"Hello, Mr. Han."
As he remembered who the man was, the other smiled and came forward to shake his hand. "I'm Xu Jinping, assistant to Xu Ji's father. Do you have time to talk?"
"Xu Ji didn't show up, but his father's assistant did?"
Han Su wasn't surprised. He'd known all along that, given the way Xu Ji's family did things, someone would inevitably come to see him.
So he simply turned and shook the man's hand, smiling. "Where to?"
Assistant Xu invited Han Su into the car. It pulled away slowly, and only then did he speak. "Mr. Han, the young master is currently grounded, and his phone has been confiscated, so he couldn't come see you. I'm here on his behalf to thank you."
"There's no need."
Han Su said, "You can thank me as many times as you like, but Xu Ji will still thank me again himself."
"That doesn't matter. I'm also here representing the Xu family."
Assistant Xu glanced back at the apartment building where Han Su lived. "If you're happy living here, Mr. Han, I can arrange to have the apartment transferred into your name."
Han Su paused and looked up at him. "No need. If you're really feeling that generous, how about paying the building management fees?"
Assistant Xu was clearly taken aback, as if he hadn't quite understood, but he still nodded with a smile. "I'll speak to the property management company about it."
Then he took an envelope from his briefcase and offered it to Han Su with both hands. "Also, there's a card in here with six million on it. I hope you'll accept it."
Han Su smiled. "If I take the money, does that mean I can't go near Xu Ji anymore?"
Assistant Xu smiled. "The Xu family doesn't do things in such a petty way."
"Besides, even if that were the case, the young master wouldn't agree. If we really wanted him to stop seeing you, we should work on him, not come here and make things difficult for you, Mr. Han. Isn't that right?"
"Of course, the young master is grounded right now, but my employer didn't have any other motive in sending me. He simply wanted me to thank you for saving his son's life."
"As for the moment, you two really aren't suited to seeing each other, but that's for both your sakes."
He paused, his expression turning slightly grave. "You didn't undergo hypnosis, and the young master couldn't possibly agree to it either. That means both of you have had deep exposure to the supernatural. If you stay together, it'll be dangerous."
"..."
Han Su was taken aback. "How so?"
Assistant Xu spoke slowly. "People with deep exposure are far more likely than ordinary people to be drawn to mysterious things again, or to attract the attention of certain anomalous beings."
"That's why people say that once you're exposed to some things, you can never escape them."
"And when two people with deep exposure stay together, the chance of attracting the supernatural becomes even higher."
"That's why the young master has been grounded, to reduce the risk to both of you. What's more, as far as I know, the Ghost Truck that escaped containment still hasn't been found."
"..."
"The Ghost Truck?"
Han Su thought of the supernatural entity he'd encountered on Highway 48, and was astonished. "What the hell is the Disaster Management Bureau doing?"
Assistant Xu couldn't help glancing at Han Su, thinking that the young man seemed to have little respect for government agencies.
"That's a very troublesome case."
He could only explain with a smile. "Its threat level isn't high, and neither is its secrecy level, but it's cunning and difficult to deal with. An Independent Investigator from several ranks above the local team once had to step in before it could be sealed in that abandoned stretch of road."
"But that investigator has since been transferred elsewhere. Among the investigators currently active in Qinggang, there may not be anyone particularly good at dealing with this kind of entity."
"..."
"I understand."
Han Su nodded to show that he understood.
But as he listened to the man Xu Ji called Brother Pillar casually talk about terms like "supernatural," "deep exposure," and "Ghost Truck," a strange feeling gradually came over him.
After a moment's thought, he smiled. "Assistant Xu, you seem to know a great deal about these things."
"I only know they exist."
Assistant Xu nodded. "Even among the wealthy and powerful families here in Qinggang, not many know about these things for certain, let alone understand them."
Han Su furrowed his brow slightly. "Then what's the threshold?"
"Status!"
Assistant Xu answered without hesitation. "Qinggang City is huge, and there are plenty of rich people. Positions have to be filled, after all. So when you talk about being rich and powerful, quite a lot of people in Qinggang qualify."
"But very few people in Qinggang have status."
