Chapter 150: The Peculiar Borderland
To be honest, as Yu Sheng listened to Xu Jiali describe the situation, he felt a twinge of guilt. He even took a moment to seriously reflect on how often he had been calling Bai Li Qing lately. His final conclusion? He could spare a few calls for Song Cheng to ease the Female Bureau Chief’s late-night stress.
After all, if he was going to keep opening Doors, it was only fair to share the sleepless burden equally.
Beyond self-reflection, Yu Sheng found himself intensely curious about the unbelievable “structure” of the Special Affairs Bureau Headquarters.
It was his first time seeing, so directly and intimately, just how bizarre and wondrous the Borderland truly was—especially as Xu Jiali guided him through a corridor and pointed out an office at the end. That office, she said, would drift into an anomalous space every night after ten o’clock.
“We have many special rooms and ‘zones’ here. The structure of the entire Special Affairs Bureau Headquarters Building isn’t fixed. Certain areas will shift at scheduled times to other locations, sometimes even to the territories of other races,” Xu Jiali patiently explained. “We use these regular movements to transport supplies or rotate personnel with other outposts. I’m not sure if anyone has ever told you this before, but the Borderland, though called the ‘hub’ of this world, is not directly connected to the external world in terms of spatial structure.”
“Not directly connected?” Yu Sheng asked, intrigued. “What does that mean?”
“It means you can’t leave here using normal ‘means of transportation,'” Xu Jiali chuckled. “Whether you go by air or underground, you can’t get out. If you try to leave this city, you’ll find a vast Wilderness beyond. Go even farther and you’ll reach the ‘Unstable Zone.’ Beyond that, once you cross the Boundary Stone, you’ll enter the Frontier. There, spatial folds will send you right back to the city’s edge. The Borderland’s space-time is curled inward. That’s what it means.”
Yu Sheng’s eyes widened, and his heart skipped a few beats.
This was the first time he had heard intelligence about the “edges” of the Borderland! It was the first time he began forming a spatial understanding of this massive and eerie domain.
The Borderland wasn’t spatially continuous with the normal universe!?
His mind immediately jumped to that Valley—to the endlessly repeating “mountain barriers” at the Valley Floor, and the phenomenon of Teleportation that occurred when crossing them. In his astonishment, he blurted out, “This sounds a bit like… an Otherworld?”
“Yes, it does sound a lot like an Otherworld. But the Borderland has a depth of zero and generates no Entities. It still follows the mathematical laws of the ‘outside world,’ so aside from occasional supernatural phenomena in localized areas, it should still be classified as a ‘normal zone,'” Xu Jiali said, stopping in her tracks and addressing Yu Sheng seriously with a smile. “That’s why Scholars have many interesting theories about this place. Most believe it simply has a unique spatial structure. The more radical ones argue that the Borderland is an Otherworld with a depth of zero, operating under a rule of ‘everything is normal,’ and that it produces Entities called ‘Human society’ according to the laws of the normal universe.”
This nearly two-meter-tall man deliberately used a chilling tone to deliver these startling theories. After a brief dramatic pause, he added, “But this extreme theory is neither provable nor falsifiable. So some Scholars proposed a more moderate theory: that the Borderland itself isn’t an Otherworld, but is wrapped within a ‘bubble-shaped’ Otherworld—a zero-thickness membrane that has sliced off a normal space from the universe to form the current Borderland.”
Irene thought for a moment, then commented, “That also sounds neither provable nor falsifiable?”
“Exactly, so not many people believe it,” Xu Jiali shrugged. “But hey, speculation is free. And with the Borderland housing so many secrets, it’s perfect for padding academic papers. Do you know how many apprentices and researchers flock to Boundary City every year? At least half of them are just here to make up project credits or pad their term papers.”
Yu Sheng was left slack-jawed, feeling like something about the conversation had taken a strange turn. But soon, he snapped back to the key issue: “Wait, if the Borderland isn’t spatially continuous with the outside world, how do people get in or out?”
“That’s what I was talking about before—the ‘channels,’ like the special floors and offices in this building,” Xu Jiali said. “Normal transportation doesn’t work, but the Borderland has many natural ‘passages’ that connect to various places. These are mostly under the complete control of the Council and are the only official way in and out of the Borderland…”
At this point, he suddenly stopped, his expression turning odd as he looked at Yu Sheng.
