The Eldritch Files

"What?"

Dr. Rong, who had been the picture of arrogance just a moment ago, saw his expression change in an instant. He even spilled his black tea.

He suddenly glared at Han Su, a murderous intent flickering in his eyes.

His female secretary in the black-rimmed glasses, sensing his mood, narrowed her eyes. A strange, dangerous aura began to emanate from her.

But Han Su, having delivered the line with casual indifference, simply stood up and walked into the nearby tent without giving him so much as a second glance. Rong Qiyue stared at his retreating back, slammed his tea down, and got to his feet. A single look was enough to stop his female secretary.

The next moment, he followed Han Su into the tent, his expression turning somewhat sinister.

"I don't care who you are, but do you have any idea how dangerous it is to investigate a member of the Hidden School?"

Han Su was waiting for him inside the tent, holding his briefcase. He smiled. "I didn't investigate you. I just saw it with my own eyes."

On the Night of Joy at the Ancient Castle, all the children had to change their clothes. For the then-unremarkable Rong Qiyue, the only thing that made him memorable to Han Su was the mole on his butt.

The key was its rather unique placement.

The moment he took off his clothes, Secretary Number Two's child had blurted out, "What's wrong with you? You have a tail!"

That triggered an eruption of laughter and seared the memory into Han Su's mind.

But Rong Qiyue was deeply ashamed of this misplaced, hard-to-remove mole. He had immediately charged at the kid with the crew cut and gotten into a fight—which he lost.

Nonetheless, he truly considered this one of his most private secrets.

It was the sole imperfection on his otherwise perfect self.

He had guarded his body like jade for twenty years, avoiding girlfriends, swimming pools, and even letting his female secretary scrub his back, all to hide this secret. For it to be exposed by some minor Investigator from Qinggang whom he'd never even met… it felt like the sky was falling.

He lunged forward, his expression twisting as he roared, "I'll ask you one more time, you…!"

As he spoke, his hand shot out to grab Han Su by the collar, intending to lift him up for questioning.

Han Su just smiled, his figure flickering as he took a step back.

He activated his Spiritual Power, his body becoming ethereal, like an illusion—difficult to grasp.

"You dare to dodge?"

A savage light flashed in Rong Qiyue's eyes. He, too, gathered Spiritual Power in his palm. His five fingers turned dark and sinister, as if shrouded in a layer of bizarre black energy.

In an instant, his hand seemed to tear through space, reaching Han Su's chest.

At that moment, a condescending arrogance even flashed across his face. 'You Investigators really think we academics can't fight?'

"SCREEEECH!"

An extremely harsh, scraping sound rang out.

Han Su had been waiting for him to make a move. Confirming that he had received training in Mysterious Power put him at ease.

As Rong Qiyue's hand reached him, the briefcase was already there waiting.

Rong Qiyue's hand clamped down on the case. The bulletproof material was almost torn apart by his five fingers.

But at that very same moment, the ticking of the Mechanical Fragment suddenly sounded. Rong Qiyue went into a daze. The sneer and arrogance on his face were washed away, replaced by violently trembling pupils and contorted features.

"Remember now?"

Han Su held the briefcase still, letting the guy be contaminated a little longer.

He looked at him with a half-smile. "If I'd known you were this high and mighty, I would've considered kidnapping you first to make you remember."

"It's you, it's you!"

Rong Qiyue's face seemed to be coated in color-changing ink, shifting through countless expressions in an instant before he let out a low roar.

His eyes held both shock and an incredible, joyous light.

"It's me!"

Han Su said quickly, "I know you have a lot of questions. Listen to me first."

"The kidnapping case is still ongoing, and I've been trying to rescue the abducted children."

"So far, I've only managed to rescue four children. You're the fourth."

"The children I rescue are removed from the kidnapping case and forget everything, until they are contaminated by this Mechanical Fragment in my hand."

"Most importantly, our war has already begun…"

"…"

He said it all in one breath, then watched Rong Qiyue's face.

Previously, when he'd faced Pot Lid Head, he had only needed to say these few lines for the other guy to immediately accept the situation and get into gear.

Rong Qiyue listened blankly to Han Su's words. After a long moment, he suddenly stared intently at Han Su's face, a look of both joyful surprise and shock.

"It's you, it's you, my God…"

"I… I was kidnapped too, but… but how come I couldn't remember it before?"

"What… what's going on? The mole on my butt…"

"…"

"?"

Even Han Su couldn't help but frown. 'So everything I just said was for nothing?'

'There was a reason I didn't pick him for the first team back then. His caliber is a notch below Pot Lid Head's.'

He frowned, withdrew the briefcase, and slowly sat down on a folding chair in the tent. "I'll give you a minute to recover. I prefer the proud and efficient version of you from just now."

...

...

Outside the tent, Rong Qiyue's female secretary stood guard, her face a mask of cold indifference that warned others to stay away. Her gaze was fixed coldly on the tip of her nose.

With her there, no one dared to pry into what was happening inside the tent, though they speculated wildly in their minds.

Elsewhere, Li Yiting was also lost in thought, his brow furrowed into a knot.

