Chapter 149: The Unfathomable Special Affairs Bureau
One had to admit, even though Xu Jia Li’s celestial car was lacking in comfort, listening to his constant stream of obscure trivia was unexpectedly amusing.
It was far more vivid and engaging than those dry, mechanical entries from the Border Communication Platform’s databank.
Outside the vehicle, the scenery steadily retreated as the rickety vehicle drove from the aging streets of the Old City District onto the main thoroughfare, threading through the bustling Prosperous Urban Area with its towering buildings and sprawling Shopping Malls. Miss Foxy pressed herself against the window, wide-eyed with curiosity at the shifting world beyond. Though her ears and tails were tucked away, the excitement and delight radiating from her made Yu Sheng feel as if multiple invisible tails were swishing behind her.
“By the way, how long does it take to reach your Special Affairs Bureau?” Yu Sheng asked curiously. “Are we heading to your headquarters… or should I call it the Central Bureau?”
“We’re going to headquarters,” Xu Jia Li nodded, glancing at the trio through the rearview mirror. “Won’t take long. We’ll be there in half an hour.”
“That close?!” Yu Sheng exclaimed, astonished. He imagined the city’s staggering scale and was shocked that their destination could be so near. “Is your headquarters near the Old City District?”
Xu Jia Li shook his head. “No, the Special Affairs Bureau headquarters is very far away—but no matter where you are in this city, the drive to the Bureau will always be under thirty minutes.”
Yu Sheng blinked in confusion. “…Huh?”
“Because we take a ‘shortcut,'” Xu Jia Li grinned, his smile laced with a touch of triumphant mischief as if he’d finally surprised Yu Sheng. He turned the steering wheel and veered off the main road, guiding the car down a side path along the edge of the commercial area, into a quiet section behind a Shopping Mall. “The Special Affairs Bureau has a few tricks of its own.”
As he spoke, Yu Sheng saw the entrance to a parking garage appear ahead. Xu Jia Li guided the vehicle down the ramp. The first level seemed ordinary enough, filled with privately owned cars and signs pointing toward Shopping Mall entrances, supermarkets, and nearby exits. But then, Xu Jia Li twisted through several sharp turns deep into the structure and steered toward another ramp—
Yu Sheng hadn’t even noticed the ramp until they were upon it. Just moments before, it had appeared as nothing more than an empty lot, its surface slick with stagnant water. But as they approached, a sloping path emerged from the puddle, lit by a dim glow, descending into a strangely shaped tunnel that seemed to plunge deep underground.
As they continued downward, the tunnel lights shifted into a chilling, spectral blue. The world outside the car grew unnaturally silent. Even the car engine’s hum seemed muffled, as though heard through thick drapes—Yu Sheng suddenly felt his Spiritual Intuition thumping wildly. While he was still trying to comprehend the sensation, Irene had already caught on faster than him: “Wait a second, are we entering the Otherworld?!”
“Technically, we’re just ‘passing through’ the Otherworld,” Xu Jia Li replied, glancing back. “Depth L-1, Otherworld ‘shortcut,’ layered over the entire Borderland. It doesn’t spawn Entities. Aside from a slight risk of disorientation, it’s mostly harmless. The Special Affairs Bureau is located at the intersection point of all shortcuts and has borrowed some of this Otherworld’s special powers… We’ve arrived.”
No sooner had Xu Jia Li finished speaking than Yu Sheng felt a sudden jolt. The strange, pounding sensation of Spiritual Intuition eased instantly. The car emerged from the tunnel and passed through a gate into a brightly lit parking garage.
“Out we go,” Xu Jia Li said, parking the car and stepping out to open Yu Sheng’s door. “We’ll take the central elevator up.”
Yu Sheng hoisted Irene onto his shoulder and, accompanied by an exuberant and inquisitive Miss Foxy, followed their guide through the unusually massive parking lot. After weaving through several twisting passages within the labyrinthine underground structure, they reached the elevator hall. Xu Jia Li swiped a card and they stepped inside.
Yu Sheng immediately noticed the peculiar warning notices plastered around the elevator car and near the buttons.
There were printed and handwritten signs with unsettling instructions:
“The elevator will not stop on floors 1-3.”
“Lighting on Floor 4 is restricted. If you find the area well-lit, return immediately to the parking garage or proceed to the Security Floor on Level 12.”
“Elevator maintenance is scheduled for Saturdays. If the screen inside the car displays ‘Maintenance’ at any other time, press the blue button and exit. You may transfer to Elevator 2 or 5.”
