Monster

The female officer gathered the photographs back together and placed them face down on the coffee table.

The two looked at each other with furrowed brows, both seeing the confusion in the other's eyes.

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

What was the deal with those hillmen and the monster?

What happened after she came out?

Most importantly, why was a stack of seemingly ordinary photographs tainted with so much mystery, yet felt nothing like a mystery document at all?

Lynch felt a headache coming on from thinking about it and asked, “Have you never seen that kind of monster before either?”

“No, I've only been a Watcher for two years, so there's still a great deal I haven't seen.” The female officer tapped the photographs. “Besides, what I want to know even more is whether these photos truly are mystery documents. If it were merely residual mystery, it shouldn't have affected Donnie enough to cause his bizarre death within two days. Yet, just as you concluded, looking at them gives no sensation of reading a mystery document. Could Donnie's death really be unrelated to these photos? Or did he take out the actual mystery documents?”

“They are all numbered, and the last one is even marked with an 'E.' The handwriting belongs to a woman. Unless Maya numbered them after Donnie died, no photos should have been removed.”

“Then I can't think of a reason. This is beyond my experience, and I don't have much interest in occultism. Oh, right—why don't I go ask Mr. Klin? He's very experienced and should understand what's going on.”

“Is it appropriate to consult someone with this kind of thing in hand?”

Lynch felt that if he were on the receiving end, he would throw the person out.

“It's fine, this is part of his job. Wait here a moment.”

Before long, the female officer ushered in the thin, middle-aged Mr. Klin. She had likely explained the situation already, as Mr. Klin asked no questions and immediately picked up the photographs, flipping through them rapidly.

“The residual mystery is remarkably potent. I suspect this could rival an annihilation grade mystery relic, maybe even graze the edge of manifestation grade. No need to overthink it—this is a mystery document, and a very typical one at that.” In less than two minutes, Mr. Klin had reached a conclusion. “It simply hasn't activated for either of you yet.”

“Why?” Officer Natalie pressed.

“You hunters only know how to bully static, unchanging relics, so you certainly wouldn't understand the bizarre nature of mystery documents.” Mr. Klin exhaled a puff of smoke and said leisurely, “Certain special mystery documents normally look like an ordinary book or a sheet of paper. I've even seen ones disguised as a stone tablet or a bronze artifact. Only when specific conditions are met do they turn into mystery documents. These belong to the concealed type, which makes them all the more dangerous. The mystery lingering on it was left behind when it met those conditions and became a mystery document last time. That's why I say this thing is a big deal.”

Lynch blurted out, “What conditions?”

“For concealed documents, discovering the activation conditions is what constitutes true deciphering. Only then can you truly comprehend the document's essence.”

Lynch pursed his lips and pondered for a moment, quickly asking in his mind:

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

【No. Right now, they are merely ordinary physical photographs. You cannot decipher physical objects.】

Lynch sighed. It seemed that if he wanted to uncover the secrets hidden in the photographs and the cause of Donnie's death, the only way forward was to find a way to decipher this document.

“You'd better not do anything reckless.” Klin noticed Lynch's thoughts and was startled. “The mystery on this thing is so intense that if you actually manage to decipher it, the entire city might be dragged into the fallout. I suggest you destroy it directly. Mystery documents aren't like mystery relics—documents can be destroyed.”

“But they are photographs, Mr. Klin. Would destroying them actually work?”

Klin's expression changed at once. Indeed, photographs had original subjects. Without uncovering the root cause, merely destroying the photos would be meaningless.

“Allowing such an unstable hazard to circulate among the populace could cause the city to collapse at any moment. It's far too dangerous.” After hesitating repeatedly, Mr. Klin tapped his pipe and said with distress, “Never mind, leave them with me for now. If I let you guess blindly, the latent danger might erupt before you ever figure out the right conditions. Let me decipher them instead, and I'll notify you once there are results. If you need to inspect the photos in the meantime, come find me.”

Officer Natalie looked at Lynch inquiringly. Considering that nowhere was safer to store such a ticking time bomb than right here, Lynch nodded and said, “Then we must trouble you, Mr. Klin. Please be extremely careful.”

“Indeed, Mr. Klin,” the female officer cautioned as well. “Among those directly connected to it, one is already dead and another is missing, while several hundred indirectly connected people have died. Judging by the omens alone, it is extraordinarily dangerous.”

“No matter how dangerous something is, someone has to do it. Besides, it's not as if I haven't deciphered rank four or five mystery documents before—I've seen plenty. Alright, I'm getting ready to begin my work. Is there anything else?”

Officer Natalie suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right, Mr. Klin—do you recognize that monster? I've never seen one before.”

“That is a mysterious creature dwelling in the mortal world, relatively rare.” Klin glanced at the photograph and said, “A ghoul. They feed on corpses and prefer living in colonies within tunnels or caves. They exist in cities as well, though most reside in the sewers. Most of them are transformed from humans, so younger individuals possess two forms: human and ghoul. Their speed and strength far exceed normal humans. Without accounting for abilities, if it came down to a clash of raw physical attributes, even a rank three or four Soul Severer might not be a match for a ghoul.”

Eating corpses... Lynch felt slightly nauseated. Then, suddenly realizing a crucial point, he pressed, “You just said they are transformed from humans, so a normal person can be turned into one of them?”

“Yes, though only a portion of ghouls are transformed. Some of their tribes prefer converting humans to replenish their numbers, while others prefer keeping their bloodline pure.”

“If they're always around corpses, do they carry a heavy stench of decay on them?”

“Yes, an enduring smell of rotting flesh is one of their defining traits, though in human form, they have methods to mask the odor.”

Lynch and Officer Natalie exchanged looks as many loose threads finally connected.

Those hillmen were likely a tribe of ghouls, and their opposition to the tunnel project was probably motivated in part by fear of exposure. Maya had gone to interview them completely unprepared and had been converted into one of their kind through unknown means. After leaving, she realized her body was transforming and hid inside the small cabin—their secret base—out of sheer terror. In the end, the only person she could turn to for help had been killed by the photographs containing who-knew-what hazard.

This poor girl was truly down on her luck. Lynch felt that this was what true bad luck looked like; by comparison, his own propensity for attracting mysteries wasn't even worth mentioning.

Still, Officer Natalie pressed on, “Mr. Klin, is there any cure once someone is transformed into a ghoul?”

“Once the process is complete, they're entirely beyond saving. Before it's finished, there's still a glimmer of hope, but I'll need to check the records.”

“About how long does the entire process take?”

“I can't say for sure—I'm not a ghoul, after all. But generally, this kind of transformation ritual doesn't exceed a single tidal cycle: twenty-eight days.”

“It seems that no matter the motive, we must find her as quickly as possible,” the female officer said with a wry smile. “Those hillmen are protesters, so their status is rather sensitive. Accusing them of being disguised monsters requires irrefutable evidence. Maya is currently our sole breakthrough and witness; only by finding her can we prove the true identity of these ghouls lurking near the city. Besides, their actions regarding the tunnel are also very strange. Who knows what conspiracy lies behind it all?”

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

Maya's whereabouts could only be unraveled through this.

A secret base...