The encouragement from leaders and the promise of a big meal may not ease the physical and mental exhaustion that comes from overtime work in a strange land, but paid leave certainly can.
Two unlucky agents walked out of the office with smiles on their faces, leaving Song Cheng behind his desk.
He let out a long sigh and continued to frown at the computer screen.
Just then, he noticed an icon in the corner of the screen suddenly flashing.
In the next moment, a video window appeared out of nowhere.
A young woman appeared on the screen, wearing a white suit and sporting a grayish-white ponytail.
Her pale gray eyes looked through the screen into Song Cheng’s, void of color or emotion. “Are you done?”
A higher-up had arrived.
“Director,” Song Cheng straightened his back, his expression tense. “Aren’t you off work yet?”
“I’m working overtime today,” Bai Liqing said in a flat tone, her voice as emotionless as her faded eyes. “I’ve seen the documents from the archives department and wanted to hear your thoughts.”
“About that 'Yu Sheng'?” Song Cheng frowned slightly and pondered for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t think we can form any judgments right now. We need to have a proper interaction with him to assess what kind of… individual he truly is. However, the challenge lies in whether to approach him as a ‘person’ or as a ‘being’…”
“As a person,” Bai Liqing stated without hesitation.
Song Cheng looked surprised.
“Because his self-awareness is that of a ‘person,’” Bai Liqing said calmly and patiently. “So regardless of whether he is human or not, we need to ensure he continues to think of himself that way.”
“... Maintaining the target’s self-awareness, is that it?” Song Cheng seemed to understand her line of thought. “You believe… that if his self-awareness shifts, it could lead to serious consequences?”
“We can’t yet determine what abilities the target possesses or his influence on the future of the borderlands, but having one more on the side of ‘humans’ means one less on the side of ‘non-humans.’ Entities that are inherently friendly to humans are rare, especially since he has been ‘living’ in the borderlands for a long time. We should consider this a stroke of luck.”
Song Cheng promptly nodded. “Got it, Director. I’ll make arrangements for the contact plan with ‘Yu Sheng’… I’ll go myself.”
Bai Liqing on the screen slightly nodded, then continued, “Regarding the newly appeared ‘Obscure Angel,’ the council is aware. It is now confirmed to be a new one.”
Song Cheng’s pupils constricted instantly.
“There's no existing record?” he leaned forward unconsciously, looking very serious. “What about records from other forces?”
“Already inquired with the Argled Astrological Society and the ‘Academy,’ their official records do not mention the massive eye-like Obscure Angel capable of covering the sky mentioned in the report. The Ramosan Hermetic Society has not responded yet, but if the Academy’s records are empty, the Ramosans likely have nothing either,” Bai Liqing shook her head. “While there is a possibility that some smaller forces might have come into contact with the Obscure Angel, the likelihood is low.”
Song Cheng’s brow furrowed deeply, a sign of his anxiety.
“This is not good… a new ‘angel’ without any recorded data suddenly appears, and we couldn’t gather any information before it disappeared, especially at such a large scale,” he murmured, “It can cover the entirety of the sky above Nightshade Valley… According to the official records from Nightshade Valley, this thing has likely been parasitic in that region for a very long time…”
“Yes, high-level disguise, deep parasitism, to the extent that early investigators in that valley believed the sky was naturally like that. Hence the name ‘Nightshade Valley,’” Bai Liqing spoke slowly. “Simply based on physical scale, this newly appeared ‘Obscure Angel’ may rank among the top three of all known angels.”
Song Cheng fell into thought for a moment before finally speaking up, “... According to the intelligence collected by two of my team members, the fox spirit claiming to be ‘Hu Li’ beside Yu Sheng seems to have been trapped in Nightshade Valley for a long time. She might know something related to that ‘Obscure Angel’?”
“This is a breakthrough, but be cautious during the investigation.”
Song Cheng lowered his head slightly. “I understand.”
Bai Liqing acknowledged with a soft sound, seeming prepared to end the video call.
But Song Cheng suddenly spoke again, “By the way, Director, there’s one more thing.”
“Speak.”
“... I plan to take a ride on the ‘Train,’” Song Cheng said seriously, “to see if I can gather information related to ‘Yu Sheng’ there.”
“... Approved—but be careful. Even with relatively rational and friendly entities, exercise great caution during interactions.”
“Understood.”
