Chapter 210

Chapter 210: Isolation Plan

Yu Sheng brought Foxy and Irene back to the Orphanage, and the first thing he did was find Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White.

Not long after, King arrived after hearing the news.

The Hotel trio sat across from the Fairy Tale trio (which included a cat). The air in the reception room felt very serious.

By now Yu Sheng had figured it out: although Fairy Tale felt loose and free on the inside, it still had a structure and a core like any Organization. Little Red Riding Hood was clearly the most authoritative head of this “orphan Organization.” Snow White also had strong influence. One was the most senior, the other the strongest in battle. You could think of them as the two chiefs of the Fairy Tale Organization.

Of course, since both Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood were in their “final stage,” they must already have successors in mind. But that was not something to ask about casually.

As for King, it was strong, but it was not a steward. It joined talks about big decisions only because it was a cat. Cats always go where they want.

In front of Fairy Tale’s two chiefs and Kitty, Yu Sheng did not hide the new intel he had gotten from the Special Affairs Bureau. He laid out everything about the Angel Cultists and the “container.”

“Right now the Special Affairs Bureau is still holding the last Angel Cultist, but we don’t dare ‘interrogate’ him at will. We can only isolate and watch carefully,” Yu Sheng said as he explained the situation. “These Angel Cultists who follow Anka Aila really do have some skill. They seem to be good at offering their lives straight to their ‘lord.’ The six who practiced self sacrifice had no wounds at all. The one who died in front of me was the same. A pile of advanced equipment in the Bureau was watching him, and he still managed to make himself die and feed his soul to his lord. We could not stop it.”

Little Red Riding Hood listened with a tight face. After a while, she broke the silence: “The ‘container’ is among us. It sounds like that’s certain, right?”

Yu Sheng sighed and nodded.

“We still don’t know how the Angel Cultists decide a ‘container’ is ripe, and we don’t know what standards that Dark Angel uses to pick a ‘container.’ But we can be sure Anka Aila is near some awakening threshold, and the cultists’ self sacrifice is speeding it up,” he said. “They may not truly hear the Dark Angel’s voice, but they clearly have a way to sense that Dark Angel’s ‘state.’”

Snow White asked in a low voice: “Is there any chance to catch more Angel Cultists?”

“There are definitely more hiding. With cultists, if you catch one, a bunch are in the shadows. But in a short time it won’t be easy to catch more,” Yu Sheng said, shaking his head. “Anka Aila is close to waking up. Hoping to find every devotee before then to delay the Descent is already too late. And the way Dark Angels act can be like a ‘natural phenomenon.’ We don’t even know how much the cultists’ sacrifices truly affect their master.”

“Then we should start from the ‘container’ angle,” Irene said from beside Yu Sheng. “Do you have any ideas? Who is most likely to be the ‘container’?”

Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood looked at each other. Their faces turned complicated.

King’s expression looked complicated too, but Yu Sheng could not read what that cat face meant. [He had to admit reading a cat was above his skill.]

After a heavy pause, Little Red Riding Hood sighed.

“The most likely ones are actually in this room,” she said, pointing first at herself, then at Snow White. “We are the closest to adulthood and the strongest in a fight. If anyone in all of Fairy Tale is nearest to that Dark Angel, it would be the two of us, the ones most eroded.”

“From another angle, King is also very possible,” Snow White added, pointing at the tabby cat lying on the sofa arm.

King’s eyes flew wide. It pointed at itself with its paw: “Why me?”

Snow White’s look was serious: “A cat can become the carrier of Fairy Tale, and not just any role but ‘King.’ In many fairy tales, that role can be seen as a ‘shared background.’ Don’t you think you’re very special?”

“Life is showing its claws to an innocent little cat again,” King sighed, patting the sofa arm with its paw. “Sigh, pet me.”

Before the words even faded, a shimmer formed in the air. A court jester in bright colors, wearing a teardrop mask, appeared out of nowhere, bowed to the others, went down on one knee to King, and began to pet him.

