Chapter 177: Traveling with the Wolf Pack
Had I ever offended anyone?
The sudden question from Yu Sheng caught Little Red Riding Hood off guard, and it took her a few seconds to realize why he had asked. She furrowed her brow and replied, “Are you implying that the Museum incident was some sort of trap aimed at me?”
“Don’t blame me for being a conspiracy theorist. There are many suspicious aspects to this, but the most suspicious thing is why it all fell on you. Do you remember the ‘sacrifice’ in that place? If it weren’t for me, Foxy, and Irene helping you delay that Evil Wolf that emerged from the shadows, you would have truly lost control,” Yu Sheng said seriously. “And the reason you went to the Museum, why you entered that White Exhibition Hall at that specific time, was because you took on an assignment to return some collected items, an assignment with a time constraint. But now, it turns out that the assignment was fake… That ‘coincidence’ is highly suspicious.”
“The ones who staged the sacrifice were two Angel Cultists,” Little Red Riding Hood’s expression suddenly darkened because she had always avoided anything related to those madmen. “Are you saying that those lunatics who follow the Dark Angels set a trap specifically for me? But why? This makes no sense…”
“That’s why I asked if you’ve offended anyone.”
“…How could I offend anyone to the point where those lunatics would target me?” Little Red Riding Hood’s brow furrowed tightly. “You know I never deal with anything related to the Dark Angels. I only take on assignments through proper channels, and most of them come from the Special Affairs Bureau. The Fairy Tale Organization also handles external communication very cautiously. While we may have competitors in the Spirit Realm Detective field, we certainly wouldn’t have ‘enemies.'”
“Then there’s another possibility. You may not have offended the Angel Cultists, but you have some ‘value’ that caught their attention,” Yu Sheng pondered for a moment. “After all, you said it yourself, they’re crazy. Their logic doesn’t follow normal reasoning. They might think you could be helpful to their ’cause,’ and that’s why they made their move.”
Little Red Riding Hood fell silent, seemingly lost in thought and doubt.
Yu Sheng realized his thoughts were becoming a bit scattered, and figuring out the motives of the Angel Cultists wasn’t something they could solve just by thinking about it there. So he quickly cleared his throat and brought the topic back.
“Ahem, let’s talk about the assignment itself. What do you know about it so far?”
“I contacted the Client directly. Thinking back on it now, because I was familiar with the person, I didn’t carefully verify the details of the assignment,” Little Red Riding Hood sighed lightly, her expression serious. “The digital copy of the assignment I received did indeed bear the mark of the Association of Strange Objects and a one-time serial number, but it wasn’t directly issued by the Association’s liaison department. Instead, the Client forwarded it to me using their personal account—this was something we had done before, so I didn’t think much of it this time.”
Yu Sheng frowned. “Would such a big organization allow such a loophole?”
“In principle, no, but it’s hard to avoid in practice, especially at the end of the year. Organizations like the Association of Strange Objects have very tight deadlines for outsourcing orders. So, near the end of the year, those in charge of outsourcing try to send out the orders before the deadline to get the timestamp for scheduling. That way, they can cut in line when it comes to settlement. After all, everyone has their KPI pressures…”
Yu Sheng’s eyes widened in surprise. “Is that really the reason?”
Little Red Riding Hood fell silent for two seconds and then pointed to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, whose tail was dragging on the ground as it walked.
“Your Fox does the same thing, dragging its tail on the ground for very practical reasons, doesn’t it?”
“…Fair point,” Yu Sheng immediately made peace with reality and couldn’t help but sigh as he leaned back on the sofa. “The world is a giant amateur theater. That phrase really hits the mark.”
He rubbed his temples and thought for a few seconds, then looked up. “So, are we saying that there’s no way to confirm whether the initial assignment was forged by that contact person, or if there was a higher-up ‘insider’ in the Association of Strange Objects who deleted the corresponding records after issuing the task?”
Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. “We can’t confirm that, but the Special Affairs Bureau will definitely investigate. When a loophole like this doesn’t cause any trouble, it’s kept in the background. But now that something has gone wrong, it’s brought to the forefront. It’ll have to be investigated from top to bottom.”
“In that case, we’ll have to check with the Special Affairs Bureau later,” Yu Sheng muttered, then asked, “What about the contact person who got into trouble? What happened to them?”
“I don’t know the exact details yet, but from what I’ve heard, it seems like they fell from a great height, unfortunately hit their head, and died on the spot,” Little Red Riding Hood said. “I’ve already made arrangements. I’ll be going to their place tonight. They lived alone, but they have a nephew handling the funeral arrangements.”
“I’ll go with you,” Yu Sheng immediately said.
Little Red Riding Hood hesitated for a moment, then looked at him. “You mean…?”
“Maybe we can still ‘ask’ something?” Yu Sheng’s expression was serious. “Just like in the Museum last time. Although I’m not sure what restrictions apply to the ‘Conversation With The Dead,’ we can at least try our luck.”
