Deity Investigation Report

Chapter 47 Zhang Chiguo

"Xiao Han, come eat."

The meal was quickly prepared, and the three of them sat down to eat together. Surprisingly, Zhang Chiguo didn't talk about anything related to ten years ago or his work at the Disaster Management Bureau. Instead, he kept asking Han Su if his cooking skills had declined.

Han Su answered by saying he ate two large bowls of rice, indicating he was very satisfied with his meal, and Zhang Chiguo also seemed very satisfied.

After finishing their meal, Cui Qiao went to wash the dishes. There was a constant clanging and banging noise coming from the kitchen, but Zhang Chiguo seemed not to hear it. He slowly took out his cigarette case and lit a cigarette.

He didn't rush to speak, and Han Su simply brought him a can of cola.

Zhang Chiguo glanced at Han Su and nodded. Cui Qiao, the secretary who was fiddling with the bowls, immediately felt relieved, got up, shook the foam off her hands, and then turned and went outside.

Before long, the lights in the room suddenly started flickering, as if there was some bad connection. Even the high-end television inexplicably turned on, but there was no signal and the picture kept flickering.

But looking out the window, one can see that only their own house has experienced this change; the surrounding buildings are still lit up.

"Is that so?"

Han Su understood that Secretary Cui Qiao had come with him first to clean the room of cameras and listening devices that had been placed there, all for the sake of Zhang Chiguo's conversation with him.

But I was somewhat surprised to see that Secretary Cui even needed to use her abilities to create an isolation before the conversation could even begin.

"Of course."

Zhang Chiguo glanced at Han Su, nodded slightly, and said, "Once you become familiar with this circle, you will understand that sometimes, the danger is not just that certain conversations are overheard."

"Sometimes, the act of having a conversation itself is a dangerous act."

"..."

Han Su listened quietly to him, reached out and took the Coke in front of him, pulled the tab with a hiss, and pushed it back in front of him.

Zhang Chiguo looked at the cola, put down the cigarette and let it burn between his fingers, then looked thoughtfully at Han Su and said, "Xiao Han, your performance at the Disaster Management Bureau has exceeded my expectations. I admit I underestimated your talent. You are qualified to know some things."

"Back then, you saw what I looked like and tried your best to investigate this case, but to be honest, I didn't believe what you said about monsters or anything like that."

"I'm more inclined to believe that you were drugged or that some other method was used to affect your mind. After all, you seemed confused at the time and couldn't even clearly state your own identity or family information."

"The kidnapping allegations are naturally even less credible."

"..."

Han Su said he understood, but only cared about one question: "What happened next?"

"later……"

Zhang Chiguo said with a somber expression, "I tried everything I could to find clues related to this kidnapping case."

"But strangely, there are no clues."

"Or rather, all the clues disappeared in a strange way, just like a road that suddenly came to an end while we were walking along it."

"However, I still found some strange things. For example, I also collected the time when you disappeared from the surveillance footage and the time when you reappeared. I did a detailed analysis of the whole kidnapping case and submitted a report."

"But after that report was submitted, my supervisor asked me to rewrite it. I refused, so the police department forced me to take a break."

"But even then, I continued to conduct investigations using my own network and connections until someone contacted me and asked if I would be willing to work in a new department."

"..."

Han Su paused slightly and said, "Secretary Number 5?"

"Correct!"

Zhang Chiguo's expression was somewhat solemn as he said, "At the time, I even thought I had encountered a swindler, because there was no Secretary No. 5 in Qinggang."

"What happens next?"

"After that, there was no longer a normal life."

Zhang Chiguo sighed softly and said, "Back then, the Disaster Management Bureau was not yet fully established, and many people had to take on several jobs. I also finally witnessed those bizarre and absurd things that should not have appeared in reality."

"I have to say, the shock to me at the time even made me doubt myself, and I temporarily put your kidnapping case aside."

"I worked with the people sent down by Secretary No. 5 to investigate, recruit, and standardize the regulations. In doing so, I encountered more and more unreasonable things, and everything I had once trusted finally crumbled..."

"..."

Han Su was somewhat surprised: "The Disaster Management Bureau has only been established for five or six years?"

Zhang Chiguo glanced at him and said, "To be precise, it was three years. In the previous few years, we didn't even have an official name. We were just a group of people running around in a daze, trying to make sure we didn't go crazy."

Han Su was surprised: 'I realized Zhang Chiguo was no ordinary person, but I didn't expect him to be a veteran figure in the Disaster Management Bureau?'

