"I don't really understand much about supernatural matters," Yu Sheng said candidly, facing the puzzled trio of Li Lin, Xu Jiali, and Little Red Riding Hood. "Especially things like foreign domains and entities. In fact, I don't know much about anything outside Jiecheng either—which is why I've been looking for 'professionals' like you, hoping you might be able to answer some of my questions."
Li Lin and Xu Jiali exchanged glances, utterly dumbfounded by what Yu Sheng had just said. Little Red Riding Hood couldn't help eyeing him up and down several times. "You... you mean you've never had any contact with foreign domains or entities before?! You only started dealing with this stuff recently?!"
"For the past twenty-odd years, I've lived a calm, ordinary life," Yu Sheng said with open hands, telling the plain truth. "I only ran into all this bizarre stuff recently. When it comes to this, I'm a complete novice."
The moment the words left his mouth, Xu Jiali's expression began to crack. *Started dealing with foreign domains recently, huh? And yet you can pin down and beat up a Hunger entity with a danger rating above Class Three, open a door at will to a wasteland planet millions of light-years away, and walk in and out of foreign domains like coming home... What kind of "novice" is that?!*
*Is this even human?!*
He exchanged a look with Li Lin beside him. Their minds raced, turning over countless considerations in a split second.
First, they were practically certain that the spacetime distortions that had thrown the entire Special Affairs Bureau into chaos were definitely tied to this man named Yu Sheng before them. The proof lay in the front door he had opened so casually.
Yes, casually.
Second, they could not let themselves be fooled by Yu Sheng's claim of being a "novice." Regardless of whether he truly had just begun dealing with foreign domains and entities, the power he wielded hardly resembled that of an ordinary human who had only recently fallen under the influence of a foreign domain.
Either "novice" was a lie, or "ordinary human" was a lie—or perhaps both were completely fabricated.
Besides, no ordinary human could possibly live in a house so blatantly abnormal.
"There's one thing I'd like to confirm first," Li Lin hesitated, then asked. "You've always lived here?"
"That's right." Yu Sheng nodded. Having no intention of telling outsiders that he had arrived here from another "Jiecheng," he simply affirmed that he had always lived in this house. After all, he even had an ID card. "I've always lived here."
Li Lin said, "Then do you know this house is..."
"I know, it's a foreign domain," Yu Sheng interjected before the other could finish, looking utterly earnest and innocent. "I only found out recently. Never had any issues living here before."
Li Lin was struck speechless once again.
*What do you mean, you only found out recently?! What do you mean, you never had issues living here before?! Could any normal person say that?!*
*Then again, after all these years, how did the Special Affairs Bureau never notice something so wrong in this corner of Old Town?!*
"Uh, could I take a look at your identification?" Li Lin held it in for a long moment before finally asking with caution. He then quickly dug into his pocket, retrieved a small black booklet, and held it open before Yu Sheng. "This is my duty badge."
Yu Sheng glanced at the booklet. It had Li Lin's photo, name, and position printed on it, along with undecipherable serial numbers and identification codes. While he didn't understand any of it and had never seen what other Special Affairs Bureau credentials looked like, at least it demonstrated a proper, professional manner.
So he readily pulled out his own ID card and handed it over.
Li Lin took the card, and he and Xu Jiali quickly scanned the information.
Both of their gazes locked onto the "Address" field, staring blankly at the crisp black-on-white text: *No. 66 Wutong Road*.
"Is something wrong?" Yu Sheng asked curiously, seeing them both freeze.
Snapping out of his daze, Li Lin slowly handed the ID card back to Yu Sheng. Hesitating as though wrestling with his words, he took a few beats before finally saying, "Did you know? There is no No. 66 on Wutong Road."
Yu Sheng: "...?"
Now he finally understood why not a single locksmith he had contacted before had been able to find his door.
"We need to return to headquarters first," Xu Jiali broke the silence. "Your situation... is rather unusual. We have to report to our superiors and check with the archives department to figure out what's really going on."
Yu Sheng was startled. "You're leaving already? But I still have a pile of questions..."
"We'll leave our contact info, and we'll come back soon for a formal 'contact,'" Xu Jiali said. "The Special Affairs Bureau has established protocols for contacting and registering humans who have undergone 'changes' from recent exposure to foreign domains. Rest assured, all your questions will be answered during that formal contact."
As he spoke, he fished out a small card from his pocket and handed it to Yu Sheng. "My phone number is on this."
