The Eldritch Files

”Mother?”

Han Su was taken aback. It was surprising enough that Zhang Chiguo was still investigating the kidnapping despite clear warnings from the higher-ups at the Disaster Management Bureau, but he was also stunned by the lead he was following.

Zhang Chiguo and Song Chushi had somehow arrived at the same conclusion.

”My thinking was simple at the time. Since the case had been officially classified as unrelated to any aberrations, and I was forbidden from investigating it...”

Zhang Chiguo said, ”But I just wanted to help a kid I knew find his mother. That’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do, right?”

Han Su could no longer suppress his excitement. ”And then?”

’He didn’t really think of her as his mother. The memory was already very faint, like a washed-out film with only a few scattered frames remaining. Even in those fragmented images, he had no recollection of ever calling her ”Mom.” ’

’If she was really his mother, how could a child, no matter how forgetful, ever forget something like that?’

Still, even if his feelings had faded to almost nothing, hearing Zhang Chiguo mention her stirred an uncontrollable emotion inside him, sending faint ripples through his heart.

”Your mother... she disappeared without a trace. That’s precisely what made me suspicious.”

Zhang Chiguo said slowly, ”No matter who it was, or what methods they used, it’s impossible for someone to just vanish from a city, leaving behind no related information or records.”

”That was my earliest suspicion, but because she vanished so completely, there was nothing to investigate. It wasn’t until the Disaster Management Bureau classified the case and my only remaining reason to look into her was to help you find your mother that I unexpectedly found a lead.”

The word ”lead” struck him like a thunderclap. Han Su’s head shot up, and he stared at Zhang Chiguo in disbelief.

”Before the kidnapping, she had arranged for you to transfer schools.”

Zhang Chiguo said slowly, ”She transferred you to that elite private school. But we investigated the school, and all related records were gone.”

”In fact, there were no records at your previous school either. And you, of all people, can’t seem to remember...”

”But just when I was about to give up, I unexpectedly found it inside the Disaster Management Bureau—the very school transfer record for you that I had been searching for all along...”

”Using this transfer record, I found your original school. And finally, from a teacher who once taught you, I obtained a somewhat blurry group photo. In it, I saw this woman...”

”...”

”Then...”

Han Su shot to his feet. ”Where is it?”

Zhang Chiguo gave him a deep look, then took a file folder from Secretary Cui’s briefcase beside him. Han Su recognized it at a glance—it was the case file for the kidnapping from ten years ago.

’So, Zhang Chiguo hadn’t been lying back then at the Public Security Bureau.’

’He really had kept this case file all along.’

Zhang Chiguo took out an old photograph from inside and gave it to Han Su. Han Su saw that it seemed to have been taken during a school parent-child event. It was filled with children and adults, and his gaze was involuntarily drawn to the face of a tall, thin woman.

It was her.

’The shadow from his memory came to life. It was this tall, thin woman. Her aura was different from everyone else’s.’

’Beautiful, and aloof.’

He stared blankly for a long time, trying to awaken his memories of her, but nothing came. He was certain this was the woman who had cared for him before the kidnapping, yet he just couldn’t recall any more fragments of their time together.

’It was as if all his memories of her had been violently torn away.’

When he finally spoke, he noticed how hoarse his voice was. ”Is this... is this the only photo?”

”Yes.”

Zhang Chiguo slowly shook his head and said in a low voice, ”Not long after that, the teacher who once taught you also passed away. I went back to that school a few times, but I could never find any more leads. This photo is all that’s left.”

Han Su’s tightly constricted heart slowly began to sink again. His eyes remained fixed on the woman’s face in the photo, unsure of what to say.

”And this time, the reason I’m speaking with you...”

Zhang Chiguo gave Han Su a dozen or so seconds to look at the photo before he seemed to steel himself and slowly began to speak. ”The most important thing is to tell you something.”

”She... might still be in this city!”

”...”

”What?”

If seeing the photo had merely stirred a certain emotion in Han Su’s heart, this sentence sent an instant chill down his spine.

”You heard me right.”

Zhang Chiguo met his gaze and said slowly, ”Three years ago, while I was handling a case related to a certain Mysterious Organization, I saw her...”

Seeing Han Su’s brow deeply furrowed, he waved his hand and said in a low voice, ”It was just a glimpse from a distance. I immediately went after her, but she had already vanished into the crowd.”

”To be honest, it’s hard to convince anyone with this. I’ve only ever seen her in the photograph, and I just happened to catch a sudden glimpse of her when I wasn’t expecting it. No matter who I tell, it hardly counts as evidence...”

”But...”

He seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before speaking with absolute certainty. ”I am positive it was her.”

”I swear on these eyes, which have been doing criminal investigation for decades—that person was her.”

”...”

”...”

’After so many kidnappings and life-or-death escapes, Han Su had never imagined that a single piece of information could shake him so deeply, even robbing him of his ability to think for a moment.’

”I...”

Han Su’s voice trembled slightly. ”I believe you. Then... where did you...”