Chapter 264: Invitation — We would like to invite you to join SAI
Everly did not let the praise from the two investigators go to her head. Instead, she immediately caught the key point and pressed back: “The truth?”
Gregory nodded. “That’s right. Just as you deduced, the Black Goat offspring you encountered was a defective, incomplete entity. According to the information we’ve gathered, that night, Dees successfully disrupted the ritual and prevented the descent of the Black Goat. However, the evil god still briefly connected to the ritual site and cast down a fragment of black cloud. That mass of black cloud devoured one of the cultists at the scene, and the two fused together, becoming the Black Goat offspring you encountered.”
Because the ritual was only half completed, the offspring’s development was incomplete.
Its body had many defects. For example, its goat hooves recovered far more slowly than the rest of its body. Also, when it used its whistle to bewitch humans, the hypnotic power in its sound was much weaker than in a normal state.
In order to repair these defects in the offspring, the cultists used Dees—who had been captured alive—as a focal point to construct the terrifying cognitive distortion trap.
All of the above was the truth reconstructed by SAI based on the fragments of evidence collected at the thunderstorm site.
“Um…” Hearing this, Everly couldn’t help but ask, “What you’re telling me… is this really something a normal person like me is supposed to hear?”
Remia blinked and exchanged a glance with Gregory.
The latter gave Remia a slight nod. Then, under Everly’s slightly frightened stare, Remia stood up and smiled as she extended a hand across the table: “Actually, Gregory and I both think you have great talent—whether it’s your sharp mind or your strong adaptability, you seem like someone born for investigative work. So we would like to invite you to join SAI. Would you be willing?”
Everly was shocked. “Me?”
“That’s right.”
“But I haven’t even graduated yet. I’m just a student!”
“That’s not a problem. You can start as an auxiliary member, and once you graduate you’ll be formally transferred.”
After saying that, Remia pressed the advantage and enthusiastically gave Everly a rundown of the benefits of becoming a SAI investigator. These included, but were not limited to: generous salary and benefits, high social status, rapid promotion opportunities, access to a regular supply of rare items with unique effects, and the ability to realize one’s life value and attain a greater existential meaning beyond the individual…
If Everly were just an inexperienced, naive college student, she might actually have believed Remia.
But she wasn’t.
Heh. The art of language in the adult world.
SAI investigators did indeed have high pay and good benefits—but they earned them with their lives on the line. As for “high social status,” that was questionable; from Everly’s observation, most ordinary people didn’t even know SAI existed. Among those who did know, investigators might indeed be highly regarded, but that kind of “status” didn’t put food on the table.
Fast promotion speed? That one was true too—after all, colleagues tended to die quickly, so positions opened up fast. A very hellish kind of “fast,” indeed.
As for realizing life value—that was also true, in the sense that this job made it very easy to “dedicate oneself fully and die in service,” after which the organization would show great humanitarian concern by regularly visiting your grave…
After listening to everything, the only thing that genuinely tempted Everly was the part about “access to rare items.”
Unfortunately, no matter how good those items were, you still had to be alive to use them.
In horror stories, who dies the most easily besides the protagonist’s party? It’s the official organizations, of course.
When police are present, the police are the first to die. If there are no police, then people like psychics or investigators die instead—just to emphasize how terrifying and powerful the supernatural threat is.
Unless Everly and Remia and Gregory were protagonists in some horror film with an absurd “plot armor” that kept them from dying no matter what they did, she didn’t think joining SAI just to get more items was a good idea.
“No, thank you. I’m just an ordinary person. I don’t think I’d be able to adapt to your kind of work.” Everly politely declined.
Remia seemed to accept the excuse. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the young man beside her with admiration and trust.
“Even though most SAI members are psychics, we also welcome ordinary people. Gregory, for example, is an ordinary person.”
Hearing this, Gregory glanced sideways at Remia. After seeing her expression, he let out a faint sigh, the cold edge of his demeanor fading as a trace of quiet helplessness appeared in his eyes.
Everly suspected she was being fed dog food, but she had no evidence.
“That’s right, just as Remia said, I’m an ordinary person with no special abilities,” the man continued, picking up the conversation as he tried to persuade Everly. “In SAI work, what matters is a keen sense of smell for danger, an intelligent mind, agile skills, and a heart that understands awe and caution. Special abilities might be a nice bonus, but the equipment and items developed by the tech division are already more than enough to make up for any shortcomings. So even if you’re not a psychic, there’s no need to worry about being unable to handle the job.”
“And besides, in our view, you’re not ordinary at all.”
Hearing this, Everly’s breathing stalled for a moment.
She suddenly remembered that six years ago, during their farewell handshake, Remia—possibly due to her spirit-sensing ability—had glimpsed fragments of her past. Later, during the Golden Anchor incident, the existence of the sea demon Lamia had also been recorded.
If Remia had reviewed the old case files and combined them with what she had seen six years ago, it wouldn’t be difficult to deduce Everly’s connection with Lamia. Was Gregory’s “not ordinary” referring to that?
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
“Across four major supernatural incidents—the clinic, the butterfly case, the cruise ship, and the Black Goat event—you, as an ordinary person, not only managed to survive and escape danger, but in this Black Goat incident you also identified its weakness through meticulous observation and bold hypothesis.
You exploited the nature of the forest staircase to preserve yourself, and used the Catatumbo Lightning to purify the corruption in the woods, saving everyone involved… In the same situation, even seasoned SAI investigators might not have done better than you. Everly, what Remia said earlier wasn’t an exaggeration—you truly have a natural talent for investigative work!”