Yu Sheng stared, stunned. [He had a whole bag of jokes ready, but he swallowed them.]

He pushed down his snark and looked squarely at Little Red Riding Hood: “So we still need to plan for quarantine and shelter,” he said, thinking out loud. “We don’t know when Anka Aila will fully wake, and we don’t know who the ‘container’ is. I did put ‘protection’ on each of your minds, but whether it works on a Dark Angel is unknown. All things considered, I think we should move the Orphanage’s cursed children to a safe place, at least…”

He paused, chose his words, and said as gently as he could: “At least to a place with better isolation, where it’s easier to monitor and react fast.”

He looked around the room.

“I’m not saying this Orphanage is bad, but here…”

“I understand,” Little Red Riding Hood cut him off. She was calmer than he had expected. “We do need to move the cursed children, and we ‘caretakers’ will go with them. We should not stay in the city.”

Yu Sheng blinked, surprised: “So you accept this plan?”

“Yes, and the other ‘caretakers’ will accept it too,” Little Red Riding Hood said with a firm nod. “We just need some time to explain to our brothers and sisters, and we have to pack a lot of things, including the small toys the cursed children are used to.”

She added, “Most cursed children lack a sense of safety. If we move too fast, their minds will get even more unstable.”

Yu Sheng opened his mouth, then took a long moment to catch up: “I thought…”

“Thought what? That we’d fight you on it?” Little Red Riding Hood raised a brow. “Yell ‘we will protect our Orphanage and solve this ourselves,’ then sit tight until everything explodes?”

“Uh,” Yu Sheng said.

“That won’t do,” Snow White said, shaking her head with a very serious face. “We’re in the city. There are no residents right around the Orphanage, but across one road barrier there are neighborhoods and a mall. If one of us is the ‘container,’ even a small portion of a Dark Angel’s Descent would cause a major incident. We should follow The Door’s arrangement from the management side and move the danger source as soon as possible.”

Yu Sheng had nothing to say to that and scratched his hair, embarrassed.

“I told you before, the kids in this Orphanage ended their rebellious phase the first time they fell into nightmares,” Little Red Riding Hood said, rocking gently on the sofa with a half smile. “Don’t waste worry on us. We aren’t the kind of brats who make plans before trouble and wail after. Just give us the plan. Is it to a quarantine zone in the suburbs, or to a Containment Facility under the Special Affairs Bureau?”

Realizing he had been worrying for nothing, Yu Sheng let go of the extra thoughts and looked into Little Red Riding Hood’s eyes: “The Bureau gave two plans. One is a place called Quiet Town, a fairly stable Otherworld with a secured zone. The second is a Containment Facility in the City Outskirts. But I have a backup that I think is better.”

Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White both leaned forward: “A backup plan?”

“My backyard,” Yu Sheng said, face serious.

Little Red Riding Hood froze for a beat, then her eyes widened: “Ah, your Star-something Valley?”

“To be honest, I think it’s more suitable than the Bureau’s Containment Facility,” Yu Sheng said, grinning. “Just in terms of safety, any Containment Facility can be broken, and every Otherworld has some harm. But my ‘backyard’ is different. If I don’t open the permission, even the Bureau’s top tech can’t find the entrance. There’s also no pollution there.

“Of course I can’t promise it will fully block Anka Aila’s infiltration. That giant eye that flew off last time left just like that. But what can truly block a Dark Angel? At least that Valley seems to have some resistance. It also connects straight to my senses. If anything invades, I know right away. The Valley is huge. If something happens, we’ll have time to build buffers.”

He took a breath and turned to the downside: “There is a weakness. Living conditions won’t match a finished Containment Facility. But I already talked with Bai Li Qing. If you agree and the Bureau cooperates, they can rush over generators, prefab rooms, and supplies. I’ll open The Door wide enough. It may not be great for long stays, but for a short stay it’s more than enough.”