The Eldritch Files

Chapter 4: Chapter 2: Escaping the Past

"I’m sorry, Mr. Li, Ms. Fang. I still haven’t remembered any clues."

"As you know, I was terrified back then and lost a lot of my memories. I didn’t even know my own name."

"But please, don’t worry. I’m already seeing a psychologist. I’m cooperating with the hypnosis and the Public Security Bureau’s inquiries. If I remember anything, I’ll notify you immediately."

As he passed the grieving couple, Han Su forced himself to say a few words before quickly leaving.

"Let’s go!"

Xu Ji tugged at his side, feeling a little disgruntled. ’It’s been so long since the kidnapping,’ he thought. ’Shouldn’t Old Han be allowed to live his own life?’

Even the Public Security Bureau had declared him innocent and forbidden the victims’ families from disturbing his life anymore. But some, like this couple, just wouldn’t give up, coming to find him time and time again.

"Old Han, if this keeps up, should I have my dad talk to them? I get that they’re heartbroken about their daughter, but they can’t just keep bothering you, right?"

"No need. I can understand why they’re so devastated."

"Then why the long face?"

"Understanding doesn’t mean I’m not annoyed!"

"..."

As they talked, they arrived at the university gate. In the distance, several sports cars were parked, and a group of young men in lavish, almost garish outfits were waving at them.

The security guard at the gate scowled at the sports cars blocking student traffic and the ostentatiously dressed young men.

But he couldn’t just shoo them away. Whenever their eyes met, he had to quickly plaster on a subservient smile.

In this hyper-inflated metropolis, privilege had expanded in equal measure. Amidst the endless prosperity, the status and standing of the wealthy had reached terrifying heights.

Even a prestigious institution like Qinggang University, with its centuries-old legacy, couldn’t refuse entry to the privileged children of major corporations and powerful families.

Among them were current Qinggang University students as well as some wealthy dropouts. They gathered every weekend to have fun, and what kind of rich kids’ party would be complete without the truly wealthy Young Master Xu Ji?

So they often gathered in a pack, driving to the university gate to pick him up.

Of course, sometimes they weren’t just there for Xu Ji. Female students would often duck into their cars with shy smiles, skillfully tying their hair back.

"Ready to go?"

Seeing them, Xu Ji’s tone changed. He grinned and grabbed Han Su, saying, "Come on, you can witness my driving skills today."

Seeing Xu Ji so eagerly invite Han Su along, the other rich kids’ expressions turned a bit awkward.

Every time Xu Ji went out, he insisted on dragging Han Su along. Logically, they were willing to give Xu Ji face and show the proper friendliness toward Han Su. But this poor student never seemed to fit in with them.

’So clueless...’

Han Su glanced at the rich young masters and shook his head. "I’m not going. I have to go to the library."

Xu Ji was speechless. "Damn, why work so hard? It’s useless, I’m telling you. You think my family got this rich through hard work?"

"..."

Han Su just smiled, waved him off, shouldered his backpack, and walked briskly away from the gate.

The rich kids watching nearby thought this was getting ridiculous. Who was Xu Ji? He was the top young master in all of Qinggang City.

’We have to suck up to him and kiss his ass every day, trying to keep him happy without looking too desperate and getting laughed at by our circle. Picking up girls isn’t this much work.’

’And here this rich young master invites a poor student who has to work part-time, and the guy just blows him off like that?’

But Xu Ji just watched Han Su’s departing figure without a word of complaint. He just muttered to himself, ’What’s up with Old Han lately? He’s been acting weird.’

’First, he’s staring in the mirror, now he’s always at the library...’

’Could it be he’s finally blossomed and is getting horny? Thinking about women?’

"..."

He didn’t care what Han Su’s attitude toward him was. After all, this was his brother.

If his parents hadn’t disagreed, he would have even wanted them to adopt Han Su. Of course, even if they wouldn’t, he was determined to take power early.

Then, he could adopt Han Su himself.

He immediately turned to the guys around him. "Do any of you know a girl who’s innocent, pretty, rich, has a good personality, isn’t obsessed with looks, and is considerate?"

"I want to set her up with my brother!"

The guys around him were stunned. "With standards that perfect, the only one who fits is you, Young Master Xu, if you get a sex change."

Xu Ji heard this and grew worried. "My mom would be fine with it, but my dad would never agree!"

Hearing this, the whole gang of hangers-on dispersed.

Their expressions were strange: ’Does that guy have dirt on you? Like, evidence of a murder? Why are you so good to him?’

