The Cross Scar

As I pondered these questions, my mind suddenly began to feel a slight dizziness. Fragments of memories from a new life began to surface in my brain:

The new memories were largely similar to the standard ones I had experienced before. I had still escaped the ancient castle, been sent to an orphanage, studied hard, and gotten into Qinggang University.

The difference, however, was that I hadn't been disfigured. Both my eyes were intact, though a cross-shaped scar had appeared on the back of my left hand.

My left hand had become somewhat stiff because of this, not as nimble or useful as my right.

And this one change seemed to have triggered many other changes in my life.

For instance, my file at the Disaster Management Bureau had changed from "right eye function impaired" to "slight stiffness in left hand."

Looking down at my left hand, I indeed found it slightly curled and stiff. It wasn't that I couldn't extend it or grip things, but it felt rusty and awkward.

The cross-shaped scar on the back of my hand was exceptionally prominent.

Everything else seemed to follow the same script:

I still woke up in class, chatted with Black Rose, went to the library to research, saw the kind long-haired female student, and dealt with the private investigator who came looking for trouble. After resolving that, I met Song Chushi again, but this time...

He didn't give me a spell?

For a moment, Han Su doubted his own memory, but upon closer reflection, he realized Song Chushi indeed hadn't given him a spell.

He had only noted down the descriptions of the monsters I'd given him, then subtly asked if I believed in the existence of mysterious and strange things in the world, even suggesting they were all around us.

Ordinary people couldn't see them, as their perception had been deliberately severed by a very powerful organization.

Wait, this is...

Han Su found the changes difficult to comprehend.

Normally, if I were affected, many things in my memory would change.

For example, the time I broke my leg, I wouldn't have participated in the school's high jump competition. But why, this time, were other people's actions the ones that had changed?

Han Su recalled more details with surprise.

In this memory, when facing the ghost truck, I still recited the spell. The spell was already in my mind; it didn't matter if Song Chushi had given it to me or not. When encountering grotesque dangers, I would naturally recite it.

It was just that at the time, I didn't quite understand why I had recited the spell, only understanding its origin when this memory flashed back.

Furthermore, after I recited the secret words, the ghost truck still showed signs of melting and fled in terror.

This spell was originally meant to activate the mysterious power left in my right eye by the monster.

So why, just like when I was in the ancient castle, did it have the same effect even though my right eye wasn't injured?

Even a series of changes had occurred, but they were only in the details. Because Song Chushi hadn't given me the spell, the Disaster Management Bureau was merely surprised that I had contacted a dangerous individual like Song Chushi.

They even suspected that Xu Ji and I had survived the ghost truck because of Song Chushi's help. And because they detected traces of his intervention, they kept me at the Disaster Management Bureau.

On this life path, Song Chushi had intervened?

As the memories filled in, various doubts surfaced. Han Su increasingly felt like he was touching upon something extraordinary.

"My name is Cui Qiao. I've been with Chief Zhang for two years."

As I was contemplating these thoughts, the female secretary in the black suit beside me called Han Su back to reality. She tidied up a stack of documents and said, "Your information has been entered, and your file will soon be classified.

"Someone will even help you request leave from your school. You don't need to worry about any of that. You just need to perform well in the upcoming training."

"Also, if there's anything else, you can come to me. If I can't handle it, I'll go to Chief Zhang."

"..."

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

The female secretary in the black suit chuckled. "No need to be so polite. Chief Zhang cares about you so much, so I won't treat you like an outsider."

"Old Zhang has gotten better too..."

Han Su remembered that when Zhang Chiguo took over the kidnapping case, he hadn't been doing well at the Public Security Bureau.

Despite his age, he hadn't been promoted and was stuck doing the hardest and most thankless work as a frontline investigator.

But now, only three or four years later, how had he managed to reach such a high-ranking position in this mysterious department, complete with such a beautiful secretary?

Compared to the previous timeline, Han Su vaguely recalled that her attitude towards him hadn't been this friendly before...

Could it be because I'm not disfigured or blind now?

