Chapter 29: Rescued
“Hmm?”
Suddenly pulled back to the present, Han Su felt as though he had been dragged through an endless river in an instant.
The scenery before his eyes was still distorting and shifting, and the surrounding sounds seemed to come from far to near.
As the sound finally reached his ears, he met the gaze of the female staff member with messy hair and still found it a bit strange.
Little handsome guy—was she mocking him?
But before he could think further, he suddenly realized something.
Han Su lifted his head and looked toward the one-way glass directly across from him, at his own reflection.
His gaze froze, seeing his two intact and unharmed eyes.
“My eyes are healed?”
Finally realizing that he had successfully escaped once again, Han Su let out a long sigh of relief. Then he examined his surroundings and confirmed that he had returned to the moment when he first entered the Disaster Management Bureau for evaluation. His heart eased slightly.
What followed was an uncontrollable surge of excitement and trembling.
‘I…’
He thought in his heart, but even such an inner thought trembled uncontrollably now, filled with self-doubt: ‘I think... I rescued one?’
‘……’
Did he really rescue one?
Han Su tried hard to think, not so confidently.
In his mind, he could still clearly remember holding that soft and small body, the warm sensation as it tumbled into reality from that door.
But did he really succeed?
He couldn’t help but doubt himself, having failed too many times.
Every time, the children ended up suffering because of him.
So many past risks and plans had all ended in failure.
This time, could he really have saved someone just because of a casual glance?
He almost couldn’t believe himself.
It was as if something long yearned for had finally happened, yet that very realization made him question whether it was all just an illusion.
His thoughtful appearance was seen by Zhang Chiguo and the nearby staff, and to them, it looked like he had just abruptly awakened and was still somewhat dazed, with a helpless expression.
“You passed the test. Don’t forget what I told you before—attend the training properly.”
“Do your best to get into Group D1D2.”
Zhang Chiguo patted Han Su on the shoulder with satisfaction, then turned and left.
Judging by his back, the old man seemed to have shrugged off some tremendous burden, and his steps had become noticeably lighter.
“You’re good to go now. Just write the report truthfully and get Chief Zhang’s signature.”
The capable woman in black suit turned to the female staff member with messy hair and asked, “Any issues?”
“None, absolutely safe.”
The staff member said, “I’ve never seen someone who, during the playback of a coded spell, not only didn’t show any discomfort but even started tearing up and dozing off.”
“This kid—forget any signs of contamination, his spiritual sensitivity is so low it’s downright appalling!”
“……”
“Low spiritual sensitivity isn’t a bad thing.”
The capable woman in black suit smiled and then said to Han Su, “Get up, kiddo. I’ll take you to the Disaster Management Bureau’s assessment. Perhaps, we’ll soon be colleagues.”
“Colleagues?”
Han Su’s mind was still flooded with overwhelming self-doubt and surprise, but he obediently stood up nonetheless.
On the way back to the lounge, following the woman in the black suit, he still felt an unreal sensation—like he was stepping on cotton.
Once he completed registration, apparently signed up for some kind of assessment, and finished a series of medical checks, he finally sorted out his thoughts.
He seized the opportunity to ask the woman who had accompanied him the whole time, “Miss Secretary, about that…”
“…that kidnapping case…”
“……”
The capable woman in black suit’s expression changed slightly.
She glanced around, then lowered her voice and said, “Didn’t Chief Zhang already tell you not to talk about that case casually?”
“Especially within the Disaster Management Bureau—not everyone here is a friend of Chief Zhang.”
“I can tell that he values you a lot and wants you to avoid making mistakes in the Disaster Management Bureau. So, if you trust him, then you should also heed his advice—stop bringing up that case and just act like a newcomer to the Disaster Management Bureau, until he formally sits down and talks with you.”
“……”
Han Su noticed her wariness and nodded, choosing his words carefully: “I just want to make sure there’s a chance this case will be investigated…”
“…After all, it concerns over twenty lives.”
He deliberately slowed down: “Even now, those twenty-some children who still haven’t been found…”
“Twenty-five!”
The capable woman in black suit furrowed her brows and said, “Twenty-five missing children.”
