Chapter 63: Investigation and Settling In

Chapter 63: Investigation and Settling In

Encouragement and empty promises from leadership might not soothe the physical and mental exhaustion brought on by working overtime deep into an Other Domain, but paid leave certainly could.

The two unfortunate agents left the office grinning from ear to ear, leaving Song Cheng sitting behind his desk, letting out a long breath before continuing to stare gloomily at his computer screen.

Just then, he noticed an icon in the corner of the screen suddenly begin flashing.

The next second, a video window abruptly appeared.

A young woman wearing a white skirt suit and a gray-white ponytail appeared on the screen. Her pale gray eyes, as though drained of color, looked directly at Song Cheng through the monitor.

“Finished with your work?”

An even bigger boss had arrived.

“Director.” Song Cheng instantly straightened in his seat, his expression becoming tense. “You’re still at work?”

“I’m working overtime today,” Baili Qing replied flatly. Her voice was as devoid of fluctuation as her faded-looking eyes. “I saw the materials the Archives Department just sent over. I want to hear your opinion.”

“Regarding that Yu Sheng?” Song Cheng frowned slightly. After a brief pause for thought, he shook his head. “I don’t think we can make any judgment yet. We need to conduct a formal contact session with him before we can evaluate what sort of... individual he is. The difficulty is whether we should approach him according to the standards used for a human, or according to the standards used for an entity.”

“As a human.”

Baili Qing answered without hesitation.

A trace of surprise appeared on Song Cheng’s face.

“Because his self-perception is that of a human,” Baili Qing said calmly and patiently. “Then regardless of whether he is human or not, we must ensure that he continues to think that way.”

“...Preserving the target’s self-perception?” Song Cheng murmured thoughtfully, seeming to understand the Director’s reasoning. “You believe that if this individual’s self-perception shifts, there could be extremely serious consequences?”

“We still cannot determine exactly what abilities the target possesses, nor what influence he may have on the future of the Boundary Zone. But every additional being standing on the side of humanity means one fewer standing on the side of the non-human. Other Domain entities that are naturally friendly toward humans are rare, especially one that has been ‘living’ in the Boundary Zone for such a long time. We should consider this a stroke of luck.”

Song Cheng immediately nodded.

“Understood, Director. I’ll start arranging a formal contact plan with Yu Sheng right away... I’ll go personally.”

On the screen, Baili Qing gave a slight nod before continuing.

“Regarding the newly discovered Dim Angel, the Council has already been informed. At this point, it can basically be confirmed that it is a new one.”

Song Cheng’s pupils instantly contracted.

“It doesn’t exist in the old records?” He unconsciously leaned forward, his expression extraordinarily grave. “What about the records of other organizations?”

“We’ve already consulted the Algrade Astrological Society and the Academy. Neither of their official archives contains any record of the gigantic eyeball-shaped Dim Angel mentioned in the report, the one capable of covering the entire sky. We haven’t received a response from the Bamosa Hermits yet, but if even the Academy has no record of it, then the Bamosa people probably don’t either.” Baili Qing shook her head. “Although it’s possible that some smaller organizations have encountered this Dim Angel before, the likelihood is low.”

Song Cheng’s brows drew together so tightly they nearly formed a knot.

He looked genuinely worried.

“This is bad... A completely new Angel with no records whatsoever, and it escaped before we could gather any intelligence. And on such a massive scale, too,” he muttered. “Large enough to cover the entire sky above Nightfall Valley... Based on the official records of Nightfall Valley, this thing was probably parasitizing that Other Domain a very long time ago...”

“Yes. High-level camouflage and deep parasitism. To such an extent that early investigators who entered the valley believed the sky there had always looked like that. Nightfall Valley received its name because of it.” Baili Qing spoke slowly. “Judging purely by physical scale, this newly discovered Dim Angel likely ranks among the top three of all known Angels.”

Song Cheng could not help sinking into thought.

After a brief period of contemplation, he spoke again.

“...Based on the intelligence gathered by my two team members, the demon fox called Hu Li who accompanies Yu Sheng seems to have been trapped inside Nightfall Valley for a very long time. She may know something related to that Dim Angel.”

“That is a potential breakthrough point, but proceed cautiously during the investigation.”

Song Cheng lowered his head slightly.

“I understand.”

Baili Qing gave a brief acknowledgment and seemed ready to end the call.

But Song Cheng suddenly spoke up.

“By the way, Director, there’s one more thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“...I’m planning to take a ride on the Train,” Song Cheng said with a serious expression. “I’ll see whether I can learn anything related to Yu Sheng aboard it.”

“...Approved. But be careful. Even when dealing with relatively rational and friendly entities, you must remain cautious.”

“Understood.”

