Chapter 536: That’s One Way to Solve It

Inside Bai Liqing’s office at the Special Services Bureau, a phantom door abruptly materialized in the empty space beside the desk.

Bai Liqing had already received word that Yu Sheng was coming, so she wasn’t surprised at all. After a brief greeting, she lowered her head and continued with the work at hand, her face as stoic as ever: “Hold on, I’ll be done in a minute.”

Yu Sheng pushed the door open and came in with Ai Lin slung over his shoulder. He grunted an acknowledgment, then pulled a chair over from the side and sat down—this chair had practically become his designated seat here—watching Bai Liqing review documents with an expression of bitter resentment.

The little doll squirmed restlessly in his arms, lifted her head, and whispered: “Hey, hey, Yu Sheng, Steel-Face seems to be in a really bad mood today.”

Before Yu Sheng could respond, Bai Liqing, who was busy with the documents across from him, suddenly looked up: “I’m not Steel-Face.”

Ai Lin immediately started gloating: “Ha! That’s the only thing that got a reaction!”

Yu Sheng casually pressed the doll back down while looking at the Director, who seemed to have a lower pressure than usual: “Uh, did something happen? You look…”

“The ‘invasions’ caused by that Black Spot lab are becoming more frequent and severe. Our current interception and countermeasures haven’t been very effective,” Bai Liqing said, her face dark as water. “The key problem is that we can’t determine the principle behind this phenomenon…”

As soon as he heard that, Yu Sheng adjusted his posture in the chair: “Hey, that’s actually what I came to talk to you about! Regarding that Black Spot lab—do you know who’s in charge of the lab on the other side?”

He was about to show off a little, but he hadn’t expected Bai Liqing’s expression to shift first—if you could call it an expression, since her face didn’t change much. But having dealt with her for so long, combined with his sharp instincts, Yu Sheng immediately sensed that there was something in the Director’s eyes. So he swallowed the words he was about to say.

“Seeing you like this…” Yu Sheng adjusted his expression and choice of words. “You have something to tell me, don’t you?”

Bai Liqing let out a soft breath, as if she had made some decision after quickly weighing her options.

“I was actually planning to find a chance to talk to you about this too, since things have developed to this point,” she said, lifting her eyelids and calmly meeting Yu Sheng’s eyes. “I think I can confirm the ‘culprit’ behind these recent events… if I’m not mistaken, it should be an Algraded elf named ‘Luo.’”

Yu Sheng slowly opened his mouth, stunned for a long moment before suddenly recalling a detail: “Ah, I remember that Black Spot soldier we caught earlier mentioned a name—‘Lovell’…”

“That name was something he made up on the spot—‘Lovell’ is a real person, but that’s the name of another Black Spot technology warlord,” Bai Liqing shook her head. “Luo is the person in charge of some large facilities of the Black Spot Group in the Darkfall Star Sector. Although she can be classified as one of the ‘Black Spot warlords,’ she leans more toward being a researcher.”

Ai Lin scrambled up onto Yu Sheng’s shoulder in two moves, stood there pointing at Bai Liqing: “Hey! Well, well, so the Special Services Bureau really is in cahoots with the Black Spot Group, colluding, conspiring, and being sneaky…”

“Enough, enough—if you don’t know the words, don’t use them randomly,” Yu Sheng quickly pulled the little thing down from his shoulder, looking at Bai Liqing. “So… care to explain?”

He paused, then added: “Actually, I’m not surprised. After all, the nature of the Black Spot Group is clearly different from those two cult organizations. And you specifically emphasized that they have a trade network spanning the universe and possess black tech like ‘Umbilical Cords’ at that level. Such a special organization, combined with a special location like the Borderlands—no matter what the public relationship is, it’s not abnormal for you to have some private contact… I just didn’t expect that ‘contact’ to reach the upper management.”

“On the contrary, it’s normal for upper management to have contact. Many times, it serves as a safety net,” Bai Liqing said, then sighed. “But something is clearly off this time. I’ve known Luo for a long time and have cooperated with her a few times. Among the mostly extreme Black Spot warlords, she can even be considered a ‘moderate and rational individual’—and that holds true even in her research projects.

“Compared to being a merchant or regional administrator, Luo is more of a pure technician. She puts most of her energy into that, and unlike other Black Spot scientists, she rarely touches those overly advanced, extreme fields… As far as I know, this cautious and conservative style has even drawn criticism from many other Black Spot higher-ups.

“But judging by this situation, she’s really no different from the other Black Spot warlords—ah, messing things up and losing control of projects is their common trait.”

Bai Liqing shook her head, and she couldn’t help but sigh again when she got to the last few sentences.

Yu Sheng even sensed a hint of personal emotion in her final words.

“You two didn’t have a fight, did you?” Ai Lin climbed onto Yu Sheng’s shoulder again, blinking at Bai Liqing.

