Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Brushing Past

Yu Sheng walked inside.

It was such a simple, normal action that he almost couldn’t believe it. The shock from those last few door-openings was still clinging to him, like a phantom afterimage. Even with shelves and fluorescent lights right in front of him, ridiculous thoughts kept trying to take root.

What if this was a supermarket that looked exactly like the one in his memory—but it was actually some mimic-made nest, wearing a familiar skin in a different dimension?

Sure, the shelves looked normal. But maybe every bottle and jar was packed with eyeballs floating in formalin. Maybe the owner would smile, then pull a chainsaw sword out from under the register and charge him, hacking him down between the snack aisle and the cash drawer…

Thankfully, those thoughts were only sparks. Yu Sheng forced himself calm. First, he confirmed he was standing in a real, normal supermarket. Then he tried to get a rough sense of what “normal and correct” door-opening even meant now.

Only then did he nod toward the young owner. “I’m here to stock up. Do you have instant noodles by the case? And compressed biscuits?”

“We’ve got noodles,” the owner said. “Unopened cases are stacked under the stairs to the second floor. Go take a look and grab what you want.” He glanced at Yu Sheng—who’d stood frozen for a beat after coming in—but quickly let it go. He lifted a hand and pointed toward a metal staircase near the front. “Compressed biscuits, though, we don’t have cases anymore. Middle row, left shelf. That’s all that’s left. Not many people buy those, so I don’t keep much.”

“Alright,” Yu Sheng said. “Pack all the biscuits you’ve got. I’ll carry a case of noodles… and throw in two packs of ham sausages. The big ones.”

“Okay.”

The owner grabbed a large shopping bag and headed to the shelves. While he worked, he asked casually, “Buying that many noodles and compressed biscuits all at once? Living on that stuff isn’t good. My wife nags me about it every day.”

“Just stocking up,” Yu Sheng said vaguely.

The owner didn’t press. He packed the goods and started walking toward the register.

Just then, someone pushed open the glass door. Both panels moved together, and one hinge let out a teeth-grinding squeal.

The owner looked up mid-count. “Hey—careful. That door’s busted. There’s a note on it.”

“Oh. Uh, I didn’t notice,” said a young man with black hair and an unremarkable face, dressed casually. He glanced awkwardly at the half of the door that didn’t swing back by itself, then turned toward the aisles. “Do you have instant noodles by the case?”

At that moment, Yu Sheng was hauling a case of noodles out from between two shelves. He flicked a glance toward the register—and immediately looked away.

“Oh, that kind is fine,” the black-haired young man said, pointing at the case in Yu Sheng’s arms. “I’ll take one of those.”

The owner didn’t look up. “Under the stairs on the front right. Grab one yourself. I’m ringing this up first.”

Yu Sheng brushed past the young man without a word. He paid, then left the supermarket with a heavy shopping bag in one hand and the noodle case balanced on his shoulder. Outside, the night had deepened, and the wind felt sharper against his skin.

Li Lin found the instant noodles under the stairs, just like the owner said. As he bent to lift the case, his pocket buzzed. He pulled out his phone.

A message from Team Rapunzel.

He glanced toward the register, then lowered his gaze to the screen and replied casually: “I’m settled in. Out buying supplies.”

The phone buzzed twice.

“Any anomalies?”

Li Lin typed: “No. I’ll walk around tomorrow and make contact with the residents.”

After sending it, he hesitated, then added another message: “When does the team’s ‘deep diver’ arrive? Who are you sending over?”

This time, it took a while before the phone vibrated again.

“Xu Jiali. On duty tomorrow.”

Li Lin stared at the message and froze. He was about to ask more when another message followed from the boss: “He just got back from Aimein-IX. Something happened there. Mission ended early. He’s at the bureau doing his report and full checks. We’re sending him to you tomorrow.”

Li Lin’s mouth twitched. His thumbs flew across the screen: “He just finished fieldwork and you’re sending him straight back out for a shift? Not even half a day off?”

