Chapter 46: The Door Was Opened Too Wide

Aileen's sudden decision to turn and bolt caught Yu Sheng somewhat off guard, and her two little short legs were indeed moving quite fast—but unfortunately, she was currently only 66.6cm tall.

For a doll barely sixty centimeters high, her little legs moving so fast they created afterimages wasn't much to look at, and before she could even reach the door, the picture frame on her back got snagged on a nearby chair leg—she had intended to duck under the chair, forgetting she was carrying something on her back.

With two leisurely steps, Yu Sheng reached out and scooped up Aileen, who was still frantically kicking her legs in mid-air.

"You can't hold a grudge like that!" Aileen swung her arms wildly, punching and kicking at the air. "And I only did that to wake you up! I admit my method was a bit too 'creative,' but you did wake up in the end, didn't you! Hey, put me—"

"I didn't say I was going to do anything," Yu Sheng interrupted her with a smile, casually setting the little doll on the ground. "I just wanted to tell you, don't bite so hard next time. Even with my recovery rate, it still hurts after all this time. That was a bit much in terms of retaliation—though it would be even better if you just didn't bite at all."

Aileen froze, looking quite surprised. "Ah, you're not angry?"

"Nonsense, I'm not ungrateful," Yu Sheng curled his lip and turned to walk toward the door. "Now go get ready. It's time for us to head to that valley."

Aileen stood on the floor in a daze. Only after seeing Yu Sheng walk away did she scramble to catch up. "Did you remember all the 'characteristics' over there clearly?"

"Crystal clear."

...

"I actually think this place is quite peaceful now," Xu Jiali said, sitting behind the window and munching on a jianbing guozi that Li Lin had bought that morning. Her eyes watched the street outside with a sense of sentimentality. "It's nice. Much more tranquil than the Lawless Zone. There aren't even any Angel Cultists on the streets..."

"Compared to the combat intensity of your field assignments, this place is definitely tranquil," Li Lin said, sitting beside Xu Jiali and sipping from a cup of hot soy milk. "Just treat it as a half-vacation. The mission is just surveillance anyway. If something truly extraordinary shows up, the Bureau will naturally send reinforcements."

"But I see 'Little Red Riding Hood' is always so tense," Xu Jiali looked out the window. "She's just a kid, yet she's wound up like a tight spring—I was just like her when I first came out of the 'Platform'."

Not far outside the window, on the rooftop of a nearby building, a young girl in a dark red coat was hiding in a corner, watching the movements on the street. She had a sausage in her mouth, and the phantom images of a wolf pack flickered in and out of existence in the air beside her.

As if sensing a gaze falling upon her, "Little Red Riding Hood" alertly looked up toward the window where Li Lin and Xu Jiali were. After confirming nothing was wrong, she gave a slight nod, glanced at the street once more, and then pulled several notebooks and pens from her backpack to begin burying her head in her homework.

The wolf pack continued to monitor the street in her stead.

Watching the dark red figure on the distant rooftop, Li Lin couldn't help but mutter, "I've heard the name 'Fairy Tale' often, but this is the only member of the organization I've seen with my own eyes... She looks like a minor, doesn't she? Why is she out doing such dangerous work?"

"More than half of the members in 'Fairy Tale' are around her age, and most come from the same place," Xu Jiali sighed. "They're all unlucky children."

Li Lin was startled. "All of them? Why—"

"Because children are more susceptible to falling into 'Fairy Tale,' and once they become adults, members often find it hard to survive within it," Xu Jiali waved her hand. "If you're really interested, go check the archives yourself later. Don't go asking her about this to her face."

Sensing something in his colleague's attitude, Li Lin gave a thoughtful "oh" and temporarily returned his attention to the peaceful, quiet old streets outside.

"Looks like nothing will happen today either." He exhaled softly and continued sipping his soy milk.

Xu Jiali: "I'm not full yet. Where's your instant noodles? I'll take a pack."

"Under the bed in the inner room—boil the water yourself. The kettle is in the kitchen. The water dispenser in the living room is acting up; it won't dispense hot water. Oh, and make a pack for me while you're at it."

...

Yu Sheng looked at Aileen standing by the door with a face full of suspicion. "This is your preparation?"

Aileen stood on the shoe bench in the entryway, puffing out her chest to try and look more formidable. In her hands, she gripped a kitchen knife she had taken from the kitchen—the knife was huge, and the handle wasn't suited for a doll's palm, so she had to hold the handle with both hands to keep it steady.

"I'm just being prepared. Having a weapon for protection makes me feel more secure. If a real fight breaks out, you can just rely on my super magical power."

Hearing the doll's confident boasting, Yu Sheng's face twitched. "You'd be better off with a fruit knife; it would be easier for you to grip."

"A fruit knife has no presence."

