Yu Sheng realized his initial judgment was a bit off.

Although Erin indeed doesn't take up much space, once onboard, it was still going to be cramped—nothing to do with the person, everything to do with the car.

This really highlighted how miraculous it was that Xu Jiali could stuff himself behind the steering wheel.

How could such a burly man, nearly two meters tall, choose such a tiny car!

Yu Sheng and Hu Li were squeezed together in the back seat (the passenger side was piled with two large cardboard boxes, leaving no room for passengers), listening to the engine trembling at the start before finally setting off. Once they were out of the neighborhood, Yu Sheng couldn't hold back any longer and asked the driver, Xu Jiali, "Is this your side gig after work?"

"Yeah," Xu Jiali said cheerfully, "I mean, I've got spare time anyway. When I'm not on a mission, I like to drive around the city after work, might as well make some extra cash."

Yu Sheng's expression turned weird. He glanced at the shuddering car, then at the muscular man in the front seat, thinking to himself this is a seasoned deep diver from the Special Service Bureau, who even drives a ride-share for some extra income after work—and in such an old car that might even be as old as himself. Do the staff of the Special Service Bureau really live in such dire straits?

He had a feeling something was off but was embarrassed to ask directly, and it was gnawing at him inside.

Fortunately, there was someone on the scene with thicker skin—in front of acquaintances, the little puppet didn't need to keep up "pretenses."

Erin's eyes whirled back to life with a shimmer, she wriggled from Hu Li's embrace to the middle of the backseat, and popping her head forward, she asked, "Your car is quite 'unique'—does the Special Service Bureau not pay salaries?"

"That's not it," Xu Jiali laughed shaking his head, "I've become quite attached to this car. It was the first one I bought after getting a job, even though it was already used when I got it. I've been driving it for so many years, changing it would be too tough."

With that, he reached to pat the gear stick beside him and tilted his head slightly, adding, "And don't be fooled by its looks, this old fellow never messes up; hasn't failed me all these years—right, old pal?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Sheng heard a robust, muffled roar come from the engine, followed by the car horn sounding with a quick, cheerful "beep beep."

It all happened so quickly that at first, he didn't even realize anything was amiss.

A few seconds later, he finally realized in hindsight that Xu Jiali had made no extra movements, nor had he honked the horn—the car had actually "responded" to its driver's communication on its own!

"Your car..." Yu Sheng sat up straight, looking incredulously at Xu Jiali, "Did it just respond to you?"

In that instant, all sorts of wild speculations flew through his mind, like the seemingly decrepit old car being secretly modified by an elite agent, with a computer brain hidden beneath the rusty exterior. The noise it made when starting might actually be artificial intelligence simulating sounds. If needed, the car could take off at any moment, with wheels lifting revealing eight air-to-air missiles, and even its exhaust pipes could shoot out...

However, Xu Jiali simply smiled and lightly said, "It's nothing, just the Mechanical Soul."

Yu Sheng: "...?"

The situation was even more bizarre than his imagination.

Xu Jiali continued, "That's why many folks at the bureau envy me. High-tech gadgets are easy to come by, and when funding is secured, there's plenty to go around, but Mechanical Souls are hard to come by; we have only a few pieces of living equipment. When not on missions, they're treasured like precious jewels—our chief has tried to buy this car from me several times. It wasn't until last time, when this old buddy got upset and chased him around the parking lot for three laps, that he stopped asking. Hey, why aren't you guys talking?"

At this point, Yu Sheng was still stunned.

But from Xu Jiali's tone, he could tell the other party seemed to consider this some kind of common knowledge—at least within the Special Service Bureau's system.

So, he had to hide his shock as best as he could, and instead let out a slightly odd exclamation, "...You're pretty incredible."

"Right? So now many people in the bureau are learning from me. They can't bear to change old cars, old cell phones—they stubbornly keep using them, hoping to cultivate a Mechanical Soul like I did."

Yu Sheng: "..."

God damn, Mechanical Souls are cultivated! So in this world, after handling stuff for a long time it develops patina, and if a car is driven long enough it grows a Mechanical Soul?

Xu Jiali, still focused on driving, hadn't noticed the subtle changes in Yu Sheng's expression in the back seat. After a quiet moment, he casually asked, "You guys are headed out so late, and the destination doesn't seem to be near pedestrian streets or malls... are you going to the night market?"

