Chapter 272

Chapter 273: Days With the Demon Fox

For many people in the Special Affairs Bureau’s Technical Department, today was another day of overtime. This time they not only got to enjoy the tense thrill of keeping on working after work, they also got to do it together with their beloved Director.

But the one who caused all this overtime had no idea.

After eating and drinking her fill, Foxy walked happily beside Yu Sheng as the two of them strolled along a small river at the edge of the old city.

For Yu Sheng, he had not enjoyed such a relaxed time in a long while. Since he came to this Boundary City, his nerves had been tense most of the time. Just when he had finally gotten used to life here, big and small troubles kept coming. A walk like this, where he thought of nothing and worried about nothing, felt like something from a past life.

His past life was not even that long ago.

For Foxy, following Yu Sheng outside was something very, very exciting. Roaming in the Valley was also joyful, but the two kinds of joy were different.

She liked being led by Yu Sheng as she slowly got to know this city. Even if it was only learning the name of one more street, discovering one more shop, seeing one more animal in this world, noticing one more blade of grass, one more flower, or one more tree, it made her happy.

This process made her feel calmer step by step, though she could not say what this calmness really was.

An evening wind blew. It was a bit cold. Faint music drifted from the distant shopping street.

Yu Sheng walked slowly along the riverbank while Foxy ran around happily near him. He called it a stroll, but in truth this miss could not walk quietly for more than a few minutes. Most of the time she dashed about. One moment she was on the grass by the river, the next she was up on the concrete edge. Sometimes she even slipped into the nearby shrubs and could not keep still for a single moment.

Sometimes Yu Sheng turned his head and could not see where she had gone. But if he glanced around a few times, the Fox Maiden would pop out of some hidden corner and, more often than not, excitedly show off a “treasure” she had found nearby.

Foxy rushed back from the grass with shining eyes and waved a handful of tiny flowers in front of him: “Benefactor, I found a flower. It is still blooming in winter!”

Yu Sheng smiled helplessly and said: “I do not know the name. Let us call it wildflower.”

Foxy nodded hard: “Okay!” She stuffed a few small flowers into her mouth and chewed, then turned and sprinted away again.

A few minutes later she ran back, thrilled: “Benefactor, a rock from the riverbank!”

Yu Sheng agreed at once: “Yes, a rock.”

She dashed off and returned again: “Benefactor, a stick. A very straight stick!”

Yu Sheng looked and said: “Yes, a stick. Hey, give me that one. I can use it at home.”

She shot off once more, then came back waving plastic: “Benefactor, a drink bottle!”

Yu Sheng sighed: “Throw it in the trash bin.”

She darted away and raced back again: “Benefactor, a balloon!”

Yu Sheng started to nod and then froze: “Yes, a bal… where did you get a balloon?”

A child’s crying came from the roadside. A tiny kid who was even shorter than Xiao Xiao by half a head stood a few meters away and wailed: “Big sister stole my balloon!”

Yu Sheng broke out in a cold sweat. He hurried to push Foxy toward the child: “Give it back to him.”

Foxy walked over to return the balloon and mumbled: “It floated out of his hand. I thought he did not want it.”

Half a minute later, she clapped and came back to Yu Sheng, still looking very happy.

Yu Sheng could tell the Fox Maiden was having a great time. But he felt that taking her out for a walk had a strange vibe, and he could not say what was off…

In the time he zoned out, Foxy seemed to see something else fun. She whooshed out of his view and then whooshed back a few seconds later, proudly holding something up: “Benefactor, a mouse!”

Yu Sheng jumped: “Please do not show me that. Also you are not allowed to eat it!”

Foxy pouted in regret: “Okay.” The mouse in her palm refined at once into a ball of hot afterglow. She added softly: “There is actually a dish from my hometown that uses…”

Cold sweat trickled down Yu Sheng’s back. He first checked that no one else was around, then looked at the Demon Fox in front of him with helplessness: “Do not run everywhere. You will scare people. Stay by me and stroll a bit, alright?”

Foxy brightened and nodded fast: “Okay!” Even though they had repeated this scene several times, she did calm down again and began to walk beside him at an easy pace.

Yu Sheng chose a topic to keep the excited big Fox calm for a few more minutes and asked with a smile: “Why are you so happy?”

