Chapter 152: Operation Record
The moment Bai Li Qing began her account, Yu Sheng knew the outcome of that mission from years ago had been doomed from the start. The mistake they made was monumental—utterly absurd.
And yet, such a misjudgment had been nearly inevitable.
“Fairy Tale” possessed bizarre characteristics that no first-time contact could have anticipated. Its early manifestation was deceptively slow, weak, and only targeted Cursed Children. More critically, it exhibited a unique “Core-and-Subset” structure. The true essence of “Fairy Tale” was concealed behind the dreamlike stages it wove, and decades ago, the Special Affairs Bureau… simply couldn’t have known.
Yu Sheng flipped through the dossier, eyes trailing across the operation log codenamed “Adulthood.” At the beginning of the file, there was an attached report—detailing the recorded emergence of the “Fairy Tale” Otherworld and its early impact events. Most of its content aligned with what Little Red Riding Hood had revealed to him in the Orphanage.
The initial outbreak of “Fairy Tale” occurred inside a Welfare Home named “Warm Sun.” This Orphanage operated under a charity affiliated with the Council. Roughly half a month before the outbreak, the children experienced multiple episodes of waking up disoriented from dreams or collapsing during the day. At night, patrolling staff reported hearing strange sounds from the residential wing—like Wolves howling, gales howling, or soldiers marching.
The reports did not go unnoticed. In fact, the day after the patrol’s report, a Special Affairs Bureau investigation team entered the Orphanage for a thorough inspection, accompanied by a Spirit Doctor who examined the afflicted children. By standard protocol, both the Special Affairs Bureau and the Council had done everything right—no major negligence.
Yet the investigation yielded no trace of “Fairy Tale”—perhaps due to insufficient technology at the time, or perhaps because “Fairy Tale” was still weak and dormant. Even the Spirit Doctor, armed with extraordinary techniques, found no clues in the children’s nightmares.
Not long after the initial investigation concluded, “Fairy Tale” bared its fangs for the first time in the real world.
A thicket of wild roses sprouted overnight, centered in the Orphanage’s residential zone, blanketing the grounds. By dawn, the roses had vanished, and one young girl and two night guards were never seen again.
“We later confirmed that the first story to spiral out of control was ‘Sleeping Beauty,'” Bai Li Qing’s voice came softly beside him. “But back then, the Special Affairs Bureau simply believed it was a leak from some unknown Otherworld, assuming it was parasitic to the Orphanage.”
The Council evacuated all personnel from the Orphanage and temporarily relocated the Cursed Children to other facilities. Afterward, an elite task force from the Special Affairs Bureau entered the Orphanage for an exhaustive search…
“Predictably, they found no Otherworld-related clues. And just as the investigation stalled, the second incident struck—one of the temporarily relocated children collapsed and transformed into a rampaging Giant Wolf.”
“Fortunately, we had considered the possibility of contamination during the transfer. The new Containment Facility had higher security standards, so the Giant Wolf was swiftly subdued. Though we couldn’t save the child, the damage was contained. And more importantly, our timely intervention yielded crucial leads… We confirmed the existence of the ‘Black Forest,’ the first identified and named subset.”
As she spoke, the Female Bureau Chief gestured toward the document in front of Yu Sheng.
“Only after that came Operation ‘Adulthood.'”
Yu Sheng read on without lifting his eyes. “You originally believed the ‘Black Forest’ was the entirety of that unknown Otherworld?”
“Yes. At that time, we had not yet identified the existence of other subsets,” Bai Li Qing nodded. “Understanding the structure of Fairy Tale came much later.”
Yu Sheng gave a quiet hum and continued reading.
He saw that the Special Affairs Bureau had, through technical means, pinpointed the ‘entry window’ of the Black Forest and initiated a Deep Dive. The entire Operation ‘Adulthood’ revolved around this Deep Dive.
The moment he saw the term “Deep Dive,” Yu Sheng immediately thought of Xu Jiali—the brawny man was a seasoned Deep Diver. From previous conversations with him and Li Lin, Yu Sheng knew that Deep Divers were more powerful, versatile, and elite than regular Special Affairs Bureau Operatives. Not only did they excel in executing high-risk missions in perilous zones, but they also possessed specialized equipment and techniques allowing them to enter battlefields unimaginable to most—to confront that which defied reason and logic.
