Chapter 57: Making a Connection

“I don't really understand much about the supernatural,” Yu Sheng said candidly, facing Li Lin and the other two, whose faces were etched with confusion. “Especially the Otherworld, entities, and things like that. To be honest, I don't know much about what happens outside the Boundary City either—so I've been looking for 'professionals' like you, hoping you can answer many of my questions.”

Li Lin and Xu Jiali exchanged glances, looking utterly bewildered by Yu Sheng's words. Little Red Riding Hood couldn't help but scan Yu Sheng up and down several times. “You... you mean to say you've never had contact with the Otherworld or entities before?! You only started dealing with this stuff recently?!”

“I’ve lived a peaceful and ordinary life for the past twenty-odd years,” Yu Sheng said, spreading his hands and telling the truth. “It’s only recently that I’ve started encountering all this messy stuff. I’m a complete novice in this regard.”

The moment he finished speaking, Xu Jiali’s expression began to crack. *Started dealing with the Otherworld recently, huh? And yet you can pin down a Hunger Entity of level three or higher and beat it senseless, and casually swing a door open to a wasteland planet millions of light-years away, coming in and out of the Otherworld like you're coming home... what kind of "novice" is that?*

*Is this even a human being?!*

He exchanged a look with Li Lin. Their minds raced, weighing countless possibilities in an instant.

First, they were almost certain that the spacetime displacement phenomenon causing chaos throughout the Bureau was absolutely related to this man named "Yu Sheng"—the evidence was right there in the door he had just casually opened.

Yes, *casually*.

Second, they must not be deceived by Yu Sheng's self-proclaimed title of "novice." Regardless of whether he had truly just begun his contact with the Otherworld and its entities, the power he wielded did not resemble that of an ordinary human who had only recently been affected by the Otherworld.

Either the word "novice" was a lie, or the identity of "ordinary human" was a lie—or perhaps both were lies.

Furthermore, an ordinary human could not possibly live in a house that was so obviously wrong.

“I want to confirm one thing first,” Li Lin said after a moment of hesitation. “Have you been living here all this time?”

“Yeah,” Yu Sheng nodded. He didn't intend to mention that he had come from another "Boundary City," so he simply admitted he had always lived in this house; after all, he even had an ID card. “I’ve always lived here.”

Li Lin: “Then do you know that this house is...”

“I know, it’s an Otherworld,” Yu Sheng interrupted before the other could finish, his face full of sincerity and innocence. “I only found out recently. Nothing went wrong while I was living here before.”

Li Lin was momentarily speechless again.

*What do you mean, "only found out recently"! What do you mean, "nothing went wrong while living here"! Can an ordinary person be like this?*

Then again, after all these years, how had the Bureau never discovered such an anomaly in this old urban district?!

“Um, can I see your identification?” Li Lin finally asked cautiously after a long pause. He then hurriedly fumbled through his pocket and pulled out a small black booklet, spreading it open before Yu Sheng. “This is my duty ID.”

Yu Sheng glanced at the booklet, seeing Li Lin's photo, name, and job title, along with some incomprehensible serial numbers and identification codes. He couldn't understand them anyway, and he had never seen what other Bureau IDs looked like, but at least it showed a professional "attitude."

So, he readily pulled out his own ID card and handed it over.

Li Lin took the ID, and he and Xu Jiali quickly scanned the information.

Both of their gazes simultaneously froze on the "Address" column, staring blankly at the black text on the white background: "No. 66 Wutong Road."

“Is there a problem?” Yu Sheng asked curiously, seeing them both dazed.

Li Lin snapped out of it and slowly returned the ID to Yu Sheng. He seemed to hesitate several times before finally speaking: “Do you know... there is no Number 66 on Wutong Road.”

Yu Sheng: “...?”

Now he knew why none of the locksmiths he had called previously had been able to make it to his door.

“We need to head back to the Bureau first,” Xu Jiali said, breaking the silence. “Your situation is... somewhat special. We need to report to our superiors and coordinate with the Archives Department to figure out exactly what is going on.”

Yu Sheng was stunned. “Leaving just like that? But I still have a bunch of questions...”

“We will leave our contact information, and we will conduct a formal 'contact' with you in the near future,” Xu Jiali said. “The Bureau has a standard procedure for contact and registration for humans who have undergone 'changes' due to recent contact with the Otherworld. Rest assured, all your doubts will be answered during the formal contact later.”

