The Eldritch Files

Zhang Chiguo let out a soft sigh and said, ”Back then, the Disaster Management Bureau wasn’t fully established. A lot of people had to juggle several jobs. And I... I finally witnessed the bizarre and absurd things that shouldn’t exist in reality.”

”I have to admit, the shock back then was so great it even made me start doubting myself, and I had to temporarily set your kidnapping case aside.”

”I worked with the people sent down by Secretary No. 5. Together, we investigated, recruited new members, and established regulations. I encountered more and more illogical things, and everything I once believed in... it all came crashing down...”

...

”Wow...”

Han Su couldn’t help but be surprised as he listened to Zhang Chiguo’s account.

”So, you’re saying the Disaster Management Bureau was only established five or six years ago?”

Zhang Chiguo glanced at him and said, ”Three years, to be precise. For a few years before that, we didn’t even have an official name. It was just a group of us, fumbling around in a daze, scrambling from one thing to the next, all while trying to make sure we didn’t go insane.”

In a flash, it all clicked for Han Su. ’No wonder the Disaster Management Bureau always felt like such a ragtag operation.’

’And another thing... I knew Old Zhang was a big shot, but to think he’s actually a founding member of the Disaster Management Bureau?’

’...’

Zhang Chiguo paid no mind to Han Su’s thoughts, simply shaking his head slowly. ”Of course, I never forgot about your kidnapping case. By that point, I had even come to believe your story without a doubt.”

”The way I felt then was the same as when you confronted me a week ago:”

”If so many bizarre things can exist in this city, then why couldn’t a monster that kidnaps children also be real?”

...

Hearing this, Han Su grew concerned. ”And then what?”

Zhang Chiguo let out a slow breath. ”Then, just as I was attempting to add the kidnapping case to the list of bizarre phenomena for the Disaster Management Bureau to investigate with priority resources, I received a warning.”

”What kind of warning?”

”It was simple. Just a reprimand.”

Zhang Chiguo’s face was devoid of expression as he spoke of this.

But Han Su knew him. Perhaps this was precisely when the old detective was at his most resentful, yet forced to appear numb:

”From above... someone said the Disaster Management Bureau had limited resources and should focus on more urgent, more meaningful work, instead of... believing a child’s nonsense...”

...

Han Su remained silent, his mind suddenly flashing back to how he’d felt a week ago.

Indignant. Resentful.

If he had never encountered the Ghost Truck, he could have found a strange sort of understanding in the fact that no one believed his words. After all, a ”monster kidnapping case” was far too removed from the real world.

But after seeing the Ghost Truck, and even discovering that many people were extremely familiar with such bizarre phenomena, treating them as nothing out of the ordinary, he’d lost it.

On what grounds could those things exist, while the monster kidnapping case was dismissed as nothing more than a figment of my imagination?

”At the time, the Disaster Management Bureau was compiling all the strange, bizarre, and rationally inexplicable cases and leads from Qinggang’s recent years that could potentially be related to the supernatural. My job was to add your kidnapping case to that collection.”

Zhang Chiguo continued, his voice thick with helplessness, ”But because of that one sentence, the kidnapping case was excluded. It was never entered into the Sequence of cases awaiting investigation.”

”Back then, I just assumed the information I’d collected wasn’t persuasive enough. I was planning to gather more evidence and submit the report again.”

”But things didn’t unfold the way I thought they would.”

...

At this point, Zhang Chiguo finally lit his cigarette. Through the curling smoke, his eyes seemed weary.

”That kidnapping case of yours... it had a far-reaching impact.”

”I wasn’t the only one who submitted a report. Many Investigators and research staff who had joined the Disaster Management Bureau back then also tried to file reports, arguing that it was likely relevant to our work.”

”But...”

He paused before sighing. ”Without a single exception, every one of them was rejected.”

Han Su tilted his head up slightly. ”No other explanation was given?”

”Not at first.”

Zhang Chiguo slowly shook his head. ”It was just made to seem as if our reports weren’t persuasive enough to gain approval from the people upstairs.”

”Then, later on, someone compiled all the data in detail and submitted it to the top. But this report, unlike ours, didn’t argue for a connection to the supernatural. Quite the opposite, it argued the case had nothing to do with our work at all.”

”And to be fair, that’s also part of an Investigator’s job: first determine the nature of an incident, then decide whether to pursue it.”

”I never saw that report myself, but I’m sure it was riddled with holes. I can’t even imagine how someone could spout such nonsense with such an air of certainty.”

”However, that report received the approval of the higher-ups. After that, there was no longer any chance of the case being added to the Sequence. We were even reprimanded and forbidden from ever investigating it again.”

...

As he spoke, a trace of anger finally showed on Zhang Chiguo’s face. ”At that point, I, and everyone else who held an opposing view, finally understood.”

”The more complex and baffling a problem is, the simpler the answer tends to be. Why was this kidnapping case so difficult to classify?”

”It was, of course, because someone didn’t want it to be classified!”

...

Han Su understood the weight of those words perfectly. He slowly raised his head and said, ”Uncle Zhang... in that case, the person who didn’t want this case classified as a supernatural incident... who was it?”

”Don’t ask.”

Zhang Chiguo shook his head, his gaze serious as he looked at Han Su. ”Or perhaps I should say, I don’t know the answer either.”

”I was recruited personally by Secretary No. 5, so I know the identities of most of the major players within the Disaster Management Bureau and those who can influence it. But the person who put their seal of approval on that report... even I would have a hard time guessing their identity.”

”I just know that, from that moment on, I understood that I couldn’t succeed.”

”I only knew that if I were smart, the correct course of action would be to forget the kidnapping case entirely.”

...

Han Su could imagine Zhang Chiguo’s state of mind back then, and he could even understand his choice. He didn’t feel any particular emotional surge.

He just smiled and said, ”Uncle Zhang, if that’s the case, then there’s only one thing I’m interested in. Who wrote the report that was sent up the chain, the one that ruled out any supernatural element in this kidnapping case?”

”A very senior Investigator.”

Zhang Chiguo’s gaze grew heavy. He spoke slowly, ”His identity is easy enough for you to find. Once you have the clearance, you can look it up yourself. But I don’t think that’s what’s important.”

”He... was likely just the one carrying out the orders.”

...

Han Su said nothing, his fingers just tapped unconsciously on his thigh. He already understood the message Zhang Chiguo was trying to send him. ’So, this Investigator... he’s also someone I can’t afford to mess with, is that it?’

”But none of that is the main point.”

Unexpectedly, Zhang Chiguo suddenly spoke again, his expression grave. ”Back then, I understood what the higher-ups wanted, and I knew what the smart move was. But...”

”...after all, I’m not a smart man.”

Seeing his solemn expression, Han Su’s heart skipped a beat. ”Then you...”

Zhang Chiguo said slowly, ”Even though I understood what the higher-ups meant... I didn’t give up.”

”All avenues of investigation had reached a dead end. I could no longer make use of the Disaster Management Bureau’s advanced analytical resources. But after thinking it over, I found a new direction for the investigation.”

”And that was... your mother.”

...