The Eldritch Files

'Are the fates of those of us who escaped the Ancient Castle really drawn to each other like magnets?'

Han Su had been wondering how he could meet this fourth child he had rescued. However, Seawall City was another city entirely, and it would be troublesome for an Investigator to go there. Besides, he didn't know his way around or have any contacts, which would make finding someone difficult.

He never expected to run into him over something like this.

Moreover, his earlier worry had been that the boy wasn't part of the Mysterious Circle, which would have made finding him useless. But now, it seemed this guy actually held the title of Doctor of Archaeology?

Originally, he hadn't been in the first tier of Han Su's rescue list; Han Su had higher hopes for Pot Lid Head. But now that they'd run into each other...

Just as he was thinking this, he saw the young Doctor of Archaeology get out of his car and walk straight toward them.

He didn't bring any guards or assistants, only a single female secretary with black-framed glasses, ear-length short hair, and a slender figure in an office suit. She followed him closely, holding a parasol over his head while holding out a hand to prevent anyone from getting near.

He walked forward, his expression blank. Facing Investigator Bai Yang who had come to greet him, he merely glanced at the case in the Investigator's hands, let out a cold scoff, and ignored the friendly hand extended to him. Clasping his hands behind his back, he said arrogantly:

"Where are the Rong Family's things?"

Investigator Bai Yang awkwardly withdrew his hand and said with a placating smile, "After this pollution is resolved, Dr. Rong, you are free to dispose of them as you see fit."

Rong Qiyue gave a cold nod and continued walking. "Theoretically, I could take my things and leave without helping you resolve this pollution incident. I am only willing to help for the sake of reality's defense."

"This is my choice, not part of a transaction."

"I only hope that once the problem is solved, you won't waste any more of my time."

"..."

Investigator Bai Yang was angered by the young man's arrogance, but he knew about the Hidden School and understood the young doctor's significant status within it. Thus, he could only endure it, offering no promises, merely smiling and nodding.

In the midst of this exchange, Rong Qiyue arrived before them and suddenly stopped short.

His gaze fell upon Li Yiting, who stood there looking pale. A slight smile touched Rong Qiyue's lips as he said, "Mr. Li, you've got a lot of nerve."

"You were the one who approached us, and only then did we agree to cooperate with you, to give you a chance to elevate your status."

"But you ruined this partnership."

"..."

"According to our initial contract, I owned forty percent of the rights and shared the same temporary handling rights for the items from the ruins as your Rong Family!"

Li Yiting faced the young man, gritting his teeth slightly and looking him straight in the eye. "I've already made my decision. I don't want anything else—only what's here now. It's not even ten percent. By any measure, your Rong Family is already getting a huge bargain..."

Rong Qiyue shook his head slightly. "That's not how the accounting works. The Rong Family won't steal what is rightfully yours. However, all items were to be assessed by us, the Rong Family, before being distributed. By moving them out ahead of time, you broke a taboo."

"Of course, I'm not in charge of these matters, and I have no need to argue with you here. The Rong Family's legal department will contact you."

With that, he turned and entered the cordoned-off tent.

Han Su looked at Li Yiting's extremely grim expression, then smiled reassuringly. "Uncle Li, it should be fine."

"I don't care what he said!"

Li Yiting said in a low voice, "It's just business rhetoric. At the end of the day, he's just trying to gain leverage to swallow up the Magic Box Group's interests in the project. I've seen this sort of thing many times."

"But I have to get those materials back to Qinggang. Xiaohan... If it comes to it, I can find some people!"

As he spoke, his expression darkened, and he muttered, "We're outside the city, after all!"

"There are plenty of security firms that aren't afraid to use guns and knives, and I know a few desperados who live on the edge. Even if I have to take it by force, I will get those things back to Qinggang!"

"..."

Han Su was taken aback by his ferocious gaze.

'Holy crap,' Han Su thought. 'I had a feeling Li Yiting was mulling something over. So this was his plan...'

He'd been with the Disaster Management Bureau for a while now and had seen all kinds of things.

'But this is the first time I've seen someone like Father Li, who's ruthless enough to want to hire people to attack a Disaster Management Bureau Investigator...'

He quickly smiled and said, "That won't be necessary for now."

"I'll go talk to the Rong Family in a bit!"

"..."

"This..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yiting shook his head slightly. "Who do you think the Rong Family is? You think they're that easy to negotiate with?"

After observing for this long, he had actually figured a few things out.

Han Su's status was not low; at the very least, that Investigator Bai Yang seemed to lose some of his confidence in front of him.

The Rong Family and the others, however, were not people Han Su could influence.

He even had a strange intuition that ever since they'd left the city, many of the people around them harbored ill intentions toward Han Su.

In response to Father Li's skepticism, Han Su offered no explanation, only a smile. "But what if?"

"I'm going to check on the infected first."

Rong Qiyue and Investigator Bai Yang went inside and began to examine the state of the "red-eye disease" infection.

