Chapter 243

Chapter 243: Hidden Dangers and Trade-Offs

The person on the other end of the call spoke rapidly. Bai Li Qing’s expression grew heavy enough to sink a ship. Yu Sheng couldn’t interrupt, so he leaned in and shamelessly eavesdropped, catching fragments like “settlement,” “missing,” “traces,” and “surrounding energy reactions.”

Then he heard “angel wreckage,” and his attention snapped fully awake.

A moment later, Bai Li Qing began issuing crisp orders—emergency lockdowns at certain traffic nodes, pulling surveillance, scanning the wall and boundary steles, and more. When she finally hung up, Yu Sheng took a cautious half-step back and asked, “Sounds like something happened?”

“It’s the wreckage after the angel fell,” Bai Li Qing said, drawing a long breath. Even if it was classified, Yu Sheng had been directly involved, and they’d have to work together going forward. She didn’t bother hiding it.

“You should’ve seen the recording of the fall. I’ll say it plainly: Anka Aila’s main structure disintegrated and vanished during the ‘falling upward.’ But a small number of fragments with entity traits broke off as it passed over Boundary City and fell toward the ground.”

She met Yu Sheng’s eyes. “We deployed multiple recovery teams. One team just reported that part of the wreckage may be missing.”

Yu Sheng felt his molars start to ache.

“There’s only an impact crater,” Bai Li Qing continued, her face darkening. “The pit is empty. Our people are searching the surrounding area, but it doesn’t look good.”

“If we want to be optimistic,” Yu Sheng said, though he didn’t believe his own words, “maybe it just evaporated. It was a dark angel. It was already strange the moment it entered our world. A piece landing and then disappearing… isn’t impossible.”

“I really want to think that,” Bai Li Qing said with a tired sigh. “But a long time ago, I got used to eliminating the optimistic options first.”

Yu Sheng scratched his hair. “All right. Did the site have suspicious traces? Someone getting there first—”

“That’s our biggest worry,” Bai Li Qing said quietly. “A dark angel fragment can’t fall into the hands of angel cultists or lunatics like the Holy Revere Hermitage. The report says the recovery team didn’t find traces of anyone else around the impact point, but that doesn’t rule out someone taking the fragment in secret. The world is big. There are always troublesome people who can act without leaving footprints.”

Yu Sheng’s eyes widened. “That strong? Someone can steal right under the Special Operations Bureau’s nose and disappear?”

Bai Li Qing didn’t answer. She just stared at him.

After two seconds, Yu Sheng flinched and shrank his neck. “Hey, don’t look at me. I didn’t take it.”

“Of course I know it wasn’t you,” Bai Li Qing said. She sounded more tired than offended. “It happened in the outer suburbs. The wilderness beyond Boundary City isn’t as stable as the urban area. Criminals sometimes slip in through gaps near the boundary steles to do shady things—black-market deals, petty theft, that sort of thing. Some of them have ‘skills.’

“But this is still the Borderland. Those rats never dare pull anything big under the bureau’s eyes, let alone take an angel fragment. Something like that would need solitary confinement even in the core containment zone.”

“But that assumes they know what it is,” Yu Sheng said, palms up. “Sometimes people just pass by, see something shiny in a roadside crater, and slip it into their pocket. The world is one giant random collection.”

Bai Li Qing pressed her lips together. Then she pulled out her phone again and started issuing more orders in a low, fast voice.

Yu Sheng waited until she finished before trying again. “How bad can this get?”

“Honestly, we can’t be sure of anything yet,” Bai Li Qing said. “How serious it is depends on who took it, and what the fragment itself truly is.

“The first batch of recovered wreckage is already on its way back. Once it returns, it’ll go into isolation and observation. After initial hazard assessment, the fragments will be sent to the high-risk laboratory for deeper analysis. We need to understand their properties first.”

She exhaled. “Like you said—if we’re optimistic, maybe it’s just stones with special meaning. But if we’re not optimistic…”

She didn’t finish.

Yu Sheng understood anyway.

“Fine. We wait,” he said, and sank back onto the sofa, staring up at the brilliant sky above the floating isle. After a moment, he muttered, “Anka Aila… you’re gone and you still left a mess.”

