The Eldritch Files

”Running into this kind of crap ten years ago already proved how unlucky I am, right?”

Facing Zhang Chiguo’s emotional words, Han Su himself didn’t feel much of anything. Instead, a sense of anticipation grew as he asked, ”So, what exactly is this thing?”

Zhang Chiguo was actually once the person Han Su trusted the most. After all, when he first escaped from the bunker and was abandoned by everyone, Zhang Chiguo was the only one who looked after him.

Meeting him again, especially at such a delicate time, gave Han Su a sense of fate. He had so much he wanted to say.

But Zhang Chiguo didn’t let Han Su continue. His eyes flicked over the written statement, and he seemed to be struggling with something. Then, the struggle quickly resolved into a decision. He suddenly looked at Han Su and said:

”You should go home!”

”Huh?”

Zhang Chiguo slowly rose to his feet and said to Han Su, ”The Xu Family’s child and Mr. Xu’s assistant have been waiting for you outside. You can leave now and cut all ties with this case.”

”But, Xiaohan...”

He paused, then looked Han Su seriously in the eyes and advised, ”Take my advice. Forget this Spell.”

”This Song Chushi is a dangerous person. Many cities forbid him from entering. At the Disaster Management Department, the security Level on his file is even higher than mine.”

”It was your good fortune that you managed to escape ten years ago. You should keep moving forward, and don’t get dragged back into these things.”

”This is a setup, and you’re just an unlucky person caught in the middle.”

”A setup?”

Han Su was taken aback. He never would have thought that Zhang Chiguo would say something like this right after they’d just met again.

Even Zhang Chiguo’s expression was conflicted.

It was as if he wanted to say something but realized that anything he said would break the rules. Even with good intentions, this was clearly difficult for a man as prim and proper as him.

In the end, he could only let out a sigh and say, ”Xiaohan, I’ve actually been keeping an eye on you. I know you got into Qinggang University and are doing well for yourself. I also know you’ve been listening to the Public Security Bureau, regularly seeing a psychologist to see if you can remember any valuable clues.”

”But just do your best. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

”Some things can’t be explained. The only option is to stay away from them—the farther, the better. Just leave the professional matters to the professionals.”

”...”

Listening to Zhang Chiguo’s comforting words, Han Su vaguely latched onto something, his focus sharpening.

’Zhang Chiguo... he might know some clues?’

Before, Zhang Chiguo’s attitude toward him hadn’t been much different from that of the other victims’ families. They wanted to find their children, while Zhang Chiguo wanted to solve the kidnapping case.

None of them had any other leads, so they could only come to him again and again, hoping to extract some valuable clue from his mind that could solve the case.

But now, Zhang Chiguo was clearly like a different person, his desire to keep Han Su out of it even stronger.

This could only mean he had learned some part of the truth and was now certain of Han Su’s innocence.

’Could it be that he even believes the monster exists now?’

’But why? Even if that’s the case, why hasn’t he looked for me until now? And now that we’ve met, why is he just trying to make me leave quickly?’

”The professionals?”

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Han Su’s expression changed to a smile. He said, ”Uncle Zhang, in my eyes, you’re already a professional.”

”I haven’t seen you in a long time. I also want to know, are you still investigating that case?”

The question was blunt and very serious.

If it had been anyone else, Han Su knew the question would be pointless; they could easily brush him off. But Zhang Chiguo wouldn’t.

No matter what kind of world it was, wherever there were people, there were bound to be good men, a rare breed. Zhang Chiguo was one of them.

Sure enough, after he asked the question, the hand Zhang Chiguo was using to smoke with suddenly froze. He was silent for a long time, as if his head was too heavy to lift and meet Han Su’s gaze.

After a long while, he finally spoke in a low voice, ”The original case file has been in my drawer this whole time.”

Han Su said, ”Just sitting there?”

This time, Zhang Chiguo didn’t answer, just silently took a long drag from his cigarette.

”Uncle Zhang, I know the kidnapping case we were involved in was just too bizarre. Before, I could even understand why you all didn’t believe what I said, why those people kept coming to me for the truth. Because...”

Han Su paused before saying with a bitter smile, ”...a monster that kidnaps people does sound a little strange.”

”But now I know about the murderous truck.”

He looked directly into Zhang Chiguo’s eyes. ”Since something this evil actually exists, why must the kidnapping I went through be fake?”

”Don’t ask any more questions.”

Before Han Su could finish, Zhang Chiguo suddenly looked up, his expression exceptionally grave. ”The kidnapping case from ten years ago was officially classified as the fantasy of a frightened child. Someone already made that determination.”

Han Su’s head snapped up. ”Classified? Who classified it?”

Zhang Chiguo couldn’t answer. He could only remain silent.

