Chapter 241: On the Aftermath

Yu Sheng was very curious, but he also knew his limits. Just looking at Bai Lixue's condition, he could tell with his gut that she definitely wasn't born with some extraordinary skeletal structure—there had to be a twisting, turning, complicated story behind it. If turned into a TV series, it would probably take at least eighty episodes over three seasons, plus a couple of OVAs. And from his many interactions with Bai Liqing and Bai Lixue's attitude, Yu Sheng could clearly sense that the two of them didn't want to discuss that past with outsiders.

At the very least, he and Bai Liqing weren't close enough for that yet.

So Yu Sheng kept his curiosity well in check—for now.

Besides, he had more important things to discuss with the female bureau chief in front of him. When it came to the Obscure Angels, his curiosity was even stronger.

"Cough, cough." Yu Sheng cleared his throat and looked at Bai Liqing seriously. "About Anka Aila, what do you want to ask?"

"Everything." Bai Liqing still had no change in expression. No matter what, every conversation with Yu Sheng always started with her "keeping a straight face." "From the moment you entered that wall until the angel fell, I want to know what happened in between. Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch. The Special Operations Bureau is willing to pay any price for this information, as long as it doesn't cross any bottom line."

Hearing that last sentence, Yu Sheng immediately perked up. He leaned forward slightly. "Then can you deposit the reconstruction budgets for two orphanages into the accounts of 'The Hostel' and 'Fairytale' respectively?"

Bai Liqing froze, her serious face remaining still for about five seconds.

"...Why two orphanages?"

Yu Sheng looked perfectly at ease. "To ask for more."

"...This request of yours is quite unexpected." Bai Liqing's mouth finally twitched—this was the fastest she had gone from "keeping a straight face" to "unable to keep it together" in all their interactions. "I thought you would ask for some privileges in the Borderlands, like access to the Special Operations Bureau's classified databases—things that can't be measured with money..."

"But for a 'rookie Spirit World Detective' who only recently figured out what an Otherworld is, what you said is basically useless, especially for me. A database? Even if you moved your entire database to my house, I wouldn't know where to start looking. I don't even know what I don't know." Yu Sheng chuckled. "Besides, that's all virtual. If I really have a problem, I can come straight to you or Song Cheng. If it's something I'm allowed to know, you'll naturally tell me. If it's something I'm never supposed to know, you'll find a million ways to 'keep it secret' from me anyway. Instead, money is the practical thing. The kids from 'Fairytale' and I are really short on it. You have no idea how expensive it is to raise a nine-tailed fox that's been starving for decades..."

Bai Liqing listened, stunned for a moment. After a long pause, a faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "You're very clear-headed."

"I'm a pragmatist." Yu Sheng spread his hands. "That's how far my vision goes."

"Fine, I can agree to that. It's within my sphere of influence." Bai Liqing agreed readily. "Compared to the impact an 'angel fall' brings to the whole world, what you're asking isn't much."

"Then let's talk about Anka Aila." Yu Sheng smiled and adjusted his sitting position on the sofa. "This is a long story—first, starting from when we entered that 'umbilical cord' extending from the orphanage toward the sky..."

Yu Sheng spoke slowly and in detail. Bai Liqing listened with extreme seriousness. For a long time afterward, Yu Sheng kept recounting from memory. Only occasionally, when he encountered something too vague or bizarre, would Bai Liqing interrupt to ask a question.

After a while, Bai Liqing stood up and poured drinks for herself and Yu Sheng.

Her eyes looked somewhat dazed.

Yu Sheng noticed all these changes.

"Hard to believe, right?" He let out a long breath. "Especially after hearing the truth about Anka Aila."

"...A spacecraft from 'outside.'" Bai Liqing sat across from him, for the first time showing such a lost and conflicted expression. "There are countless guesses in this world about the origin and true purpose of the 'Obscure Angels.' I thought at least one or two of those guesses would be close to the truth, but I never expected the truth to be even more unimaginable than the wildest speculation... It's actually a ship?!"

"When it set off, it was a ship. But after 'falling down,' it obviously changed." Yu Sheng reminded her. "I don't know the principle behind it. Anyway, it seems even its essence changed. Even the steel gave birth to a soul."

Bai Liqing looked thoughtful. Then she heard Yu Sheng's voice again: "Now there's another question."

"Another question?" Bai Liqing frowned slightly.

