Little Red Riding Hood showed no reaction to the massive wolf shadow that had suddenly pounced from behind her.
Her mind seemed to be stuck in one place, leaving her in a daze.
But Yu Sheng quickly reacted.
He pushed off the ground with the speed he had never used before, smashing his foot into the solid marble floor and creating a deep pit.
Then he shot toward the girl in red like a cannonball.
He pushed Little Red Riding Hood out of the way just in time, only to feel a searing pain in his shoulder as the wolf's sharp teeth tore into him.
Before that odd "giant wolf" could deliver a fatal blow, countless dark threads shot out and quickly sealed off all the space behind Yu Sheng.
The threads pierced the wolf's shadow, binding the seemingly formless creature tightly.
Suddenly, a blazing fox fire surged upward, enveloping Hu Li in ethereal blue flames.
With afterimages and explosive sounds, she flew over Yu Sheng's head and crashed hard into the giant wolf figure.
A thunderous sound shook the entire exhibition hall.
This was the headbutt of a fox spirit in a fit of fury after a hearty meal.
It was far more impactful than the head that had once crushed Yu Sheng.
He felt a gust of wind almost sweep him off his feet, while that giant wolf was smashed into a large, inky shadow that scattered across the ground.
However, just two or three seconds later, that black shadow reformed as if the physical damage meant nothing to it.
Even a blow strong enough to penetrate a battle tank's armor had only made it dissolve briefly.
It stood back up, its head distorted and its blood-red eyes now fixated on Yu Sheng.
The wolf’s teeth sparkled with Yu Sheng's blood, looking especially fierce and eerie.
"What in the world is that?!" Ailin gasped, her expression shifting quickly.
Raising her hands, she began weaving the black threads again in an attempt to restrain the indestructible shadow.
She shouted to Hu Li, "Dumb fox! Don't charge in! This thing might not die!"
But just as Ailin's voice faded, the massive wolf shadow froze in mid-air, stalling in a position as if ready to pounce on Yu Sheng.
The howls of wolves erupted.
The “wolf pack” that had fallen still when Little Red Riding Hood was entranced suddenly regained their activity, barking fiercely as they lunged toward the giant wolf, now suspended in the air.
In shock, Yu Sheng, Ailin, and Hu Li watched as these pups, small like kittens compared to the enormous wolf, clawed and bit at the creature, tearing it apart in an instant.
Black shards fell like ink, slowly reassembling into a thick shadow and returning to Little Red Riding Hood.
Yu Sheng noticed that the blood color was fading from her eyes, a sliver of rationality returning.
After a moment, she blinked and fully snapped back to consciousness.
"Are you okay?" "Are you okay?" Both Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood shouted at the same time.
Then they fell silent, a heavy atmosphere settling in the white exhibition hall.
"What just happened?" Yu Sheng broke the silence first, his expression serious as he looked at the girl in red.
"That half-human, half-wolf thing came out of your shadow."
Ailin quietly moved beside Yu Sheng, her tiny doll-like face showing a hint of wariness.
Hu Li did similarly nearby.
"... That was the 'wolf' chasing me, a curse brought by 'Fairy Tales'," Little Red Riding Hood mumbled, her head lowered, avoiding the sight of the sinister sacrifice scene at the center of the hall.
"The one over there, instead of the 'Wailer' statue, was a person sacrificed in the exhibition. It carries intense spiritual pollution; I saw things I shouldn't have, causing that 'evil wolf' to appear in our world for a moment. I'm sorry for hurting you."
Yu Sheng glanced at his shoulder, noticing he was bleeding quite a lot, though he sensed the wound was beginning to heal.
"The injury isn’t too severe, but you really 'lost control'—you just said this is a curse from 'Fairy Tales', but isn't that the name of your organization?"
Little Red Riding Hood fell silent for two seconds, then softly spoke, "...'Fairy Tales' is an otherworld."
She quietly pulled something from her bag.
It was a needleless syringe filled with a faintly glowing liquid.
Yu Sheng instantly recognized it as something expensive—Little Red Riding Hood hesitated to inject it into herself, clearly feeling the pinch.