“Upper-level employees may only use this elevator to access B1, B2, or ground levels. If the elevator reaches B3 or deeper, greet any deep-level staff present, but do not exit the elevator.”
There were many such warnings.
Yu Sheng stared at the strange papers plastered across the interior of the lift, dumbfounded for a few seconds before turning to Xu Jiali. “…Your workplace seems rather high-risk. Do you have to pass a rule inspection just to clock in?”
“You get used to it,” Xu Jiali replied calmly. “The Special Affairs Bureau Headquarters Building is riddled with special ‘nodes’ that link to all sorts of realms. Some floors are directly set within Otherworldly Dimensions. Besides offices, those contain peculiar ‘natives’ roaming around. But it’s not as dangerous as outsiders think. Most areas and rules here aren’t lethal. Even if someone gets lost, we have designated emergency devices and shortcut routes. There’s even an entire ‘Workplace Comfort Division’ partnered with Security to escort lost personnel back to their workstations.”
That explanation, rather than easing tension, only made it feel more eldritch. Even Irene muttered, “Workplace Comfort Division, my ass… Sounds like even trying to sneak off to some empty corner for a break gets treated as a ‘lost incident’ and security hauls you back like a truant kid.”
Xu Jiali shrugged. “Can’t be helped. With our kind of work and this environment, especially near the special floors, disappearing for thirty minutes could mean slacking off—or getting eaten by the office next door. That said, most floors are stable, and positions under high stress don’t run long shifts. For trained Special Affairs Bureau Operatives, it’s just another office job.”
“You work in this building too?” Yu Sheng asked.
“Nah, I’m usually out in the field,” Xu Jiali waved it off. “When I return, I usually stay on standby in the Annex. There are also outposts and stationed zones for our regular squads. They’re not connected directly to HQ but reachable via shortcut floors and special ‘passages.’”
As they spoke, the elevator stopped at a floor marked 54-1/2. With a soft chime and the calm voice of the cabin broadcast announcing the opening, the doors slid apart to reveal a brightly lit corridor.
Yu Sheng and his companions stepped out with Xu Jiali. The corridor was quiet, with only the occasional uniformed figure moving past at a brisk, serious pace.
On one side of the hallway were tightly shut doors. The other side featured wide, orderly windows, through which they could see the view outside—
A massive, oppressive rock formation loomed beyond. Dark-toned stone pillars and massive stalagmites twisted through the space. At the distant end of this rocky field was a colossal fissure, and beyond it—a Forest. The Forest lay buried under snow, sunlight bouncing off its surface with a blinding gleam.
Yu Sheng exclaimed, “…What the hell kind of view is that?!”
Xu Jiali, entirely unfazed, glanced outside with some pleasure. “Oh hey, it’s sunny outside 54-1/2 today. Nice weather. It’s been snowing beyond that fissure for half a year now.”
Foxy’s eyes widened. Even she couldn’t hold back. “Does every floor of this building have its own world?”
“Not every floor,” Xu Jiali corrected, waving a hand. “Like I said, most of them are stable. Only about a third have odd landscapes. And it’s not their own worlds, per se. They just happen to not be in the Borderland.”
Yu Sheng gaped. [Only a third of them, he says. And they just happen to not be in the Borderland?! What kind of eldritch hellscape is this place?]
Xu Jiali, oblivious to the stunned expressions on their faces, continued explaining in a relaxed tone. “The Special Affairs Bureau Headquarters functions like a massive ‘spatiotemporal sampling needle.’ Each floor penetrates unique ‘anomalous sites.’ If the Borderland is the spatial nexus of this world, then our headquarters stands at the busiest N-shaped intersection. We even have two micro customs checkpoints and a Frontier transit station in this building. If we get the chance, I’ll take you on a tour—it’s quite something for first-timers.”
“Just hearing this is already more than enough,” Yu Sheng said in a dazed voice. “How did you even build this place?!”
“A little civil engineering magic. Don’t ask me,” Xu Jiali shrugged again. “But now you understand why when you opened a ‘Door,’ the entire Special Affairs Bureau went into a panic?”
Yu Sheng froze.
“When a spatiotemporal displacement is detected, the entire building goes into lockdown,” Xu Jiali sighed, eyes reflecting memories he’d rather forget. “Even the Annex and a few satellite facilities connected to us by floor-link alarms got triggered. We later confirmed there was no actual damage, but when that alarm went off… It felt like headquarters was under siege. Half the building had to be evacuated that night.”
What else could Yu Sheng do? He could only maintain his stunned silence. “…”