Chapter 148

Chapter 148: A Chaotic Morning

Yu Sheng got woken up early by a call from Little Red Riding Hood.

He opened his eyes blearily and saw two Irenes—one hanging off the foot of the bed, the other sprawled across the nightstand. No normal person could imagine how two dolls could sleep like that.

His phone buzzed nonstop beside his pillow. He answered, and before he could say a word, Little Red Riding Hood’s voice rushed through in a panic.

“Yu Sheng! You died!”

Yu Sheng jolted fully awake.

His first thought was that the quality of high schoolers these days really needed work. His second thought was to frantically figure out how he’d offended that young lady—calling this early and firing off a line like that was worse than throwing sand in someone’s face.

But the next second, Little Red Riding Hood realized what she’d said and stumbled over herself, flustered. “Ah, sorry! That’s not what I meant. My head’s a mess. I mean I saw you die… no, I remembered you died… no, that’s not it—okay, this time it’s right, I just remembered—”

She sounded genuinely confused. And the more she spiraled, the clearer it became to Yu Sheng—he’d heard the same tone from Irene before.

He cleared his throat and cut her off. “Stop. Stop. You don’t have to force it. I know what’s going on. Wow… no wonder. The transmission had a whole layer of ‘Big Bad Wolf’ in between. That delayed trigger really delayed on you.”

There was a pause on the other end, as if she’d been thrown by how calm he sounded. Then she said, quieter, “You… how are you this calm?”

“Because I knew you’d remember sooner or later,” Yu Sheng said as he sat up, explaining roughly. “Anyone who’s come into contact with my blood will eventually notice my ‘resurrection.’ Irene and Foxy already went through the same process. So that’s all it is. Don’t panic.”

He added, like he was reading off a list, “Good news: next time you visit Wu Tong Road No. 66, you won’t need me to door opening for you. You’ll be able to see my house yourself. Bad news: the next time you see me drop dead right in front of you, it’ll probably hit harder, because the forgetting mechanism won’t work on you anymore.”

He shrugged. “But it’s not that big a deal. Irene and Foxy are used to it now. I’m used to it too. If you see it a few more times, you’ll get used to it.”

The other end went quiet again.

Little Red Riding Hood was probably stuck in that place where her worldview couldn’t keep up with her brain, and her brain couldn’t keep up with her ears.

At the same time, the two Irenes slowly woke up from the noise. They lifted their heads groggily and greeted Yu Sheng in unison, “Morning… yawn.”

Then both of them slid off their perches and hit the floor at the same time.

Yu Sheng reached down and picked up the Irene who’d fallen from the nightstand. She rubbed her head, still half-asleep, and grumbled, “You and Foxy were too much last night. You ate barbecue while I could only watch, and you even propped me up next to the fire like I was meat getting roasted…”

“That was to dry your clothes,” Yu Sheng said flatly. “Who told you to fall into the pot?”

“But you still can’t skewer me on a pole!”

Yu Sheng stared at her for a moment. “Last night is already over. We should look forward—”

Irene screeched and sprang up, but she only made it halfway before Yu Sheng pressed her head down and pushed her back. At the same time, he lifted the phone and shook it a little. “Little Red Riding Hood called. She’s the same as you and Foxy now.”

Irene blinked. At first she didn’t get it, but a few seconds later, her eyes widened.

“…It just triggered?” she asked carefully.

“Just triggered, and she sounds scared,” Yu Sheng muttered. “High schoolers these days really can’t handle anything.”

Little Red Riding Hood’s voice came through immediately, sharp with exhaustion. “I don’t think this is an ‘acceptance’ issue. No matter how strong your acceptance is, dealing with you would do this to anyone.”

Yu Sheng laughed. “Sorted out your thoughts?”

“More or less,” she sighed. Then she asked, curiosity creeping in, “So how many people know your… secret now?”

“I don’t even think it’s a secret,” Yu Sheng said, “but there’s that weird rollback mechanism, so it is what it is. Right now it’s you, Irene, and Foxy. In theory, Xiao Xiao could know too, because she also shared my blood. But I haven’t died in front of her yet, so she still doesn’t know—”

“Don’t scare a child!” Little Red Riding Hood shouted through the phone.

Yu Sheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Obviously. I’m not sick in the head. Why would I go die in front of a child just to scare her?”

Her voice turned resentful. “What if you want to try it?”

Yu Sheng: “…”

Now he seriously wondered what kind of image he had in her mind.

Just then, the phone vibrated again. A new call popped up on the screen.

“Alright, I’ll stop,” Yu Sheng said quickly. “The Special Operations Bureau is calling. Anything else going on over there?”

