Chapter 86: A Breath of Fresh Air
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
The special agent who introduced herself as “Ren Wen Wen” had just left.
Irene leaned out of the window, watching as Ren Wen Wen disappeared down the street. She turned back, noticing Yu Sheng staring blankly into space. “What was that ‘Snowstorm Mystery’ she mentioned?”
Yu Sheng’s face turned a little awkward. “…It’s a story I wrote. It’s serialized on a media platform.”
“Who’s ‘Lin Qi’ then?” Irene tilted her head.
“The male lead in the story,” he replied.
“And ‘Nightblade’?” She blinked her large eyes, but before Yu Sheng could answer, a look of realization dawned on her face. “Oh, I get it—she’s the female lead!”
Yu Sheng fell silent, gazing up at the ceiling.
Seeing his reaction, Irene seemed to piece something together. Her tone became cautious. “…Don’t tell me it’s another male lead?”
Leaning back in his chair, Yu Sheng sighed. “If it were just another male lead, I’d understand.”
Irene hesitated, her eyes widening. “…So, is it the male antagonist? I vaguely recall that kind of pairing exists…”
Yu Sheng glanced at the little doll, thinking her already limited memory could be used for more important matters. He sighed deeply. “It’s the male lead’s motorcycle.”
Irene was speechless.
The tiny doll was utterly shocked—more so than when she’d first seen that giant eye covering the sky.
She jumped down from the windowsill, stood on the floor, and pointed accusingly at Yu Sheng. “You write such bizarre stuff!”
“I didn’t write anything like that!” Yu Sheng exclaimed, exasperated. “Maybe people working at the Special Affairs Bureau are under too much stress, so their worldview is a bit skewed?”
Ren Wen Wen was gone now, but if she were still here, Yu Sheng would have loved to say to her face, “Miss, your tastes are quite… unique!”
Foxy, who had been listening from the side, couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer. She walked over. “Benefactor, Irene, what are you talking about?”
“Good kids shouldn’t hear this—even bad ones shouldn’t,” Yu Sheng waved his hand tiredly. His gaze fell on his laptop. He hadn’t even started his plan to catch up on writing, but now he couldn’t write a single word.
“You’re not writing today?” Irene looked eagerly at his computer, curiosity shining in her eyes.
“I’ll do it tomorrow,” Yu Sheng sighed. Then he noticed the hopeful look on Irene’s face. “What do you want?”
“Can I play on this?” She pointed at his laptop. “Just watching TV every day is getting boring.”
Yu Sheng hesitated for a moment. The little doll quickly added, “I won’t check your browser history!”
“I’m not worried about that!” he retorted, glaring at her. “I’m afraid you’ll break it—do you even know how to use it?”
“I do!” Irene declared confidently.
“…Where did you learn?”
“I don’t know; I just can. I can even type!”
Yu Sheng eyed her skeptically. After some hesitation, he waved his hand. “Fine, go ahead. Just don’t break it. I’m going to check out this new phone.” With that, he left her to it and sat aside to examine the new smartphone Ren Wen Wen had given him.
A “gift” from Bai Li Qing, the director of the Special Affairs Bureau.
He inspected it carefully. At first glance, it didn’t look much different from a regular smartphone, except it felt slightly heavier. Maybe it had a bigger battery or some unique functions inside. Ren Wen Wen hadn’t provided any special instructions, only mentioning that it turned on like a normal phone. Any guidance specific to “special individuals” was integrated into the system.
After studying its exterior for a while, he unlocked the screen.
A large red diamond-shaped emblem appeared in the center—a vigilant, vertical eye. That was probably the Bureau’s logo. The emblem faded, revealing a simple home screen. Being a new device, there weren’t many icons. The most prominent one at the top was “Border Communication.”
The same red diamond logo. He tapped it, and it launched quickly with almost no loading time. Yu Sheng saw a clean and straightforward user interface.
Communication tools, data search, preset public channels, news feeds, and an emergency support option.
A strange sense of novelty welled up inside him. Curiously, he explored this “comprehensive platform” said to be built by the Bureau, specifically open to all registered spirit detectives and independent investigators in the Borderland. Soon, he noticed that the software was already logged in—the username was “Yu Sheng.”
Registered just this morning.
