Chapter 75: “Another Boundary City”

Chapter 75: “Another Boundary City”

Before long, two more people had arrived in Baili Qing’s office.

One was the broad-shouldered Song Cheng. The other already had graying hair and looked to be in his fifties.

The latter wore narrow-rimmed glasses. He was not tall and was slightly overweight, looking exactly like an utterly ordinary office middle manager who had already begun coasting toward retirement.

Baili Qing glanced up at the two people who had entered her office and nodded slightly.

“You arrived quickly.”

“You went to meet that person called Yu Sheng?” Song Cheng was the first to speak. “Looking at you... did you discover something?”

“I exchanged a great deal of information with him, and the entire process differed greatly from what I had anticipated. Yu Sheng may be the most unusual ‘supernatural’ individual I have ever encountered. But before we discuss the details, I’d like you to look at something.”

As she spoke, Baili Qing turned her gaze toward the gray-haired man, the head of the Classified Records Management Department.

“Luo Zheng, close the door.”

Luo Zheng immediately nodded and turned to shut the office door.

The instant the door closed, an invisible pressure spread throughout the room. It was like a gentle breeze sweeping across the surroundings. Wherever the breeze passed, even the dust drifting through the air seemed to freeze in place.

The moment Song Cheng saw this setup, his heart tightened involuntarily. He silently lamented his fate and abandoned all plans of getting off work on time that afternoon.

Meanwhile, after the office had been completely sealed off, Baili Qing silently rose to her feet and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window.

The window was enormous. Outside it was always veiled by a thin layer of mist. Within the mist, however, changing scenery constantly appeared, and the scenery was clearly not something that should exist within Boundary City.

At times it was a range of rolling mountains. At others it was an endless forest.

Most of the time, however, it was a tranquil lake that seemed entirely motionless. On the far shore of the lake stood a cabin, wrapped in mist and dreamlike in its hazy outline.

As Baili Qing approached the window, the flowing mist outside rapidly became still, and the ever-changing scenery within it slowly faded away.

With solemn expressions, Song Cheng and Luo Zheng watched the layer of mist.

After only a few seconds of stillness, something else began to appear within it.

Buildings.

Orderly rooftops.

A strange city.

And a crimson glow that gradually spread outward.

“What is this?” Song Cheng asked instinctively.

“This is what Yu Sheng showed me. He said it is another Boundary City,” Baili Qing said softly. Her colorless eyes calmly watched the thin mist beyond the window while the scenes preserved in her memory continuously manifested and reconstructed themselves within it. “He is obsessed with this place, and he has seen it before.”

Shock instantly surfaced in Luo Zheng’s eyes. He removed his glasses, wiped them on his shirt, and then stared at the shifting light beyond the window.

“Another Boundary City?!”

“Yes. Another one. And I vaguely sensed his emotions. He seems to believe... that this is what Boundary City is supposed to look like, its ‘normal’ appearance.”

Song Cheng and Luo Zheng fell silent at the same time, stunned.

With a trace of unease, they looked at the so-called normal landscape outside.

Buildings so dark that only their outlines remained stood across the earth. Strange towering spires rose in the distance, tracing magnificent silhouettes.

Mist filled the air.

The rooftops and towers resembled rows of gravestones standing within the haze.

Crimson rays pierced through the mist, giving the entire sky a strange, dim quality.

And the sunlight...

The blood-red sunlight flowed through the city like water.

It formed whirlpools between the buildings, mixed with the crimson glow, and poured down from the rooftops. It continuously streamed and dripped from the eaves.

Drip, drip.

Patter, patter.

Baili Qing’s voice drifted into Song Cheng and Luo Zheng’s ears, sounding somewhat distant.

“He said this is a peaceful seaside town with beautiful evening clouds. The red glow spreads across the sky like water and flows along the rooftops...”

“...It sounds like a very poetic description,” Song Cheng said softly.

“Yes. That was my impression as well when I first heard it.” Baili Qing gently shook her head. “Until I realized something.”

“It is realistic.”

“This cannot possibly be a real location,” Luo Zheng said seriously. He had already shaken off the unease and tension caused by witnessing such an anomaly and quickly regained his composure. “There may be many planets in the universe with bizarre scenery, but no matter how you look at this scene, it doesn’t resemble a natural landscape. The light, shadows, and that ‘sunlight’ around those buildings violate the laws of physics. They...”

“They look like they’re melting.”

