Chapter 86: Novelty

The Special Affairs Bureau clerk who called herself "Ren Wenwen" left.

Eileen leaned on the windowsill, watching the other person walk away. She turned her head to glance at Yu Sheng, who seemed a bit dazed, and asked with great curiosity, "What's that *Blizzard Mystery* she mentioned?"

Yu Sheng's expression was strange. "...A novel I wrote, serialized on a media account."

"Then who's the 'Lin Qi' she mentioned?"

"The male lead in the book."

"And 'Night Blade'?" Eileen blinked, but before Yu Sheng could answer, she showed a look of sudden realization. "Oh, I get it—she's the female lead, right?"

Yu Sheng fell silent and looked up at the ceiling.

Eileen seemed to guess something from this expression, and her tone became cautious. "...Don't tell me it's another male lead?"

Yu Sheng sat back in his chair. "If it were another male lead, I could at least understand."

Eileen: "...Then, the antagonist? I don't remember a lot of things, but I vaguely recall that such pairings exist in the world..."

Yu Sheng silently looked at this puppet, thinking that her already strained memory should save some space for useful things. Then he let out a long sigh. "It's the male lead's motorcycle."

Eileen: "..."

The little puppet was deeply shocked—even more shocked than when she had seen that sky-covering giant eyeball before.

She jumped straight off the windowsill, stood on the floor, and pointed at Yu Sheng. "You actually write such twisted stuff!"

"I didn't write it that way in the book!" Yu Sheng was utterly exasperated. "It's probably because the people working at the Special Affairs Bureau are under too much work pressure, so their worldview and perception are a bit off?"

Ren Wenwen had left by then. If she were still there, Yu Sheng would really want to sigh in front of her—Girl, your taste is too narrow!

Hu Li had been standing nearby listening for a while. Finally, she couldn't help but lean in curiously. "Benefactor, Eileen, what are you talking about?"

"Good children shouldn't listen—even bad kids can't handle this." Yu Sheng waved his hand wearily, then his gaze fell on the laptop beside him.

His plan to catch up on writing hadn't even started, but now he absolutely couldn't write anymore.

"You're not writing today, are you?" Eileen stared at Yu Sheng's computer with eager eyes and asked curiously.

"I'll do it tomorrow," Yu Sheng sighed, then noticed Eileen's expression. "What do you want?"

"Can I play with this?" Eileen pointed at Yu Sheng's computer. "Just watching TV every day is pretty boring."

Yu Sheng was silent for a moment, and the little puppet quickly added, "I won't look at your browser history!"

"I wasn't worried about that!" Yu Sheng's eyes widened instantly. "I'm afraid you'll break it—do you know how to use it?"

"I do!" Eileen said matter-of-factly.

"...Where did you learn?"

"I don't know, but I know how to use it. I can even type!"

Yu Sheng looked at the puppet suspiciously for a while. After much hesitation, he finally waved his hand. "Go ahead, but don't break it. I'm going to check out this new phone first."

With that, he stopped paying attention to Eileen and sat down elsewhere, taking out the new phone Ren Wenwen had given him.

A "gift" given to him personally by Special Affairs Bureau Director Bai Liqing.

Yu Sheng examined it carefully and found that the device looked about the same as an ordinary phone, except it felt a bit heavier in the hand. He didn't know if it had a bigger battery or some different functions inside. When Ren Wenwen handed it over, she didn't include any special instructions, only saying that turning it on was the same as a regular phone, and that the "guidance" specially for "gifted individuals" was integrated into the system.

After studying the exterior for a while, he unlocked the screen.

A large red diamond-shaped emblem appeared in the center of the screen, resembling a vertical, alert single eye—that was probably the Special Affairs Bureau's logo. Then the emblem faded, and a clean desktop appeared. Since it was a brand-new device, there were few icons on the desktop, and the most prominent was "Border Communications" at the top of the screen.

Also a red diamond logo. After tapping it, the app launched quickly with almost no loading time, and Yu Sheng saw its simple and clear user interface.

Communication tools, data inquiry, a series of preset public channels, news feeds, and an emergency support option.

A strange sense of novelty stirred in his heart. Yu Sheng curiously studied this "comprehensive platform" reportedly built by the Special Affairs Bureau and open exclusively to all registered spirit realm detectives and independent investigators in the Borderlands. Soon, he found that the software was already logged in—the username was exactly "Yu Sheng."

The registration time was this morning.

Did that "Director" help set it up in advance? Or did the device pre-bind the user, with registration data already written in before being handed over, unchangeable? Many special devices with security features seemed to work that way...

