Chapter 173: Early Morning
After sending out the message, Yu Sheng looked up at the sky outside the window.
The sky was just beginning to lighten, and it was still early before work hours. Bai Li Qing might take a while to respond.
So, he didn’t sit idle and wait. After sending the message, Yu Sheng found a small box originally meant for cookies, carefully storing the “bullet” from the Hunter inside. He then went to the kitchen to prepare something to eat.
Foxy and Irene naturally followed him — the former hoping to sneak a snack, while the latter clearly still had some unanswered questions.
“How did Hunter know you could bring the bullet to the ‘outside’?” Irene asked, walking behind Yu Sheng. “They just gave you a shot and assumed you could not only survive but also retrieve the bullet later? And that you’d have the chance to find out where it came from? Who passes messages like that?”
Yu Sheng was busy at the stove, but when he heard Irene’s question, he didn’t stop what he was doing. He merely furrowed his brows slightly, his expression thoughtful.
This question from Little Doll was something Yu Sheng had been pondering since earlier.
Whether the bullet was meant as a “message” was still unclear, but one thing was certain: when he was in the Black Forest, Hunter had shot at him without hesitation. The bullet had been aimed directly at his heart, and aside from other motives, it seemed like an attempt to kill him.
“So, the most likely scenario is… they didn’t know,” Yu Sheng finally broke the silence after a moment of thought.
Irene blinked. “They didn’t know?”
“A being wandering in the Black Forest wouldn’t know about my ‘resurrection’ ability,” Yu Sheng said slowly. “And they probably didn’t know I entered the Black Forest directly from the ‘Door’ in the real world. So, when Hunter shot, they didn’t know I could survive and bring the bullet back to the real world.”
“So they really wanted to kill you? But Little Red Riding Hood said that Hunter never makes mistakes… They didn’t have the motive to shoot you…”
“I can’t figure that part out either,” Yu Sheng shook his head. “But whatever the case, next time I go into the Black Forest, I’m taking that bullet with me.”
He quickly chopped up a plate of cucumber strips, then handed the remaining half of the cucumber to Foxy, who had been waiting nearby. After a brief pause, he added, “Since Hunter ‘gave’ me a bullet, I should hold onto it and see what changes it might bring.”
Irene said, “Oh,” just as Yu Sheng’s phone suddenly rang in his pocket.
“Bai Li Qing’s calling,” Yu Sheng pulled out his phone and glanced at it quickly. “Waking up this early? Did you get my message?”
Bai Li Qing didn’t waste time on pleasantries. The first words she spoke were straight to the point: “That’s a standard exorcism bullethead used by the Deep Dive team and Special Affairs Bureau Operative from seventy years ago. It’s been updated since.”
Yu Sheng wiped his hands on a towel, instructed Foxy to keep an eye on the pot of noodles, and told Irene not to climb onto the stove again. He then moved to the side. “…Alright, just as I thought.”
“The bullethead came from the Black Forest?” Bai Li Qing’s voice came through the phone. “Another ‘remnant’ from the Hunter?”
Yu Sheng reflexively thought for a moment. Mainly, he was thinking about whether the bullet could be considered a “remnant” from the Hunter or if it had been “given” to him. After two seconds of contemplation, he shook his head, snapping out of his somewhat absurd thoughts. “Well, it’s complicated, but yeah, it’s Hunter’s stuff, something they were using.”
“Then we can pretty much confirm it, the Hunter must be from that Deep Dive team from seventy years ago,” Bai Li Qing’s tone subtly changed, becoming slightly more serious. She then took a soft breath. “Have you made contact with them? Does this old soldier still want to help us?”
Yu Sheng fell silent. After a moment, he sighed. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t establish communication with Hunter. I showed them the photo, but I’m not sure if they reacted to it.”
“Not even a word?”
Yu Sheng thought for a moment. “We didn’t get the chance to talk.”
Bai Li Qing was silent for a moment. “…Then how did you get the Hunter’s bullet? That kind of thing should be a soldier’s personal item…”
“They shot it at me,” Yu Sheng replied.
This time, Bai Li Qing was silent for an even longer period.
It was clear that Yu Sheng’s answer had thrown her into deep thought.
“It’s literally what I said.” Yu Sheng clarified.
The Director Madam finally understood. Her voice on the other end of the phone grew hesitant. “…Are you, alright?”
“I didn’t die,” Yu Sheng replied evasively. After all, she didn’t know about his immortality, so he could only brush it off. “Just a scratch. I still feel like there’s a chance to communicate with them, just this time, the method might have been wrong.”
“You still want to attempt contact with the ‘Hunter’?” Bai Li Qing sounded somewhat surprised. “It might be dangerous.”
