The Eldritch Files

Chapter 299: Chapter 255: Code 02 Lifeline (Part 2)

The woman holding the candle was the captain. Her name was Akbar, leader of the thirteenth-ranked mercenary squad in the Black Table South Continent Region, codenamed Queen Bee.

She had chosen him, trained him, and taken care of him—and in return, she would take all of his commission.

This was the night she planned to make him her lover. She had promised that once they slept together, she would promote him to a full member.

But before anything could happen, he had awakened.

…

…

‘Could such a tiny difference in the timing of my escape lead to such a massive divergence in my fate?’

Pondering these questions, Han Su felt an indescribable sense of shock and bewilderment welling up inside him.

Being found by Zhang Chiguo, by the chairman of the Magic Box Group, or by some unknown private detective—he was stunned that each path had led to a completely different “present.”

As Han Su was lost in these thoughts, his eyes went vacant. His thousand-yard stare was actually making the naked woman opposite him feel self-conscious.

“You little glutton. What’s with the staring? It’s like you’ve never seen me before. You be a good boy, and I’ll make you a real…”

She placed the candle on the table and pressed herself against him, but Han Su impatiently raised a hand. “Back off!”

‘I’m in no mood for this.’

But upon hearing his words, Captain Akbar’s expression suddenly changed. She shot out a hand, grabbing for Han Su’s neck, and said coldly, “Feeling bold now, are you?”

Han Su’s left hand shot up and clamped onto her wrist. He gave her a cold glance.

To Akbar, Han Su’s grip felt like a vise made of copper and iron. She couldn’t pull her hand back. A wave of fury washed over her. Her skills were far superior to his, and in her anger, she was about to grab the dagger by the sleeping bag and stab him.

But as she looked up, she met Han Su’s eyes. They were hollow, cold, and filled with an overwhelming sense of annoyance.

An overwhelming sense of danger washed over her, and she felt a chill run down her spine, forgetting all about the dagger.

She froze. When she spoke again, her voice had softened unconsciously. “What’s gotten into you?”

Han Su watched her, slowly letting go of his murderous intent. “Do you know anything about Qinggang City?” he asked suddenly.

‘The moment the words left his mouth, he realized how absurd the question was.’

‘Based on the memories from this timeline, the name Qinggang was rarely ever mentioned. It was a city on the other side of the ocean, on the coast of the East Region. It wasn’t even the largest city and was considered quite remote.’

“What, are you tired of life out in the wilds too? Thinking of finding a city to settle down in?”

Akbar said, “Forget it. I picked you off the street and trained you. Don’t even think about leaving until you’ve earned back my investment.”

Han Su couldn’t even be bothered to reply. He had regretted the question the moment it left his lips. Now he was just wondering how he could get the information he needed.

Akbar, however, grew sullen at Han Su’s silence. She glanced at the handprint his grip had left on her wrist. Wordlessly, she pulled some clothes from a nearby heap and threw them on. “If you want information about a city, go find Lalei!” she said suddenly.

“He’s hijacked the signal from Broken Spine Mountain City, so he can get online.”

…

Information about a man named Lalei surfaced in Han Su’s mind. He got up, dressed, and walked out.

Outside the room, a damp, cold wind blew against his face. As far as he could see, there was only a vast, endless darkness between heaven and earth. Even with his exceptional Spiritual Activity, he could only discern that they were in what looked like an abandoned town in a mountain hollow.

Their squad was currently in the middle of a mission, waiting for their client’s next set of instructions. They had chosen this ruined town as a temporary resting place.

Han Su walked up to a nearby house and knocked on the door. He was greeted by a lewd taunt. “What’s this? Couldn’t keep up, little puppy? Did your mistress throw you out?”

Han Su narrowed his eyes, looking at the dark-skinned, bearded man.

He was the squad’s technician, responsible for calibrating their equipment out in the wilds, receiving signals from their client, and performing electronic scans of target areas.

After a moment’s consideration, Han Su concluded he could kill the man with ease, so he didn’t waste his breath on words. “I need to borrow the computer to look something up,” he stated simply.

“The one that can get online.”

…

The other man obviously wanted to tease him some more, maybe even ask what a bombshell like Akbar was like in bed, but seeing Han Su’s stony expression, he simply handed over a heavy-duty, rugged laptop. “Don’t go visiting any of *those* sites,” he said. “I’ve already downloaded all the good stuff.”

“And don’t log into anything. Don’t want any information leaks.”

…

Han Su opened a browser, typed in his keywords, and news related to Qinggang City appeared.

Headline after headline, article after article, they were all both familiar and strange.

The biggest story related to Qinggang read: “Qinggang’s New-Generation Empress Pageant Concludes. Ambitious Winner Prepares to Vie for Alliance-level Empress Title?”

Further down, there were other headlines: the Magic Box Group was making a huge investment to enter the field of ruin excavation, and a genius Doctor was preparing to establish a new vanguard laboratory.

There was no trace of any attack, no mention of abnormal disasters, and nothing related to the Abyssal Studio. The city was simply there, peacefully situated on the other side of the ocean, its lights twinkling just as he remembered.

‘I guess this counts as an unexpected reboot?’

Han Su scanned the news reports over and over. The fact that he found nothing unusual was, contrary to expectation, a great relief.

‘So, my previous theory was correct. Reality truly has been rebooted.’