‘To participate in Mysterious Power Training, wouldn’t I first need to get past the hurdle of Spiritual Penetration?’

‘Previously, to be cautious, I had always concealed the fact that I had already achieved Spiritual Penetration along with two other mysterious abilities. Now, as I undergo Mysterious Power Training, will this raise suspicion from others?’

‘But no, concealing it back then was the right decision.’

During this period, Han Su had deepened his understanding of the Disaster Management Bureau through various channels.

Naturally, he had also come to know about the two possible outcomes for those who had already achieved Spiritual Penetration either upon entering the Bureau or when encountering bizarre phenomena.

One outcome was being directly assigned to the D1 group. However, such individuals usually had mentors from the mysterious side, came from strong backgrounds, and were considered safe and controllable.

Just like Miss Crow.

The other outcome was being deemed extremely prone to losing control, yet too dangerous to be left alone—thus directly placed into the D7 group.

Stripped of freedom, forcibly detained, and with no knowledge of when they might be sent to confront the grotesque.

Regarding this long-rumored yet unseen D7 group, although Han Su had never personally laid eyes on them, he was quite certain that his current position in the D2 group was already quite favorable.

Of course, to remain cautious, the most suitable approach was to first appear as someone who had not undergone Penetration. Then, during the Bureau’s training, at the appropriate moment, he could feign a sudden breakthrough into Penetration.

That way, he could deceive the heavens to cross the sea.

The idea was sound, but Han Su wasn’t sure how feasible it was. While pondering, he took out his phone and sent a message:

【Miss Crow】

【Here】

Seeing the brief reply pop up in the chat with the profile icon of a black crow, Han Su thought for a moment and asked: 【How is Spiritual Penetration conducted during Mysterious Power Training?】

Miss Crow replied swiftly: 【Come to the C2 Training Room to find me.】

“Hmm?”

Han Su merely wanted to understand how others behaved during Spiritual Penetration training, to aid in his act. He hadn’t expected her to respond like that. Perhaps she was worried about information leaks and wanted to explain in person. So he put away his phone and walked over.

Arriving at the training room in the Disaster Management Bureau base, which was open to D1D2 personnel, Han Su saw Miss Crow sitting alone in the room.

She seemed to be practicing something. The room’s walls were made of pitch-black metal, and faint lines could be seen on them, forming some kind of mysterious sigil patterns.

The training room was spacious and, in theory, quite empty.

Yet for some reason, as Han Su reached the entrance of the training area, he stopped in his tracks.

A strange sensation permeated the training room, making him feel incredibly “crowded.”

“Come in and sit.”

She sat on the carpet in the center of the room, not answering directly, just speaking softly.

And in the instant she spoke, it felt as though something taut in the room had snapped. It was like one of those stadium lights that were so blindingly bright they could blind someone had suddenly been turned off—making the entire space normal and gentle again.

Han Su stepped inside and, seeing no chairs, sat down beside her: “What are you doing?”

Miss Crow seemed somewhat unaccustomed to Han Su’s closeness.

She instinctively shrank back slightly, but then relaxed and returned to her original posture, her head remaining close to Han Su’s.

“Conducting routine spiritual force control training.”

As she spoke, she turned halfway around to face Han Su and asked, “Why are you suddenly interested in Spiritual Penetration?”

Han Su thought for a moment and said, “I want to undergo Mysterious Power Training, but I’ve never dealt with this sort of thing before. Understanding the sensation beforehand might help me be less awkward when the training begins.”

Perhaps Miss Crow would think this violated the Operational Code. Han Su had already prepared his explanation.

Yet she didn’t question it at all. Instead, she tilted her head slightly and asked, “Have you made up your mind?”

Miss Crow tilted her head again and said, “Once you’ve completed Spiritual Penetration, you’ll possess a power beyond ordinary human perception. But every time you use it, there will be a price.”

“If a creature from the mysterious side descends, you’ll always be more noticeable to it than ordinary people—perhaps even…”

She paused and then offered a vivid analogy: “Even if you’re just walking at night, you’re more likely than others to run into ghosts.”

Han Su chuckled and said, “Isn’t that great?”

Miss Crow was clearly stunned for a moment, seemingly puzzled: “Great?”

Han Su said, “At the very least, others will know what you encountered.”

“But speaking of that, the Disaster Management Bureau says they’ll help us achieve Spiritual Penetration—what exactly do they do?”

