Erin always felt that Yu Sheng had countless strange ideas, and he was always full of energy when trying to realize those absurd thoughts—she had been convinced of this ever since he pulled two lotus roots out from a drawer.
Compared to ideas like “cutting off a piece of flesh from a living being to taste the saltiness” and “trying to use lotus roots to make bodies for dolls,” attempting to grow vegetables in a calm foreign space didn’t seem so outrageous.
After wandering around the valley and confirming the existence of the “spatial boundary” from the other side of the valley, Yu Sheng and the other two decided to return to the real world for the time being.
Crossing through the door, the familiar living room and the warm, bright lights greeted their eyes.
Outside, the night was still deep.
Standing in front of the living room window, Yu Sheng felt a bit dazed for a moment.
“Over there, the sky is still bright,” Erin climbed onto the windowsill, peering her head outside for a while. “I almost forgot that it’s still dark here.”
“It seems like ever since that ‘Twilight Angel’ left, the entire valley has been in daylight,” Yu Sheng nodded. “We stayed there for so long without seeing any change in the light out there.”
“There isn’t even a sun over there, so where does the daylight come from?” Erin leaped from the windowsill onto Yu Sheng’s back, then nimbly crawled down his thigh to the ground, chatting casually as she went, “So, by this logic, it should be called ‘Daylight Valley’…”
Yu Sheng’s eyes twitched a couple of times as he watched Erin’s skilled and natural climbing. “I say, isn’t your climbing a bit too skilled?”
“Is it? Really?” Erin looked up, unashamed at all. “Maybe practice makes perfect?”
Yu Sheng’s mouth twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something more, but at that moment, a sudden ringtone interrupted his thoughts.
He took out his phone and, not surprisingly, saw Bai Liqing’s name on the screen.
“I’ll take this call,” Yu Sheng waved to Erin and the nearby Hu Li, then walked to the dining room with his phone.
As soon as he answered, before he could greet her, Bai Liqing’s calm voice came through the receiver. “You’re back?”
Her voice was so flat that it briefly gave Yu Sheng the illusion that she was sitting in the living room, staring at him with her eyes.
“Uh, yes, I’m back,” Yu Sheng felt an unexplainable awkwardness. “Did you have… some ‘movement’ over there?”
“Mhm, we’ve gotten used to it,” Bai Liqing answered simply, getting straight to the point. “So, did you see the ‘Twilight Valley’? What’s its current situation?”
“I did see it,” Yu Sheng steadied himself and then suddenly asked back, “From what it sounds like, you seem unable to grasp its situation—doesn’t the Special Operations Bureau have the means to search or enter various foreign realms?”
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the line.
“It failed,” to Yu Sheng’s surprise, Bai Liqing straightforwardly responded after the silence. “We actually tried sending investigators after the ‘Hunger’ incident, but they did not find the Twilight Valley.”
“Didn’t find it?” Yu Sheng instinctively noted the wording. “What does not finding it mean? That they couldn’t enter, or that they couldn’t locate it?”
“Yes, as in the literal sense. To all of the Bureau’s ‘regular exploration methods,’ it appears that the Twilight Valley has actually vanished,” Bai Liqing said. “So hearing that you not only could find it but also could enter that foreign realm at will surprises me.”
Yu Sheng pondered for a moment, realizing he had never sensed any “surprise” from that expressionless woman, but he regarded Bai Liqing’s candidness very positively. “Then let me share what I found here—first of all, I think that place needs a new name.
Ever since something you call the ‘Twilight Angel’ left, the entire valley hasn’t experienced any ‘night’, and I believe that this might be its true appearance. “Secondly, based on my observations, the entity—a manifestation of hunger—has disappeared.
It should be permanent.” Yu Sheng was sure he heard a noticeable breath and a suppressed gasp from the other side of the line. He felt her surprise.
The next moment, Bai Liqing’s slightly hurried voice reached his ears.
“I want to confirm, were you just saying ‘permanently disappeared’? Do you… understand how entities and foreign realms operate? Don’t get me wrong; I’m simply curious.”
“I know.
If a foreign realm persists, the entity lasts, right? But the entity of hunger is indeed gone.
Also, according to my observations, the nature of that valley has changed somewhat.
I don’t have the specialized equipment you have, but I think… broadly speaking, the ‘Twilight Valley’ should also be considered as having vanished.
What remains is just a tranquil foreign space.
Do you understand what I mean?
Like…”
Yu Sheng suddenly stuttered at this point, unsure how to describe the situation to her. But soon, he heard Bai Liqing’s voice from the receiver.
“A shell left behind after being consumed, right?”
