Chapter 582: Bai Liqing Returns to Work

Deep within the Special Task Force, in the Director's office.

Yu Sheng sized up Bai Liqing, who stood before him—until she let out a resigned sigh and stared back at him with her pale gray eyes.

"What are you looking at?"

"Uh, nothing, nothing," Yu Sheng quickly averted his gaze, scratching his head awkwardly. "Just curious about you..."

"If you're talking about my horns, they've naturally receded," Bai Liqing said expressionlessly. "If you're talking about my 'little sister'—she's feeling a bit unwell, so she's resting today."

Yu Sheng pondered for a long time how Bai Lixue, who only had one eye, could be "unwell"—and that eye was basically a projection.

But seeing the displeased look on the Director's face, he thought hard but ultimately couldn't bring himself to ask.

Having known Bai Liqing for so long, Yu Sheng felt he could now read the micro-expressions on her ice-cold face.

"Let's get down to business," Bai Liqing said, rubbing her forehead and seemingly sighing. "First, let me apologize. I should have come to you earlier, but there has been a mountain of work—just arranging all the aftermath took up most of my energy, and only now do I have a bit of free time... Let's start with Erin. How is she?"

Yu Sheng quickly adjusted his seat, organizing his words as he began sharing his intelligence with Bai Liqing.

The World Bridge and Omen crises had erupted so suddenly earlier that Yu Sheng hadn't had a chance to discuss things thoroughly with Bai Liqing—including his final handling of the World Bridge, the intelligence gleaned from the Omen's memories, and his speculations about the secrets behind the World Bridge. Now that everything had finally settled, he held nothing back and told the "Director of the Special Task Force" many things.

Perhaps because of their joint battle in the Omen Temple, a deeper trust had clearly been established between Yu Sheng and Bai Liqing.

"Erin's original shell is repaired, but there's a minor glitch? Alright, I think I know what that glitch is."

"You say her attitude is great? And now you've started researching new charging methods... Uh, that figures. No, I don't mean anything by it—that's genuine admiration."

"She's recovered some of the Omen's memories?! Uh... the most vivid memory is making her followers offer yolk biscuits and sweet drinks..."

"Addicted to the Garden Network? No wonder she didn't come with you today."

Bai Liqing rubbed her forehead again, probably shaken by Erin's lifestyle attitude or just sleep-deprived, but one thing was clear: after hearing about Erin's current state, a certain "worry" of hers had noticeably diminished.

Then Yu Sheng naturally shifted the topic to discuss the World Bridge with her.

"A 'vehicle' built collectively by the Gloom Angels... and from the mission of 'Erin' back then, it's very likely that this was tacitly approved by the Old Holy Spirits," Bai Liqing said, her face quickly turning serious even as she heard Yu Sheng's intelligence. "If this information ever gets out, the shock it causes will be no less than the first Angel Fall."

"Just the fact that some Gloom Angels are rational and operate in groups outside the world is already enough to challenge many people's worldview, since everyone thought the Gloom Angels were mindless," Yu Sheng said, rubbing his chin. "As for the Old Holy Spirits..."

"In fact, no one knows exactly what the Old Holy Spirits think about the 'Gloom Angels,'" Bai Liqing took over calmly. "They rarely involve themselves in mortal affairs, and now that they've gone to the World's End, there hasn't been any news from them for a very long time."

The World's End...

Hearing those words, Yu Sheng felt his spiritual intuition thrumming. The distant starry sky he had glimpsed through the "Crystal Tree Rift" earlier surged in his memory like a living thing, exuding a strong presence.

This made him speak without thinking: "Speaking of the World's End, there's something I need to tell you."

Bai Liqing rarely saw Yu Sheng look so serious. She perked up: "Go ahead."

"I 'saw' a strange scene last night," Yu Sheng said, rubbing his chin. "A big ship, looked like a classical sailing warship, but ridiculously huge, sailing through the starry sky, surrounded by green phantom flames like a sea surface. The starry background beyond was also strange—the starlight seemed flickering and unsteady, and for some reason, my intuition kept thinking those stars were shining from the edge of the universe... Hey, are you listening?"

Halfway through, Yu Sheng suddenly felt the atmosphere was off. He looked up to see Bai Liqing sitting behind her desk like a stone statue—although this expressionless sister often had such static-like performances, this time it was clearly different.

Her eyes flickered with a "What the hell are you talking about?" light (the expletive was Yu Sheng's addition). This frozen moment was clearly not due to her usual stoicism but to shock.

"Um..." Yu Sheng said cautiously.

