The Eldritch Files

”Xiaohan, wash your hands. It’s time to eat.”

The meal was ready quickly, and the three of them sat down to eat. Surprisingly, Zhang Chiguo didn’t bring up anything about the incident ten years ago or his work at the Disaster Management Bureau. Instead, he kept asking Han Su if his cooking skills had gotten worse.

Han Su’s answer was to eat two large bowls of rice. He was clearly satisfied, and Zhang Chiguo looked very pleased as well.

After dinner, Cui Qiao went to do the dishes. A constant CLATTERING AND CLANGING came from the kitchen, but Zhang Chiguo acted as if he didn’t hear it. He slowly took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

He didn’t speak right away, and Han Su simply brought him a can of Coke.

There was no tea in the house, only these cans of Coke that had been bought along with instant noodles. Han Su placed one in front of Zhang Chiguo, then sat down quietly across from him, waiting.

Zhang Chiguo glanced at Han Su and nodded. Secretary Cui Qiao, who had been struggling with the dishes, was instantly relieved. She stood up, shook the suds from her hands, and went outside.

It was unclear what she did, but the lights in the room suddenly began to flicker as if there was a bad connection. Even the high-end television mysteriously turned on, but with no signal, the screen just showed static.

But looking out the window, he could see this change was only happening in their apartment. The lights in the surrounding buildings were all still on, shining steadily.

”Is all this really necessary?”

Han Su watched this and couldn’t help but chuckle. He understood, of course, that Secretary Cui Qiao had come with him earlier to sweep the room for hidden cameras and listening devices, all in preparation for this conversation with Zhang Chiguo.

But to see that before they could even start talking, Secretary Cui had to stand guard outside and even use her ability to create some kind of isolation field... it seemed a bit over the top.

”Of course it is.”

Zhang Chiguo glanced at Han Su and nodded slightly. ”Once you get familiar with this world, you’ll understand. Sometimes, the danger isn’t just that a conversation might be overheard.”

”Sometimes, the conversation itself is a dangerous act.”

”...”

Han Su listened quietly as he spoke. He reached out, took the can of Coke, and opened it with a FIZZ. Then he pushed it back in front of him.

Zhang Chiguo looked at the Coke and set his cigarette down, letting it burn between his fingers. He gazed thoughtfully at Han Su. ”Xiaohan, your performance at the Disaster Management Bureau has exceeded my expectations. I admit I underestimated your Talent. You’ve earned the right to know some things.”

”But before we begin, I have to ask you something.”

”Once you know certain things, there’s no backing out. Are you prepared for that?”

”...”

Han Su just looked at Zhang Chiguo earnestly. ”Uncle Zhang, this kidnapping case came for me. And it still hasn’t let me go.”

”So, I have to find out the truth.”

Looking into Han Su’s sincere eyes, Zhang Chiguo finally gave up trying to dissuade him and sighed softly. ”Actually, I’m the same way. In all these years, has there been a single day when I haven’t thought about this case?”

Han Su felt a knot of tension tighten in his stomach, but he kept his expression neutral. ”Then...”

”At first, I just wanted to solve the case and find the missing children. I never thought it would end up affecting my entire life...”

Zhang Chiguo began to speak slowly, a bitter smile touching the corners of his mouth. ”In fact, even me joining the Disaster Management Bureau is related to this.”

”Back then, you saw what I was like. I was desperate to solve this case. But honestly, at the time, I didn’t believe a word of what you said about monsters.”

”I was more inclined to believe you’d been drugged or that someone had used some other method to mess with your mind. After all, you seemed so dazed and confused back then, you couldn’t even clearly state your own name or any information about your family.”

”So naturally, your story about the kidnapping was even less credible.”

”...”

Han Su showed that he understood, concerned with only one question. ”So... what happened later?”

”Later...”

As Zhang Chiguo brought this up, his expression darkened. He said in a low voice, ”I tried everything I could think of back then. The school, the school bus company, Qinggang’s criminal underworld, even some of the other victims’ families... I was just trying to find any clue related to the kidnapping.”

”But it was strange. There were no leads.”

”Or rather, all the leads vanished in a bizarre way. It was like walking down a road that suddenly came to a dead end.”

”However, I did manage to uncover some strange things. For example, I collected the surveillance data for when you disappeared and when you reappeared, and I did a detailed reconstruction of the entire kidnapping.”

”I even came to believe your story was plausible and submitted a report.”

”But after I submitted that report, everyone around me thought I was crazy. My superiors ordered me to rewrite it. I refused. As a result, the Public Security Bureau forced me to take a leave of absence.”

”But even then, I kept investigating on my own, using my personal connections. I continued until someone found me and asked if I was willing to work for a new department.”

”...”

Hearing this, Han Su’s expression shifted slightly. ”Secretary No. 5?”

”That’s right.”

Zhang Chiguo’s expression grew solemn. ”At the time, I even thought I was dealing with a con artist, because there was no Secretary No. 5 in Qinggang.”

’So, he was one of those people who got too close to the truth during their investigation, and that’s why Secretary No. 5 noticed him?’

”And after that?”

”After that, my life as an ordinary person was over.”