Mysterious Pursuit of Humans

"Hello, Mr. Han."

As he thought of the person's identity, the other party had already stepped forward with a smile to shake his hand: "I am Xu Jinping, the assistant to Xu Ji's father. Do you have a moment to chat with me?"

"Xu Ji didn't show up, but his father's assistant did?"

Han Su wasn't surprised. He had already known that given the Xu family's style of doing things, someone would inevitably come into contact with him.

He simply turned around, shook his hand, and chuckled, "Where are we going?"

Assistant Xu invited Han Su into the car. As the vehicle slowly drove off, he finally spoke, "Mr. Han, the young master is currently under house arrest and his phone has been confiscated, so he couldn't come to see you. I've come on his behalf to thank you."

"That's not necessary."

Han Su said, "No matter how many times you thank me, Xu Ji will still thank me himself."

"That's alright. Besides him, I also represent the Xu family."

Assistant Xu glanced back at the apartment building where Han Su lived. "This apartment, if you're happy living here, Mr. Han, I can authorize changing the name to yours."

Han Su blinked, looked up at him, and said, "That's not necessary. If you're really that generous, why don't you go to the property management and pay the management fees?"

Assistant Xu visibly paused, seemingly caught off guard, but still smiled and nodded, "I'll speak with the property management company later."

Then, he took out an envelope from his briefcase and handed it to Han Su with both hands. "Additionally, here's a card with six million inside. I hope Mr. Han will accept it."

Han Su smiled, "If I accept this money, will I no longer be able to approach Xu Ji?"

Assistant Xu smiled, "The Xu family doesn't do things so petty."

"Besides, even if we said it, the young master wouldn't agree. If they really wanted to prevent the young master from contacting you, they should have focused their efforts on him, rather than coming to trouble you, shouldn't they?"

"Of course, although the young master is indeed under house arrest now, Mr. Han, he didn't mean anything else. He just asked me to come and thank you for saving his life."

"As for now, it's indeed not suitable for you two to meet, but this is for the good of both of you."

He paused, his expression turning slightly serious. "You didn't accept hypnosis, and the young master isn't likely to accept it either. This means you are both deep contactors with the grotesque. Continuing to stay together would be very dangerous."

"..."

Han Su blinked slightly, "What do you mean?"

Assistant Xu slowly explained, "Deep contactors have a much higher probability of being attracted by mysterious things again or drawing the attention of certain anomalous existences than ordinary people."

"This is why some say that once you come into contact with certain things, you can never escape."

"And when two deep contactors stay together, the probability of attracting the grotesque becomes even more exaggerated."

"So, confining the young master now is also to reduce the risks for both of you. Moreover, as far as I know, that ghost truck that escaped its seal has still not been found."

"..."

"Ghost truck?"

Han Su thought of the grotesque he encountered on Highway 48, and a sense of extreme surprise welled up in his heart. "What is the Disaster Management Bureau doing?"

Assistant Xu couldn't help but glance at Han Su, thinking that this young man seemed to lack a certain respect for the organization.

"That is a very troublesome grotesque."

He could only smile and explain, "Its threat level is not high, and its secrecy level is not high, but it is very cunning and difficult to deal with. A former independent investigator had to take action against several lower-level entities to seal it in that abandoned section of road."

"But now, that investigator has been transferred elsewhere. Among the active investigators in Qinggang City, there might not be anyone particularly skilled at dealing with this type of entity."

"..."

"I understand."

Han Su nodded, indicating he understood.

But looking at this "pillar brother" that Xu Ji mentioned, who spoke so eloquently about words like "grotesque," "deep contact," and "ghost truck," he gradually felt a strange sense of unease.

After a moment of thought, he smiled and asked, "Assistant Xu, you seem to know a lot about the existence of these things?"

"We are merely aware of them."

Assistant Xu nodded. "However, even in Qinggang, there aren't many wealthy and influential families who truly know and understand these things."

Han Su's gaze sharpened slightly. "Then what is the threshold?"

"Status!"

Assistant Xu's answer was exceptionally direct. "Qinggang City is too large, and there are too many rich people. Consequently, positions are always filled by people, so in terms of wealth and influence, many people in Qinggang can be considered so."

"But there are very few people with status in Qinggang."

