Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Dinner Hospitality at Wu Tong Road 66

Little Red Riding Hood had always assumed anyone who lived in an otherworld was bound to be strange. But she quickly realized she’d still underestimated just how weird Yu Sheng’s “family of three” was.

Especially once they started eating.

A doll that didn’t need food sat primly right on the dining table, with a special set of bowls and chopsticks placed neatly in front of her—as if someone had set out an offering out of pure habit.

A demon fox with a whole bundle of tails kept pulling snacks out of those tails while she ate. Her combinations were pure chaos—flatbread wrapped around steamed buns, chili smeared on bananas, whatever she happened to find. She just stuffed it into her mouth without hesitation.

But the strangest one was Yu Sheng.

He ate human food.

Yu Sheng noticed Little Red Riding Hood zoning out. Thinking she was just shy on a first visit, he greeted her warmly. “Go on. Dig in. I’m pretty confident about my cooking.”

Halfway through, he remembered something and pointed at a dish near the center of the table. “Oh—this one you probably shouldn’t eat.”

Little Red Riding Hood froze. It looked like an ordinary plate of stir-fried pork with chili. She stared at him, confused. “Why?”

“It’s made with a local specialty from an otherworld,” Yu Sheng said casually. “I’m not sure ordinary people can handle it. Irene and Foxy both refuse it.”

Little Red Riding Hood went blank. “A local specialty from an otherworld…?”

“It’s meat cut off Entity-Hunger,” Yu Sheng said, calm as ever. “I like it. Normal people don’t eat this. I do have common sense.”

Across from him, the girl went stiff, like she’d been turned to stone.

After several seconds, she blinked and stiffly turned to Irene, who was perched on the table sniffing the aroma. “What… a niche way to say that…”

“First time, huh?” Irene patted her arm with the air of someone who’d suffered through it already. “I reacted the same the first time. Stop doubting it—yep, it’s that thing. Besides, you were with us when the valley’s entity got destroyed. Don’t act so shocked. At least this is cooked before it’s eaten.”

“This tastes better cooked,” Yu Sheng agreed, then popped a chopstickful into his mouth. “I tried it raw once. Didn’t work. Too tough.”

Little Red Riding Hood stared at the rest of the dishes with sudden horror. A wave of regret rolled over her.

She’d originally accepted the invitation because she thought it was a chance to get closer to the strange “person” Yu Sheng and the strange Wu Tong Road 66—maybe even pick up intel she could sell to the Special Operations Bureau later.

Now she realized something else:

If an entity seemed harmless, it was probably cursed in some other way. If an otherworld looked especially safe, it definitely had some creative mental contamination hiding in it.

Little Red Riding Hood swallowed hard and watched Yu Sheng eat with gusto. A question rose in her throat and refused to die.

After you finish that… you’re not going to eat me, right?

But no matter how long she hesitated, she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.

“Not to your taste?” Yu Sheng asked, noticing her chopsticks barely moving. “Uh, I season things pretty strongly. But try the greens. They’re safe.”

Under his calm gaze, she couldn’t dodge. After fighting herself for a full minute, she finally took a bite, chanting in her head, It’s edible. It’s edible.

To her surprise—

It was good.

Just normal stir-fry.

“Benefactor’s cooking is great, right?” Foxy laughed happily.

Little Red Riding Hood nodded, her expression complicated. Watching Foxy eat nonstop, she couldn’t help asking, “You’re eating that much… won’t you get stuffed?”

“No.” Foxy’s tails swayed behind her. “Eat more. Store it in the tails. Later I can help Benefactor fight.”

Little Red Riding Hood: “…?”

What kind of nonsense was that?

For a moment, she wondered if the problem was her. It was like Wu Tong Road 66 ran on a completely different worldview. Everything looked normal. Everything sounded normal.

So why did every single thing feel cursed?

Yu Sheng’s voice cut through her thoughts. “Oh, right. I invited you over today because I actually wanted to ask you something.”

“Ah… huh?” Little Red Riding Hood blinked, a beat slow. “What?”

“How do Spirit Realm Detectives usually work?” Yu Sheng asked bluntly. “Or, more specifically—if I become one, is there anything I should watch out for?”

