"I don't really understand things from the supernatural realm," Yu Sheng said calmly, facing the puzzled expressions of Li Lin, Xu Jiali, and the others.
"Especially about the other domains and entities. In fact, I don't really know much about anything beyond the boundary city—so I've been trying to find 'professionals' like you to answer my many questions."
Li Lin and Xu Jiali exchanged glances, both looking taken aback by Yu Sheng's words, while the girl in the red hood couldn't help but eye him up and down several times.
"You… you mean to say you’ve never had any contact with other domains and entities before?! You've only recently started dealing with this kind of stuff?!"
"I’ve lived a peaceful and ordinary life for over twenty years," Yu Sheng spread his hands and stated truthfully, "I only started encountering all this chaotic stuff recently; I’m completely a novice in this area."
As his words left his lips, Xu Jiali’s expression began to show signs of cracking.
So, he started encountering other domains recently and can slam dangerous entities rated above level three into submission, as well as casually open a door to a wasteland planet millions of light-years away? He can move in and out of the other domains as if it were home… what kind of “novice” is this?
Is he even human?!
He and Li Lin exchanged glances, their minds racing as they considered countless possibilities in an instant.
Firstly, they could almost confirm that the space-time distortion phenomena causing chaos within the Special Operations Department was definitely related to this person named "Yu Sheng," with evidence right there in the door he casually opened.
Yes, casually.
Secondly, they must not be deceived by the term “novice” he used.
Regardless of whether he truly had only begun to deal with matters related to the other domains and entities, the power he possessed did not resemble that of an ordinary human just starting to be influenced by the other realms.
Either the term “novice” was false, or the identity of being an “ordinary human” was false—or perhaps both were.
Moreover, an ordinary human could not possibly live in such a clearly abnormal house.
"I need to confirm something first," Li Lin hesitated before speaking, "You’ve lived here all along, right?"
"Yeah," Yu Sheng nodded.
He didn't plan to mention that he had arrived from another "boundary city," so he simply admitted to living in this house.
Besides, he even had an ID, "I’ve lived here."
Li Lin asked, "So you know this house..."
"I know, it’s an other domain," Yu Sheng interjected before Li Lin could finish, looking completely honest and innocent.
"I only just found out recently; nothing happened when I lived here before."
Li Lin felt speechless again.
What does "just found out" mean? What does "nothing happened before" mean? Can an ordinary person be like this?
That aside, how has the Special Operations Department never discovered such an unusual place in this old district over the years?!
"Uh, can I take a look at your ID?" After holding it in for a long time, Li Lin cautiously asked, then quickly dug into his pocket and pulled out a small black booklet, opening it in front of Yu Sheng.
"This is my duty certificate."
Yu Sheng glanced at the booklet Li Lin showed, which contained his photo, name, and information about his position, along with some mysterious numbers and identification codes.
Yu Sheng had never seen other Special Operations Department badges, but at least this was an official "work attitude."
Thus, he willingly took out his ID and handed it to Li Lin.
Li Lin took the document and quickly scanned the information with Xu Jiali.
Their gazes landed on the “address” section of the ID, staring blankly at the black lettering on a white background that read "66 Wutong Road."
"Is there a problem?" Yu Sheng asked curiously seeing their frozen expressions.
Li Lin snapped out of it and slowly handed the ID back to Yu Sheng, seeming to hesitate before speaking.
"You know, there's no 66 on Wutong Road."
Yu Sheng: “...?”
Now he understood why none of the locksmiths he had asked for help had been able to show up.
"We need to head back to the bureau first," Xu Jiali broke the silence.
"Your situation... is somewhat special. We need to report this to higher-ups and contact the archive department to clarify what's going on."
Yu Sheng looked surprised.
"You’re leaving just like that? I still have a lot of questions..."
"We'll leave our contact information, and we’ll come back soon for a formal 'meeting,'" Xu Jiali said.
"For humans who have newly come into contact with the other domains and have exhibited ‘changes,’ the Special Operations Department has a proper procedure for contact and registration. Rest assured, all your doubts will be answered in the upcoming formal meeting."
While speaking, she also pulled out a small card and handed it to Yu Sheng.
"This has my phone number."
"…Okay."
