Deity Investigation Report

Chapter 38 Too Quick a Reaction (New Book, Please Vote!)

An elevator that has long been out of service, a building that has been emptied of its staff.

So, who else might come out of the elevator? Or rather, are those who come out of the elevator still human?

Han Su didn't know that when he asked the question, the chubby boy visibly pursed his lips, but judging from his expression, it didn't seem like he didn't want to answer, but rather as if he didn't know either.

Han Su began to understand the mission of the Disaster Management Bureau's personnel: no matter how strange or absurd the mission was, it had to be strictly carried out, and all that was required was to carry it out.

However, something suddenly occurred to me: if we're only talking about execution, then perhaps people like the men in camouflage and agents who have received rigorous training would be better at it. So why does the Disaster Management Agency need to recruit people from outside?

Could this be related to some deeper issue?

Is my task simply to stand guard like this? If something comes out of the elevator, should I really shoot?

Or is it that, in addition to firing a gun, one can also use the spell they have mastered at crucial moments?

Thinking to himself, Han Su felt like his head was about to explode. It was easy for this kind of situation to occur when carrying out these strange missions, and it seemed like the problems would only increase.

"Time is up."

But he didn't get answers to all his questions. Just as he said, the chubby boy answered what he felt was necessary, and for what he didn't, he simply shook his head and remained silent.

It wasn't until exactly 10 p.m. that he whispered a reminder, gripped the gun tightly, pointed it directly at the elevator, and became completely silent.

Han Su and the other students followed his example, turning around and facing the elevator.

Suddenly, the surrounding air seemed to quiet down. The lights around them were already dim, and now there seemed to be a stiff and heavy atmosphere that permeated the silence.

This feeling made Han Su feel extremely uncomfortable.

As required by the task, he stared intently at the elevator, feeling that the more ordinary something was, the stranger it seemed at that moment.

It was as if the elevator door might open at any moment. Gradually, he even developed a feeling that he wouldn't find it strange no matter what came out of the elevator.

But time passed by, second by second.

Every half hour, the walkie-talkie would remind them of the time and important notes. The chubby guy would pick up the walkie-talkie to answer, while Han Su and the man in camouflage remained silent, not uttering a word, as if they had become clay figures in the night.

Their hands remained pressed against the gun handles, warming the cold handles until they were gradually soaked with sweat from their palms.

The task reminder did not say that going to the toilet was not allowed.

But after the mission began, all the trainees, without prior agreement, did not make a move.

Both the bizarre nature of the mission and the seemingly important rating put them under immense pressure, forcing them to endure a suffocating stiffness, remaining silent and vigilant in this strange environment.

Until 3 a.m.

Nothing appeared.

"Mission complete. All personnel are requested to return to base immediately."

Only when a hoarse voice suddenly came from the walkie-talkie did Han Su and the others breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Turning his head, he glanced at the chubby boy out of the corner of his eye. He saw that the boy had already stood up. Han Su then stretched his stiff back and numb buttocks, and asked with some surprise, "Is that all?"

"What...you've been watching all night and haven't found anything?"

"..."

The other trainees around him clearly shared the same thought, their eyes filled with a strange yet wary look, a hint of reluctance to give up.

I have a feeling that this assessment can't be that simple; there must be more to it than meets the eye.

What do you want?

The chubby guy next to him twitched his eyebrows and looked at Han Su with a strange expression, saying, "This state of having nothing is the norm for our work, okay? Once you really have it, you don't know if you'll ever be able to leave work in your lifetime."

Han Su paused for a moment, then understood what he meant. He stood up, rubbed his back, and said, "Then, can we go back now?"

How will our evaluation be calculated?

The chubby guy said, "I will submit a report based on your performance, but I won't make the final decision. I only know that the mission is finally over, so let's hurry up and prepare some late-night snacks."

As he spoke, he had already put his walkie-talkie into his backpack.

At this moment, probably because everyone was too tired from staring at the elevator for too long, they finally had a chance to move around, so they quickly got up, stretched, and twisted their stiff backs, and coincidentally all turned around.

Behind me, in the unattended elevator, a faint red light suddenly began to flicker on the dark dashboard.

Like eyes that quietly open in the dark.