While saying that, he glanced at the little puppet sitting between Yu Sheng and Hu Li through the rearview mirror: "And this puppet lady is also joining—you have a pretty creative way of going out."

Yu Sheng was about to speak when Erin beat him to it, "We're out for work!"

Then, she belatedly turned her head to look at Yu Sheng with a hint of realization, "...I can talk about this, right?"

Yu Sheng was fairly indifferent, "Go ahead, it's not a secret operation, and the guy across is an official, after all."

"Work?" Xu Jiali reacted in an instant and, after a brief silence, her tone became serious, "Need any help?"

"No need," Yu Sheng waved his hand, "It's not a big project."

Xu Jiali made a sound of acknowledgment but still couldn't help asking after a few seconds, "It's legal, right? Don't blame me for asking this extra question..."

"Little Red Riding Hood referred us."

"Then there shouldn't be a problem. The Fairy Tales organization has an excellent reputation and always follows the rules," Xu Jiali finally felt relieved. However, she still cautioned a bit more, "I know about you setting up the travel agency, so I'll say a bit more—Boundary Land is a place full of mixed characters. Despite the Special Service Bureau having many watchful eyes, there are always corners they can't see. Be careful not to be fooled, stay alert to temptations. If you feel someone or something is suspicious, don't hesitate, just report it—reporting is a virtue."

Yu Sheng couldn't tell if it was an illusion, but he always felt that there was a kind of solemnity in the other party's tone when saying the words "reporting is a virtue."

"Rest assured, we totally get it," Erin said somewhat impatiently with a wave of her hand, urging, "Speaking of which, can you drive a bit faster? Why do I feel like your car struggles so much when moving..."

"It does seem to be a bit tense today and can't let loose when running," Xu Jiali scratched her head, "It even stalled once when we were getting close to your street just now. It doesn't usually do this."

Yu Sheng felt someone tug at his sleeve and he turned his head to see Hu Li staring straight at him.

"Savior, do you want me to tie a tail to the back of the car to push it?"

Yu Sheng rejected the fox girl's idea without a second thought.

Joking? In the middle of the night, a car with a rocket booster running subsonically in the streets was crazier than a damn rocket-boosted fox! At least with the latter being so absurd, maybe fewer people would believe it. But if the former alerts the authorities in Boundary Land, Xu Jiali might as well kiss her driver's license goodbye...

Anyway, even though it took almost a quarter more time than a normal taxi ride, Yu Sheng and his group still smoothly reached the location nearby that Little Red Riding Hood had sent.

Yu Sheng looked out of the car window and saw in front of him the streetlights were sparse, and a large building loomed in shadows at the end of the road.

"We can get off here, the small path ahead is not good for turning around."

"Okay," Xu Jiali waved her hand, "Get off and take your personal belongings with you—if something really happens, call me."

Yu Sheng and his group left.

On the dimly lit street, Xu Jiali watched two figures (Erin was too small and hidden by Hu Li) gradually move away. It took a while before she let out a light sigh, released the steering wheel, and leaned back in the seat that was quite cramped for her.

The car started on its own, slowly moving to a spot by the roadside where it wouldn't cause any obstruction, and then the engine purred softly, producing a rumbling sound.

Xu Jiali glanced at the dashboard with the corner of her eye, a slight smile on her lips: "Old buddy, got scared, huh?"

The engine hummed twice in response.

Xu Jiali stretched as much as she could in the confined driving space, reaching her hand to the steering wheel.

"Let's not talk about it, it's been a tough day, fill up with 97 octane."

...

Yu Sheng turned back to look.

In the distance, there were faint lights moving, turning, and disappearing on the other side of the road.

Erin's voice entered his mind: "You think it's just a coincidence?"

"It doesn't matter." Yu Sheng waved it off.

"It doesn't matter?"

"Whoever we take a cab from doesn't matter—it's just to see if later on, we'll see Li Lin also 'coincidentally' driving a ride-share near our place. Hopefully, his car will be bigger," Yu Sheng said cheerfully, "After a few more encounters, I might as well not pay the fare, since their bureau will definitely reimburse them."

"...You're really easy-going," Erin remarked sincerely.

Yu Sheng didn't say anything, just patted Erin's hair, and then looked up towards the distance.

Under a somewhat dim streetlight, a petite girl in a dark red coat was standing quietly in the light, seemingly having waited for a while already.

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