Upon hearing Yu Sheng's mumbling, Bai Li Qing's expression briefly turned peculiar.
However, she chose to remain silent, merely observing the person in front of her with curious eyes.
Addressing questions and resolving minor troubles were secondary; the most important matter today was the "interaction" itself.
She had encountered countless entities of all kinds, having killed some and banished others.
She had even conversed and collaborated with sentient oddities.
She had deceived them and at times had been deceived herself, yet never had there been an entity – human-like or otherwise – that spoke to her in such a manner under these particular circumstances.
The being sitting before her seemed genuinely interested in becoming a spirit world detective or investigator.
Setting aside her swirling thoughts, Bai Li Qing broke the silence.
"So, you want..."
"Can I register a group?" Yu Sheng looked at her with a hint of anticipation.
"I'm not alone; I have two others."
"You mean that doll named Ailin and the 'fox spirit' you brought from another realm?" Upon mentioning this, Bai Li Qing frowned slightly.
"But they currently lack legal identity in the borderland."
"Then can we get them identity cards first?" Yu Sheng pondered for a moment before adding, "Ah, but won't they need jobs to get ID? And to register a job, they first need an ID, then it’s stuck in a loop?"
Bai Li Qing was visibly taken aback this time.
"Of course not! Why would you worry about that?"
"Oh, then that's good," Yu Sheng chuckled awkwardly.
"I was overthinking."
"I'll arrange it," Bai Li Qing replied without much thought, quietly adding to her internal observation report on "Yu Sheng" that he possessed a certain degree of humor.
She glanced at her wristwatch and said, "The time is about right."
"Ah, you are leaving?" Yu Sheng instinctively stood up.
"Then what about this…"
"Someone will come to find you soon to handle the necessary registration for you and your two friends. It’s just a matter of filling out a few forms. Keep your phone on these next few days."
"Oh… oh."
Yu Sheng nodded.
Bai Li Qing was about to leave when she suddenly recalled something.
"By the way, there is one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Regarding the Nightshade Valley – the other realm you encountered previously. Did you return to check on its condition after that?"
Yu Sheng looked puzzled.
"That valley? I haven't been back since... Has something happened there?"
"Exactly, it's 'situation unclear,'" Bai Li Qing shook her head.
"So if your 'gate' can still lead there, it might be worth taking a look."
From Bai Li Qing's expression, Yu Sheng couldn't glean anything useful, but he faintly felt... this matter was not as benign as her demeanor suggested.
She deliberately brought it up just before leaving, as if emphasizing something.
After a moment of confusion and contemplation, Yu Sheng gently nodded.
In truth, he had no desire to revisit that eerie valley, nor was he interested in dealing with "Hunger" again.
However, from Bai Li Qing's attitude, he realized that there might be trouble beyond just the "entity-Hunger."
In the blink of an eye, the café, which extended infinitely before him, suddenly collapsed into nothingness.
Bai Li Qing's figure faded amid the cascading destruction, and in an instant, the café returned to its normal state.
The sounds of the real world flooded back, as if the previous encounter had merely been a bizarre dream – with only a faint hint of perfume in the air serving as proof that someone had truly been there.
Yu Sheng stood in a daze, glancing around to find that no one seemed to notice the strange occurrence.
The large stack of papers belonging to Little Red Riding Hood still lay quietly on the table, waiting for him to continue his efforts.
"Well, that was quick to come and go..."
Yu Sheng shook his head, muttering to himself before settling down to resume writing the high school assignments.
Yet this time, he struggled to focus.
Conversations with the "Director of the Special Operations Bureau" swirled uncontrollably in his mind, filled with an influx of new knowledge about this world, intermingled with anticipation and imagination about the future.
It felt like a long time since he had experienced such eager yet slightly anxious emotions for the next day.
Moreover, there was Bai Li Qing's mention of the Nightshade Valley.
What had happened to that valley?
At that moment, a voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts from nearby.
"We're back!" Little Red Riding Hood's cheerful voice rang out.
"Yu Sheng, how much have you written?" Yu Sheng immediately looked up to see the dark-haired girl standing next to Little Red Riding Hood.
It was Hu Li, now clad in new clothes.
The weather had turned colder, and Little Red Riding Hood had bought her a warm white coat and a cotton skirt.
