Chapter 215

Chapter 215: The Leak Spreads

Patrolling every corridor and classroom in the east building took about thirty minutes, and after that, she still had to do another round in the west building. On every floor of both buildings, a small punch-in logbook hung in a record box by the stairwell. Anything noticed during patrol had to be written down for the next guardian to reference—a routine Little Red Riding Hood already knew by heart.

Yu Sheng stayed beside her the whole time, watching her work. She took it seriously. Every time they passed a room, she would pause, write a note, and move on with the same steady focus, like duty itself was pushing her forward.

He thought he understood why.

Anka Aila was waking. Tomorrow, the children would be transferred to the valley. After that, no matter what happened—whether the “fairy tale” crisis finally ended, or the dark angels broke free—this might be the last time she ever walked these corridors.

“Not long ago, I was still planning a full search of the whole orphanage,” Little Red Riding Hood said with a soft sigh, her tone edged with self-mockery. “I was arranging patrol routes and inspection plans for the underground facilities, and now… tomorrow I might have to leave. It’s just… sudden.”

“Plans can’t keep up with changes,” Yu Sheng said quietly. “That’s how it always is.”

She pressed her lips together. After a few seconds, she spoke again, so softly it was almost lost in the hallway air.

“It’ll be fine, right?”

“Of course.” Yu Sheng gave her a faint smile. “We’ve prepared for everything. Whether Anka Aila attacks you in reality or in a dream, we’ll stop it.”

Little Red Riding Hood held his gaze. A moment later, her expression loosened, and a small smile finally appeared.

“Let’s go down and take a look,” she said. “The King is patrolling the passage with its ‘guard’ right now. It should be finished by now. Let’s see what’s going on over there.”

“Okay.”

They went down together to the second basement level. After entering the connecting passage and walking toward the west building, they spotted the King sprawled lazily atop a fire equipment cabinet. Three figures in black leather armor and hooded masks stood nearby like statues.

When Little Red Riding Hood appeared, the three figures tensed—then relaxed again, nodding to Yu Sheng and her with stiff, mechanical movements.

“You’re here, meow,” the lazy tabby said, lifting a paw in greeting. It didn’t seem bothered by Yu Sheng’s presence at all. “I checked both basement levels. Nothing. I was just thinking about whether I should find somewhere to sleep for a bit.”

“Thanks for the hard work,” Little Red Riding Hood said, stepping closer to scratch the cat’s back. “Did you focus on the area near that ventilation shaft?”

“Of course. I even crawled into the ducts myself.” The tabby yawned wide. “If something really happens, it can’t possibly pick tonight, right? What kind of rotten—”

A faint burst of music, blurry and distant, cut off its muttering.

The underground passage fell silent in an instant.

The King froze mid-stretch. Yu Sheng felt his spiritual intuition snap tight, like something plucked a string inside his senses. The music was so soft it should have been nothing, and yet it felt like it pierced straight through the world’s surface and rang inside him.

He snapped his head toward Little Red Riding Hood and met her wide eyes.

Then the gentle, elegant music sounded again—clearer this time, as if someone were playing it just on the other side of the wall.

The fur along the King’s tail puffed up. Even its usual deep, documentary narrator voice wobbled. “Holy crap, no way—I’m just an innocent little kitty—”

“Quiet!” Little Red Riding Hood cut in sharply.

In the shadows beside her, hazy shadow wolves appeared all at once. Every wolf pricked up its ears, listening to the passage as if it could hear through stone. A few seconds later, her face tightened.

“A court dance? A bloodstained court?” she murmured, piecing it together. “At this hour, it could also be an eternal ball… No. Time in dreams doesn’t match time in reality…”

A burst of noise suddenly tore into the music. Something shattered. Flames crackled and boomed. The melody twisted into harsh, off-key screeches.

Little Red Riding Hood’s eyes snapped to the left wall. “There.”

“This way!”

She shouted and surged forward, the wolf pack sprinting with her. Yu Sheng didn’t hesitate. He ran after them. The three assassin-like figures followed too, and the King leapt cleanly onto one of their shoulders.

With a casual swipe of its paw through the air, several more “attendants” appeared in a blink—mages and warriors, dressed for battle. They immediately formed a moving formation, guarding both sides and the rear as they ran.

Something flickered in the corner of Yu Sheng’s vision.

