The Eldritch Files

Chapter 6: Chapter 4: Private Detective

’The interval is dropping to zero?’

Han Su thought in silence. ’Does that mean I’ll be trapped in the Dark Castle forever? That even if I escape, I’ll be dragged back immediately?’

He didn’t dare to think about it.

As it was, being dragged back every half-month was enough to keep him on edge every single day.

If that interval shrank again, got even shorter, or even dropped to zero, Han Su figured he might as well find a tall building and experience the feeling of flying.

"DING. Now arriving at Midtown Library."

By the time Han Su walked out of the subway station, it was already seven in the evening.

Outside the station, a sea of neon lights glowed. A light rain had begun to fall sometime earlier, blanketing everything in a hazy, damp aura.

He had no time to take in the sprawling, bustling style of the city. He quickly pushed through the after-work crowds, past laughing middle schoolers and an old man scavenging for scraps. For dinner, he just grabbed a piece of bread from a street stall.

Hurrying along, he arrived at Qinggang City’s largest library, the Midtown Library. In the religious and cultural section, he found a long row of books that seemed to stretch on forever.

He pulled one out and began to search through it patiently.

He still remembered some of the strange symbols that existed within the Dark Castle. Every time he returned to the present, he made it a habit to research their origins, hoping to find some clue.

Although the investigation into his kidnapping case had been extremely difficult, he couldn’t bring himself to give up easily.

Every day he felt like just throwing in the towel, but every time, he forced himself to rally his spirits.

’Just keep searching,’ he told himself. ’Maybe there’s a clue?’

Time ticked by. This section of the library was deserted, with few visitors. On the long, empty bench, the only sound was the rustling of pages as Han Su read.

"Excuse me..."

As he was reading, a voice spoke up beside him. Han Su turned to see a long-haired girl holding a stack of books.

Her face was slightly flushed. She had been choosing books behind the shelf, and when she turned around, she had spotted Han Su.

Although Han Su’s face was disfigured in this timeline, he habitually wore a pair of sunglasses when he went out, which hid his scars. Seen from a distance, the sight of him engrossed in a book was actually quite pleasant. After some hesitation, she had gathered her books and come over to speak to him.

"I just saw you looking through materials on the Radiation Age. Are you also interested in that period of history?"

"..."

"The Radiation Age?"

Han Su paused for a moment, only then noticing that the book he was reading was indeed an ancient religious text from a lost era before the Age of Reconstruction.

This world had once gone through a historical period filled with war, radiation, disease, and disaster. It was only by rebuilding, repopulating, and developing upon the ruins that it achieved the boundless prosperity of today.

Using modern civilization as a reference point, the vague, preceding eras were known as the Flare Age, the Radiation Age, and the Age of Reconstruction.

However, even though the names survived, those eras were too distant from the present. A severe civilizational collapse had occurred, leaving behind only fragmented language, writing, and records, along with many exaggerated myths and legends.

Modern people looking back at those historical records would feel a profound sense of unreality.

Han Su flipped through the book, remaining noncommittal. Instead, he asked curiously, "Are you a student who’s taking a course on that period of history?"

Without waiting for an answer, he unceremoniously pulled a piece of paper from his bag, borrowed the girl’s pen, and carefully drew the mysterious symbol from his memory.

He said enthusiastically, "In that case, could you take a look for me? Do you recognize this symbol?"

The long-haired student happily sat down. She studied it carefully and said, "It looks like the style of some tribes from the Radiation Age..."

"Back then, civilization hadn’t been rebuilt yet, and people were collectively lost and ignorant. They believed that Gods existed in the world, so they designed their own Totems and sacrificial rituals, hoping their voices could be heard by the Gods."

"Of course, they couldn’t be too complicated, for fear the Gods wouldn’t understand them."

"But because they were so simple, they could easily overlap. I heard a lot of tribal wars started that way..."

Han Su looked curious. "The Gods... do they really exist?"

"History that far back always gets severely distorted and twisted. Besides, there was a major civilizational collapse back then due to calamities, wars, and so on. Language, writing, and historical records are all badly fragmented."

The long-haired student waved her hand dismissively. "If you really go by the surviving religious texts, there wasn’t just one god back then..."

"Machine, Sea Beast, Chaos, Calamity, Disease..."

"Legend has it that these Gods ruled over the entire Radiation Age for several thousand years. But before the start of the Age of Reconstruction, they were sealed away in the dust of history by the ancestors of modern civilization."

"Even now, religious fanatics in some regions claim that these forsaken Gods will return to exact their revenge on all of human civilization!"

"..."

Seeing Han Su listening with rapt attention, she grew a little embarrassed. "I just heard this stuff, you know. These myths aren’t guaranteed to be true. History experts say that because of the high radiation in that era, people often suffered from mass, collective hallucinations."

