Chapter 156

Chapter 156: Bai Li Qing’s Judgment

It turned out that when it came to dealing with Yu Sheng, Madam Director still needed more practice.

She double checked several times before she was sure she had not misheard.

Yu Sheng spoke with real enthusiasm as he introduced his ambitious Star X Valley farm stay plan and the real problems he had run into with “farming in the Otherworld.” He explained its feasibility and the progress so far in detail, leaving the well traveled Bai Li Qing staring in surprise.

To be fair, after so many years as head of the Special Affairs Bureau, Bai Li Qing had seen almost everything, but this was truly new to her.

Yu Sheng kept going with interest: “I actually need a lot of help. What I told you is only the surface. The real issue is that there is no power in the Valley. If possible, could you get me a set of power generation equipment? But there is no sun over there. The daylight is bright, yet I don’t know if it can drive solar panels. There’s a small river at the foot of the mountain, but it’s too small. Even a tiny hydro station might not work. If nothing else, we may have to use thermal power.”

He happily talked for a long time before he suddenly realized how much he had asked, then cut himself off and looked a little embarrassed at the woman in front of him: “Uh, is that too much?”

Bai Li Qing was hard stunned for several seconds and did not know what to say. She only reacted when Yu Sheng spoke again. Keeping her usual calm expression, she said: “I will arrange as much as I can.”

She paused, as if forcing her thoughts into order, then her tone grew serious: “I’m very surprised. What you brought up is a Domain no one has ever set foot in. To be honest, your ideas alone already have high research value. I am very interested in everything about that Valley, the changes it has gone through, and its current environment.”

Yu Sheng scratched his hair: “I didn’t think that far. I just felt leaving such a large area idle is a waste. So is it settled? I can open some specific areas in the Valley for your team to investigate, and you give me supplies and some people to help.”

Bai Li Qing nodded formally: “No problem. We can confirm the scope of ‘support’ and the item list after professional staff do an on site survey and we finalize the details.”

Yu Sheng smiled, stood up, and reached out his hand: “Great, happy cooperation.”

After a brief hesitation, Bai Li Qing rose and shook his hand: “Happy cooperation.”

Yu Sheng let out a small breath, glanced at the busy lab across from them, and then said after a moment of thought: “We’ve covered what we need to talk about. That ‘Metal Component’ I brought won’t yield results right away. Since we’re free for the moment, why don’t you show me around nearby as a little celebration for our new ‘cooperation project’? I’m pretty interested in your headquarters building.”

Bai Li Qing was slightly taken aback, but soon nodded: “Of course.”

Yu Sheng turned to the Doll and the Demon Fox: “Irene, will you and Foxy wait here?”

Irene looked a bit surprised, but before she could speak, Foxy stood up on instinct: “Benefactor, I’ll go with you…”

Yu Sheng patted the fur behind Foxy’s ear and said gently: “We’re only walking around nearby, and we’ll be discussing how to arrange the investigation team in the Valley. That won’t be fun. You and Irene can wait here and keep an eye on the lab.”

Foxy froze for a second, still a little hesitant.

Irene suddenly climbed onto the table, tugged Foxy’s tail, and said briskly: “Alright then, we’ll wait here for Yu Sheng.”

She looked to Bai Li Qing and added with a grin: “Do you have anything tasty here? Send over some snacks. We’ll eat while we wait.”

Bai Li Qing nodded: “Sure, I’ll have people bring them. Our employee snacks have a great reputation.”

Hearing that, Foxy sat back down obediently, set herself in a waiting for food pose, and watched Yu Sheng as she said: “Then come back soon, Benefactor. I’ll be waiting for you. Don’t go too far.”

Yu Sheng nodded with a smile, bumped his fist lightly against Irene’s small fist, then turned and followed Bai Li Qing out at an easy pace.

On the way, Bai Li Qing said nothing. Like a moving block of ice, she kept a fixed expression and a precise, mechanical stride as she led Yu Sheng along the long corridor on the 54-1/2 floor. She only gave tiny nods when Special Affairs Bureau staff greeted her. They entered the elevator at The End Web of the corridor, and the elevator began to rise.

