Chapter 128
Chapter 128: Children
Even with Little Red Riding Hood’s explanation, Yu Sheng still found it hard to imagine what daily life inside the orphanage looked like—how it truly operated, day to day. What did the children think about? What did they do all day? What did the Councilor’s Office employees assigned here actually handle? And what did the Councilor’s Office—those who ruled all of Borderland—really think of an orphanage like this?
In the end, Yu Sheng didn’t even understand how this massive Boundary City truly functioned. He didn’t understand the mysterious Councilor’s Office, either. The only officials he’d dealt with were the Special Operations Bureau, and even they were only one branch under the larger authority.
Borderland had too many things that felt wrong to him. And the place where Little Red Riding Hood and her friends lived only added another layer to the unease in his mind.
Foxy, who had been following quietly since they entered, suddenly asked, “Why don’t the Special Operations Bureau or the Councilor’s Office just set up a department and take over this whole orphanage?”
Little Red Riding Hood looked at the demon fox girl with surprise.
Foxy blinked and scratched her hair, suddenly nervous. “I… said something wrong?”
“No. You didn’t,” Little Red Riding Hood said quickly, returning to her usual calm. “It’s normal to think that way. But do you know how many groups like us exist across Borderland?”
Foxy opened her mouth, then closed it. She couldn’t answer.
“I told you before—most spirit realm detectives and investigators only ‘change careers’ after they’re dragged into an otherworld incident,” Little Red Riding Hood said. “The children of Fairy Tale are the same. We were affected by an otherworld—Fairy Tale. In essence, every child you’re about to see is either already a spirit realm detective, or will become one in the future.”
She kept walking as she explained, voice even. “We’re only one organization among hundreds—maybe even thousands—across Borderland. A lot of things have to be handled the way extraordinary organizations are handled.
“Of course, the Special Operations Bureau once considered giving us children ‘special care.’ A long time ago, they wanted to build a special orphanage fully supervised by the Councilor’s Office, directly managed by the Special Operations Bureau—gathering all children affected by Fairy Tale into one place, with lords handling everything, instead of letting us govern ourselves.” She paused. “But later… something big happened.”
Yu Sheng’s brows knit. In an instant, seven or eight horror plots from movies and novels flashed through his head. “…The children were treated inhumanely, and Fairy Tale went out of control?”
“No,” Little Red Riding Hood said, shaking her head. “The exact opposite. The Special Operations Bureau and the Councilor’s Office aren’t idiots. They know that when otherworld wants to kill you, it doesn’t care about any human rules. According to the records, they did nothing wrong at the time. They took good care of the children, considered every child’s situation, and nothing inhumane happened.”
Her gaze turned distant. “They only overlooked one thing.”
Irene poked her head out of Foxy’s arms. “Overlooked one thing?”
“Fairy Tale doesn’t like lords,” Little Red Riding Hood said flatly.
Yu Sheng felt like he understood immediately.
Foxy nodded, too, after a beat, as if something clicked.
Irene lifted her chin, thinking hard. “Wait. What? What does that mean? Why do you all look like you understand? What do you understand?”
No one answered her.
“That building up ahead is the east building,” Little Red Riding Hood said, raising a hand. “The main orphanage structures are two buildings. The east building—the first one you see—holds most of the living and activity areas. The large dining hall and the classroom for little kids are here, too. The other building is the west building. Inside… there are safe rooms and a treatment room. When children aren’t stable, we take them to the west building.”
She pointed toward a glass corridor overhead. “There used to be two connecting corridors between the buildings. Later, something went wrong with the underground one, so it was sealed. Now we can only cross through the skybridge. The west building has other normal entrances too.”
She kept going, gesturing as she spoke. “That open ground over there is where the children usually play. We built the slides and swings ourselves. We dug the sandbox ourselves, too. We asked the Special Operations Bureau to send a truckload of sand. They didn’t charge.”
Little Red Riding Hood’s mouth twitched, like she was remembering something ridiculous. “It caused a bit of trouble. We dug the sandbox too big and too deep. The original plan was one truck, but even three trucks almost couldn’t fill it. The Special Operations Bureau seriously suspected we were scamming sand to sell…”
Then she pointed at a row of trees. “And those—we planted them ourselves. I was ten then.” Her voice softened. “The guardian who taught me how to plant trees isn’t here anymore.”
Yu Sheng listened quietly. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught several curious faces peeking out from the east building doorway. A handful of older kids squeezed together with younger ones, whispering and pointing at the guest who’d appeared in their home.
Then an older girl stepped out from behind them and shooed everyone back inside.