Yu Sheng, who was helping Hu Li make her bed, suddenly sneezed several times in rapid succession.

The force of it nearly startled Irene off the footboard of the bed, where she had been balancing with her arms spread out like a tightrope walker.

“You scared me!” the little doll exclaimed, glaring at him.

“My nose was itchy.” Yu Sheng rubbed his nose and casually grabbed Irene, tossing her onto the bed. “Stop just watching and help. Sit in the middle of the bed while I stretch out the bedsheet.”

Irene responded with an “Oh” and happily ran to the center of the bed, where she sat cross-legged and watched Yu Sheng bustle about.

Hu Li stood farther away, looking somewhat at a loss as she watched her Benefactor make the bed for her.

“Benefactor... I can help too,” the demon fox girl said, rubbing her hands together while her tails swayed uneasily behind her. “Cleaning a room is easy. I learned by watching!”

“Then you can clean your own room in the future. Not today, though,” Yu Sheng replied without even looking up. “I’m almost finished anyway.”

Hu Li answered with a soft “Oh,” suppressing the unease that came from being cared for by someone else as she cautiously and curiously surveyed her new room.

This was the second-floor room that had originally been piled high with miscellaneous items.

Now all the cardboard boxes containing those odds and ends had been moved into the basement. After a simple cleaning, the room had once again become suitable for living in.

That said, “suitable for living in” was a relative term.

The furnishings remained extremely sparse.

Aside from the bed and desk that had already been in the room, previously hidden beneath piles of clutter, the only remaining piece of proper furniture was a chair in the corner.

Because of that, Yu Sheng had gone down to the basement earlier and found a collapsible wardrobe. Together with Irene, he had spent a long time figuring out how to assemble the metal tubes and canvas into something functional, placing it in the corner as the room’s fourth piece of furniture.

However, Hu Li currently had no clothes to put inside it.

She possessed almost no personal belongings.

The only thing she had was the tattered “dress” she had brought out of the valley, but it was practically a bundle of rags.

She could not bear to throw it away.

After washing it clean, she carefully folded it and placed it at the very bottom of the ugly collapsible wardrobe, making it the first possession in her new home.

Yet even a room this plain, almost shabby, made her incredibly happy.

She could sleep on a bed now.

She had tried lying on it earlier, and it felt more comfortable than even the softest and smoothest pile of hay.

There was a complete roof overhead and walls that blocked the wind.

The room was warm, unlike the valley where coldness lurked everywhere.

She did not even need to hug her tails while sleeping to stay warm.

There was a bright electric light, brighter than foxfire.

And most importantly, no matter what she did here, it would not attract that monster.

If she became hungry, food was always available.

There was already plenty of food stored in her tails.

Hu Li sat down on the floor, a happy smile on her face.

After finishing with the bedsheet, Yu Sheng turned around and immediately saw the demon fox sitting on the floor grinning foolishly.

“Why are you sitting on the floor again? There’s a chair right there. And what are you smiling about?”

Hu Li answered with an “Oh,” got up from the floor, and sat in the nearby chair.

“Happy.”

“Well, you should be happy.”

Yu Sheng nodded.

Then he straightened up and looked around the room with a slight sense of accomplishment.

The furnishings were simple, but a great deal of effort had gone into cleaning and organizing the place.

After all, it represented more than two hours of work.

Still, it was a little too simple.

“Tomorrow we’ll go to the shopping centre and buy you a spare bedding set, plus a couple sets of clothes. We can replace the curtains later too. These ones have holes in them already... We’ll use this wardrobe temporarily. Buying a new one is expensive, and money’s a bit tight lately.” Yu Sheng continued planning. “Hmm. In the future we can also get a bedside cabinet and a lamp.”

“No, no, we don’t need that many things.” Hu Li hurriedly waved her hands, speaking somewhat helplessly. “It’s already very good like this.”

“Don’t worry about it. These are all ordinary everyday necessities. If they ought to be there, then they ought to be there.” Yu Sheng waved a hand dismissively. “You’re supposed to be my number one fighter, after all. The conditions can’t be too poor.”

Upon hearing that, Irene, who was sitting in the middle of the bed, looked up and glanced at Yu Sheng.

“Before you think about buying furniture, maybe you should think about how you’re going to get anyone to deliver it here. This Wutong Road 66 of yours... It doesn’t look like that new television is arriving anytime soon either. It definitely can’t be delivered here. Or...” She paused. “Are you planning to open a big door and carry a pile of furniture home yourself?”

Listening to the little doll’s muttering, Yu Sheng’s enthusiastic planning suddenly cooled.

His expression grew slightly more serious as well.

He recalled what those two Special Operations Bureau agents had told him before they left.

...Right. Delivery was still a problem.

Because...

There was no Number 66 on Wutong Road.