The Eldritch Files

Chapter 32: Chapter 30: Cross Scar

As he pondered these questions, a faint dizziness washed over him. Fragments of memory from his new life began to surface in his mind:

The new memories weren’t all that different from the standard ones he’d experienced before. He had still escaped the Ancient Castle, been sent to an orphanage, studied hard, and gotten into Qinggang University.

The difference, however, was that he hadn’t been disfigured. Both of his eyes were fine. Instead, a cross-shaped scar had appeared on the back of his left hand.

His left hand had also become somewhat stiff as a result, not as flexible or dexterous as his right.

And this one change seemed to have caused many other shifts in his life.

For example, in his file at the Disaster Management Bureau, the note about his impaired right eye function had changed to "slight stiffness in the left hand."

He looked down at his left hand and found it was indeed slightly curled and stiff. It wasn’t that he couldn’t extend his fingers or grip things, but there was a coarse, rusty feeling to the movement.

On the back of his hand, a cross-shaped scar was unusually conspicuous.

Everything else, however, felt like it was from the same script:

He still woke up startled in class, chatted with Black Rose, went to the library to do research, saw the helpful female student with long hair, and dealt with the private investigators who came looking for trouble. Then he met Song Chushi again, but this time...

’He didn’t give me the Spell?’

For a moment, Han Su even doubted his own memory. But after thinking it over, he realized that Song Chushi had indeed not given him the Spell.

He had only noted down Han Su’s descriptions of the monsters, then asked indirectly if he believed that strange and mysterious things really existed in this world—perhaps right beside them?

Things that ordinary people couldn’t see, simply because an extremely powerful department had deliberately severed their perception of them.

’That’s not right...’

Han Su found it difficult to understand the changes.

Normally, when he was affected, many events in his memory would change.

For instance, in the timeline where he had a lame leg, he obviously wouldn’t have participated in the school’s high jump competition. But why, this time, was it the actions of others that had changed?

A little shocked and suspicious, Han Su recalled more details.

In this memory, when he faced the Ghost Truck, he still recited the Spell. The Spell was already in his mind, so regardless of whether Song Chushi had given it to him, he would naturally recite it when faced with grotesque danger.

It was just that at the time, he hadn’t quite understood why he had recited that Spell. Only after this Flashing brought him back did he understand its origin.

Moreover, after he recited the Secret Spell, the Ghost Truck still showed signs of melting before fleeing in terror.

’This Spell was supposed to activate the Mysterious Power the monster left in my right eye.’

’So why, just like back in the Ancient Castle, could I achieve the same effect even though my right eye wasn’t injured?’

A series of other changes had followed, but they were all in the details. Because Song Chushi hadn’t given him the Spell, the Disaster Management Bureau was merely surprised that he had come into contact with such a dangerous individual.

They even suspected that he and Xu Jinneng had escaped from the Ghost Truck because Song Chushi had helped. They’d kept him at the Disaster Management Bureau because they detected traces of Song Chushi’s intervention.

’In this lifeline, Song Chushi made a move?’

As his memories filled in, various points of suspicion gradually emerged. Han Su increasingly felt that he was on the verge of understanding something incredible.

...

"My name is Cui Qiao. I’ve been working with Zhang the Head for two years."

Just as he was piecing things together in his mind, the female secretary in the black suit next to him brought Han Su back to reality. She gathered a stack of documents and said, "Your information has been entered, and your file is about to be classified."

"Someone will even arrange a leave of absence for you from your university. You don’t have to worry about any of that. You just need to perform well in the upcoming training."

"Also, if you need anything else, come to me. If it’s something I can’t handle, go find Zhang the Head."

"..."

Han Su nodded repeatedly. "Thank you, Miss Cui."

The secretary in the black suit chuckled. "Don’t mention it. Zhang the Head is looking out for you, so of course I won’t treat you like a stranger."

’Old Zhang is doing well for himself these days...’

Han Su remembered that back when Zhang Chiguo took on the kidnapping case, he wasn’t doing very well at the Public Security Bureau.

Despite his age, he had never been promoted and was stuck doing the most arduous and thankless work of a frontline agent.

But now, after only three or four years, how had he managed to attain such a high and powerful position in this mysterious department, complete with such a beautiful secretary?

Comparing this with the previous timeline, Han Su vaguely recalled that she hadn’t been this friendly to him before...