"That is whether Anka Aila is a special case, or whether all other Obscure Angels are like it too." Yu Sheng said seriously. "Anka Aila was an exile ark. What about the others? The Tree Angel, the Beauty Goddess, the Star of Heka... As far as I know, every Obscure Angel 'looks' different. Not only are their appearances bizarre, but their abilities are also vastly different. Tell me... can they be the same as Anka Aila? If not, how much similarity is there between them?"

Bai Liqing fell into thought. After a long time, she spoke slowly: "In my personal opinion, they should all be different. At least, it's impossible for all of them to be 'exile arks' like Anka Aila. After all, the differences between them... are just too great. But on the other hand, the information you brought reveals a possibility—that other Obscure Angels may also have similar 'distortion' phenomena."

Yu Sheng nodded solemnly.

Bai Liqing continued thoughtfully: "They 'enter' our world from outside the universe. During the process of entering, they become completely unrecognizable. In other words, they become something 'we' cannot 'identify' or 'understand.' At least in Anka Aila's case, this change is not something the Obscure Angel can actively initiate or control...

"We have always regarded the Obscure Angels as active 'invaders,' but Anka Aila is clearly more like an accident victim. It was 'thrown' into our world by some great catastrophe in its homeland..."

"But that doesn't mean all Obscure Angels are like that," Yu Sheng reminded.

"Right. We can only be sure that Anka Aila is like this, and at most we can speculate that there may be others among the Obscure Angels with similar situations." Bai Liqing nodded solemnly. "But even if there are more 'Anka Ailas,' it won't change the reality that Obscure Angels pose a huge threat to this world. After all, they don't need malice to cause a disaster—their very existence is already a disaster."

Yu Sheng didn't speak. He just recalled the giant umbilical cord stretching from the orphanage toward the sky, and the "angel fetus" that had almost been born from a nightmare into the real world.

He knew Bai Liqing was right.

"Now what I care more about is whether there are other Obscure Angels that, like Anka Aila, possess 'consciousness' and can communicate," Bai Liqing said. "If so, how many, and how to 'identify' them?"

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then looked uncertainly at the serious-faced female bureau chief. "You're not thinking about shooting me over next time an Obscure Angel descends somewhere, are you?"

"Of course not." Bai Liqing said with a sincere look, then turned her face away.

Yu Sheng: "..."

Lady, your attitude is really not convincing here!

Yu Sheng's expression instantly became very serious. "Let me tell you, this incident had too many variables. Many steps cannot be replicated—including the 'Fairytale Book' used to establish contact with the Obscure Angel, and the children who served as 'mediums,' and that squirrel, and the 'path' left for me by that deep-dive team seventy years ago. Missing any one of them, the whole thing wouldn't have worked.

"So it's not like I just lead two people into the wall, have a 'talk therapy' session with that Obscure Angel, and the thing lets go of its obsession and goes 'ah' and dies. If you actually encounter a descending angel and shoot me over there, the only thing that'll go 'ah' and die is me. I might not even be able to go 'ah'..."

Bai Liqing turned her face back.

"We won't do anything so reckless." She continued, still with a sincere expression.

Then she took a sip of her drink and changed the subject. "You said earlier that you 'merged' the Fairytale Otherworld with that valley?"

"That's right." Yu Sheng nodded frankly. "Now my valley has expanded, more than doubled in size. The people your bureau sent over there are all witnesses. You should be receiving a more detailed report from them soon. But you can also go see for yourself. Personally, I think the scenery after the merger is quite nice. There are clouds in the sky now, and the 'Fairytale area' at the edge of the valley even has day-night cycles. It's not as monotonous as before. You can experience the pristine landscape of the Black Forest, or look down at the mountain scenery from the high tower... By the way, admission to that tower is twenty. It's not me charging it—Rapunzel does."

Yu Sheng's tone was like that of a shady tour guide trying to lure people onto a bus. Bai Liqing listened, and her expression subtly began to crack. But after all, she was a bureau chief. She quickly coughed twice to interrupt Yu Sheng. "Ahem. So that means the entire 'Fairytale' organization has been 'incorporated' by you now?"

"Not really." Yu Sheng quickly waved his hand. "They're just staying at my place. Even though it looks like they might be living there long-term, 'Fairytale' is still independent. Of course, they now call me the biggest parent of 'Fairytale,' and I'm quite happy about that. But it's more of an honorary position..."

As Yu Sheng spoke, a heartfelt smile spread across his face.

He was even happier than when Bai Liqing had just agreed to deposit the orphanage reconstruction budget directly into The Hostel's account.

Bai Liqing also smiled.

Even more relaxed than when she had seen the angel fall.

(End of chapter)