Dimensional Hotel

Chapter 178: Home Visit Investigation


This was an amazing experience that Yu Sheng had never encountered before—traveling with the Wolf Pack, passing through the distorted reflections of the city.

Indistinct building outlines rapidly receded in his field of vision. The whole Boundary City in this shadowy world seemed to have turned into numerous fragmented and constantly shifting "pieces," with buildings and streets haphazardly piled up and crisscrossed. Districts far apart might connect at the next intersection, while adjacent houses had been divided into different "pieces." The light-footed wolves navigated through these topsy-turvy urban structures, following invisible "paths" and leaping over various intersections.

A flash of red approached from the edge of his field of view. Little Red Riding Hood, with a joyous smile on her face, turned her head to look at Yu Sheng: "Isn't it impressive?"

"Very impressive," Yu Sheng exclaimed sincerely, "Is this the scenery you usually see when you 'go out'?"

"Only when I'm traveling long distances," Little Red Riding Hood said cheerfully, "Sometimes I also use the Wolf Pack to take other members of the organization out for tasks—you're the first 'outsider' to receive an invitation."

"Then I'm quite honored—but do you usually have to ferry other people around too?"

Little Red Riding Hood waved her hand dismissively: "There's no helping it, no one at the orphanage can drive, and taking taxis is expensive."

Yu Sheng watched the girl riding alongside him on a wolf and pursed his lips, then suddenly blurted out loudly, "You can take your driving test next month."

Little Red Riding Hood paused for a moment.

Then she burst out laughing, equally loudly: "Right, I can take my driving test next month!"

...

The shadows faded, and silhouettes condensed from amidst the shadows. As twilight approached, Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood emerged from the shadow of a large building.

"It's not as fancy as your 'door' and the routes used by the Special Service Bureau, but at least it's faster than taking a taxi, isn't it?" Little Red Riding Hood turned her head and said to Yu Sheng with a smile.

Yu Sheng took out his phone and glanced at the time, discovering that it had only taken a little over ten minutes to get from Wutong Road to their location—it was indeed quite fast.

"Which way do we go?" He raised his head and observed the tall buildings in front of him. This area was part of the bustling district of the city, with high-rise buildings everywhere, quite different from the old city area he was familiar with.

"Right over here," Little Red Riding Hood pointed to a large building ahead, "Old Zheng lived alone in a high-rise at this place, which is very close to the office of the Curious Object Association. The management here is strict; when we enter the building later, we'll need to register with the security guard. I've already contacted Old Zheng's nephew for clearance, so when we enter, just say you were also a friend of Old Zheng's before he passed, coming here together."

Old Zheng was the "contact person" Little Red Riding Hood knew.

Yu Sheng noted the girl's instructions and followed her through the small paths of the apartment area into a high-rise apartment building, which looked quite expensive. Before entering the lobby of the elevator, Yu Sheng saw the Security Guard Little Red Riding Hood mentioned—a young man with an expressionless face sat in the little hut and handed out two visitor registration forms through a small window.

Yu Sheng cooperatively filled in a few pieces of simple information and then inadvertently glanced at Little Red Riding Hood's form, suddenly taken aback.

After completing the forms and having the information verified and approved by the Security Guard, Yu Sheng looked around, saw no one else nearby, and leaned toward the girl to whisper, "Who is Wang Jiajia?"

Little Red Riding Hood stopped in her tracks, looked up at Yu Sheng with a puzzled and clear gaze, and after a long struggle, finally said, "I am Wang Jiajia."

Yu Sheng: "...?"

Little Red Riding Hood: "...?"

The two exchanged puzzled and clear looks for several seconds before Little Red Riding Hood was the first to react, "You don't think my last name is 'Little,' do you?!"

Yu Sheng kept a straight face, his expression gradually contorting between holding it together and not: "...For a moment there, I actually thought Wang Jiajia was a codename you use when in the field..."

"Little Red Riding Hood is the codename!" The girl's eyes were nearly bulging out, "Who would actually be named Little Red Riding Hood? I have a real name!"

Yu Sheng, mouth agape for a long while, finally managed an awkward laugh, trying his best to pretend nothing happened while chuckling and continuing forward.

He truly hadn't thought of that. Mainly because on the first day he got to know the girl beside him, he only knew her as "Little Red Riding Hood." Then after taking action together a few times—exploring the Museum and fighting in the Black Forest—there was never a situation that required sharing real names. Instead, the name "Little Red Riding Hood" had grown increasingly familiar and seemed natural. He hadn't realized all this time that she likely didn't have the last name "Little..."

The awkwardness lasted quite a while until the two emerged from the elevator and approached the doorway of the house once inhabited by the commissioner.