“Work routine?” Little Red Riding Hood’s tone turned casual, like she was talking about part-time jobs. “Most of the time I take outsourced commissions from the Special Operations Bureau. Sometimes other organizations or individuals ask for help, but that’s unreliable.”

She leaned forward slightly. “Most commissions come through the Bureau, or through subcontractors under them. They’re official, so their intel is good, and jobs get collected there. Look.”

She pulled out her phone, tapped a few times, then showed the screen to Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng leaned in and saw a long list of chat interfaces.

More than half the avatars carried the same unified emblem, with “Special Operations Bureau” noted beside them.

“This is a dedicated platform the Bureau built,” Little Red Riding Hood said. “Spirit Realm Detectives and independent investigators can both use it. We share intel, chat, mess around—public commissions get posted there too. Official name is ‘Border Comms,’ but a lot of people just call it ‘didi gigs’…”

Yu Sheng listened with fascination and tried to look closer, but she already slid the phone away.

“Technically I shouldn’t show outsiders,” she added. “It’s confidential to ordinary people. But you’re not a Spirit Realm Detective yet, and you’re definitely not ordinary, so… whatever. As for what to watch out for…”

She paused, then gave him a teasing look. “Everyone has their own habits. If you want the shared ‘framework,’ it’s two things. First, don’t disrupt the borderland’s order. Second, try to stay alive—and if you can’t manage that, try to die somewhere shallow so the corpse collectors don’t have too hard a time.”

Then she studied him with open curiosity. “Why are you asking this all of a sudden?”

Yu Sheng looked utterly calm. “Oh. We might be colleagues soon.”

Little Red Riding Hood: “…?”

…

After dinner, Little Red Riding Hood left.

“I feel like her face was kind of weird when she left,” Irene mumbled from her perch on the table, watching Yu Sheng clean up. “Like she was totally spaced out…”

“High schoolers are stressed,” Yu Sheng said, wiping the table. “That’s normal. And she’s working holiday shifts too. Her phone screen’s cracked. Her living situation probably isn’t great. That’s why I invited her to eat here—just to help her relax.”

“Is that so?” Irene sounded doubtful. “Why do I feel like she was even more nervous leaving than she was when she came…?”

“That’s your imagination.” Yu Sheng waved it off. “Trust my judgment. Humans understand humans—and I used to be a high school student too. If we get the chance, inviting her over more will fix it. Guaranteed.”

“R-really?”

Yu Sheng finished clearing the table and handed the dishes to Foxy, who’d volunteered to wash up. He let out a long breath.

Time for something serious.

“I’m going to open a door.”

Irene, halfway through climbing down to run back to the living room and watch TV, froze. “Huh? Where are you going?”

“I’m heading back to that valley to take another look.”

Irene slipped and dropped straight off the table leg with a smack, landing face-down on the floor with her drawing frame. “You finished all the meat in the fridge, didn’t you? You’re going to restock?!”

“No!” Yu Sheng hurriedly waved his hands. “It’s something the director mentioned earlier. It’s been stuck in my head.”

He told Irene what Bai Li Qing had deliberately said to him before she left.

The doll frowned as she listened. “Could it be a trap? Like she’s tricking you into stepping on a mine or something. Those ‘lord’ types who show up out of nowhere and babble always do that. That’s how it goes on TV.”

“Watch less TV,” Yu Sheng said, rolling his eyes. “Besides, even if she has some plan, I’m still going to take another look.”

Irene’s frown deepened. “Why?”

“There’s something I want to confirm. I left too hurried last time.” Yu Sheng’s tone was serious. “Don’t be so tense. It’s not like I can’t come back. The passage is stable now. If something’s wrong, I can pull out immediately.”

“Alright…” Irene thought it over, then finally eased up. “Do we need to tell Foxy? She’ll worry.”

“This is just a quick check,” Yu Sheng said as he reached into the air. A phantom door opened in his hand, dim and wavering. “If she comes out and asks, tell her I’ll be right back. Honestly, I’ll probably be out before she finishes washing dishes. I’m just taking a look.”

He paused and glanced back at the door he’d opened.

“…Should I have told the Special Operations Bureau first?”

“You only remembered after you opened the damn door?” Irene snapped. “Get in already. If you wait, the complaint calls are going to start rolling in. Go, go—I’ll wait here.”