Han Su left alone, walked a few hundred meters, and swiped his card to enter the subway station.

He clutched his backpack to his chest, silently watching the train weave through the concrete jungle of the highly urbanized city. The colors of neon lights and various advertisements shone into the car, making everything seem hazy and surreal.

The world was so quiet it felt unreal.

The display panel showed the current date: June 13, 2724 of the New Calendar.

Han Su stared at the date, as if he couldn’t get enough of it, and yet also as if he were afraid—afraid the numbers would suddenly start Flashing and change to the year 2714.

The kidnapping that had affected his entire life, the one he still hadn’t escaped from, had happened then.

He had only been ten years old at the time.

A normal school trip had suddenly been dragged into a dark, dilapidated castle.

There, as ignorant children, they saw many mysterious, bizarre monsters that shouldn’t even exist in the real world.

They didn’t know why they were kidnapped, or what those monsters were. But Han Su was the cleverest. The moment he saw the monsters, he knew it was a bad place. Taking advantage of a commotion, he silently slipped out through a hole under a wall of roses.

He ran, he ran with all his might, ran right out of his shoes.

When he finally reached safety, he was met by countless camera flashes, the Public Security Bureau, and endless grieving parents and families.

They desperately questioned him, asking who had kidnapped them and where the other children were now.

Han Su pointed out the path he had used to escape and the place where the other children were being held captive, but there was nothing there—only an empty factory district.

The Public Security Bureau tore the place apart, but they found nothing.

Afterward, countless experts and scholars questioned him again and again, even subjecting him to lie detector tests and hypnosis, trying to uncover the truth of the kidnapping and find the other children.

But in the end, they learned nothing.

Even the Public Security Bureau agents could only guess that he had been so terrified he’d misremembered the location, and that they would just have to wait for his memory to return.

After that, he was sent to an orphanage, where he lived, studied, and grew up to who he was today.

Over the past ten years, he had countless nightmares, reliving that grim horror. He felt incredibly lucky to have escaped from such a bizarre and evil place.

But it wasn’t until later that he realized he hadn’t.

Starting three years ago, he was targeted by those monsters once again.

First, everything around him would start Flashing. Then, strange whispers would appear in his ears, an invisible force would capture him, and he would be dragged back once more to the kidnapping from ten years ago, facing those indescribable monsters as a ten-year-old child.

He didn’t know what was happening, but he escaped again on pure instinct, only to find himself back in his seventeen-year-old bed, with crumpled tissues tossed to the side.

The fight on TV was still going, everything around him was just as it had been, and he assumed he had just had a dream.

But he never expected that less than three months later, hey, he was fucking dragged back again.

That time, he broke a leg while escaping. When he woke up again, he was completely stunned. He finally realized it wasn’t a dream at all, because in reality, he had become a cripple.

Countless new memories flooded his mind; along his entire life’s timeline, he had always been a cripple.

’Three years, seventeen times...’

Han Su thought of the number and sighed under his breath.

Again and again, he was dragged back ten years by those monsters, and again and again, he escaped back to the present.

It was like a nightmare.

But what made it more terrifying than a nightmare was that the events of a nightmare vanish upon waking. The injuries Han Su sustained in the Ancient Castle, however, would directly affect his present-day life.

For example, during his most recent escape, he had injured his eye in the Ancient Castle. Now, he was a person with only one good eye.

’The Dark Bunker is constantly repairing itself, and the loopholes I can exploit are dwindling. But to save so many people...’

’It’s too hard...’

"..."

A dull ache began to throb in his right eye, pulling Han Su from his memories. He sat in silence for a long time, then took out his phone, found a chat window with a Black Rose avatar, and slowly typed:

[So, is it really true that I can only break this curse if everyone escapes?]

After a few seconds, the Black Rose avatar began to pulse, and a message appeared: [You were kidnapped back to the past by those monsters again?]

Han Su paused for a moment before replying: [Yes. I just got back.]

[To others, it looked like I just dozed off, but this time, I was there for four whole days.]

[I used to escape alone, which was easier, but escaping by myself is useless. I always get dragged back again. So this time, I followed your advice and tried to bring the others out too.]

[But I still failed.]

[They were all so cooperative, and I led them smoothly. We found the key, we found the door, but in the end, before we could get out, everyone was killed by the monsters. I even lost an eye.]

[...]

It was a long time before the Black Rose avatar replied: [So for you, the timeline has been altered once again?]