s breadth.

Seeing nothing, the Hunch‑Backed Man only showed a trace of confusion, shouted twice more, scaring all the children into silence, then withdrew the lamp and slammed the small door to the Earth Cellar shut.

Only then did Han Su, now blended back into the crowd, quietly exhale and end the spell.

“Invisibility ability confirmed effective.”

He mentally calculated, “But I must maintain a certain safe distance—can’t get too close. Damn it, if I can’t even get near him, what about the others?

Compared to other monsters, he’s just a servant, even just a tool of the Withered Butler—”

Yet such frustration was of no use. He forced himself to continue analyzing: at least the ability worked at some distance. After all, he had no plans to strut openly before the monsters. Compared to before, this was already a significant advantage.

Moreover, if I recite the Gods' Language first and then activate this ability, would the effect be much stronger?

Unfortunately, he didn’t dare test it recklessly. Last time, on the fifth floor, just reciting that spell had caused the entire floor’s Bronze Armor to awaken. The commotion was far too great.

Gods' Language could only be reserved for critical moments.

Another limitation was that although the Gods' Language could enhance his invisibility, it also drastically increased Spiritual Power consumption. Within a few seconds, he would enter a period of depletion.

Time to change batteries.

Given that, this spell wasn’t enough to form a plan to steal the key, let alone rescue anyone.

Does this mean I must wait for another opportunity?’

He thought silently. The thought of the Worm Monk made stealing the key seem impossibly difficult, and a longing arose within him:

If only a second key really existed.

Back then, the first key had been discovered by chance after rescuing Xu Ji, when he noticed a key tied around the Boar‑Head Butcher’s waist. He was sure the butcher didn’t have it earlier, so he kept it in mind.

Later, during the Night of Pleasure, the clever and cunning Tuxedo Boy caused a ruckus. Amidst the chaos, Han Su grabbed the key and found that door, managing to escape.

This time, without a single clue—how could he possibly find it?

Just as he was deep in thought, the Crew‑Cut Boy’s constant sobbing became grating. He even considered beating him again, when suddenly, a faint cry came from above.

“Meow——”

Han Su snapped out of his thoughts, his heart skipping a beat. He looked up and saw a black cat demon squeezing through the sealed barred window of the Earth Cellar.

So it was a cat.

Han Su looked away, then suddenly jerked his head back up. ‘Wait, a cat?’

He abruptly stood up and stared intently at the cat—its chubby figure, its intelligent eyes, it——

This black cat, which had appeared so casually, also drew the attention of the other children. Even in such a fearful situation, the sight of a cat made them momentarily dazed.

Only the Crew‑Cut Boy glanced at it and scoffed, “What’s the big deal? I’ve killed several. All more expensive than this one—.”

The others simply watched the cat, but thinking of their situation, didn’t feel like doing anything.

Only Han Su, who stared intensely at the black cat, felt a surge of inexplicable weirdness in his heart.

This cat had never appeared before.

So, was this cat the change that occurred in the Ancient Castle after he rescued Meilan last time?

He had been wrong!

Last time, after rescuing someone, the Ancient Castle did indeed undergo a favorable change—but it wasn’t a second key that appeared.

It was a cat.

Most importantly, he didn’t know why, but looking at the cat gave him an overwhelming sense of familiarity. He couldn’t recall where he’d seen it before, but the more he looked, the stronger the feeling became.

Subconsciously, he gently called out:

“Duke, you’ve come———”

That call of “Duke” seemed to stir something deep within Han Su’s memory.

He couldn’t remember anything specific about the cat, but he had a strange intuition:

“This is my cat!”

That bizarre intuition made him excited at once. His heart trembled slightly as he stared at the cat with great longing.

Then—

—he saw that the cat showed absolutely no reaction.

It twisted its plump body and, without even glancing back, lazily circled the railing and disappeared into a wooden partition. It was hard to believe such a fat body could squeeze into such a narrow space.

“Uhh—this cat doesn’t seem to know me after all—”

Han Su stood there in disappointment, even feeling slightly embarrassed.

Was that intense intuition earlier just false?

He sat down again in mild disappointment. Though after some reflection, he confirmed that this cat had never appeared before and must be something abnormal.

But of what use was it?

A key could open a door and let him leave—but a stupid cat———

Crackle!

As he pondered, suddenly, a commotion erupted outside the Earth Cellar—chaotic noise of things crashing, mixed with the Hunch‑Backed Man’s angry hoarse yelling.

All the children jerked their heads upward, looking fearfully at the small door at the top of the stairs.

Han Su didn’t know what was happening either. There hadn’t been such a ruckus earlier.

Then, under his surprised and slightly hopeful gaze, after a few seconds, that small door silently opened.

Outside was dead silent.

The Hunch‑Backed Man’s roar had vanished. The clatter of objects was gone. Only a heavy silence remained.

Then, a nimble figure quietly appeared at the Earth Cellar entrance—it was the fat black cat.

It simply sat at the door, the faint glow of the Crystal Phalange behind it outlining a proud yet lazy silhouette.

It looked down from above, as if bearing a lofty disdain.

This··

Inside the Earth Cellar, Han Su could no longer conceal his inner joy.

He could keenly sense that the black cat’s eyes had locked onto him through the crowd—precisely, even impatiently, asking why he hadn’t come yet.

“It recognizes me!”

‘So it wasn’t ignoring me earlier—it just couldn’t be bothered to respond.—

“Now, it’s calling me out?”