Han Su suddenly understood something and said in a low voice, "Then, what is the difference in perception between the status one brings and that of ordinary people?"

Assistant Xu thought for a moment. "Mr. Han, when you and the young master encountered the ghost truck before, did the young master tell you its origin?"

"Yes."

Han Su nodded. "He said he heard it in a club from a drunkard."

Assistant Xu said, "Perhaps that wasn't a drunkard, but rather the adults in their families intentionally arranged for people who knew the truth to leave an impression on them in some absurd way at the appropriate time?"

"Only in this way, if they unexpectedly encounter it, at least they will have some information to refer to."

"And when they reach a point where they absolutely need to know these things, having the previous foundation will prevent them from bearing too much of a burden."

"..."

Han Su sighed, damn it, it's good to be rich...

He thought back to before, when Xu Ji always wanted to drag him down with him, but Han Su, in order to find useful information, didn't play around or join the fun, and just spent his time in the library.

If he had known this would happen, maybe going out with Xu Ji would have led him to encounter these things sooner?

Of course, thinking back again, that wasn't right either. At that time, he didn't have the spell given by Song Chushi yet. If he had rashly gotten involved, he might have been killed.

"There's no need to feel regretful, Mr. Han."

Assistant Xu said softly, "Needing to know about the existence of these things isn't necessarily a good thing."

"Perhaps you also know that there are many mystery enthusiasts in Qinggang?"

"They either sense something strange from history or from certain minute details, and thus pursue these things. Some are driven by curiosity, while others covet the power to twist reality..."

"..."

Han Su slowly nodded. He had met one such person; the Doctor, an executor from his own cohort, belonged to the group chasing the mysterious and had chased himself right into the Disaster Management Bureau.

Assistant Xu turned to look out the car window and sighed softly, "Most of them never manage to chase anything. No matter what they try, they can't touch true mystery."

"But this, in itself, is a kind of fortune."

"It's because the Disaster Management Bureau is doing its work that they are able to have this fortune."

"Mr. Han, it's not humans who have been pursuing mystery all along; it's mystery that has been pursuing humans..."

"Although, before the distance of this pursuit becomes so close that its shadow can completely engulf humanity, there's no need to even let ordinary people know."

"..."

"Mystery, pursuing humans..."

Assistant Xu's words unexpectedly reminded Han Su of the feeling he had every time he was kidnapped. His mood suddenly felt like it had gone through the ups and downs of a roller coaster.

He suddenly understood why the Xu family only appeared before him nearly a week after he was released from the Disaster Management Bureau.

The Disaster Management Bureau had only been established for three years, but some things had likely existed for who knows how many years.

It was just that one needed "status" to know the truth.

Perhaps, if one were polite, they shouldn't continue the conversation after reaching this point.

But Han Su wasn't polite. He turned around and earnestly asked the question that concerned him the most: "Then, as someone with status who has known about the existence of these things for a long time, Assistant Xu, what do you think about the kidnapping case I experienced back then?"

Assistant Xu fell silent.

Han Su remembered that in his original life path, Xu Ji was also one of the kidnapped children. This meant that at that time, Xu Ji's family was actually among the victim's families.

But in his memory, he didn't recall Xu Ji's family ever coming to find him.

Just as in the current life path, not every victim's family had appeared before his eyes.

"Mr. Han, you are an unfortunate person."

Assistant Xu was silent for a long time before slowly replying, "You encountered such a thing, it's pitiable."

"Even for me, who knew long ago that those grotesque things were stirring in the shadows of Qinggang city, I couldn't believe it was true."

Han Su frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Because..."

Assistant Xu thought for a moment before finding a suitable answer and said in a low voice, "If this is true, then even for people like us who have known about the existence of the shadows for a long time and have dealt with them, this kind of event is still too mysterious and difficult to comprehend."

"..."

It took Han Su a while before he slowly looked up at him.

Assistant Xu said no more, even deliberately lowering his head to avoid further questions from Han Su.

It wasn't until the car stopped steadily and the driver in front gently knocked on the car window that he perked up, smiled, and pressed a button: "All I can discuss with Mr. Han is this much. Shall we change the topic!"

The curtains on the car window parted to the sides. He looked out the window and said softly, "Mr. Han, look, are you satisfied with this outcome?"