Beside him, his own assistants came forward to help, taking out various instruments to scan and record, performing all sorts of operations that looked impressive even if one couldn't understand them.

Rong Qiyue, however, only inspected their eyes, examined other parts of their bodies, and lightly tapped their temples.

Han Su watched with great interest. The Doctor walked over to his side and also watched the scene from a distance, sighing. "Ultimately, we knew too little back then. We only knew a shadow existed over this world, but we didn't know the path to reach it."

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have joined the Disaster Management Bureau back then. I would've changed my major, buckled down and studied, and maybe I would have caught the attention of one of these Hidden Schools."

"..."

Han Su was a little surprised to hear this. "You know about the Hidden School too?"

The Doctor gave Han Su a surprised look in return. "They're a pretty conspicuous group. Did you only just realize they exist?"

Han Su nonchalantly turned his head away, thinking to himself, 'I didn't "realize" it. Strictly speaking, someone just told me about them...'

"But these people from the Hidden Schools are very difficult to deal with," the Doctor said, shaking his head gently. "They are extremely hierarchical, and they treat certain knowledge as their private property, only passing it down to their own. This has created layers of barriers."

"Furthermore, archaeological research requires vast amounts of funding, special permissions, and even test subjects. A single city can't afford to support a school, so most of them are cross-regional organizations. In some ways, they put on grander airs than even the Disaster Management Bureau."

"..."

Han Su listened, nodding to himself.

He didn't discuss the power of the Hidden School in depth with the Doctor, instead asking about a topic that interested him:

"Are all archaeology experts people who have been trained in the Mysterious Power?"

The Doctor was slightly taken aback, then shook his head. "The Hidden School has many different branches. Some, like us, have secret methods for training with the Mysterious Power. Others are purely academic and have no contact with it."

"But one thing is certain: anyone who has established a foothold in the Hidden School is bound to have high Spiritual Activity."

"There's a lot of knowledge that ordinary people simply cannot comprehend."

"..."

"This problem isn't simple!"

While they were talking, Rong Qiyue had apparently reached a conclusion. His expression sank slightly as he straightened up and said, "I need someone to voluntarily become infected. We need to see what these infected people are seeing."

Investigator Bai Yang immediately replied, "The D7s I requested have arrived."

Everyone turned to see a large prison van, escorted by four armored vehicles, driving in. This time, the armed personnel did not stop it. It drove straight into the open area in front of the temporary containment center. Then, as numerous guns were trained on it, the van's doors opened.

Han Su couldn't help but frown as he watched the people walk out of the van. 'This is a lot different than I imagined...'

Just from their appearance, these few D7s were a far cry from the three that had attacked him before.

Every one of them was deathly pale, and they seemed to float when they walked. Some even had fresh wounds on their bodies.

Forget the many guns aimed at them; even without them, they looked as if they might collapse at any moment.

However, Han Su also noticed that these D7s rushed out of the van, as if there were something terrifying still inside that they were desperate to get away from.

'Looks like there's still one more in the van?'

Han Su frowned, lost in thought. Seeing this, Investigator Bai Yang, who was standing nearby, thought to himself in alarm, 'Damn it, I repeatedly reminded this guy that the D7s were coming. Why hasn't he left yet?'

'If he really dies during my mission, won't Zhang Chiguo come after me?'

"..."

A tangled mess of emotions, he had now become the most worried person on site.

Having seen what he needed to, Han Su wasn't particularly interested in the process of the D7s becoming infected. He just overheard Rong Qiyue giving some instructions, after which Investigator Bai Yang led the D7s over to the infected people and began hooking them up to various instruments.

Rong Qiyue, meanwhile, had already moved to one side. His slender secretary brought him a folding chair, held the parasol over him, and even poured him a cup of black tea.

Han Su watched, finding the scene a bit ridiculous. 'This guy, does he really have to put on such a show?'

But seeing that no one was paying attention and the time was right, he walked forward, extended a hand toward Rong Qiyue, and said with a smile:

"Dr. Rong, hello."

Rong Qiyue's gaze swept over the case in Han Su's hand, then he coldly lowered his eyes, as if unwilling to spare him even an extra glance.

"?"

Han Su hadn't expected the guy to be so pretentious.

Still, he remained polite and said with a smile, "I have something I'd like to discuss with you privately for five minutes. Would that be possible?"

Rong Qiyue sipped his black tea, still not saying a word. The secretary holding the parasol, however, suddenly looked up and said coldly, "Sir, if you have business, you can tell it to me when I'm available. I will then decide whether or not it's worth relaying to the Doctor."

"You shouldn't be so ill-mannered as to directly disturb the Doctor while he's resting."

"..."

Han Su's expression was starting to crack. 'What the hell...'

'You're forcing me to pull out my trump card...'

He slowly withdrew his hand, then suddenly leaned in and whispered in the arrogant Doctor of Archaeology's ear, "You have a tail on your butt..."

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