Applause suddenly erupted, as if the void was filled with unseen spectators, cheering and approving towards the marvelous scene on the stage. This left Little Red Riding Hood momentarily stunned, and she blurted out—

"Can this work?!"

Yu Sheng was even more confused: "I don't know, I just proposed a plan and haven't had time to do anything yet…"

However, applause had indeed erupted. Amid the confused expressions on the faces of Little Red Riding Hood and Yu Sheng, the entire museum seemed to be shaken by the applause, and then began to transform—the rooms disintegrated amidst the roaring, the intact roof and walls turned into backdrops and crude props in the blink of an eye, and then quickly sank into the dark abyss, the color of the floor faded, revealing a dusty stage again. Darkness converged rapidly from all directions and was followed by the banging sounds of relays, as beams of light fell from above, illuminating the entire stage and the surrounding spectator area.

The theater lit up, and amidst the empty seats, the applause continued unabated for another dozen seconds before gradually subsiding.

Yu Sheng quickly glanced around, confirming that everyone was present, then met the weird gaze of Little Red Riding Hood.

"Well, I just had a bold idea, thinking that making a big noise would meet the 'curtain fall' condition, but in the end, I didn't implement anything…"

"No, I just think you might have actually found an exit method that fits the 'Museum Night' rules, although it's a bit... extreme," Little Red Riding Hood shook her head thoughtfully, "The entry and exit rules of 'Museum Night' are meshed with this 'Theater' exit, and the essence of a curtain fall is actually creating a 'deviation'. The more events deviate from the 'stage', the more likely it is to trigger the curtain fall. I think... 'detonating a large number of fox tails in the museum' definitely qualifies as a severe off-script event, the kind that even if mentioned by an 'actor' on stage would be considered too much."

Yu Sheng listened, puzzled: "Is that so?"

"Who knows specifically, the Exotic Realm always has many incomprehensible things," Little Red Riding Hood smirked, "Anyway, if that's really the reason, then it must be said that this approach can't be replicated by others, because after all, not everyone has such an... abstract Nine-Tailed Fox following them."

Yu Sheng reached out and touched the fur behind Hu Li's ears, who happily squinted his eyes, then muttered, "I'm hungry," and took out a pancake from his tail to nibble on.

"You did expend a lot today," Yu Sheng said, then suddenly remembered something, "Ah, wait, we suddenly came out, did you bring out the tails you left in the white gallery to control the 'Security Guards'?"

"I brought them," Hu Li nodded repeatedly, "The moment that illusion vanished, the tails turned back into fox spirits."

"That's quite useful," Yu Sheng genuinely exclaimed.

"Let's leave this place," Little Red Riding Hood sighed lightly, looking at the theater area still illuminated by the mysterious light, "We will go back the way we came, and the influence of 'Museum Night' will formally subside when we reach the ticket counter."

"Okay." Yu Sheng nodded and glanced at the "Wailer" sculpture still in his hands—

According to museum rules, any artifacts held in hand at the "curtain fall" or "end of the night show" can be safely taken out of the Exotic Realm, now this thing has become his first exploration trophy as a "Beginner Spirit Realm Detective".

It was lighter than imagined, much lighter, and the material did not seem to be stone or any other natural materials, if one must describe it... it felt suspiciously like skin, as if a pale hide was tightly stretched over a rigid object's surface, even holding a faint hint of warmth.

Under the overhead light casting down, this veiled crying female sculpture emanated a strange aura, Yu Sheng didn't know how much "artistic content" this thing had, nor did he know what the commissioner wanted with this thing; he would definitely not keep such a thing at home if it were up to him.

The group left the stage, passed through the empty audience seats, and walked again through the corridor they had entered before—there was always some mysterious light illuminating the path until they returned to the old theater's entrance hall, where Little Red Riding Hood went back to the dark ticket window and knocked on its glass. Then suddenly, all the lights in the theater went out.

Yu Sheng noticed Little Red Riding Hood's accompanying wolves constantly prowling and sniffing around, even swirling near the ticket window and another corridor leading to the depths of the theater, prompting him to curiously ask, "What are they doing?"

"Checking if there's any scent left by other people," Little Red Riding Hood whispered, "There's no alarm at this node, but people have indeed come to the museum, they can't have just materialized from nothing... unless someone else can 'open doors' into and out of the Exotic Realm just like you can."

Yu Sheng immediately waved his hand: "That can't be, I would trigger an alarm by opening doors—and I heard it makes quite the noise. But didn't you say to try not to get entangled with the Angel Sect?"

"...Yes, that's also true." Little Red Riding Hood hesitated briefly, then gave a gentle nod, and the wolves that had been roaming quietly gathered, slipping back into the shadows beside her.

