Patrolling all the corridors and classrooms in the East Building takes about thirty minutes, after which the West Building also needs a patrol. Every floor of both buildings has a record booklet for clocking in, hanging in a record box at the stairwell. Any observations made during the patrol need to be recorded on the form for the next patrolling "guardian" to refer to—Little Red Riding Hood was already quite familiar with this patrolling routine.

Yu Sheng followed by Little Red Riding Hood's side, watching her do these tasks. He noticed that she was very diligent, even writing down each record with a near sense of mission whenever they passed a room.

Yu Sheng felt he could understand her emotions—Anka Aela was gradually awakening, and tomorrow the children would be moved to that valley. After that, regardless of what happens, whether the crisis of "Fairy Tales" is finally resolved, or the Dark Angel loses control, this could be her last patrol in this place.

"Not long ago, we were planning a thorough search of the entire orphanage, organizing patrol and inspection plans for the underground facilities, and now, we may be leaving tomorrow," Little Red Riding Hood sighed softly, her tone somewhat self-mocking, "It really… is quite sudden."

"Plans can't keep up with changes," Yu Sheng said softly, "Things are always like that."

Little Red Riding Hood pursed her lips, then suddenly spoke very quietly after a few seconds of silence, "We'll be alright, won't we?"

"Of course," Yu Sheng smiled faintly, "We've prepared for everything. Whether Anka Aela attacks you in reality or the Dream Realm, we will stop it."

Little Red Riding Hood looked into Yu Sheng's eyes. After a moment, a hint of a smile appeared in her eyes.

"Let's go check underground together; the King is patrolling the passage with its guards. By now, it should have finished its patrol. Let's see what's happening on their side."

"Alright."

Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood arrived at the second underground level, then walked towards the West Building through the connecting passage. They soon saw the King lazily lying on a fire equipment box—three figures in black leather armor, wearing hooded masks, stood quietly by its side. Upon Little Red Riding Hood's appearance, the three figures became alert immediately, but soon relaxed and nodded rigidly at Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood.

"You're here, meow," the lazy tabby cat waved its paw, seemingly indifferent to Yu Sheng's presence, "I've checked both underground levels; there's nothing there. I was just thinking about finding a place to nap."

"Thank you for your hard work," Little Red Riding Hood stepped forward and ruffled the King's furry back, "Did you check near that ventilation shaft thoroughly?"

"Of course, I even crawled into the ventilation pipe myself," the tabby cat yawned, "If something were to happen, it wouldn't necessarily be tonight—how unlucky would that be…"

A vague music sound suddenly interrupted its mumbling.

The underground passage became instantly quiet, the King's stretch even froze midway. Yu Sheng felt a "ping" in his spiritual intuition, as if that faint and brief music sound punctured something, echoing in his perception.

He suddenly looked up at Little Red Riding Hood, meeting the girl's widened eyes.

Soon after, the soft, elegant, and soothing musical sound started again, this time clearer, seeming to come from just behind the wall!

The fur on the King's tail bristled instantly, its usually deep and magnetic documentary voice strained: "Damn, no way—I'm just an innocent little cat..."

"Quiet!" Little Red Riding Hood immediately interrupted the cat's murmurs. Shadows around her suddenly revealed many vague wolf figures, each one ear-pricked, listening to all the sounds in the underground passage. After a few seconds, she spoke with a serious expression, "It's courtly dance music, Bloodstained Court? At this time it might also be the Eternal Ball… no, the time in the Dream Realm doesn't correspond with real-time…"

Suddenly, amidst the soft, elegant music, there was a noise, followed by the sound of something shattering, mixed with crackling flames and rapidly distorted, off-key music.

Little Red Riding Hood finally determined that the sound came from behind a wall on the left side of the passage.

"This way!"

The girl shouted urgently, then led the wolf pack swiftly towards the direction of the sound.

Yu Sheng immediately took off, the figures dressed as assassins quickly followed suit. The King leapt onto the shoulder of one of the assassins, and with a swift swipe of his claws towards the empty air beside him, several magician and warrior "followers" materialized in midair. They formed a certain battle formation, covering the left, right, and rear of the passageway, and moved forward together with Little Red Riding Hood and Yu Sheng.

