Chapter 589: Unexpected Changes

Luo felt she hadn't been this happy or relaxed in a very, very long time.

She was on a long vacation—a vacation she hadn't had in nearly a century. Even though she had temporarily put aside her research projects, she had also set aside her headache-inducing management work, the mountain of troubles on her business lines, the difficult clients, and her ever-tense nerves.

In a daze, she felt as though she had left behind those "Border Relics" and forbidden knowledge that could kill you at any moment, as if she had never even touched them. She felt like she was back in her childhood school days, watching the stars from a dilapidated observatory on a remote, desolate planet in her homeland. She remembered a scholar from Terra passing by and giving her a seed collected from the high mountains of Mera-IX. She planted that seed in the empty lot beside the observatory, and when the season of drifting clouds came, the alien flower would bloom brilliantly, glowing like starlight in the night…

Mushrooms were so delicious, and grilled fish was amazing too.

This strange valley really did have some strange and wonderful things.

She had made a new friend, a human—everyone here called her "Big Golden Retriever," a nickname of affection. Big Golden Retriever taught her to catch fish in the river, to find those mushrooms in the forest that made you see little people, and to steal fruit from a big snake's nest. They also gathered branches to make a fire and cooked food using the most primitive methods…

There was no advanced nutrition management system, nor were the fruits the kind of uniform-sized "products" from automated farms. The fruits came in all sizes, the fish had a muddy smell, the campfire was hard to control, and things would either burn or be undercooked—but the mushrooms were really delicious.

Luo rolled over in the grass, chewing contentedly, forgetting all her worries.

Yu Sheng stood expressionlessly nearby, carrying Aileen on his shoulder, watching a dignified Black Spot warlord immersed in a sea of poisonous mushrooms, completely oblivious to the world.

Aileen (the golden-haired one) reached out and tugged Yu Sheng's hair. "What do we do?"

"What do we do? She's drooling like this—there's no way we can send her to Blackstone Station," Yu Sheng sighed. "I'll let Bai Liqing know and have her stomach pumped… Not sure if it works on elves."

But as soon as he finished speaking, Rapunzel, who had also been lying in the grass, sat up with a start. The dazed girl seemed to have regained her senses. "Ah, no need, no need. This mushroom isn't that strong."

Yu Sheng gave a strange look at this oversized brat who had been drooling alongside Luo just a second ago. Before he could speak, she patted her butt and stood up, a sycophantic grin on her face. "Heh, heheh…"

Seeing her ingratiating smile only made Yu Sheng angrier. He immediately understood Little Red Riding Hood's usual state of mind. "Still hehehing! You finally have a weekend and you don't catch up on your overdue homework, instead you bring guests here to roast poison mushrooms?!"

"Poison mushrooms? They're just ordinary magic mushrooms from the Black Forest. I eat them raw all the time and I'm fine…"

Yu Sheng laughed in exasperation. "You think everyone has the same constitution as you? You can bite two steamed buns and then twist off a Hell Guard's head—this one next to you, even when full, can at most twist a screw!"

As he spoke, he opened a door to the Special Operations Bureau. On the other side was Bai Liqing sitting behind her desk, along with several stunned department heads who had been reporting to the director.

Bai Liqing's expression was very calm. She stood up from behind the desk, her gaze quickly landing on Luo behind Yu Sheng, her eyes questioning.

Yu Sheng didn't explain in detail. He just pointed and said, "She ate poison mushrooms. Use your medical bay to pump her stomach."

Bai Liqing nodded knowingly, accepting this scenario very smoothly and naturally—then she arranged for someone to take Luo for stomach pumping.

"Send her back when you're done," Yu Sheng said as he watched the medical staff take Luo away. Before closing the door, he reminded Bai Liqing, "I still have to arrange for her to go back and manage the Blackstone Station."

A reassuring voice came from the other side of the door: "Don't worry, I remember."

The door closed. Yu Sheng turned around and looked at Rapunzel, who was hanging her head and muttering, "That mushroom really is fine. Magic mushrooms, like in fairy tales. They're not the same as real poison mushrooms…"

Then she stealthily raised her eyes to glance at Yu Sheng. Seeing that he didn't seem angry, she immediately perked up and picked up an apple from the ground nearby, handing it to him. "Big Brother, try this. I got it from Snake Lady's nest."

Yu Sheng sighed as he took the apple. "Can you all stop bullying Snake Lady? She's a guest, after all, and entrusted to our care by Master Yuanhe…"

"Who's bullying her? We really like her!" Rapunzel immediately defended herself. "We always share good food with her, and even the pills that Uncle Yun crafts as practice are all given to her. She just eats and sleeps all day…"

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, recalling Snake Lady's usual living conditions in the valley, and found that it really was the case. So he waved his hand and sent Rapunzel back to do her homework.

