The Eldritch Files

The sound was jarringly abrupt, seeming to come from right outside the interrogation room. The two officers flinched. Hearing the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps, they shot Han Su a harsh glare before frantically starting to clear the items off the table.

It was a stark contrast to their earlier, unhurried demeanor.

KNOCK.

By now, the footsteps had reached the door, and a hand reached out to push it open.

But the doorknob was blocked by a chair and couldn’t be pushed open. The two officers planned to use the opportunity to finish clearing the table and pivot the camera back into position, stalling for as long as they could.

However, to their surprise, the door made only a soft sound before swinging open, revealing several tall, thin figures standing outside.

Han Su and the two officers were taken aback, a flicker of unease passing through them.

They stared at the doorway and saw the chair that had just been blocking the doorknob now sitting quietly by the wall. The interrogation room door was pushed inward, completely undamaged.

’It was as if blocking the door had just been an illusion.’

They didn’t even have time to dwell on the strangeness of it all before their eyes fell on the figures standing in the doorway.

Their collars were turned up, obscuring the lower halves of their faces, and the man in the lead wore a pair of black sunglasses.

He glanced at the milk tea and clipped hair they hadn’t managed to clear from the table, a flicker of surprise on his face. Then, he scoffed.

The regular officers who had followed them in wore looks of surprise and confusion.

This was the Public Security Bureau, after all—the officers’ own turf. Faced with these sudden arrivals, they were naturally indignant.

But as the man in the sunglasses was making a polite request, a woman in a slim-fitting black suit with short, neatly-styled hair and a thoroughly capable air presented her credentials.

Outside the door, a stout man who looked to be a captain or director-level officer paled. He frantically waved the other officers away. Even the two who had just been interrogating Han Su scrambled to exit the room, leaving the mess behind.

Before leaving, however, they shot Han Su a final, harsh glare—a clear threat to watch what he said.

The door finally closed, and the room fell silent once more.

Han Su stared quietly at the door. About two minutes later, it opened again, and the man in the sunglasses walked in, followed by the capable-looking woman in the black suit.

Upon entering the room, he removed his sunglasses, nodded at Han Su, and said softly, ”Long time no see, Xiaohan.”

”Officer Zhang.”

Han Su nodded in return.

He was, in fact, incredibly surprised, though he hid it well.

’I never expected it to be him, but somehow, I feel like I should have known all along.’

He knew this Officer Zhang—in fact, he was very familiar with him.

After the kidnapping case all those years ago, the lead investigator had been Chief Zhang, whose full name was Zhang Chiguo.

After Han Su had escaped from that Dark Bunker, it was Zhang Chiguo who had questioned him about the details, taken his statements, and even arranged for lie detector tests and psychological evaluations.

He had also helped the young Han Su, turning away the distraught and furious families of the other victims on several occasions.

Moreover, when Han Su could no longer stay at his old orphanage and needed to transfer and enroll in a new school, it was Zhang Chiguo who helped. For a time, Han Su even lived with the old chief.

As a child, Han Su had always been grateful to the officer who had taken such good care of him.

But then, many years ago, he had simply disappeared.

Han Su, who still frequently visited the Public Security Bureau to assist with the ongoing investigation, had asked about him, but people only said he had left, transferred to another department.

’At the time, I thought he’d been forced out and had resigned from the Public Security Bureau. After all, he never seemed to have it easy in the department. I never expected him to show up like this.’

”I joined a new department, so I’m no longer handling the old cases. I just never thought we’d meet again.”

Since they were acquaintances, Officer Zhang’s posture relaxed a bit after he sat down.

He looked at the young man before him, who was now a head taller and looked every bit an adult, and let out a soft sigh.

His gaze swept over the cup of milk tea in the trash can, a melancholic look on his face.

’The reason I joined this new department was actually connected to that kidnapping case. After all these years, I’ve come to believe this young man was nothing more than a victim.’

’The pressure from that case back then was immense.’

’After all, most of the children involved were from wealthy or powerful families. A few of them had backgrounds that were downright terrifying.’

’And as the one forced to take on the case, I shouldered an incredible burden. But I wear this uniform, and with it comes the responsibility.’

’But this young man... he’s a victim too!’

’He lost an eye and was left with that horrific scar on his face. His life was already half-ruined, yet those people can’t even bear to grant him one last shred of peace?’

Han Su watched Officer Zhang for a long time before finally asking slowly, ”So, Officer Zhang... do you believe me now?”

’Back then, even though Officer Zhang looked out for me, he never believed in the so-called monsters or the Dark Castle that kidnapped over twenty children.’

’He just thought I was scared out of my wits.’

