Monster

Officer Natalie rearranged the photos and placed them face down on the coffee table.

The two looked at each other, frowning, both able to see the confusion in the other's eyes.

What exactly had Maya encountered during her interview in the mountains?

What was the deal with those hillmen and the monsters?

And what happened to her after she left?

Most importantly, they were just a stack of ordinary photos, so why were they so tainted with mystery, yet not at all like mystery documents?

Lynch felt a headache coming on. He asked, "Have you ever seen a monster like that before?"

"No. I've only been a Watcher for two years; there are too many things I haven't seen yet." Officer Natalie tapped the photos. "Besides, I'm more interested in knowing whether these photos are actually mystery documents. If it were just residual mystery, it couldn't have influenced Donnie to the point of such a bizarre death in just two days. But I reached the same conclusion as you—it doesn't feel like a mystery document at all. Could Donnie's death be unrelated to these photos? Or did he remove the real mystery documents?"

"They are all numbered, and the last one is marked 'E'. The numbers are in a woman's handwriting. Unless Maya added them after Donnie died, there shouldn't be any missing photos."

"Then I can't think of a reason. This is beyond my range of experience, and I don't have much interest in occult studies. By the way, why don't I ask Mr. Klin? He's experienced and should understand what's going on."

"Is it appropriate to bring something like this to him?"

Lynch felt that if it were him, he would have kicked the person out.

"It's fine. This is his job, too. Wait for me a moment."

Before long, Officer Natalie brought in Mr. Klin, a thin, middle-aged man. She must have explained the situation, as Mr. Klin didn't ask anything and immediately picked up the photos to flip through them quickly.

"The mystery residue is quite strong. I suspect this could be compared to a destruction grade relic, perhaps even touching the edge of manifestation grade. Don't even think about it; this is definitely a mystery document, and a very typical one at that." Within two minutes, Mr. Klin had reached a conclusion. "It's just that it isn't currently active for either of you."

"Why?" Officer Natalie pressed.

"You hunters only know how to bully those static relics; you certainly wouldn't understand the bizarre nature of mystery documents." Mr. Klin exhaled a puff of smoke and said slowly, "Some special mystery documents are just a book or a piece of paper in their daily state. I've even seen one that was a stone tablet or a piece of bronze ware; they only become mystery documents when they meet certain conditions. This type belongs to the concealed category, which makes it even more dangerous. The mystery it carries was left over from the last time it met its conditions. So, this thing is a big deal."

Lynch blurted out, "What conditions?"

"For concealed documents, finding the activation condition is the true interpretation, and only then can you truly understand the document's meaning."

Lynch pursed his lips and pondered for a moment, while asking in his mind.

'Neighbor, can I really not read the information inside directly?'

【No, it is just a normal physical photograph right now. You cannot interpret physical entities.】

Lynch sighed. It seemed that if he wanted to uncover the secrets hidden in the photos and the cause of Donnie's death, he would have to find a way to interpret the document.

"You had better not mess with it." Klin noticed Lynch's intent and was startled. "This thing has such high mystery that if you actually managed to interpret it, the entire city might be implicated. I suggest you destroy it directly. Unlike relics, documents can be destroyed."

"But it's a photograph, Mr. Klin. Is destruction really useful?"

Klin's expression changed immediately. Indeed, photos have originals; without figuring out the cause, simply destroying the photos was meaningless.

"Letting such an unstable thing wander among the public—the city could collapse at any moment. It's too dangerous." After hesitating, Mr. Klin tapped his pipe and said distressingly, "Forget it. Leave it with me for now. If you keep guessing, you might not find the right conditions until the hidden dangers erupt. I'll interpret it and notify you when I have results. If you need to check the photos in the meantime, come find me."

Officer Natalie looked at Lynch for confirmation. Lynch thought that for a ticking time bomb like this, nowhere was safer than here, so he nodded and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Klin. Please, be careful."

"Yes, Mr. Klin." The officer also warned, "The people directly related to this have already had one death and one disappearance, and hundreds have died indirectly. Judging by the signs, it is extremely dangerous."

"No matter how dangerous something is, someone has to do it. Besides, it's not like I haven't interpreted fourth or fifth grade mystery documents before; I've seen plenty. Alright, I'm going to start working. Do you have any other business?"

Officer Natalie suddenly remembered. "By the way, Mr. Klin, do you recognize that monster? I've never seen one before."

"That is a mysterious creature living in the real world, quite rare." Klin glanced at the photo and said, "Ghouls. They feed on corpses and prefer to live in groups in tunnels or caves. They exist in the city as well, but most live in the sewers. Most of these things are transformed from humans, so young individuals have both human and ghoul forms. Their speed and strength far exceed that of humans. If you don't consider abilities and just rely on physical fitness in a fight, even a fourth or fifth grade Soul Severer might not be able to handle a ghoul."

Ghoul... Lynch felt a bit nauseated. He suddenly realized the problem and asked, "You just said they are transformed from humans, so can a normal person turn into one?"

"Yes, but only some ghouls are transformed. Some of their tribes like to transform humans to replenish their members, but others prefer to keep their bloodline pure."

"If they are always with corpses, do they carry a strong stench of decay?"

"Yes. A lingering smell of rotting corpses is one of their characteristics, though they have other ways to mask the odor in their human form."

Lynch and Officer Natalie looked at each other. Many threads were finally tied together.

Those hillmen were likely a group of ghouls. Their opposition to the tunnel project probably included reasons related to fear of their identities being exposed. Maya had gone to interview them without any precautions and was somehow transformed into one of them. After leaving, she realized her body was changing and, in fear, hid in the secret base in the cabin. As a result, the only person she could turn to for help was killed by the very photos that contained some unknown problem.

This girl was just too unlucky. Lynch felt that this was a true case of bad luck; compared to her, his own 'mystery-attracting' constitution was hardly worth mentioning.

However, Officer Natalie still pressed, "Mr. Klin, is there any salvation for someone transformed into a ghoul?"

"Once the process is complete, there is no hope. Before it's finished, there's a slim chance, but I need to look up some information."

"How long does the whole process take?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not a ghoul. But generally, such transformation rituals do not exceed one tidal cycle, twenty eight days."

"It seems that regardless of the purpose, we must find her as soon as possible." The officer smiled bitterly. "These hillmen are protesters, and their status is sensitive. To accuse them of being disguised monsters, we must have concrete evidence. Maya is the only breakthrough and witness we have now. Only by finding her can we prove the identities of this group of ghouls lurking in the city. Moreover, their behavior regarding the tunnel is also very strange; who knows what kind of conspiracy is behind it."

As she spoke, her and Lynch's gazes fell on the photo of Maya and Donnie together.

Maya's whereabouts could only be found from this.

A secret base, huh.