To be honest, after listening to Xu Jiali's description, Yu Sheng did feel quite sorry. He even seriously reflected on the timing and frequency of his recent phone calls to Baili Qing and concluded that—later he could make a few calls to Song Cheng, to ease the burden of 'night shifts' for the Director lady.

The matter of staying up without sleep needed to be equally distributed—anyway, it was impossible for him not to open his doors.

In addition to his reflections, Yu Sheng became extremely curious about the incredible "structure" of the Special Service Bureau headquarters.

This was the first time he observed so directly and closely what the Boundary Land was truly like—especially when Xu Jiali led him through the corridor, pointing to an office at the end of the corridor and telling him that after 10 p.m. every night, the office would drift to some abnormal space.

"We have many special rooms and 'sections' here. The structure of the entire Special Service Bureau building is not fixed, some areas would move to other places in different time periods, even to the territories of Alien Species—We use this regular movement to transfer materials or conduct periodic shift changes with colleagues at other posts," Xu Jiali patiently introduced this marvelous place to the visitors, "I don't know if anyone has told you about this before, the Boundary Land, although called the 'hub' of this world, is actually not directly connected to the outside world in terms of spatial structure."

"Not directly connected?" Yu Sheng curiously asked, "What do you mean?"

"It means that you can't leave here using normal 'transportation,'" Xu Jiali said with a smile, "Whether from the sky or underground, you can't get out. If you leave this city, you'll find vast wilderness outside, and further beyond that is the 'Unstable Area', and past the Boundary Stele is the border, where you will encounter space-time folding and then return to the city's edge—the curvature of space-time in Boundary Land curls inward, that's what it means."

Yu Sheng listened, his eyes widening slightly, his heartbeat suddenly quickened uncontrollably.

This was the first time he had heard information about the "edge" of Boundary Land! It was the first time he had formed an understanding of the spatial structure of this vast and strange land!

The end of Boundary Land is not spatially continuous with the normal universe!?

This made him subconsciously think of that valley, about the "Mountain Barrier" at the end of the valley which repeats itself, and the "transmission" phenomenon that occurs after crossing the barrier. Surprised, he blurted out, "This sounds a bit like some sort of... Exotic Realm?"

"Yes, it sounds very much like an Exotic Realm, but the depth of the entire Boundary Land is zero and it does not generate matter, while also following the mathematical laws of the external world. Therefore, besides some local areas sometimes experiencing supernatural phenomena, this place as a whole should still be classified as a 'normal area'," Xu Jiali stopped walking, her face smiling yet her tone serious as she said to Yu Sheng, "That's why scholars have many interesting views on this place. Most people think it's just a place with special spatial structure, while the more radical ones believe that the entire Boundary Land is an Exotic Realm with zero depth, and the rules operating here are 'all normal', and according to the order of the normal universe, a 'human society' entity is generated."

This man, nearly two meters tall, spoke these astonishing theories with a somehow ominous tone, pausing deliberately at the end, then added a few more sentences: "But this extreme theory cannot be proven nor falsified, so some scholars proposed a more moderate theory, which is that Boundary Land itself is not an Exotic Realm but is wrapped in a 'bubble'-shaped Exotic Realm; this Exotic Realm is a thin film with zero thickness, 'cutting' a piece of normal space out of the universe, thus forming the current Boundary Land."

Erin thought about it and blurted out, "But that sounds unprovable and unfalsifiable too, right?"

"Yes, so not many people believe this theory," Xu Jiali shrugged her shoulders, "After all, guessing doesn't cost money, and Boundary Land itself has countless secrets. Everyone uses this place to pad out their papers—do you know how many apprentices and trainees from different places come to stay temporarily in Boundary City each year? Half of them are near the end of the term, lacking points for their topics and come to mix in research points or projects."

Yu Sheng listened, dumbstruck, feeling that there was something not quite right about this topic, but soon his attention was brought back: "Wait, so since Boundary Land and the outside space are not continuous, how do people outside come in? And how do they leave from inside?"

"These are the 'passages' that I mentioned just now, such as those special floors and offices in this building," Xu Jiali said, "Normal modes of transportation don't work, but Boundary Land itself has many natural 'passages' that connect to various places; these passages are basically under the control of the Council and are the only way to enter and leave Boundary Land..."

Speaking of this, he suddenly stopped, his expression turning somewhat strange as he looked at Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng felt confused: "What's wrong?"

"Now it's not the only way anymore," Xu Jiali spoke in a muffled grumble.

