One must admit, there are many differences among peers in this line of work.
The distinction between spirit realm detectives is vast.
Some people can barely glance at a cursed object without needing a couple of doses of medicine, while others act like legendary investigators from stories, barging into strange places and throwing punches at anything that moves.
But Little Red Riding Hood quickly adjusted her mindset.
She chose not to stoop to the level of the three troublesome figures before her.
According to the evaluations from the Special Operations Bureau, as well as her own judgment, none of the three members of this "inn" could manage to add up to even a single "human" in their total—one among them was likely a high-risk entity.
What good person would want to compare “adaptability to the strange domain” with an entity like that?
Yu Sheng, however, had no idea that the red-clad girl had suddenly fallen silent, lost in thought.
He merely circled around the terrifying "sacrificial victim," trying to find more clues, and curiously asked, “If this was done by a person, what kind of twisted person would it take? I can understand someone breaking in to steal something since, after all, we are indirectly here to steal, too. But after stealing, why go through all this trouble?”
“An evil religious ritual. The main purpose must be the sacrifice itself. Taking the statue of the ‘Wailing One’ could just be a side benefit,” Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. “Those who engage in such acts are usually some sick cultists or extremists. They hope to gain great power, enlightenment, or blessings by offering sacrifices to the strange domain. Or perhaps they seek the attention of some bizarre existence. Given the severe mental corruption created by this 'sacrificer,' it is clear that the one performing this 'sacrifice' is… an 'expert.'”
“Such people really exist?!” Yu Sheng’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are there people who would ‘follow’ these strange entities?”
“They follow not the entities but power and things from higher dimensions. The strange domain is merely the easiest route they found to the extraordinary—such people definitely exist, and many,” Little Red Riding Hood sighed and revealed another side of this world to Yu Sheng, who knew little. “The Sacred Silent Order, the Dark Dot Society, the Angel Cult, and those who wander in the strange domain, not even sure if they can still be called humans, the ‘Assembly of the Converted,’ might engage in such actions.”
She paused, her expression turning complex. “The strange domain… has harmed many. It exists both within the borderlands and beyond. We can save many, but there are countless others who fell into the grasp of the 'other side' and will never return."
“Those who remain unsaved but not dead end up either going mad, being taken by those groups I mentioned, or entirely transforming into something beyond human. The influence of the strange domain on human minds is immense—seduced by power, entranced by illusions, controlled by false memories. These occurrences are commonplace.
“Thinking back, you should realize that with so many bizarre strange domains and dangerous entities, after prolonged contact with them, it is unreasonable to expect everyone to be steadfast and adhere to their humanity.
There will inevitably be those who stray from the path, but…”
“But?”
Yu Sheng listened intently to this new knowledge and instinctively asked when she suddenly paused.
“But this kind of ‘illegal invasion’ is quite unusual in the borderlands,”Little Red Riding Hood’s tone grew serious.
“The entire border area is monitored by the ‘Node Network.’ How did the ‘intruder’ in the museum sneak in?”
“That’s going to give the Special Operations Bureau a headache.
After all, the ‘nodes’ are something they set up.
If there’s a flaw, it’s going to be a big deal,”Yu Sheng said, shaking his head as he stepped towards the sacrificial victim on the high platform. Seeing his actions, Little Red Riding Hood gasped,“What are you doing?”
“Getting him down,”Yu Sheng replied naturally.
“He’s already dead.
He shouldn’t be left to suffer any longer.
I can’t just ignore it.”
“Be careful of curses! It’s best to leave this to the deep agents of the Special Operations Bureau…”
Little Red Riding Hood instinctively reminded him, but she stopped mid-sentence. The deep agents of the Special Operations Bureau arrived, fully armed. Their“resistance”against the threat before them likely wasn’t any better than the man lying there…
“Do we need to protect the scene?”
Yu Sheng turned back, curiously asking Little Red Riding Hood.
“...
Yes,”she thought for a moment and nodded. “We best not touch anything.
Let's leave this matter to the professionals.”
“Oh,”Yu Sheng said, feeling that made sense.
He let out a regretful sigh. He was already beside the high platform observing how the iron barbs twisted around and had found an opening.
He was about to grip the non-spiked part and pull down with all his strength, but considering the need to“protect the scene,”he released his hand, hesitating for a moment before nodding to the kneeling sacrificial victim. “I’m sorry, brother.
I’m not a professional—just wait and I’ll report this to the Special Operations Bureau when we get out.
I’ll have them send someone to take you away.