As she spoke, she pulled out a small card and handed it to Yu Sheng. “My number is on here.”

“...Alright.” Yu Sheng thought about it. His primary goal was actually to establish a connection with the "professionals" who specialized in solving Otherworld problems in the Boundary Lands. As for his mountain of questions, they clearly weren't things that could be sorted out in a quick chat with these two; that would have to come later through gradual contact. So, he nodded readily and took the business card.

He then left his mobile number.

He had had this number since he "arrived" here, but almost no one ever contacted him, and he had no one to contact himself.

Next, Yu Sheng turned his gaze toward "Little Red Riding Hood," who had been standing silently by his side.

The girl, who looked like a high school student, did not look well. Her exposed right arm seemed to be recovering, but many fine black patterns were still visible on her skin, looking quite eerie.

“Are you okay?” Yu Sheng asked with some concern.

“It’s a side effect of dealing with wolves. It’s not the first time; it’ll recover once I adjust,” Little Red Riding Hood said, shaking her head. “I need to see a doctor in a bit. Oh, right, let me leave my number too... Wait, I didn't bring my phone. I'll find a pen.”

As she spoke, she reached for the small bag at her waist, but suddenly, her movements froze.

The expression on the girl's face stiffened visibly, as if she had belatedly realized something terrible.

Yu Sheng was startled by her reaction. “What’s wrong?”

Beside him, Xu Jiali sighed. “Her homework was torn up by an entity.”

Little Red Riding Hood turned her neck stiffly, only to see sympathy on the faces of Xu Jiali and Li Lin.

“We saw it from the start, but you weren't paying attention at the time,” Li Lin said softly. “We didn't want to bring it up, thinking we'd let you stay happy a little longer...”

“When have you ever seen me happy! Huh?! When I was being chased through the woods by a monster like a dog?!” The girl in red was completely distraught. Her hard-won composure and maturity vanished instantly, leaving only pure frustration. “I spent three days! I spent three days making up those math papers, AAAAGH!!”

Yu Sheng watched from the side, stunned. He was beginning to feel that the mental state and daily lives of these "professionals" were quite different from what he had imagined, but he didn't feel comfortable speaking up in this atmosphere—mainly because the girl looked genuinely heartbroken...

But regardless, Little Red Riding Hood eventually left him her number. As the girl wrote the digits on a scrap of paper, she pressed down with such force that it looked as if she were using the pen as a knife to carve the numbers into the very "Hunger Entities" that had long since turned to ash, making Yu Sheng watch with trepidation.

Then, Li Lin and the other two said their goodbyes and prepared to leave.

Yu Sheng walked them to the door and stood in the doorway. “I won't see you out—I still have a lot of things to handle here.”

Hearing this, Li Lin looked back into the living room. He saw the fox girl with a mass of tails still sitting on the floor guarding a pile of food, and the little doll with broken arms sitting on the sofa, mindlessly watching television.

A bizarre No. 66 Wutong Road, inhabited by a bizarre "Yu Sheng," and his two equally bizarre "friends."

Right under the Bureau's nose.

Li Lin knew he had stumbled upon a massive vortex, and all of this would appear in his and Xu Jiali's report...

And would manifest as upcoming overtime.

The young Bureau agent let out a deep sigh and stepped tiredly through the door.

A cool night breeze blew against his face, the silent night of the old district met his eyes, and warm streetlights illuminated the path ahead.

He and Xu Jiali turned back simultaneously, only to see a bare wall behind them, covered in chaotic and abstract graffiti.

Xu Jiali stepped forward, touched the wall, and tapped it twice.

“...It doesn't seem to be here,” the veteran diver said softly. “This is just an entrance, and it only opens when an invitation is given.”

“Should we head back to the Bureau first?” Li Lin asked. “Or leave someone here to keep watching?”

Xu Jiali looked up at Little Red Riding Hood.

The girl immediately turned her head away, signaling that her mood was too foul from her ruined homework to work any overtime.

“I need to find Dr. Lin to deal with my 'aftereffects' first,” she gave a very legitimate excuse. “You two do as you wish. I don't think it matters whether someone stays here or not—that man's abilities are too strange; current conditions make it impossible to monitor him.”

“...Let's head back to the Bureau first,” Xu Jiali sighed, taking the lead. “There are others guarding the perimeter anyway. Let's report today's situation first. This involves the Dark Angel; this matter... Captain Song might not even be able to make the final call.”

(End of Chapter)