The Eldritch Files

”Haaah...”

’I’m back...’

It was unnervingly quiet, so much so that it was unsettling.

Previously, whenever Han Su escaped the Ancient Castle, he would force himself to remember his life from before, preparing himself to pick up where he left off.

This time, he had intended to restart his future and was even hopeful about it. But he still subconsciously recalled the tragic scenes he had witnessed before entering the Ancient Castle: the collapse of Qinggang, the deaths of so many, the strange and terrifying things slaughtering people in the crowds.

If he had used the key to return, he would have found himself back in that same environment, with only a few seconds having passed.

But this time, surprisingly, that didn’t happen.

He found himself sitting up in a bed. When he opened his eyes, he was met with total darkness.

”Are you that scared I’m going to eat you up?”

Just as Han Su was about to activate his Spiritual Power to see his surroundings, a smooth, syrupy voice sounded beside him, and a smooth arm rested on his shoulder.

The voice was languid and cloying. It made Han Su’s back stiffen, and he instinctively wanted to swat the arm away. But reason stopped his violent impulse, and he only said in a low voice,

”Turn on the light!”

”...”

”Tch!”

A mocking laugh was his reply, followed by a mumble. ”A greenhorn’s a greenhorn. Afraid you’ll get lost down there if we don’t turn on a light?”

As she spoke, a smooth body brushed past Han Su. Someone fumbled their way out of bed, and a wave of warmth washed over him. But instead of turning on a light, there was the CLICK of a lighter, and a candle was lit.

By the candlelight, Han Su could finally see the cramped room: simple belongings, an unzipped sleeping bag, a firearm leaning against a nearby table, and the dim, yellow flame of the candle.

And holding the candle, a pale, naked body.

The utterly unfamiliar scene filled him with a powerful sense of displacement. His head suddenly throbbed with intense pain as countless memories flooded his mind.

There were more memories this time than ever before, and all of them were completely foreign.

Even for him, someone long accustomed to accepting new memories after each Flashing, his brain felt like it was splitting apart.

’I escaped...’

Amidst the sea of memories, Han Su gradually pieced together his current situation, his expression one of pure astonishment.

’It’s just as I thought. Since I didn’t use the key to get out this time, I didn’t return to my most familiar, anchored timeline. But how could my life have changed so drastically?’

The last time he had experienced a different life, he was adopted by the chairman of the Magic Box Group and became the godson of a wealthy man.

’That was a huge change in my life too, but at least I was still in Qinggang...’

’But now... where am I?’

He clutched his head and thought hard, finally piecing together the experiences of the last ten years from the churning fragments of memory.

In this timeline, he had escaped from the Ancient Castle twenty-seven hours after the kidnapping.

At that point, the search team from the Public Security Bureau, led by Zhang Chiguo, had already left for another suspicious area after finding nothing. Meanwhile, the private search party led by the Magic Box Group’s chairman had yet to arrive. He had emerged right in the gap between them.

So, the person he encountered was a private detective who had come sniffing around after hearing the news.

This private detective knew about the disappearances of children from rich and powerful families. He had come to try his luck, hoping to find some valuable clues he could exchange for cash.

And so, he happened to run into Han Su. But he didn’t hand him over to the Public Security Bureau or the other victims’ families—that would only fetch a small reward. This man knew the net worth of the kidnapped children’s families and wanted to squeeze more valuable clues out of the boy.

Perhaps he even thought that if he could find all the missing children on his own, he’d be set for life.

So he hid Han Su away and questioned him in private.

But when faced with Han Su’s bizarre talk of monsters and an ancient castle, the man became enraged and decided to teach him a lesson.

Then, he beat him to death.

Of course, it wasn’t a true death. He had merely gone into shock from a severe blow. He was already extremely weak, having starved for a day in the Ancient Castle and then wandered aimlessly after escaping.

But the private detective was terrified. Knowing full well the value of the sole survivor, he couldn’t bear the consequences. So, using his ”brilliant” little mind, he dragged the boy’s body to the sea cliffs at the edge of Qinggang City and threw it over.

That single decision led to the earth-shattering changes in the rest of his life.

Unconscious, he was lucky enough to be saved by a passing cargo ship. He drifted across the ocean and ended up in a small country in the Southern Region. The sailors then sold him to a local theft ring, and he began a difficult struggle for survival in a foreign land.

At the time, he was already severely traumatized. His mind was still foggy when the private detective struck him in the head. After being submerged in the ocean and then suffering a high fever for days on the ship, he was left with near-total amnesia.

He forgot Qinggang. He forgot the kidnapping.

He started out running errands, living on the streets, until someone discovered he was a good fighter. He was then scouted by a team of mercenaries and became a mercenary recruit.

And now, here he was, in the middle of a high-bounty mission.