Chapter 57: Establishing Connections
“I’m not really well-versed in the supernatural realm,” Yu Sheng admitted candidly, facing the puzzled expressions of Li Lin, Xu Jiali, and Little Red Riding Hood. “Especially when it comes to the Otherworld and Entities. Honestly, I don’t know much about what’s beyond Boundary City either. That’s why I’ve been looking for ‘professionals’ like you—to get some answers to all the questions I have.”
Li Lin and Xu Jiali exchanged glances, their faces showing obvious disbelief. Little Red Riding Hood couldn’t help but size Yu Sheng up from head to toe. “Wait… Are you saying you’ve never encountered the Otherworld or Entities before?! You’re just starting to deal with all this supernatural stuff now?!”
Yu Sheng shrugged and spread his hands. “I’ve led a peaceful and ordinary life for over twenty years. It’s only recently that I started running into all sorts of weird things. I’m completely new to this.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Jiali’s expression visibly faltered. A newcomer to the Otherworld, huh? Yet this same person could effortlessly beat down a Danger Level 3 Hunger Entity, casually open a Door leading to a desolate wasteland millions of light-years away, and enter and exit the Otherworld as if he were strolling in and out of his own house… Who’s calling this guy a ‘newbie’?
Is this even human?!
He and Li Lin glanced at each other, their minds racing as countless thoughts collided in an instant.
First off, they could almost be sure that the temporal dislocation phenomena that had thrown the Special Affairs Bureau into chaos were definitely related to this man named Yu Sheng. The evidence was right there—in that casually opened Door.
Casually opened, mind you.
Secondly, no matter how much Yu Sheng claimed to be a ‘newbie,’ it was clear that his mastery of power wasn’t something a typical Human, even one recently affected by the Otherworld, could possess.
Either his claim of being a ‘newbie’ was false, his identity as an ordinary Human was false—or both were false.
Moreover, no ordinary Human could possibly live in such an obviously strange house.
“I just need to confirm something,” Li Lin hesitated before asking, “Have you always lived here?”
“Yeah,” Yu Sheng nodded without hesitation. He didn’t plan on revealing that he had arrived here from another Boundary City, so he simply admitted to always living in this house. After all, he even had a valid ID. “I’ve always lived here.”
Li Lin continued cautiously, “Then… do you know that this house…”
“Yes, it’s an Otherworld,” Yu Sheng interrupted with a frank and innocent expression. “I just found out recently. Never had any problems living here before.”
Li Lin fell silent, dumbfounded once again.
Just recently found out? Never had any problems before? What kind of ordinary person could say that?
Then again, how had the Special Affairs Bureau never discovered such a strange place in this old neighborhood after all these years?
“Um… can I see your ID?” Li Lin finally asked, trying to maintain his composure. He quickly dug into his pocket and pulled out a small black booklet, unfolding it before Yu Sheng. “This is my operative ID.”
Yu Sheng glanced at the booklet, seeing Li Lin’s photo, name, position, and some identification codes that made no sense to him. It looked official enough, though. So, without hesitation, he handed over his own ID.
Li Lin and Xu Jiali quickly scanned the document, their eyes fixating on the address section: ‘Wutong Road No. 66.’
“Is there a problem?” Yu Sheng asked curiously, noticing their stunned expressions.
Li Lin came back to his senses and hesitantly returned the ID to Yu Sheng. After a moment of silence, he finally said, “Did you know… there is no Wutong Road No. 66?”
“…What?” Yu Sheng was stunned.
Now it made sense why all the locksmiths he had previously hired to open the Door couldn’t manage it.
“We’ll need to return to headquarters for now,” Xu Jiali broke the silence. “Your situation… is rather unique. We’ll have to report it and coordinate with the archives to figure out what’s going on.”
Yu Sheng was taken aback. “You’re leaving already? I still have so many questions…”
“We’ll leave our contact information, and we’ll be back soon for a formal ‘encounter’,” Xu Jiali reassured him. “The Special Affairs Bureau has a standard process for connecting with Humans who have recently experienced changes due to Otherworld contact. Don’t worry, all your questions will be addressed during the formal procedures.”
As he spoke, Xu Jiali fished a small card out of his pocket and handed it to Yu Sheng. “My number’s on this card.”