“This ‘Deep Dive’ mentioned here… what’s the actual process like?” Yu Sheng asked curiously.
“Think of it as a controlled, targeted descent technique into specific zones of the Otherworld,” Bai Li Qing replied without hesitation, as if it were no classified secret. “By injecting an inducer and overlaying neural signals, we can artificially steer an operative’s consciousness to the edges of the Rational World. Then, using a dedicated Door device, these ‘hypnotized’ personnel can be transferred into the Otherworld and awakened on the other side. The technique isn’t universally effective, but it works on most domains within the Otherworld.”
From the side, Irene muttered, “…Sounds awfully complicated. And dangerous.”
“Yes, complicated and dangerous,” Bai Li Qing nodded, her gaze shifting to Yu Sheng. “Especially when compared to your ‘Door.’ But the advantage is that this method is controllable, reproducible, and scalable. It allows us to deploy more people—something we desperately need if we’re to contend with the vast legions of Otherworlds and Entities.”
Yu Sheng said nothing, merely turning the page.
What greeted him next was a long, solemn list.
His expression shifted the moment his eyes fell upon it.
Bai Li Qing’s voice entered his ears again—calm, but now tinged with an unspoken weight:
“In the operation codenamed ‘Adulthood,’ twelve Deep Divers, thirteen Special Affairs Bureau Operatives, and seven support and logistics personnel were confirmed dead or missing. Four children died instantly due to a containment failure of the Otherworld. Six perimeter monitors, impacted by the shockwave, spiraled into madness over the following years and passed away prematurely.”
Even Irene, usually full of giggles, fell silent. The little doll stared blankly at the file, her expression complex and unreadable.
Yu Sheng turned more pages, his face somber, skipping over overly technical details or things he already knew. His eyes scanned line after line of mission records—
The Deep Divers executed three descent attempts.
The first attempt failed: the inducer induced a period of sleep in the team members, and in their foggy trance at the edge of consciousness, they encountered nothing but a chaotic barrier—unable to breach into any segment of the Otherworld.
In the second attempt, some team members briefly entered a space described as “vast, dim, and woven with eerie, web-like structures.” It echoed with a constant noise akin to weeping—a domain seemingly unrelated to any known Fairy Tale subset.
The third attempt ended in catastrophe.
The Deep Divers who entered this mysterious Otherworld were almost instantly lost. Only two returned, barely alive, and perished within minutes due to unknown causes. A contamination outbreak followed—something unknown crossed into reality and began slaughtering every adult present.
Thanks to the activation of safety protocols, the facility was rapidly sealed, containing the contamination to the lab. But the cost was grievous: the trapped Special Affairs Bureau Operatives, staff, and four children.
Yu Sheng’s brow furrowed deeply as he reviewed the notes from the second and third dives. A sense of discord nagged at him.
Then it hit him.
“…Was that place the Black Forest?”
He looked up at Bai Li Qing, then added, “I’ve been to the Black Forest. It’s dangerous, yes—there are Wolves, shadows, and deadly rules. But in my experience, if you’re cautious, it’s not instantly fatal. Even adults targeted by malice wouldn’t die that quickly—not like the report describes…”
He trailed off.
—Even if the Deep Divers were ultimately annihilated inside a domain of the Fairy Tale, their sheer experience and training should’ve kept them alive longer.
Because the Black Forest didn’t possess a mechanism that devoured Intruders instantly. It wasn’t filled with weeping noises, nor was it a space of eerie, entangled webs.
“You’re right. That’s the crux of the issue,” Bai Li Qing nodded slightly. “According to direct observation records, they didn’t actually enter the Black Forest.”
Yu Sheng’s eyes widened. “Then where?!”
“It could be a subset only accessible to adults,” Bai Li Qing murmured, “or a null-zone between subsets. Maybe even the core of the Fairy Tale itself. There are too many possibilities.”
She sighed softly.
“There are two accompanying records in the following pages—one is a recollection from a perimeter monitor, and the other, the dying words of a fallen operative on-site.”