The Eldritch Files

”Hm?”

Torn back to the present, Han Su felt as if he had been dragged through the endless river of time in a single instant. The scenery before him was still twisting and changing, and the sounds around him seemed to be approaching from a great distance.

By the time the sound reached his ears, he met the gaze of the female staff member with the messy hair and felt a bit odd.

’Handsome? Is she making fun of me?’

But then, he suddenly realized something. Han Su looked up at his reflection in the one-way glass directly in front of him.

His gaze fixed on his two perfectly fine eyes.

”My eyes... they’re healed?”

Finally realizing he had once again escaped successfully, Han Su let out a long sigh of relief. He then surveyed his surroundings and confirmed he was back at the Disaster Management Bureau, right when he had first come in for testing. He relaxed a little.

Then, an irrepressible excitement and trembling followed.

’I...’

He thought to himself, but even this inner voice was now trembling uncontrollably, filled with self-doubt. ’I think... I saved one?’

’...’

’I really did save one, right?’

Han Su tried to think, not quite daring to believe it. He could still clearly remember the warm sensation of the small, soft body he was holding as it fell through that door and into reality.

’But did I really do it?’

He couldn’t stop himself from doubting. He had failed too many times, and every attempt had only brought misfortune upon the children he was trying to help.

All his previous risks and plans had ended in failure.

’This time, could I really have saved someone so easily, all because of a chance glance?’

He could hardly believe it. It was as if something he had longed for for so long had finally happened, only to make him wonder if it was all just a fantasy.

To Zhang Chiguo and the staff member beside him, however, his pensive expression looked more like he had just woken up and was still dazed. They both looked a bit exasperated.

”You passed the test. Don’t forget what I told you before. Take the training seriously.”

”You must do everything you can to get into the D1 or D2 Group.”

Zhang Chiguo patted Han Su’s shoulder, satisfied, and then walked out. Judging by his back, it seemed as though a huge weight had been lifted from the old man’s shoulders; even his steps had become lighter.

”It’s all set. Just write up the report as is, then have Zhang the Head sign it.”

The female secretary in the black suit then turned to the messy-haired staff member. ”Any problems?”

”None. He’s completely safe.”

The staff member said, ”I’ve never seen anyone who not only shows zero discomfort while the Encrypted Spell is playing, but actually gets drowsy and starts dozing off just from listening to it.”

”Forget signs of contamination, this kid’s Spirituality is so low it’s outrageous!”

”...”

”Low Spirituality isn’t a bad thing.”

The female secretary in the black suit smiled and said to Han Su, ”Get up, young man. I’ll take you to the Disaster Management Bureau’s assessment. Perhaps we’ll be colleagues very soon.”

”Colleagues?”

Han Su’s mind was still filled with a swirl of immense self-doubt and elation, but he obediently stood up.

As he followed the secretary in the black suit back to the lounge, he still felt an unreal sensation, as if he were walking on clouds.

After finishing his registration, signing up for some kind of assessment, and completing a series of physical exams, his thoughts finally cleared. He found an opportunity to speak to the black-suited female secretary who had been accompanying him the whole time. ”Miss Secretary, about that case...”

”...The kidnapping case...”

”...”

The female secretary’s expression changed slightly. She glanced around and lowered her voice. ”Didn’t Zhang the Head already tell you not to bring up this case casually?”

”Especially here at the Disaster Management Bureau. Not everyone is a friend of Zhang the Head.”

”I can see he thinks very highly of you and wants you to avoid pitfalls at the Bureau. So, if you trust him, you should listen to his advice. Don’t mention this again. Just act like a newcomer to the Disaster Management Bureau until he comes to talk to you about it formally.”

”...”

Han Su saw her wariness and nodded, choosing his words carefully. ”I just want to be sure there will be a chance to investigate this case...”

”...After all, more than twenty lives are at stake.”

He deliberately slowed his speech. ”To this day, those twenty-some children still haven’t been found...”

”Twenty-five!”

The female secretary frowned. ”Twenty-five missing children.”

”It’s not just Zhang the Head; even I remember this case vividly.”

”But this is the last time I’m reminding you: don’t go talking about this case so freely. You think Zhang the Head isn’t under enough pressure as it is?”

