"Ten years ago, just running into this kind of mess already meant I was pretty unlucky, didn't it?"
Facing Zhang Chiguo's lament, Han Su didn't feel anything in particular. Instead, he was a little curious. "So what exactly is this thing?"
In fact, Zhang Chiguo had once been the person Han Su trusted most. After all, when he first escaped from the bunker and everyone else had abandoned him, Zhang Chiguo had been the only one who took care of him.
Meeting him again at such a delicate moment gave Han Su a strange sense of fate. He'd already prepared a lot of things he wanted to say.
But Zhang Chiguo didn't let him continue. After a few glances at the statement, he seemed to be wrestling with something. Then, before long, he seemed to reach a decision. Suddenly, he looked at Han Su and said:
"Go home."
"Huh?"
Zhang Chiguo slowly rose to his feet. "The Xu Family's kid and that Mr. Xu's assistant have been waiting outside since a little while ago. You can leave now and put this case behind you."
"But, Xiao Han..."
He paused, looking Han Su straight in the eye as he advised him, "Take my advice. Forget that Spell."
"Song Chushi is a dangerous man. Many cities won't even let him in. At the Disaster Management Department, his file is classified at a higher level than mine."
"You escaped ten years ago because you were lucky. You should keep moving forward and not get dragged into this again."
"This is a setup, and you're just unlucky."
"A setup?"
Han Su was taken aback. He'd never expected Zhang Chiguo to say something like that just after they'd met again.
Even Zhang Chiguo looked conflicted now.
It was as if he wanted to say something but realized that anything he said would break the rules. Even though he meant well, it was clearly difficult for someone as upright as him.
In the end, all he could do was sigh. "Xiao Han, I've actually been keeping an eye on you. I know you got into Qinggang University and made something of yourself. I also know you've listened to the Public Security Bureau and regularly see a therapist, hoping to come up with some useful leads."
"Just do your best. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
"Some things can't be explained. All you can do is stay away from them—the farther, the better. Leave the professional work to the professionals."
"..."
Listening to Zhang Chiguo's words of comfort, Han Su sensed there was something more to them. His thoughts sharpened.
Did Zhang Chiguo know something?
Before, Zhang Chiguo's attitude toward him had been no different from that of the victims' families. They wanted to find their children, while Zhang Chiguo wanted to solve the Kidnapping Case.
None of them had any other options, so they'd come to Han Su again and again, hoping to find useful clues in his mind that could help solve the case.
But now, Zhang Chiguo seemed like a different person. His determination to keep Han Su out of it was even stronger.
That could only mean he'd learned some of the truth and confirmed that Han Su was innocent.
Could it be that he even believed monsters existed?
But why, even after learning all that, had he never come looking for Han Su again? Now that they'd met, why was all he wanted to do to get Han Su to leave as soon as possible?
"The professionals?"
As his thoughts raced, Han Su changed to a smile. "Uncle Zhang, you're already a professional in my eyes."
"It's been a long time since we last met. I want to know if you're still investigating this case."
His question was direct and earnest.
Han Su knew that if he asked anyone else, the question would mean nothing. They could brush him off however they liked. But Zhang Chiguo wouldn't.
No matter what kind of world it was, wherever there were people, there were bound to be good people. Zhang Chiguo was one of them.
Sure enough, as soon as Han Su asked, Zhang Chiguo's smoking hand stopped. He remained silent for a long time, as though his head were too heavy to lift and meet Han Su's eyes.
At last, he spoke quietly. "The original case file has been in my desk drawer all this time."
Han Su asked, "Just sitting there?"
Zhang Chiguo didn't answer this time. He just took a long drag on his cigarette.
"Uncle Zhang, I know the Kidnapping Case we encountered was truly bizarre. Before, I could even understand why none of you believed what I said, why those people kept coming to me again and again, demanding the truth. Because..."
Han Su paused, then said with a bitter smile, "Monsters that abduct people and all that really does sound strange."
"But now I know the killer truck exists."
He looked Zhang Chiguo straight in the eye. "If something that bizarre can be real, why must the Kidnapping Case I experienced back then have been fake?"
"Stop asking."
Before Han Su could finish, Zhang Chiguo looked up, his expression unusually stern. "The Kidnapping Case from ten years ago was just a child's fantasy after being frightened. Someone has already decided that's what it was."
Han Su's head snapped up. "Decided? Who decided that?"
