Photographs

"These people are as annoying as mosquitoes in the night. They should all be dragged to the club bar and fed to the lizards."

The two had reached the alley entrance, peering at the scene from a distance. Officer Natalie’s face was grim as she spoke with resentment:

"It seems you were right, Lynch. They are even moving the furniture. These people are so determined to target us that they do not care about ruining our investigation. It is fortunate I listened to your warning and didn't wait for the Hall of Order's notification, or we would only find an empty room now. I didn't expect you to be so familiar with their style. Have you dealt with these departments before while working as a detective?"

It is just the typical tradecraft of the NYPD and FBI, which I have seen plenty of on television. This is, at most, a minor nuisance.

Lynch smiled and shook his head, though his expression held a hint of doubt. "But I am worried about one thing: how did they find out?"

"I was not prepared for them to be this shameless. I wasn't careful enough about keeping things secret when mobilizing police resources to canvas Donnie's residence. They must have noticed."

"No, that is not what I meant. Pay attention to what he said just now," Lynch whispered. "They want to move all the furniture to prevent us from finding anything else."

The officer’s expression sharpened. "You mean they already know about what we found yesterday?"

"Exactly. Otherwise, they wouldn't have said that. But even Editor Donald didn't know we found that note yesterday. Only the two of us knew. I am certain I didn't tell anyone. Did you mention it to anyone?"

"Absolutely not. I didn't even report it to Victor," the officer guessed. "It seems they also have special ways of tracking our progress."

"Are there such bizarre methods?"

"Do you think any of the three abilities you possess are normal? In the mystery world, strange abilities are always difficult to guard against. Learning about our progress is not a difficult task." Officer Natalie sighed. "It seems we cannot assume we have shaken them off. I don't know when they will catch up again. We must speed up our progress and not give them another chance to disrupt our investigation. Otherwise, I will not be content letting someone like Grant, who uses mystery to destroy order, succeed. Fortunately, we have these items now, especially the photos you found. Do you think Donnie died because of these photos?"

"Hmm, it is highly likely. Editor Donald confirmed that Donnie had nothing to do with Maya’s report, so theoretically, Maya’s disappearance shouldn't have affected him. He even went to the newspaper office on the 13th, and everything was normal. But he received the photos on the evening of the 13th, and he was dead by the 15th. You said that in the mystery world, there are no coincidences. The only thing that can connect the two is these photos."

"Then that must be it. These items are the key evidence." The officer let out a soft sigh. "With this, we at least hold the initiative. Let’s go. We will head back to the Scarecrow Club and see what secrets are hidden in these photos."

As they spoke, the two bypassed a street, reached the main road, and hailed a convertible rental carriage to head straight for the Scarecrow Club. Of course, the fare was paid by that decadent civil servant with a ten-pound monthly salary.

"Is any special equipment needed to look at the documents?" Only after boarding the carriage did Lynch carefully activate his phantasmal sound, asking in a whisper while shielding his voice from the driver. "Why must we go back to the club?"

"Not at all. Reading mystery documents only requires a quiet environment. You don't have to worry about the documents affecting ordinary people; as long as they don't look at them, mystery documents pose no danger to them."

"Then why do we have to go back to look at them?"

"Because we, having read the documents, might become dangerous to ordinary people."

"Huh?"

"Listen, Lynch. Unknown mystery documents are often extremely dangerous because we must read them to know just how dangerous they are. Although our spirits as Soul Severers have high resistance to mystery, it only mitigates the mental impact; it doesn't eliminate it entirely. Under that impact, we could lose emotional control or consciousness. In the terminology of mystery hunters, this is 'temporary madness.' We could potentially harm innocent people. If one misreads a destruction grade or even a manifestation grade mystery document, it could even lead to direct distortion and loss of control, which would be a disaster for the surrounding ordinary people."

Lynch felt a chill creep into his heart as he listened.

"That is why, whether it is the authorities or secret societies, most mystery organizations have dedicated venues and procedures for interpreting mystery documents. I will explain the specific process in more detail when we arrive."

The dedicated venue Officer Natalie mentioned was, of course, the Scarecrow Club.

At ten-thirty in the morning, the two passed through the quiet club bar and went straight into the basement.

The basement remained the same; the long, dark corridors were permeated with an unshakable sense of gloom. Walking straight down the right corridor, a massive metal door, resembling an airtight door from home, blocked the end of the hall.