The elevator car vibrated slightly, and there was a faint sound of steel cables being pulled. Without a sound, the elevator they had been guarding all night slowly opened a crack.

It was pitch black inside; you couldn't see anything.

But a pale hand slowly reached out from the elevator, slowly, slowly, towards the chubby boy's shoulder... The camouflage-clad man reacted the fastest. When he caught a glimpse of the pale color at the elevator location out of the corner of his eye, his spine suddenly twitched. As if by instinct, he turned around abruptly, drew the pistol from his waist, and held it with both hands.

"Bah!"

He fired his gun.

In the flash of fire, he aimed at the hand that emerged from the elevator and fired repeatedly.

Bullets kept firing, hitting the hand precisely, tearing the palm and arm to shreds. The violent gunshots were so loud they made people's eardrums ache.

However, they heard gunshots, and even the sound of bullets bouncing on the metal elevator doors and the concrete floor next to them.

But no screams were heard.

During this process, not only Han Su, but even the chubby boy next to him was caught off guard. He was even startled and took two steps back while covering his ears.

Only after the camouflage-clad man emptied his gun did he stop, reach for the magazine with one hand to reload his pistol, and throughout the process, he steadily pointed at the elevator, without showing the slightest sign of panic.

But the gunshot also lit up the motion-activated lights in the elevator lobby, allowing everyone to see clearly what was in front of the elevator.

On the elevator door that had stopped working, there were several bullet holes and metal fragments, and the smoke seemed to still be slowly dissipating, but other than that, there was nothing else.

There was neither an elevator that started operating on its own, nor any unusual arm extending from inside the elevator.

The man in camouflage stared for a while, making sure there were no other abnormalities, before turning slightly to the chubby boy and asking, "What's going on?"

"You reacted very quickly..."

The chubby boy stared at the elevator for a while before slowly replying, "His marksmanship is also very accurate. In particular, he showed no fear. When he saw that thing appear, he didn't panic at all. He drew his gun, fired, and reloaded with incredible speed and precision."

The man in camouflage remained expressionless, as if such praise was insignificant to him.

Then the chubby boy shook his head and said, "I'll recommend you get a B grade in the report later."

The man in camouflage didn't hear clearly at first, but when he realized what was happening, his clay-sculpted face finally reacted.

He blinked, then turned around stiffly: "What?"

"The mission is over..."

The chubby boy was startled and took a half step back, but still said, "The mission is over, so everything that happened here has nothing to do with us anymore. We should leave as quickly as possible."

"Even if an anomaly is detected, the first thing to do should be to report to the captain and receive orders before firing, right?"

"These are all clearly written in the rules, didn't you remember them?"

The man in camouflage was still in a state of extreme astonishment. He slowly shook his head. Of the thick stack of manuals, he had only memorized two paragraphs.

The chubby boy wasn't surprised. He shook his head and said, "Even if you didn't memorize it, your instructors should at least have reminded you of two words."

"obedient!"

He cautiously glanced at the group of trainees and said, "Everything during the mission can only be done if I give the order."

"so……"

Having said all that in one breath, feeling that he had explained it clearly enough, he nodded to the man in camouflage and said, "At most, I can only recommend a B grade for you in the report."

"You are different..."

He looked at the other trainees and said, "I did not violate any rules during the mission. When faced with unexpected but unclear situations, I drew my gun in time, but did not fire it when I did not give any orders."

“It was a good performance.”

"..."

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but smile, though the smiles seemed somewhat forced.
Is it possible that we didn't realize it?

"But the Disaster Management Bureau is really something else. As for the implementers, they should just learn the regulations, it's just a routine job, but they actually arranged for hallucinations to test you..."

As he thought about it, the chubby boy packed his things, casually turned around, and said, "Let's go, let's go back for a late-night snack."

Many of the others were relieved, and some even looked at the camouflage-clad man with a hint of schadenfreude. They were about to leave with him when they heard a clear and long "ding" sound behind them.

The chubby boy paused for a moment, then turned around and saw four elevators flashing red lights, indicating that they had arrived at their current floor.

His expression turned strange: "Did one of you accidentally press the elevator button?"

There was no one around to talk to, and I just felt inexplicably stiff.

Inside the elevator, it felt as if winter had suddenly arrived; an invisible chill had slowly crept up my spine.

(End of this chapter)