“……”
Everly couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Remia.
Remia seemed to notice and mischievously winked at her.
Alright. It looked like Remia really did know something, but had helped keep it under wraps.
In truth, her connection with the sea demon wasn’t anything particularly serious. She was just used to being cautious, worried that remnants of the Dagon Order cult might target her for revenge if they found out.
Remia being willing to keep it secret made her seem like a pretty decent person—no wonder she gave off the vibe of a horror-film heroine, easy to like. Unfortunately, Everly still couldn’t agree to join SAI. In her eyes, that would be no different from actively shortening her own lifespan.
Despite Remia and Gregory taking turns persuading her, they still failed to convince her, and eventually had no choice but to drop the matter.
“Um, about this amulet…” At this point Everly’s mind had finally caught up, and she realized that Remia’s earlier enthusiasm in giving her gifts was very likely an attempt to recruit her.
Since she had already refused, it didn’t feel appropriate to accept the gift anymore.
“It’s alright, keep it.” Remia waved her hand casually. “Even if you don’t want to join SAI, you’re absolutely qualified to keep this amulet. Thanks to you, casualties in this incident were kept to a minimum. Not only did you eliminate the Black Goat offspring, you also brought back Dees’s relic. Everyone at SAI is very grateful to you.”
Hearing this, Everly felt a slight twinge of guilt.
She had only killed the Black Goat offspring in self-defense. And in this incident, she hadn’t exactly come away empty-handed either—the weather sphere she had secretly pocketed was now in her backpack. Just its destructive power alone made it obvious how valuable it must be.
In this situation, taking Remia’s amulet as well made her feel somewhat uneasy.
But she couldn’t bring up the weather sphere, nor could she refuse the amulet outright.
Joining SAI was even more impossible. Rather than “selling herself” to SAI, Everly would rather return to the countryside and run a gas station with old John, building a shared underground shelter together.
Her relatively unconstrained moral compass was now undergoing a rare internal guilt struggle.
After a brief digression, the conversation returned to the main topic.
“There’s one more thing I’m curious about from that night—how did you determine the location of the forest staircase?”
“Because of this.”
Everly, eager to shift her attention elsewhere, raised her arm and showed the canine tooth bracelet on her left wrist. “This is a bracelet inhabited by a canine spirit. When I’m in danger, my dog Buddy warns me. The location of the staircase was also told to me by Buddy.”
“Woof!”
As if responding to her words, a clear, bright bark suddenly echoed in the empty interrogation room.
“Oh, incredible… is that your dog? She’s so cute!”
Remia suddenly stood up, leaning across the table to look toward Everly’s feet.
She was the only person present who possessed spirit-sensing ability and could directly see spiritual entities with the naked eye. When Everly and Gregory—both ordinary people—followed Remia’s gaze, they could only see an empty stretch of floor.
“Can you see Buddy?” Everly stood up as well, her expression a little excited.
She raised one hand into the air, estimating Buddy’s height, palm facing downward. Then she cautiously made a motion as if trying to pet something. “How is it? Am I touching Buddy?”
Remia first shook her head, then nodded. “A little higher—but it’s fine. Your dog has stretched her neck and is actively pressing her forehead into your palm.”
Her description was very precise. Everly adjusted her hand slightly lower according to Remia’s guidance. “What about now?”
“Perfect!”
A faint smile appeared on Everly’s face. She crouched down, keeping her hand at that height, feeling through the empty air for a long while.
Even though her palm still touched nothing, she inexplicably felt that Buddy was right there beneath her hand. As her fingers moved, she imagined they would brush through sleek red fur, leaving faint trails where pressure parted the coat. When she found a spot that felt good, the dog would squint in bliss, tongue lolling out, wearing a silly, happy “dog smile” as she enjoyed this long-missed moment with her owner.
As she continued petting, Everly could no longer hold back—the corners of her eyes turned faintly wet.
She knelt down, stretched out both hands, and wrapped them around the empty space in front of her, burying her face deeply forward.
“Buddy… thank you…”
“Woof!”
A bark sounded right beside her ear. Everly’s throat tightened with emotion, and she nearly choked back a sob.
One person and one spirit-dog quietly “embraced” for a while.
Throughout it all, Remia and Gregory remained silent, not disturbing this tender moment.
Everly knew that every time Buddy manifested, it required a certain amount of energy.
After quietly spending some time with the dog, she gently coaxed Buddy back into the canine tooth.
“Sorry, I lost my composure for a moment there.”
After Buddy left, Everly returned to her seat and smiled apologetically at the two investigators.
“It’s nothing. That was your dog, right? She really loves you.”
“Yes. Buddy grew up with me since she was little. After she passed away of old age, we found this canine tooth among her ashes. Rebecca told me that Buddy was a spiritually gifted dog, and that her spirit resides within that tooth. Since then, I’ve always carried it with me. When danger approaches, Buddy warns me through her voice, and she was also the one who guided me to the staircase.”
Remia clasped her hands together. “What a touching story. A spirit of an animal this intelligent and brave is very rare. And someone who can form such a deep bond with an animal is just as rare. If the Druids heard about this, they would definitely invite you and your dog to join them… Honestly, Everly, I’m starting to think even more that you were born to be an investigator.”
Everly: “……”
Thanks. Not interested.