I’m sorry you have to wait here a bit longer.” Little Red Riding Hood looked at Yu Sheng with a strange expression. He quickly noticed her gaze and turned his head.
“What’s wrong?”
She almost let slip,“Didn’t expect you to have such empathy.” But she quickly changed her words,“...
I didn’t expect you to show such humanity.
In the strange domain, too many incidents occur.
Many become desensitized; they merely pay silent tribute to the victims they encounter and then report to have the Special Operations Bureau send someone to handle the bodies.
Very few care as much as you…and even talk to the deceased.” When she finished, the nearby Hu Li slightly frowned,“Isn’t that a bit cold?” Little Red Riding Hood sighed,“After all, in the strange domain, many times the ‘corpse’ itself can become a danger.
It’s not uncommon for a victim’s body to turn into the next perpetrator.” Yu Sheng waved his hand in response,“There’s nothing I can do.
After all, I’m a newcomer; I don’t understand this.” As he spoke, his fingertips brushed across the edge of the platform. He touched the almost dried-up blood.
Silence fell around them. Everything happened in an instant, and Yu Sheng initially didn’t realize what was going on—he saw Little Red Riding Hood, Ai Lin, and Hu Li suddenly freeze in place. Immediately after, everything in the hall began to quickly fade in color and turned dim and oppressive.
The entire exhibition hall was covered in a monotonous black, white, and gray. In this suddenly still and quiet world, he froze for two or three seconds before suddenly hearing a faint creaking sound behind him. It sounded like stiff joints moving with difficulty—in such a quiet background, the abrupt sound seemed rather jarring.
Yu Sheng slowly turned his neck. The body, bound by iron thorns and bled to death on the exhibition platform, slowly turned its neck as well. One was gradually horrifying, the other stained with blood.
“Wha—”Yu Sheng instinctively exclaimed, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he abruptly stopped because he heard the corpse in front of him speak.
“Those who killed me…”the corpse’s lips moved, producing harsh, labored sounds,“Those who killed me are…are…”
Although Yu Sheng still couldn’t grasp what was happening, he was near panic.
“Get to the point! Stop worrying about grammar!”
Then he saw the corpse suddenly take a deep breath—“The ones who killed me are Angel Cultists.
Two male, one about 1.7 meters tall, stout with short black hair, wearing glasses, in his thirties with a mole on his forehead.
The other is about 1.8 meters tall, very thin, bald, with a high nose and in his forties, wearing a silver watch on his left hand.
They repeatedly said things like, ‘You will help Him descend’ and ‘Save the Savior from the sea of suffering’ while doing it.
They had very heavy accents from South City’s Wusong River.
They didn’t take the statue of the ‘Wailing One’ but just tossed it into the corridor on the other side, as they were only there to perform the sacrificial ritual.
I suffered greatly…” The corpse spat out a rapid-fire series of words, even biting his tongue once or twice in the process. Then, it suddenly slackened, slightly raising its head to gaze at the ceiling of the white exhibition hall, whispering slowly as if in a dream,“Ah… eternal peace comes to take me…”
It gradually lowered its head, returning to the position of covered face, lingering as the“Wailing One,”coming to a complete stop. Yu Sheng:“…”He stood beside the platform, dumbfounded. The corpse's frantic information came so quickly that he barely processed it.
Now seeing the sudden quiet, he was completely bewildered, and after two seconds, he couldn’t help but speak up,“Wait! Can you say that again?!” The corpse didn’t respond; instead, the black, white, and gray in the exhibition hall suddenly receded.
Just like that, the previously frozen Ai Lin, Hu Li, and Little Red Riding Hood, returned to normal—just as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Ai Lin was the first to notice the change in Yu Sheng’s expression and the“atmosphere”around him. She looked at him curiously,“Hey?
What’s up?
Why are you so serious all of a sudden?” Yu Sheng finally snapped back to reality, inhaling deeply before turning to Little Red Riding Hood—“The ones who did the killing are Angel Cultists.
Two men, one about 1.7 meters tall, stout with short black hair and glasses, in his thirties with a mole on his forehead.
The other about 1.8 meters tall, very thin and bald, in his forties, with a silver watch on his left hand.
They kept saying something like, ‘You will help Him descend’ and ‘Save the Savior from the sea of suffering.’ I didn’t remember all the details, but it’s roughly that.
Their accent is strong from South City’s Wusi River.
The statue of the ‘Wailing One’ was thrown into the corridor on the other side… I almost forgot to mention that.” Little Red Riding Hood was left stunned,“...
Huh?”
(End of Chapter)