'Interval reduced to zero?'

  Han Su pondered silently. 'Does that mean I would be trapped in the castle forever, captured again the moment I escape?'

  The thought was too terrifying to entertain.

  Currently, being pulled back every two weeks was already enough to keep him on edge every single day.

  If that interval shortened further, becoming even briefer, or worse, shrinking to zero... Han Su felt he might as well find a tall building and experience the sensation of flight.

  "Ding, Zhongcheng Library."

  By the time Han Su stepped out of the subway station, it was already 7 PM.

  Outside, the neon lights were ablaze. A fine drizzle had begun to fall at some point, shrouding everything in a misty, damp haze.

  He had no time to admire the city's vast, bustling style. He quickly pushed through the crowds of people just getting off work, past laughing and jostling middle school students and elderly scavengers. For dinner, he merely grabbed a bread roll from a street vendor.

  Walking briskly, he arrived at Qinggang City's largest library, the Zhongcheng Library.

  In the religion and culture section, he found rows upon rows of books, their ends almost out of sight.

  He pulled out one of the volumes and began searching patiently.

  In his mind, he still remembered some of the strange symbols present within the Dark Castle.

  Every time he returned to the present, he made a habit of researching the origins of these symbols, hoping to uncover some clue.

  Although the investigation into this kidnapping case had been consistently and extremely difficult, he never wanted to give up easily.

  Every day he thought about just letting go, and every day he forced himself to rally.

  Keep looking. Maybe there's a clue?

  Time passed minute by minute. This collection was quiet and deserted, with few visitors.

  On the empty, long bench, only the sound of Han Su turning pages could be heard.

  "Hello, classmate..."

  Just as he was reading, a voice sounded beside him. Han Su looked back and saw a long-haired girl holding some books.

  Her face was slightly flushed. She had been selecting books behind the shelf and, turning around, had seen Han Su.

  Although on this timeline Han Su's face was scarred, he had a habit of wearing sunglasses when he went out, which concealed the scars. From a distance, his focused appearance as he flipped through the books was quite pleasant to look at.

  Hesitating for a moment, she came over with her books to speak: "I noticed you've been reading materials about the Radiation Era. Are you also interested in that period of history?"

  "..."

  "The Radiation Era?"

  Han Su paused briefly, only then noticing that the book he was reading was an ancient religious text from a lost era, predating the Reconstruction Era.

  This world had once experienced a historical process filled with war, radiation, disease, and disaster.

  It was only upon those ruins that rebuilding, propagation, and development occurred, leading to the overwhelming prosperity seen today.

  Using modern civilization as a reference point, those earlier, indistinct eras are termed the Chaotic Era, the Radiation Era, and the Reconstruction Era.

  However, although these names remain, those eras are now too distant.

  Especially since a severe civilizational rupture occurred during that time, with language, writing, and records being heavily fragmented, alongside the emergence of many exaggerated myths and legends.

  Modern people reading historical records from that period often experience a strong sense of distortion.

  Han Su flipped through the book in his hands, noncommittally, and instead asked curiously: "Are you a student who elected to study that period of history?"

  Without ceremony, he rummaged in his backpack for paper, borrowed the girl's pen, and carefully drew the mysterious symbol from his memory on the sheet.

  He asked enthusiastically: "Could you take a look, classmate? Do you recognize this symbol?"

  The long-haired female student happily sat down, examined it carefully, and said: "It looks like it might be in the style of some tribes from the Radiation Era..."

  "People back then, their civilization not yet rebuilt, collectively existed in a state of uncertainty and ignorance."

  "They believed deities existed in this world, so they designed their own totems and sacrificial rituals, hoping their voices could be heard by the gods."

  "Of course, the designs couldn't be too complex, for fear the gods wouldn't understand."

  "But because they were too simple, overlaps were common. It's said many tribal wars started this way..."

  Han Su looked genuinely curious: "Do deities truly exist?"

  "History that is too distant often becomes severely distorted, you know."

  "Furthermore, due to calamities, wars, and so on from that time, a severe civilizational rupture occurred."

  "Written language, spoken language, and historical records are all heavily fragmented."

  The long-haired female student waved her hand and said, "According to surviving religious texts, there wasn't just one deity in the world back then..."

  "There were the Mechanical, the Sea Beasts, the Chaos, the Calamities, the Plagues..."

  "Legend has it that these deities ruled the entire Radiation Age for thousands of years. But before the Reconstruction Era began, they were sealed away by the ancestors of modern civilization, lost to the dust of history."

  "Even now, religious factions in some regions still claim that these forsaken deities will return to take revenge on all of human civilization!"

  "..."

  Seeing Han Su listening so intently, she felt a bit embarrassed. "I've only heard about this. These myths aren't guaranteed to be true. Experts in history say the radiation was so severe back then that it often caused large-scale collective hallucinations in people."