Little Red Riding Hood thought for a moment and finally nodded. “Alright… Should we leave now?”
“We leave now,” Yu Sheng replied, standing up from the sofa. He glanced down at Irene. “You and Foxy stay home. I’ll handle this on my own.”
Irene immediately stood up, protesting, “Huh? Why?”
Yu Sheng rolled his eyes. “…We’re going to the home of the deceased to inquire about things. Do you think it’s appropriate to bring a doll with us?”
Irene bared her teeth in displeasure but ultimately had to admit Yu Sheng’s reasoning. She slumped back on the sofa. “Fine… I’ll stay home then… but I’m using your computer to play games!”
“Sure—just use your own account and don’t touch my private files!”
“Got it.”
Once Little Doll was taken care of, Yu Sheng turned around only to see Foxy standing behind him with a worried look on her face. “Benefactor, do you really not need me? I can help with the fighting.”
Yu Sheng’s eyes twitched. He had no choice but to explain once again to Foxy that this was an investigation at the deceased’s home, and there was no need for fighting—whether with the deceased’s family or the deceased themselves, it wouldn’t be appropriate to start a fight in the funeral hall…
Little Red Riding Hood, overhearing the exchange between Yu Sheng and Foxy, was stunned. She gained a deeper understanding of the mental state of the people at the Hotel.
After reminding Foxy that there was leftover food in the fridge, and if she got hungry, she could reheat it, but not to set the house on fire or cause any damage, Yu Sheng finally changed into his Door-opening clothes and stepped out of Wutong Road No. 66 with Little Red Riding Hood.
From the front door to the street across, Yu Sheng looked back at least three or four times.
This made Little Red Riding Hood a bit puzzled. “You’re this uneasy?”
“This is the first time I’m leaving the house alone, with Foxy and Irene staying behind,” Yu Sheng’s tone had a hint of worry. “I’m even worried that when I come back, the house will be torn apart by them.”
“Well, Foxy is a Nine Tailed Demon Fox, not a Husky with nine tails,” Little Red Riding Hood sighed. “Besides, I think Irene is quite sensible. She just gets a little hasty with her words sometimes.”
“…I can’t believe you’re giving her that high of a rating—if you knew what she’s done, you’d never say that,” Yu Sheng said, shaking his head. “She’d stew herself if no one was watching her, believe it or not? Last time, she almost set the house on fire. The first thing she set on fire was even herself.”
Little Red Riding Hood: “…?”
“One day, you’ll see for yourself,” Yu Sheng waved his hand. “Let’s not talk about this. How are we getting there?”
The “contact” that Little Red Riding Hood mentioned lived in another part of the city, a little farther from Wutong Road, closer to the city center. It would take over forty minutes by taxi to get there.
Yu Sheng had never been there before, so without coordinates, he couldn’t open the Door directly.
To save time and avoid complications, Little Red Riding Hood suggested something special.
Travel with her Wolf pack.
In a corner of an inconspicuous alley, Yu Sheng looked uneasily at the Giant Wolf before him, its entire body seeming to be made of shadows, its outline shifting unpredictably.
“Seriously… is this thing not going to bite?” He asked, filled with doubt. “And can it really carry people?”
“Of course it can,” Little Red Riding Hood said, looking at the nervous Yu Sheng, before letting out a resigned sigh as she sensed the simple emotions of the Shadow Wolves. Her voice was full of mixed feelings as she spoke. “And you’re worried it’s going to bite you? It’s worried you’ll bite it!”
“How can you say that?!” Yu Sheng’s eyes widened. “Do I look like someone who’s so casual about food?”
Little Red Riding Hood: “…”“
Seeing this Young Lady’s reaction and recalling how she had previously encouraged the other to eat Wolf Granny’s meat, Yu Sheng finally became embarrassed. He dropped his defense and obediently climbed onto the Wolf’s back, mimicking Little Red Riding Hood.
“Is it really going to work? This Wolf is shaking; can it carry anything heavy?”
Little Red Riding Hood glanced at Yu Sheng, then gave the Wolf a slap on the head. “Coward.”
She shook her head and decisively ordered the Wolf pack, “Let’s go.”
Just as Yu Sheng was about to ask how to control the Wolf he was riding and how to move like Little Red Riding Hood, jumping between shadows, before he could speak, everything in front of him blurred suddenly.
The next moment, his world changed.
Colors turned into varying shades of black and white, the towering buildings of the city transformed into mere outlines, and the roads vanished. They were replaced by disconnected “bridges” between patches of shadow. The orderly scenery he had seen a moment ago now seemed like a shattered reflection in a cracked mirror. Then, the city curled up, the broken floating buildings turning into a 3D maze in this black-and-white world, like a chaotic projection, with everything’s size and distance constantly shifting.
The Wolf pack leapt lightly, flying into the bizarre shadows.