A shadow bloomed on the ceiling ahead—layer upon layer of rose bushes, spreading under the dim light. Thorns stabbed outward, straining as if they wanted to break free of the shadow’s restraint and pierce into the real world.

Before Yu Sheng could even warn anyone, the shadow of roses vanished.

Only a patch of grime remained, built up over years.

Little Red Riding Hood moved like wind. She reached a fork in the passage in a blink. Two shadow wolves lunged up behind her and slammed open an iron door marked STORAGE.

Bright light spilled out.

A vivid red carpet surged like crazily spreading blood, rolling into the passage. Inside the “storage” was a spacious, luxurious hall. Countless bodies danced in twisted ecstasy, dressed in glittering court attire. Every gown and suit was exquisitely made, dazzling with ornament—yet their faces were grotesque, smeared as if with paint. Features drawn in bright colors laughed wildly.

A voice shouted over the music as it warped out of tune:

“The prince wants the glass slipper—cut off her feet!”

A roar exploded.

The hall began to collapse. The real storage room and the illusion hall overlapped, flickering through each other. Ahead, part of the ceiling crumbled away, and through the torn roof Yu Sheng saw a pumpkin carriage rising amid smoke and thunder, surging toward the night sky.

Then several massive pillars of light stabbed upward.

In the blink of an eye, the east and west buildings had become high towers wrapped in barbed wire and heavy concrete fortifications. At their tops, gunfire thundered, streaks of flame sweeping across the sky.

But the moment that savage anti-air fire struck the pumpkin carriage, it was as if it hit an invisible door. The barrage vanished into darkness in an instant.

And then—everything snapped away.

The towers disappeared. The damaged roof vanished. The “warehouse” and the ball hall stopped overlapping. Yu Sheng felt a brief dizziness, and the passage returned to its normal, grimy silence.

As if nothing had happened.

But he knew exactly what it meant.

“The leak is spreading!” Yu Sheng shouted. He grabbed Little Red Riding Hood by the arm, snapping her out of her stunned stare. “Hurry. Go wake the children—everyone you can. Everyone gathers on the first floor and waits for my Door Opening!”

“Okay!” Little Red Riding Hood nodded fast, then hesitated. “What about the ones still trapped in the ‘subset’?”

“Leave them for now,” Yu Sheng said quickly. “You saw it just now. If real danger hits, their minds will enter the Wasteland to shelter. Right now, we move in batches and make sure the youngest aren’t affected by the nightmare leak.”

He thought once, fast, then added, “I’ll have Irene head to the Wasteland right away and explain things to the people who already ‘fell’ in.”

“Understood!” Little Red Riding Hood nodded hard, then turned to the tabby beside her. “King, summon all your royal guard knights. Go protect the ones still in the ‘subset.’ Don’t let their bodies in reality get hurt!”

The King didn’t answer. It only swung its paw.

In the next second, the adventurers around it vanished, and a fully armed company of heavy knights appeared in the corridor—hulking figures nearly two meters tall, wrapped in adamantine armor that glowed with magical radiance, blades in hand. Beneath their helmets was nothing but thick shadow, radiating a crushing presence.

These “royal guard knights,” who looked like they could flatten a demon lord’s castle, marched off in silent order. At the King’s single meow, they tore through the corridor at an astonishing speed and disappeared from view.

Little Red Riding Hood nodded once to Yu Sheng. Then she and her wolf pack sank into the shadows and vanished in a blink.

“…Every one of them is so flashy,” Yu Sheng muttered.

He forced himself back into motion and started forward, calling in his mind, [Irene, respond.]

Irene’s voice came at once. “I hear you, I hear you. What is it?”

“Focus for a second,” Yu Sheng said. “Go to the Wasteland right away. There should already be some ‘fairy tale’ members who lost and went in to shelter. Tell them their nightmares are leaking into reality. The children are being moved early, so tell them not to panic. Once their ‘subset’ calms down, they can return to reality, then go straight to the first floor of the east building at the orphanage. I’ll open a door there and send people to the valley to shelter. Got it?”

“Got it, got it,” Irene rattled off. “How do you always run into sudden emergencies? I’m going right now. Be careful—if something really gets out, take people and run. Don’t try to tank it. If you die, fine, but if everyone else can’t run, then they’re really dead. Oh man—I bit my tongue…”