Zhang Chiguo didn't try to guess Han Su's thoughts, but slowly shook his head and said, "But just when I was trying to include that kidnapping case as one of the bizarre phenomena that the Disaster Management Bureau needed to focus its resources on investigating, I received a warning."

Han Su frowned slightly: "What warning?"

"It's very simple, just a criticism."

Zhang Chiguo's face remained expressionless when he spoke of this matter. But Han Su understood him; perhaps this was precisely when the old detective was most dissatisfied, yet forced to feign indifference.
"Someone above said that the Disaster Management Bureau has limited energy and should focus on more important and meaningful work, rather than believing the nonsense of a child..."

"..."

Han Su remained silent, but suddenly thought of his feelings a week ago.

I'm not convinced, I'm not reconciled.

Why can those things exist, yet the monster kidnapping case is always just said to be my hallucination?
Zhang Chiguo continued, his voice filled with helplessness, saying, "Just because of this one sentence, the kidnapping case was excluded and not included in the list of cases awaiting investigation."

"At that time, I even thought that the information I had collected was not convincing enough, and I was thinking of continuing to search for more information and submitting the report again."

"But things didn't go as I expected."

"..."

Having said that, Zhang Chiguo finally lit his cigarette, and through the wisps of smoke, his eyes seemed somewhat weary.
"Your kidnapping case had a wide-ranging impact."

"It wasn't just me who submitted this report; many investigators and data collectors who joined the Disaster Management Agency at that time also tried to submit reports, believing that they might be relevant to our work."

"but……"

He paused for a moment before sighing, "Without exception, they were all rejected."

Han Su raised his head slightly: "No other explanation?"

"Not at first."

Zhang Chiguo slowly shook his head: "It just seems that the reports we submitted are not convincing enough to get the higher-ups to agree."

"Later, someone collected all the information in detail and submitted it to the higher authorities. However, this report, unlike ours, did not confirm that it was related to the bizarre. On the contrary, it believed that it had nothing to do with our work."

“I haven’t seen this report, but I believe it must be full of flaws. I can hardly imagine anyone spouting nonsense with such certainty.”

"However, the report was approved by the higher-ups, and from then on, there was no possibility of putting the matter into the sequence. Even we were criticized and were no longer allowed to investigate the case."

"..."

At this point, Zhang Chiguo's face even showed a hint of annoyance: "I, and all the others who held opposing views, understood."

"The more complex and perplexing a problem is, the simpler the answer often is. Why is it so difficult to classify this kidnapping case?"

"Of course, there are people who don't want him to be labeled!"

"..."

Han Su deeply understood those words. He slowly raised his head and said, "Uncle Zhang, who exactly is this person who doesn't want this case to be classified as a bizarre incident...?"

"Do not ask."

Zhang Chiguo shook his head, looked at Han Su seriously, and said, "Or rather, I don't know the answer either."

“I was personally recruited by Secretary No. 5, so I basically know the identities of the Disaster Management Bureau and the big shots who can influence the Disaster Management Bureau. But I can’t even guess the identity of the person who stamped this report.”

"..."

Han Su could imagine Zhang Chiguo's state of mind at the time, but he didn't experience any emotional fluctuations.

He just smiled and said, "Leaving aside the people above, who wrote this report that was submitted to the higher-ups, ruling out any surreal suspicions in this kidnapping case?"

"He is a highly experienced investigator."

Zhang Chiguo's gaze deepened slightly as he slowly spoke: "You can easily find out his identity; once you gain the necessary permissions, you can investigate it yourself. But I think that might not be important."

"He's probably just someone who gets things done."

"..."

Han Su didn't speak, but his fingers tapped unconsciously on his leg. He already understood the message Zhang Chiguo was trying to convey to him.

So, this investigator is someone I can't afford to offend, is that it?

"But these are not the main points."

Zhang Chiguo suddenly spoke again, his expression grave: "At the time, I naturally understood what the higher-ups meant, and I knew what the smart thing to do was, but..."

"...After all, I'm not a smart person."

Seeing his serious expression, Han Su felt a slight tremor in his heart: "Then you..."

Zhang Chiguo slowly spoke: "Even though I understood what was meant above, I did not give up."

“All investigations have reached a dead end, and I can no longer utilize the high-level resources of the Disaster Management Agency. But after some consideration, I have found a new direction for the investigation.”

That is, your mother.

(End of this chapter)