He didn't know what Han Su wanted to talk to the Rong Family's young master about, but having dealt with these families before, he knew just how arrogant and stubborn they could be.

This young master, in particular, was from an extraordinary background and had, on top of that, achieved a high level of professional expertise. With that combination, it was a miracle of genetics his nose wasn't permanently pointed at the sky. Who could possibly talk sense into him?

Just now, Xiaohan had said something to actually lure him into the tent, but he hadn't looked happy about it. 'Xiaohan won't be at a disadvantage, will he?'

He couldn't help but think of the security companies he knew, the ones that specialized in the dirty work outside the city.

'No, I should probably call some people to go chop them up...'

...

...

"So the kidnapping case was real? And I was actually kidnapped too?"

"Why did I completely forget about it? Did the world get restructured? My God, what level of power would that take?"

"You're still rescuing those kids? But that was ten years ago…"

"Right, where's that Mushroom Head?"

"That damn guy. He was vicious and ruthless, the most selfish and despicable person I've ever met. He hurt my friend…"

"Oh, he was publicly executed for murder? Never mind then. Death settles all debts…"

"…"

Han Su watched Rong Qiyue muttering to himself and felt a little numb.

He had assumed that someone as arrogant as Rong Qiyue would also be efficient. Who knew the guy was actually a chatterbox?

He just watched Rong Qiyue ramble on, glancing at his watch from time to time. "You've already wasted almost two minutes…" he reminded him.

Rong Qiyue suddenly looked up at him, saying excitedly, "Let's just chat for a bit! Who cares about the time? I'm not busy…"

"I am!"

Han Su looked at him, his expression suddenly turning serious. "I can answer everything you want to know, but right now, I have something important for you to do!"

"This conversation needs to happen within a timeframe that won't attract attention!"

"…"

"I…"

Rong Qiyue was about to throw a young master's tantrum out of habit, but then he looked at Han Su, sitting coolly and aloofly on the folding chair, and remembered everything he had experienced in the Ancient Castle—all those different monsters.

The old butler with the smile that didn't reach his eyes, the mysterious kidnapping case, his own stolen memories… faced with all these unfathomable mysteries, his bravado suddenly deflated.

He hastily reined in his arrogance and squatted down next to Han Su, lowering his voice. "Tell me. What do I need to do now?"

"Don't tell me… those monsters from the Ancient Castle are back for blood?"

"…"

"?"

Han Su looked at his grave expression, as if facing a great enemy. "If the monsters from the Ancient Castle really did come, would calling on you even be useful?"

"Me?"

Rong Qiyue hadn't expected to be looked at like that. He blushed in shame. "What's wrong with me?"

"My skills are top-notch, okay!"

Meeting Han Su's disdainful gaze, he tried his best to explain, "I admit I was acting a bit wild when I didn't recognize you, but that's just my camouflage…"

"You know how it is. Kids from big families like mine have to act a little inscrutable. The persona I chose was to act like a bad guy who's hard to deal with, but my academic knowledge is the real deal…"

"…When I was getting my doctorate, I really didn't use my grandpa's name to pull strings!"

"…"

'If you hadn't brought it up, I wouldn't have thought twice, but now that you have, I'm starting to have my doubts.'

Han Su's gaze grew even stranger.

Facing Han Su's suspicious stare, Rong Qiyue was starting to lose his composure. He quickly asked, "What exactly do you need me to do?"

"You just said our war has already begun…"

"A war with whom? What role do I need to play now?"

"…"

Han Su thought for a moment, then said, "Play the role of the brainless and arrogant you from before?"

Rong Qiyue's expression immediately fell. "That's just my persona. You see how successfully I played it, right?"

Han Su had a stomach full of retorts he wanted to unleash, but considering the time crunch, he just lowered his voice and said, "I need you to do me three favors."

"First, there's a file among the relic items that I need to take with me."

"Second, help me lure someone out…"

"…"

He paused briefly. For the sake of efficiency, he even quickly explained how the Drunkard had once tried to stop the kidnapping case from being officially filed.

After just a brief listen, Rong Qiyue's eyes turned cold. "Heh. That man is courting death…"

"?"

Han Su's train of thought was interrupted. Just as he was about to say more, the secretary's voice came from outside the tent as a reminder: "Dr. Rong, the scrying on those D7s has yielded results."

Hearing this, Han Su also straightened up and said to Rong Qiyue, "Alright, time to go back to being your obnoxious self from before!"

"These few things…"

"Heh heh…"

Rong Qiyue rubbed his face. When he dropped his hands, his eyes had once again assumed a sidelong, disdainful glare directed at Han Su.

He gently flicked the corner of his clothes and said coolly, "Investigator, are you questioning my abilities?"

"…"

Han Su was filled with a sense of solemn respect. 'He's back to normal already?'

As he watched Rong Qiyue turn to walk out, the other man suddenly seemed to remember something. He spun back around and pleaded with Han Su, "I can let the other things slide for now, but you absolutely cannot tell anyone else about the… tail thing… ever again…"

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