“Some things always exceed the plan,” Bai Li Qing said, calmer now. “Get used to it.”

“You’re more chill than I am,” Yu Sheng said. He grabbed the half cup on the coffee table, downed it, then stood and waved a hand. “Looks like this won’t get answers anytime soon. I’ll head back. I’ve got a pile of things at home.”

“Alright,” Bai Li Qing said, standing as well. “I won’t see you off.”

Yu Sheng nodded. Then, just as he was about to open a door and leave, he remembered something and turned back.

“Oh, one more thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“The kids from Fairy Tale are holding a celebration tonight,” Yu Sheng said, suddenly serious. “It’s in the Valley. I know the Special Operations Bureau has always taken care of that orphanage… so do you want to come?”

He hesitated, then added, “I know you’re busy, especially with this mess. If you don’t have time—”

“Is that ‘Hunter’ there?” Bai Li Qing cut in.

Yu Sheng froze, then nodded. “Yeah. They’re there. Squirrel, too.”

“I have time,” Bai Li Qing said, and this time her small smile looked real. “Please come pick me up.”

“Alright,” Yu Sheng said, relieved. “It starts at six. I’ll call you ahead of time. See you tonight.”

“See you tonight.”

The phantom door closed soundlessly and vanished.

Bai Li Qing stood there for a moment, watching the spot where Yu Sheng had disappeared. Then she let out a faint sigh and walked back to the bar.

She poured herself half a glass of strong liquor and sipped slowly.

A pair of huge, colorless eyes appeared in the air behind her, watching in silence.

“If you wanted to go, you could’ve just said so,” a voice sounded in her mind. “Why pretend you’re only going because of those deep divers?”

“It was a casual question,” Bai Li Qing said, not turning around. “What about you? What did you talk to him about?”

“I asked about dark angels. The rest was idle chat,” the eyes replied evenly. Then, as if it were nothing, she added, “Also, I told him my name.”

“My name?” Bai Li Qing’s hand paused mid-lift. Her tone carried genuine surprise. “You told him your name?”

“Is that so shocking?” The eyes drifted around to face her, hovering several meters away. “It was only a name. I still remember basic etiquette.”

Bai Li Qing stared at the eyes for a long time. Then she said, “I mean… what was your full name again?”

Silence.

A heartbeat later, Bai Li Qing’s mouth tugged faintly. “Just kidding. I’m always tense. I need to relax.”

“I forgot you used to joke,” the eyes said. Her voice was still flat, but her gaze seemed a touch gentler. “Enough of that. About this ‘angel fall’—when are you going to announce it?”

“After the fragments we’ve already found are safely delivered back to headquarters,” Bai Li Qing said. “As for Anka Aila’s specific situation, we’ll only brief the upper leadership of the Terra Academy, the Alglade Astrologers’ Consortium, and the Bamosa Hermit Society for now. The information that dark angels can communicate is not suitable for full public release yet.”

“Oh?” The eyes sounded puzzled. “Why? Isn’t that an exciting breakthrough? After all these years, our understanding of dark angels finally has progress…”

“And then all kinds of strange ‘rational and objective’ and ‘benevolent and progressive’ groups will crawl out of the cracks,” Bai Li Qing said, “waving little flags and calling for communication and understanding with dark angels. They’ll argue about tragic fates and the possibility of ‘saving’ them. In a few months, they’ll be chanting slogans about ‘love and understanding,’ ‘reflection,’ and ‘inclusion’ while turning their spears on the people fighting angel invasions on the front lines.”

She swirled her glass, eyes cold. “One bunch of angel cultists is already enough of a headache. Can you imagine dark angel protectionism appearing in this world?”

The eyes visibly trembled.

“…If I still had skin,” she said, “I’d have goosebumps right now.”

“Exactly,” Bai Li Qing said. “I hate it. So at the very least, I’ll delay it. Even if one day we truly learn more—if we confirm dark angels are communicable individuals like Anka Aila—the process has to happen in a reasonable, controllable, gradual way. Most importantly, we must prioritize the interests of this world.”

Her voice sharpened, the last of the humor draining away. “In the end, I don’t like stupidity. I never have.”