Did the director set it up in advance? Or was the device pre-bound to the user, with registration info already loaded and unchangeable? Many special devices with security features are like that…
Lost in thought, Yu Sheng found the chat function in “Border Communication.” An idea struck him. He typed “Little Red Riding Hood” into the search bar. An avatar showing the back of a figure in a red cloak appeared—online.
He pondered for a moment and sent a message: “Are you there?”
Within seconds, the avatar flickered, and a string of symbols popped up on the screen: “???!!!”
“It’s me, Yu Sheng. The Special Affairs Bureau just gave me a phone,” he typed. “I’ve seen you use this app before; now I have it too.”
This time, Little Red Riding Hood took a while to reply: “You actually did it?! I thought you were joking!”
After a moment, she sent a second message: “I’m in class right now.”
Yu Sheng: “Won’t the teacher catch you?”
“Nope! I have my wolf holding the phone on the rooftop—using its eyes and paws, plus sensory sharing. I’m sitting in the classroom, looking very attentive.”
Reading her message, Yu Sheng was momentarily stunned. “…You can do that?”
“I’ve been practicing for over two years. At first, I could only send simple emojis when receiving urgent messages. Now I can even play co-op battle games through shared senses,” she replied quickly, a hint of pride in her tone. It was as if, in these chats, she could finally show a bit of her youthful side. “What about you? Did you really become a spirit detective? What about those two at your place? Did they register too?”
“I registered them as well,” Yu Sheng glanced up at Irene, who was furiously typing away, and Foxy, who was wandering around looking for food. “But we only have one phone…”
He paused, then sent another message: “And now that the novelty has worn off, I don’t even know what to do next.”
“You should discuss it with that doll—her name is Irene, right? She seems to know a lot about the supernatural.”
“She’d probably just suggest I post flyers around town,” Yu Sheng replied immediately. “Asking her is less helpful than asking you.”
“…Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Little Red Riding Hood responded, but quickly changed the subject. “But for now, don’t think about ‘making a big splash.’ If you have time, read through the materials. There’s a lot of information shared by the Bureau for detectives and investigators, including details on special locations in the Borderland and intelligence on stable portals to Otherworlds. Or check out the public channels for new messages; some detectives share information they’ve gathered from recent incidents. You might find it interesting. If you’re looking to earn money, you can see if anyone has posted requests for help. If you’re worried about scams or unsure about pricing, you can ask me.”
She sent a long, thoughtful message, full of patient advice.
Even through the phone screen, Yu Sheng could feel that the girl who always surrounded herself with wolves was genuinely trying to help.
“Thank you, that’s very helpful,” he replied sincerely.
“It’s nothing, just a small suggestion. By the way, since you’ve registered as a detective, did you also set up a team? What’s it called?”
“The Hotel,” Yu Sheng typed the name carefully, then added, “But you probably won’t find any info yet; they just took the paperwork this morning.”
“Sounds great!” she quickly responded. Whether she meant it or was just being polite, Yu Sheng couldn’t tell. “Maybe it’ll become a famous name in the Borderland soon?”
“Haha, from your lips to God’s ears,” he laughed, typing swiftly. “I won’t keep you from your class. I’m going to explore the database.”
“Alright, bye~”
After ending the chat with Little Red Riding Hood, Yu Sheng let out a sigh. Then he noticed the clattering sounds of Irene’s typing. He couldn’t help but walk over. “What are you doing? Making such a racket… Don’t break my keyboard.”
“Playing a game. Someone called me slow, so I’m arguing back,” Irene looked puffed up, sitting cross-legged on the keyboard. As she typed, her whole body moved with her arms. “This keyboard is too big; it’s so hard to use!”
Curious, Yu Sheng glanced at the screen and was shocked to see Irene engaged in a verbal battle with everyone. From teammates to opponents, no one was spared—not even the game developers or the advertisers on the battle map.
She wasn’t slow at typing at all! Yu Sheng was amazed.
The little doll was terrible at the game, but when it came to trash-talking, she was unparalleled. Normally, he could rein her in when she tried to curse, but online, she was completely unleashed! However, her arrogance didn’t last long.
After just a few minutes, her account was suspended. She was kicked out of the game, and a big temporary ban notice popped up on the screen.
“Serves you right,” Yu Sheng chuckled as he saw Irene fuming, jumping up and down on the desk. “Got yourself in trouble, didn’t you?”
Irene was still seething, but upon hearing his words, she hesitated. Then she turned to him sheepishly. “Um… this… this is your account.”
Yu Sheng: “…”