“How many children are there here?” Yu Sheng asked. “Uh—counting you guardians, too.”
“Seventy-six,” Little Red Riding Hood said. “Less than you imagined?”
“Yeah,” Yu Sheng admitted. “A little less than I expected.”
“It stays around this number,” she said, leading him toward the east building. “It only fluctuates by a few. New ones come, old ones go. Fairy Tale only accepts children who meet its requirements, and it doesn’t hesitate when it eliminates the old.”
Her tone remained matter-of-fact, as if she were reciting a schedule. “So compared to our numbers, this facility is actually a bit luxurious. Many rooms above the fifth floor on this side are empty. Most of the west building is empty, too.
“Of the seventy-six children, sixteen are guardians. Of the rest, about half are between eight and fourteen, and the other half are younger.
“Overall, girls are about three quarters. Boys are only one quarter.”
“I noticed,” Yu Sheng said, nodding. “Most of the kids I saw just now were girls. Why?”
Little Red Riding Hood smiled faintly. “Because a princess is always more likely to fall into danger. A village girl like Little Red Riding Hood is the same.”
She glanced at him. “You need to learn to analyze this place from Fairy Tale’s point of view.”
Yu Sheng mulled that over as she led them down the east building hallway to a guest room near the end.
He noticed more peeking eyes at the door. Small figures drifted back and forth in the hallway outside—clearly curious, clearly trying not to get caught.
“I brought gifts for the kids,” Yu Sheng said. He lifted the bag of cookies and candy and nodded toward Little Red Riding Hood. “Should we let someone hand them out?”
“Thanks,” Little Red Riding Hood said, brightening. “That’s really thoughtful.” She didn’t bother with formalities. She turned and waved at one of the older kids hovering near the door. “Hui Hui, take these to the dining hall first. Hand them out at dinner.”
The girl called Hui Hui—maybe thirteen or fourteen—ran in excitedly. Several younger children, around five or six, slipped in behind her like eager little shadows, circling the table and darting around.
“I want chocolate!”
“I want the gold ones!”
“Do you have gummy bears?”
“Thank you, Uncle!”
“Sister Hui Hui! Ya Ya stepped on my foot!”
Then a rosy-cheeked little one suddenly crawled out from under the table. Big-eyed, they stared at Yu Sheng and Foxy, then pointed at Irene. “I want a hug with that too!”
Irene instantly spread her arms and bared her teeth. “I’m not a gift!”
The child froze.
Then they burst into tears on the spot.
For a second, it was like someone had set off a bomb of toddler emotions. The little ones scattered, shrieking and wailing—running everywhere, howling like a whole pack had been unleashed.
Yu Sheng went numb.
But the chaos lasted only a moment.
Little Red Riding Hood stood immediately and calmed them with a few quick sentences. Then Hui Hui smoothly took over, coaxing and herding the kids back into the hallway and closing the door.
Yu Sheng stared, dumbfounded, at how the room had gone from disaster to peace in the blink of an eye. After a long moment, he looked at Little Red Riding Hood. “…You’re impressive.”
“You get used to it,” she said with a faint smile. “The children here are actually very well-behaved. They have small faults like normal kids their age, but most of them calm down faster than ordinary children. They understand older children’s instructions better, and they know why rules matter. Everyone grows up like this.”
For some reason, hearing that made Yu Sheng feel even more uneasy.
He shook his head and changed the subject quickly. “Tell me about Fairy Tale. I mean that otherworld—and the black forest I saw. What is it?”
“The black forest is a subset of Fairy Tale,” Little Red Riding Hood said. Her tone turned businesslike again. “But before I explain its structure, I want to start with something more basic.”
She looked at him. “First, let me confirm something. Do you know how many categories of otherworld there are?”
Yu Sheng thought, face turning serious in sympathy. “No.”
Little Red Riding Hood stared at him. “…”
“I remember this was pretty early in the database,” she said at last, her expression subtle. “Didn’t I tell you to read that part as soon as possible?”
Yu Sheng rubbed his nose, suddenly awkward. “I’ve just been especially busy these past two days.”
“Busy with what?” she asked. “Did the Special Operations Bureau give you another assignment?”
Yu Sheng kept a straight face and mentally reviewed the past two days.
Clearing land in otherworld. Planting vegetables. Mixing mortar. Raising chickens. Petting Foxy at home. Researching how to make more Irenes with Irene. Considering how to use rebar and No. 42 cement to build even more Irenes.
The moment he said any of that out loud, his dignity as a lord would evaporate.
“Yeah,” Yu Sheng said solemnly. “The Special Operations Bureau called me in to talk about dark angels.”
Not a single lie showed on his face.