Chapter 057

Chapter 57: Getting Connected

Yu Sheng spoke very openly to the three faces full of doubt: “I don’t really understand those supernatural Domains, especially the Otherworld and Entities. To be honest, I don’t know much about anything beyond Boundary City either. So I’ve been trying to find professionals like you to answer my questions.”

Li Lin and Xu Jiali traded looks, both stunned. Little Red Riding Hood gave Yu Sheng a long up and down and asked: “So you mean you never dealt with the Otherworld or Entities before? You only started recently?”

Yu Sheng spread his hands and told the truth: “I lived a quiet, ordinary life for over twenty years. I only started running into all this weird stuff lately. I’m a total beginner.”

The moment he finished, Xu Jiali’s face almost cracked. He thought to himself that if Yu Sheng had only started dealing with the Otherworld recently, then how could he pin down and pummel a Hunger Entity rated at level three and above? How could he flip open The Door to a Wasteland Planet millions of light years away? How could he slip in and out of the Otherworld like going home? What kind of “beginner” was that? Was he even human?

He and Li Lin locked eyes. Thoughts flashed between them in an instant.

First, they could almost be sure that the spacetime dislocation that had thrown the Special Affairs Bureau into chaos was connected to this man called Yu Sheng. The proof was the Door he opened with a casual hand.

Yes, casual.

Second, they must not be fooled by the word “beginner.” Whether or not he only started recently, the power he held did not look like something an ordinary human touched by the Otherworld could control.

Either “beginner” was false, or “ordinary human” was false, or both.

Besides, an ordinary human would not live in such an obviously strange house.

Li Lin cleared his throat and asked to confirm: “Have you always lived here?”

Yu Sheng nodded. He had no wish to tell outsiders he had come from another “Boundary City,” and since he even had an Identification Card, he simply said: “Yeah. I’ve always lived here.”

Li Lin started to ask: “Then do you know this house…”

Yu Sheng answered before he could finish, staying open and honest: “Yes. It’s an Otherworld. I only learned that recently. Before that, living here never caused any trouble.”

Li Lin was speechless again.

What did “learned recently” even mean? What did “never caused trouble” even mean? Could any normal person say that?
Also, it had been years. How had the Special Affairs Bureau never noticed something this wrong in the old city?

Li Lin finally forced out the most careful request: “Could I see your Identification Card?” He dug in his pocket at once and pulled out a small black booklet, opened it to Yu Sheng, and added, “This is my duty ID.”

Yu Sheng glanced down. He saw Li Lin’s photo, name, and job, plus a bunch of numbers and recognition codes he could not make sense of. He had never seen any other Special Affairs Bureau IDs, but this at least looked like a proper way to handle things.

So he took out his own Identification Card and handed it over without fuss.

Li Lin accepted it, and he and Xu Jiali scanned the information fast.

Their eyes stopped together on the “Address” line, staring at the clear black-on-white: “No. 66 Wutong Road.”

“What’s wrong?” Yu Sheng asked when he saw them both freeze.

Li Lin came back to himself, slowly returned the Identification Card, hesitated several times, and finally said: “Did you know there is no No. 66 on Wutong Road?”

Yu Sheng was stunned: “…?”

Now he knew why none of the locksmith masters he called could ever make it to his door.

“We need to go back to the Bureau first,” Xu Jiali said, breaking the silence. “Your situation is… unusual. We have to report to our superiors, then connect with the Archives Division to figure out what this really is.”

Yu Sheng blinked: “You’re leaving already? I still have a pile of questions…”

“We’ll leave contact info and come back soon for an official contact,” Xu Jiali said. “For humans who have recently been touched by the Otherworld and changed, the Special Affairs Bureau has a regular outreach and registration process. Don’t worry. Your questions will be answered during that formal contact.” As he spoke, he took out a small card and handed it to Yu Sheng. “My phone number is on it.”

“Okay,” Yu Sheng said after a moment. His real goal was to get connected with the professionals who handled Otherworld problems in Borderland. As for his many questions, a quick chat with two people would not solve them. Those would have to wait for later contact and learning. So he nodded and took the card.

He then left his own phone number.

He had this number ever since he “arrived” here, but almost no one ever called, and he had no one to call.

Next, Yu Sheng turned to the silent “Little Red Riding Hood.” She looked like a high schooler, and her face was not great. Her right arm, the one not covered by clothes, seemed to be recovering, but many fine black lines still traced her skin in a creepy pattern.

Yu Sheng asked with concern: “Are you okay?”

She shook her head and replied: “Side effects of dealing with wolves. It’s not the first time. I’ll recover after I adjust. I need to see a doctor later. I’ll leave my number too… wait, I didn’t bring my phone. I’ll find a pen.”

She reached to the small pouch at her waist, then suddenly froze mid motion.

Her expression stiffened, like she had just realized something terrible.

Yu Sheng got a fright and asked: “What’s wrong?”

Xu Jiali sighed and said: “An Entity tore up her homework.”

Little Red Riding Hood turned her neck slowly. She saw sympathy written on the faces of Xu Jiali and Li Lin.

“We saw it at the very start, but you didn’t notice,” Li Lin whispered. “We didn’t want to say anything. We wanted you to be happy a bit longer.”

“When did you see me happy? Huh?!” the girl in red exploded, and all the calm and maturity she had held up for so long vanished. “Was I happy when we were being chased by monsters through the woods? I filled in math worksheets for three days! Three days!”

Yu Sheng stared, more and more sure that these “professionals” were nothing like what he had imagined in spirit or daily life. Still, the mood was what it was, and he kept quiet. The girl really did look heartbroken.

In the end, Little Red Riding Hood still wrote down her number. She pressed the pen so hard on the note that every stroke looked like a blade, as if she meant to carve the numbers into the long-gone Hunger Entities themselves. Yu Sheng felt a chill just watching.

Then the three took their leave.

Yu Sheng walked them to the house’s Door, pulled it open, and stood by the frame: “I won’t see you off any farther. I still have a lot to handle here.”

At that, Li Lin glanced back at the living room. The fox girl with a bunch of tails sat on the floor guarding a pile of food. The little Doll with both arms broken sat on the couch watching TV without a care.

A strange No. 66 Wutong Road, a strange “Yu Sheng,” and two equally strange “friends.”

Right under the nose of the Special Affairs Bureau.

Li Lin knew he had stepped into a great whirlpool. All of this would appear in the report he and Xu Jiali would write…

And would show up in the overtime they were about to work.

The young Special Affairs Bureau officer sighed, weary, and stepped through The Door.

Cool night wind met them. The still night of the old city stretched out, and warm streetlights lit the road ahead.

He and Xu Jiali turned back at the same time and saw only a bare wall behind them, covered in messy, abstract graffiti.

Xu Jiali walked up, felt the wall with his hand, then patted it twice.

“It doesn’t seem to be here,” the seasoned Deep Diver said quietly. “This is only an entrance, and it opens only when you are invited.”

“Head back to the Bureau first?” Li Lin asked. “Or leave someone here to keep watch?”

Xu Jiali looked toward Little Red Riding Hood.

She turned away at once, making it clear her mood was awful because her homework got torn, and she had no wish to work overtime.

She still gave a proper reason: “I need to find Dr. Lin to handle the side effects. You two decide. I think it’s the same whether we leave someone here or not. With what we have, we can’t monitor him.”

“Let’s go back,” Xu Jiali sighed and started forward. “There are others guarding the outer district anyway. We’ll report what happened today. Since this involves Dark Angels, I’m afraid even Captain Song won’t be able to make the call.”