Chapter 31: Passing by Each Other

He opened the supermarket door and walked inside.

It was such a simple and normal procedure, yet Yu Sheng felt a sense of disbelief. The impact of the previous few times he had opened doors was so immense that he was still suffering from "door-opening aftereffects." He even found himself having absurd thoughts whenever he saw the shelves or the shopkeeper in front of him—

*Could this be some kind of abnormal spatial nest mimicking a small supermarket from my memory? The shelves look normal, but maybe the bottles and jars on them are all eyeballs soaked in formalin. The shopkeeper across from me might greet me, only to suddenly pull a chainsaw out of his pocket and charge at me, slicing me under the checkout counter...*

Fortunately, these ridiculous thoughts only flickered through his mind. Yu Sheng quickly calmed down. First, he confirmed that he had indeed entered a normal supermarket, and then he roughly figured out the conditions under which he could "open a door normally and correctly." He then nodded to the young shopkeeper: "I'm here to buy some things—do you have cases of instant noodles and compressed biscuits?"

"We have instant noodles. The unopened cases are all stacked under that staircase on the second floor. Let me know what kind you want," the young shopkeeper said. Although he thought it was a bit strange that Yu Sheng had frozen up the moment he walked in, he quickly brushed it off and pointed to a nearby iron ladder. "We don't have cases of compressed biscuits left. The middle row on the left shelf, see that? That's all we have. Not many people buy these, so I don't stock much."

"Alright, help me pack all the biscuits. I'll go grab a case of noodles... and two packs of ham sausages, the large ones."

"Okay."

The young shopkeeper gave an affirmative response, turned around to grab a large shopping bag, and headed to the shelves. As he worked, he asked casually, "Buying so many instant noodles and compressed biscuits all of a sudden? Eating nothing but this isn't good for you. My wife nags me about it every day."

"Just keeping some at home," Yu Sheng replied perfunctorily.

The shopkeeper didn't say anything more. Following Yu Sheng's request, he packed a large bag of items and walked toward the checkout counter. Just then, the glass door of the supermarket was pushed open again—both doors were pushed at once, and one of the door hinges let out a teeth-grating creak.

The shopkeeper, who was busy counting the biscuits, looked up immediately at the sound. "Hey, that door is broken. There's a sign on it."

"Uh, I didn't notice," said the person who had entered. It was a young man with black hair, wearing casual clothes, with an unremarkable face. He looked back awkwardly at the half-glass door that seemed unable to swing shut automatically, then turned back. "Do you have cases of instant noodles?"

Yu Sheng, who was currently walking between two rows of shelves carrying a case of instant noodles, looked up when he heard the commotion at the counter, but he quickly averted his gaze.

"Oh, this kind is fine," the black-haired young man said, pointing to the instant noodles in Yu Sheng's arms. "I'll take a case too."

The shopkeeper didn't even look up. "Under the stairs on the right ahead. Grab them yourself; I'm processing this transaction first."

Yu Sheng brushed past the young man, paid at the counter, and then walked out into the gradually darkening night, carrying a large shopping bag in one hand and a case of noodles on his shoulder.

***

Li Lin found the instant noodles he wanted under the stairs the shopkeeper had mentioned. Just as he was bending down to lift the items, he felt his pocket vibrate. He pulled out his phone and saw a message from his captain.

He glanced toward the checkout counter, looked down at his screen, and sent a quick reply: "I've settled in. I'm out buying some supplies."

The phone buzzed twice, and a new message popped up on the screen: "Any abnormalities discovered?"

Li Lin typed: "None. I'll wander the streets tomorrow and try to interact with the local residents."

After sending the message, the young Bureau agent hesitated for a moment before editing a follow-up: "Roughly when will the team's 'Deep Diver' arrive? Who is being assigned?"

It took a while before the phone vibrated again: "Xu Jiali. Arriving tomorrow."

Li Lin stared at the message, stunned. Just as he was about to ask something, he saw a new message from his superior: "He just returned from Ameyn-IX. Something happened there, and his mission ended early. He is currently at the Bureau giving a report and undergoing a full medical examination. He will be sent to your location tomorrow."

After reading the message, Li Lin's lip twitched. He typed quickly: "Sending him on duty right after field work? Don't people get half a day off?"

"Xu Jiali requested it. The situation he encountered was a bit special; he's currently experiencing some Deep Diving aftereffects and needs to wear a stabilizer constantly for the next few days. He decided to move his post-duty leave to next week. There shouldn't be any issues on your end in the short term, so he'll treat his time with you as rest. You can discuss the details when you meet tomorrow."

