Chapter 113

Chapter 113: Payment

Yu Sheng already knew the Special Affairs Bureau would send people. Little Red Riding Hood had reported Angel Cultists appearing in the Museum, so they would come to confirm details with him, the “special witness.” Most likely it would be the familiar faces Li Lin and Xu Jiali.

He didn’t expect that it wouldn’t be just those two. The Second Unit’s Captain, Song Cheng, also came.

In the living room at Wutong Road 66, Yu Sheng studied the man with interest. The captain was broad-shouldered and gave off a steady, reliable air. He had short black hair, tanned skin, and a faint scar below his neck. He wore a plain black jacket over a white shirt. Muscle showed faintly under the sleeves. He wasn’t as huge as Xu Jiali, but he was clearly a frontline fighter.

With a leader present, Li Lin and Xu Jiali, who came along, sat a bit stiffly on the sofa.

At the same time, Song Cheng was looking around with curiosity.

It was his first time in this hidden Otherworld, Wutong Road 66, one of Borderland’s most mysterious places.

To him, it felt like an ordinary home. Everything looked normal. Furniture and appliances were all there, and each thing fit the current “social background” of Borderland just right: not brand new, not very old, exactly what a middle-class home would have.

That didn’t match his experience.

Borderland had Otherworlds that looked like “homes.” He knew several: the Dim Little House, Dorm 404, and the “Apartment No. 6” that showed up around the city edge. These Otherworlds looked close to a normal home, and first-timers might relax, thinking it was a harmless empty place. But inside, there were always details that clashed with reality. Usually it was an object from the wrong era, or something placed in the wrong spot.

Like a brass oil lamp next to an electric light. Or a clepsydra set on a windowsill. Or a window mounted in the floor. It felt like a nonhuman thing trying hard to copy a human home, getting most of it right, but messing up the details.

Here, there was none of that, at least not in sight. Everything at Wutong Road 66 matched Song Cheng’s human “common sense.”

…As long as you ignored the two Dolls sitting on the coffee table watching TV, and the Fox carefully brushing her tail.

“Um, want some tea?” Yu Sheng finally broke the slightly awkward quiet.

“Ah, no need to trouble you. Water is fine,” Song Cheng said quickly, pulling back his gaze with a smile. He apologized first, saying: “Sorry for showing up so suddenly. Since this involves Dark Angels, some intel requires my on-site authorization before we can disclose it to a third party.”

“No problem. I’ve been curious what the ‘captain’ Li Lin talks about is like. Nice to meet you,” Yu Sheng said with a wave.

The two Irenes on the coffee table heard the polite chatter, turned, and grumbled in unison, saying: “Human social rules are so troublesome.”

They spoke at the same time like an echo.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Song Cheng couldn’t hold back and pointed at Irene, saying: “Didn’t the report say… there was only one?”

Li Lin and Xu Jiali also looked at Yu Sheng, puzzled.

When Yu Sheng did Door Opening to let them in, they saw two Irenes in the living room and thought they were seeing things.

“There was a small accident, and the number increased,” Yu Sheng said, rubbing his hands a little awkwardly, adding: “Just take it as a result of my research with Irene.”

Li Lin looked blank and, against his better judgment, asked, saying: “So… will the number increase again later?”

Yu Sheng thought it over and nodded very seriously, saying: “Maybe.”

Li Lin went silent. He could see Yu Sheng didn’t want to explain the principle behind it.

Song Cheng felt something about the talk was off, and he didn’t quite get how such a strange conversation could flow so naturally…

But he didn’t forget the real reason he was here.

“I came for two things. First, to confirm what Little Red Riding Hood reported about Angel Cultists appearing in the Otherworld-Museum. Second, to deliver something,” he said, and motioned for Xu Jiali to open the briefcase and set a file bag on the coffee table, adding: “These are the Hotel’s full legal registration papers and certificates. Take a look. If anything is unclear, ask me.”

The Hotel’s legal registration!

