Cthulhu Panel: One organ mutates every day

[Old Points: 1.11]

【physique】

[Breathing Lv.1·Empty Breath - Progress 28.4%]

Empty breathing: Abnormal expansion and contraction of the chest cavity, resulting in the formation of abnormal sacs that can suck out all the air from the body.

[Sports Lv.——]

[Eating Lv.1·Digestion - Progress 52.6%]

Digestion: The lining of the throat, esophagus, and stomach undergoes abnormal deformation and folding, with the proliferation of peristaltic membranes forming a blood-and-flesh cavity. Foreign substances entering the stomach are completely absorbed, leaving no residue.

【Spirit】

Knowledge Lv.——

Perception Lv.1·Microscopic Observation—Progress 59.2%

Microscopic observation: The redundant and aberrant synapses of the ocular nerve can perceive the finest details.

Charm Lv.1·Affinity - Progress 52.1%

Affinity: Beneath the surface of the skin, a distortion has spread, revealing a dense, soft downy growth that continuously emanates a mysterious and gentle aura. Mortal beings instinctively feel drawn to it.

[Features] (Locked)

"Finally, I can add [exercise]!"

Wei En was overjoyed and, with a thought, dispelled the twisted threads in front of him.

He then put the string of soul amber beads on his wrist, next to the reality deviation meter.

"I am very grateful for the guidance and care from the bureau," Wei En said respectfully.

"Haha, in our Seventh Section, Second Group, I have the highest hopes for you and Ethan. You two have a bright future ahead of you. Have you considered joining Group One? I have high hopes for Group One. The conditions would be even better if you joined Group One," the section chief laughed heartily.

Wei En, however, began to mutter to himself.

There's a hidden meaning in his words. In front of Team Leader Matthew, he expressed his approval of me and Ethan, but didn't mention Team Leader Matthew and Lillian. What was his intention?

Considering that the section chief had previously assigned Group One to take over Group Two's progress and handed over all the clues to Group One, it was clear that he was trying to suppress Group Two.

As for whether or not to join a group, I'm completely clueless right now, so it's best not to give any advice.

Wayne glanced at him briefly and saw Matthew standing silently to the side, looking as if he had expected it, so he stopped thinking about it.

"Thank you for your appreciation, Section Chief. I will consider it," Wayne said.

The section chief's laughter lasted a few seconds before he took a small booklet from his drawer, opened it, signed it at the end of the first page, placed it on the table, and pushed it forward.

"Alright, Matthew, take Wayne to go through the procedures. The three senior experts from headquarters are already next door and can start testing at any time. Oh, by the way, we'll probably also need to help Wayne acquire the pollution trait today. Just take him to Section Two; I've already made the arrangements there. Wayne, I've seen your test report when you joined the agency. You performed well, so don't feel pressured later."

"Understood." Matthew stepped forward, unfolded the booklet, signed it at the end of the first page, and handed it to Wayne.

Wayne took the booklet and saw that the cover read "Special Abnormal Affairs Bureau Personnel Scoring Manual".

Upon opening the document, the first page is an informed consent form, followed by various precautions, and then more detailed testing standards, but the test taker does not need to know these details.

The evaluation system consists of six dimensions:

Strength, agility, observation, knowledge, will, traits.

Each dimension has a maximum score of 10 points.

The first five dimensions are similar. 1 point is equivalent to the level of an average person, 6 points is equivalent to the human limit, and there is no specific description for 6-10 points, but it is certain that they have already surpassed human capabilities.

The sixth dimension is characteristics. A score of 0 is equivalent to the average person's level. For scores above 0, a specific score is given based on the degree of real-world deviation that the pollution characteristics can cause.

The total score for the six dimensions is 60 points.

Normally, trainee investigators have a total score of 12 or higher, regular investigators have a total score of 20 or higher, senior investigators have a total score of 30 or higher, legendary investigators have a total score of 40 or higher, and there are also god-slaying investigators with a total score of 50 or higher.

Wayne glanced at it briefly and gleaned some basic information.

The overall evaluation system highly overlaps with its own panel performance. It's even hard not to suspect that the evaluation system and the panel performance are of the same origin.

Lena said that there would be risks in obtaining the contamination trait, and the process for the messenger to obtain the contamination trait would be quite special, but there would definitely be no problem.

Ethan previously said that achieving a symbiotic balance with pollution is difficult, but the messenger's special constitution usually makes it go smoothly.

The section chief said that to obtain information about the pollution characteristics, we needed to go to the Second Section, which was a secret security section. It was very mysterious and its responsibilities were unclear. I heard that the Second Section was not under the jurisdiction of the branch bureau.

However, the [Characteristics] option in my "Old Panel" is not yet unlocked. I have enough points to add [Sports] at any time, but I don't have enough points to add [Knowledge].

Only when both body and spirit are awakened can this door be opened.

You cannot unlock the [Feature] without upgrading all options to Lv.1.

I need to acquire some more Old Points as soon as possible to unlock the [Specialty].

Will today go smoothly? I think so.

"Alright, alright, go on now," the section chief waved his hand and urged.

"Received." Matthew led Wayne outside.

The section chief added, his tone somewhat cold: "By the way, Matthew, the verdict in that case will be decided after headquarters reviews it again. You'd better take care of yourself."

"Understood." Matthew continued walking.

