Chapter 090

Chapter 90: Got a Job

Yu Sheng thought it over and decided it was not a good idea to take those towels, washbasins, and soda bottles from home to the Special Affairs Bureau for appraisal: “Even if they were willing, dumping a pile of junk like this into the curio market would probably mess up the order. It’s a tiny scene. If I casually sell a few things from my room, I might crash the whole year’s trading volume.”

But his restless, clever mind didn’t cool down. It just shifted into more serious thinking.

Irene tilted her head up at him, her little doll face full of doubt, and asked: “Are you planning to sell junk again?”

Yu Sheng waved a hand and said: “Little Red Riding Hood told me we at least need to sell things that look mysterious and have ‘vibe’, because many collectors are well informed. They’re regular people who know a bit about the extraordinary Domain. They buy for love of the occult and as bragging rights.”

Irene sighed and said: “Sometimes I really don’t understand humans. A lot of them have no ability and still love to flirt with danger. Isn’t it fine to be an ordinary person who can’t see the Otherworld and entities? You could live a steady life. But they get interested in things from the ‘other side’, think learning a few safety tricks is enough. Not to mention whether those tricks even work, some items brought back from the Otherworld might be dangerous.”

Yu Sheng shrugged and said: “Anyway, even the Special Affairs Bureau doesn’t ban this. If an item passes their appraisal and can circulate on the market, it’s basically safe. The truly evil stuff is locked in the Special Affairs Bureau’s Containment Warehouse. The Border communications encyclopedia says so.”

Right then his phone buzzed again. Little Red Riding Hood sent a new message.

“If you want some side money, I’ve got a job. Want to help?”

Yu Sheng froze for a second, then replied: “What job?”

“A commission from the Curiosities Association. I was going to turn it down. It’s a bit risky, and the payoff isn’t certain. Most important, I’m short on hands. But if you can help, and bring that fox who fights so well, this one actually fits. You can learn how a real Spirit Realm Detective works, we split the pay half and half, and the most important part: if we meet something we can’t beat, you can grab me and run.”

A moment later, another message popped up: “The job is to go into a museum and find one item. If we can bring it out, we succeed. If you’re interested, I’ll send the museum info and the exact reward.”

Yu Sheng traded a look with Irene. Foxy on the side was still busy chewing a chicken drumstick and had no idea what was happening. In each other’s eyes he and Irene both saw a spark of excitement.

[We’ve got work!]

Of course, Yu Sheng wasn’t only thinking about the commission. More important to him was this: a chance to reach more of the Otherworld, learn more about the extraordinary Domain, and stockpile knowledge.

For him, knowledge weighed more than any reward: [Any one bit of intel about the Otherworld might help me find The Door back to my hometown.]

He texted back fast: “Send it.”

Little Red Riding Hood didn’t waste words. She forwarded a long string of files, and at the end came a number for the pay.

Yu Sheng stared at that number and went blank for a moment: “That much?”

“We split it,” Little Red Riding Hood explained, “Going into the Otherworld is dangerous, so the pay has to be high. But our costs are high too. Never mind gear wear and tear, the Sanity Blocking Agent, Nebulizer, Inducer and other meds we have to top up every time are not cheap. We pay those ourselves. After deducting costs, what lands in your hand isn’t that much.”

Yu Sheng read the stream of messages, blinking. After holding it in for a long time, he finally asked: “What are the Sanity Blocking Agent, the Nebulizer, and the Inducer?”

After he sent that, Little Red Riding Hood suddenly fell silent.

He waited a long time before her reply popped up, opening with a row of exclamation points.

“!!!!! You triggered another bug! I’m so jealous!!”

Yu Sheng thought about it, then looked down at Irene and asked: “What does she mean?”

“I don’t know,” Irene said as she scratched her head, “maybe she’s jealous because you’re carefree?”

“I don’t think that’s it,” Yu Sheng muttered. Then a new message popped up: “I just contacted the Curiosities Association’s client. They agree to hand the job to us again, but the timing is tight. Deadline is no later than tomorrow night at midnight. If you’re free, it’s best to leave tonight.”