"Don't worry, I won't lose control again, at least not during this operation," she said after injecting the substance, letting out a sigh of relief and looking at Yu Sheng.
"The reward from this operation, if we can still count it, will all belong to you."
Yu Sheng furrowed his brows in confusion, "Why?"
Little Red Riding Hood sighed, "I held you back, according to the rules."
"Oh, there's no need for that; we can go by our previous agreement—what happened earlier was an accident. In team operations, unexpected things happen; it doesn’t count as holding back," Yu Sheng waved his hand dismissively, a mysterious smile appearing on his face, "More than any division of rewards or ‘holding back’ concerns, I care about something else."
Little Red Riding Hood was momentarily stunned, looking bewilderedly into his eyes.
"Curiosity. I'm interested in that 'otherworld' you mentioned and also in the curse on you—if I'm not mistaken, the curse that affects all of you," Yu Sheng said earnestly, even a glimmer in his eyes, "I want to know what’s going on, why you’re cursed by another realm, and why you use that realm’s name as your organization's name."
Yu Sheng’s gaze was especially sincere, yet as Little Red Riding Hood faced that stare, she suddenly felt a wave of…
Fear and shivers.
It wasn’t that she sensed any malice, nor was it fear of Yu Sheng himself.
She couldn’t quite explain what it was; it felt like she was confronting something fierce, pure, and far beyond human comprehension—was it merely curiosity?
She hesitated.
Although she usually would never mention the secrets of her organization to others, her hesitations were clearly mixed with other emotions this time.
However, under Yu Sheng's gaze, her hesitation eventually yielded.
She slowly nodded, “If you really wish to know, I can tell you—but this is a long story.”
"Alright then, we’ll talk about it when we have time," Yu Sheng replied readily, his mood lifting, "This situation isn’t really suitable for stories... after all, we have a mess to clean up."
He looked up at the sacrificial victim.
The brief and dangerous chaos had caused significant damage to the exhibition hall.
There were deep pits and scorch marks everywhere from the fox fire, and yet the center display stand remained untouched due to the situation being resolved in time.
Only two "security guards" were knocked down by the impact of Hu Li's headbutt, yet the silver fox tail still covered the plastic mannequin's head, leaving those strict “entities” oddly motionless on the ground, giving off a faintly comedic yet eerie vibe.
“... Could this be the work of ‘security guards’?” Yu Sheng asked curiously, looking at the dead victim.
“No," Little Red Riding Hood shook her head immediately.
After injecting the extra rationality blocker, she finally could observe the eerie sacrifice, although each time she looked away, a faint noise tickled her ears.
"The ‘security guards’ would just kill the museum's violators simply; they wouldn’t perform such a complex and clearly symbolic ‘sacrifice’. This kind of thing… seems more human.”
“So someone really entered the museum before us and stole the ‘Wailer’ meant to be here, even using a living person as a sacrificial offering,” Yu Sheng's frown deepened, “... This series of actions also activated the 'security guards', which led to our attack?”
“That is a reasonable conclusion,” Little Red Riding Hood nodded gently.
Yet seeing Yu Sheng standing near the “altar” without concern, she couldn't help but speak up, “You… don’t feel anything looking at this sacrifice? You didn't use a rationality blocker beforehand?”
“Nope,” Yu Sheng spread his hands, “I don’t even know where to buy that rationality blocker you mentioned. I suspect I haven’t even finished my beginner’s tutorial yet—plus, you said you were contaminated when looking at the person on that pedestal, but I didn’t feel anything.”
Little Red Riding Hood blinked and looked over at Ailin.
“Dolls don't fear mere spiritual pollution!” Ailin said, hands on her hips.
Little Red Riding Hood then glanced at Hu Li.
“She single-handedly faced ‘Hunger’ in Nightshade Valley for decades,” Yu Sheng reminded, “it's driven ‘Hunger’ to the brink of reason.”
Little Red Riding Hood: “…”
What a bunch of people I’m with!
(End of Chapter)