Chapter 73

Chapter 73: The Convenience of Official Organization

Bai Li Qing didn’t dig into what Yu Sheng meant by “another accident.” She also didn’t press Irene’s situation too hard.

Instead, she gave Yu Sheng a broad explanation of Alice little house.

“Most of Alice’s dolls stay outside Borderland. They maintain balance in other places and almost never interfere with the Special Operations Bureau’s affairs. But they do have a fixed method of contact with Borderland. There is a contact point on the edge of the city, but ordinary people can’t find it, and the dolls usually don’t accept unfamiliar visitors.”

“However, I can send someone over once to ask about Irene. If there truly is a doll stranded here… they should be willing to meet you.”

“But it probably won’t be fast. The dolls are very busy and have their own mission. And the contact point in Borderland isn’t staffed all the time. You may have to wait.”

Yu Sheng didn’t mind. “That’s fine. As long as the Special Operations Bureau is willing to help. I’ll thank you on Irene’s behalf.”

“A small favor,” Bai Li Qing said calmly. “Helping those who fall into trouble after touching the supernatural realm is one of our responsibilities. If you need other help, you can tell me as well.”

Yu Sheng instantly perked up. “Then I really do.”

“Oh?”

“Can you help me get two identification cards?” Yu Sheng said quickly. “If two won’t work, one is fine—preferably real.”

Bai Li Qing stared at him. “…?”

“You should know there’s another person with me now,” Yu Sheng explained. “I just rescued her from Otherworld. I don’t know where she’s from, and she doesn’t have legal status here. I want to ask if the Special Operations Bureau can arrange something for her. And then Irene too—she doesn’t have legal status either. That one isn’t urgent, since at her height she couldn’t go out alone even with an identification card.”

Something subtle shifted in Bai Li Qing’s expression. It was probably the first time in her career someone had asked the director for counterfeit-proof paperwork as a favor. But she recovered quickly and nodded. “It’s not my direct responsibility, but I can help. If that doll truly needs it, we can arrange it too.”

“Of course, like you said, she’ll probably only hold the documents as a collectible… but they may be useful in certain situations.”

Yu Sheng thanked her repeatedly. At this point, he was honestly convinced the young-looking director was easier to talk to than her reputation suggested—and that she actually helped when asked.

So, while he had the chance, he brought up another matter. “Then there’s something else. It’s also about someone I recently rescued from Otherworld. I want to ask… can the Special Operations Bureau help find her hometown? Since you cover such a huge area, you should have far better information than me.”

“Tell me about her first,” Bai Li Qing said, not refusing. “The report has very few details. I only know she’s a humanoid creature with beast-like traits, and in our records, groups with those traits number in the hundreds.”

“That many…” Yu Sheng was genuinely shocked, but he recovered quickly and began repeating Foxy’s descriptions. “She said she came from a place where immortals and demons coexisted. From what she described, the civilization level there was probably extremely high. She also mentioned a group called ‘skyfolk,’ saying they enlightened the people who lived on the ground…”

He went through everything as carefully as he could, including the messy parts. And because he remembered Foxy’s mental state when she described it, he added a reminder at the end.

“All of this is just a reference. When she left home, she seemed to still be a child. And because she was trapped for too long, both her memory and her thinking are confused. There have to be mistakes or exaggerations in her account.”

“I… understand,” Bai Li Qing said after a pause. Her face showed little emotion, but that hesitation carried something complicated. “Yes, what you described sounds a bit… wild. I’m not sure we can find a place matching these traits in the Special Operations Bureau’s archives.”

She put it gently, but Yu Sheng still heard what it meant.

They probably had nothing.

“Do your best. If you can’t find it, it is what it is,” Yu Sheng sighed. “She doesn’t really have family anymore, and she’s not that attached to her home. Finding her hometown is really just something I want to do.”

“You seem very warm-hearted,” Bai Li Qing said suddenly, with the faintest hint of feeling.

“I guess so?” Yu Sheng felt embarrassed. “But in the end, my ‘warm-heartedness’ just bothers you guys.”

“The Special Operations Bureau deals with trouble all the time,” Bai Li Qing said, a weary edge slipping through. “Compared to that, we’d rather make contact with someone like you. If our usual targets were all like you, our job would be much easier—at least the contact stage would be.”