Hiss...

This woman, with her cold and unapproachable demeanor, turned out to be a superficial judge of character after all...

But seeing her friendly attitude, Han Su's thoughts stirred slightly, and he tentatively asked, "Sister, what was that sound I heard just now?"

"Why did you say I was tested when I was asleep?"

"Didn't you initially ask me to listen carefully and try to discern certain words or syllables from those sounds?"

"..."

This question was genuinely concerning.

This accidental kidnapping had come too suddenly and didn't fit the previous pattern. It was definitely related to the "secret words" I'd heard at the Disaster Management Bureau.

But if these secret words could cause one to be kidnapped in advance, could they also have other uses?

Thinking bigger, could these secret words contain a code to postpone or even escape this kind of kidnapping?

"It's the ruin secret words."

Hearing Han Su change his address, the female secretary in the black suit originally didn't want to answer such a rookie-like stupid question, but in a good mood, she replied: "This is a language that archaeologists excavated from the ruins of a former civilization. It is said not to belong to humans."

"We let you listen to this language to see if you have been contaminated by the grotesque, and also to judge the level of your spirituality and the strength of your blocking ability, which will be useful in future training."

Her speaking style, like her clothing style, was very concise:

"You and that child from the Xu family encountered the ghost truck, so you both belong to grotesque contactors."

"Although you saved your lives, we must also suspect whether your minds have been twisted, or if there is something else strange and dangerous hidden in your mental world."

"These secret words are exclusive to the Disaster Management Bureau, possessing the highest authority, yet causing the least harm to the mental state of ordinary people. If there is something hidden in your mental world, listening to these secret words will easily trigger resonance, and those things will be stimulated."

"Therefore, this is also used as a detection method by the Disaster Management Bureau, a final safety guarantee. After all, although the Disaster Management Bureau has rules for mandatory recruitment, not everyone dares to take them in."

"However, judging by the result, you are safe."

She turned to look at Han Su and suddenly smiled, revealing her snow-white, fine teeth: "You're very safe indeed, you actually fell asleep."

"So, you took those annihilating secret words as snoring?"

"..."

"Mainly because you played these secret words for too long, it sounded like an opera..."

Han Su also put on a smile and replied: "But to be honest, I'm still very interested. I've always been interested in occultism and religious culture. I wonder where I can come into contact with these in the future?"

"Contacting these things is dangerous, your current clearance is not enough."

The female secretary in the black suit just glanced at Han Su and said, "It depends on your performance later. We'll talk if you're truly qualified to be an investigator."

She thought to herself: A person who can fall asleep listening to secret words still has the nerve to say he's interested in occultism?

"Okay..."

Han Su agreed with a sunny smile, but his heart suddenly became extremely vigilant.

Perhaps, I wasn't the safest, but the most dangerous?

That thing not only resonated with the mysterious power within me, but it even sent me back...

However, every time it flickered, my performance at the same time point was as if I had slept, which surprisingly allowed me to pass this test?

But it seemed that this female secretary in the black suit was no longer willing to reveal more on this topic, yet he was unwilling to settle for so little information. He still tentatively asked: "Then, Miss, after joining your department, what will we do in the future?"

"Is the responsibility to capture things like the ghost truck?"

"..."

"Capture?"

The female secretary in the black suit smiled and said, "That responsibility certainly exists, but more importantly, it's about tracing, blocking, preventing, and most importantly, lying!"

"Lying?"

Han Su was a little stunned when he heard this word: "This is also work?"

"Of course, and it's the most important one!"

The female secretary in the black suit smiled and said, "The ghost truck, contaminated by mysterious Machinery, should not exist in reality. This would cause many people's worldview to collapse, so we don't let it appear in the public's perception."

"For surreal grotesque phenomena, public awareness is also a form of infiltration of the mysterious into reality."

"Our job is to let ordinary people live peacefully, not to encounter these things, not to be contaminated by these things, and most importantly, not to believe in the existence of these things."

"Isn't it simple?"