"With your height, even if you carried a Dragon Slayer sword, it wouldn't have any presence!" Yu Sheng said helplessly. "I'm telling you, don't break it when we get there. I quite like this knife; it's great for slicing meat."

"Alright, alright, enough nagging. Why are you so worried?" Aileen rolled her eyes impatiently while clutching the kitchen knife with both hands. "Just open the door already. We need to check out the situation on the other side first."

Seeing this, Yu Sheng said no more. He turned and gripped the doorknob, while simultaneously checking the items piled at his feet.

It was food intended for Hu Li.

When he had entered the Otherworld previously, the items he carried and the trash bag in his hand had been brought through the door, but this time, he was attempting to carry much more—in addition to a large amount of food, there was also Aileen. He wasn't entirely sure himself whether he could succeed with such a heavy "load."

He had tested it, of course, but only through short-distance door-opening tests at home. Going to the "Otherworld"... was not the same as moving within small areas of the real world.

So he could only do more preparation. If it failed, he would treat this as a test as well.

Yu Sheng wore an exceptionally large coat, the pockets inside and out already stuffed with compressed biscuits, bread, and several cans of eight-treasure porridge. When he opened the door later, he would try to "prop" the door open as much as possible, sending the supplies at his feet through first, and then passing through the passage with Aileen.

To do this, he needed to open the door as "wide" as possible.

He still didn't know the principle behind this process, so he could only rely on his intuition.

Yu Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly, recalling the characteristics of that valley recorded through Hu Li's perception.

He recalled the freezing night wind, the stench of decay, and the bone-gnawing hunger that permeated the entire Otherworld.

And most importantly, the "aura" required for spiritual guidance.

All of this transformed into the "frequency" of opening the door, into the landscape on the other side of the door in his imagination.

Next, he attempted to focus his entire attention on this single opening of the door. He wanted to open a door large enough and stable enough—large enough to bring Aileen through, large enough to bring everything through, and accurate enough to arrive right beside Hu Li...

The doorknob turned slightly. A chilling aura drifted through the crack of the slowly opening door into the entryway...

A passage of a scale far exceeding his previous attempts was established.

As for exactly how large this passage was?

It was large enough to make Director Baili Qing of the Special Services Bureau and all the captains of the action brigades let out sharp, piercing screams in their offices.

*Weng—*

A strange, low hum suddenly echoed throughout the entire Wutong Road district. However, this hum far exceeded the limits of ordinary human hearing; only those who had been trained and possessed extraordinary perception of the powers of the "other world" could hear the continuous vibration it produced deep within their spirituality.

Xu Jiali, who was walking out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of instant noodles, instantly felt something. She looked out the window in shock, only to see the daylight outside rapidly darkening, as if a heavy curtain were gradually descending over the entire Boundary City. Beneath this curtain, all the buildings outside were becoming transparent and vanishing, while a strange, misty landscape resembling a valley began to "grow" out of the original street district.

Little Red Riding Hood, who had been busy finishing her homework on the rooftop nearby, also suddenly looked up. The wolf pack let out uneasy whimpers in the shadows, and a freezing wind blew out of nowhere, fluttering her math workbook.

Li Lin, who a moment ago had been musing about the peace and tranquility of the streets, suddenly leaped up, letting out a perfectly articulated "Holy shit! Something's happening outside!!"

Xu Jiali rushed to Li Lin's side with her noodles in a few quick steps, then immediately reacted. "No! It's not the outside that's changing!"

Li Lin turned his head sharply. "What do you mean?"

"We are 'observing' the change—we are falling into the Otherworld!" As a veteran deep-diver, Xu Jiali judged the situation instantly. She shoved the instant noodles into Li Lin's hands and rushed toward her equipment box, pulling out a beam dagger and protective gear. "Quick, contact the Bureau, before the signal—"

However, the speed at which they were sinking into the Otherworld was even faster than Xu Jiali had imagined.

A "pulling" force far beyond his experience dragged his and Li Lin's perception past the boundaries of common sense and reason in an instant. His vision blurred, and just as he managed to grab his gear, he heard the howling of a hollow wind rushing toward him.

All the scenery before his eyes changed. The rental apartment dissipated like a dream, and a valley shrouded in night appeared before him.

Li Lin only had time to see the screen of the phone on the table suddenly light up, the Director's phone number flashing for a split second—and then, all that remained before his eyes were dark stones and dark forests.

The two Special Services agents looked up blankly. After exchanging a glance, they heard a low growl from a wolf beside them.

They turned their heads to see the young girl in the dark red coat standing nearby with a serious expression.

"We've fallen into the Otherworld," Xu Jiali spoke in a low, heavy voice after a moment of silence.

Little Red Riding Hood nodded slightly. "I know. Judging by the scale and characteristics, it should be a 'Wilderness' type."

Li Lin looked at Xu Jiali, then at the girl in red, feeling that he should say something too.

He looked down, then raised his hand. "Want some instant noodles?"

(End of Chapter)