Chapter 73: The Convenience of Official Organizations

Chapter 73: The Convenience of Official Organizations

Baili Qing did not pursue Yu Sheng’s mention of “another accident,” nor did she ask many additional questions about Irene.

She merely gave Yu Sheng a general explanation of Alice’s Cottage.

“Most of Alice’s Dolls operate outside the Boundary Zone. They maintain balance in other places and almost never interfere with the Special Operations Bureau’s affairs. However, they do maintain a fixed means of communication with the Boundary Zone. There is a contact point at the edge of the city, but ordinary people cannot find it, and the dolls generally do not receive unfamiliar visitors.

“However, I can send someone there and ask about Irene first. If there truly is such a doll stranded away from home... they should be willing to meet with you.

“But this probably won’t happen quickly. The dolls are very busy and have their own missions. The Boundary Zone contact point is not constantly staffed either. You may have to wait for a while.”

Yu Sheng did not mind.

“That’s fine. As long as the Special Operations Bureau is willing to help. I’ll thank you on Irene’s behalf in advance.”

“A trivial matter,” Baili Qing said calmly. “Providing assistance to those who fall into difficulties after coming into contact with the supernatural world is one of the Special Operations Bureau’s duties. If there’s anything else you need help with, you can tell me as well.”

The moment Yu Sheng heard that, he perked up.

“There actually is.”

“Oh?”

“Can you help arrange two identity cards?” Yu Sheng said rapidly. “If not, one would be fine too. Preferably genuine ones.”

Baili Qing: “...?”

“You should know that there’s another person staying with me now. We rescued her from an Other Domain. We don’t know where she’s originally from, and she doesn’t have any legal identity here,” Yu Sheng explained. “I wanted to ask whether the Special Operations Bureau has any way to arrange something for her. And then there’s Irene. She doesn’t have a legal identity either. Though that one isn’t particularly urgent. Given her current height, even if she had an identity card, she still wouldn’t be able to go out by herself.”

Baili Qing’s expression became somewhat subtle. Presumably this was the first time in all her years as Director that someone had made such a request to her.

But she quickly nodded.

“This is not within my area of responsibility, but I can help. If that doll genuinely needs one, arrangements can be made for her as well. Of course, as you said, she will probably only be able to treat the document as a collectible... though it may prove useful in certain situations.”

Yu Sheng thanked her repeatedly.

At this point, he was genuinely certain that this young-looking Director was truly easy to talk to and genuinely willing to help when asked.

So he naturally brought up another matter.

“Then there’s one more thing. It’s also related to someone I recently rescued from an Other Domain. I wanted to ask... can the Special Operations Bureau help find her homeland? Since you oversee such a vast area, your information network should be far better than mine.”

“You can tell me about her situation first,” Baili Qing said without refusing. “The report contained very few details. I only know that she is a humanoid lifeform possessing beast-like traits. In the Bureau’s records alone, there are over a hundred races with similar characteristics.”

“Damn, that many...” Yu Sheng was startled, but quickly recovered and began recalling Hu Li’s descriptions of her homeland. “She said she came from a place where immortals and ‘demons’ coexist. From her descriptions, the civilization level there is probably extremely advanced. She also mentioned a group called the Celestial People who enlightened those living on the ground...”

Yu Sheng recounted everything as thoroughly as possible, including many seemingly nonsensical details.

However, considering Hu Li’s state of mind when she had described these things, he added a reminder at the end.

“Just take all this as reference material. She seems to have left home when she was still a child, and after being trapped for so long, both her memories and her thought processes are somewhat confused. There are definitely mistakes and exaggerations in what she described.”

“I... understand,” Baili Qing said, nodding somewhat hesitantly after hearing him out.

Although her face remained largely expressionless, that hesitation revealed that her mood seemed rather complicated at the moment.

“Indeed, everything you’ve described sounds somewhat... fantastical. I’m not sure whether the Special Operations Bureau’s archives contain any place matching those characteristics.”

She phrased it tactfully, but Yu Sheng understood her true meaning.

The Bureau probably had no corresponding records at all.

“Do your best. If it can’t be found, then it can’t be helped,” Yu Sheng said with a sigh. “She doesn’t really have any family left, and she isn’t particularly attached to her homeland either. Helping her find it is mostly just something I want to do.”

“You seem very enthusiastic about helping people,” Baili Qing suddenly remarked.

“I suppose so?” Yu Sheng seemed a little embarrassed instead. “The result of all this enthusiasm is that I’m the one causing trouble for you.”

“The Special Operations Bureau has always dealt with trouble. Compared to that, we’d much rather interact with people like you,” Baili Qing said with a sigh. “If all the individuals we dealt with were like you, our work would actually be much easier. At the very least, the contact phase would be far less difficult.”

Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow.

