Chapter 240

Chapter 240: A Sister Full of Mysteries

Yu Sheng had planned to rush home and sleep, but two bowls of “fox stew” from the Cyber Fox Immortal completely wrecked that plan. He wasn’t even sure the stuff counted as food, but its “medicinal effect” was savage. He felt so energized he could’ve run through Nightfall Valley all over again.

Since sleep was off the table, that meant he still had real work to do.

“I need to make a trip to the Special Operations Bureau,” he said as he stepped into the living room. The doll was sitting cross-legged on the coffee table, watching a variety show. “You and Foxy stay home.”

Only then did Irene look up from the TV. “Sure… are you coming back for lunch?”

“Hard to say. I might not make it back,” Yu Sheng said. Then he saw Foxy come out of the dining room, wiping her hands on her tail, and added casually, “If I’m not back by noon, heat up the leftovers in the fridge and—”

Foxy blinked. “Already ate them.”

“…Do you still have any ‘stock’ in your tail?”

Foxy laughed. “I do!”

“Then make do with that for now,” Yu Sheng said, waving a hand. “Tonight, Little Red Riding Hood and the others are throwing a celebration in the Valley. We’ll eat properly then—anyway, the Special Operations Bureau is paying.”

“Okay!” Irene chirped.

Yu Sheng pulled out his phone and messaged Bai Li Qing. Once they agreed on a time, he let out a quiet breath and opened a door that appeared out of thin air.

He stepped through into a wide, silent place.

A small floating isle hung in endless darkness, like a shattered piece of land drifting in the void. Beyond it was nothing but black. Above, a dazzling river of light arced across the entire space, and an unbelievable “elevator” structure pierced straight through the island’s center, stretching upward until it vanished into the dark.

Everything was exactly how Yu Sheng remembered—grand, mysterious, and, as always, clear and tranquil.

One of the most enigmatic floors in the Special Operations Bureau headquarters: the N Level. Or, as Bai Li Qing called it, the “roof” of the Borderland.

A good place to talk.

Bai Li Qing hadn’t arrived yet. Yu Sheng wasn’t in a hurry. He took a quick look around the tiny broken isle, then went to the rest area near the elevator, poured himself a glass of iced water, and sank into a sofa to wait.

The view was magnificent and lonely. Under that brilliant stream of light, his thoughts drifted without him noticing—about the children in Fairy Tale, about himself, about this unbelievable world… and about the ark called Anka Aila, the long journey it had endured, and the ancient memories it had shown him.

Yu Sheng lowered his gaze to the ice cubes spinning slowly in his cup. Tiny bubbles clung to the ice, wobbled upward, collided and merged, then popped at the surface as if nothing had ever been there.

After a long while, something tugged at him—an instinctive warning. His mind snapped back into focus.

He looked up and saw a pair of huge eyes staring at him in silence.

Just a pair of eyes—pale, faded pupils floating in the void ahead. They were beautiful, but almost completely devoid of human warmth.

Yu Sheng froze for a beat. Then, a little awkwardly, he lifted a hand. “Uh… hello.”

Of course he recognized her. Bai Li Qing’s “sister.” But this was the first time he’d seen her when Bai Li Qing wasn’t around.

“Hello.” A flat, cold voice sounded directly in Yu Sheng’s mind.

“I asked your sister to come talk about something…” For some reason, speaking to those eyes alone made his skin crawl in the weirdest way. Even his tone came out hesitant.

“I know,” the eyes replied, emotionless—somehow even colder and more mechanical than Bai Li Qing. “She’s still in a meeting. It’s boring.”

Yu Sheng finally understood what felt so off. She was only a pair of eyes. People said eyes were the window to the soul, but this “sister” was nothing but two windows.

When he spoke to her, he felt like those eyes were scanning him nonstop, like a weaponized inspection beam. And with no other features to read, he couldn’t even guess at her “expression.” It was like trying to have a conversation with a surveillance camera that could see through bone.

Still, she was Bai Li Qing’s sister. He couldn’t be rude. He forced his face to stay neutral and searched for a harmless topic. “By the way… I’ve never asked. What’s your name?”