“It’s a bit risky, but worth trying again. I’ve made some progress on my side. I’ll compile the situation from last night and send it to you — your think tank is large, help me analyze it and see if there are any details I missed,” Yu Sheng said quickly, not giving the other person a chance to interrupt. “Little Red Riding Hood doesn’t have much time left. The Orphanage still has many children, and their time is running out… you understand what I mean.”
“… I understand. The Special Affairs Bureau will fully assist. Contact me at any time if you need anything.”
The call ended, and Yu Sheng leaned against the cabinet, letting out a deep sigh.
“Benefactor,” Foxy’s voice came from the stove area, interrupting Yu Sheng’s somewhat chaotic thoughts. “The noodles are done. Should we rinse them in cold water?”
“Yeah, rinse them in cold water,” Yu Sheng quickly shook his head and looked at Foxy’s eager expression. His irritations slowly faded, and he couldn’t help but smile. “Then we’ll get ready to eat.”
…
The Cursed Children were lining up at the sink, washing their hands and faces, and wiping themselves clean. The children who had finished washing sat early at the dining table, waiting for the ‘Guardians’ to serve them food.
Little Red Riding Hood stood by the sink supervising the children, occasionally glancing back at the dining table to check the order. Her expression looked a bit bored.
The Long Haired Princess passed by, carrying a large bucket of vegetable soup she had fetched from the kitchen. As she walked past Little Red Riding Hood, she curiously glanced up at the latter. “Hey, you’re not still angry at someone, are you?”
“Do I look like I’m angry?” Little Red Riding Hood felt a bit confused.
“Well, you look pretty serious,” the Long Haired Princess nodded. “Last time, when you were mad at me for owing you twenty bucks, you looked like this.”
Little Red Riding Hood’s mouth twitched, unsure of how to respond.
“Come on, tell me what happened,” the Long Haired Princess pressed on with curiosity. “I know you were ‘kicked’ out of a dream. You suddenly sat up in the middle of the night, threw up, and then sulked. What really happened?”
“… Nothing much. I just realized I’m actually kind of scared of my birthday next month — but I also have some strange anticipation for that day,” Little Red Riding Hood paused for a few seconds, gently sighed, and waved her hand at the Long Haired Princess. “Alright, don’t waste my time here. If you don’t deliver the soup soon, the Cursed Children will start causing trouble.”
“Oh…”
The Long Haired Princess walked away with the soup bucket, and Little Red Riding Hood’s gaze involuntarily followed her, looking at the long dining table.
The Cursed Children of all sizes were sitting there, chatting and playing around.
A few adults in Council staff uniforms were standing by the kitchen door, watching this side with somewhat complicated expressions.
Xiao Xiao, who had fully regained her spirit, was no longer the shy child who was afraid to speak loudly in the Orphanage just a few days ago. Now, she seemed to have made some friends, and she was seriously describing a strange dream she had to the child sitting next to her. It seemed to be a dream unrelated to the Black Forest, something peculiar but peaceful.
Other children, who often had nightmares, seemed envious of Xiao Xiao’s dream scenes, and several of them were drawn to listen.
Little Red Riding Hood tilted her head back, gazing at the gradually warming sunlight streaming in through the window, her eyes squinting slightly.
…
A notification sound came from her phone, and Bai Li Qing opened the message from Yu Sheng.
The message detailed a daring adventure in the Black Forest, a close encounter with ‘Wolf Granny,’ and the events that transpired during a brief contact with the Hunter.
There were also many of Yu Sheng’s personal speculations and information that had never appeared in the investigation reports, concerning the current state of the Black Forest.
The text was long, clearly edited on a computer before being forwarded — many details were written out clearly.
Bai Li Qing stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, reading this report, or whatever it was, and couldn’t help muttering, “As expected of someone who writes novels…”
At some point, a pair of eyes appeared outside the floor-to-ceiling window behind her, and a mechanical, monotone voice rang in her mind: “Is the wording very beautiful?”
“No, I mean, it’s much easier to understand than hearing him talk,” Bai Li Qing sighed. “At least it’s not so… hard to follow.”
The pair of illusory eyes blinked and then joined Bai Li Qing in reading the text on her phone.
Moments later, Bai Li Qing dialed a number.
Song Cheng’s voice came from the phone. “Director?”
“Arrange an extra Deep Dive team at the headquarters. They don’t need to deploy for now, but they should be ready for a mission at any time,” Bai Li Qing said calmly. “The large Deep Dive pool at D2’s descent port should begin preparations now.”
“Understood,” Song Cheng responded immediately, though there was a slight confusion in his tone. “Director, is something wrong?”
“Just in case,” Bai Li Qing replied. “… The ‘core’ of the Fairy Tale might actually be unearthed this time.”