Han Su suddenly understood something. He lowered his voice. "How much does the knowledge that comes with that status differ from what ordinary people know?"
Assistant Xu considered the question. "Mr. Han, when you and the young master encountered the Ghost Truck, did he tell you where it came from?"
"Yes."
Han Su nodded. "He said he'd heard it from a drunk at a club."
Assistant Xu said, "Perhaps that wasn't a drunk. Maybe the adults in his family had deliberately arranged for people who knew the truth to leave an impression on him at the right time, presenting it in some absurd form."
"That way, if they ever encountered something like that by chance, they'd at least have some information to go on."
"And when the time came that they had to know the truth, that early foundation would mean they wouldn't have to bear as much of a burden."
"..."
Han Su sighed. Damn, it was good to be rich...
Thinking back, Xu Ji had wanted to drag him out to have fun every day, but Han Su had refused to play or join the crowds. He'd spent all his time in the library, trying to find something useful.
If he'd known, maybe going out with Xu Ji would've brought him into contact with these things sooner.
Of course, thinking about it again, that wasn't right either. Back then, he hadn't yet received the Spell from Song Chushi. If he'd gone poking around without knowing any better, he might've ended up dead.
"There's no need to regret it, Mr. Han."
Assistant Xu said softly, "Knowing these things exist isn't necessarily a good thing."
"You may know that Qinggang has plenty of people fascinated by the mysterious."
"Some have noticed oddities in history, or in tiny details, and started chasing after these things. Some do it out of curiosity, while others covet the power to warp reality..."
"..."
Han Su slowly nodded. He'd met one such person: the Doctor, an Executor who'd joined the Bureau around the same time as him, had pursued the mysterious and ended up in the Disaster Management Bureau.
Assistant Xu turned to look out the window and sighed softly. "The vast majority of them will never catch up to anything, no matter what they try. They can't get close to the real mystery."
"But that, in fact, is a kind of good fortune."
"It's the Disaster Management Bureau's work that lets them enjoy that good fortune."
"Mr. Han, humanity has never been the one chasing the mysterious. The mysterious has always been chasing humanity..."
"Though before the chase draws near enough for its shadow to completely cover humanity, there's no need to let ordinary people know."
"..."
"The mysterious, chasing humanity..."
Assistant Xu's words unexpectedly reminded Han Su of how he'd felt each time he'd been kidnapped. His emotions rose and fell like a roller coaster.
He suddenly understood why the Xu family had waited nearly a week after he'd left the Disaster Management Bureau before showing up.
The Bureau had only been established three years ago, but some of these things had probably existed for countless years.
It was just that you needed "status" to learn the truth.
Perhaps a polite person would've known not to bring up the subject any further.
But Han Su wasn't polite. He turned and asked earnestly, "As someone with status, who's known about these things for a long time, what do you think of the Kidnapping Case I experienced back then, Assistant Xu?"
Assistant Xu fell silent.
Han Su remembered that, on the original Life Path, Xu Ji had been one of the children who were kidnapped. That meant Xu Ji's family had also been among the victims' families at the time.
But as far as he remembered, Xu Ji's family had never come to see him.
Just as, on this Life Path, not every victim's family had appeared before him.
"Mr. Han, you've had a hard life."
Assistant Xu was silent for a long while before answering slowly. "What happened to you is heartbreaking."
"Even I, someone who knew from a very early age that supernatural entities were stirring in the shadows of Qinggang, couldn't believe this was real."
Han Su frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Because..."
Assistant Xu thought for a moment before finding a suitable answer. He lowered his voice. "If it's true, then even for people like us, who've known about the shadows for a long time and dealt with them, this is simply too mysterious and difficult to understand."
"..."
It took Han Su a long time to slowly raise his head and look at him.
Assistant Xu said no more. He even deliberately lowered his head to keep Han Su from asking again.
Only when the car came to a smooth stop and the driver in front tapped lightly on the window did Assistant Xu pull himself together and smile. He pressed a button. "That's all I can talk to you about, Mr. Han. Let's change the subject!"
The curtains covering the window slid apart. Looking outside, he said softly, "Mr. Han, take a look. Are you satisfied with this result?"
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