“Xu Jiali asked for it,” came the reply. “What he ran into was… special. He’s got deep-dive aftereffects and needs to wear the stabilizer for the next few days, so he moved his post-mission leave to next week. You shouldn’t have anything happening short-term. Staying with you will count as rest. You can talk details when you meet tomorrow.”

Li Lin pressed his lips together, sent back “Okay,” then stood up with the noodle case and walked to the register.

Behind the counter, the owner lifted his eyelids, grabbed the scanner, and repeated his usual nagging, “Living on this stuff isn’t good. My wife nags me about it every day…”

Li Lin laughed. “Then I won’t buy it?”

“Sixty-two yuan and eighty,” the owner said flatly.

…

Irene heard the front door open. She peeked from the edge of the frame toward the entryway, but Yu Sheng didn’t appear right away.

After a while, he finally stuck his head in—cautious, suspicious, like he was checking for traps. He looked around for ages before tiptoeing inside like a thief. Only after he dropped a pile of supplies onto the floor did he turn back and shut the door.

Irene watched silently the whole time. When he finally latched it, she said, “Yu Sheng, what are you doing? Why are you coming home like a thief?”

Yu Sheng sighed as he changed his shoes. “Don’t even ask. That whole ‘door-opening’ thing left me with a serious psychological scar. If I don’t confirm it three times, I don’t dare take a step.”

Irene’s gaze dropped to the mountain of goods by the door.

“That’s a lot,” she said, honestly impressed. “You should’ve brought a little cart. Like one of those camping wagons. Those are super useful.”

Yu Sheng didn’t answer at first. He just stared at the noodles, ham, and compressed biscuits piled there. Then he seemed to remember something, slapped his forehead hard, and groaned, “I should’ve bought liquid food! She’s been hungry too long—she can’t eat this right away. Tomorrow morning I’ll get eight-treasure porridge… Should I go now?”

As Yu Sheng reached for the handle again, Irene finally spoke, firm. “Tomorrow.”

Yu Sheng had already slipped his shoes back on. Hand on the handle, he glanced back. “She’s still hungry…”

“Even if you buy it right now, do you have a way to deliver it to that fox immediately?” Irene stared straight at him. “And… I’m serious. I’ve wanted to say this for a while. Even if you deliver all that, it only helps temporarily. The biggest problem over there isn’t food. It’s that entity called ‘Hunger.’”

Yu Sheng stopped.

After a moment, he took his shoes off again, walked to the dining table, and sat across from Irene.

“You’re right. ‘Hunger’ is the real problem.” His voice was quieter now. “Filling her stomach still matters, but… we’ll talk tomorrow. It’s not urgent this minute, and I need a stable way to get back into that valley first.”

Irene caught the seriousness in his expression and immediately connected it to the hints he’d dropped earlier. Her instincts flared.

“…What happened?” she asked carefully. “Did you… figure out a way to enter that valley?”

“Strictly speaking, it’s not a way into the valley,” Yu Sheng said. “It’s…”

He raised a hand and grabbed at empty air.

His fingers closed around an invisible handle. A door snapped into existence in midair—ordinary in shape, but shimmering at the edges like a heat mirage. Under Irene’s stunned gaze, Yu Sheng yanked it open.

The illusion parted. On the other side stood that same female elf in a silvery robe and skirt. Her lower body rested on wheels, and her back bristled with mechanical limbs like a mobile workshop. She stood before a huge piece of machinery, head turning sharply toward Yu Sheng.

The arms behind her kept adjusting a device on a platform—fast, precise—while her eyes widened like they were about to pop.

She stared at him for two seconds, then shouted, “So how the hell are you—”

Yu Sheng slammed the door shut.

“…I didn’t expect I could connect to the same place twice in a row,” Yu Sheng murmured, surprised. “Wait. This might be… Let me try reproducing it…”

He was still talking when Irene finally snapped.

She practically looked like she was about to launch herself out of the canvas and bite someone. “What was that?! What was that?! Huh?!”