Chapter 102: Exit
Thunderous applause erupted, reverberating as though an unseen audience from the Chaos Void had filled every shadowy corner, their cheers an ethereal ovation for the scene that had just unfolded. Startled, Little Red Riding Hood blurted out:
“This counts?!”
Even Yu Sheng was more bewildered than she was. “Don’t ask me! I just tossed out a wild plan and didn’t even get to try anything…”
But regardless of the confusion, the applause continued to roll like a wave across the entire Museum, and then—things began to change.
With a groan, the room began to unravel. The once-solid walls and ceiling shattered like illusions, revealing crude props and flimsy stagecraft. All of it collapsed rapidly into the depths of the void. The ground lost its color, revealing a dust-laden stage. Darkness, summoned from all directions, surged inward until the sudden thump-thump of relays triggered beams of light from above, illuminating the center stage… and the surrounding seats.
The Old Theater brightened. Though empty, the audience seats still echoed with applause for several seconds more before finally falling into silence.
Yu Sheng quickly looked around to ensure his companions were intact—just in time to catch Little Red Riding Hood eyeing him with a very strange expression.
“Well… I only had a crazy idea that maybe causing a big enough stir might meet the ‘Curtain Call’ condition… but I didn’t actually do anything in the end…”
“No,” she muttered, shaking her head, thoughtful. “I think you really did find a way to trigger the exit rules for Night at the Museum. It’s just… extreme. The departure mechanism of Night at the Museum integrates directly with the ‘theater’ entrance and exit system. Essentially, ‘Curtain Call’ is about generating a deviation—an anomaly. The greater the deviation from the scripted ‘performance’, the easier it is to force a close. And blowing up a bunch of Nine Tailed Fox tails inside the Museum? That counts as a major script violation. The kind of thing even mentioning on stage would be too much.”
Yu Sheng blinked. “Is that really how it works?”
“Who really knows?” she replied, with a shrug. “The Otherworld is full of inexplicable things. But if that was the reason, then… well, good luck to anyone trying to replicate it. Not everyone has something as… abstract as your Demon Fox Maiden at their side.”
Yu Sheng reached out to ruffle Foxy behind the ears, earning a happy squint from her. She mumbled, “I’m hungry,” then pulled a giant flatbread from her Storage Tail and began munching.
“You did burn through a lot today.” He paused. “Wait! We got yanked out so fast—did you manage to grab those tails you left in the White Exhibition Hall to control the ‘Security Guards’?”
“Got ’em!” Foxy nodded emphatically. “The second the illusion collapsed, the tails reverted to pure demonic essence and returned.”
“You’re more efficient than I thought,” he praised, genuinely impressed.
“Let’s leave this place first.” Little Red Riding Hood exhaled deeply, casting her gaze across the stage still lit by source-less spotlights. “We retrace our steps. The influence of Night at the Museum officially ends once we return to the ticket booth.”
“Got it.” Yu Sheng nodded, then glanced at the object still cradled in his hand—the Weeping One Statue.
According to the Museum’s rules, any artifact held during “Curtain Call” or at the conclusion of a “Night Performance” could be safely taken out of the Otherworld. This would be his first trophy as a rookie Spirit Realm Detective.
It was lighter than expected—far lighter than a sculpture should be—and it didn’t feel like stone or any known material. In fact… it felt like skin. Pale, taut over something rigid beneath. Warm, even. Faintly.
Under the spotlight, the veiled, sobbing woman in the sculpture gave off an eerie presence. Yu Sheng couldn’t tell if it had any “artistic value” at all—whatever the Client wanted with this thing, he didn’t want to know. If it were up to him, this was not the kind of decoration he’d put on a shelf at home.
They left the stage behind, weaving between vacant seats, and followed the corridor from which they’d first entered. The mysterious lights continued to guide their path until they reached the Old Theater’s entry hall once more.
There, Little Red Riding Hood knocked gently on the dark ticket window’s glass. As if on cue, all the lights in the theater instantly went out.
Yu Sheng had noticed that the Wolves accompanying her had been prowling, sniffing at every corner. A few lingered near the booth and the passage deeper into the theater. Curious, he asked, “What are they doing?”
“They’re tracking for any lingering scent trails,” she murmured. “This node didn’t trigger any alarms, but someone did enter the Museum. They couldn’t have just appeared out of nowhere… unless someone else, like you, can ‘open Doors’ and freely enter the Otherworld.”
Yu Sheng quickly waved his hand. “That shouldn’t happen. Even when I open a Door, it triggers an alarm—supposedly quite the commotion too. But didn’t you say we should avoid entanglement with the Angel Cultists?”
“…Mm, that’s true.” Little Red Riding Hood hesitated for a moment before nodding lightly. The Shadow Wolves that had been prowling around melted silently back into the shadows clustered around her.
