As the door of the supermarket swung open, Yu Sheng stepped inside.
Although it was a simple and normal action, he felt a sense of disbelief.
The earlier shock of opening the door was still fresh, leaving him with a lingering unease.
Even now, as he surveyed the familiar shelves and the young shopkeeper, absurd thoughts crept into his mind.
Could this be a small supermarket that looked just like the one he remembered, but was actually a bizarre otherworldly trap? Would the jars and bottles on the shelves be filled with preserved eyes? Would the shopkeeper, upon greeting him, suddenly pull out a chainsaw sword and leap over the counter to attack him?
Fortunately, these ridiculous thoughts fluttered away as he managed to calm himself.
He confirmed that he was indeed in a normal supermarket and recalled the conditions under which he could "open the door in an ordinary and correct manner."
He nodded to the young shopkeeper and said, "I'm here to buy something—do you have any boxes of instant noodles or compressed biscuits?"
"Yes, we have instant noodles, the unboxed ones are piled under the stairs on the second floor. You can choose the type you want," the young shopkeeper replied, noting Yu Sheng's dazed expression but quickly dismissing it as he pointed to a nearby iron ladder.
"As for the compressed biscuits, we don’t have any boxes left. The middle row on the left shelf is all we’ve got; this stuff doesn’t sell much, so I don’t order it often."
"Alright, pack up all the biscuits for me. I’ll go get a box of instant noodles… and also grab two packs of sausages, the large ones."
"Sure."
The young shopkeeper acknowledged and turned to grab a large shopping bag to fill with items while casually asking, "Buying so many instant noodles and biscuits all of a sudden? It’s not healthy to live on these; my wife complains about it all the time."
"I’m just stocking up at home," Yu Sheng replied nonchalantly.
The shopkeeper didn’t press the matter further and filled the bag as requested before heading toward the cash register.
Just then, the supermarket’s glass door swung open again, making a creaky sound as it swung wide.
The shopkeeper looked up as he counted the biscuits.
"Ah, that door is broken; there’s a sign on it."
"Oh, I didn’t notice," said a young man with black hair, dressed casually, who awkwardly glanced back at the malfunctioning door before turning to ask, "Do you have boxes of instant noodles?"
At that moment, Yu Sheng was coming back from between two rows of shelves with a box of instant noodles in his arms.
He glanced at the cash register upon hearing the disturbance but quickly looked away.
"Yeah, that kind is fine," the young man pointed at the box Yu Sheng was holding.
"I’ll take a box too."
The shopkeeper didn’t look up.
"It’s at the base of the stairs on the right-hand side; help yourself. I’ll handle the checkout first."
Yu Sheng and the young man brushed past each other.
After he finished paying at the register, he hoisted his shopping bag in one hand and balanced the box of noodles on his shoulder, stepping out into the dimming evening night.
Li Lin found the instant noodles he wanted under the stairs as the shopkeeper had mentioned.
As he bent down to pick some up, he felt a vibration in his pocket.
Taking out his phone, he saw a message from his team leader.
He turned briefly to glance at the cash register before looking back at his phone screen and casually replied, "I’ve settled in; I’m heading out to buy some things."
The phone buzzed twice, and a new message popped up: "Have you noticed anything unusual?"
Li Lin typed back, "Nothing strange. I’ll stroll around the street tomorrow and interact with the locals here."
After sending that message, the young agent hesitated for a moment before editing another message: "When will the 'Deep Diver' from our team arrive? Who’s coming?"
After a considerable delay, the phone vibrated again: "Xu Jiali will arrive tomorrow."
Li Lin stared at the message in surprise.
Just as he wanted to ask a follow-up question, he received another message from the leadership: "He just returned from Aimen IX; something happened over there. His mission ended early, and he is now back in the office for a debriefing and a comprehensive check-up. He will be dispatched to your area tomorrow."
After reading the message, the corners of Li Lin’s mouth twitched as he quickly typed, "He just finished his mission, and you’re sending him straight to duty? No half a day’s break?"
"He requested it himself. He encountered some special circumstances there and is currently experiencing some aftereffects of diving deep. He needs to wear stabilizers for a few days, so they simply pushed his time off to next week. It shouldn’t be an issue on your end in the short term; he’ll just rest while in your care. You can discuss the specifics when you meet tomorrow."