Yu Sheng was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood.

His doors—the doors that led to all sorts of strange places.

Due to his appearance, a new pathway that allows one to leave this "hub" has emerged in Boundary Land, beyond the various "natural channels" that already existed.

Yu Sheng fell into thought, and Xu Jiali's voice rang out from the side: "…Anyway, if you plan to further study those 'doors' or if you want to go to 'the distance,' feel free to come to us. After all, the Special Service Bureau has been managing this place for many years, and our experience can be very helpful to you."

Yu Sheng nodded slowly, expressing sincere thanks for the goodwill offered, regardless of any deeper implications behind it.

As they talked, they had already stopped in front of a large door.

"We're here," Xu Jiali raised her hand and pointed to the room in front.

Yu Sheng looked up and noticed that this was the last laboratory at the end of the corridor; even though he was unfamiliar with the place, he could see the distinctiveness of this lab—a particularly thick door, the distance maintained from other rooms, the several layers of surveillance equipment at the entrance, and many warning signs posted at conspicuous locations, all indicating the importance and security level of the place.

Above the laboratory door, a lit sign bore the words: No. 2 High Risk/Special Sample Analysis and Containment Comprehensive Disposal Room.

Following that, Xu Jiali stepped forward, operated the access control device at the entrance of the lab for a moment, verifying her high-level identity card as a veteran deep diver and her temporary privileges as a "special guide." Only then, after speaking a few words through the intercom to the people inside, did the thick isolation door emit a mechanical operation sound, slowly opening and retracting to the sides.

Two workers, clad in full-body white protective suits and wearing face masks, appeared on the inside of the door, standing behind a glowing red isolation strip to "welcome" Yu Sheng and his group.

Yu Sheng felt a bit dumbfounded and turned to look at Xu Jiali: "Uh... I only brought a scrap of paper and a lump of metal; don't you think you're being a bit too dramatic with the preparations?"

"This is arranged by our Director, don't overthink it. It's just that this is the only lab we can use right now," Xu Jiali explained cheerfully, "Each lab has its own safety standards and supporting procedures, and no matter when, they must strictly follow the process. Since this is what was assigned, even if you brought just a button, they would have to wear protective suits to complete the sample transfer in the handover area—that's how the workflow goes in the Special Service Bureau, you'll get used to it."

Yu Sheng thought it over and expressed understanding—except it did become a bit embarrassing when it was time to take things out.

First, he fished out from his pocket a tattered-looking piece of paper and placed it on the handover area's tray as instructed by the staff: "This is a sample brought out from Black Forest, belonging to something lost by the entity 'Hunter.'"

The staff solemnly took away the piece of paper.

Then Yu Sheng fished out from another pocket a white plastic bag he had used for grocery shopping, opened it, and pulled out something wrapped in old newspaper. As the newspaper unwrapped, it revealed the "lump of metal" he had picked up from the strange room on the second floor of his house.

The crinkling noise of the shopping bag and old newspaper being opened was particularly grating in the grave silence at the entrance of the lab. Yu Sheng fumbled with it while feeling the cold sweat almost breaking out, and couldn't help but lower his head to sneak a glance at Erin at his feet: "Should I have put this thing in a small briefcase when I left home? Like those in movies, with a combination lock and looking very upscale..."

Erin covered her face with her hand at this point: "…I don't know, but I think you might as well have just stuck it in your pocket…"

"That's because I didn't want to scratch my clothes, this thing is all edges and protrusions, and my outfit is brand new."

While grumbling, Yu Sheng placed the lump of metal on another tray and reluctantly instructed the lab staff clad in protective gear on the other side: "This is another sample, retrieved from my place. No, not right; from No. 66 Wutong Road, Exotic Realm."

Then he saw two other workers in even bulkier protective gear come out from a door inside the lab. Their gear was so thick it was practically Titan Armor, and one of them was holding a silver-white alloy container engraved with symbols. They solemnly put the piece of metal, whose purpose was unknown, into the container, while a polite yet muffled voice came from under another's filter mask: "May we take your carrying container as well?"

Yu Sheng was confused for a while before realizing they were referring to the old plastic bag and newspaper in his hands...

He handed over the plastic bag and newspaper in a daze, watching the two Titan-armored individuals solemnly take them away and then turn to enter the lab. After a few seconds of being stunned, he turned to Xu Jiali: "…Is this also part of your standard procedure?"

Xu Jiali braced herself: "…Yes. Arranged by the Director."

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