Although there had been a little incident with Luo, the repair and restart of the Blackstone Space Station was not something that could be completed soon anyway, so Yu Sheng wasn't too bothered—after all, he still had a mountain of things to do.

He could first arrange to increase production capacity for the mass-produced Aileens, while also finding a more suitable living area for the growing number of mass-produced dolls. Currently, the mass-produced dolls mainly lived in the warehouse of the Hub Pyramid and in temporary settlements around the town. Although the little ones had low requirements for living conditions, they couldn't be kept crammed in boxes forever… He also needed to keep an eye on the "research and development" work of the three heretical cultivators at Shu Ji's place. The diffusion device they had made last time was very useful and should be prioritized… The crystal tree in the Soul Wilderness should probably be "watered" again. It was growing fast, so he had to ensure an adequate supply of "nutrients"…

Yu Sheng took a grilled fish from the extinguished campfire on the riverbank, eating it as he slowly walked toward the town. As he mentally tallied up all the things he needed to do recently, he suddenly realized one thing after going through his list of tasks—

All these things… seemed to require blood.

Mass-producing Aileens required blood as an "alchemical catalyst," the weapon development at Shu Ji's side needed blood as raw material, and the crystal tree's growth required his blood too, and in large amounts.

Yu Sheng pondered silently, then added another item in his mind: Soon, ask Xuan Che about whether Thousand-Peak Spirit Mountain had any blood-nourishing pills…

"Why not try diluting your blood with water?" The Aileen sitting on his shoulder suddenly blurted out without warning.

Yu Sheng was taken aback. "I'd have to use saline… wait, how do you know what I'm thinking?"

The little doll ruffled his hair haphazardly. "No kidding! Your inner muttering is so loud it's driving me crazy. You're totally broadcasting, okay?"

"Uh, I almost forgot about that."

Yu Sheng scratched his head. Just then, footsteps sounded nearby.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a large shadow wolf emerging from the grove—on its back sat Little Red Riding Hood, who looked troubled.

Little Red Riding Hood looked up and saw Yu Sheng. She immediately urged the shadow wolf to walk over quickly. Her expression clearly indicated something was up. "Great, I was looking for you."

"Looking for me?" Yu Sheng was startled. "What's up?"

Little Red Riding Hood wasted no time. "Remember the Dark Alley?"

Yu Sheng immediately nodded. "Of course. What's wrong with the Dark Alley?"

"I just took a commission and need to go to the Dark Alley—but things there seem off. Someone posted a warning on the Border Communication network, saying that bizarre changes have occurred in the Dark Alley, and extra entities have appeared in the deeper alleys. The Special Operations Bureau has already raised the danger level there… I thought you might be interested."

Yu Sheng frowned, pulled out his phone, and started searching for the latest news about the "Dark Alley" on the Border Communication network.

Soon, a pile of newly posted threads appeared before him, one of which had a particularly eye-catching title—

"Multiple 'Shops' in the Deep Dark Alley Opened Simultaneously—Beware of Humanoid Entities!"

Upon seeing that title, Yu Sheng's expression shifted slightly.

"Can such changes happen in the Otherverse?" He looked up at the girl in red on the wolf's back.

"It's extremely rare, but some Otherverses can suddenly change—like new areas appearing, or the activity frequency and range of internal entities shifting," Little Red Riding Hood nodded. "But the change in the Dark Alley seems more off than that… Multiple shops opening simultaneously indicates that the operating 'rules' of the deep Otherverse have changed, and new entities have appeared. The original danger rating is no longer relevant. I've never heard of such a thing anyway—I reckon before long, the Special Operations Bureau might even temporarily seal off the area."

Listening to Little Red Riding Hood's speculation, Yu Sheng furrowed his brow and remained silent for a moment, but his eyes quickly shifted.

He soon understood why Little Red Riding Hood thought he might be interested in this matter.

The Dark Alley—that was the place where the "anomaly" first appeared on the eve of the Boundary Bridge Crisis. The power of the Doom Goddess first manifested there, and then gradually spread to other Otherverses, eventually spreading throughout the entire "Mist City."

Those spreading black spiderwebs had indeed once caused changes in the operating rules of the Dark Alley, even trapping the "native entities" inside and piercing through the Otherverse barrier behind the "Old Bookstore."

But after the Boundary Bridge Crisis ended, those spiderwebs had clearly disappeared… The order of the Dark Alley should have been restored.

Yu Sheng looked up at the little doll on his shoulder.

Aileen also turned her gaze. Her blue eyes were full of confusion.

"I don't know anything about it."

"I know you don't know," Yu Sheng said casually. "But this is really suspicious… Go back and get Hu Li and Luna. Let's go check it out."