Pulling the door cord, they couldn't even hear if a bell rang inside. However, not long after, the peephole was opened. A gaze swept over Officer Natalie’s face, and then the sound of metal grinding against metal echoed from within.

After squeaking for a full minute, the door slowly opened inward.

Behind the door was an even deeper corridor. Standing at the entrance was a middle-aged man wearing a monocle.

He was about forty, frail, dressed in a shirt and suspenders, with a pipe in his mouth. His complexion was an unhealthy pale, his eye sockets were dark, and his eyes were heavily bloodshot.

Lynch felt an immediate sense of kinship; homebody night-owls are naturally drawn to one another!

"Mr. Klin." The officer tipped her hat and bowed. "Sorry to disturb you, but we need to read some documents."

Behind the swirling smoke, two eyes shot at Lynch’s face like knives.

His inspiration did not sound an alarm, which meant this person was only a low-level Soul Severer below the third grade of authority. Yet, facing his gaze, Lynch felt as if he were being seen through from the inside out.

"A very ordinary soul. I don't see anything special about it."

Mr. Klin’s words made Lynch’s heart tremble. He realized his soul had been peeked at. Fortunately, the will of Lady Luna had not been discovered; otherwise, he might have been viewed as an outsider or even caused trouble.

【There is no need to worry about this, Lynch.】

‘He cannot see you?’

【Yes, just like those two Great Old Ones.】

‘The evil gods are the same as mortals?’

【Is there a difference?】

‘No. I like that answer.’

Lynch completely relaxed and gave Mr. Klin a calm smile.

"However, your willpower is ridiculously strong. It is no wonder you could survive this long with such high inspiration, and that you haven't gone mad yet."

Lynch curled his lip in his mind. Sorry to disappoint you.

"Come in. I am the archivist. You can call me Mr. Klin. I am responsible for cleaning up the bodies of those who read the files. My methods might be a bit rough, so I hope you won't mind."

"Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary." Lynch remained expressionless.

"Hmm, your willpower is indeed strong enough that you don't need to avoid reading mystery documents. Some people have pitifully low willpower and can't even touch them. But most of the professionals I clean up after have high willpower. Do you know why?"

"Because the ones who drown are the ones who know how to swim?"

"Smart. As long as you understand that principle, we are fine."

Klin cleared the path and, after locking the iron door again, handed each of them a cigarette, pointing to a room near the entrance:

"Remember, every mystery document is extremely dangerous, even those for ability training should not be taken lightly. I know you need to understand the content, but I warn you: all the information on them, even a single line, is filled with strange and twisted power. Do not dig too deep. The mystery hides within, ready at any moment to drag you into hell."

Lynch performed a swallowing motion and nodded obediently.

"Same old rules: you must supervise each other, and only one person can read at a time. If you notice your companion acting strangely, interrupt them immediately, exit the reading room, and finish your cigarette. Wait at least seven days before reading a second time."

"Is that much time necessary?"

"I just finished redecorating this reading room. Do you want to guess why?"

As he spoke, he turned on the gas lamp in the reading room for them. "I will be in the archives. I hope I don't need to help with any cleanup. Good luck."

Click. The door closed.

The room inside was very quiet, with soft sofas and elegant incense, giving a sense of bright and comfortable pleasure.

"Klin doesn't sound very pleasant, but don't mind him. He doesn't have any ill intent; he is just not used to communicating with people."

"I don't mind at all. In fact, I quite like him. He is clearly a professional who puts all his heart into his field. I admire people like that."

"Hmm, his strength is average, about the same as mine, but he is a mystery expert," the officer explained. "He is the most professional occultist in the Watchers' Rhine branch. His mastery of mystery documents is famous throughout the Kingdom of Lande. The mystery documents he has cracked are enough to fill a library. He made the rules, so we had better follow them unconditionally."

"Hmm, I promise."

"Good. Then let's begin. I will read."

The officer sat down proficiently and dumped the contents of the evidence bag onto the coffee table. She reached out to pick up the photos, but the moment she touched them, Lynch pressed his hand down on hers.

"I know you have courage, Lynch, but now is not the time to fight over this. There is indeed great danger, but I have experience with this kind of thing and you do not. I know how to handle what you don't, so I am more suited to reading than you. You are responsible for providing assistance."