The outfit was quite simple yet surprisingly suited Hu Li.
The plush neckline not only provided decoration but also shielded from the wind, reminiscent of Hu Li's own fluffy ears and tail – both in the same silver-white color, exuding a gentle elegance.
The fox girl stood there somewhat awkwardly, her expression a bit dazed.
She seemed unaccustomed to wearing fitted clothes, perhaps still trying to shake off the feeling of being in a strange crowd.
It wasn't until Yu Sheng waved her over that she snapped back to awareness, hurriedly approaching with several large shopping bags in hand.
"Um... Yu Sheng," Hu Li fidgeted nervously as she stood opposite the table, recalling she needed to address him by name in front of strangers, "The new clothes are very suitable."
"They look great," Yu Sheng smiled, sensing her happiness, but then his gaze fell on her skirt.
"With the temperature dropping, isn’t that outfit a bit cold?"
"I’m wearing thermal leggings underneath," Little Red Riding Hood chimed in as she comfortably sat next to Yu Sheng, peering at the table.
"Let me see how much you’ve written... Um, seems it's not much?"
"I ran into some unexpected circumstances and lost a lot of time," Yu Sheng nervously rubbed his nose and then curiously looked at Hu Li and Little Red Riding Hood.
"By the way, where's Ailin?"
"Oh, she's right here!" Hu Li suddenly remembered and lifted a large shopping bag from the floor to show Yu Sheng.
"There were too many things bought in between, so I couldn’t carry her; I just put her in the bag."
Leaning forward, Yu Sheng glimpsed the little doll nestled among clothes in the shopping bag – Ailin lay there, her eyes devoid of their sparkle, surrounded by a pile of garments, the bag saturated with her grievances.
Her wrathful energy nearly turned the tote into a cursed object.
"Are you alright?" Yu Sheng leaned over, silently asking in his heart.
Ailin: "Am I alright? Get me out of here! I've been staring at the ceiling in the mall, and now I’m staring at the ceiling again! And the drink Little Red Riding Hood didn't finish was dumped in the bag! Snacks too! I even fell to the bottom of the bag and they didn't notice! I've protested all the way! This silly fox lost her marbles and ignored me!"
Yu Sheng hurriedly pulled the moodily fuming doll out of the shopping bag, placing her on a nearby chair, and mentally offered comfort.
Little Red Riding Hood browsed through her homework, her curiosity piqued as she turned to Yu Sheng.
"What kind of unexpected situation did you face?"
Yu Sheng did not hide the truth, merely lowering his voice, "A woman unexpectedly showed up. She said her name is Bai Li Qing and that she is the director of the Special Operations Bureau."
Little Red Riding Hood, flipping through her math homework, froze in place.
After two or three seconds, she stiffly turned her head. "…Huh?"
Yu Sheng glanced around and whispered to Little Red Riding Hood, "Is that really that surprising?"
"Director! Bai Li Qing! That big shot!" Little Red Riding Hood’s voice changed slightly, no longer daring to speak loudly to avoid drawing attention.
"Wait, why did she come looking for you in person?!"
Little Red Riding Hood hesitated, her expression suddenly growing tense.
"She wouldn't think you are a dangerous person that required her attention, would she?"
Perhaps having spent half the day in the mall with Hu Li relaxed her demeanor some, making it seem less tense and cautious than when they first met.
Yu Sheng paid no mind to her change of attitude, recalling the conversation with Bai Li Qing, shaking his head.
"Not at all. She just came to understand the situation. She asked me a few questions, and I had a whole heap for her – she seemed quite approachable."
Little Red Riding Hood stood there in a daze, doubting her own hearing –
Bai Li Qing? Approachable?
Such a combination of words was indeed novel.
...
At the headquarters of the Special Operations Bureau, in an office, amid a collapse and distortion of light and shadow, a pale humanoid silhouette suddenly appeared behind the desk.
The shape quickly solidified and took on a faint color, transforming into Bai Li Qing's figure.
She sat quietly behind the desk, motionless for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.
After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly raised her head and pressed a button on the desk.
"Notify Team Two's Song Cheng, and Li Zheng from the Confidential Management Division, to come to my office immediately."
(End of Chapter)