“Not just Chief Zhang—even I remember that case vividly.”
“But this is the last time I’ll warn you—don’t casually talk about that case anymore. Do you think Chief Zhang isn’t under enough pressure already?”
“If he’s promised to have a proper conversation with you, then do your best to pass the assessment first!”
“……”
‘Twenty-five?’
A tremor suddenly shook Han Su’s heart, and he even felt a slight ringing in his ears.
So… he really had rescued one?
After Xu Ji, another child had been brought out from the Ancient Castle by him. Thus, the kidnapping case from back then now had one less victim—changing from twenty-six to twenty-five…
“Why does he look kind of dumbfounded?”
The capable woman in black suit watched as Han Su began to grin mid-sentence and found it a little strange.
This kid—the same one that Chief Zhang, a cold and ruthless man who never even offered overtime pay, had long held in mind… Why did he now seem a bit…
…Completely useless, except for being good-looking?
……
‘So, I really did save a child. Then next time I return to the Ancient Castle, will there be another door that can help me escape?’
‘Or… will there be some other change?’
Immersed in this enormous joy, Han Su’s thoughts spiraled out of control.
Ever since he started being pulled into the past by that mysterious force, he hadn’t felt this excited in a long time.
Yet, just as he was basking in the euphoria, a rather absurd thought suddenly occurred to him: ‘So, that girl I rescued… who was she, exactly?’
He wasn’t familiar with the kidnapped children—he only remembered some faces.
That girl had a quiet and reserved personality, one of the more ordinary types among the kidnapped kids, with very few distinguishing features in memory.
And although he had investigated their identities in the real world, not all of the twenty-six kidnapped children had their identities publicly revealed.
That girl was one of the unrevealed ones.
Before the kidnapping, he had just transferred into that class, sent there by the tall, skinny woman who had raised him—so he didn’t know the names of all the children.
No matter how hard he racked his brain, he could only vaguely recall someone once calling her “Meilan”?
Was it Meilan? Or just a homophone?
And even if he wanted to search the class for her name and background, it wouldn’t work.
Just like how Xu Ji disappeared from both the kidnapping case and the class after he was rescued.
This girl was probably the same.
Moreover, based on Xu Ji’s changes, he had forgotten about the kidnapping, and naturally also forgot that Han Su had rescued him.
The girl, theoretically, wouldn’t remember Han Su either.
So, wouldn’t that mean… even if he wanted to find her, he couldn’t?
But perhaps, just like Xu Ji became his friend, fate would let them meet again?
On that point, Han Su was rather open-minded. To him, saving the girl mattered more than who she actually was.
It was enough that she had been saved.
Since he could rescue her, then Li Manman, Song Chu‑shi, and Tuxedo Boy, the irritable boy, Bowl‑Cut Boy…
There was still hope. He could rescue them all, one by one.
That hope invigorated him, filling him with renewed energy—even his steps became noticeably lighter.
“Huh, something still feels off…”
That lightness faded slightly the moment he caught a glimpse of himself in the window nearby.
A new question suddenly surfaced.
It was a doubt that had already emerged back in the Ancient Castle but had never been thoroughly considered.
Lifting his head, he could see his own face clearly reflected in the one-way glass in front of him.
His features were intact.
Not only were both eyes unharmed, even the once hideous scar had vanished.
This time, he had finally broken free from the fate of the previous life line—losing an eye and being disfigured.
But the question was…
The doubt in his heart now fully surfaced:
“Back in the Ancient Castle, I seemed to have successfully chanted that spell and even distorted the bronze snakes that lunged at me?”
“But the spell’s power is supposed to activate the mysterious energy remaining within me. In the Ancient Castle, I shouldn’t have had any residual monster power in my eyes. So how did the spell activate such power?”
“What’s even stranger…”
“Before, I used the mysterious energy left in my right eye by the monster to repel the Phantom Truck, saving Xu Ji and myself. That’s how I was eventually found and brought into the Disaster Management Bureau.”
“So in this life line, where I didn’t lose that eye—how did I manage to repel the Phantom Truck just like before, and reach this point in my life?”