”Since he promised he would have a proper talk with you, you should focus on doing your best to pass the assessment first!”

”...”

’Twenty-five?’

A tremor shot through Han Su’s heart, and he even felt a faint ringing in his ears.

’So I really did save one?’

After Xu Ji, he had brought another child out of the Ancient Castle. That meant the kidnapping case from all those years ago now had one fewer victim. The number had gone from twenty-six to twenty-five...

’Why does he seem so dorky?’

The female secretary in the black suit found it a bit strange as she watched Han Su suddenly break into a wide grin in the middle of their conversation.

This was the kid that a man as cold, heartless, and unwilling to pay for overtime as Zhang the Head could never forget. Looking at him now, he seemed a little...

...Good for nothing, aside from his looks?

...

’So, I really did save a child. In that case, the next time I return to the Ancient Castle, will another door appear that can help me escape?’

’Or maybe... some other kind of change?’

Han Su was so immersed in this immense, joyous surprise that he couldn’t control his racing thoughts.

Ever since he had started being abducted to the past by that Mysterious Power, he felt it had been a long time since he’d experienced such an exhilarating feeling.

But just as he was basking in this tremendous excitement, he suddenly realized something rather absurd: ’So, that girl I saved... who was she again?’

He wasn’t actually very familiar with that bunch of kidnapped children; he had only memorized their faces.

He only remembered the girl as being the quiet, taciturn type. Among the kidnapped children, she was a rather ordinary one with few memorable traits.

And although he had done his share of research into the identities of those children in reality, not all of the twenty-six kidnapped kids’ identities had been made public. The girl was one of those whose identity remained unknown.

Before the kidnapping, the tall, thin woman who had raised him had just transferred him into that class, so he didn’t know all the children’s names to begin with.

He racked his brains, trying his hardest to remember, but it seemed he could only recall someone once calling her by the name ”Mei Lan.”

Was it Mei Lan? Or something that just sounded like it?

Trying to check her name and background in that class was no longer an option, either.

Just like when Xu Ji was saved, he had vanished from the kidnapping case and even from that class.

This girl, he figured, would be the same.

Besides, judging from the changes in Xu Ji, he had forgotten ever being kidnapped, which naturally meant he had also forgotten that Han Su had saved him. ’So, in theory, this girl probably doesn’t remember me either, right?’

’Doesn’t that mean I wouldn’t be able to find her even if I tried?’

’But maybe, just like how Xu Ji and I became friends, we’re fated to meet again someday, right?’

Han Su was philosophical about this point. To him, the fact that he had saved the girl was more important than who she was.

As long as he could save them, that was all that mattered.

Since he could save her, then Li Manman, Song Yushi, and also Tuxedo, the hot-tempered boy, Pot Lid Head...

’There’s hope. I can save them all, one by one.’

This hope galvanized him, making him feel instantly revitalized. Even his steps became unusually light.

”Huh, something’s still not right...”

This lightheartedness subsided slightly when he caught a glimpse of his own reflection in a nearby window. He suddenly thought of another perplexing question.

This doubt had surfaced in his mind back in the Ancient Castle, but he hadn’t had a chance to think about it.

Lifting his head to look at the glass window facing him, he could clearly see his face in the one-way glass.

His features were intact.

Not only were both of his eyes fine, but even the hideous scar from before was gone.

This time, he had finally escaped the fate of his previous timeline, where he had lost an eye and been disfigured.

But the problem was...

The doubts in his mind now fully surfaced:

’Back in the Ancient Castle, I think I successfully recited that Spell, and even twisted those copper snakes that were rushing me?’

’But the Spell’s function is to activate the Mysterious Power lingering within me. In the Ancient Castle, however, I theoretically shouldn’t have had any of the monster’s Mysterious Power left in my eyes. So how did I use the Spell to activate that power?’

’What’s even stranger...’

’Previously, I used the Mysterious Power the monster left in my right eye to repel the Ghost Truck, saving Xu Ji and myself. It was only logical that I was then found and recruited by the Disaster Management Bureau.’

’So, in this timeline, since I didn’t lose an eye, how did I repel the Ghost Truck like I did in the last timeline and arrive at this same point in my life?’