After a moment, he took a deep breath, softened his tone, and said in a low voice, ”I don’t know what Song Chushi was thinking, giving you that Spell.”

”But I can tell you this: it will plunge you into an endless abyss.”

”What you should do now is forget this Spell and use the Xu Family’s influence to get out of this incident, which had nothing to do with you in the first place.”

”Go back to school, keep studying, find a job, find a girlfriend, and get on with your life...”

”...”

Han Su could hear the good intentions in Zhang Chiguo’s words, but right now, he just found it all laughable. He slowly shook his head and said, ”Uncle Zhang, I don’t have a normal life to speak of anymore...”

”Right now, I’m just certain that I saw that... that damn thing!”

”I want to know, is this damn thing the same kind of creature as the monster I encountered?”

”What I want to know even more is, you all clearly know these things exist, so why did no one believe me about the monster I saw back then?”

”...”

A frosty layer seemed to cover Zhang Chiguo’s face. He looked as if he wanted to give Han Su some kind of warning.

But when he thought of Han Su’s situation and experiences, of this child he had watched grow up, he could only let out a helpless sigh. ”Is now really the time to be arguing about these things?”

”Don’t you know? That thing you encountered was originally sealed away on an abandoned stretch of road. You never should have run into it.”

”Since you did, it means someone deliberately released it.”

”I’ve seen the file. I believe the intended target of this scheme was someone from the Xu Family. You were just there by coincidence.”

”But your identity is special. You being dragged into this is more trouble than the Xu kid!”

He sounded exhausted as he spoke, taking a deep breath before continuing, ”You were lucky it was me you ran into this time. That’s why you might be able to avoid this trouble. If someone else had come to handle this, you wouldn’t have gotten away so easily!”

”So, leave. Never mention what happened tonight again, and don’t bring up the kidnapping case from ten years ago either. Just pretend none of it ever happened.”

”What kind of logic is that?”

Han Su knew the man was trying to help him, but he couldn’t help but feel a surge of irritation. His eyes narrowed slightly, and inside, it was as if a beast was roaring.

’The interval is getting shorter. Last time, I was captured and taken back after only half a month.’

’How long will it be this time?’

’Ten days? A week?’

’I can’t afford to gamble. I might get dragged back by the damn thing at dawn, and then what could I do?’

’That thing doesn’t listen to reason!’

Facing Han Su’s eyes, which were practically overflowing with rage, Zhang Chiguo suddenly felt an impulse to speak. But in the end, he could only shake his head slowly and say in a low voice, ”This world... it’s just the way it is.”

”If someone says it’s fake, then it’s fake!”

”Go!”

He waved his hand wearily. ”Leave right now. And never say things like this again.”

”Fine.”

Han Su, contrary to expectation, calmed down.

’Of course I can’t give up investigating this,’ he thought. ’But I know Zhang Chiguo. Once he’s made a decision like this, nothing I say right now will work.’

’But maybe I can convince him by telling him about how I keep getting kidnapped and sent back to the past. Just not here, not in this environment. The worry on Zhang Chiguo’s face is too obvious, and he keeps hinting that I need to find a more private opportunity to talk to him.’

Outside the door, he saw a few people standing guard. They looked like Zhang Chiguo’s subordinates.

Their gazes were filled with scrutiny and curiosity.

Han Su reached the end of the corridor and pushed open an unlocked iron door. Beyond it, he saw several Public Security Bureau agents standing around in twos and threes. Hearing the door, they instinctively straightened up.

But when they saw it was Han Su who came out, their expressions all turned a little strange. The young officer who had interrogated Han Su earlier immediately glared at him.

”Who let you out?”

”...”

Han Su glanced back into the interrogation room. ”They did.”

The young officer was instantly speechless, his eyes unfriendly.

But in front of his Public Security Bureau colleagues and captain, the man with the brown-tinted glasses immediately shot the buzz-cut young agent a look, stopping him from saying anything more. He then smiled and led Han Su to a nearby desk to sign out.

His voice was filled with goodwill. ”Just leave your phone number and address, and then you can go.”

”But make sure you write it clearly!”

”After all, this matter isn’t over yet. We might need to call you back in at any time to clarify a few things.”

”...”

Han Su looked up at the man’s eyes, hidden behind the brown-tinted glasses, and committed his face to memory. A suppressed fire was waiting to be unleashed inside him, and the corner of his mouth twitched slowly.

Just as he was about to answer, he saw the capable-looking woman in the black suit suddenly rush out of another room. She looked tense, even fearful.

”Wait!”

She stopped Han Su, then urgently called out to Zhang Chiguo inside, ”Zhang the Head, you can’t let him leave!”

”The Spell on the recording pen... it’s not some simple Fishing Song...”