Chapter 181

Chapter 181: Temptation

In the gray-tinted room that the sunlight could not brighten, the thick lines of writing faded from the air, but a hideous tendril stretched from the ceiling’s hole. It swelled and shrank as it waved slowly, drawing closer and closer to Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng’s heart tightened and he hopped back two steps. He had seen plenty of things lately with either freaky or ugly looks, but this still made his scalp prickle. The shape was that bad. For several seconds even his imagination could not figure out how to make it look less stomach turning.

It left a strong impression.

The tendril drifted a few dull arcs, as if it had suddenly lost the sense of its “target.” It swelled and wavered in place with no clear aim.

The scene looked like sleepwalking in a blind dream.

Steadying himself, Yu Sheng kept a careful distance and slid along the wall to its other side.

Faint ripples moved across the gray room, as if his steps were disturbing a bizarre dream. The ripples spread and lit up faint glowing lines on the tendril’s skin.

[So this is what the contact called “Old Zheng” touched? Is this the thing those Angel Cultists lured him to call up with a simple Spirit Summoning Technique? Is this… the “messenger” they brag about?]

Yu Sheng edged half a step closer, stopping at a distance he judged safe. He studied the skin of the tendril and the strange hole it came from.

If the Secret Letter was real, and the technique the Angel Cultists taught Old Zheng was real, then this should be a piece of some Dark Angel.

Little Red Riding Hood had said true Dark Angels do not answer humans, but Bai Li Qing had told Yu Sheng that under certain conditions the cultists could “touch” an Angel. Maybe just a part of one. Maybe a projection. Maybe only a hallucinated limb and a muffled voice.

Thick darkness filled the hole in the ceiling. Whatever “body” lay behind the tendril hid deep in that dark. Yu Sheng could only make out a small bit near the rim. He was sure the tendril was attached to something much larger, a thing that did not move, crouched in the void at the edge of reason and perception, the place they called The End Web.

The tendril twisted blindly again and drifted past Yu Sheng.

[Should I try it?]

[Touch it?]

A bold idea tangled in his mind, and even he startled himself. His reason warned him that anything this obviously dangerous should be avoided the moment you see it. Little Red Riding Hood had warned him more than once not to touch anything linked to the Dark Angels. Bai Li Qing had also said the Dark Angels themselves are the source of madness and loss of control.

But touching it might yield information. At least he could see what the client once saw.

[Just touch it. It might not be as dangerous as it looks. The tendril has only drifted around, not attacking.]

[Just touch it. Even if there is a price, it won’t be too serious. This is only a weird dream, and what you see is a phantom.]

[Just touch it. Even a normal person without power touched it and felt its kindness and honesty. If anything feels wrong, let go and step back…]

[Just touch it… just once…]

Yu Sheng frowned, glanced around, and said aloud: “What is this babbling…”

The tempting voice from nowhere cut off at once, about as useful as the Model 090 Graphics Card, the co-branded controller, the toolbox, and the perfect fishing spot along the Black Forest path earlier.

Yu Sheng blinked and immediately decided not to touch the gross tendril. In fact, if that nagging whisper hadn’t started, he might have grabbed it already.

He cooled off and turned, ready to check the rest of the room again, when a chill swept across his senses.

The next second he felt that familiar cold touch on his arms and legs. It needled into his flesh and spread inside, tugging him backward. He stumbled half a step and saw countless Black Threads slip out of the air all around. Some were already winding around his hands and feet.

Irene’s voice cut into his head like a sharp blade: “Yu Sheng, what are you spacing out for!”

A stab of pain lanced through his skull. The gray around him melted like water. In only a few breaths the normal colors returned. Sunlight filled the room again. Warmth chased the cold from the edges of his mind.

He turned back. He was still standing beside the dark red circle. Little Red Riding Hood stood where she had been. Irene had her hand out toward him. Filaments of black thread streamed from her fingertips and latched onto him.

Yu Sheng froze for a beat, and the next instant Irene flew at him in a rage: “You big dummy! Can you stop ‘trying things’ every single time? What if trying means dying! And if you must try, can you at least say so first!”

Little Red Riding Hood hurried over and asked: “Are you okay? You suddenly froze, and then your body started turning see-through. Irene said something was ‘dragging’ your mind away.”

Yu Sheng flailed to catch Irene, weathered the little Doll’s rapid-fire scolding in his ear, and finally calmed her down. Only then did he manage to say: “I’m fine, I’m fine… wait, I was almost dragged off? For real?”

He looked himself over in a panic. He saw nothing wrong, but Little Red Riding Hood’s tight face and Irene’s furious look told him the danger had been real.

[Even without the tendril’s lure, just staying in that gray room nearly made me lose myself.]

“Of course it was real,” Irene snapped as she raked a hand through Yu Sheng’s hair, “If I hadn’t yanked you back in time, you would have vanished. And don’t start with ‘I can die and come back’ or ‘Door Opening back’ either. If you slip up in a gutter, what then…”

Little Red Riding Hood’s face was serious as she asked: “What did you see? Did that simple Spirit Summoning Technique really summon anything?”

Yu Sheng steadied himself and answered solemnly: “I saw a tendril. I also saw another version of this room. Your ‘contact’ was cheated badly.”

He told Irene and Little Red Riding Hood everything he had seen and felt in that bizarre Illusion Arts space, including how the tendril tried to tempt him.

When he finished, the room fell quiet.

Irene stared straight at Yu Sheng for a long time, then said in disbelief: “You weren’t affected at all?”

Yu Sheng frowned and said: “What kind of question is that? Isn’t not being affected a good thing?”

“But in most stories, this is where you zone out, nearly get eaten by some ancient monster, and then my power descends from the sky to save you. After you wake up, you fall to your knees and swear to serve me for life…”

Yu Sheng tuned out the chatter behind him.

He looked to Little Red Riding Hood.

Since a moment ago, she had stood there with a complicated look, saying nothing.

Yu Sheng held his tongue. Irene also slowly quieted down.

After a long time, Little Red Riding Hood sighed and said softly: “We’ve known Old Zheng for a long time.”

Yu Sheng nodded: “Yeah. You told me that before we came.”

“He was close to the Orphanage. A long time ago, they say he worked as a volunteer there under the council, before he joined the Curiosities Association and before he became any kind of expert on the Otherworld and strange items,” Little Red Riding Hood went on, almost to herself. “He helped us find many commissions. For many tasks the Fairy Tale organization took on, Old Zheng always offered the best terms. But honestly, I never really learned much about him. What I know of his past is just from seniors at the Orphanage mentioning him now and then.”

Yu Sheng didn’t know what to say. The room sat in a brief silence.

Then they heard a sound at the entry by the living room, the sound of the door opening.

Old Zheng’s nephew was back.

Yu Sheng looked at Irene. She waved at once with easy understanding and said: “Open a Door for me. I’ll slip out first.”

Yu Sheng nodded. He had Little Red Riding Hood go meet the returner in the living room while he quickly finished a report, then opened a small Door to Wutong Road 66.

Irene stood at the Door, then glanced back at Yu Sheng and said: “Those cultists are so annoying.”

Yu Sheng answered: “I think so too.”