"...Alright." Yu Sheng considered it. His primary objective had simply been to establish contact with the "professionals" in the boundary zone who dealt with foreign domain issues. As for his mountain of questions, they clearly weren't something he could sort out through a brief chat; those would have to wait for gradual contact and understanding later. So he readily nodded and accepted the business card.
Then he provided his own mobile number in return.
The number had existed ever since he "arrived" here, but hardly anyone ever called him, nor did he have anyone to call.
Next, Yu Sheng turned his gaze toward Little Red Riding Hood, who had been standing quietly off to the side.
The girl, who looked like a high schooler, didn't look well. Her exposed right arm seemed to be recovering, but fine black patterns were still visible across her skin, giving it an eerie appearance.
"Are you alright?" Yu Sheng asked with some concern.
"Side effects of dealing with the wolf. It's not the first time. I'll recover after resting a bit," Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. "I have to see a doctor first later. Oh, right, let me leave my number too... Hold on, I don't have my phone on me, let me find a pen."
As she spoke, she reached into the small pouch at her waist, but suddenly froze in place.
Her expression stiffened visibly, as if she had just belatedly realized something horrific.
Yu Sheng was startled by her reaction. "What's wrong?"
Beside her, Xu Jiali sighed. "The entities shredded her homework."
Little Red Riding Hood stiffly turned her neck, only to see sympathetic looks on both Xu Jiali's and Li Lin's faces.
"The two of us saw it right from the start, but you didn't notice," Li Lin murmured softly. "We didn't have the heart to bring it up, thinking we'd let you stay happy a little longer..."
"When did you ever see me looking happy?! Huh?! When I was being chased through the woods by monsters like a dog?!" The red-hooded girl completely lost her composure. The calm maturity she had maintained the entire way vanished in an instant, replaced by sheer frenzy. "I spent three days making that up! Three whole days doing makeup math test papers! Aaargh!!"
Yu Sheng watched in stunned silence, feeling more and more that the demeanor and daily lives of these "professionals" differed vastly from what he had imagined. But given the atmosphere, he didn't dare say anything—mostly because the girl genuinely looked heartbroken...
Regardless, Little Red Riding Hood still left her phone number in the end. Every stroke she made on the memo paper was delivered with immense force, so full of hatred it seemed as though she were using the pen like a blade to carve the numbers directly into the already-disintegrated Hunger entities, leaving Yu Sheng watching in trepidation.
Afterward, Li Lin and his companions said their goodbyes and prepared to leave.
Yu Sheng saw them to the front door, pushed it open, and stood by the frame. "I won't see you out any further—I still have a bunch of things to take care of here."
At those words, Li Lin looked back into the living room, seeing the fox girl with a nest of tails still sitting on the floor guarding her pile of food, while the armless little doll sat carefree on the sofa watching television.
A bizarre No. 66 Wutong Road, inhabited by a bizarre "Yu Sheng," along with his two equally bizarre "friends."
Right under the nose of the Special Affairs Bureau.
Li Lin knew he had brushed against a colossal vortex, and all of this would appear in his and Xu Jiali's report...
...as well as in the overtime shifts to come.
The young Special Affairs Bureau operative sighed deeply and wearily stepped through the doorway.
A cool night breeze blew against their faces. The quiet night of Old Town greeted their eyes, warm streetlamps illuminating the road ahead.
He and Xu Jiali turned around almost simultaneously, only to find a bare wall behind them, covered in chaotic, abstract graffiti.
Xu Jiali stepped forward two paces, ran a hand across the wall, and tapped it twice.
"...It seems it isn't actually here," the veteran deep diver murmured. "This is merely an entrance, and one that only opens upon invitation."
"Head back to headquarters first?" Li Lin asked. "Or should one of us stay here to keep watch?"
Xu Jiali looked up at Little Red Riding Hood.
The girl immediately turned her head away, making it abundantly clear that with her homework shredded, she was in a foul mood and had zero desire to work overtime.
"I need to go see Doctor Lin first to deal with the aftereffects," she offered as a perfectly legitimate excuse. "Do as you like, you two. In my opinion, leaving someone here or not makes no difference—that guy's abilities are bizarre, and our current means can't monitor him anyway."
"...Let's head back to headquarters first," Xu Jiali sighed and took the lead forward. "There are others guarding the perimeter anyway. Let's report today's situation first. Since it involves a Murky Angel, this matter... is probably beyond even Captain Song's authority."
Chapter 57