Zhang Chiguo couldn't answer. He could only remain silent.
A moment later, he took a deep breath and softened his tone. "I don't know why Song Chushi gave you that Spell."
"But I can tell you this: it'll drag you into an endless abyss."
"What you should do now is forget that Spell and use the Xu Family's influence to get out of a case that had nothing to do with you in the first place."
"Go back to school, keep studying, find a job, find a girlfriend, and get on with your life..."
"..."
Han Su could hear the kindness in Zhang Chiguo's words, but now he only found them ridiculous. He slowly shook his head. "Uncle Zhang, I don't have a normal life anymore..."
"Now I'm sure I saw that thing with my own eyes!"
"I want to know if that thing is the same kind as the monster I encountered."
"More than that, I want to know why, when you all knew these things existed, nobody believed me when I encountered a monster back then."
"..."
A layer of frost seemed to settle over Zhang Chiguo's face. He seemed about to warn Han Su against something.
But when he thought of Han Su's circumstances and what he'd been through, of the boy he'd watched grow up, all he could do was sigh helplessly. "Is now really the time to argue about that?"
"Do you know that the thing you encountered was sealed in an abandoned stretch of road? You weren't supposed to come across it."
"If you did, that means someone deliberately let it out."
"I've read the files. I believe the people they most wanted to target were the Xu Family. You just happened to get caught up in it."
"But your circumstances are special. Getting dragged into this is even more troublesome for you than it is for that kid from the Xu Family!"
He seemed exhausted as he spoke. After taking a deep breath, he continued, "This time, I was the one who found you, so you have a chance of avoiding trouble. If someone else had handled this, there's no way you would've gotten away so easily!"
"So leave. Never bring up what happened tonight again, and don't mention that Kidnapping Case from ten years ago. Just pretend none of it ever happened."
"How is that fair?"
Han Su knew Zhang Chiguo was trying to help him, but he still couldn't help feeling agitated. His eyes narrowed slightly, and a beast seemed to roar inside him.
The interval was getting shorter. Last time, he'd been dragged back after half a month.
How long would it be this time?
Ten days? A week?
Han Su couldn't afford to gamble. Maybe he'd be dragged back as soon as the sun came up. What could he do then?
That thing didn't care about reason!
Facing Han Su's barely contained fury, Zhang Chiguo seemed about to say something. But in the end, he could only shake his head slowly and murmur, "That's just the way this world is."
"If someone says it's fake, then it's fake!"
"Go!"
He waved his hand wearily. "Leave right now, and never say anything like this again."
"Okay."
Han Su calmed down instead.
There was no way he'd give up investigating this, but he knew Zhang Chiguo. Once he'd made up his mind, nothing Han Su said now would change it.
But perhaps he could persuade him by telling him how he kept getting abducted back into the past. He just couldn't do it here. The worry on Zhang Chiguo's face was too obvious, and he'd been hinting that Han Su needed to find a more discreet chance to talk to him.
Outside the room, he saw a few people standing guard. They looked like Zhang Chiguo's subordinates.
Their gazes were full of scrutiny and curiosity.
Han Su reached the end of the corridor and pushed open the unlocked iron door. Beyond it, several Public Security Bureau detectives stood in small groups. When they heard the door, they instinctively straightened up.
But the moment they saw Han Su, their expressions turned odd. The young officer who had interrogated him earlier immediately glared.
"Who told you to come out?"
"..."
Han Su glanced back at the interrogation room. "They did."
The young officer was immediately stumped, his gaze hostile.
But with his Public Security Bureau colleagues and the team leader right there, the man in the tea-colored glasses gave the short-haired young detective a look, stopping him from saying anything more. Instead, he smiled and led Han Su to the desk nearby to fill out his information.
His voice was full of warmth. "Leave your phone number and address, and you can go home."
"But make sure you write them clearly!"
"This matter isn't over yet, after all. We may need to call you back to clarify a few things."
"..."
Han Su looked up at the eyes hidden behind the tea-colored glasses and memorized his face. Anger simmered inside him, waiting to break free, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
He was about to answer when the capable-looking woman in a black suit suddenly rushed out of another room, her expression tense, almost fearful.
"Wait!"
She stopped Han Su, then urgently called to Zhang Chiguo inside. "Chief Zhang, you can't let him leave!"
"The Spell on the recording pen isn't just some simple Fishing Horn!"
Before you continue