Chapter 274: Truly Uncanny

Beside a streetlamp, Yu Sheng was on the phone, listening to Bai Liqing on the other end describe the absurd situation where the iron ingot Hu Li had pulled out was casually used to make a hammer, and it then manifested an artifact spirit.

Not far away, the fox-eared girl was squatting by the green belt, earnestly digging a hole as if she wanted to bury a stone she had picked up from somewhere.

Yu Sheng was too preoccupied to remind the fox girl not to damage the greenery—because what Bai Liqing was revealing was just too outrageous.

“The lab was about to start producing a series of items to test the material’s… ‘spirit-infusion’ properties, but considering the material might be precious, I stopped them,” Bai Liqing said seriously. “The properties this material exhibits are baffling to us. Its composition isn’t special, yet after simple processing, it shows incredible energy activity. So we’re very curious—what exactly is it, and whether Miss Hu Li can provide more samples.”

She paused, then added, “Of course, it will be compensated.”

Yu Sheng rubbed his forehead and recalled, “That thing… Hu Li said it was some kind of core product after a reaction. From what she said, it’s not worth much, at least not back in her hometown.”

As soon as he said that, Bai Liqing fell silent for at least ten seconds before finally responding, “Reactor?! You mean Hu Li has a reactor inside her?!"

“Seems like it?” Yu Sheng realized belatedly, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “That sounds a bit ridiculous?”

“…A ‘bit’ ridiculous?” For the first time, Yu Sheng heard a hint of exasperation in Bai Liqing’s tone. The usually calm and indifferent female bureau chief’s voice rose by three whole notes. “You think this is just a bit ridiculous?”

Yu Sheng’s mouth twitched as he watched the fox girl digging in the green belt, his expression quite colorful—unfortunately, Bai Liqing couldn’t see it. “Let me put it this way: the first time I saw her launch her tail, I pretty much used up my lifetime supply of surprise regarding her. My worldview-rebuilding ability is now so high that even I’m scared, you know…”

There was another two or three seconds of silence on the phone, and Yu Sheng clearly heard Bai Liqing take a deep breath.

“In any case, you’re saying Hu Li can produce more of these ‘ingots’ at any time, but she needs some time to accumulate, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what she said. But she might have some stock left. I’ll ask her later—but right now she’s busy.”

“Busy doing what?” Bai Liqing asked casually.

“Busy digging a hole in the green belt.”

Bai Liqing: “…?”

Silence again on the phone.

Yu Sheng felt a bit awkward. He coughed twice and walked over to the fox girl. “Hu Li, stop digging. I need to ask you something.”

The fox girl finally looked up from her enthusiastic digging, her eyes glimmering in the night. “What’s up, Benefactor?”

“That lump of metal you left behind after eating at the Special Service Bureau cafeteria last time,” Yu Sheng struggled to find a better description for the thing the fox girl had pulled out, but ultimately failed. “Do you have more? Also, how long does it take you to ‘make’ one?”

“It depends on the type of food consumed and the reactor’s daily output power, so I can’t say for sure,” Hu Li blinked. “Maybe seven or eight days per piece? But I still have a few stored… They want more?”

Yu Sheng nodded, but before he could speak, he heard Bai Liqing’s voice from the phone: “Tell her the Special Service Bureau can build a dedicated cafeteria for her—you can even open the door right at the serving window.”

Yu Sheng: “…”

Hu Li continued blinking, as if she didn’t understand what was happening.

Yu Sheng then explained the situation the Special Service Bureau had discovered to the fox girl.

Hu Li usually seemed simple, but she was actually sharper than anyone. In just a few words, she grasped the situation and immediately clapped her hands with a grin. “It’s just ‘spiritual essence.’ ‘Linghu Xuantie’ is the basic material for forging artifact spirits back in my homeland. This phenomenon is perfectly normal…”

Yu Sheng opened his mouth, thinking, *As expected of Hu Li—so this is also a ‘normal’ occurrence in her experience!?*

Meanwhile, Bai Liqing continued on the phone, “We can have a serious discussion later about setting up a ‘designated cafeteria’ for the inn at the bureau, and formally placing a long-term order with the inn under the bureau’s name… What was it called again?”

Hu Li leaned in. “Linghu Xuantie.”

“Right, a contract for the long-term purchase of ‘Linghu Xuantie’…”

…

Ai Lin glared at Yu Sheng with her blood-red eyes, while Yu Sheng sat on the sofa looking completely unruffled at the puppet before him.

Next to him, Hu Li had spread out a large collection of treasures she had gathered during her walk—a very straight stick, a very round stone, and some oddly shaped screws.

The fox girl was fiddling with them gleefully, completely oblivious to the commotion around her.

