Chapter 46: The Door Opened Wide
Eileen’s decisiveness in turning and running at the drop of a hat actually caught Yu Sheng somewhat off guard, and the little doll’s two short legs churned surprisingly fast—but unfortunately, she was currently only 66.6 cm tall.
For a doll over sixty centimeters tall, even churning those little legs into a blur only took her so far, and before she could reach the doorway, the picture frame on her back caught on the leg of a nearby chair. She’d tried to duck under the chair, but forgot she was still carrying something on her back.
Yu Sheng leisurely took two steps, reached out, and grabbed Eileen, who was still pedaling furiously in midair.
“You’re way too vindictive!” Eileen flailed her arms, punching and kicking at the air. “And wasn’t I just trying to wake you up! Sure, I admit the method was a little too creative, but you woke up in the end, didn’t you! Hey, put me down—”
“Who said I was going to do anything to you?” Yu Sheng interrupted with a smile, casually setting the little doll back on the ground. “I just wanted to tell you: next time, don’t bite so hard. Even with my recovery ability, it’s been hurting for a while. That’s a bit too much like payback—and of course, it’d be better if you didn’t bite at all.”
Eileen was startled, then quite surprised. “Huh? You’re not mad?”
“Of course not, I’m not ungrateful,” Yu Sheng said with a shrug, turning toward the door. “Now get ready. We need to head to that valley.”
Eileen stood on the floor, a bit dazed, then quickly scrambled after him as he walked away. “You’ve got all the ‘characteristics’ down?”
“Crystal clear.”
***
“I’m starting to think this place is actually pretty peaceful,” Xu Jiali said, sitting behind the window and munching on a jianbing that Li Lin had bought that morning. She gazed at the street outside, rather emotional. “So nice. Way more relaxed than the Lawless Sector. No Angel cultists on the streets…”
“Compared to the combat intensity of your field missions, this place is definitely peaceful,” Li Lin replied, sitting next to Xu Jiali and sipping a cup of hot soy milk. “Treat it like half a vacation, anyway. Our mission is just surveillance. If anything really nasty shows up, the Bureau will send backup.”
“But that ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ kid seems wound tight,” Xu Jiali said, glancing out the window. “How old is she? She’s as taut as a pulled spring—I was just like her when I first came out of ‘the Platform.’”
Not far from the window, on the rooftop of a nearby building, a girl in a dark red coat was hiding in a corner, watching the street. A sausage was hanging from her mouth, and the phantom of a wolf pack flickered in the air around her.
Sensing the gaze on her, Little Red Riding Hood raised her head alertly to glance at the window where Li Lin and Xu Jiali were. After confirming nothing was wrong, she gave a slight nod, then looked back at the street. She pulled a few notebooks and a pen from the bag next to her and started doing her homework.
The wolf pack took over the surveillance of the street.
Li Lin looked at the dark red figure on the rooftop and muttered, “I hear the name ‘Fairytale’ a lot, but this is the only member I’ve ever seen in person… She looks like a minor, right? Running such dangerous work?”
“More than half of Fairytale’s members are around her age, and most of them come from the same place,” Xu Jiali sighed. “They’re unlucky kids.”
Li Lin was surprised. “All of them? Why—”
“Because kids are the ones who fall into ‘fairy tales’ easily, and adult members often struggle to survive in a ‘fairy tale,’” Xu Jiali waved a hand. “If you’re really interested, check the archives when we get back. Don’t ask her about it to her face.”
Li Lin sensed something in his colleague’s attitude. He nodded thoughtfully, said “Oh,” and turned his attention back to the peaceful old street outside.
“Looks like nothing will happen today either,” he said, exhaling softly and continuing to sip his soy milk.
Xu Jiali: “I’m not full yet. You have instant noodles? Let me grab a pack.”
“Under the bed in the back room—boil your own water. The kettle’s in the kitchen. The water dispenser in the living room is broken; no hot water. Oh, and grab one for me too.”
***
Yu Sheng looked at Eileen standing at the door, his expression skeptical. “This is your preparation?”
Eileen stood on the shoe-changing bench in the entryway, puffing out her chest to look more imposing. In her hands, she clutched a cleaver from the kitchen—a big one, its handle unsuited for a little doll’s grip, so she had to hold it with both hands.
“I’m just being prepared, that’s all,” she said. “An extra weapon gives me peace of mind. If a fight breaks out, just watch my super magical power.”
Hearing the doll’s confident boast, Yu Sheng’s face twitched. “You’d be better off with a fruit knife. Easier for you to hold.”
“A fruit knife has no presence.”
“With your height, even a dragon-slaying sword wouldn’t have presence!” Yu Sheng said helplessly. “Listen, don’t break it after we go through. I really like this knife—it’s great for cutting meat.”