Hearing Han Su touch on the key point, Miss Crow became more serious. She sat facing Han Su directly and said, “Spiritual Penetration is about making your spiritual force ‘come alive,’ and then, in a controlled manner, permeating it into reality.”

“And there are two methods to enable an ordinary person to achieve Spiritual Penetration.”

“One is through Encrypted Text spells—listening to them over and over again until spiritual resonance is triggered, finding the outlet to the self. After memorizing that sensation, one undergoes repeated training to master this ‘penetration.’”

“The other is forcibly opening a breach through contamination from the grotesque.”

“……”

Han Su was slightly startled. “Forcibly?”

Miss Crow nodded and used a metaphor: “It’s like blood being inside the body, unable to flow out.”

“In that case, some people might have such vigorous blood that it breaks through capillaries and flows out, or they might bleed due to injury—the essence is the same.”

“……”

Han Su was inexplicably stirred inside. When he first achieved Spiritual Penetration, it was also because he encountered the Ghost Freight Truck—so that counted as the second type?

“Of course……”

Miss Crow continued, “Seeking out grotesques to help oneself achieve Spiritual Penetration is extremely dangerous. It subjects one to terrifying contamination, and possibly even causes the loss of rationality.”

“But based on this principle, there’s a third method.”

As she spoke, she took Han Su’s palm into her own. He could feel that her small hand was icy cold and soft: “That is, to have someone who has already achieved Spiritual Penetration help you experience what it feels like. In essence, it’s the same as grotesque contamination.”

“However, it’s more controllable and safer. The downside is that it consumes a lot of energy from the person infusing their spirit into you. Moreover, it requires repeated, long-term sessions before you can grasp the ability of Spiritual Penetration.”

“I can let you feel it once right now—do you need it?”

“……”

“Thank you……”

Looking at her serious expression, Han Su gently nodded and asked, “Won’t this break the rules for you?”

“I’m only letting you feel the activation, not helping you complete the penetration.”

Miss Crow explained seriously, “This is permitted by the Disaster Management Bureau. Many people have already completed this step before even joining the Bureau.”

Han Su felt reassured. “Go ahead.”

There was nothing visibly special about what Miss Crow was doing. Han Su simply felt that as she held his palm, her hand suddenly became even colder.

It was a kind of soaking chill—and this coldness seemed to have its own life.

It was slowly permeating from her palm into his, then crawling upward along his hand, like a cold snake slithering into his veins.

A rather strange sensation…

That was the thought that flashed through Han Su’s mind.

“Be careful. Right now, I’m just letting you feel the activation of spiritual force, just like what my aunt used to do to me when I was little.”

A more peculiar experience followed—Miss Crow hadn’t spoken, yet Han Su suddenly heard her voice.

It was transmitted through the “coldness” she infused into his palm. That coldness, the embodiment of spiritual force, was inherently capable of carrying “information.” Thus, apart from speech, sound, and touch, it brought him information in another way.

“Spiritual Penetration, strictly speaking, has two steps.”

“One, letting your spirit ‘come alive.’”

“Two, your spirit finds an outlet.”

“……”

The “coldness” that Miss Crow transmitted into Han Su’s palm wandered bit by bit through his arm, cautiously venturing deeper into his body.

“Due to the rules, I can only let you feel what it’s like when spiritual force ‘comes alive.’”

“This is the foundation of everything. As long as you can clearly sense the activation of your spirit, you can begin trying to control that sensation. Once your control reaches the required standard, Spiritual Penetration becomes just a matter of time.”

“……”

As she transmitted this information, the chill roamed through Han Su’s body, attempting to stir up some controllable “ripples.”

It was like someone using a branch to poke at the surface of a calm lake.

But Han Su’s spiritual world was vast and desolate, so the power of that small branch felt a bit weak. Miss Crow had to attempt increasing the intensity.

‘His Encrypted Text innate ability is supposedly A? But that’s odd. Aunt said that was only because Director Zhang pushed for it. She said his Encrypted Text innate ability was actually quite low.’

‘That matches—his spiritual force is so stubborn precisely because his Encrypted Text innate ability is low.’

‘Which means he needs more spiritual force to bring it ‘alive’...’

‘……’

As she pondered this, she deliberately increased the penetration of spiritual force. That chill became more distinct and began flowing into Han Su’s palm at a faster pace.

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