Chapter 16: Someone Drew a Conclusion
“Wasn’t it already a sign of how unlucky I was to run into such a messed-up situation ten years ago?”
Facing Zhang Chiguo’s lament, Han Su himself didn’t feel anything in particular, but rather carried a hint of expectation as he asked, “So, what exactly is this thing?”
In fact, Zhang Chiguo could be considered the person Han Su once trusted the most. After all, when he first escaped from the bunker and was abandoned by everyone, only Zhang had looked after him.
Meeting him again, and at such a delicate moment, Han Su felt a kind of destined sensation, and had already prepared many things to say.
But Zhang Chiguo didn’t let Han Su continue speaking. With just a few glances at the person giving the statement, as if struggling with something internally, the hesitation quickly turned into a decision. He suddenly looked at Han Su and said:
“You should go back!”
“Hmm?”
Zhang Chiguo slowly stood up and said to Han Su, “That kid from the Xu family and Mr. Xu’s assistant have been waiting outside for you since earlier. You can leave directly and cut off any ties with this case.”
“But Xiao Han…”
He paused, then stared seriously into Han Su’s eyes and advised, “Take my advice—forget that spell.”
“Song Chu‑shi is a dangerous individual. Many cities won’t allow him to enter. In the Disaster Management Department, his classified data level is even higher than mine.”
“Ten years ago, your escape was a stroke of luck. You should keep moving forward and not get dragged back into these things.”
“This is a setup, and you’re just an unlucky person.”
“A setup?”
Han Su was a bit surprised.
He had never expected that Zhang Chiguo would say something like this just after they met.
Even Zhang Chiguo looked conflicted at this moment.
There was a sense of wanting to speak, but realizing that anything he said would break the rules. Even with good intentions, this kind of thing clearly put someone as upright as him in a difficult position.
In the end, he could only sigh and say, “Xiao Han, I’ve actually been keeping an eye on you. I know you got into Qinggang University, that you’ve made something of yourself, and that you follow the Public Security Bureau’s advice by regularly seeing a psychologist to try and recall any useful clues.”
“But doing your best is enough—don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”
“Some things can’t be explained clearly. It’s better to avoid them, as far as possible. Leave the professional matters to the professionals.”
“……”
Listening to Zhang Chiguo’s comforting words, Han Su vaguely sensed something and his mind tensed slightly.
Could it be that Zhang Chiguo knew some clues?
Previously, Zhang Chiguo’s attitude toward him wasn’t much different from the victims’ families.
Those families wanted to find their children, while Zhang Chiguo wanted to crack the kidnapping case.
They all had no other way, so they could only come to him again and again, hoping to extract something useful from his mind to help solve the case.
But now, Zhang Chiguo clearly seemed like a different person, with an even stronger urge to keep him out of it.
This could only mean that he had already learned part of the truth and confirmed Han Su’s innocence.
Could it even be that he now believed in the existence of the monster?
But if so, why had he never approached Han Su again? Now that they had met, why was his only thought to get Han Su out as quickly as possible?
“Professional people?”
As thoughts raced through his mind, Han Su put on a different smile and said, “Uncle Zhang, in my eyes, you’re already a very professional person.”
“It’s been so long since we met—I also want to know, are you still investigating this case?”
He asked very directly and seriously.
If it were someone else, Han Su would know such a question was pointless, as the other party could brush him off. But not Zhang Chiguo.
No matter what kind of world it is, wherever there are humans, there will inevitably be those rare good people—Zhang Chiguo was one of them.
Sure enough, after he asked the question, Zhang Chiguo’s hand holding the cigarette suddenly stopped. He remained silent for a long time, as if his head was too heavy to lift and meet Han Su’s eyes.
Only after a long while did he speak in a low voice: “The original case file for this incident has always been in my drawer.”
Han Su asked, “You just kept it there?”
This time, Zhang Chiguo didn’t say anything else. He just silently took a deep drag from his cigarette.
“Uncle Zhang, I also know that the kidnapping case we encountered is far too bizarre. Before, I could even understand why you didn’t believe what I said, why those people kept coming to me for the truth, because…”
Han Su paused for a moment before speaking with a bitter smile: “A monster doing the kidnapping and all… it does sound a bit odd.”
“But now, I know about the existence of the killer truck.”
He looked Zhang Chiguo straight in the eye: “Since such sinister things really exist, then why must the kidnapping I experienced back then be fake?”
“Don’t ask anymore.”
Before Han Su could finish, Zhang Chiguo suddenly looked up, his expression unusually stern: “The kidnapping ten years ago was originally just a frightened child’s imagination. Someone has already drawn a conclusion on it.”