“All right, all right, stop nagging. So many worries,” Eileen said impatiently, rolling her eyes at Yu Sheng while holding the cleaver with both hands. “Just open the door. First, let’s confirm what’s on the other side.”
Yu Sheng said no more. He turned and grabbed the door handle, then glanced at the pile of stuff at his feet.
That was the food he was bringing to Hu Li.
When he had entered the other realm before, whatever he carried on him, including the trash bag in his hand, had passed through the doorway. But this time, he was trying to bring a lot more—a huge pile of food plus Eileen. With that much “load,” he wasn’t sure if it would actually work.
He had tested it, of course, but only with short-distance door openings at home. Going to the “other realm” was different from moving a small distance in the real world.
So he had to prepare for the worst. If it didn’t work, he’d treat it as a test.
Yu Sheng wore an oversized jacket, its inner and outer pockets stuffed with compressed biscuits, bread, and a few cans of eight-treasure congee. When he opened the door, he would try to “hold” it open as wide as possible, first pushing the supplies through, then crossing the passage with Eileen.
To do that, he’d need to open the door as “wide” as possible.
He still didn’t understand the principle behind it, so he had to rely on instinct.
Yu Sheng narrowed his eyes, recalling the characteristics of that valley that he had recorded through Hu Li’s perception.
He remembered the cold night wind, the stench of rot, and the gnawing, bone-deep hunger that filled the entire other realm.
And most importantly, the “scent” that spiritual guidance required.
All of that became the “frequency” for opening the door, the image of the scenery on the other side that he pictured in his mind.
Next, he focused all his attention on this opening of the door. He wanted to open a door wide enough, stable enough, to bring Eileen and all the supplies through, and to arrive precisely beside Hu Li…
The handle turned slightly. A chill seeped through the slowly widening crack into the entryway…
A passage far larger than any before was established.
As for exactly how large?
Large enough, at any rate, to make Director Bai Liqing of the Special Service Bureau and all the action team captains screech in their offices.
Huum—
A strange, low hum suddenly reverberated throughout the entire Wutong Road district. Yet that hum was far beyond the range of ordinary human hearing; only those trained to sense the power of “that other world” could feel it, a sustained tremor deep in their spirit.
Xu Jiali, who had just walked out of the kitchen with two bowls of instant noodles, instantly sensed something. He looked up at the window in shock, only to see the daylight outside rapidly dimming, as if a heavy curtain was slowly descending over the entire city of Jiecheng. Beneath that curtain, all the buildings outside the window were gradually turning transparent, vanishing. A hazy, valley-like, strange scenery began to “grow” out of the original street.
On the rooftop outside, the “Little Red Riding Hood” who had been busy with homework suddenly looked up. The wolf pack let out uneasy growls from the shadows. A cold wind rose from nowhere, curling the pages of her math workbook.
Li Lin, who had just been admiring the peace of the street, jumped up with a perfectly pronounced “Holy shit!”: “Holy shit! Something’s happening outside!”
Xu Jiali ran to Li Lin’s side with the bowls of noodles in just a couple of steps, then quickly corrected himself: “No! It’s not something outside!”
Li Lin whipped around. “What do you mean?”
“We’re ‘observing’ the change—we’re falling into the other realm!” As an experienced deep diver, Xu Jiali instantly assessed the situation. He shoved the noodle bowl into Li Lin’s hands and rushed to his equipment case, pulling out a beam dagger and protective gear. “Quick, contact the Bureau—before the signal—”
But the speed of sinking into the other realm was faster than Xu Jiali had imagined.
A kind of “pulling” force, far beyond his experience, nearly instantly dragged his and Li Lin’s perceptions across the boundary of common sense and reason. He only saw a blur before his eyes, had just managed to grab his equipment, and then the hollow sound of wind howled around him.
All the scenery before him changed. The rented room dissolved like a dream, and a valley shrouded in night appeared before him.
Li Lin only had time to see the phone screen on the table light up, the director’s phone number flashing on it for a moment—and then, there was only pitch-black rock and pitch-black forest.
The two Special Service Bureau operatives looked up in confusion, exchanged glances, then heard a low growl beside them.
They turned to see the girl in the dark red coat standing next to them with a serious expression.
“We’ve fallen into the other realm,” Xu Jiali said quietly after a moment of silence.
Little Red Riding Hood nodded slightly. “I know. Based on the scale and characteristics, I’d say it’s the ‘Wilds’ type.”
Li Lin looked at Xu Jiali, then at the girl in red. He felt he should say something.
He lowered his eyes, looked at what he was holding, and raised it: “Want some instant noodles?”