The group left through the main entrance of the old theater and returned into the night of the city.

It was midnight by now, and aside from the occasional sound of cars passing on the main road in the distance, it was unusually quiet around.

Little Red Riding Hood took the "Wailer" sculpture from Yu Sheng's hand, then found her large backpack hidden in advance in the landscaped bushes near the museum's front door and placed the sculpture inside the bag.

"I'll take this to meet with the commissioner from the Curious Object Association, and also check with an acquaintance to investigate if there's any issue behind this commission. The payment can be transferred to you as early as tomorrow—Border Communication has a transfer feature. You hook up your bank card later and can withdraw the balance," she told Yu Sheng, enlightening him with new knowledge, "spirit realm detectives and investigators generally only recognize transactions through Border Communication, as offline transactions are not protected by the Boundary Council and are at your own risk."

"Right," Yu Sheng seemed somewhat distracted, clearly pondering something else, "Then about that situation in the white exhibition room..."

"I'll report it. The Special Service Bureau should soon contact you for details," Little Red Riding Hood said offhandedly, "You're definitely registered with them, this matter will receive a lot of attention, and they might even invite you for further investigation, or... tell you something about the Dark Angel. But remember what I told you, try to avoid too much contact with that creature, many seasoned investigators and spirit realm detectives have fallen over such matters..."

Talking about this, she suddenly stopped and shook her head weirdly,"But telling you this might be a bit too much, you are not 'ordinary people'."

"Thanks for the concern," Yu Sheng didn't mind and sincerely thanked her, and then he couldn't help but say, "Even though I've said it once before, I still can't help but to say... you really have a habit of taking care of people."

Little Red Riding Hood was stunned, her expression a bit awkward: "Well, actually I didn't notice, but there are indeed many members younger than me in 'Fairy Tales,' maybe I really got used to it?"

Yu Sheng smiled with understanding, from an angle where Little Red Riding Hood didn't notice, his gaze carried a hint of gentleness and admiration.

Then, they bade each other farewell at an intersection near the Museum—Little Red Riding Hood and her Wolf Pack quickly dissolved into the shadows of the night, like a breeze whisking past the night curtain, disappearing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.

"...That's really convenient for her, especially when traveling at night," Yu Sheng watched the direction where Little Red Riding Hood disappeared, and couldn't help but remark,"It even saves money on taxi fares."

He just mentioned it casually, but the fox girl suddenly lowered her head, her tone full of shame: "I'm sorry, Savior, my way of traveling is too noisy, I can't take you guys back with me..."

Yu Sheng quickly waved his hands: "No no no, I don't mind."

"How are we going back?" Erin curiously asked, "Are we taking a taxi again? Is it still going to be Xu Jiali picking us up—I don't want to ride in his car anymore..."

"Just go through the door." Yu Sheng said nonchalantly.

Erin was surprised: "Ah? Didn't you say earlier at the museum not to open the doors at night so as not to alarm the Special Service Bureau?"

Yu Sheng then pulled out his phone: "Are you silly? We're outside now, the phone has a signal—I'll make a call to notify them, it won't scare anyone, right?"

While talking, he pointed to his shoulder—previously, he was bitten by a huge wolf that emerged from Little Red Riding Hood's shadow. Now the wound has healed, but his blood-stained clothes fluttered under the streetlamp, looking especially horrifying.

"Also, like this, if we really call a taxi and the driver is just an ordinary ride-hailing driver, we might scare the life out of him."

During the conversation, he dialed the phone number Baili Qing gave him.

A moment later, a voice that sounded like it hadn't woken up came from the receiver: "Who?"

"It's me, Yu Sheng," Yu Sheng hurriedly responded, "Sorry, did I disturb your sleep?"

"...Yes, just fell asleep, but no worries," Baili Qing's voice was as usual without any warmth or particular emotion, "What happened?"

Yu Sheng was somewhat embarrassed: "I need to open a door, thought I should notify the Special Service Bureau first, I didn't think of anyone else to call so I called you..."

There was silence on the other end for two seconds.

Yu Sheng didn't know what the female director was thinking during those two seconds, but when the voice came again, it was still calm: "Alright, got it. I'll inform the surveillance team to skip the upcoming alert signal. You can open the door in about two minutes."

Yu Sheng, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, although the other side was very calm, he always felt a bit of inexplicable pressure: "Oh, thanks... then I won't disturb you anymore, continue sleeping after you finish, good night."

"...Alright, good night."

Yu Sheng hung up the phone and sighed deeply in the night.

Sitting on his shoulder, Erin immediately poked his head.

"She definitely was swearing in those two seconds."

"Did you hear it?"

"Spiritual Intuition."

"...Your spiritual intuition can do that?"

"Yes!"

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