Li Lin shrugged and replied with a simple "Okay," standing up to carry the box of instant noodles toward the cash register.
The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow as he looked at him.
He took out a scanner and repeated, "It’s not good to eat only this; my wife complains about it daily…"
Li Lin chuckled, "Should I not buy anything, then?"
"That’ll be 62.8 kuai," the shopkeeper replied.
Meanwhile, Ai Lin had heard the noise at the main entrance—a door being opened from the outside—but she peered around the edge of the frame toward the foyer and saw no sign of Yu Sheng for a while.
After a time, she finally spotted Yu Sheng peeking in, looking very suspicious.
He glanced around before cautiously stepping inside, placing a considerable amount of items on the floor and then turning to close the door.
Ai Lin quietly observed the scene, and as Yu Sheng secured the door, she finally spoke up: "What are you doing, Yu Sheng? Why do you look like a thief coming home?"
Yu Sheng sighed, changing his shoes while muttering, "Let me tell you, I’ve developed a serious psychological trauma regarding ‘opening doors’—I can’t take a single step without checking three times."
Ai Lin listened, her gaze resting on the pile of items at the entrance.
"You bought quite a lot," Ms. Doll said in surprise.
"You should have pushed a little cart, like one of those camping ones; they’re really handy."
Yu Sheng didn’t respond immediately, just lowered his eyes to examine the instant noodles, sausages, and biscuits piled at the door.
Then he suddenly seemed to recall something and slapped his forehead.
"I should’ve bought some liquid food! She hasn’t eaten in ages; she can’t just have this... No, maybe I should go buy a can of Eight Treasure Congee in the morning... Or should I go now?"
Ai Lin listened silently, watching as Yu Sheng prepared to open the door and head out again when she suddenly spoke up, "Let’s just wait until tomorrow."
At that moment, Yu Sheng had already changed his shoes again.
As he grasped the doorknob, he turned back.
"But she’s still hungry..."
"Even if you buy it now, do you have a way to deliver it to that fox immediately?" Ai Lin stared directly at him.
"Plus... I’m serious; I meant to say that even if you sent these over, it would only temporarily alleviate her situation. The biggest problem isn’t the lack of food, but the entity known as ‘hunger.’"
Yu Sheng halted his motion.
After a moment of contemplation, he swapped his shoes back off and walked toward the dining table, sitting down across from Ai Lin.
"You’re right; the biggest issue is ‘hunger.’ Although filling her stomach temporarily is still helpful… But let’s put it off till tomorrow. There’s no rush; we need to figure out how to enter that valley steadily first."
Ai Lin noticed a serious expression on Yu Sheng’s face as he spoke, and recalling the cryptic pieces of information he had shared when contacting her earlier, she quickly caught on.
"What... exactly happened?" she tried to ask.
"Do you... have some way to enter that valley?"
"Strictly speaking, it’s not a method to enter the valley, but..."
As Yu Sheng spoke, he raised his hand and grasped at the air.
Suddenly, a door materialized before him.
It was an ordinary-looking door, but its edges shimmered as if vibrating with a strange energy.
Then, with a swift pull, Yu Sheng yanked the door open.
On the other side stood an elf with mechanical limbs resembling a greaser, dressed in a silver robe.
She was performing operations on a large piece of machinery and was startled when she turned her head toward Yu Sheng.
The mechanical limbs behind her were busily and precisely adjusting the glowing large equipment on the platform.
Her eyes widened, staring at Yu Sheng for two seconds before she shouted, "So who the hell are you?!"
With a loud slam, Yu Sheng closed the door.
"I didn’t realize it was possible to connect to the same place consecutively," Yu Sheng said, a flicker of surprise mixed with contemplation on his face.
"Wait a moment; this might be... I should test it again..."
Before he could finish his thoughts, Ai Lin exploded from her chair, almost leaping out of her seat, "What was that just now!? What was that?! Huh?!"
"As you can see," Yu Sheng breathed a sigh, "it was a door."
"I know it’s a door, but the key point is—" Ai Lin took a deep breath, practically bouncing off her chair, "what the hell was that?!"
(End of Chapter)