  Han Su listened and nodded slightly. He had actually come across this kind of legend before. Every time he heard it, he would get absorbed, but upon closer inspection, he found it too fragmented.

  After a pause, he pointed to the symbols on the paper and asked the female student with concern, "So, have you recognized them?"

  The long-haired female student shook her head somewhat sheepishly and said, "I can't recognize them for now..."

  Then, turning happily, she added, "The coffee over there is quite good. Classmate, would you like to go..."

  Han Su had already lowered his head indifferently. He casually took off his sunglasses and set them aside, not hiding the startling scar on his face at all. He stared blankly at the female student, looking quite frightening.

  "Drinking coffee so late at night, aren't you afraid you won't be able to sleep?"

  "..."

  The long-haired female student suddenly caught sight of the grayish-white eye on Han Su's face and was visibly startled.

  She pressed her lips together slightly, paused for a moment, and seeing that Han Su had no intention of speaking further, she somewhat awkwardly gathered her things and left. First, she sat down two rows behind, and after a while, she quietly picked up her bag and left...

  Han Su was completely unfazed by this.

  Being dragged back to the past again and again, his life had long been shattered into unstable fragments. All his studies, career prospects, and even thoughts of romance had lost their meaning.

  The only things that were helpful to him were clues related to the Dark Castle and plans to rescue the other children...

  After the female student left, it seemed like Han Su was the only one left in this section of the library. Even though he was already feeling dizzy from reading, he continued to search through the materials patiently.

  Time passed minute by minute. The surroundings were so quiet it felt like being in a pristine tomb.

  "Hello, classmate..."

  Suddenly, another voice rang out sharply. Han Su tensed slightly and looked over with an impatient expression.

  Somewhat unexpectedly, it wasn't the long-haired female student this time, but a middle-aged man in a suit. He wore a black baseball cap, appearing scholarly and refined, yet his demeanor carried a distinct air of worldliness.

  He looked at Han Su, nodded with a sly smile, extended his hand, and said, "My surname is Chen. I work at a detective agency..."

  Han Su didn't shake his hand, merely raising an eyebrow. "What is it?"

  The man sat down without waiting for an invitation, chuckling. "It's indeed a small matter."

  "Not long ago, our agency received a commission. Someone asked me to investigate a kidnapping case from ten years ago."

  "It is said that Han Su was the only one who escaped from that kidnapping case. I haven't come to the wrong person, have I?"

  Hearing this, Han Su immediately understood what the man did for a living. He leaned back slightly and asked, "So, how far along is your investigation?"

  The man in the baseball cap was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's just begun. That's why I've come to visit so presumptuously."

  "I have a few questions I'd like to ask you, Han. I hope it's not too much of a disturbance... Please rest assured, if you provide valuable clues, I will certainly show my gratitude..."

  Han Su restrained himself and responded with a polite smile. "You've already disturbed me."

  "Besides, I've said everything I have to say, multiple times, and the Security Bureau has it all on record."

  "There are so many leads out there—have you actually followed up on any of them?"

  Hearing this, the man chuckled softly. "Mr. Han, this whole 'monster kidnapping' theory is just too far-fetched."

  "I doubt my client would find that satisfactory."

  "I'm thinking, maybe you had your reasons back then and just said the first thing that came to mind?"

  "But now that so many years have passed, shouldn't you—"

  Han Su cut him off, his tone serious. "Would you kindly get lost?"

  The man was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

  Han Su stood up. "Fine, I'll leave."

  His patience had run out.

  That kidnapping case from ten years ago had brought him nothing but trouble.

  Once the Security Bureau confirmed he had no further information, they let him go to live his life—standard procedure.

  But the victims' families simply refused to let it go.

  The reasonable ones, who just wanted him to remember any useful clues, were bad enough.

  Worse were the families who spent huge sums hiring private investigators or so-called "specialists," pushing them to uncover the truth about what happened ten years ago at any cost.

  These "specialists," whether they had real skills or not, almost always zeroed in on him.

  They seemed convinced the Security Bureau had been fooled back then and believed that with their methods, they could pry the so-called "truth" out of him.

  Surveillance, secret photos, harassment, hidden microphones—in the beginning, there were even attempts to kidnap him and use "alternative interrogation methods."

  He was exhausted by all the tactics.

  Seeing Han Su swiftly gather his things, the smile slowly faded from the baseball cap guy's face.

  He didn't try to stop him verbally. Instead, he leaned back slightly and snapped his fingers softly.

  Just as Han Su slung his backpack over his shoulder and turned to leave, a muscular man in sunglasses emerged from behind a bookshelf.

  He stood directly in Han Su's path, arms crossed.

  Han Su turned and saw another man behind him, wearing a floral shirt.

  This one had a cigarette dangling from his lips, a smirk on his face, and was casually flipping a knife in his hand.