Yu Sheng thought for a moment.
His main purpose was to connect with the specialists who dealt with other domain issues, and his pile of questions clearly wouldn’t be resolved in just a few casual chats.
All this would have to be saved for future discussions to understand better, so he nodded readily and accepted the business card.
He then left his own mobile number.
This number was one he got after arriving here, but hardly anyone contacted him normally, and he didn't have anyone he could reach out to.
After that, Yu Sheng shifted his gaze to the girl in the red hood, who had been standing silently to the side.
The girl, who looked like a high school student, now had an unfavorable expression on her face.
Her right arm, which was exposed, seemed to be recovering, but there were still many tiny black lines visible on her skin, looking rather strange.
"Are you okay?" Yu Sheng asked, concerned.
"The side effects of dealing with a wolf. It's not the first time, I just need to adjust and I’ll recover," the girl in the red hood shook her head.
"I need to see a doctor first. By the way, let me get my phone number... wait a minute, I didn't bring my phone. I need to find a pen."
As she spoke, she reached for her small bag at her waist, but suddenly her movements froze.
The expression on her face turned rigid as if she had just realized something serious.
Seeing her like this made Yu Sheng jump.
"What’s wrong?"
Xu Jiali sighed beside them.
"Her homework was torn up by an entity."
The girl in the red hood stiffly turned her neck to see Xu Jiali and Li Lin looking sympathetic.
"We both saw it from the beginning, but you weren’t paying attention then," Li Lin said softly.
"We didn't mention it, hoping you'd be happy a little longer…"
"When did you see me happy!? Huh!? When I was being chased like a dog by a monster in the woods?" The red-dressed girl completely lost it, the calmness and maturity she had maintained shattered in an instant, leaving only her frustration.
"I spent three days on that! Three days of math homework ahhhh!!"
Yu Sheng was stunned watching from the sidelines.
He began to feel that these "professionals" were very different from what he had imagined.
But in this atmosphere, he didn’t know how to speak up, especially since the girl looked genuinely upset…
But in any case, the girl in the red hood still managed to leave him her number—each stroke she wrote on the note seemed to be filled with anger as if she were trying to carve the numbers into the ashes of those “hungry entities,” making Yu Sheng feel quite alarmed.
After that, Li Lin and the others were ready to leave.
Yu Sheng escorted them to the doorstep, standing in the doorframe after opening it.
"I won’t send you off further—I still have a lot to handle here."
Li Lin turned back to glance at the living room, where a fox girl with a bunch of tails sat on the floor surrounded by food, while a lifeless little doll with broken arms sat on the sofa, obliviously watching television.
In a strange place called 66 Wutong Road lived an equally strange "Yu Sheng," along with his two equally peculiar "friends."
Right under the watch of the Special Operations Department.
Li Lin realized he had stumbled into a massive whirlwind, and all of this would reflect in the report he and Xu Jiali had to prepare...
As well as in the overtime that lay ahead.
The young operative of the Special Operations Department sighed deeply, tiredly stepping through the door.
The cool night breeze hit his face, and the quiet darkness of the old district settled in his eyes, with the warm streetlights illuminating the road ahead.
He and Xu Jiali unconsciously turned back, only to see a bare wall behind them, the graffiti on it chaotic and abstract.
Xu Jiali took a couple of steps forward, touched the wall, and patted it twice.
"... Looks like it’s not here," the seasoned deep diver murmured.
"This is just an entrance and will only open with an invitation."
"Should we head back to the bureau?" Li Lin asked.
"Or should we leave someone here to keep watch?"
Xu Jiali looked up at the girl in the red hood.
The girl immediately turned her head away, indicating that she was in a bad mood because of her homework being torn up, clearly not in the mood to stay on.
"I need to find Dr. Lin to deal with the 'after effects' first," she added as a valid excuse.
"You two can do as you like. Honestly, it doesn't make much difference whether someone stays here or not—his abilities are quite strange, and the current conditions can't monitor them."
"…Let’s head back to the bureau," Xu Jiali sighed, stepping forward first, "After all, there are others on the perimeter watching. We should report today's situation first, as it involves the Dark Angel, and this matter… might not even be something Captain Song can decide."
(End of Chapter)