Chapter 236

Chapter 236: After Everything Calmed Down

The rumbling in the valley continued for a long time, and then finally quieted.

Armored titan giants stood on the small plaza at the edge of camp. Teen boys and girls perched on their shoulders, arms, and heads, staring toward the incredible changes in the distance. Sunlight shone on them with the warm softness of waking from a dream.

The smaller children clustered around the giants’ feet, eyes wide with wonder.

Little Red Riding Hood and Princess Rapunzel stood together on Thunder Titan’s shoulder. From this height, they could see far—very, very far.

They could even see a dense forest on the other side of the valley, as if it had grown in the blink of an eye, replacing a large stretch of mountainous terrain.

A drone buzzed overhead. Little Red Riding Hood glanced up and saw the one Dorothy had secretly sent out returning. Before long, another titan giant nearby raised its arm, and Dorothy came jogging over from the “neighboring” giant’s shoulder, face bright with excitement.

“Hey! Red Hood! It really is your black forest! I saw a little house—but it looks like the forest has new things too. Springs and fields of flowers. It’s way prettier than before…”

“Yu Sheng said not to get near the places that are changing,” Little Red Riding Hood reminded her with a frown. “He said it could be dangerous.”

“Oh, come on, I sent the drone. I didn’t go myself!” Dorothy laughed. “Later I’ll send another one to check that tower to the north…”

“No need,” Princess Rapunzel said with a wave. “It’s definitely my tower. I know it like the back of my hand. But it looks way more pleasant now. At least there’s no demon stench wafting out, and no fire-breathing hellworm crawling through my window.”

“Ugh, it’s just a shame the drone’s control range is limited, and my ability still isn’t enough.” Dorothy sighed dramatically. “I really wanted to see how big that forest is. You know, if I sent a recon plane…”

“Don’t make trouble for Yu Sheng,” Little Red Riding Hood said with a tired sigh. “The valley has already calmed down. He should be back soon.”

As soon as she said it, a lively commotion rose from below.

Princess Rapunzel turned her head and saw a phantom door forming in midair at the center of camp. A bunch of little children swarmed around it, yelling at the top of their lungs.

“Oh-oh! Brother is back!” Princess Rapunzel beamed, then jumped straight off the titan’s shoulder.

Her hair lifted in the wind, shimmering with golden light. In the blink of an eye, it wove itself into a long slide, its end aiming straight at Yu Sheng, who was pushing the door open and stepping through.

Yu Sheng had barely braced himself when he heard a sharp whoosh by his ear. The next second, he saw a glittering hair-monster riding an acceleration track and diving straight at him.

Fast.

Yu Sheng dodged on instinct, leaving an afterimage in the air.

No choice. He lived with three dolls that could pounce and bite at any moment, plus a cyber fox immortal who could kill with a sonic headbutt. His reflexes had been trained a long time ago. Dodging Foxy’s headbutt still needed work, but dodging any other high-speed humanoid object flying at him was pure muscle memory.

By the time he realized who it was, it was already too late.

He watched the golden fluff-ball shriek as it shot past him and speared straight into a dirt mound ten meters away.

But she was the kind of high school girl who could fight demons floor by floor in the high tower with nothing but close combat. Yu Sheng didn’t even have time to worry before Princess Rapunzel went “pff,” yanked herself out of the mound, and spat dirt clods as she complained, “Brother, why’d you dodge? I just came down to say hi…”

Yu Sheng opened his mouth to answer—

And then Little Red Riding Hood’s voice came from behind him. “Don’t mind her. Sometimes she gets hyper, especially right now. She’s excited.”

Yu Sheng turned and saw the familiar short-haired girl standing there with a faint smile.

On the plaza, the titan giants bent down one after another, lowering thick arms to the ground. Familiar figures jumped off, laughing as they headed over. The smaller children had already formed a circle around them.

A plump tabby cat strutted out of the crowd, head held high. It lifted its face toward Yu Sheng, looking severe.

“Is it over?”

Yu Sheng lowered his head and looked at this “King.” After a long moment, he smiled. “Yes. It’s over.”

Silence fell, as if someone had pressed pause on the whole world.