“…Alright,” Yu Sheng nodded. His primary goal was to establish a connection with the professional operatives responsible for handling Otherworld issues. As for his numerous questions, it was clear that a few casual chats wouldn’t suffice. Those answers would come with time and continued interaction. So, he accepted the card without complaint.
Yu Sheng left his phone number behind. It was a number he had obtained since coming to this place, but hardly anyone ever contacted him, nor did he have anyone to reach out to.
Turning his gaze, Yu Sheng looked at “Little Red Riding Hood,” who had been standing quietly nearby. The young lady, who resembled a high school student, did not look well. Her exposed right arm seemed to be recovering, but fine black lines crawled across her skin like sinister tattoos, giving off an eerie vibe.
“Are you alright?” Yu Sheng asked with a hint of concern.
“Just some side effects from dealing with the Wolf. Not the first time. I’ll recover after a bit of adjustment,” Little Red Riding Hood replied, shaking her head. “I’ll need to see Dr. Lin later. Oh, right, I should leave my number too… Wait, I forgot my phone. Let me find a pen.”
She patted the small pouch at her waist but then froze mid-motion. Her expression became visibly stiff, as if she had just realized something truly dreadful.
Yu Sheng was startled by her sudden change. “What’s wrong?”
Xu Jiali, standing to the side, sighed. “Her homework got shredded by an Entity.”
Little Red Riding Hood slowly turned her neck to see both Xu Jiali and Li Lin giving her sympathetic looks.
“We saw it from the start,” Li Lin said in a low voice. “But you were too focused at the time, and we didn’t want to ruin your mood… figured you deserved a bit of happiness.”
“When did I ever look happy!? Huh!? You mean when I was getting chased through the woods like a dog by that monster!?”
Her calm and mature demeanor crumbled in an instant, replaced by sheer frustration. “I spent three days catching up on those math sheets! Three whole days! And they’re just gone like that!”
Yu Sheng could only stand there, bewildered. He was slowly realizing that these so-called “professionals” had a mental state and lifestyle far different from what he had imagined. But considering how devastated the young lady looked, he didn’t dare say anything.
Despite her outrage, Little Red Riding Hood did manage to leave her number in the end. She wrote the digits on a note with such force that it seemed like she was using the pen as a knife to carve her resentment into the paper, as if hoping to etch it onto the already disintegrated body of the “Hunger Entity.” Watching her, Yu Sheng couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
With that, Li Lin and the others prepared to leave. Yu Sheng saw them to the door and leaned against the doorframe after pushing it open. “I won’t see you off too far. Got a bunch of stuff to sort out here.”
Li Lin glanced back at the living room and saw the Fox Girl still sitting on the floor surrounded by food, her numerous tails swaying lazily, while the little doll with her broken arms sat on the sofa, completely absorbed in the television.
Wutong Road No. 66—a bizarre and eerie place, home to a peculiar “Yu Sheng” and his equally peculiar “friends.” All right under the nose of the Special Affairs Bureau.
Li Lin knew he had stumbled into a massive vortex, and all of it would be included in his and Xu Jiali’s report… inevitably leading to more overtime.
With a deep sigh, the young Special Affairs Bureau Operative walked out the door. A cool night breeze brushed his face, and the quiet, desolate nightscape of the Old City stretched before him, bathed in the gentle glow of street lamps.
He and Xu Jiali turned back simultaneously, only to find a blank wall behind them. Chaotic and abstract graffiti adorned the bricks, devoid of any sign of the door that had been there just moments ago.
Xu Jiali took a few steps forward, feeling and tapping the wall.
“It’s not here,” the experienced Deep Diver muttered. “That’s just an entrance, only appearing when someone is invited.”
“Head back to the Bureau?” Li Lin suggested. “Or should we leave someone to keep watch?”
Xu Jiali looked over at Little Red Riding Hood, who immediately turned her head away, clearly in no mood for more work after losing her homework.
“I need to see Dr. Lin about the ‘aftereffects’ first,” she said, giving a legitimate reason. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter whether we leave someone or not. His abilities are too strange to monitor with our current resources.”
“…Let’s head back,” Xu Jiali sighed, striding forward. “There are still people patrolling the perimeter. We should file today’s report. Since it involves the Dark Angels, not even Captain Song can make the final decision on this.”