Cthulhu Panel: One organ mutates every day

Wei En carefully felt the copper coin in his hand with his fingertips.

The coin features a large portrait of a middle-aged man, who is likely the former president.

In terms of materials, they don't seem to have anything special; they are all copper-tin alloys, which are not wear-resistant.

However, Wein could clearly feel that the penny in his hand not only did not become lighter with wear and tear, but was actually heavier than the standard copper coin he remembered.

Normally, this weight would be negligible, possibly even less than 0.001 grams.

However, with the enhanced senses from [Perception], Wayne clearly detected this unusual weight, as if other unknown materials had been mixed in during the coin-making process.

It is called an unknown material because, in Wayne's perception, the extra weight of this copper coin is very ethereal and illusory, as if it exists between existence and non-existence.

As a fervent fan of the Cthulhu Mythos, Wayne had reason to believe that ordinary precision instruments could not measure the extra weight inside the copper coin, and that the mixed material was likely beyond human comprehension.

As for other special features...

Wayne stared at the portrait of the former president on the surface of the coin, and whether it was his imagination or not, he felt that the portrait moved slightly.

Is it an illusion created by the changing light and shadow? Or is it an illusion caused by the angle of the coin being flipped?

It doesn't seem to be.

Wayne held the copper coin firmly, staring intently at the tiny portrait on it.

The raised and recessed outlines, which are simply the result of the minting process and should have been as lifeless as symbols, now exude a faint sense of life.

It's as if the silhouette of this portrait is designed too vividly.

But it goes beyond just being vivid.

Wayne flipped the coin over, checked it, flipped it over again, checked it again...

After several attempts, Wayne straightened the coin again, stared at the portrait of the former president on it, and after a moment, his brows furrowed.

The look in that middle-aged man's eyes seemed to have shifted.

It was almost as if... he was looking at the person holding the coin; the corners of the portrait's mouth even curved into a slight smile, his expression clearly one of laughter.

Laughing, laughing, the smile widened...

Wayne felt his lips being pulled by some inexplicable force, so he quickly pulled his attention away from it.

He blinked and looked again.

What appears to be a portrait of a former president on the copper coin is clearly a strange, humanoid creature with bared fangs and claws, sculpted from a jumble of chaotic marks.

Because the strange creature's form was too complex and chaotic, it was impossible to carve its vivid outline on the coin like a portrait. It was even impossible to distinguish the head and limbs, and perhaps it had more than four limbs. Therefore, it had a sense of madness.

It's hard not to suspect that the mint workers at the time might have been in a state of inexplicable madness to create such bizarre and chaotic inhuman markings.

It has more artistic structure than a child's scribbles, and more impactful than an artist's exquisite design.

After staring at it for a dozen seconds, Wayne felt as if his entire body was being pulled, torn, expanded, stretched, and twisted...

If he continued to look at it like that, he suspected that his own body would also collapse into a ferocious, menacing shape.

0.67, 0.78, 0.89...

The old points eventually stopped at 1.01.

[Perception Lv.1·Microscopic Observation] Progress: 5.9%

Wei En took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them to look at the copper coin again.

The copper coin is engraved with the portrait of the former president, whose face is calm, peaceful and serene, showing no signs of anything amiss.

Everything I had seen before seemed like an illusion, or a figment of my imagination.

"It's just that the portrait moves after you stare at it for a while, nothing special." Seeing that the coin was no longer emitting any breath, Wayne handed it to Matthew, put on a bored and disappointed expression, and stretched out his hand again: "This doesn't count, let me see some others."

The progress on old points is good; it would be great if I could find another mysterious item.

"You have excellent observation skills and are very talented. Not many people in the industry think it's special."

After Matthew put the copper coin away, he stared quietly at Wayne, clearly unwilling to produce another mysterious object or continue playing along with Wayne's antics.

Upon hearing Wayne's repeated requests and noticing Matthew's expression, the burly, brown-haired man named Ethan turned and glared at Wayne with a serious expression:

"You're not even a formal investigator yet, and we've already made an exception for you once. Don't push your luck."

Matthew waved his hand: "It's alright. The rules in the department are rigid, but the people here are flexible."

Ethan replied, "Yes, team leader."

