Chapter 117: Aid and Afflictions
Song Cheng finally experienced firsthand what Li Lin and Xu Jiali had described in their reports—those bizarre but utterly logical moments when dealing with Yu Sheng. They made sense at first glance, but the more you thought about them, the more you questioned your sanity—yet somehow, it still all felt… reasonable?
He glanced sideways at his two subordinates. Xu Jiali was grimly holding his silence like a stone-faced warrior, while Li Lin was barely suppressing the urge to burst out laughing.
“…Just to be sure,” Song Cheng broke the silence after a few awkward seconds, “you’re saying that delivery services—like couriers and food deliveries—can’t reach your Door?”
“Yeah, isn’t that pretty straightforward?” Yu Sheng scratched his head, puzzled by the reactions. “You know how unique this place is. Forget a physical address—even getting near this house requires either innate spiritual sensitivity or deliberate preparation. Ordinary folks can’t even come within a hundred meters without unconsciously veering away. It’s more intense than your average augmentation node. Nobody can get close. I have to list the nearby supermarket as my delivery point, and if I order anything big online, I have to figure out how to pick it up myself. Total hassle.”
Song Cheng fell silent.
They had just been discussing the Dark Angels, hadn’t they? How had this conversation shifted so cleanly from Intruders Beyond the World to the tragic plight of a man whose delivery drivers couldn’t approach his front yard?
He sighed. But then again, it had been his own offer: “If you run into trouble, report it to the Special Affairs Bureau.” He hadn’t expected this special Entity, who lived right inside the Otherworld, to respond with such a… down-to-earth issue. He’d just been caught off guard.
And now that he thought about it, the problem of “no deliveries reaching Wutong Road No. 66” was very much related to the Otherworld—and Entity presence.
“I’ll look into it, see if we can find a solution,” said the seasoned Captain, expression quickly settling into serious professionalism. “Worst case scenario, we set up a dedicated drop-off point right here just for you…”
As soon as he said it, Xu Jiali reached over and patted Li Lin’s shoulder. Li Lin blinked in confusion, wondering why his colleague had suddenly made contact.
Yu Sheng, meanwhile, looked uneasy. “Wait—won’t that be… excessive? Too much special treatment?”
“Not at all,” Song Cheng waved his hand quickly. “Providing convenience for ‘special individuals’ who reside in the Borderland is one of the Special Affairs Bureau’s duties. In fact, combating threats from the Otherworld and its Entities only makes up a small portion of our daily work. Most of the time, we’re more like this city’s ‘shadow-side property managers.’ Dealing with everything and anything is the norm.”
It wasn’t just polite talk. Helping strange “residents” hidden among the Human population deal with equally strange problems was absolutely part of the Bureau’s daily routine. The only thing he wasn’t saying aloud was that even among all the bizarre lifeforms in the Borderland, Yu Sheng—this friendly Entity—was still exceptionally… exceptional.
But the final instruction from Madam Director Bai Li Qing echoed in his mind, forcing him to suppress all complaints.
Her words had been:
“Unless he’s trying to overthrow the entire Borderland, just grant his requests. And if he is trying to overthrow it, try to talk him out of it. Whatever you do, don’t let him call my complaint line.”
Just thinking of her last sentence sent a chill down Song Cheng’s spine.
He looked up and asked Yu Sheng, “Is there anything else you need?”
Yu Sheng paused thoughtfully. “I don’t think so for now… Oh, right—did you guys find anything about Irene’s situation? Or about where Miss Foxy came from?”
At his question, the little doll on the table and the Demon Fox Maiden sitting nearby both perked up, ears twitching.
“Sorry, still no updates yet,” Song Cheng replied, though a wave of relief washed over him—finally, a question he was familiar with. “We’ve sent messages to the contact post at Alice’s Little House, but there hasn’t been a reply. Probably because their personnel aren’t currently in the Borderland. As for Miss Foxy…”
He hesitated, glancing at the Demon Fox Maiden, unsure how to proceed.
Yu Sheng leaned forward. “Ran into complications?”
