Chapter 74: Departure

Chapter 74: Departure

Hearing Yu Sheng’s muttering, a strange expression briefly appeared on Baili Qing’s face, but she said nothing and merely continued observing the male “human” across from her with mild curiosity.

Whether it was answering questions or helping resolve minor troubles, those things were secondary.

The most important matter today was the contact itself.

She had encountered many, many entities, all kinds of them.

She had killed them and exiled them.

She had spoken with those strange beings that possessed intelligence and had even cooperated with them.

She had deceived them, and she had also been deceived by them.

But never before had any entity, no matter how human-like, sat across from her under these circumstances and discussed such matters.

The “human” sitting before her even seemed genuinely interested in becoming a spirit world detective or investigator.

Setting aside the thoughts in her mind for the moment, Baili Qing broke the silence.

“So, you want to...”

“Can I register a group?” Yu Sheng looked at Baili Qing with a trace of anticipation. “I’m not working alone here. I’ve got two other people with me.”

“You mean the doll named Irene and the demon fox you brought out of the Other Domain?” Baili Qing suddenly frowned. “But neither of them currently has a legal identity within the Boundary Zone.”

“Then let’s get them identity cards first?” Yu Sheng thought for a moment before suddenly adding, “Wait, getting identity cards won’t require them to have jobs first, right? And then to register for work they’d need identity cards first, and then everything gets stuck?”

This time Baili Qing was visibly stunned.

“Of course not. Why would you worry about something like that?”

“Oh, good,” Yu Sheng said with an awkward laugh. “I was overthinking it.”

“I’ll make arrangements,” Baili Qing said without dwelling on it. Inwardly, she silently added another observation to Yu Sheng’s report: possesses a certain sense of humor.

Then she raised her wrist and glanced at her watch.

“It’s about time.”

“Ah, you’re leaving?” Yu Sheng stood up instinctively. “Then what about my...”

“Someone will contact you soon to handle the necessary registration procedures for you and your two friends,” Baili Qing said as she rose to her feet. “You’ll only need to fill out a few forms. Keep your phone available over the next couple of days.”

Yu Sheng blinked.

“Oh... okay.”

Baili Qing nodded.

But just before leaving, she seemed to remember something.

“Oh, right. One more thing.”

“What is it?”

“About Nightfall Valley, the Other Domain you encountered before. Have you gone back to check on its condition since then?”

Yu Sheng looked puzzled.

“That valley? I haven’t gone back there. Did something happen?”

“That’s precisely the problem. Its condition is unknown,” Baili Qing said, shaking her head. “So if your door can still reach it, you might want to go take a look.”

Yu Sheng could not discern anything useful from Baili Qing’s expression.

But he vaguely felt that this matter was not as insignificant as the Director was making it sound.

The fact that she had deliberately brought it up just before leaving felt more like an emphasis.

After a brief period of confusion and thought, Yu Sheng nodded lightly.

He honestly had no desire whatsoever to revisit that eerie valley.

Nor was he interested in dealing with Hunger again.

But from Baili Qing’s attitude, he realized that some problem other than the entity Hunger might have appeared within that valley.

And in the blink of an eye, the café stretching infinitely in both directions silently collapsed before his eyes.

Baili Qing’s figure disappeared amid the continuously collapsing scenery.

In an instant, the café returned to normal.

The sounds of the real world returned to his ears.

Everything felt like some bizarre dream.

Only the faint lingering scent of perfume in the air proved that someone had truly been there moments ago.

Yu Sheng sat dazed for a moment before looking around.

It seemed that nobody had noticed anything unusual.

Little Red Riding Hood’s enormous stack of worksheets still lay quietly on the table, waiting for him to continue his efforts.

“She really comes and goes whenever she pleases...”

Shaking his head, Yu Sheng casually muttered the remark and sat back down, preparing to continue doing a high school student’s homework.

But this time, he found himself completely unable to focus.

Everything he had discussed with the Director of the Special Operations Bureau swirled uncontrollably through his mind like a vortex.

A vast amount of new knowledge about this world churned restlessly within him.

Mixed among it were expectations and imaginings about the future and distant places.

He felt that it had been many years since he had experienced this combination of eager anticipation and slight nervousness about tomorrow.

There was also the matter Baili Qing had specifically mentioned before leaving.

Nightfall Valley. What had happened there?

At that moment, a voice suddenly came from nearby, interrupting his thoughts.

“We’re back!” Little Red Riding Hood sounded cheerful. “Yu Sheng, how much have you finished?”

Yu Sheng immediately looked up toward the sound.

The first thing he saw was the black-haired girl standing beside Little Red Riding Hood.

It was Hu Li, wearing her new clothes.

The weather had already turned colder.