“No,” Little Red Riding Hood said. “The biggest thing is I suddenly found out you died. Go do your thing.”

That sentence sounded wrong no matter how he heard it.

Yu Sheng hung up and answered the new call. “Hello, this is Yu Sheng.”

Bai Li Qing’s voice came through. “Calling this early—did I interrupt your sleep?”

Yu Sheng couldn’t tell if it was his imagination, but he heard a faint hint of revenge in that bland sentence.

“No. I just woke up. Did you get the lab arranged?”

“Yes. The analysis lab is ready, an expert team is on standby, and the materials you requested are prepared,” Bai Li Qing said, calm and reliable. “If you’re good on your end, a car will pick you up in thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes. Alright. No problem.”

Yu Sheng ended the call, checked the time, then sprang up to wash and get dressed. He tossed two small combs onto the bed for the two Irenes. “Hurry up and get ready. We’re going to see the director of the Special Operations Bureau today to broaden your horizons—and go wake Foxy up. Otherwise there won’t be time for breakfast.”

The two Irenes sat on the bed and started combing each other’s hair. Without even looking up, they said, “No need. I think she’s already eating. I heard something moving around in the kitchen downstairs just now…”

Yu Sheng spat toothpaste foam into the sink, froze, and then reacted instantly. “Oh no. The stew I put in the fridge!”

“Look on the bright side,” Irene said, trying to comfort him. “If you go down now, you’re definitely too late. And honestly, you stored most of the remaining wolf corpse in her tail. From the start, the ending was already decided, okay?”

Yu Sheng let out a long sigh and had to admit she was right.

By the time he and Irene went downstairs, Foxy was hugging a pot by the dining table in a daze. One look told you she’d eaten too much and gone food-drunk.

Beside the groggy fox miss, there was still a steaming plate on the table—leftovers from last night’s “picnic,” reheated perfectly with fox fire.

“Benefactor, I warmed up breakfast, hehe,” Foxy said, smiling at Yu Sheng, proud and bright.

For a moment, Yu Sheng didn’t know what to feel. On one hand, this hungry monster had eaten most of the stew. On the other hand, she’d still made sure to leave him a full portion—and it was clearly the best parts. She hadn’t even touched it.

Twenty minutes later, a fully packed Yu Sheng left the house with Irene and a finally-awake Foxy. The three of them squatted neatly on the curb in front of Wu Tong Road No. 66.

Irene craned her head, glancing between Yu Sheng and Foxy. “Does this count as the whole organization mobilizing?”

“Not really,” Yu Sheng said. “You only came out as half. Didn’t you leave another body at home watching TV?”

As he spoke, he glanced at Foxy. “Foxy, don’t brace your hands on the ground. It looks improper.”

“We’re squatting on a curb and you’re talking about ‘improper,’” Irene said with a curl of her lip. “Also, why are we squatting?”

“How should I know?” Yu Sheng said. “I just squatted down to tie my shoe, and you two squatted with me.”

Irene: “…?”

While they argued, the clanking, wheezing racket of an old busted engine rose from the end of the street, cutting them off.

Yu Sheng stood and looked over. A Tianjin Xiali that had been through at least seven owners wobbled toward them.

His expression turned subtle.

When the little car finally crawled up in front of them, the window rolled down and revealed Xu Jiali’s face.

Yu Sheng couldn’t help muttering, “Why is it you again?”

Irene, beside him, was even more direct. “Does the Special Operations Bureau not have a roomier car?”

Xu Jiali looked awkward, clearly aware of how miserable his ride was. “Uh… I wasn’t originally the one sent to pick you up. The car that was supposed to come broke down halfway. I happened to be nearby, so I got pulled in for emergency support.”

Yu Sheng’s mouth twitched.

He squeezed into the back seat with Foxy and Irene. The passenger seat was occupied by a mysterious big box. As he wedged himself in, he couldn’t help grumbling, “Your organization is this strapped for resources? Even your field cars can break down halfway…”

Xu Jiali sighed like he couldn’t defend himself. “Yeah… no choice. The machine spirit just isn’t feeling it.”

Yu Sheng stared. “Can’t you at least use a fancier phrase for the machine spirit?”

“It sounds friendlier,” Xu Jiali said with a dry laugh. “Machine spirits in different places have different styles and preferences. Over at the academy, their machine spirits are more gothic. When you deal with them, you have to say stuff like ‘the machine spirit is displeased’ or ‘the machine spirit offers praise.’ That probably matches what you picture…”

Yu Sheng paused. “Uh… then what about the Borderland’s machine spirits?”

“The Borderland’s machine spirits are more buddy…”