“Not complications—more like difficulties. Based solely on the terms ‘Demon Fox’ or ‘beast-like humanoid,’ there are far too many possible matches. There might be hundreds of species in the world that resemble Miss Foxy, but none of the world-descriptions she’s given us match any known origin,” he said, turning to her with a measured tone. “So we were thinking… maybe you could provide a few strands of fur? If that’s not feasible, we could do a simple biological comparison. That might at least help us identify your species.”
Yu Sheng glanced at Foxy, who immediately nodded.
“If she has no objections, then neither do I,” Yu Sheng said, waving a hand lazily. “You just need a fur sample, right? No quality requirement?”
While speaking, he casually reached over to the couch cushion beside him, picked off a few stray hairs, and handed them to Song Cheng. “Will this do?”
“Uh… what?” Song Cheng was momentarily stunned.
“She sheds,” Yu Sheng said blankly. “It’s getting colder, so she’s been shedding more. Honestly, you don’t even need to talk to me about it. Just from the time you operatives sat here, you could probably pick enough off your clothes when you get back.”
Beside him, Foxy’s face flushed red. Her fluffy tails curled around her, forming a giant furball as she tried to hide. Her eyes peeked out from between the silvery strands. “I’m sorry…”
“It’s not a big deal,” Yu Sheng reassured her, using his other hand to pat one of the Demon Fox Maiden’s tails (he would’ve aimed for her head, but she was too bundled up). “Just don’t use your tail to wipe the dishes next time. I ended up with a mouthful of fur.”
From within the fluffy mass came a muffled, “Okay.”
Song Cheng stood frozen for a few seconds, then cautiously pulled a sample tube from his pocket and carefully placed the silver strands inside as if handling a sacred relic. Then, with the two Special Affairs Bureau Operatives in tow, he politely took his leave.
Only after their figures vanished at the corner did Yu Sheng return from the Door to the living room and collapse onto the couch with a deep sigh.
Immediately, he spotted Foxy still huddled beside the sofa.
She had covered her eyes completely, leaving only her little feet visible outside the immense fluffball. It looked like an abstract sculpture.
Yu Sheng found it both funny and exasperating. Reaching into the mountain of tails, he gently tried to excavate the Demon Fox Maiden. “Come on, don’t hide. They’re gone.”
Foxy finally peeked out, her tails blooming open like a silver flower. She looked apologetically at Yu Sheng. “I… I’ll take care of the house from now on.”
“Just clean the spots you hang around in,” Yu Sheng chuckled, leaning back. “Also, next time you wash your tails, remember to clean the drain filter. I just saw it clogged again this morning…”
Foxy instantly curled back into a ball.
This time, Yu Sheng didn’t try to dig the Young Lady out. Instead, he simply patted one of her silver-white tails and turned his gaze to Irene (X2), who was sitting on the coffee table, lost in thought.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
“Those Dark Angels,” Irene said hesitantly, her expression unusually serious. “Why would anyone willingly summon them, knowing how dangerous they are? Song Cheng said most Angel Cultists are converted after encountering some kind of ‘Guidance’ and are no longer considered Human. But he also said a few do it on purpose, offering themselves for knowledge or power… Why would a Human choose that?”
“Might not be just Humans,” Yu Sheng replied. “Every race has its own weirdos who love courting death.”
He paused, then eyed the Doll with curiosity. “But you… you usually don’t care about stuff like ‘world peace’. Why the sudden concern?”
“I’m not heartless, okay!” Irene immediately snapped. “I’m a Doll from Alice’s Little House! We always work hard to uphold order, punish evil, and help others! Don’t misjudge an honest, kind, gentle, courteous, and just lady…”
Yu Sheng blinked, thrown off by the sudden deluge of self-praise. He couldn’t quite reconcile all those adjectives with the short-tempered little doll in front of him.
[This girl’s got more face than height, I swear.]
Still, he didn’t dare say it out loud.
“I need a nap,” he announced, waving them off. “Didn’t get much sleep last night, I’m about to pass out. Wake me before dinner. I’ll cook.”
Foxy immediately peeked her head out from the fluff, beaming brightly. “Yes, Benefactor!”
Yu Sheng: “…”
He cast a helpless glance at the two resident gremlins (one of whom had recently multiplied into two), waved once more, and trudged wearily up the stairs.