Yu Sheng considered it. He had nothing to do at home anyway, and Foxy had eaten so much she needed a walk. He replied quickly: “Okay, tonight.”

“I’ll send the address. Come as fast as you can.”

He put away his phone, let out a small breath, then glanced at Foxy, who had just crunched the chicken bone and was carefully licking her fingers.

He patted her tail and said: “Foxy, get changed. We’re going out the door.”

Foxy looked lost and asked: “Huh? Benefactor, what are we doing?”

“The Hotel got a job,” Yu Sheng said with a grin, itching to go, “come explore with me.”

“Okay!”

A moment later, Yu Sheng walked out the door, and Foxy, holding a now-dim Irene, followed right behind.

The three of them stood on the open ground in front of No. 66 Wutong Road, faced the night wind, and looked out at the city under the dark sky.

After a while, Irene suddenly asked: “How are we getting there?”

“I can take you,” Foxy said as she looked at Yu Sheng. Her eyes shone in the dark. She had been a little confused before going out the door, but now she seemed excited. She added: “Benefactor, just point me in the right direction.”

Yu Sheng’s mind flashed with an image and he shook his head at once: “Please don’t. A rocket-boosted fox sweeping subsonic over the city in the middle of the night? I can’t imagine what tomorrow’s Boundary City news would say. Let’s call a car.”

Irene shifted a little and said: “…An organization of the extraordinary, on its first mission, and the three of us are squeezing into a ride share?”

“It’s our start-up phase,” Yu Sheng said, feeling a little awkward, “we should get a car later, when we have money. Anyway we’re not even that crowded. You don’t take up any space.”

Irene cursed him, and it wasn’t pretty.

Yu Sheng was now good at treating Irene’s fussing as background noise. He muted the doll’s chatter in his head and took Foxy to the corner to call a car with his phone.

He didn’t call right at the door because he worried about another “locksmith master” situation.

Foxy watched his hands with curiosity. After a while, she pointed at his phone and said: “Benefactor’s magic tool is very handy. It can do everything.”

“Don’t you have something like this where you’re from?” Yu Sheng asked. He felt Foxy’s home civilization was so advanced that of course they would have a personal info device.

“We have it,” Foxy nodded, then added, “but kids can’t use it much. They worry it harms cultivation. Mother was generous and let me play half an hour a day, but most functions were still blocked.”

Yu Sheng fell silent.

[Even a cyber cultivation fox has to deal with youth screen time limits?]

“I’ll reset my old phone and give it to you,” Yu Sheng said, feeling a little emotional. “It may not be as high level as the ‘magic tool’ you used as a kid, but it should be fun, and you can use it to learn about this world.”

Foxy’s eyes lit up right away and she said: “Thank you, benefactor!”

“Hey, only for her?” Irene complained at once. “I want one too.”

Yu Sheng gave her a look and said: “Can you even handle a phone with that body? It would be hard just to get your mouth and ear to reach the mic and the earpiece at the same time when a call comes in.”

“Why not? I can even use your laptop,” Irene said with confidence. “I hold it with both hands.”

She shouldn’t have brought that up. As soon as she did, a vein throbbed on Yu Sheng’s forehead: “You dare mention my laptop? I still haven’t forgotten about the account.”

Irene’s tone went soft: “Didn’t you hang me on the drying pole for half an hour already? Let’s call it even. And the ban only lasted twelve hours.”

Yu Sheng opened his mouth to argue, but a beam of light from the far intersection cut him off.

The car had arrived.

He and Foxy looked toward the sound of the engine.

A tiny, shaky car came into view.

Irene said: “Isn’t that car a little too shabby? It looks about ready to be scrapped.”

Yu Sheng watched the car rattle over a speed bump. Every clang made him worry the bumper would fall off. He checked the license plate on his phone again. It was indeed his ride. His face tightened a little and he said: “It’s old, but not scrap.”

As they spoke, the little car that looked like it had changed hands seven times squealed to a stop in front of them.

Honestly, the moment it stopped, Yu Sheng seriously wondered if it had braked or broken down.

Then the driver’s window rolled down, and a familiar face appeared.

It was Xu Jiali.

“So it’s you?” he said.

The two-meter-tall hulk in the driver’s seat looked very surprised.