Yu Sheng pondered idly, then found the chat function of "Border Communications." Suddenly struck by an idea, he entered the name "Little Red Riding Hood" in the search bar.

An avatar showing a back view in a red cloak appeared on the screen, displaying as online.

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then tried sending a first message: "You there?"

After just two or three seconds, he saw the avatar start blinking, and then a string of symbols popped up: "???"

"It's Yu Sheng. The Special Affairs Bureau just gave me a phone," Yu Sheng typed in the chat box. "I've seen you use this software, and now I have it too."

This time, Little Red Riding Hood's message took a while to come through: "You're actually serious?! I thought you were joking back then!"

Then after a moment, she sent a second message: "I'm in class right now."

Yu Sheng: "Won't the teacher notice?"

"No, I have my wolf on the roof with the phone sending the messages—using the wolf's eyes and claws, with sensory sharing. I'm sitting in the classroom, looking very attentive."

Staring at Little Red Riding Hood's message, Yu Sheng was momentarily stunned. "...That works?"

"Been practicing for over two years. At first, I could only reply with a simple emoji when I got an urgent message. Now, I can even play duo queue in battlefields with someone through the wolf's shared senses," Little Red Riding Hood replied quickly, with a hint of pride in her tone, as if only at moments like this did she regain a bit of her carefree nature as a minor. "What about you? You're really a spirit realm detective now... And those two at your place? Did they register too?"

"They registered too," Yu Sheng looked up at Eileen, who was furiously typing at the keyboard doing who knows what, and at Hu Li, who was wandering around the room looking for food. "But there's only one phone..."

He paused, then sent another message: "And even though we're registered, once the novelty wears off, I don't know what else to do now."

"Talk it over with that puppet—it's called Eileen, right? She seems to know a lot about the supernatural realm."

"She'd probably just suggest I go post flyers on the street," Yu Sheng replied immediately. "Better to ask you than her."

"...Actually, that's really not a bad idea," Little Red Riding Hood replied, but quickly changed the subject. "Of course, for now, don't think about 'making a big splash' or anything like that. If you have time, look through the data. There are lots of files shared by the Special Affairs Bureau for spirit realm detectives and investigators, including information about many special locations in the Borderlands and some realms that can be entered and exited stably. Or, check out what's new in the public channels. Some spirit realm detectives and investigators share the intelligence they've gathered from recent incidents. You might find it interesting. If you want to make money, you can also see if anyone has posted requests for help. If you're worried about being scammed or unsure about the price, you can ask me."

Little Red Riding Hood sent a long message, patient and detailed.

Even through the phone screen, Yu Sheng could feel that the girl who was always accompanied by wolves was genuinely offering help.

"Thanks, that's very helpful advice." He thanked her sincerely.

"No problem, just a simple suggestion. By the way, since you registered as a spirit realm detective, you probably also registered a team? What's it called?"

"The Lodge."

Yu Sheng typed the name very seriously, then added, "But you probably can't find any info on it yet. The documents were just submitted this morning."

"Sounds awesome," Little Red Riding Hood replied quickly, whether sincerely or politely. "Maybe it'll soon become a renowned name in the Borderlands?"

"Haha, hope your words come true," Yu Sheng laughed and typed quickly. "Then I won't keep you from class. I'll go check out that database."

"Okay, bye~"

After ending the chat with Little Red Riding Hood, Yu Sheng let out a soft breath. Then he noticed Eileen's frantic keyboard clacking again.

He couldn't help but go over. "What are you doing? So lively... Don't break it."

"Playing a game. Someone called me slow, so I'm cursing them back," Eileen looked pouty. She sat cross-legged in front of the keyboard, her whole body moving with her arms as she typed. "This keyboard is too big, it's a hassle to use!"

Yu Sheng curiously glanced at the screen and was shocked to find Eileen single-handedly arguing with the whole lobby. Every teammate and enemy had lost both parents—even the game designers and the advertisers in the battle map couldn't save their families.

Her typing speed was anything but slow!

Yu Sheng was instantly astounded.

The little puppet's gaming skills were terrible, but her trash-talking was truly impressive... When she cursed in real life, Yu Sheng could still rein her in, but online she had completely broken free.

But her arrogance didn't last long.

Just a few minutes later, she got banned, kicked out of the match, and a large temporary ban warning popped up in the middle of the screen.

"Serves you right," Yu Sheng laughed as he saw Eileen jump up from the table in a fury. "Got caught this time, huh?"

Eileen was still fuming and cursing, but when she heard Yu Sheng's words, she suddenly paused. She turned around hesitantly. "...Um, this is your account."

Yu Sheng: "..."

(End of chapter)