Little Red Riding Hood had directly bought her a white coat and padded dress suitable for keeping warm.

The outfit itself was quite simple, yet it suited Hu Li surprisingly well.

The fluffy material around the collar, serving both decorative and windproof purposes, even brought to mind Hu Li’s own furry ears and tail.

Both were the same silvery-white color, elegant yet carrying a subtle charm.

The fox girl stood there somewhat stiffly, looking a little dazed.

Perhaps she was still unaccustomed to wearing properly fitting clothes.

Or perhaps spending so long wandering through a place full of strangers had left her overwhelmed.

Only when Yu Sheng waved at her did she seem to awaken from a dream.

Blinking rapidly, she hurried over carrying several large shopping bags.

“Um... Yu Sheng,” Hu Li said nervously as she stopped across the table. At least she remembered to use his name in places crowded with strangers. “The new clothes fit very well.”

“Yes, they look great,” Yu Sheng said with a smile.

He could tell she was happy.

But then his gaze fell upon her skirt.

“The weather’s been getting colder these past few days. Aren’t you cold dressed like that?”

“She’s wearing thermal pants underneath,” Little Red Riding Hood said as she casually sat down beside Yu Sheng and leaned over the table. “Let me see how much you’ve done... Huh. Doesn’t look like that much.”

“Something unexpected came up earlier. It delayed me for quite a while,” Yu Sheng said awkwardly, rubbing his nose.

Then he looked curiously at Hu Li and Little Red Riding Hood.

“Wait. Where’s Irene?”

“Oh, she’s here!” Hu Li immediately reacted and lifted a large shopping bag from the floor for Yu Sheng to see. “We bought too many things halfway through, so I couldn’t carry her anymore. I put her in the bag.”

Yu Sheng leaned forward and immediately saw the little doll lying inside.

Irene was lying atop a pile of clothes with lifeless eyes wide open.

The entire bag radiated the doll’s resentment.

The resentment was so intense that the shopping bag was practically becoming a cursed object.

“You okay?” Yu Sheng asked silently in his mind.

The little doll replied, “Okay my foot! Get me out of here! I spent the whole trip in the mall staring at the ceiling, and after coming out I’m still staring at a ceiling! Halfway through, Little Red Riding Hood kept putting unfinished drinks into the bag! Then snacks got tossed in too! At one point I even fell all the way to the bottom and neither of them noticed! I’ve been protesting this entire time, but this stupid fox got completely lost in her shopping and ignored me!”

Yu Sheng quickly reached into the bag, lifted the resentment-filled Miss Doll out, and placed her on a nearby chair, spending quite a while soothing her in his mind.

Meanwhile, Little Red Riding Hood casually flipped through her homework and turned toward Yu Sheng curiously.

“What unexpected thing happened?”

Yu Sheng did not hide anything.

Lowering his voice, he said, “A woman suddenly came looking for me. She said her name was Baili Qing, the Director of the Special Operations Bureau.”

Little Red Riding Hood instantly froze in the middle of turning a mathematics worksheet page.

Two or three seconds later, she slowly turned her head.

“...Huh?”

Yu Sheng glanced around before whispering to her.

“Is that really such a big deal?”

“The Director! Baili Qing! That big shot!” Even her voice changed slightly, though she still dared not speak too loudly and attract attention. “No, wait, why would she suddenly show up? And personally come looking for you?! She...”

Little Red Riding Hood paused.

A trace of nervousness suddenly appeared on her face.

“She doesn’t think you’re some kind of dangerous individual and came personally to deal with you, does she?”

Perhaps because she had spent the entire afternoon shopping with Hu Li, her manner of speaking with Yu Sheng had become much more familiar than when they had first met.

The obvious tension and caution from their initial meeting had largely disappeared.

Yu Sheng, however, did not notice the change in attitude.

He simply recalled his conversation with Baili Qing and shook his head.

“Nothing like that. She just came to learn about my situation. She asked me a few questions, and I asked her a whole bunch of questions in return. Honestly, I think she’s pretty easy to talk to.”

Little Red Riding Hood stared blankly.

She began doubting her own hearing.

Baili Qing?

Easy to talk to?

That was certainly a novel combination of words.

At Special Operations Bureau headquarters, inside an office.

Accompanied by a distortion and collapse of light and shadow, a pale humanoid outline abruptly appeared behind a desk.

The pale silhouette rapidly took shape and was infused with faint color, transforming into Baili Qing.

She sat quietly behind the desk.

For a very long time, she did not move at all, as though lost in thought.

Only after an unknown amount of time had passed did she suddenly raise her head and press a button on the desk.

“Notify Song Cheng of Second Team and Luo Zheng from the Classified Records Management Department. Have them come to my office immediately.”