"But if I suddenly go mad, you can restrain me and knock me back to my senses. If you suddenly go mad, I will just be beaten to death by you."

The officer paused and slowly retracted her hand. "Then you read. Remember to stop every minute. I will remind you."

"Hmm."

Lynch closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and quickly picked up the stack of documents.

It was just a thick stack of new, black and white photos. The clarity was devastating to Lynch, but at least he could distinguish the scenery. They were labeled with numeric codes in a delicate, slender, feminine handwriting.

At first, there were only a few landscape photos. They appeared to be in a mountainous area, and through the sparse vegetation, one could see rolling mountains in the distance.

Two people appeared in these few photos.

A young, beautiful girl appeared, dressed in light and flexible clothing, with a relaxed smile on her face. She seemed to be in a very good mood. The other was a middle-aged man dressed as a hillman, with a simple and dull expression; he was likely a guide.

However, after a few photos, a huge cave appeared in the pictures. After that, no more people appeared. For several consecutive photos, they showed the environment inside the cave—deep, rugged, and likely very dark. Only under the intense light of an old-fashioned magnesium lamp could the outlines be barely distinguished.

Rock walls, mushrooms, rubble, shadows.

Hmm?

Lynch flipped past the photos, then flipped back.

He seemed to see a blurry black shadow hiding in the corner of the cave.

Looking closer to distinguish it, it really did look like a twisted humanoid shape, dark and almost blending into the environment. Only the teeth revealed in a split mouth and two eyes reflected light in the black and white environment.

Is this thing a person?

Lynch quickly flipped back and forth. It wasn't in the previous one, and it wasn't in the next one.

He didn't know if it was just an optical illusion caused by the angle or if it hadn't been captured.

However, the photos were not continuous. If there really was something, it wouldn't be strange if it wasn't captured.

"One minute. Stop."

"Wait a second, don't stop here."

Lynch shouted subconsciously, but his reason quickly gained the upper hand. He slapped himself once and covered the photos back up.

"How is it? How do you feel?"

"It's hard to say. I haven't found anything special yet. I just saw something strange before I was interrupted." Lynch rubbed his cheeks to keep himself as alert as possible. "But I discovered something quite strange."

"Hmm?"

"The photos are indeed attractive, but I don't feel the sensation you described when looking at mystery documents. I do feel a strong mystery filth coming from the documents, but I don't feel the strange, fearful, and twisted impact coming from between the lines or the graphic patterns. It’s like..." Lynch hesitated for a long time before finding the right words. "It’s like I’m just looking at a document that is contaminated with mystery, not a mystery document. I don't know if this is just my imagination."

【No, what you are seeing are ordinary documents stained with heavy mystery filth. The documents themselves do not possess mystery; they are just heavily contaminated.】

‘Why would that be?’

Silence.

"Are you sure? Let me see. You supervise me."

The officer pulled the photos over and flipped through them one by one. Lynch carefully watched the pocket watch to keep time, but before the minute was up, and before he could remind her, Officer Natalie had already raised her head.

"It really is. It seems like just an ordinary document. But the mystery filth alone shouldn't be enough to make Donnie die so quickly. Why would this happen? Did we find the wrong thing?"

"I don't think so. The mystery filth on them is too strong—stronger than any mystery relic I have seen. This thing definitely has a problem; we just haven't found the key point yet."

"Indeed. Let’s still be careful. Read it as if it were a mystery document. You continue."

"Hmm."

Lynch quickly flipped back to the previous numbering.

The following photos were still of the tunnel, but signs of human activity appeared. Various wooden, stone, and even metal utensils were distributed throughout the cave, as if many people had been living there for a long time, and quite orderly at that.

Whew, it seems this should be a stronghold for some group, perhaps hillmen. Then the black shadow from earlier was...

Lynch just let out a sigh of relief and his hand flipped to the next photo when he saw a huge face in the picture.

It was as if someone had held a camera directly in front of themselves, and the entire face almost filled the photo.

Extremely twisted, extremely ugly, extremely hideous.

It was a face that was difficult to describe in words.

The moment he saw the face, Lynch felt an instinctive physical discomfort. His stomach churned violently, just like the first time he saw the corpse of Drunken Peter. He covered his mouth and retched, with only one thought in his mind.

What kind of ghost is this?