Yu Sheng had almost forgotten. His eyes lit up. He grabbed the envelope right away. The Irene on the coffee table instantly leaned in to look with him (the other kept watching TV), and they unpacked the contents together.

First came a fold-out registration certificate with a black cover. On it, a deep red circular crest of the Borderland Council and a diamond crest of the Special Affairs Bureau looked solemn. Inside were the Hotel’s basic registration details: registered address, date, business type, and name. The big word “Hotel” in the middle made Yu Sheng feel wonderfully grounded.

Then there was a copy of the certificate, and two black gadgets that looked like USB sticks.

“These two are your Data Drives with a special version of the ‘Border Messenger’ program,” Song Cheng explained, saying: “Plug one into any networked computer, and that computer will temporarily get access to the Special Affairs Bureau information platform. It will let you log into Border Messenger like your custom phone does. It has a shared Hotel account baked in. You can’t change or delete it. The device has built-in security. Don’t worry about leaks or tampering. When you pull it out, it wipes the access record. If it is seriously damaged, it will auto alert the Special Affairs Bureau and send the last coordinates before it broke.”

“That… sounds pretty powerful,” Yu Sheng said, surprised as he looked at the plain little devices. He didn’t know much about tech, but from the description, he could tell this wasn’t a normal gadget. It felt a bit like black tech.

“The Special Affairs Bureau’s tech is, most of the time, trustworthy,” Song Cheng smiled, saying: “In extreme cases, you can even consider it a one-time distress beacon.”

“If one of these broke inside this house, would it still send coordinates back?” Yu Sheng asked, curious.

Song Cheng’s smile froze, but he managed to recover, saying: “Which is why I said most of the time trustworthy…”

Yu Sheng chuckled, put the gear away, then waved the Fox over and handed her one Data Drive, saying: “Stash this in your tail as a safety backup.”

“Okay,” Foxy said, slipping the gadget into her tail before wandering back to keep brushing.

“When you’re done, don’t forget to sweep,” Yu Sheng reminded her, saying: “Don’t leave hair everywhere.”

“Mm!”

Song Cheng’s smile stayed stuck as he blurted, saying: “…Where did she put it?!”

“I guessed your report wouldn’t have that detail,” Yu Sheng grinned, saying: “Foxy’s got a bunch of odd skills. You’ll get to know them later. For now, let’s talk about the Museum.”

“We’ve begun the arrests. We’re screening suspects in the south district using tech. All exits out of Borderland are blocked. As long as those two cultists are still in Boundary City, it’s only a matter of time,” Song Cheng said, getting serious again, adding: “Your key clues were extremely important. In all my years at the Special Affairs Bureau, it’s rare to get such detailed suspect info this early.”

“The Angel Cultists almost never leave living witnesses and are hard to catch,” Xu Jiali added, saying: “The officers on the case are calling this the easiest chase they’ve had in ages.”

“Well, they didn’t leave a living witness this time either,” Yu Sheng said casually, adding: “It’s just that the dead spoke.”

Song Cheng’s expression shifted. He looked at Yu Sheng with real gravity, saying: “That’s what I wanted to address. About your Conversation With The Dead, and the other abilities the Hotel has shown, the Special Affairs Bureau hopes to work with you more in the future.”

As he spoke, he took a thick envelope from his bag and set it on the coffee table.

Yu Sheng paused, then quickly guessed what it was.

He opened it, peeked inside, and looked a little surprised, saying: “A bonus? Like a tip-off reward? That’s quite a lot.”

“It’s payment for assisting in catching the Angel Cultists. Even though we haven’t caught them yet, your help far exceeds that of a typical ‘informant,’” Song Cheng said very earnestly, adding: “All cooperation with the Special Affairs Bureau comes with pay. You just became a Spirit Realm Detective, so you might not know this. When the target is as dangerous as Angel Cultists, the budget is very generous.”

Yu Sheng didn’t pay much attention to the details of what he said.

[Irene’s new TV is finally covered.]

[Plus Foxy’s chicken drumsticks, and my whole pile of plans.]

[This brings in money way faster than writing a book!]