Li Lin curled his lip and replied "Okay," then stood up, grabbed the case of noodles, and walked toward the checkout counter.

The shopkeeper behind the counter glanced up, pulled out a scanner, and muttered again, "Eating nothing but this isn't good... my wife nags me about it every day..."

Li Lin chuckled. "Then should I not buy them?"

"That'll be 62.8 yuan in total."

***

Aileen heard the movement at the entrance—the door had been opened from the outside. But as she peeked from the edge of her picture frame toward the entryway, she didn't see Yu Sheng for a long time.

After a while, she finally saw Yu Sheng tentatively poking his head through the door. He looked around the interior for a long time before stepping into the house cautiously, like a thief. After setting the large pile of groceries on the floor, he turned around to close the door.

Aileen watched this scene in silence, only speaking after Yu Sheng had finished closing the door: "Yu Sheng, what are you doing? Why do you come home like a thief?"

Yu Sheng sighed, muttering as he changed his shoes, "Don't even get me started. I have serious psychological trauma regarding 'opening doors' now. I don't dare take a step forward without checking three times."

Listening to him, Aileen's gaze fell upon the pile of things at the door.

"You bought quite a lot," the doll lady remarked in amazement. "You should have used a small cart, like a camping trolley. They're very useful."

Yu Sheng didn't speak for a moment. He just looked down at the pile of instant noodles, ham, and compressed biscuits at the door. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he slapped his forehead hard. "I should have bought some liquid food! She's been hungry for too long; she can't eat this directly... No, I'll go back tomorrow morning and buy some Eight-Treasure Porridge... Or should I go now?"

Aileen listened silently. Seeing that Yu Sheng was actually about to open the door and head out again, she finally spoke: "Wait until tomorrow."

Yu Sheng had already changed his shoes again. Holding the doorknob, he looked back. "She's still hungry..."

"Even if you buy it now, do you have a way to deliver it to that fox immediately?" Aileen looked straight at Yu Sheng. "And... honestly, I've wanted to say this for a while. Even if you give her these, it will only temporarily alleviate her condition. The biggest problem over there isn't a lack of food, but that entity called 'Hunger'."

Yu Sheng stopped his movements.

After a moment of thought, he changed his shoes back, walked to the dining table, and sat down opposite Aileen.

"You're right. The biggest problem is 'Hunger.' Although filling her stomach temporarily is good... let's wait until tomorrow. There's no rush right now; we first need to find a way to enter that valley stably."

Aileen noticed the solemn, thoughtful expression on Yu Sheng's face as he spoke the latter half of the sentence. Recalling the fragments of information he had revealed when contacting her earlier, she immediately sensed something.

"...What exactly happened?" she asked tentatively. "Do you... do you have a way to enter that valley?"

"Strictly speaking, it's not a way to enter the valley, but rather..."

As Yu Sheng spoke, he reached out and grabbed at the air right in front of Aileen.

He grasped a doorknob, and a door abruptly materialized in mid-air. The form of the door itself was ordinary, but its edges shimmered and vibrated like a phantom. Then, under Aileen's shocked gaze, Yu Sheng pulled the door open with a sudden jerk.

The illusory door swung wide. Yu Sheng saw a female elf standing on the other side. She looked like a grease monkey, with a massive array of mechanical limbs and a wheeled lower body, yet her upper body was dressed in a silver-white robe.

She was standing in front of some kind of large machining equipment, turning her head toward them with a look of shock.

The mechanical limbs behind the grease-monkey elf were still rapidly and precisely adjusting a large, glowing device on a platform. Her eyes were wide, as if they might pop out of her head. She stared at Yu Sheng for two seconds before letting out a scream: "So what the hell are you—!"

*Bang!* Yu Sheng slammed the door shut.

"...I didn't expect I could connect to the same place twice in a row," Yu Sheng said, a hint of surprise and contemplation on his face. "Wait, maybe this is... I'll try to replicate it in a moment..."

Before he could finish his mumble, Aileen, sitting across the table, finally lost it. The doll lady looked as if she were about to fly out of her oil painting to bite him. "What was that just now?! What was that?! Huh?!"

"As you saw," Yu Sheng exhaled, "it was a door."

"I know it was a door, but the point is—" Aileen took a deep breath, practically jumping out of her chair. "What. The. Hell. Was. That?!"

(End of Chapter)