Seeing her swipe a black card without selecting a floor as the car sped up like it already knew its destination, Yu Sheng asked with curiosity: “Where are we going?”

Bai Li Qing answered casually: “The N level. A place that’s good for talking.”

Yu Sheng glanced at the control panel, but there was no “N level” option. The screen numbers climbed higher and higher. After passing a certain limit, the panel stopped showing floors and switched to a continuous “Elevator Ascending” message. After a while, he felt the car slow down. The lights inside dimmed. The ascending message vanished. A few seconds later, with a small sway, every character on the screen blinked out, leaving only one large letter: N.

The Door opened. Bai Li Qing stepped out first. After a brief hesitation and a touch of curiosity, Yu Sheng followed.

He stared, stunned.

Outside the elevator there was no corridor and no room. There was only a barren ground covered in dark, jagged rocks. The whole place was small, maybe only a few hundred meters across. Its edges were broken, with countless stones floating in midair. Even this few hundred meter “land” itself seemed to be hanging in empty space.

Beyond this “island” spread an endless, misty chaos, and a huge, dazzling flow of magnificent light ran from The End Web of that space across the entire sky, hanging above the “lonely island” like a river of light.

When Yu Sheng looked back, he saw the “elevator” jutting straight up through the center of this “void floating island.” The elevator shaft pierced the rock like a pipe, rose higher and higher, and disappeared into that grand flow of light.

He let out a low breath and said with a crooked smile: “Your headquarters really has stunning views. Is this still Borderland?”

Bai Li Qing said calmly: “Welcome to the ‘roof’ of Borderland, or at least part of the ‘roof.’ Few people come here. It’s my favorite lookout, but others don’t seem to like it. Do you want something to drink?”

Only then did Yu Sheng notice a small, flat Open Ground near the elevator, ringed with stones. On that Open Ground sat sofas, a coffee table, chairs, a bar counter, even a drink cabinet and an ice maker. Bai Li Qing was already taking out drinks and ice as she invited him.

Yu Sheng widened his eyes: “How did you get water and power up here?”

“Uh?” said Bai Li Qing, blank for a heartbeat.

Yu Sheng repeated with a straight face: “I mean the water and the power.”

A faintly odd look finally showed on Bai Li Qing’s face: “I’ve hosted guests here several times. You’re the first one to ask that.”

“No choice, I like things to be logical,” said Yu Sheng as he walked over and sat on the sofa. “Water is fine. Extra ice.”

Bai Li Qing mixed a glass of icy water and handed it to him as she replied evenly: “We ran it from the elevator shaft. But if you want to know how the elevator shaft ‘pierces’ this place, that’s hard to explain. You would have to ask the Engineering Department.”

Yu Sheng made an acknowledging sound, did not press the point, took a sip, gathered his words, and asked directly: “Tell me straight. What is the deal with Foxy’s hometown?”

Bai Li Qing did not look surprised.

Her answer was unusually frank: “We suspect she came from ‘outside.’”

“Outside?” Yu Sheng frowned at once. “You mean…”

“Do you remember the files Song Cheng brought you?” said Bai Li Qing, watching Yu Sheng’s eyes. “The files on the Dark Angels.”

Yu Sheng blinked, then connected it and said quietly: “The Dark Angels are ‘invaders’ from beyond the world.”

“Yes. The key phrase is ‘beyond the world,’” said Bai Li Qing, setting down her glass. “The arrival of those invaders revealed something early on. Beyond our ‘known universe’ are other ‘things,’ completely different from us, incompatible with us, strange beyond words. At least, until the ‘Foxy’ by your side appeared, that was our whole impression of ‘outsiders.’”

Yu Sheng gaped for several seconds, then frowned: “Foxy is not a Dark Angel, and she’s not an invader. She’s a victim of the Dark Angels.”

“I know. That’s why I said she may be an ‘outsider’ without saying she is a Dark Angel or anything like that,” said Bai Li Qing, still calm. “Even if that challenges our biggest understanding of ‘outsiders’ so far, I can still make a reasonable judgment.”