Han Su suddenly looked up: “Drew a conclusion? Who did that?”
Zhang Chiguo couldn’t answer—he could only remain silent.
After a moment, he took a deep breath and softened his tone, speaking quietly: “I don’t know why Song Chu‑shi gave you that spell.”
“But what I can tell you is, it’ll drag you into a bottomless abyss.”
“What you should do now is forget that spell, and use the Xu family’s influence to distance yourself from this matter that originally had nothing to do with you.”
“Go back to school, continue your studies, get a job, find a girlfriend, keep living your life…”
“……”
Han Su heard the goodwill in Zhang Chiguo’s words, but now it all just sounded absurd. He slowly shook his head and said, “Uncle Zhang, I no longer have what you’d call a normal life…”
“Right now, I’m just very certain—I saw that kind of ghostly thing!”
“I want to know—are those ghostly things the same kind as the monster I encountered?”
“What I want to know even more is—since you all clearly know these things exist, then why didn’t anyone believe me when I encountered that monster?”
“……”
A frosty layer seemed to spread across Zhang Chiguo’s face. He looked as if he wanted to warn Han Su.
But thinking of Han Su’s circumstances and what he’d been through, thinking of the boy he had watched grow up, he could only sigh with helplessness: “Is now really the time to argue over this kind of thing?”
“Do you know, the thing you encountered was originally sealed in an abandoned section of road. You weren’t supposed to come across it.”
“But since you did, that means someone deliberately released it.”
“I’ve seen the files, and I believe the target they truly want to trap is someone from the Xu family. You were just caught in the middle.”
“But your identity is special. You getting dragged into this is more troublesome than the Xu family’s kid!”
As he spoke, he even seemed a bit exhausted.
Taking a deep breath, he finally said: “You were lucky to run into me this time, which is why you might still avoid this trouble. If it had been anyone else handling this, there’d be no way you could get away so easily!”
“So leave, and never mention tonight’s events again. Don’t bring up the kidnapping case from ten years ago either. Just act like none of it ever happened.”
“What kind of logic is that?”
Han Su knew he was probably trying to help, but he still felt restless inside. His eyes narrowed slightly, and in his heart, it was as if a wild beast was roaring.
The interval was shrinking. Last time, it only took half a month before he was dragged back.
This time—how long would it be?
Ten days? A week?
Han Su couldn’t gamble. Maybe he’d be dragged back the moment the sun rose—what could he even do then?
That thing doesn’t reason with people!
Facing Han Su’s eyes, brimming with fury, Zhang Chiguo for a moment felt an urge to speak, but in the end, he could only slowly shake his head and whisper: “This world is just like that.”
“If someone says it’s fake, then it is fake!”
“Go!”
He waved his hand wearily and said, “Leave right now, and don’t ever speak like that again.”
“Alright.”
Han Su, on the contrary, calmed down.
Of course, he couldn’t possibly give up on investigating this, but he knew Zhang Chiguo—once he had made a decision, there was no point in arguing.
But maybe he could persuade him—by talking about how he kept getting kidnapped and dragged back.
Only—it couldn’t be in this setting.
The worry on Zhang Chiguo’s face was too obvious. He was constantly hinting that Han Su needed to find a more discreet opportunity to talk.
Outside the door, he saw several people standing guard—likely Zhang Chiguo’s subordinates.
Their gazes toward him were full of scrutiny and curiosity.
Han Su walked to the end of the hallway.
After pushing open the unlocked iron door, he saw several Public Security Bureau agents standing around in twos and threes.
The moment they heard the sound of the iron door, they instinctively stood at attention.
But upon seeing it was Han Su coming out, their expressions turned strange.
The young officer who had just interrogated him widened his eyes:
“Who let you out?”
“……”
Han Su glanced back at the interrogation room and said, “They did.”
The young officer instantly choked, glaring unpleasantly.
But under the gaze of his fellow officers and the squad captain nearby, the officer with the amber-tinted sunglasses immediately stopped the crew-cut officer with a look.
He smiled and guided Han Su to a table nearby to register.
His voice was full of friendliness: “Leave your phone number and address, and you can go.”
“But make sure to write it clearly!”
“This case isn’t over yet. We might still need to call you in to clarify a few things.”
“……”
Han Su looked up at the eyes behind those amber lenses and etched his appearance deeply into memory.
A repressed fire waited inside him for release. His mouth twitched slightly.
Just as he was about to speak—
The capable-looking woman in the black suit suddenly rushed out of another room, flustered and visibly afraid:
“Wait!”
She called out to Han Su, then urgently shouted toward the inside: “Chief Zhang, we can’t let him go!”
“The spell in the voice recorder—it’s not just some ordinary fisherman’s chant…”