“You’re saying the Special Service Bureau is willing to spend a lot of money or provide various supplies regularly in exchange for those iron lumps Hu Li spits out?! To ensure production, they’re even going to build a dedicated cafeteria for that silly fox—ridiculous enough that you could open the door right at the serving window?!” The little puppet’s eyes widened. “Hey, are they crazy or what?”

“What iron lumps? That thing is now called ‘Linghu Xuantie,’” Yu Sheng corrected with a serious expression. “Even in Hu Li’s homeland, it’s a spirit treasure material. In this world, it’s a treasure that can reliably create artifact spirits, don’t you know…”

The little puppet listened, stunned, then sat down on the sofa. “Oh, is that so?”

But then she quickly snapped back and stood up, glaring at Yu Sheng again. “No, why! Why can the waste she spits out after meals be a treasure that the Special Service Bureau buys at a high price, while after all my cooperation testing crystals with them, all they came up with was an ‘anti-Ai Lin special crystal’… I told you this world is against me!”

Yu Sheng sighed and reached out to pat the little puppet’s head. “Hey, I sympathize too.”

Ai Lin tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then waved her hand magnanimously. “Alright, I’m not angry anymore.”

This time, it was Yu Sheng’s turn to be stunned. “…”

*Is this puppet really that good-natured?*

After somewhat managing to pacify Ai Lin, Yu Sheng walked over to Hu Li, who was still fiddling with her “trophies” on the coffee table. “Still not done sorting?”

The fox girl looked up and cheerfully showed Yu Sheng the two sticks in her hands. “Benefactor, look! Don’t these two sticks look just like two swords?”

Yu Sheng looked down and stroked his chin. “Now that you mention it, they really do…”

“Then these two will be the twin swords—one for you, Benefactor, and one for me.” Hu Li generously stuffed one of the sticks into Yu Sheng’s hand and then started sweeping the pile of odds and ends on the coffee table into her tail. In no time, everything was cleared away.

Before Yu Sheng could react, he found himself holding another “peerless good stick.”

Then he couldn’t help but look at Hu Li’s storage tail, muttering while stroking his chin, “I’m really curious how you organize things inside that tail of yours. Usually, I see you just throw stuff in there without any sorting, but when you pull things out, it’s never a mess.”

“I do organize!” Hu Li immediately said seriously. “Well, even if it’s not perfectly organized, it’s not really that messy inside… Hey, Benefactor, do you want to come in and see?”

Yu Sheng had been pondering the similarities and differences between Hu Li’s storage tail and his own method of opening doors to retrieve items when he heard her words. It took him a moment to process, and when he did, he was completely baffled. “…What?”

“Benefactor, do you want to come inside my tail to see?” Hu Li said happily. “I’ve never invited anyone inside before! Oh, that time I put Ai Lin’s picture frame in doesn’t count…”

Yu Sheng: “…”

Yu Sheng racked his brain for a long time and ultimately admitted that his imagination was still somewhat lacking compared to the worldview of a nine-tailed fox. However, just as he was starting to feel a faint interest in the proposal and was about to answer, a sudden exclamation from the window interrupted his conversation with Hu Li—

“Hey! Yu Sheng! Look outside! It’s gotten really foggy!”

It was Ai Lin exclaiming.

Perhaps because of his recent experience rescuing someone from a dense fog in a foreign land, the moment Yu Sheng heard the word “fog,” he flinched. Then he sprang to his feet and looked toward the living room window.

Ai Lin was standing on the windowsill, pointing at the glass.

Outside the window, a thick fog shrouded everything. The heavy white mist seemed like a viscous, flowing liquid, not only covering the entire street but also causing the light from distant streetlamps to tremble and warp in an unsettling manner, as if the entire world was viewed through a bizarre lens, appearing eerie and inexplicable.

“Holy shit?!"

Yu Sheng exclaimed and rushed to the window in a few steps, standing beside Ai Lin to look at the fog-shrouded street.

“When did this happen?” He looked down at the puppet and asked urgently.

“I don’t know. Just now I looked up and it was already like this,” Ai Lin said, looking dumbfounded. “But it definitely hasn’t been long—when it just got dark, one of my bodies turned to look at the window, and there was no fog then.”

“Benefactor, this fog…” Hu Li also came over, speaking with some hesitation. “It looks very similar to the thick fog that trapped Zheng Zhi before, but it seems thicker, heavier, and the atmosphere is particularly ominous.”

Yu Sheng frowned, then turned and walked to the front door, pushing it open.

He wanted to confirm the situation on the street outside.

Outside the door, the old street of Wutong Road was quiet in the night, the streetlamps shining clearly, the night sky as clear as if it had been washed.

There was no thick fog at all.

*Sword of Dawn* comic is back! Season 2 has started serialization! Currently serializing on B-Comic, updated on the 1st, 10th, and 20th of every month. Hope everyone supports it!

(Chapter end)