“Really?”

“Clear-minded. Capable of communication. Doesn’t suddenly attack people. Doesn’t suddenly die,” Baili Qing said with a sigh, spreading her hands. Complaining about work was perhaps the sincerest instinct shared by all working people, and the gesture made her seem unexpectedly human. “If someone meets three of those four criteria, they’re already a high-quality client we rarely encounter.”

Yu Sheng stared.

“Is the Special Operations Bureau’s working environment really that terrible?!”

Baili Qing did not answer.

She merely sighed again.

Yu Sheng had never worked for the Special Operations Bureau, but he instantly understood that sigh.

At the same time, he did not have the heart to tell her that he actually only met three of the four criteria...

Baili Qing quickly returned to her professional demeanor.

“I’ve answered many of your questions already. Do you have any others?”

“Questions... not for the moment,” Yu Sheng said after thinking for a bit and adjusting his sitting posture. “Then should we proceed with the registration process you mentioned earlier?”

“Ordinarily, an ‘ordinary person’ who has come into contact with an Other Domain must register at a Special Operations Bureau service point and undergo basic examinations and evaluations, accompanied throughout the process by one of our contact personnel. However... given the special circumstances, I can exercise a little of the Director’s authority and skip those bureaucratic procedures.”

As she spoke, her colorless eyes examined Yu Sheng carefully.

“But first, I’d like to hear about your plans for the future.”

Yu Sheng lowered his head and thought for a moment before looking up seriously.

“If I register as a spirit world detective or an independent investigator, what conveniences would that provide?”

Baili Qing showed no surprise whatsoever, as though she had anticipated this direction long ago.

She merely nodded lightly.

“Simply put, you would gain access to intelligence sharing provided by the Special Operations Bureau and various lawful supernatural organizations and individuals within the Boundary Zone, authorization to use a large number of support facilities, communication platforms connecting you with other organizations and individuals, a legal identity recognized by other powers, and most importantly, travel authorization.”

Yu Sheng instinctively leaned forward.

“Travel authorization?”

“There are many locations within the Boundary Zone that connect to distant places, and the vast majority of these connection points are regulated. Activating those connections or entering certain restricted areas requires travel authorization. Of course, I suspect your door can probably ignore such restrictions, but legal access means receiving much greater intelligence support. If you intend to deal with Other Domains, intelligence is often more valuable than any amount of combat strength. And...”

“And?”

“And please spare a thought for those of us who have to work overtime at the Special Operations Bureau,” Baili Qing suddenly sighed. “In the future, if you can get somewhere by swiping a card, don’t open a door instead.”

Yu Sheng immediately felt embarrassed.

Fortunately, his skin was thick enough.

After feeling awkward for a moment, he recovered, put on a serious face, and nodded.

“I’ve always been committed to maintaining public order.”

Baili Qing said nothing and simply accepted the statement as genuine.

Then she looked directly into Yu Sheng’s eyes.

“Anything else you want to ask?”

“What are the requirements for registering as a spirit world detective or an independent investigator?”

“Independent investigator is very simple. You must be mentally sound, prepared to face death, possess either survival experience within an Other Domain or basic knowledge regarding them, and we simply need to confirm that you’re not pursuing this line of work because you’re insane. That is sufficient. The requirements for a spirit world detective are slightly higher. In addition to the skills required of an investigator, you must belong to a legal and valid registered group.”

“A registered group?” Yu Sheng thought for a moment. “Oh, I get it. Something like the Fairy Tale organization behind Little Red Riding Hood, right?”

“That’s one way to understand it,” Baili Qing replied with a nod. “Therefore, most people who survive an encounter with an Other Domain and wish to continue interacting with the supernatural world begin as independent investigators. Finding an organization willing to accept an unfamiliar novice is very difficult. In many dangerous Other Domains, an incompetent newcomer can pose a greater danger than encountering an entity. Of course, there are exceptions, such as a group of people encountering an Other Domain together and surviving collectively, though such situations are rare.”

“Are there restrictions on registering such organizations?” Yu Sheng asked curiously.

“At least two members qualified as investigators. At least one member with experience fighting entities. A stable contact location and method of communication. And, the organization’s name must not contain words violating public decency or special punctuation marks. Beyond that, there are declarations regarding lawful operation and not endangering the order and security of the Boundary Zone. That’s about it.”

Yu Sheng listened in astonishment.

“...That’s all? There aren’t any other requirements??”

A faint smile seemed to appear on Baili Qing’s face.

“This is a struggle against Other Domains and entities. Surviving encounters with things beyond human reason is the only truly meaningful standard. We don’t need to establish artificial barriers. Survival itself is the greatest barrier.”

Yu Sheng let out an “oh” and stroked his chin.

“That actually sounds like a pretty low threshold...”