Upon hearing Yu Sheng's muttering, Baili Qing's expression momentarily grew strange, but she said nothing, simply continuing to watch the man opposite her with a tinge of curiosity.

Regardless of answering some questions, or helping solve minor troubles, those were secondary; today's most important matter was the "contact" itself.

She had encountered numerous entities before, of all sorts—she had killed them, exiled them, conversed, and even collaborated with bizarre beings capable of rationality. She had deceived them and been deceived by them, but never had any entity—even those resembling humans—discussed these topics with her under such circumstances.

The "man" sitting across from her even seemed interested in becoming a Spirit Realm detective or investigator.

Putting aside her thoughts for a moment, Baili Qing broke the silence: "So, you wish to..."

"Can I register a group?" Yu Sheng looked at Baili Qing somewhat hopefully, "It's not just me, there are two more."

"Do you mean the doll named Erin, and the 'demon fox' you brought from the Exotic Realm?" Baili Qing said, then suddenly frowned, "But they still don't have Legal Identity in the Boundary Land."

"Should we get them identity cards first?" Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then blurted out, "Ah, obtaining identity cards isn't going to require having a job first—then to register for a job you'd need an identity card, getting us stuck?"

Baili Qing was clearly taken aback this time: "Of course not, why would you worry about that?"

"Oh, that's good," Yu Sheng awkwardly smiled, "I was overthinking it."

"I'll arrange it," Baili Qing didn't ponder further, simply adding a note to Yu Sheng's observation report, "shows a certain sense of humor," then she raised her wrist and checked her watch, "It's about time."

"Ah, you're leaving?" Yu Sheng stood up instinctively, "Then what about this..."

"Someone will come soon to handle the necessary registration procedures for you and your two friends," Baili Qing stood up, "Just a few forms to fill out, keep your phone available these coming days."

Yu Sheng: "Oh... okay."

Baili Qing nodded, but just before leaving, it seemed she suddenly remembered something: "Right, one more thing."

"What?"

"Regarding Nightfall Valley—the Exotic Realm you've encountered before, did you go back to check on it afterwards?"

Yu Sheng was a bit puzzled: "That valley? I haven't been back since… What happened?"

"It's 'unclear,'" Baili Qing shook her head, "so if your 'door' can still lead there, you might want to check it out."

From Baili Qing's expression, Yu Sheng couldn't deduce anything useful, but he vaguely felt... the matter wasn't as trivial as the Director made it seem.

Her specifically bringing it up just before leaving seemed more like she was emphasizing something.

After a brief moment of confusion and thought, Yu Sheng nodded slightly.

He really didn't want to return to that eerie valley, nor did he wish to deal with "Hunger" again, but from Baili Qing's demeanor, he sensed that the valley might have encountered troubles beyond the "entity - Hunger."

And in the blink of an eye, the café that seemed to stretch infinitely both forward and backward quietly collapsed in his sight.

Baili Qing's figure disappeared in the collapsing background, and in the blink of an eye, the café returned to normal, with the sounds of the real world returning to his ears, everything appearing as though it was just a bizarre dream—only a faint scent of perfume lingering in the air could prove that someone had really been there just now.

Yu Sheng was momentarily stunned, turning to look around, and noticing that no one seemed aware of the strange happenings here. Little Red Riding Hood's thick stack of papers still lay quietly on the table, waiting for him to continue the effort.

"This really is a case of come as you please, and leave as you wish..."

Yu Sheng shook his head, muttered to himself, and sat down again ready to continue helping high school students with their homework.

But this time, he simply couldn't calm his mind.

Many things discussed with that "Special Service Director" swirled uncontrollably in his mind like uncontrolled whirlpools, a mass of new knowledge about this world stirred restlessly, interspersed with many expectations and imaginations about the future, about distance. He felt he hadn't had this eager yet slightly nervous feeling about tomorrow in many years.

Additionally, there was the matter Baili Qing specifically brought up before leaving—Nightfall Valley, what happened to that valley?

Just then, a voice suddenly came from not far away, interrupting Yu Sheng's thoughts.

"We're back!" Little Red Riding Hood's voice sounded very cheerful, "Yu Sheng, how much have you written?"

Yu Sheng immediately looked up upon hearing the voice and saw the black-haired girl standing next to Little Red Riding Hood.

It was Hu Li in new clothes.