Han Su listened and nodded. He had actually come across similar legends in his own research. He always found himself engrossed whenever he heard them, but upon closer investigation, they were always too fragmented.

He paused, then pointed to the symbol on the paper, looking at the student expectantly. "So, do you recognize it?"

The long-haired student shook her head, looking a little sheepish. "I can’t recognize it right now..."

Then she brightened and turned. "The coffee over there is pretty good. Hey, do you want to go..."

Han Su had already lowered his head coldly. He casually took off his sunglasses and set them aside, making no effort to hide the shocking scar on his face. He stared at the student expressionlessly, a frightening sight.

"Drinking coffee this late at night? Aren’t you afraid you won’t be able to sleep?"

"..."

The long-haired student was taken by surprise when she saw the grayish-white eye on Han Su’s face, and she jumped in fright.

She covered her mouth slightly and froze for a moment. Seeing that Han Su had no intention of speaking again, she awkwardly packed her bag and left. First, she moved to a seat two rows back, but after a little while, she simply grabbed her bag and slipped out of the library altogether.

Han Su was completely unfazed by this.

Being kidnapped back to the past again and again had shattered his life into unstable fragments. School, career, romance—all of it had become meaningless.

The only things that mattered were clues related to the Dark Castle and a plan to rescue the other children...

After the student left, it seemed Han Su was the only person left in this section of the library. Even though his head was spinning from all the reading, he continued his patient search.

Time ticked by. The silence around him was like that of a pristine tomb.

"Excuse me..."

Suddenly, another voice broke the silence. Han Su froze for a second before looking up, exceptionally annoyed.

To his surprise, it wasn’t another long-haired female student. This time, it was a middle-aged man in a suit and a black duck-billed cap. He looked refined, but his eyes were full of a sleazy, mercenary glint.

He looked at Han Su with an obsequious smile, extending a hand. "My surname is Chen. I work for a detective agency..."

Han Su didn’t shake his hand, just raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

The man sat down without being invited and smiled. "Just a small matter, really."

"Not long ago, our agency took on a commission. Someone hired me to investigate a kidnapping case from ten years ago."

"I heard that a certain Mr. Han was the only one who escaped from that kidnapping. I haven’t got the wrong person, have I?"

Hearing this, Han Su immediately understood who he was dealing with. He leaned back slightly. "And how far have you gotten with your investigation?"

The man in the duck-billed cap was momentarily taken aback, then chuckled. "We’re just getting started. That’s why I’ve taken the liberty of paying you a visit."

"I have a few questions for you, Han. I hope I’m not disturbing you too much... Rest assured, if you provide any valuable clues, I’ll be sure to thank you properly..."

Han Su fought for patience, offering a polite smile. "You’re already disturbing me."

"Besides, I’ve already said everything there is to say, many times. The Public Security Bureau has it all on file. You have that many leads, have you bothered to investigate any of them?"

The man just smiled at that. "Han, this whole ’monster kidnapping’ story is a bit too bizarre. I’m afraid it won’t satisfy my employer."

"I’m thinking, perhaps you had some reason you couldn’t speak of back then, so you just made something up?"

"But now that so many years have passed, don’t you think it’s time you..."

Han Su cut him off, saying seriously, "Are you going to get lost?"

The man froze. "Hmm?"

Han Su stood up. "Then I’ll get lost!"

He was already incredibly irritated.

The kidnapping case from ten years ago had caused him endless trouble.

Once the Public Security Bureau confirmed he didn’t remember anything, they let it go. According to regulations, they had to let him live his life. But the families of the other victims never gave up.

The reasonable ones were fine; they just wanted him to remember some clue.

But many more victims’ families had spent a fortune hiring private detectives or other "capable" people, telling them to do whatever it took to find out what happened ten years ago.

These people, whether they were truly capable or just pretending, always chose to come after him. They seemed convinced that he had deceived the Public Security Bureau back then, and that if they just applied a little pressure, they could squeeze the so-called truth about the kidnapping out of him.

Stalking, secret photos, harassment, planting listening devices—in the early days, some even tried to kidnap him and use vigilante justice.

He was endlessly harassed by all sorts of tactics.

Seeing Han Su swiftly packing his things, the forced smile on the duck-billed cap man’s face slowly faded.

He didn’t say anything to stop him. He just leaned back slightly and snapped his fingers.

As Han Su shouldered his backpack and turned to leave, a well-built man in sunglasses emerged from behind a bookshelf, blocking his path with his arms crossed.

Han Su spun around, only to see another man in a floral shirt appear behind him. A cigarette dangled from his lips, and he wore a smirk, casually fiddling with a knife in his hand.