…
While helping Hu Li organize the bedding, Yu Sheng suddenly sneezed several times in a row, startling Erin, who was balancing on the footboard of the bed. “You scared me!” the little doll exclaimed, wide-eyed.
“My nose is itchy,” Yu Sheng rubbed his nose and casually grabbed Erin, tossing her onto the bed. “Stop just staring. Come help—sit in the middle of the bed, I’ll stretch the sheets.”
Erin chirped happily and ran to the middle of the bed to sit cross-legged, looking up at Yu Sheng busying himself beside her.
Hu Li stood at a distance, seeming a bit flustered as she watched her “benefactor” prepare her bedding.
“Benefactor… I can help too,” the fox spirit girl said, rubbing her hands together, her tail flicking nervously behind her. “Cleaning a room is simple; I’ve seen how it’s done!”
“Then you can clean your own room in the future. Let’s skip it today,” Yu Sheng said without looking up. “I’m almost done here.”
Hu Li replied, pushing aside the uneasy feeling that came from being taken care of, and cautiously observed her new room with curiosity.
This was the second-floor room that had originally been piled with a lot of clutter, but now all those boxes filled with miscellaneous items were cleared to the basement.
After a simple clean-up, the space had returned to a livable state—though to say it was livable was a stretch, as the furnishings were still very rudimentary.
In addition to the bed that had always been in the room but had been piled with things and a table, the room only had one chair left in the corner as proper “furniture.”
To that end, Yu Sheng had earlier retrieved a folding wardrobe from the basement, and after much collaboration with Erin, they managed to assemble the metal pipes and canvas, placing it in the corner as the fourth piece of furniture here.
However, Hu Li didn’t have many clothes to put inside—she had almost no personal belongings, only the tattered “dress” she had brought out from the valley.
It was practically a rag, and unable to bear throwing it away, she washed it and folded it as best she could, placing it in the ugly folding wardrobe at the very bottom.
It counted as her first possession in this “home.”
Even such a frugal and somewhat shabby little room made her indescribably happy.
She could now sleep on the bed.
She lay down for a moment earlier and found it more comfortable than the softest and most even haystack.
Above her was a complete roof, and walls to block the wind—this room was warm, unlike the valley where it was cold everywhere.
She didn’t need to curl up with her tail to stay warm while sleeping, and there was bright electric light, brighter than foxfire.
Most importantly—no matter what she did here, it wouldn’t attract that monster.
If she got hungry, she could always find food.
There was plenty of food in her tail right now.
Hu Li sat down on the floor, a happy smile spreading across her face.
Once Yu Sheng had finished arranging the sheets, he turned his head and saw the fox spirit grinning foolishly on the ground: “Why are you sitting on the floor again? There’s a chair next to you—what are you grinning about?”
“Oh!” Hu Li quickly got up from the floor and sat on the nearby chair. “I’m happy.”
“That’s good to be happy.” Yu Sheng nodded, then straightened up, surveying the simple surroundings with a sense of slight accomplishment.
The room’s furnishings were rudimentary, but it had taken considerable effort to tidy it up—after all, it was the result of over two hours of hard work.
—But it was still a bit too simple.
“Tomorrow we’ll go to the market to buy you a new set of bedding and a couple of outfits, and we can get new curtains later; these have holes,” Yu Sheng said, making plans. “Let’s use this wardrobe for now; buying a new one can be expensive, and I’m a bit tight on cash lately. Hmm, we can get a bedside table later too, maybe a lamp.”
“No need for so much stuff,” Hu Li hurriedly waved her hands, feeling somewhat flustered. “This is already great.”
“Don’t worry about it; these are just daily necessities, you need to have what you should have,” Yu Sheng waved his hand nonchalantly. “After all, you’re going to be my number one assistant. The conditions can’t be poor.”
Erin, sitting in the middle of the bed, lifted her head and shot Yu Sheng a glance. “Before you think about buying furniture, you should consider how to get the furniture delivered. This isn’t ‘Wutong Road No. 66’—looks like you can’t expect a new TV either. It won’t be delivered, or… are you planning to open a ‘big’ door and carry a bunch of furniture back yourself?”
Listening to the little doll’s chatter, Yu Sheng’s lively “plans” suddenly cooled down.
His expression became somewhat serious.
He recalled the words spoken by the two “special agents” before they left.
…Yeah, getting deliveries might be a problem after all—because—
Wutong Road does not have a No. 66.
(End of Chapter)