Yu Sheng blinked, confused. “What is it?”
“It’s not the only way anymore,” Xu Jiali muttered gloomily.
Yu Sheng paused briefly, then quickly understood.
Those colossal Doors of his—each leading to a different, bizarre location.
Thanks to his presence, the Borderland now possessed a brand-new exit path, in addition to its naturally occurring gateways: a way out of this nexus realm.
Lost in thought, Yu Sheng was roused by Xu Jiali’s voice beside him. “…Anyway, if you ever want to study those ‘Doors’ more deeply, or if you’re thinking of venturing ‘farther,’ you’re always welcome to come find us. The Special Affairs Bureau has managed this place for years. Our experience might be of great help to you.”
Yu Sheng gave a slow nod. Regardless of what ulterior motives lay behind the offer to facilitate his Door research, he was genuinely grateful.
As they spoke, they arrived before one of the great Doors.
“We’re here,” Xu Jiali said, raising a hand toward the room ahead.
Yu Sheng looked up. It was the last laboratory at the corridor’s end, and even without knowing the layout, its importance was evident. The heavy-duty Door, the distance it kept from surrounding rooms, the layers of monitoring equipment at the threshold, and the glaring warning signs all underscored its high security and critical nature.
Above the lab Door, an illuminated panel read: “Room 2 – High-Risk/Special Sample Analysis and Containment Processing Center.”
Xu Jiali stepped forward and worked the Door’s security system, verifying his Senior Deep Diver credentials and temporary clearance as a “Special Guide.” After exchanging a few words with someone through the intercom, the thick isolation Door groaned open, retreating slowly to each side.
Inside stood two personnel clad head-to-toe in white protective suits, face masks obscuring their features, waiting behind a glowing red isolation line to “receive” Yu Sheng and his party.
Yu Sheng blinked, then turned to Xu Jiali with a bemused look. “Uh… I’m just handing over a scrap of paper and a hunk of metal. Isn’t this a bit overkill?”
“Director’s orders,” Xu Jiali replied cheerfully. “Don’t overthink it. This is the only lab currently available for immediate use. Each lab has its own safety rating and protocol, and we always follow procedure to the letter. Since this room got assigned, even if you were delivering a button, they’d be suited up and receiving it in the transfer zone. That’s just how the Special Affairs Bureau rolls. You’ll get used to it.”
Yu Sheng considered this and ultimately nodded. It made sense. But retrieving the items from his pockets was another matter entirely.
First, he dug around and pulled out a ragged scrap of paper, placing it on the designated tray under the staff’s instruction. “This came from the Black Forest. It’s a sample from the remnants of the Entity known as the ‘Hunter.'”
The staff accepted the paper with utmost seriousness.
Then Yu Sheng fished into another pocket and drew out a crinkled white grocery bag. Opening it revealed a lump wrapped in old newspaper—which he slowly unwrapped to reveal a jagged piece of metal he had found in that strange room on the second floor of his house.
The rustling and crinkling of plastic and paper were jarringly loud in the solemn stillness of the lab entrance. Beads of sweat formed on Yu Sheng’s brow as he glanced down at Irene. “Should I have put this in a little briefcase before coming here? You know, like in the movies? With a lock and everything? Looks more high-end.”
Irene had already covered her face with a hand. “…I don’t know. Honestly, I think just shoving it in your pocket might’ve been better.”
“I didn’t want it tearing my clothes. The thing’s covered in edges and spikes. And I just bought this outfit.”
Still muttering, Yu Sheng placed the jagged metal onto another tray and, wincing a bit, reported to the hazmat-suited staff across from him: “Here’s the other sample. I found it in my house. Uh, wait—I mean, Wutong Road No. 66, Otherworld.”
Two more figures emerged from a smaller interior Door, clad in even thicker protective suits reminiscent of Titan armor. One of them carried a silver-white alloy container etched with runes. With great care, they placed the mysterious metal into the container. From behind the filter mask, one of them asked in a muffled but courteous voice, “Could you also hand over your carrying vessel?”
Yu Sheng blinked, finally realizing they meant the plastic bag and old newspaper in his hands…
He wordlessly passed them over, watching the Titan-armored figures solemnly take the items, then return inside. After a long pause, he turned to Xu Jiali. “…Is this really standard protocol?”
Xu Jiali looked mildly strained. “…Yeah. Director’s orders.”