Chapter 596: New Boss

By the time Yu Sheng returned to 66 Wutong Road, it was already midnight. The quiet night enveloped the entire city, and the house was silent everywhere.

The main light in the living room wasn't on; only a small lamp near the stairway was lit. In the dimness, he saw a pair of bright, glittering gold-and-red eyes—Hu Li hadn't gone to sleep yet. She was waiting for him on the sofa.

The moment she saw Yu Sheng push open the door and enter, her eyes curved into crescents.

"Benefactor, you're back!" the fox-girl greeted cheerfully. "Luna just went back to the spaceship. She said she needed to go handle vegetables or ingredients or something…"

Then she pointed toward the kitchen.

"There's food in the pot. I stewed some dishes for you, and there are steamed buns in the steamer. I bought them from the small supermarket at the intersection. They shouldn't be cold now."

Yu Sheng smiled. He stepped forward and rubbed the fluff behind the fox-girl's ears, and she squinted her eyes in delight.

"What about Aline? Gone to sleep?" he asked casually.

"She's right here. She fell asleep halfway through watching TV," Hu Li said, shifting her body and spreading out her several tails, revealing the little doll curled up asleep clutching one big tail. "The others are sleeping upstairs."

"…She's always complaining about fox fur getting into her joints, and yet she still burrows into your tails when she sleeps," Yu Sheng muttered, both amused and exasperated. He got up to go to the kitchen to get food, switching on the dining room light as he passed.

Hu Li pulled out the tail that Aline was holding and draped two more tails over the little doll before tiptoeing off the sofa. By the time Yu Sheng turned around and came back to the dining table, she was already seated in the chair opposite, propping her head on her hands and smiling at Yu Sheng.

"Aren't you sleepy? Don't you usually get drowsy at this hour?" Yu Sheng asked casually, placing two steamed buns in front of Hu Li as if it were second nature.

Hu Li shook her head.

"I dozed off on the sofa just now," she said offhandedly. "I was afraid that if I went to bed, there'd be no one awake when you came home, and you might feel it was too quiet and lonely."

Yu Sheng was momentarily stunned.

He suddenly realized that it had been a long time since he'd experienced coming home to an empty house with no one answering—no matter when he entered this big house, he'd either hear Aline chattering away, Hu Li running out to greet him, or Luna standing guard in the living room in standby mode. Day after day, he'd grown used to it.

The fox-girl's stew gave off an appetizing aroma. Whether because he was hungry or because the fox-girl's cooking had really improved, the warmth of the hot food slowly spread through his stomach. Yu Sheng let out a satisfied sigh; his fatigue seemed to melt away.

Across the table, the girl had half a steamed bun in her mouth, her gaze fixed on him, her eyes darting around. Yu Sheng couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"

Hu Li's expression turned serious. "Benefactor, do you think… we can really find Luna's home? And if we find it, and her family is still there… how are we supposed to let her meet them?"

Yu Sheng's hands, breaking apart a steamed bun, slowly stopped.

"Is this what you've been worrying about?"

"It's not exactly worrying," Hu Li said, her ears twitching. "But after we came back today, Luna seemed preoccupied. She herself probably hasn't thought about it yet, but I couldn't help thinking about it a little more."

The fox-girl paused for two or three seconds, seeming hesitant, but in the end she continued.

"After all, her parents might really be waiting for her at home, but she's not the same as when she left… Benefactor, do you think the Borderlands has a way to turn Luna back? Even if it's just temporary, or make something like a puppet…"

Hu Li's voice trailed off toward the end, gradually turning into something like a mutter, almost talking to herself. Yu Sheng stared fixedly at this fox-girl who usually seemed to have no worries at all, spending her days just eating, sleeping, and basking in the sun. A thoughtful expression crossed his face.

"Compared to finding Luna's homeworld, those are small problems," he said suddenly. "And it's still too early to think about that now. Even if we figure out how those 'Knights' got into the Dark Alley, finding the Sanctified Hermetic Order's lair won't happen overnight—and those cultists definitely won't give up a 'recruitment planet' without a fight. There's going to be a nasty battle first, at any rate. Anyway, don't think too much about it for now. I'll think of a solution."

Hu Li thought about it, then nodded like a fox. "Mm-hmm."

Seeing the fox-girl relax and lower her head to continue gnawing on her steamed bun, Yu Sheng let out a breath and a smile appeared on his face.

Then he heard the stew in the pot also let out a breath.

Hu Li matter-of-factly tossed a ball of deep blue flame into the pot, then looked up at Yu Sheng and grinned, showing her teeth.

Yu Sheng: "…"

…

A good night's sleep—fatigue was the best sleeping pill. It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky the next day that Yu Sheng woke up in the sunlight streaming through the curtains.

Of course, Aline writhing around on the bed while chattering nonstop was also a major factor in his waking up.

The fox-girl's stew, plus a good night's rest, had completely dispelled the fatigue from exploring the Dark Alley earlier.