Looking at his hand frozen in mid-air, Wayne knew he had no chance of gaining any advantage today, so he withdrew his hand, pursed his lips twice at his waist, and muttered a couple of complaints to himself:

"Ethan's a really good subordinate; he does whatever Matthew says."

Then, forcing a smile, he said:

"No problem, I'll call home now to let them know I'm safe."

He looked at the black bakelite telephone on the table, with its round dial, 1-0 holes, metal finger stops, and the creaking of the gears as it dialed.

Through a military-grade automatic switchboard, the operator manually transferred the call to an inter-regional area. Not long after, I received a call from my elder sister.

A clear, cool, yet familiar female voice came from the other end of the phone:

"Feed?"

"It's me, sis, it's Wayne." Wayne glanced at Matthew and Ethan beside him, his tone as usual.

"Oh, why are you calling so late? I was so worried about you. There was a serious accident on a train bound for Michigan today. I almost thought you were on the train." The woman's voice on the other end of the phone softened as she asked with concern.

Upon hearing the other person's friendly voice, Wayne recalled the identity and appearance of her older sister.

Rosalind Webber, aged thirty, manages all business affairs related to the Webber family's oil industry and moves gracefully through various high-society banquets in a luxurious gown.

Beneath her dignified and proper exterior lies a seasoned and ruthless nature, yet she has a special fondness for Wayne, her younger brother, and cares deeply for him.

Wayne suppressed his lingering thoughts: "Sister, don't worry, I wasn't on that train. But I did come to Michigan today. I've made up my mind to enroll at the University of Michigan, and I'll handle the enrollment process myself. You don't need to worry about arranging anything."

"Oh? You decided so quickly? Did you meet some pretty senior there?" Rosalind teased on the other end of the phone.

"No, pretty senior? Where? Why are you saying that, sis?" Wein said helplessly.

"Looks like I guessed right. You sounded a little weak today, but very excited. I hope you're not having any romantic encounters?" Rosalind said with a smile.

Wayne's lips twitched: "Okay, I did have some happy things happen today, but it was definitely not a pretty senior or a romantic encounter."

"Okay, okay." Rosalind's voice was gentle. "Um... University of Michigan. I happen to have some business in Michigan. I'll be going there in a while. You'd better treat me well."

"Okay, definitely," Wayne replied.

"By the way, do you need me to buy you a villa off-campus?" Rosalind asked.

"Oh, no need. Once I enroll, I want to live in the on-campus dormitory and experience university life," Wayne refused.

"Okay, but actually having a villa would be more convenient for you..." Rosalind continued to tease.

"No need, sis, really no need," Wayne quickly interrupted. "By the way, sis, could we set up a foundation to help the passengers who suffered on this train? After all, I came to Michigan today and almost escaped the disaster myself."

"Sure, of course, I'll arrange it tomorrow," Rosalind said decisively.

Then, Rosalind mentioned some must-see attractions and must-try foods in Michigan, and Wayne agreed to them all, promising Rosalind that he would definitely take some time to experience them during his spare time.

"I remember... Sis, I won't say anything more."

As they were talking, Matthew took the phone from Wayne.

Wei En quickly craned her neck and shouted into the microphone, "Goodbye, sis."

Matthew abruptly hung up the phone. Wayne glanced at Matthew unhappily, wanting to argue, but remembering Matthew's serious expression earlier, he gave up.

"Matthew's temper is really strange. He likes to put pressure on me. Is he that afraid I'll say something I shouldn't?"

Matthew pressed the landline button, waved his hand, and instructed, "Ethan, take him to his place to rest. Tomorrow, you take him to go through the bureau's procedures."

Ethan nodded slightly and raised his right hand in a gesture of respect: "Yes, team leader."

Wayne shrugged. Since he had already taken advantage of everything he could, what else could he say?

That's fine too. I already had a panel, and as a huge fan of the Legendary Investigator story, it was only a matter of time before I joined this kind of secret organization after transmigrating.

These kinds of official secret organizations have a lot of power, especially the Special Bureau, which is directly under the military and has extremely high authority. Being in one of them makes it much easier to do things anywhere.

Now that we're in, we should play it by ear and try to develop our character using the interface.