Wei En thought to himself: A punishment? Although he didn't know the specific reason, it was obvious that the section chief and Team Leader Matthew didn't get along, and the Special Bureau was not a united front.

When you are about to leave the house.

Wei Encai noticed that a young man in his early twenties was sitting in a seat against the wall on the inside of the office. He was wearing a pinstripe gray suit, had short light chestnut hair, and clean, well-defined features.

He has a sunny and clear appearance, yet he exudes a cold and sinister aura.

The young man remained expressionless, simply looking at Wayne and Ethan.

Just by glancing at him, Wayne felt as if he had been stared at ever since he entered the room, and a chill ran down his spine.

Strange, I didn't notice this person at all when I came in.

Wayne stared at him for a moment before looking away. During that time, the young man sat motionless, as if frozen in time, not even blinking.

Only by observing the other person's pulse and breathing could Wein confirm that the other person was a living person, and not some well-preserved corpse.

[Perception Lv.1 - Observation of the Microscopic] Progress 59.4%

After leaving the office with Matthew, Wayne asked, "Team leader, what's the deal with that young man earlier?"

Matthew glanced back through the door at the young man's direction, then at Wayne, his expression subtle, and unusually teasing:

"His name is Steve, a trusted subordinate of the Michigan field chief. He's a messenger like you. Do you messengers have a connection? How come you're so accurate every time you see him?"

"So he's a messenger too. No wonder I found it strange that this person was just sitting there." Wayne nodded.

Matthew's tone grew serious as he added, "Our newly appointed section chief has a higher opinion of Group One because most of its members were seconded from headquarters. To him, they're his own people. You know that."

"Yes, I understand." Knowing it was a sensitive topic, Wayne didn't say anything more.

In the hallway, Ethan, carrying a glass of water, strolled leisurely past. Upon seeing Matthew, he instinctively stopped his languid posture and straightened up, saying:

"Hello, team leader."

Seeing that Wayne was holding the scoring booklet, he patted Wayne on the back:

"Don't be nervous, the messenger has special treatment, he'll definitely get through."

Wayne glanced at Ethan with a strange look in his eyes, suspecting that he had taken advantage of the team leader's absence to slack off, only to unexpectedly run into the team leader again.

Of course, it's also possible that there are no cases in the team right now, so he's naturally quite free.

No, wasn't he supposed to be going to the newspaper office to investigate the portrait of Benjamin?

Well, it seems he doesn't need to be there in person; a call to the newspaper's landline will suffice.

Wait a minute? What am I doing? This is clearly a trivial matter, why am I... so distracted?

Wei En glanced subconsciously at the Soul Amber Bead in his hand, realizing that his current thoughts were probably caused by the bead's contamination, and thought to himself:

"From now on, I need to consciously suppress some of my wildly imaginative ideas."

But once the thoughts started, they couldn't be stopped.

Wayne suddenly realized that he was going to acquire the pollution trait today, but he had only seen Lillian and Matthew's pollution trait in person, and had never seen Ethan's pollution trait.

Is this why Lillian can be drawn into the nightmare, but Ethan cannot?

Is it because Lillian's polluting properties are present in my subconscious that I can pull Lillian into my dreams?

But knowing the corrupting nature of Team Leader Matthew, why did he fail when he tried to pull Team Leader Matthew into his dream during the nightmare?

What are the differences between Lillian, Ethan, and Matthew in their subconscious?

"I see." Wei En suddenly realized.

In my subconscious, Lillian has a complete outline, including but not limited to her name, appearance, personality, past experiences, and polluting characteristics.

In my subconscious, Ethan doesn't have a complete picture, because although I know some of his past experiences and true personality, I've never seen his corrupting nature.

In my subconscious, Team Leader Matthew also lacks a complete outline, because although I have witnessed his corrupting characteristics, I know nothing about his past experiences or his true personality.

A person whose subconscious mind lacks a complete outline cannot be drawn into nightmares.

It's even possible to boldly speculate that the reason Lillian's strength in the nightmare was less than a third of what it used to be is because, although the Lillian in my subconscious had a complete outline, it wasn't rich or deep enough.

It seems that if I want to get more help in my nightmares in the future, I need to put more effort into my interpersonal relationships.

The more close and trusting friends you have, the more people you can gather in your nightmares.

Only when the level of understanding and confiding is deeper can the person in the nightmare be able to unleash their true potential.

In this way, collecting the fragments of the "Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Monarch's Secret Scripture" will be much smoother in the future.

Wayne quickly pieced together the nightmare mechanism in his mind.

Matthew said, "Alright, Ethan, you can go ahead and get busy. I'll take Wayne through the procedures."

"Alright, team leader." Ethan smiled and turned to walk away quickly.

"Let's go."

Matthew led Wayne around a corner and they arrived at a familiar room.

The review room.

When Wayne joined the team, he was tested by the judges in this very room.

"Since you are a messenger, your evaluation will be handled by three senior colleagues from headquarters. They arrived in Michigan last night and are waiting for you," Matthew explained, standing at the doorway.

"Everyone's waiting for me. Now that you mention it, I'm actually a little nervous," Wayne thought to himself.

Considering that strength and agility, two physical fitness tests, would be tested later, Wayne immediately poured 1 point of his Old Ones into [Sports] before entering the judging room.

A hazy "old scent" surged toward Wayne from an unknown direction.