The group exited the Old Theater through the main Door, stepping once more into the nighttime veil of the city.
It was well past midnight. Aside from the occasional hum of a vehicle along the distant main road, the surroundings were wrapped in an eerie silence.
Little Red Riding Hood took the Weeping One Statue from Yu Sheng’s hands. Then, she walked over to a landscaped thicket near the Museum’s front Door, where she had earlier hidden a large travel pack. She tucked the statue inside.
“I’ll deliver the item to the Association of Strange Objects’ Client and check in with some acquaintances—see if anything fishy is going on behind this commission. You’ll get your payment as early as tomorrow. Frontier Communications supports direct transfers—just bind your bank card, withdraw the balance later.” She explained, offering Yu Sheng a tidbit of crucial intel. “Most Spirit Realm Detectives and Investigators rely exclusively on Frontier Communications for transactions. Physical trades aren’t protected by the Borderland High Council—you risk it on your own.”
“Got it,” Yu Sheng replied, distracted, clearly still turning something over in his mind. “So… about what we saw in the White Exhibition Hall…”
“I’ll report it,” said Little Red Riding Hood casually. “The Special Affairs Bureau will probably reach out to get a detailed statement from you. You’re definitely on their watchlist by now. This’ll get serious attention. They might even invite you to investigate further… or tell you more about the Dark Angels. But remember what I said—stay away from that kind of thing. A lot of seasoned Investigators and Spirit Realm Detectives have fallen on that battlefield…”
She suddenly cut herself off, then gave a peculiar look and shook her head. “Though maybe I’m being too wordy. You’re not exactly ‘ordinary.’”
“Thanks for the concern.” Yu Sheng’s tone was genuine. Then he added with a chuckle, “Even though I’ve said it before, I still feel like I have to say it again… you really are used to looking after people.”
Little Red Riding Hood froze, visibly flustered. “Eh, I didn’t even notice. But I guess it’s true… there are a lot of younger members in Fairy Tale, so maybe I really did develop a habit?”
Yu Sheng chuckled knowingly. She didn’t notice the warmth and admiration that momentarily softened his gaze.
Soon, they parted ways at a street corner near the Museum. Little Red Riding Hood and her Shadow Wolves dissolved seamlessly into the night, phantasms drifting like a whispering breeze—gone in the blink of an eye.
“…That’s really convenient, especially for getting around at night,” Yu Sheng muttered while staring into the shadows. “Even saves cab fare.”
He’d spoken offhandedly, but Fox Girl beside him suddenly lowered her head in shame. “I’m sorry, Benefactor. I make too much noise when I travel… I couldn’t bring you all back home.”
Yu Sheng waved both hands frantically. “No, no, I don’t mind at all.”
“How are we getting back then?” Irene chimed in curiously. “Still gonna call a car? Is it gonna be that Xu Jiali guy again? I really don’t wanna ride in his car anymore…”
“Let’s just open a Door home,” Yu Sheng replied casually.
Irene was shocked. “Huh? Didn’t you say earlier at the Museum that opening a Door this late would alert the Special Affairs Bureau?”
Yu Sheng pulled out his phone. “You silly fox—now that we’re outside, we’ve got signal again. I’ll just make a quick call to give them a heads-up. That way, no one gets spooked.”
He gestured toward his shoulder—where a Giant Wolf had bitten him after leaping from Little Red Riding Hood’s shadow. The wound had healed, but the bloodstained shirt looked terrifying under the streetlight.
“I mean, look at me. If a regular rideshare driver pulls up and sees this, I’ll give the poor guy a heart attack.”
With that, he dialed the number Bai Li Qing had given him.
A few seconds later, a voice—groggy and half-asleep—came through the speaker. “Who?”
“It’s me—Yu Sheng. Uh, sorry if I woke you?”
“…Just dozed off, but it’s fine,” replied Bai Li Qing with her usual chill tone, devoid of any real emotion. “What’s going on?”
Yu Sheng scratched the back of his head. “I wanna open a Door. Thought I should notify the Special Affairs Bureau first… didn’t know who else to call, so I went with you…”
Silence fell on the other end for two long seconds.
Yu Sheng had no idea what the Female Bureau Chief was thinking during that pause, but when she spoke again, her voice remained calm. “Understood. I’ll inform the monitoring team. They’ll skip the next few alarm signals. You can open your Door in about two minutes.”
Yu Sheng wiped away his cold sweat. Despite her steady voice, he felt an inexplicable pressure. “Ah, thanks… then I won’t bother you anymore. Get some rest—goodnight.”
“…Goodnight.”
He hung up and exhaled deeply under the night sky.
Seated on his shoulder, Irene poked his forehead.
“She was totally cursing you during those two seconds.”
“You heard it?”
“Spiritual Intuition.”
“…You can do that with Spiritual Intuition?”
“Yup!”