The elevator descended smoothly and silently, making the carriage exceptionally quiet.

Baili Qing was the first to break the silence: "Let's not mention to anyone that Hu Li's 'hometown' may be in the 'outside world'."

Yu Sheng didn't speak, but gave the other a look that carried a hint of inquiry.

"Due to the influence of the Dark Angel, people in this world are extremely anxious about the 'Foreigner'," Baili Qing did not beat around the bush and straightforwardly said, "Organizations like the Special Service Bureau are alright, we can address this issue cautiously and rationally, but there are other organizations... that are not so calm."

Yu Sheng nodded slightly: "Okay, I understand."

When they got back to the small room, Erin and Hu Li were still waiting there obediently.

As soon as Yu Sheng entered, Hu Li immediately came up excitedly with a plate of cake, presenting the item in her hands with an almost assassin-like vehemence to Yu Sheng: "Savior! This is for you to eat, it's delicious!"

Yu Sheng nearly got knocked over by the girl's plate, quickly taking a half-step back to stabilize himself, and then took a look at the contents of the plate; a palm-sized cream cake that was squished out of shape, piled high with nuts. The toppings had clearly exceeded a normal amount, with the forcibly stuffed nuts looking like they were even larger than the cake itself.

Looking at Hu Li again, her face and hands were all smeared with cream, even a small chunk was smeared on her ear - it was unclear how she managed to get it there... Did she dunk her head into the cake?

The fox girl was still laughing happily, looking at Yu Sheng with anticipation. The latter hesitated for a moment, but still accepted the obviously "modified" cake, while Erin explained on the side: "Just eat it, the silly fox kept it especially for you, she said you love nuts and raisins, she shoved half a jar of the stuff into it."

Before entering, Yu Sheng had been thinking about the Dark Angel, tales of the ominous and the deeply aggrieved outsider, but in front of him, Hu Li's warm and joyful smile melted most of his sorrow in an instant. It was just that he found the cake in his hand a bit troubling - frankly, he was touched, it's just that the item had been processed a bit too roughly, and he felt his blood sugar rising just by looking at it...

However, since it was the fox girl's kind gesture, it was hard to refuse, and with Baili Qing looking on with what seemed like amusement though her face was expressionless, Yu Sheng managed to say thank you while eating a mouthful of cake with some difficulty.

Then he nearly broke his teeth.

"What is this thing?!" Yu Sheng looked astonished as he fiddled with the cake and pulled out a shiny, hard substance as solid as a rock, looking up at Hu Li.

Hu Li smiled happily: "It's a raisin."

Yu Sheng: "...?"

"I couldn't squeeze anymore in, so I just pinched it."

Yu Sheng: "...?"

God, these "raisins", she almost kneaded them into bricks - the silly girl may not know much, but she's got a strong grip!

Yu Sheng managed to eat two bites that he could swallow, then handed the rest of the cake back to the fox girl, telling her that he had already had some snacks while out on his walk and wasn't hungry, but he still appreciated the thought - Hu Li didn't give it much thought and happily accepted the cake back, eating it up. The noise she made as she chewed on the "raisin brick" was like a grinding machine.

Yu Sheng even thought he could see sparks fly from her mouth.

"Let's go home after we finish eating," Yu Sheng said, taking out a piece of paper to wipe the cream off Hu Li's ears, "There's still a lot of work to do back home."

"Finished the 'tour'?" Erin stood on the table, looking up at Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng patted the little doll's hair with a smile: "Tour's over."

"Alright then," Erin casually climbed onto Yu Sheng's shoulder, accustomed to it, then asked casually, "Ah, what about that 'iron lump' you brought over? No results yet? Just leaving it here?"

Yu Sheng turned his head to look at Baili Qing.

"That might take a bit of time," Baili Qing said calmly, "We need to do some detailed scans of its internal and microscopic structure, which can't be done in a day or two. If you feel comfortable, you can leave it here."

"…Well, that's alright," Yu Sheng considered briefly, then readily nodded his head, "Anyway, that thing is just lying around at my place, just let me know when you have any conclusions.... Hu Li! Don't wipe your mouth with your tail!"

Baili Qing watched this scene unfold before her eyes.

Bizarre, discordant, abstract - yet a scene that made perfect sense with these individuals.

A subtle smile appeared in her eyes.

"I'll arrange someone to take you home," she suddenly said.

"Ah, no need, we can go back by ourselves," Yu Sheng replied while wiping Hu Li's mouth, hands, face, and tail with a paper towel, glanced back at Baili Qing, and then added, "I don't need to check in with my phone since you're right here."

Baili Qing was caught off guard, but in the next second, she realized what was meant and quickly sent a notification to the surveillance department. She then looked at Yu Sheng with an odd gaze: "Is it... okay now?"