Bai Liqing frowned slightly and remained silent. Bai Lixue’s eyes had somehow appeared on the ceiling, silently watching the room. What could they say? Differences and conflicts weren’t the problem. The real problem was that the obviously problematic party was hiding in an unreachable lawless star sector and taking a ‘refuse to communicate’ stance—that was the truly infuriating thing.

Just as the sisters were sinking into bitterness again, Yu Sheng, who was sitting across from them, suddenly stood up: “How about…”

Bai Liqing raised an eyebrow suspiciously: “Hm?”

Then Yu Sheng casually pulled open a door beside him: “How about you two talk face to face again?”

He had already established a blood connection with that research facility hiding somewhere, though he hadn’t reached the point of full control. But at least he could determine where that blonde elf was in the experimental facility—because in his previous life, he had splattered blood on her skirt.

The door opened. On the other side appeared to be a preparation room—spacious and filled with a dazzling array of mechanical equipment. A certain blonde elf grease monkey was standing at a workstation, repairing a set of mechanical limbs.

Now she stared wide-eyed at the door that had suddenly appeared before her, and at Yu Sheng on the other side.

The next second, she let out a piercing scream—laced with exasperation, fury, and a touch of fear:

“IT’S YOU AGAIN!! How the hell did you…”

Then she came to an abrupt halt—her state was like Luna’s earlier crash, frozen in a paused-frame position, staring with wide eyes at Yu Sheng… and at Bai Liqing behind him.

Bai Lixue’s eyes went *piaji* and dropped to the floor, then quickly crawled up to the floor-to-ceiling window behind, staring wide-eyed at the blonde elf across from the door.

If anyone could handle a scene like this, it had to be someone naturally gifted (or perhaps experienced). Bai Liqing, against all odds, managed to maintain her usual iron-faced stoicism. With tremendous willpower, she kept herself from jumping up from behind the desk, her face rigid as she looked at the scene beyond the door. She merely raised an eyebrow slightly and spoke calmly: “Luo, we need to talk—before I’m forced to take extreme measures.”

Ai Lin poked at Yu Sheng’s head: “Hey, hey, Yu Sheng, she’s putting on airs…”

Yu Sheng kept a straight face, pretending not to notice the little doll’s poking, while maintaining the open door and observing the blonde grease monkey on the other side—honestly, she was a pretty elf, but right now her hair was practically standing on end.

“I knew it! Every haunting I can’t shake is connected to you!” Luo stared at Bai Liqing almost frantically, but her hands quickly remotely closed the preparation room’s hatch and set it to do-not-disturb mode, while one mechanical limb tapped rapidly on the control panel beside her, doing something unknown. “What the hell is going on?!”

“Before that, I’d like to know what’s going on with your lab,” Bai Liqing slowly stood up from behind the desk. An indescribable sense of majesty emanated from her movements, forming an almost tangible, intimidating pressure in the air. “That thing you’re researching, ‘Zolda Blackstone’—I’m afraid it’s already out of your control. Haven’t you noticed the frequent anomalies in your lab?”

The pressure radiating from Bai Liqing’s side was enough to make a giant tremble. Yet the slender figure on the other side of the door seemed completely unaffected. Luo stared hard into Bai Liqing’s eyes: “You have no idea how important this is. The Blackstone hides the future and the way out for the world. And let me reiterate, my lab is in perfect condition…”

Bai Liqing frowned.

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something and muttered to Bai Liqing: “This door blocks negative influences. Your aura over there, she can’t feel it on that side.”

Bai Liqing was stunned for a second: “…You could have said that earlier!”

Yu Sheng gave a dry laugh: “Well, you two keep talking… keep talking…”

As he spoke, he shifted a little more to the side, making room for Bai Liqing and Luo.

Ai Lin took the opportunity to slide down Yu Sheng’s arm, and using the chair as cover, she crept around to the side of the door.

Several faint black threads silently extended through the air, slowly seeping across the doorframe toward the other side.

Bai Liqing clearly noticed Yu Sheng and Ai Lin’s little moves. Though she wasn’t sure what the two of them were up to, she immediately cooperated, speaking up to divert Luo’s attention: “The key issue now is that your project has become a threat to the Borderlands. If you can’t control the situation, I won’t have any other choice—your nest has already been found by us…”

“Threat… very well,” the blonde elf on the other side of the door suddenly laughed. “But you might be too late. I’ve already input the emergency code. Soon…”

A sense of alarm struck her heart. She stopped abruptly.

Barely visible black threads swayed through the air.

Distorted spatial fissures suddenly spread throughout the room!

Dozens of mass-produced dolls instantly filled the preparation room on the other side of the door. With a clatter and bang of shooting and smashing, they charged forward, hoisted the blonde elf onto their shoulders, and ran straight back toward this side!

“Wait, wait! Who are you?! What are you going to… Let me go! Let me go—”