Bai Liqing snapped out of it with a jolt, finally showing a shocked expression: "Say that again—what did the ship you saw look like?!"

Startled by her reaction, Yu Sheng quickly said, "It's just a classical sailing warship. Oh, the sails were translucent, like a ghost ship, surrounded by..."

Before he could finish, Bai Liqing waved her hand rapidly. The huge floor-to-ceiling window behind her desk suddenly churned with thick fog, and then a massive ghost ship wrapped in flames emerged from the mist, floating imposingly in the void—Bai Liqing pointed back at it: "Is this the one?"

Yu Sheng blinked, then looked at Bai Liqing in amazement: "You saw it too?"

"No... this is archival footage from Terra Academy's database," Bai Liqing said, letting out a soft breath. Seeing the curiosity on Yu Sheng's face, she didn't keep him in suspense. "If I'm not mistaken, what you saw... is precisely the gathering place of the Old Holy Spirits."

Yu Sheng: "...?!"

"It is called the 'Homeless,' an ancient and mysterious ark of the Creator, the final and first vessel—the Old Holy Spirit 'Captain' once piloted this ship across the Ashes Sea at the end of the old world, and then at the dawn of the new world, laid down the initial background parameters of this universe from aboard..."

Bai Liqing paused there, seemingly to steady her emotions, before slowly continuing: "In the early days after the Second Singularity Explosion, before the Old Holy Spirits left, it was said that favored mortals could visit that ark in their dreams."

"The lucky ones had the chance to hear the teachings of the Old Holy Spirits directly, to understand the operating order of the new world, to know the mysteries of the deep starry sky. Terra Academy's database still has quite a bit of data on this—but that was a very, very long time ago."

"By now, the story of the 'Homeless' is just a legend to most people, and many aren't even aware of the legend. The Old Holy Spirits seemed to have intentionally withdrawn from mortal sight before they left, and even their vassal races, like the Alice Dolls, rarely mention that ship..."

Bai Liqing lifted her head, fixing her eyes on Yu Sheng's.

"So, how exactly did you 'see' it? And where did you see it?"

Yu Sheng was a bit stunned too. He hadn't expected this matter to lead to such a high-level background. And Bai Liqing's almost transparent pale gray eyes held a stubborn determination to get an answer today—so after a moment's hesitation, he nodded: "This might be a bit complicated... and you need to be mentally prepared."

"I'm good at handling complicated things," Bai Liqing said immediately, adjusting herself into a comfortable position in her chair, adopting a 'I won't be surprised by anything you say' demeanor. "Go ahead, I won't be surprised."

Yu Sheng nodded. "First of all, I actually ate the World Bridge."

Bai Liqing shot up instantly.

Yu Sheng: "...You said you wouldn't be surprised."

Bai Liqing stared at Yu Sheng as if she'd seen a ghost for several seconds, the corner of her mouth seemingly twitching.

"I don't normally share this level of inside info with outsiders—this is 'Traveler's' internal intelligence," Yu Sheng said, looking at her seriously. "But you accepted my 'blood,' so you have the qualifications to enter the Soul Wilderness. Who knows, one day you might see those things yourself. That's why I'm telling you."

Bai Liqing stared at Yu Sheng for a moment longer before finally sitting back down slowly: "You... alright, I should be used to it by now. I won't dig into the principle. So then? You 'devoured' the World Bridge, and through it, you observed the 'Homeless' at the edge of the universe?"

"Oh, it's a bit more complicated than that. There's also the matter of the Astral Being—did I ever mention that a seed of the Astral Being survived? Actually, I planted that seed in the Soul Wilderness, and it recently sprouted and fused with the World Bridge..."

Bai Liqing shot up again.

Yu Sheng looked at her helplessly: "...Want to stand while listening?"

Bai Liqing: "...No need."

She sat back down again.

"You don't have to be that surprised, you know," Yu Sheng reasoned logically. "Gloom Angels always leave something behind after they 'fall.' The Special Task Force still cultivates the Ankha'ela Crystal, and you recently used it to spew all over the Omen Goddess. The Astral Being's seed and the World Bridge 'blueprint' are pretty much the same thing."

Bai Liqing was momentarily shaken by Yu Sheng's logical attitude, but true to her role as Director, she quickly retorted: "...But we've never been so reckless! What do you mean you ate the World Bridge, then planted the Astral Being again, and now they've hybridized into a new variety..."

Yu Sheng looked innocent: "I didn't mention hybridization—you thought of that yourself."

Bai Liqing: "..."

(Chapter end)