“If I had to describe it, it resembles what happens when a graphics card driver crashes during a game and the rendering breaks,” Song Cheng added thoughtfully, stroking his chin. Then he appended, “I’ve seen that happen when my daughter plays games.”

“This is probably some kind of Other Domain,” Luo Zheng said cautiously. “Judging from the scale, it should be a large one. But without reference material or points of comparison, it’s impossible to classify. Whether it’s a Wilderness-type or a Kingdom-type, I can’t say. One thing is certain, though, it’s definitely not a Fortress-type.”

“It could also be an Anomaly,” Baili Qing said calmly.

“An Anomaly-type Other Domain?” Luo Zheng looked surprised and frowned. “Like Fairy Tale or Heroic Epic? But this looks like an actual physical space...”

“Anomaly-type Other Domains also establish their own sense of reality within cognition. What I saw was merely a scene constructed from Yu Sheng’s mind. Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that this image is fundamentally just a memory or a story,” Baili Qing said, shaking her head. “The key point right now is that regardless of the true nature of this Other Domain, Yu Sheng believes it is another Boundary City.”

Song Cheng and Luo Zheng both fell silent.

The atmosphere in the office became exceptionally heavy.

Countless Other Domains existed in this world.

Those connected to the Boundary Zone, or even overlapping with it, were as numerous as the stars.

But no matter what, an Other Domain was still only an Other Domain.

Its overlap with reality was always limited in scale.

Since records had first been kept, there had never been an Other Domain capable of doing something like this.

Pointing toward another Boundary Zone.

Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, Song Cheng stared fixedly at the city beyond, soaked and washed by crimson streams of light.

Objectively speaking, those black urban silhouettes bore little resemblance to the Boundary City beneath his feet.

At least, he could not see any resemblance.

He did not understand why the “person” called Yu Sheng believed this was another Boundary City.

But there was one thing he did understand.

A different perspective produced a different world.

In the eyes of the Algrayed people, the starry sky was filled with magnificent, orderly lines and patterns.

To the Bamosans, the world was illuminated simultaneously by light and magnetic fields.

The Gipulo people could observe the contours of electric fields.

And the ancient Senjin people, through meditation, could embrace time itself and even briefly glimpse the future.

Humans were among the races with the narrowest field of perception in the world.

To gifted species, humans were both deaf and blind.

Of the endless information filling this vast world, less than one percent qualified as useful intelligence for humans.

Yet at the same time, given the proper tools and methods, the human mind could process nearly any form of knowledge.

When faced with dangerous information beyond ordinary perception, human adaptability and tolerance were absurdly high.

For this reason, humans were universally recognized by all races as natural-born investigators.

“The world he sees is different from the one we see,” Song Cheng suddenly said.

“Yes,” Baili Qing replied without denying it. “But he can also survive in our world. Aside from feeling slightly out of place, he has adapted remarkably well.”

“A dual perspective belonging to both humans and... non-humans? Or perhaps two separate cognitive systems?” Luo Zheng frowned slightly as he thought aloud. “You’ve met him. Do you think he’s an entity or a human?”

“More like a human. At least, that’s what he currently believes himself to be.”

Baili Qing turned around and lightly tapped the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window.

As her words fell, the scenery outside abruptly collapsed and contracted.

It returned to its previous state, shrouded in mist, with mountains and water alternately appearing in serene succession.

“I believe it would be best not to disturb this status quo, at least until we determine exactly what Wutong Road 66 and Yu Sheng truly are.”

“I understand.”

Song Cheng drew a slow breath and nodded solemnly.

“Then what should we do next?”

“Next, Second Team will allocate part of its manpower and attention specifically to matters related to Wutong Road 66 and Yu Sheng. The first task is to help him complete some registrations.”

“Registrations?”

“The two ‘people’ around him need legal identities,” Baili Qing said unhurriedly. “Secondly, he himself seems interested in registering as a... spirit world detective.”

Song Cheng: “...Huh?”

“He says he intends to maintain order within the Boundary Zone and fight against Other Domains and entities.”

Song Cheng: “...Huh?”

“I know exactly why you’re saying ‘huh,’” Baili Qing said, lifting her eyelids to glance at him. “The Special Operations Bureau has always dealt with absurd situations. Go make the arrangements. Assign someone clever and dependable to handle it. The two people mentioned in the last report seem quite suitable.”

Song Cheng’s expression became complicated.

“I just gave them three days off...”

Baili Qing considered it for a moment.

“Fair enough. In a situation like this, they do need some rest. Make the arrangements as you see fit, just don’t delay too long.”