Only after several seconds did someone hesitantly let out a small, sharp cheer. Someone else raised a hand and clapped once. The children’s reactions were strangely slow and uncertain, as if they’d waited for this day for as long as they could remember, and now that it had arrived, they didn’t even know what expression to wear.

In all their lessons and drills about fairy tale, this was the one thing they had never learned. The one thing they had never experienced.

Until Yu Sheng lifted a hand and broke the stillness. “Smile. Start by smiling—then celebrate. Celebrate however you want.”

A few people clapped. A few laughed. Then someone finally started cheering. First the smallest children, then the older ones, and finally the guardians.

Everyone erupted, noisy and shrill, laughing and crying at the same time.

Yu Sheng laughed with them. Much later, when things calmed down a little, he saw the King step closer again.

“I’m very satisfied, meow,” Kitty said with dignity. On that fluffy cat face, it almost looked like a smile. “So I appoint you the belly-scratching minister. You may scratch my belly anytime.”

“That’s the highest honor,” Little Red Riding Hood leaned close and whispered into Yu Sheng’s ear. “It doesn’t even let me scratch it whenever I want.”

The King shot her a disgusted glance. “That’s because you always smell like a dog.”

Little Red Riding Hood’s eyes went wide. “Wolf! It’s wolf!”

“Smells the same.”

“You’re out of cat stick treats!”

“Meow-wo?!”

The girl and the cat started bickering, and it didn’t look like it was the first time. Nobody tried to stop them; some even fanned the flames.

Yu Sheng stood in the middle, grinning as he soaked in the noise. And then it hit him.

These children—older and younger alike—every laugh from today onward, every argument, every breath, every joy and every sorrow, every step they took for the rest of their lives… it all felt like an extension of everything he’d fought for in these past days.

The meaning of him standing here now.

The meaning of him putting down roots in this vast city.

He lifted his head, looking past the children, and saw more figures farther away.

Adults. Employees sent by the councilor. Engineering staff and security staff sent by the Special Operations Bureau. They’d kept their distance the whole time, watching silently.

“After this, we’re going to hold a grand celebration,” Yu Sheng said. “Everyone will join.”

“Even Teacher Su?” a little boy asked curiously.

Yu Sheng smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

“Yay!!”

Yu Sheng reached out and patted the child’s head. Then his gaze returned to Little Red Riding Hood.

“But before that, we should talk business,” he said, expression turning a shade more serious. “I need to tell you about the changes in the fairy tale otherworld. It affects your arrangements from here on, and the future of the fairy tale organization.”

“Okay,” Little Red Riding Hood said. As the most senior guardian in the organization, she adjusted instantly, nodding with a businesslike calm. Then she called out the guardians by name. “Snow White, Rapunzel, King… everyone, come over. We’re having a meeting. Everyone else, dismissed. Do whatever you want.”

“Where are we talking?” Yu Sheng asked, eyeing the crowd.

“Where else? The castle you built for us,” Princess Rapunzel said, hooking a thumb toward the far end of camp. “It’s spacious. We’ve decided to use it as our activity center from now on, so it’s perfect.”

Yu Sheng looked up and saw the big building with a barbican—something he’d scraped together for the orphanage kids with all his “house-crafting” power. At some point, someone had planted several colorful flags on the sloped roof. Somehow, it really did look like a castle.

They crossed camp and went inside. It had water and electricity now. There wasn’t much interior work yet, but at least the entry hall had a huge floor mat, so they weren’t stepping on bare stone. Temporary lights had been mounted along the walls and ceiling, keeping it from being pitch-dark. In the center sat a large round table with more than a dozen chairs around it.

Crude, but convincing.

“We originally planned to use a long table,” Little Red Riding Hood said as she switched on the lights, pointing while she explained. “But the King suggested a round table, saying that makes it a ‘round-table meeting.’ I don’t know what that’s supposed to do, but everyone thought it sounded good, so we went with it.”

Yu Sheng nodded, walked over, and spun the huge lazy-Susan-like disk on the table. After a few seconds of staring, he said, “So, first of all, I’m pretty sure the round table in a round-table meeting does not come with a giant rotating dish for passing food…”