Foxy answered, grinning: “Going out for a walk makes me happy. Walking with you makes me even happier!” She wore plain white. Her bright smile opened in the winter air. For a moment she looked stunning. She added: “It is a pity Irene did not come. Bringing her would be fun too.”

Yu Sheng shook his head: “If she heard you say that, she would start an argument again. She only likes going to malls to shop. Walking outside is boring to her. You are different. You are happy as soon as you step beyond The Door.”

Foxy spoke with a serious face: “We Demon Foxes are like that. In ancient times we cultivated in the wild forests and open places.” Before Yu Sheng could answer, she suddenly ran off and then zipped back in a blur: “Benefactor, a screw!”

Yu Sheng fell silent: “…”

He finally knew why the walk felt so off. [Good grief, I am walking a nine tailed cyber-cultivation roaming fox-dog.] This was not a stroll. He almost wanted to put a leash on this miss.

He thought of Foxy’s raw strength, her speed, and her endless energy. [If I put a leash on her, I would probably be the one getting walked.] He decided not to think about it anymore.

Then the streetlights came on.

Yu Sheng stopped worrying about the Fox Maiden darting around. He took a slow breath in the night wind and let it out. With a kind of relaxation he had never had before, he quietly enjoyed Boundary City’s night.

Once, this night sky only made him feel strange and tense.

But without noticing, even the weird Illusion Arts that appeared after dark in this city had become something very familiar to him, even a little dear.

A nearby streetlight flickered. In the flicker, a tall, thin, hollow phantom formed. The empty tall shadow stood still in the light and looked at Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng looked back. Noticing no outsiders were around, he smiled and greeted it.

Between faraway buildings, the head of a steam train appeared, driving through the night sky. It blew out rolling white mist, slipped into one glass tower without a sound, then slid out of another and vanished deep in the sky.

Yu Sheng could almost hear the train horn. The sound was faded and blurry, like it crossed many layers of time and space.

He now knew that, compared to the dangerous Entities born in various Otherworlds, these things that appeared only after dark in Boundary City, which normal people could not even see, were gentle and harmless phantoms. There was no need to be tense.

At that moment, a pleasant ringtone came from his pocket.

He took out his phone and saw the caller: Bai Li Qing.

He was a bit surprised. [Calling at this hour? Do you not get off work?] He picked up easily and said: “Hello, good evening.”

Bai Li Qing’s voice came: “Good evening. Two things. Is now a good time to talk?”

Yu Sheng replied while keeping an eye on Foxy: “Sure. I am free. I am walking nearby.”

Bai Li Qing spoke first: “The first thing. Can you open a few Portals at random right now? It does not matter where they lead.”

Yu Sheng paused: “Open Portals? What for?”

Bai Li Qing sounded calm, but he heard a hint of cheer that did not usually show: “We just launched an auto-recognition and filter System. It can recognize the Rifts you open and block warnings and switch to auto-recording. The System is live. We hope you can help test it. If it runs well, you will not need to file a report before Door Opening anymore.”

Yu Sheng laughed at once. He finally knew why even her iron face showed a hint of cheer in her tone: “No problem. Give me a second. I will find a quiet spot and open a few small Doors.”

He stepped behind a big billboard nearby and, without any advance notice, casually opened a Door leading to the basement of Number 66, Wutong Road.

He asked with a grin: “How is it? I have done a Door Opening.”

From Bai Li Qing’s end came some muffled voices, probably tech staff reporting to her.

She said a moment later: “The System is engaged. Please try a few more.”

Yu Sheng was happy to help. He kept opening Portals to many places: to the Borderland, to the Valley, to the Museum, even to some barren alien planet he did not recognize. He basically tried all the Portal types he was familiar with. He reported as he went: “I have opened them all. What do you see on your side?”

Bai Li Qing sounded even happier, almost like she was smiling: “Except for a small, acceptable delay when you open Portals to the Otherworld, the whole recognition and filter System is working. From now on, you can skip the filing step before Door Opening.”

Yu Sheng brightened: “That is great. Congrats to you all. This will save a lot of trouble.” Then he asked: “What is the second thing?”

Bai Li Qing went quiet for a second or two.

When she spoke again, her voice held a rare hint of hesitation: “The second thing is this. I want to ask whether that ‘iron ingot’ Foxy used to pay when you brought her to the Special Affairs Bureau cafeteria last time… whether you have any more of it.”

Yu Sheng blinked and answered: “…Huh?”