Chapter 102: Exit

Applause thundered out, as if invisible spectators filled the void, celebrating and applauding the perfect scene on stage. Little Red Riding Hood was stunned for a moment and blurted out—

“That actually worked?!”

Yu Sheng was even more bewildered: “I don’t know either—I just had a plan and hadn’t done a thing yet…”

But regardless, the applause had sounded. As Little Red Riding Hood and Yu Sheng stared blankly, the entire museum seemed shaken by the applause, and then it began to change—the room disintegrated with a rumble, the intact roof and walls turning into scenery and crude props in the blink of an eye, then quickly sinking into the depths of darkness and nothingness. The color of the floor faded, revealing a dusty stage again. Darkness first converged from all directions, then, accompanied by the clicking of relays, beams of light fell from above, illuminating the stage and the audience area around it.

The theater brightened. The empty seats still echoed with unceasing applause, which didn’t fade until more than ten seconds had passed.

Yu Sheng quickly scanned the area, confirming everyone was present, then met Little Red Riding Hood’s strange gaze.

“Well… I just had a bold idea, thought making a big commotion would meet the ‘curtain call’ condition, but in the end I didn’t even carry it out…”

“No, I just think you might have actually found an exit method that fits the rules of ‘Museum Night,’ though it’s a bit… extreme,” Little Red Riding Hood shook her head, her expression thoughtful. “The entry and exit rules of Museum Night are interlocked with this ‘theater’ as the gateway. The essence of leaving with the curtain call is to create a ‘deviation value’—the more what happens deviates from the ‘stage,’ the easier it is to trigger the curtain call. I’d say… ‘detonating a large number of fox tails inside the museum’ is definitely a serious off-script incident, the kind that counts as out of bounds even if the ‘actors’ on stage just mention it.”

Yu Sheng was stunned: “Is that how it is?”

“Who really knows? Other domains always have plenty of incomprehensible things,” Little Red curled her lip. “Anyway, if that’s the reason, this approach can’t be copied. Not everyone has such an… abstract nine-tailed fox by their side like you do.”

Yu Sheng reached out and stroked the fluff behind Hu Li’s ears. The fox girl squinted happily, then muttered “I’m hungry” and pulled out a large flatbread from her tail to munch on.

“You used up quite a bit today,” Yu Sheng said, then suddenly remembered something. “Oh wait—we just came out all of a sudden. Did the tails you left in the White Hall to control those ‘guards’ come out with you?!”

“They did,” Hu Li nodded rapidly. “The moment the illusion disappeared, the tails turned back into demonic energy and came back.”

“Pretty handy, huh.” Yu Sheng exclaimed sincerely.

“Let’s get out of here first,” Little Red sighed softly, looking at the theater area still lit by lights of unknown origin. “We go back the same way. Once we reach the ticket window, the effects of ‘Museum Night’ will officially fade.”

“Okay.” Yu Sheng nodded and glanced at the “Mourner” sculpture still in his hand—

According to museum rules, any collection held in hand at the time of “curtain call” or “end of the evening show” can be safely taken out of the Other Domain. This thing had now become his first exploration trophy as a “novice Spirit World Detective.”

It was very light, at least much lighter than expected. The material didn’t feel like stone or any other natural substance. If anything… it had a suspicious skin-like texture, like a pale hide stretched taut over a hard surface, even carrying a faint trace of warmth.

Under the light coming from above, the sculpture of a woman covering her face in tears gave off an eerie vibe. Yu Sheng had no idea how much “artistic value” it had, nor what the client wanted it for. As for himself, he certainly wouldn’t place such a thing in his home.

The group left the stage, walked through the empty audience seats, and then passed through the same corridor they’d entered by—lights from an unknown source illuminated the way until they reached the old theater’s entrance hall. Little Red knocked on the glass of the dark ticket window, and the theater’s lights all went out at once.

Yu Sheng noticed that along the way, Little Red’s wolves had been roaming and sniffing everywhere. Even now, a few wolves were still prowling around near the ticket window and another passage leading deeper into the theater. He couldn’t help but ask with curiosity: “What are they doing?”

“Checking for any traces left by others,” Little Red said quietly. “The node here didn’t raise an alarm, but someone did come into the museum. They couldn’t have just appeared out of thin air… unless someone else can ‘open a door’ to enter and leave the Other Domain anytime like you.”

Yu Sheng quickly waved his hand: “That shouldn’t be the case. When I open a door, it also triggers an alarm—and I hear it’s pretty noisy. But didn’t you say I should try to avoid getting tangled up with the Angel Cult?”