“Bai Li Xue,” the eyes said lightly. “Though I haven’t used it in many years.”

Yu Sheng blinked.

It was a beautiful name. Not strange at all.

The thought slipped out in his head before he could stop it: So these eyes really do have a name—

“My sister and I were named by our mother,” Bai Li Xue said, as if she’d heard him speak aloud.

Yu Sheng went still.

“Yes,” she added, perfectly calm. “Our mother gave birth to me, too.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Yu Sheng muttered.

“I can tell,” Bai Li Xue replied.

“Oh.”

Yu Sheng scratched his hair, heat creeping up his neck. Questions piled up fast. Bai Li Xue didn’t seem like she’d always been like this. How had she become… eyes? What was the deal between her and Bai Li Qing? And why had she shown up now? Was she just wandering around because her sister’s meeting bored her?

He shoved the mess of thoughts aside and lowered his head, sipping his iced water instead.

Maybe his indifference annoyed her—or maybe she was simply curious. After a brief silence, Bai Li Xue spoke again.

“You killed a dark angel?”

Yu Sheng stopped mid-sip.

Eco Bay. The withered dead land. Anka Aila’s farewell before it shut down forever.

After a moment, he shook his head. “It chose death for itself. I just stayed with it at the end.”

That gaze stayed fixed on him—no malice, just a pure, unsettling curiosity.

“But it’s still an astonishing feat,” Bai Li Xue said. “Do you understand what it means?

“A dark angel has ‘fallen.’ The first time in history. The first known time in the entire world. News will spread soon. Countless people will be shocked. No fool will run straight into the Borderland to demand proof from you, but the impact will show itself soon enough…”

Yu Sheng took another sip. “Oh.”

Bai Li Xue fell silent for a few seconds. “…You don’t seem to care?”

Yu Sheng looked up. “What’s there to care about?”

This time, Bai Li Xue actually sounded a little thrown off. She hesitated, then said, “Your peaceful life being disturbed? I’ve read stories where a master achieves something incredible, then worries his quiet life will be broken, so he hides his identity and returns to normal life…”

Yu Sheng stared. “You read that stuff?”

“…What else am I supposed to do besides read things?”

Yu Sheng paused.

Yeah. Fair.

“Ahem.” He cleared his throat. “I haven’t thought that far. And honestly, my life stopped being peaceful a long time ago. Worrying won’t change anything.”

“That does seem true,” Bai Li Xue said. “There are… a lot of ‘lively’ people around you now.”

“So it doesn’t matter,” Yu Sheng said, waving it off. “Let people say whatever they want. I’m interested in dark angels now anyway. If anything useful comes out of all this, even better.”

Bai Li Xue didn’t answer.

Then, nearby, the elevator doors slid open with a soft sound.

Yu Sheng turned and saw a figure with a gray-white ponytail step out, moving briskly.

“Sorry,” Bai Li Qing said. “I ended the meeting as soon as I got your message, but it still ran longer than I expected…”

She stopped mid-stride when she saw the huge eyes hovering opposite Yu Sheng. Her expression locked.

“…Why are you here?” Bai Li Qing said flatly. “When did you sneak out?”

“When you stood up and said, ‘Let me add two more points,’” Bai Li Xue replied.

Bai Li Qing went silent.

Yu Sheng also went silent.

Bai Li Qing walked over, sat down across from Yu Sheng, and the huge eyes disappeared behind her like they’d never existed.

After a long beat, Yu Sheng coughed lightly. “Your little sister is… actually kind of interesting.”

“Interesting,” Bai Li Qing said, lifting her eyelids to look at him, “and dangerous. Don’t stare into her eyes for too long. You can tell she isn’t a normal human right now. She may be friendly to you, but there are inhuman, irrational things… she can’t control, either.”

Yu Sheng hadn’t felt anything at all, but he swallowed that and didn’t argue. Bai Li Qing was warning him by ordinary standards, and it was well-intended.

If anything, it only made him more curious about what secrets those two sisters were hiding.