The weather had turned cooler, so Little Red Riding Hood bought her a white coat and cotton skirt with insulation. The clothes were actually quite simple, but they unexpectedly suited Hu Li very well. The fluffy material at the neckline, serving both decorative and wind-blocking purposes, even reminded one of Hu Li's own fluffy ears and tail—both were the same silvery white, elegant yet with a touch of soft allure.

The fox girl stood there somewhat constrained, looking a bit dazed. She seemed not yet used to the feeling of wearing fitting clothes, or perhaps it was because she had been wandering around a place full of strangers for a long time and hadn't quite recovered yet. It wasn't until Yu Sheng waved to her that she suddenly seemed to snap out of it, blinking and quickly running over with several large shopping bags.

"Um… Yu Sheng," Hu Li stood a bit nervously across the table, at least remembering to call Yu Sheng by his name in a place with many strangers, "The new clothes, they fit well."

"Yes, they look good," Yu Sheng smiled, feeling that the girl was happy, but his eyes then fell on her skirt, "It's gotten colder these last few days, aren't you cold in that?"

"I'm wearing leggings underneath," Little Red Riding Hood said as she sat down next to Yu Sheng, peering over the table, "Let me see how much you've written… uh, doesn't seem like much?"

"I ran into a bit of a situation just now, got delayed for quite a while," Yu Sheng touched his nose a bit awkwardly, then curiously looked at Hu Li and Little Red Riding Hood, "Wait, where's Erin?"

"Oh, right here!" Hu Li quickly realized, reached down, and lifted a large shopping bag from the ground to show Yu Sheng, "Bought too many things in the middle, couldn't hold her, so put her in the bag."

Yu Sheng peeked inside and saw a little doll lying in the shopping bag—Erin with her eyes lacking luster lying atop a pile of clothes, the entire bag filled with the doll's resentment.

It was so full of resentment that the handbag almost turned into a cursed object.

"Are you okay?" Yu Sheng leaned in, asking silently in his heart.

Little Doll: "Okay my foot! Get me out! I've been staring at the ceiling in the mall the whole way, and still staring at the ceiling when coming out! Little Red Riding Hood's unfinished beverage also got tossed into the bag! Snacks bought were also placed in the bag! I even fell to the bottom of the bag at one point, and they didn't notice! I protested the whole way, this silly fox got all dizzy shopping and ignored me!"

Yu Sheng quickly reached in, picked up the resentment-filled doll from the shopping bag, and set her on a chair next to him, reassuring her internally.

Little Red Riding Hood, flipping through her homework, turned her head curiously to Yu Sheng: "What kind of situation did you encounter?"

Yu Sheng didn't hide anything, only lowering his voice: "A woman suddenly came looking for me, she said her name is Baili Qing, the Director of the Special Service Bureau."

Little Red Riding Hood, flipping through a math workbook, instantly froze, taking two or three seconds before stiffly turning her head: "…Ah?"

Yu Sheng looked around and whispered to Little Red Riding Hood, "Is that so strange?"

"Director! Baili Qing! That big shot!" Little Red Riding Hood's voice changed slightly, cautious not to speak loudly and draw attention, "No, why did she suddenly show up, and come specifically to find you?! She..."

Little Red Riding Hood paused, suddenly seeming a bit nervous: "She didn't think you were a dangerous individual and came to handle it personally, did she?"

Perhaps because she had been shopping with Hu Li in the mall all half day, she now spoke with Yu Sheng more familiarly, unlike the obvious nervousness and caution when they first met.

Yu Sheng, however, didn't notice this slight change in Little Red Riding Hood's attitude, only recalling his conversation with Baili Qing and shaking his head: "It wasn't like that, she just came to understand the situation, she asked me a few questions, and I also asked her a ton—she seems quite approachable."

Little Red Riding Hood looked dumbfounded, doubting her own hearing—

Baili Qing? Approachable?

That's a rather novel combination of words.

…

At the headquarters of the Special Service Bureau, in an office, accompanied by a collapse and distortion of light and shadow, a pale human silhouette abruptly appeared behind the desk, quickly taking form and being imbued with a faint color, transforming into the figure of Baili Qing.

She sat quietly behind the desk, motionless for a long time, seemingly deep in thought.

After who knows how long, she suddenly raised her head and pressed a button on the desk: "Notify Song Cheng from the Second Squad, and Luo Zheng from the Classified Management Office, to come to my office immediately."

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