Little Red Riding Hood stepped forward and pressed the doorbell. After a moment, the door opened to reveal a young man with a hint of tiredness on his face, slightly messy black hair, dressed in a T-shirt and trousers, and with an ordinary appearance.

The young man wasn't very talkative, briefly conversed with Little Red Riding Hood, then stepped back half a step, letting Yu Sheng and her into the house.

Yu Sheng immediately noticed the black and white memorial portrait placed on the living room table.

A man who looked to be in his forties or fifties, with hair neatly combed, a slightly plump face, and eyes and brows that somewhat resembled the young man who had just opened the door, wore a faint smile on his lips.

A member of the Curious Object Association, a contact person familiar with two generations of Little Red Riding Hoods, just appeared to be an ordinary middle-aged man in the portrait.

After withdrawing his gaze, Yu Sheng began to look around.

The furnishings in the house were nothing special, and the layout of the room was very simple. Passing through the entrance was the living room, on one side of which was a semi-open kitchen, and on the other side, it led to the bedroom and restroom, as well as a small balcony. The green plants on the balcony were still thriving well, seemingly a testament to their owner's meticulous care prior to his death.

Apart from that portrait, there were hardly any items related to "death" and "funeral" to be seen in this house.

Yu Sheng expressed his confusion as a matter of course.

"The uncle mentioned before his death that he didn't like to make a fuss," the young man, appearing weary, came over and poured a glass of water for both Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood, "and he specifically instructed not to hold a funeral, and to bury him as soon as possible."

Little Red Riding Hood subconsciously frowned, sensing something suspicious, but before she could speak, Yu Sheng had already asked ahead, "He gave specific instructions before his death? He..."

Yu Sheng said, turning his head to glance at the portrait on the table.

It would be understandable for an elderly person to arrange posthumous matters, but according to what Little Red Riding Hood had shared on their way here, this contact person was not even fifty years old, and had always been in good health. How could such a person... suddenly arrange his affairs with his family?

"I know what you're here to investigate," the young man interrupted Yu Sheng. He sighed, sat down on the sofa across from them, "And I won't hide it from you—my uncle seemed to have a premonition before the incident. At least half a month ago, he called me and mentioned a lot of things, but he never revealed the details. He only said nobody harmed him, that everything was supposed to happen..."

Yu Sheng subconsciously exchanged a glance with Little Red Riding Hood.

This "commissioner" indeed had problems!

But that "Fake Commission" that nearly caused Little Red Riding Hood to lose control... was it truly a trap specifically crafted by this "commissioner"?

What ought to be an obvious suspicion suddenly started to waver at this point, simply because the few words left by the commissioner before his death, as relayed by the young man, sounded so full of doubts.

"...Where is Old Zheng now?" Little Red Riding Hood pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and then broke the silence, "Can we 'see' him?"

The young man raised his hand and pointed at a short cabinet not far away—on top of the cabinet stood a porcelain urn.

Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood were startled right then.

"Ah?! He's already been cremated?!" Little Red Riding Hood's eyes widened, "So..."

"This was also uncle's instruction, to cremate as soon as possible," the young man spoke slowly, looking up at Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood, "I'm not 'from your world', so I don't quite understand the rules or taboos in this regard. But I know what my uncle did. He interacted with all sorts of bizarre objects; those things are dangerous, so I didn't dare to delay following his instructions."

Little Red Riding Hood opened her mouth but in the end, couldn't think of what else to say; she could only turn to look at Yu Sheng.

"That 'Dead Person Communication' of yours..." The girl lowered her voice, leaning towards Yu Sheng's ear, "Can it still be used in this situation?"

Yu Sheng was also confused at this point: "It only works if you come into contact with blood... I didn't expect this situation either!"

"So, what do we do?" Little Red Riding Hood's tone was nuanced, "The person is already cremated... are you still going to try?"

Yu Sheng's eyes twitched, looking at the deceased's family member sitting opposite, struggling to say: "Should we take a family member's ashes from their urn and rub them in front of their kin?"

Little Red Riding Hood fell silent at that: "..."

The young man sitting opposite, however, seemed not to have noticed the murmurs of the two "visitors" in front of him. He sat there, with his head lowered, as if contemplating something. After a long while, he suddenly stood up: "I'm going out to buy some stuff, help yourselves."

Yu Sheng was slightly taken aback, only to see the other party had already got up and walked to the entrance, and before stepping out, he suddenly paused and turned back slightly to say, "I've sorted through some of the things my uncle left behind. The books he usually read, his notes, and scraps of paper are all on the desk in the bedroom. If you're interested, you can take a look, but don't make too much of a mess. There are some items that I will take with me in the future."

"Uh... okay," Yu Sheng replied instinctively, then nodded earnestly, "Thank you."

"No need to thank me, I hope you can really find something out... Also, I'll be leaving in a few days, so make it quick."

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