Yu Sheng raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

“Clear-minded. Able to communicate. Won’t suddenly lash out and hurt people. Won’t suddenly drop dead.” Bai Li Qing sighed and spread her hands. Complaining about work was universal, and for a moment the gesture made her seem surprisingly human. “If you meet three out of four, you’re already a rare high-quality customer in our daily work.”

Yu Sheng stared at her. “Is your work environment really that brutal?!”

Bai Li Qing didn’t answer. She only sighed again.

Yu Sheng had never worked in the Special Operations Bureau, but he understood that sigh instantly. And he didn’t have the heart to tell her he only met three out of four, too.

She quickly returned to her official tone. “I’ve answered many of your questions. Do you have any other doubts?”

“No… not for now,” Yu Sheng said, shifting in his seat. “So next, are we supposed to do the registration process you mentioned?”

“Generally, an ordinary person who has been exposed to Otherworld must register at a service point and undergo basic checks and evaluation, accompanied by a contact officer we assign,” Bai Li Qing said, studying him. “But since this is a special case, I can use a bit of the director’s authority and skip some of the paperwork.”

“However, I want to hear first—what are your plans for the future?”

Yu Sheng lowered his eyes, thinking, then looked up seriously. “If I register as a spirit realm detective or an independent investigator, what benefits would I get?”

Bai Li Qing didn’t look surprised. If anything, she seemed to have expected it. “Simply put: intelligence sharing from the Special Operations Bureau and various legal supernatural organizations or individuals in Borderland; access to support facilities; a contact platform with other organizations and individuals; a legal identity recognized by other forces.”

“And most importantly—travel clearance.”

Yu Sheng leaned forward without thinking. “Travel clearance?”

“Borderland has many sites that connect to faraway places, and most of them are regulated,” Bai Li Qing explained. “Activating those sites or entering certain controlled zones requires clearance. Of course, I suspect your door can ignore those issues. But legal passage comes with intelligence support. If you want to deal with Otherworld, intelligence is often more useful than combat power.”

“And…”

“And?” Yu Sheng prompted.

“And you should also consider the people who have to work overtime in the Special Operations Bureau,” Bai Li Qing said, exasperation breaking through again. “If a place can be reached by swiping a card, then don’t open doors.”

Yu Sheng immediately felt awkward.

But his skin was thick. After a beat, he recovered and nodded solemnly. “I’ve always been happy to maintain order.”

Bai Li Qing said nothing, as if she believed him about as far as she could throw him.

Then she looked at Yu Sheng again. “Anything else you want to ask?”

“What are the requirements to register as a spirit realm detective and an independent investigator?”

“Independent investigator is simple,” Bai Li Qing said. “Clear thinking. Mental preparation to face death. Experience surviving in Otherworld, or at least basic knowledge. Beyond that, we only need to confirm you aren’t doing this suicidal work because you’re insane. If you pass that, you qualify.”

“As for spirit realm detective, the requirements are higher. Besides the skills an investigator must have, you also need a legal and valid registered group.”

“Registered group?” Yu Sheng repeated. “Oh, I get it. Like the fairy tale organization behind Little Red Riding Hood, right?”

“You can understand it that way,” Bai Li Qing said with a nod. “Most people who survive Otherworld and still want to deal with the supernatural start as independent investigators. It’s very hard to find an organization willing to accept an unfamiliar rookie. In many dangerous otherworlds, a clumsy newcomer can be more dangerous than the entities themselves.”

“Of course, there are exceptions. For example, a group of people gets caught in Otherworld and survives together—though that’s rare.”

“Are there limits for registering an organization like that?” Yu Sheng asked.

“At least two members who qualify as investigators. At least one member with experience fighting an entity. A stable contact location and method. And the name cannot include words that violate public decency or special punctuation.”

“Beyond that, there are standard statements about operating legally and not harming Borderland’s order and safety. That’s all.”

Yu Sheng blinked, stunned. “…That’s it? No other requirements?”

Bai Li Qing’s face showed the faintest suggestion of a smile.

“This is a fight against Otherworld and entities. Surviving after facing things beyond human sanity is the only effective standard. We don’t need to set thresholds. Living through it is the biggest threshold.”

Yu Sheng rubbed his chin. “Oh. Then it sounds like the threshold is pretty low…”