’Could it be because I’m not disfigured or blind this time around?’

He sucked in a sharp breath.

’This woman looks so cold and unapproachable, but who would’ve thought she’s actually a sucker for a pretty face...’

Seeing her friendly attitude, Han Su decided to press his luck. He tentatively asked, "Ma’am, what exactly was that sound I heard back there?"

"Why did you say I passed the test when I just fell asleep?"

"Didn’t you tell me at the beginning to listen carefully and try to distinguish certain words or syllables from the sounds?"

"..."

He was genuinely concerned about this question.

This unexpected kidnapping had come far too suddenly and at the wrong frequency. It had to be related to the "secret language" he had heard at the Disaster Management Bureau.

But if this secret language could cause him to be kidnapped ahead of schedule, could it have other effects as well?

’Thinking bigger, could this secret language contain the key to delaying, or even escaping, these kidnappings?’

"It’s the Ruin Whisper."

Hearing Han Su’s change of address, the secretary in the black suit initially had no intention of answering such a foolish rookie question. But her good mood got the better of her, and she replied, "It’s a language unearthed by archaeologists from the ruins of a precursor civilization. It’s said to be non-human."

"We had you listen to it to see if you’ve been contaminated by the grotesque, and also to judge the level of your Spirituality and resistance. It’ll be useful for your later training."

Her speaking style was just as concise as her dress style:

"You and that kid from the Xu Family encountered the Ghost Truck, which makes you both ’grotesque contactees’."

"Although you both survived, we have to suspect that your minds may have been twisted, or that something else strange and dangerous might be hiding in your Spirit Worlds."

"This Whisper is used exclusively by the Disaster Management Bureau. It has the highest ’rank’ but causes the least mental damage to ordinary people. If something is hiding in your Spirit World, listening to the Whisper will easily trigger a resonance and activate it."

"Therefore, it’s used as a detection method by the Bureau—a final safeguard. After all, while the Disaster Management Bureau has rules for mandatory recruitment, they don’t just dare to take in anyone."

"However, based on the results, you’re safe."

She turned to glance at Han Su, then suddenly smiled, revealing a set of fine, snow-white teeth. "Extremely safe, in fact. You actually fell asleep."

"Tell me, did you mistake that whisper of annihilation for a lullaby?"

"..."

"It was mainly because you played the Whisper for so long. It started to sound like an opera..."

Han Su put on a smile as he replied, "But to be honest, I’m quite interested. I’ve always been into Mysticism and religious culture. I was wondering, where can I learn more about this stuff in the future?"

"Getting involved with this stuff is dangerous. Your current clearance isn’t high enough."

The secretary in the black suit just glanced at him and said, "We’ll see how you perform later. We can talk again if you actually qualify to become an Investigator."

But inwardly she thought, ’A guy who falls asleep listening to the Whisper has the nerve to say he’s interested in Mysticism?’

"Alright..."

Han Su agreed with a sunny smile, but inside, he instantly became extremely wary.

’Maybe I’m not the safest one here. Maybe I’m the most dangerous.’

’That thing not only resonated with the Mysterious Power in my body, it sent me straight back...’

’It’s just that every time a Flashing occurs, my state at that point in time appears as if I’ve just fallen asleep. Did that let me pass this test by accident?’

But it seemed the secretary in the black suit was unwilling to reveal any more on this topic. Han Su, however, wasn’t content with so little information. He pressed on tentatively, "So, Miss... now that I’ve joined this department, what will I be doing?"

"Is our responsibility to capture things like the Ghost Truck?"

"..."

"Capture?"

The secretary in the black suit smiled. "That’s part of the responsibility, of course. But what’s more important is tracing origins, blocking access, prevention, and most importantly... lying!"

"Lying?"

Han Su was a bit stunned when he heard that word. "That’s part of the job?"

"Of course. And it’s the most important part!"

The secretary in the black suit chuckled. "A Ghost Truck, contaminated by mysterious machinery, shouldn’t exist in reality. It would cause many people’s worldviews to collapse. So, we don’t allow it to enter the public consciousness."

"For surreal and grotesque things, public awareness is, in itself, a form of mystical Penetration into reality."

"Our job is to ensure that ordinary people can live their lives peacefully, without encountering these things, without being contaminated by them, and most importantly, without believing that such things exist."

"Simple, isn’t it?"