The Eldritch Files

’What a shame,’ Han Su thought. ’This Copper Armor Statue is too big to take with me, and the drain on my Spiritual Power is just too severe...’

Truth be told, Han Su’s curiosity about this Copper Armor Statue was now just as strong as his interest in the Mechanical Fragment.

But just this brief contact was enough to reveal that activating the Copper Armor Statue required a terrifying amount of Spiritual Power.

Influencing its movements was simple enough, but controlling it to walk with him or perform more complex actions was impossible. Besides, even though he had managed to affect it with the Cross Copper Hand, who knew what kind of permissions its actual owner had?

’Forget it. I need to prioritize. I’ll come back to steal it next time...’

As for the password, he’d use it if it was useful. If not, it was no great loss.

Next to the secret room was a wine cellar. It was still a long way to the surface.

Fortunately, Han Su’s Spatial Sense was extremely strong. He had already deduced the entire layout of Dingxiang Castle when he entered the secret room. In addition, his Fishing Song could lower his and Wei Lan’s ”presence,” allowing them to avoid some of the security guards who were rushing past.

Stopping and starting, dodging and weaving, he finally brought Wei Lan back to her dressing room.

”Ah, you...”

”Get out!”

When she suddenly saw Han Su carrying Wei Lan in, Wei Lan’s assistant was so frightened she nearly fainted and screamed. It was Wei Lan, who had regained some of her composure, who said sternly, ”Don’t ask, don’t scream. Turn on the music, then go get my formal dress for me!”

The panicked assistant left, leaving only Han Su and Wei Lan in the empty dressing room.

Han Su placed her on the sofa, then took two steps back and sat down on a chair, taking a few deep breaths.

That whole escape had really taken a lot out of him.

Wei Lan didn’t look heavy, but at 1.7 meters tall, she was a lot heavier than when she was a child.

Wei Lan was now slumped sideways on the sofa. Music, like an old opera, flowed slowly through the room. She gave Han Su a deep look, and only after confirming he wasn’t leaving did she close her eyes, trying her best to compose herself.

After a few minutes of silence, Wei Lan opened her eyes again.

You could see the pale color hadn’t returned to her face, and the wound on her cheek had started to ooze blood again.

But she paid it no mind. The moment she could move freely, she shakily stood up.

She came over to Han Su, knelt down, and placed a trembling hand on his knee.

She looked up at Han Su’s face, her expression a mix of terror, gratitude, anticipation, and even a hint of awe. She spoke, enunciating each word:

”It’s... it’s real, isn’t it?”

”...”

Han Su looked into her eyes and asked in a low voice, ”What’s real?”

”I...”

Wei Lan struggled to get the words out. ”I was one of the people who was kidnapped before. But... you were the one who saved me, right?”

Back in the secret room, Han Su had noticed something was off with Wei Lan, but he hadn’t had a chance to talk to her about it. Hearing her ask this now, his heart stirred.

But he restrained himself and only asked in a low voice, ”Aren’t you worried you’ve been corrupted by the Mechanical Fragment?”

Touching that Mechanical Fragment just now caused a terrifying shock and change.

The two of them had protection on their hands when they touched the Mechanical Fragment, but it still broke through.

It was possible for something of that level to have any kind of effect on them.

Han Su wasn’t sure if Wei Lan would think this was a distortion caused by the Mechanical Fragment, or if she would believe it was all real.

This was the key to whether they could continue this conversation.

”Corrupted?”

Wei Lan lowered her head slightly, as if in self-mockery. But when she looked up again, her gaze was incredibly firm. ”I am a Mysterious Talent selected by the Queen’s Organization from countless people. I’ve been receiving professional training in Mysterious Power since I was eleven.”

”I know what corruption and distortion look like. I also know how to determine if my own will is intact...”

”...Therefore, all of this really happened!”

”You...”

She stared at Han Su’s eyes with absolute conviction, but her voice trembled uncontrollably. ”Who exactly are you? Why did you save me? And how could I not remember any of it?”

’It’s confirmed...’

It was only at this moment that Han Su was finally certain: anyone who had been kidnapped in the past would remember the incident upon touching this Mechanical Fragment.

’But, from what she’s saying, it seems she only remembers one time?’

Finally, meeting Wei Lan’s expectant and fearful gaze, he slowly nodded. ”Yes.”

”You were indeed kidnapped, and I was the one who saved you.”

”However...”

Pausing for a moment, he adopted a questioning look. ”What I’m more curious about is, how much do you remember about your kidnapping?”

Wei Lan’s voice trembled with excitement. ”I... I only remember being on the school bus, on our way to the science museum to see a newly unearthed Mechanical Fragment. It was... it was the same one we just fought over. I remember it clearly. It was in the promotional materials.”