But now, he had shown up in connection with an incident involving the Ghost Truck on Highway 59. That, combined with his change in status, couldn’t help but stir a flicker of hope in Han Su.

”I’ve always believed you.”

Officer Zhang gave a casual reply as he picked up the statement from the table.

Large portions of the statement had been crossed out. The officer who took it clearly hadn’t believed a word Han Su said, wanting him to admit that he had either misseen something or was high on drugs.

Presumably, they had wanted to use the statement as a valid excuse to detain Han Su at the Public Security Bureau.

Officer Zhang merely glanced at it before folding the paper and tucking it into his pocket. He then turned to Han Su. ”I’ve been briefed on the situation, Xiaohan, but I have one question.”

He stared at Han Su and asked in a low voice, ”How did you manage to repel that... Ghost Truck?”

Han Su met his gaze calmly. His intuition told him that the officer he hadn’t seen in years now possessed a completely different air about him.

’In my memory, when faced with these things, his eyes were always filled with frustration and confusion. He didn’t understand why so many children had vanished, and he had no clue what the hell this Dark Bunker I spoke of was.’

’But now, his eyes seemed to hold countless secrets—ones he would never speak aloud, but which he understood with perfect clarity.’

After a moment of deliberation, Han Su, who had been silent for some time, finally spoke. ”Song Chushi.”

”I don’t know if you remember him, but he’s a relative of one of the other victims from the kidnapping.”

”He found me a few days ago. He asked for some details about the kidnapping, and then he gave me this Spell. He said it was used by some fishermen in Jiaogang Lane to worship ghosts and spirits.”

”He said that reciting the Spell could activate a Mysterious Power to drive away evil things. I’ve been having nightmares every night and just wanted to get some decent sleep, so I memorized it.”

”...”

”Song Chushi?”

Officer Zhang’s pupils contracted slightly when he heard the name.

He was no longer the zealous but ordinary officer of the past, and he was quite adept at masking his expressions.

But Han Su, with his exceptional powers of observation, noticed it nonetheless.

”Where is the Spell?”

Zhang Chiguo stared intently at Han Su, then quickly held up a hand. ”Don’t recite it. Write it down on paper. Or, do you have a recording?”

Han Su paused, then took a recording pen from his pocket. He glanced at it. ”I was just recording what those two officers were saying. I don’t know if the Spell got recorded over.”

”Hmm?”

Zhang Chiguo frowned slightly but took the pen anyway.

The capable woman in the black suit immediately brought over a briefcase, which, to Han Su’s surprise, contained professional playback equipment. She put on a pair of headphones, listened for a moment, and then reported to Zhang Chiguo, ”It’s a Fishing Song from Cape Harbor.”

Only then did Zhang Chiguo breathe a sigh of relief. He gestured for her to step outside to continue her analysis and prepare a report.

Once that was settled, he turned his gaze back to Han Su and asked slowly, ”How did you know the Spell would be effective?”

”An ordinary person would have just panicked and run when faced with something like that, wouldn’t they?”

”...”

Faced with this question, Han Su fell silent for a moment before a slow smile spread across his face. ”Officer Zhang, ten years ago I was kidnapped by something none of you believed in.”

”Ordinary people don’t believe me, and they don’t believe things like that exist. But I do.”

”The only reason I accepted the Spell in the first place was because I’ve always craved that kind of Mysterious Power. I was just thinking that if I were ever kidnapped again, at least I’d have something... something that could help me fight those things...”

”...”

He spoke with such sincerity that even the veteran chief couldn’t find a single flaw in his account.

A complex emotion flickered in Zhang Chiguo’s eyes, but he suppressed it out of habit and asked in a professional tone, ”In that case, when you recited the Spell, did you get the feeling that...?”

”The feeling that your spirit had come alive and was... Penetrating into reality?”

Han Su’s sharp senses picked up on something. Zhang Chiguo’s expression was far too guarded as he asked the question, so Han Su held back what he was about to say. Instead, he asked slowly, ”My spirit had come alive...? What do you mean by that?”

”It’s nothing...”

Zhang Chiguo waved his hand dismissively and looked down at the statement. ”Why were you out there?”

Han Su said, ”I’d run into a little trouble, something related to the old kidnapping case. A friend was taking me to see someone for help, and we just happened to encounter it.”

”It’s all in the statement. Is there a problem with that?”

Zhang Chiguo saw only sincerity and calm in Han Su’s expression. The tension in his shoulders gradually eased, replaced by a faint weariness and a sense of wistful regret.

”Xiaohan, you really are one unlucky kid...”

He even looked somewhat resigned as he shook his head. ”Of all the people for this to happen to, why does it always have to be you?”