“…Hmm, that’s true.” Little Red hesitated, then nodded slightly. The wolves roaming around silently gathered and hid once again in the shadows beside her.

The group left the old theater through the front door and returned to the city’s night air.

It was past midnight. Besides the occasional sound of a car passing on the main road far away, everything was exceptionally quiet.

Little Red took the “Mourner” sculpture from Yu Sheng, then retrieved a large backpack she had hidden in the shrubbery near the museum’s front entrance and placed the sculpture inside.

“I’ll take this to the client from the Curio Association. I’ll also ask some acquaintances I know to look into whether there are any hidden issues behind this commission. The reward can be transferred to you as early as tomorrow—Border Communication has a transfer function. You can link your bank card later and withdraw the balance,” she said to Yu Sheng, adding more new knowledge. “Spirit World Detectives and investigators only recognize Border Communication’s transaction channels, because offline deals aren’t protected by the Borderland Council; you bear the risk yourself.”

“Mm,” Yu Sheng replied absentmindedly, apparently thinking about something else. “Well, about that scene in the White Hall…”

“I’ll report it. Someone from the Special Duty Bureau will probably come to you for details soon enough,” Little Red said casually. “You’re definitely on their radar. They’ll take this very seriously. They might even invite you for further investigation, or… tell you some things about the Dim Angel. But remember what I said—try not to get too involved with that. Many experienced investigators and Spirit World Detectives have fallen because of such matters…”

She stopped mid-sentence, shook her head with a strange expression. “But telling you this might be meddling. You’re not exactly an ‘ordinary person.’”

“Thanks for the concern,” Yu Sheng said sincerely, not bothered at all, then added with a sigh, “I said it once before, but I have to say it again… You really do have a habit of taking care of people.”

Little Red was taken aback, her expression a bit unnatural: “Huh, I haven’t really noticed, but there are plenty of members in ‘Fairy Tale’ even younger than me. I guess it’s become a habit?”

Yu Sheng smiled knowingly, a hint of warmth and admiration in his eyes that Little Red didn’t catch.

Then, they said their goodbyes at an intersection near the museum—Little Red and her wolves quickly melted into the shadows under the night. Like a light breeze passing through the darkness, phantoms disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye.

“…That’s pretty handy for her, especially when traveling at night,” Yu Sheng remarked as he watched the direction where Little Red had vanished. “Saves on taxi fares too.”

He had said it casually, but the fox girl beside him suddenly lowered her head, her voice full of shame: “I’m sorry, benefactor. I make too much noise when I travel; I can’t take you home…”

Yu Sheng quickly waved his hand: “No, no, I don’t mind.”

“How are we getting back?” Eileen asked curiously. “Take a taxi again? Will it be that Xu Jiali again? I don’t want to ride in his car…”

“I’ll open a door,” Yu Sheng said casually.

Eileen was surprised: “Huh? Earlier at the museum, you said it was late and you didn’t want to alert the Special Duty Bureau by opening a door!”

Yu Sheng pulled out his phone: “You’re silly. Now we’re out, the phone has signal—I’ll call and give them a heads-up, so they won’t be scared.”

As he spoke, he pointed at his shoulder—he had been bitten by a giant wolf that sprang from Little Red’s shadow. The wound had healed, but his clothes were still a bloody mess, especially eerie under the streetlamp.

“Besides, in my state, if I call a regular ride-hailing driver, I might scare the poor guy half to death.”

With that, he dialed the phone number Bai Liqing had given him.

After a moment, a drowsy voice came from the receiver: “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Yu Sheng,” Yu Sheng quickly said. “Uh, sorry for waking you?”

“…Mm, just fell asleep, but it’s fine,” Bai Liqing’s voice was as devoid of warmth as ever, giving away no attitude. “What’s the matter?”

Yu Sheng felt a bit embarrassed: “I’m going to open a door, and I wanted to notify the Bureau first. I couldn’t think of who to call, so I dialed you…”

There was two seconds of silence on the other end.

Yu Sheng had no idea what the female bureau chief was thinking during those two seconds, but when her voice came back, it was still calm: “Okay, understood. I’ll inform the monitoring team to skip the next alarm signal. Open the door in about two minutes.”

Yu Sheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Even though she was calm, he felt an inexplicable pressure: “Oh, okay, thanks… I won’t disturb you then. Finish up and get some more sleep. Good night.”

“…Alright, good night.”

Yu Sheng hung up and let out a long breath in the night.

Eileen, sitting on his shoulder, immediately poked his head.

“She was definitely cursing you out during those two seconds.”

“You heard that?”

“Spiritual intuition.”

“…Your spiritual intuition can do that?”

“Yep!”

(End of Chapter)