”I remember we were taken to a gloomy and oppressive Ancient Castle. We saw so many monsters there. Some of the children cried in fear, but they were killed by the monsters.”

”Then, everyone faced the fate of being ’chosen.’ Some were taken upstairs by the monsters, but I was taken upstairs by that old butler. He locked me on a floor full of copper-colored creations.”

”I saw a monster lying in a coffin, but he didn’t seem satisfied with me. He just reached his hand out of the coffin and had the butler throw me into a small room nearby. There were no windows, no light.”

”All I could feel was a biting cold, as if countless snakes were slithering all around me, hissing in my ears...”

”That fear...”

She got to this point and her tongue seemed to tie in knots, unable to continue. It wasn’t until she saw Han Su’s eyes that she managed to force the words out. ”Until... until I heard a commotion outside and saw a sliver of light pierce the darkness before me.”

”Some kind of tremor from outside shook the door open, creating a crack.”

”I... I summoned all my courage and looked out, and I saw...”

As she spoke, her body trembled almost uncontrollably. She couldn’t help but grab Han Su’s hand to steady herself enough to continue.

”I saw you.”

”You... you kicked the door open and saved me.”

It was impossible to describe how Wei Lan, whose face was so beautiful it seemed unreal, could show such a human expression. She looked like she was about to start sobbing uncontrollably.

”You pulled me out of that room, held me, and we escaped through a door.”

”To this day, I still remember how it felt when you held me as we fell through the air...”

”...”

There was a sob in Wei Lan’s voice, but it was a sob of joy. Having just remembered everything, she was also experiencing the fear and elation as if it had just happened.

”You saved me...”

Her voice was choked with emotion. ”But I don’t know why... I actually forgot...”

”It’s as if that event never happened in my life. I knew something had happened, and I’d even seen news reports about the kidnapping, but I never once thought it had anything to do with me.”

”...”

’So, she really only remembers that one time?’

After listening to her account, Han Su sighed slowly. All the details, the entire process, it all matched up.

The entire process Wei Lan remembered was everything he had experienced during his last escape.

She even remembered falling out of a ”door” with him.

But there were many times before when she wasn’t saved, and it was unknown what happened to her afterward. She clearly had no memory of those times.

Slowly, he looked down at Wei Lan and said, ”Don’t panic. It’s all in the past.”

”And after that? What did you experience?”

”...”

”No wonder, no wonder...”

Seeing his expression, Wei Lan understood that the man before her had experienced everything she had just described.

The last of her doubts vanished. She raised a hand to wipe the tears from her face and said in a low voice, ”Actually, I’ve been looking for you too.”

Han Su was taken aback. ”What?”

”It’s true.”

Wei Lan looked up at Han Su’s eyes seriously and said, ”My life has been quite complete. I lived in Qinggang until I was ten, then I went to Ti City. That’s where I met someone from the Queen’s Organization, and she began training me in Mysterious Power.”

”I progressed quickly, completing the stages of Spiritual Activity, Penetration, and then Transformation. I even found my Life Code, which gave me the qualification to participate in the pageant to compete for the title of Empress.”

”But I always felt like I had forgotten something. I would also have recurring dreams, seeing the moment I escaped. However, when I woke up, the dream’s contents would be completely gone. I only knew that I’d had a very important dream, but I could never say what it was about.”

”Even my mentor once tried to use Mysterious Power to help me retain the dream, but she also failed.”

”Actually...”

She suddenly gave a somewhat embarrassed smile. ”My chances of winning the Empress pageant in Ti City aren’t a hundred percent like the reports say. In fact, my chances of success aren’t even fifty percent. That’s why I came back to Qinggang City to look for an opportunity.”

”And the reason...”

She paused, seeming to realize this was a very private secret. But after only a brief hesitation, she said it without any burden, ”The reason is that I feel my destiny has been distorted.”

”I can’t bring myself to feel wholehearted adoration for the Empress. Maybe on stage, I can perform better than the others, but in the end, it’s just an act.”

”I had a vague feeling that this might be related to a shadow in my past, so I returned to Qinggang City.”

”And now, I’m sure I’ve found the reason...”

”...”

She squeezed Han Su’s hand tightly. Her soft, delicate palm felt as if it was using all its strength, refusing to let go. ”Right now, I just want to know...”

”All of this... the kidnapping, you, and me... what is really going on?”

”Is it... are there many more things that I don’t know?”

”...”

Meeting her questioning gaze, Han Su looked her seriously in the eyes and said slowly, ”Can I trust you?”

Wei Lan slowly raised her other hand, her expression one of indescribable determination. She enunciated each word, ”I can swear on my life!”