Yu Sheng blinked, surprised that he hadn’t thought of such a precise description. He had actually withheld a lot of things, including details of how he triggered the ‘Feast,’ his connection with the valley, the changes that his blood could induce, and the“vitality”gradually emerging in the valley at that moment.
Most of what Bai Liqing could gather came from reports sent back by Li Lin and Xu Jiali, but clearly… this Special Operations Bureau director had exceptional insight and judgment. “About this ‘shell’,”at this moment, Bai Liqing’s voice came again,“the Bureau wishes to send someone to investigate it in person.
Of course, we need your help and consent.” Yu Sheng hesitated for a brief moment. In truth, he did not harbor any resistance or wariness toward the Bureau.
After all, he had not had any unpleasant experiences with anyone from the Bureau thus far. It was simply human nature to want to keep secrets, and his connection with that valley was now very close. Bai Liqing surely noticed Yu Sheng’s brief hesitation.
“You can take your time to think about it.
We won’t force you.
If you’re willing to open the door, we can accept any investigator you designate, as well as the number of people, time limits, and can be supervised throughout the process,”Bai Liqing said patiently. Although she still maintained her detached and flat tone, it sounded as though she was trying to demonstrate her sincerity and friendliness.
“We just hope to collect some critical data.
After all—this is an unprecedented situation, the first-ever entity and foreign realm truly ‘erased’.
Surely, I don’t need to emphasize; you can understand its significance to us.” With her saying this, Yu Sheng found it difficult to refuse outright.
“Alright, I’ll think about it over the next few days.”…
Watching Bai Liqing, who was standing by the window on the phone, Song Cheng couldn’t help but whisper to the middle-aged man beside him, who was slightly balding and a bit plump,“Hey, Director Wu, do you think the Director has ever been this easygoing before?”
“You’re asking me? You usually deal with the Director more than I do,”the man called Director Wu replied in a lower voice.
“You know how it is in our information center; we feel invisible most of the time.
We only have a bit of presence during summary meetings, and some of your action department folks even call us ‘workstation dwellers’…”Song Cheng immediately chuckled.
“Don’t say, it’s quite a vivid description.”
Director Wu shot him a glance and cautiously looked up at Bai Liqing, who was still on the phone.
“Speaking of which… it’s truly the first time I’ve seen the Director speak so kindly and patiently for this long—‘Yu Sheng’… is he really that important?”
“Important? No, it’s more like unsettling,”Song Cheng shrugged.
“Hasn’t your entire department been working non-stop on this? Still not fully aware?”
“...
Don’t even mention it.” Song Cheng pulled at the corner of his mouth, just preparing to tease some more when he suddenly felt a shiver down his spine, and his whole person went tense. A calm yet pressure-filled gaze had fallen upon him.
“The entity of hunger has permanently vanished.”
Bai Liqing’s flat statement made all of Song Cheng’s wild thoughts vanish in an instant, leaving only an“Ah?”ringing in his heart like a thunderclap. He opened his mouth, unable to think of what to say.
“Once your two operatives return from vacation, arrange for them to interact more with ‘Yu Sheng’,”Bai Liqing continued without acknowledging Song Cheng’s daze.
“Yu Sheng possesses human emotions and behavioral logic.
His emotional responses are very genuine.
We need someone to establish a relatively stable trust and friendly relationship with him.
Your two operatives are performing quite well.
Additionally, tomorrow you should send someone to 66 Wutong Road to deliver the registration form—be mindful of the candidates, though.
Don’t choose someone who treats foreign realms and entities like a great enemy; find someone clever and approachable.” Song Cheng finally came to his senses.
“Ah, yes, Director.”
Bai Liqing nodded and turned her gaze to the slightly balding and plump middle-aged man beside him. He was the head of the information center in the Bureau.
“How’s your side doing?”she asked.
“We’ve already ruled out all possibilities.
At least from the system level, there’s no reason for such a glitch to occur,”Director Wu quickly adjusted his posture. “We also tried to delete ‘Yu Sheng’s’ file and re-register it, but all operations were ineffective.
Those entries seem to be ‘floating’ in the database, accept no calls or modifications, and do not generate any error messages.
Honestly… if the system doesn’t start alarming soon, I might as well alarm myself.” “Better than reporting, let’s get some professors from the academy over to take a look.
Their incense and binary prayers to soothe the core spirits are suitable for dealing with these unsettling issues,”Song Cheng chimed in.
“Last time, the depression of one of the transport vehicles in the Fourth Team was cured with their help.”
“I'll contact the Terra side and have them send someone over,”Bai Liqing nodded gently.
“But if the ‘Academy’ professors can’t handle it either, then this matter will end here.
In any case, starting today, don’t continue attempting to modify any data about ‘Yu Sheng’ in the file system.”
“Yes, Director.”
(End of Chapter)