With a smile, Yu Sheng reached out and pulled in the air, opening an ethereal door shimmering with a faint glow. Beyond the door was the living room of No. 66 Wutong Road.

"Do you want to come in for a visit?" Yu Sheng stood at the door, politely offering to the female Director, "Since you're already at the doorstep..."

Baili Qing felt there was something awkward about the invitation but maintained her composure and shook her head: "No, I have work to do."

"Alright then, we're off, thank you for your hospitality, we'll be in touch if something comes up," Yu Sheng said as he nodded and walked towards the door, carrying the doll and leading the fox, "Goodbye."

"Mm, goodbye…"

No sooner had the words fallen than the ethereal door vanished, the guests had left, so suddenly yet naturally, as if they had never been there.

Baili Qing quietly stood in the small room, gazing at the spot where the ethereal door had disappeared, taking a long while to intake a deep breath, settling her gaze.

She picked up the phone, dialed a number, and calmly spoke after the call connected: "How's the situation with the surveillance team?"

Song Cheng's voice came through the receiver: "Manually tracking and recording now, the displacement phenomenon just subsided."

"…The spatial stabilizer is in operation the entire time, right?"

"…Yes, it's running at full power."

"Is the internal calibration system of the headquarters building and the spatial barrier network also on?"

"Those two systems never shut down, you know this."

"The transition disruptor…"

Song Cheng's voice sounded a bit helpless: "That's on too. Today we even adjusted it to maximum power and provided indiscriminate coverage, so much so that the customs office and transportation station downstairs were affected and temporarily shut down."

Baili Qing was silent for two seconds.

"…He just walked through the door in front of me, without even showing a hint of doubt. I think he didn't even realize there was any 'obstacle' here."

A light snap sounded from the other end of the phone, the noise of a lighter being flicked to light a cigarette.

"Director," Song Cheng's voice contained a hint of weariness, "I need to remind you that him just walking through the door in front of you is a minor issue—the real concern you should be prepared for is that he might come through the door again next time."

"I know, it's within expectations."

"Isn't the risk a bit too high?" Song Cheng couldn't help asking, "Inviting him directly to headquarters today… Now he knows the coordinates here."

"Trust my judgment, Xiao Song," Baili Qing exhaled softly, calmly stating, "Having him consider the Special Service Bureau as a 'friend' has far more benefits than those risks, especially after having an in-depth interaction with him today, I am more convinced of this judgment."

"…I understand, I trust what your eyes see. Then I'll continue to oversee the surveillance team."

"Good."

Just before hanging up the phone, Song Cheng suddenly remembered something: "Ah, right, there's something else I need to tell you, good news."

"Go ahead."

"The technical department has made progress. The breakthrough team of researchers has successfully filtered out and integrated the 'door-opening' signal characteristics we've recorded so far. They should soon be able to add automatic filtering and auto-tagging features to the spatial early-warning system," Song Cheng said in an amused tone, "If that thing can function properly, we'll have it easier in the future."

"Employee of the Year, Outstanding Team, Star Breakthrough Expert, Technical Star Medal, Announcement of Commendation—if it works out."

"…Director, the year isn't over yet…"

"Settled then," Baili Qing said indifferently, "unless someone actually manages to save the world by the last month before year-end."

"Okay…"

After the phone call ended, Baili Qing casually tossed the phone on the table, sighed wearily, leaned back in the chair to rest, then slightly tilted her head to look through the large window that gave a view of the opposite laboratory.

On the surface of the pale blue luminescent polymer barrier, a pair of indifferent and faded eyes had quietly appeared at some point.

Those eyes silently watched her.

"…Has he left?"

"He has."

"Oh."

"Will you still peek unnecessarily?"

"I will."

Baili Qing's expression didn't change; she only sighed.

An almost mechanical and stiff voice continued in her mind: "Can't help it, you should know, it's my instinct."

"As you wish," Baili Qing said and then paused before casually asking, "Did you make out anything? Although you were too rash this time, regardless, you completed close-range observation."

"He has humanity," those eyes said.

Baili Qing didn't respond, evidently unsurprised.

"Strong, genuine humanity, not mimicked," the eyes continued speaking, "Also, he shouldn't be an 'entity,' at least not the type of entity 'generated' by No. 66 Wutong Road."

Baili Qing's gaze finally changed.

"How did you determine that?"

"His shadow, the shadow he casts into the Spirit Realm, is even larger than that of No. 66 Wutong Road. It's not so much that No. 66 Wutong Road generated him, but rather… he generated No. 66 Wutong Road in the Boundary Land to reasonably 'exist' in our world."

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