Just then, something caught Yu Sheng's eye—a shadow suddenly appeared on the roof ahead, like layers of rose bushes bursting into bloom under the dim light, with thorns thrusting out as if trying to break free from the shadow, attempting to pierce into the real world!

However, before Yu Sheng could shout a warning, the shadow of the rose bushes vanished, leaving behind only years of accumulated grime on the rooftop.

Little Red Riding Hood moved like the wind, quickly turning into a fork in the underground passage. Two Shadow Wolves leapt out from the air behind her, crashing open a marked iron door labeled "Storeroom".

Bright light poured out from behind the iron door, and a vivid red carpet, like gushing blood, "spilled" out and spread through the underground passage. Yu Sheng saw that the "storeroom" was a spacious and luxurious hall. Countless bodies dancing in wild joy filled the hall, dressed in dazzling royal attire. Every gown and formal suit was exquisitely elaborate and opulent, but their faces were painted in an absurdly grotesque manner, grinning maniacally. A voice shouted loudly amidst the increasingly distorted and off-key music—

"The Prince wants those crystal shoes—cut off her feet!"

A thunderous explosion shook the hall. Reality and the illusionary "hall" began to collapse and overlap. Yu Sheng saw a part of the ceiling near him collapse, revealing a hole through which he saw a pumpkin carriage rise into the sky amidst thick smoke and explosions, speeding towards the distant sky.

But in the next instant, several massive beams of light suddenly pierced the night sky. The East and West Buildings of the orphanage had somehow transformed into towering structures surrounded by barbed wire and heavy cement fortifications. The tops of the towers erupted with anti-aircraft fire, sweeping across the sky. Yet, the moment the fierce anti-aircraft fire hit the pumpkin carriage, it seemed to collide with an invisible door and vanished into the night.

Then, all the illusions disappeared, including the two anti-aircraft towers, the collapsed and broken roof, and the "warehouse" overlapping with the ballroom. Yu Sheng felt momentarily dazed, and everything in front of him returned to its "normal" underground passage.

As if nothing had happened.

But Yu Sheng knew what was happening.

"The leak is expanding!" he shouted, then slapped Little Red Riding Hood, who seemed a bit dazed, "Quick, go wake up the children! Wake everyone you can, gather on the first floor and wait for me to open the door!"

"Okay!" Little Red Riding Hood nodded quickly, then seemed to remember something, "What about those trapped in the 'Subset'?"

"Don't worry about them for now—you saw earlier, if they encounter real danger, their consciousness will enter the 'wilderness' to seek refuge," Yu Sheng said quickly, "Let's first evacuate in groups to ensure the youngest children aren't affected by the nightmare leak!"

He quickly thought for a moment, then added, "I'll have Erin head to the 'wilderness' to explain the situation to those who've already 'fallen' in."

"Got it!" Little Red Riding Hood nodded firmly, then looked at the tabby cat beside her, "King, summon your Near Guard Knights to protect those still in the 'Subset'. Don't let their real-world bodies get hurt!"

The King said nothing, simply waving his claw forcefully. In the next instant, the adventurers around him disappeared, replaced by a fully armed Heavy Knight Order in the underground passage—tall and burly figures nearly two meters high, clad in refined gold armor glowing with magic, wielding sharp blades, with helmets casting deep shadows, exuding a powerful aura.

These imposing Near Guard Knights silently and orderly moved forward, and with a "meow" from the King, they dashed through the underground passage at incredible speed, disappearing from Yu Sheng's sight.

Little Red Riding Hood also nodded to Yu Sheng, then melted into the shadows with her wolf pack, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"...Everyone's so flashy." Yu Sheng muttered quietly, then quickly determined his direction and began to walk forward while calling out in his mind, "Erin, respond if you hear me."

The little puppet's voice immediately came through, "I hear you, I hear you, what's up?"

"Focus, go to the 'wilderness' at once. There should already be members of 'Fairy Tales' who lost and entered for refuge—tell them their nightmare is leaking into reality. We are moving the children ahead of time. Let them stay calm and return to reality when their 'Subset' stabilizes. Then go to the first floor of the West Building of the orphanage. I'll open a door there to send people to the valley for refuge. Got it?"

"Got it, got it. Why do you always have these emergencies? I'll go now. Be careful. If something really comes out, run. Don't try to hold it off. If you die, it's fine, but if the others can't escape, they'll really die. Oh god, I bit my tongue..."

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