Yu Sheng finished washing up for Aline and the others, made breakfast for Hu Li, and greeted Luna, who was watering her succulents on the balcony. Then he left 66 Wutong Road and opened a door directly to the Borderlands.

Today was Lo's "discharge" day—the "Blackstone Station Restart Plan," which had been delayed by the sudden incident in the Dark Alley, should continue.

Accompanied by Bai Liqing herself, Yu Sheng met the golden-haired elf, who was pacing in circles in the hospital room out of boredom.

By now, the aftereffects of the psychic mushrooms had completely worn off from her. Though she wore a look of boredom and lifeless dejection, Lo's complexion was actually quite good.

Gotta hand it to her—this elf had a pretty thick health bar. If he hadn't known in advance, Yu Sheng really wouldn't have guessed that she'd had her stomach pumped twice.

The moment they entered the room, Bai Liqing dismissed the others. She walked up to Lo and looked her up and down for a long time. The latter had been wearing an expression of utter displeasure, but now, under the vaguely perceptible dragon's might, she quickly quieted down. Sitting on the hospital bed, looking wilted, she spoke: "Are you here to laugh at me? A department head of the Black Spot Group rushed in for emergency treatment because she ate poisonous mushrooms…"

Apparently, she still didn't know that the mushrooms she'd eaten weren't actually poisonous, nor had she needed emergency treatment…

Bai Liqing obviously wasn't planning to tell her the truth. She merely replied flatly, "I could have chosen not to arrange treatment for you."

Yu Sheng, standing nearby, almost stood up to applaud—now that was the truth!

Lo didn't catch the subtle expression that flashed across Yu Sheng's face. Instead, she actually seemed a little embarrassed. She looked at Bai Liqing for a few seconds before hesitantly saying, "Uh… well, thanks anyway…"

Yu Sheng saw this and thought, Great, this Black Spot scientist might be a whiz at research, but she was way too easy to fool in other aspects. At this rate, that Rapunzel was probably going to trick her into eating psychic mushrooms again…

"So, what happens next?" Lo stretched lazily on the hospital bed and looked up at the two people before her. "Time to move me to a different cage?"

"We have new arrangements for you," Bai Liqing finally stopped tormenting her special 'partner' and instead stepped half a pace to the side, letting Yu Sheng move forward. "This 'Angel Hunter' has vouched for you and secured new freedom—from now on, you answer to him."

Lo blinked, seemingly unable to process the situation for a moment.

"In short, you have a new boss now," Yu Sheng cleared his throat and broke the silence. "I need people—the research kind. Your research direction and talent are a good fit."

"Need people?" Lo was even more surprised. She looked Yu Sheng up and down a few times. "You have an industrial planet in the Feiyu Star Sector, you've got the Borderlands' support, you're even friends with Alice's Cottage. If you wanted to, countless legitimate talents would be willing to work with you—though most of them are blockheads in my eyes. But are you sure you need a 'Black Spot member' to work for you?"

Well, that was because not many normal people could survive dabbling in dark psionic energy and then getting a top-up from an angel.

"I'm mainly valuing your scientific literacy and research talent," Yu Sheng said, deadpan and completely serious.

Lo immediately wore an expression of disbelief—strangely enough, she was harder to fool now. It was as if she'd been scammed similarly before, exuding the aura of post-traumatic stress from an illegal recruitment.

Seeing this, Yu Sheng didn't waste words. He simply reached out and grabbed the air beside him, pulling open a large door.

The illusory portal silently swung open. On the other side was the Fissure Lab, which had already completed its frame repairs and could more or less be seen in its original form. Inside, busy Civil Engineering Immortals and Machining Immortals were flying around on flying swords, auspicious clouds, purple-gold gourds, and the like.

Lo's eyes instantly went wide. She unconsciously walked toward the door. "Th-this, hey—that's my lab! That's my lab! It's already been repaired this much… Hey! What are those guys doing?! Don't mess around! That's a precision structure! Hey, you in the purple robe! Put that thing down!—"

Before she could finish, the illusory door floating in midair slammed shut.

Lo looked up, stunned, at Yu Sheng.

"If you're willing to cooperate, Blackstone Station will still be under your management," Yu Sheng said seriously. "Of course, from every perspective, it's now the property of the Traveler's Lodge. But to be honest, this 'Pioneer Lab' would just sit idle in my hands. Only you know how to make it serve its proper purpose. You should understand what I mean."

He paused, then added cautiously, "Compared to before, there will definitely be restrictions. From now on, you report to me, so naturally you can't pull the same kind of reckless stunts as before. And in the law-abiding star sectors, you definitely won't be allowed to do things the Black Spot Group way anymore. Your research projects, personnel and material movements, and contacts with other forces will all be monitored. I have limited energy myself, so in practice, it might be handled by Shu Ji or someone dispatched by the Borderlands…"

But before he could finish half his sentence, Lo's face suddenly popped right in front of his. Her eyes, gleaming with a star-like radiance, stared straight into his.

"Cut the crap. Where do I sign?"

(End of chapter)