Chapter 113: Remuneration

The Special Operations Bureau would send someone over; Yu Sheng had known this all along. Given that Little Red Riding Hood had reported the appearance of Angel cultists in the museum, the Bureau would certainly come to confirm information with him, the "special involved party," immediately. And the most likely people to be sent were Li Lin and Xu Jiali, with whom he had some acquaintance.

What Yu Sheng hadn't expected was that the visitors weren't just the two of them—the captain of the Second Squad, Song Cheng, had also come.

In the living room of No. 66 Wutong Road, Yu Sheng curiously sized up the squad leader standing before him, a burly man who gave an impression of experience and reliability. The other was a middle-aged man with short black hair, slightly dark skin, and a scar faintly visible below his neck. He wore a plain black jacket over a white shirt; the contours of his arm muscles were vaguely visible beneath the jacket. Although his build wasn't as exaggerated as Xu Jiali's, he was clearly someone from frontline combat.

With the leader present, Li Lin and Xu Jiali, who had come along, sat on the nearby sofa looking somewhat constrained.

At the same time, Song Cheng was also curiously observing this place.

This was his first time visiting the hidden "Otherworld," No. 66 Wutong Road, currently one of the most mysterious locations in the Borderland.

The place gave him the feeling of an ordinary residential house; everything looked perfectly normal. Household furnishings and appliances were all present, and every single item fit the current "social background" of the Borderland just right—not very new, but not too old either. Whatever a middle-class household should look like, this place looked exactly like that.

This situation actually went against his experience.

Because the Borderland did have "residential houses" that were Otherworlds; the ones he was familiar with included the Dim Cottage, Dormitory 404, or the "Apartment 6" that appeared and disappeared mysteriously on the edge of the city district. These Otherworlds looked very much like normal residential houses on the outside; first-time entrants might even relax, thinking they had just arrived at a harmless empty house. But in reality, such Otherworlds always contained points that clearly clashed with reality. These were usually objects inconsistent with the overall historical background, or things placed in the wrong locations.

For example, a brass oil lamp placed next to an electric light, a clepsydra device on the windowsill, or a window embedded in the floor—the feeling was that something non-human was desperately trying to imitate a "human" dwelling. It managed to replicate most areas, but accidentally exposed a misunderstanding of human tools in the details.

But there was nothing like that here. At least, in all places within sight, everything at No. 66 Wutong Road fit Song Cheng's "common sense" as a human perfectly.

... Of course, that was on the premise of ignoring the two dolls sitting on the coffee table watching TV, and the fox seriously combing its own tail.

Just then, Yu Sheng's voice broke the slightly awkward silence in the living room: "So, uh, want some tea?"

"Ah, no trouble needed, we'll just drink water," Song Cheng quickly withdrew his gaze. He wore a smile on his face and first apologized to Yu Sheng, "Sorry for my sudden arrival—it's mainly because the matter involves the Dark Angel, and there is some information that requires my on-site authorization before being disclosed to third parties."

Yu Sheng waved his hand: "No problem, no problem. I was actually quite curious about what kind of person the 'Captain' Li Lin and the others usually mention is. Nice to meet you."

The two Irens sitting on the coffee table watching TV heard the polite exchanges on the sofa, turned their heads, and complained, "Human socializing is so troublesome."

The two dolls spoke in unison, sounding as if they were speaking in chorus.

"I wanted to ask just now," Song Cheng finally couldn't hold back and pointed at Iren, "Didn't the report say... there was only one?"

Li Lin and Xu Jiali also looked at Yu Sheng together, looking very bewildered.

When Yu Sheng had opened the door and invited them in just now, the two had seen two Ireens wandering in the living room and had even momentarily thought they were hallucinating.

"A small incident occurred, and the quantity increased," Yu Sheng rubbed his hands together a bit awkwardly, "Just consider it my and Iren's research result."

Li Lin's expression was a bit dazed, and out of nowhere he blurted out, "Then... will it increase in the future?"

Yu Sheng thought for a moment and nodded very seriously, "It might."

Li Lin was stunned for a moment and didn't dare to continue asking, because he could see that Yu Sheng didn't seem very willing to explain the principle behind it.

Song Cheng felt something was strange about this conversation; he couldn't even understand how such a bizarre conversation could proceed so naturally...

But he didn't forget the main business.

"I came for two things. One is regarding Little Red Riding Hood's report about the appearance of Angel cultists in the Otherworld-Museum, to confirm some details with you. The other is to deliver something," he said, gesturing for Xu Jiali to open the briefcase she had brought with her and place a file folder on the coffee table. "These are the complete legal registration documents and qualification certificates for the 'Inn'. You can take a look; if there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me."

Registration documents for the "Inn" as a legal organization!

Yu Sheng had almost forgotten about this. His eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly took the file folder. Iren, who was sitting on the coffee table, instantly leaned over (the other was still seriously watching TV) and helped him unpack the contents.

First was a double-folded registration certificate with a black cover. On it, the circular emblem of the Borderland Geographical Council and the diamond emblem of the Special Operations Bureau were printed in a deep, solemn red. Opening it revealed the basic registration data of the Inn, including information such as the registration location, registration time, business type, and name. The large characters "Inn" in the middle of the certificate made Yu Sheng feel particularly secure.

Then came a duplicate of the registration certificate, and two small black devices like USB drives.

"These two are your digital data drives, and they also have a special version of the 'Border Communications' program built-in," Song Cheng explained from the side. "Plug them into any internet-connected computer, and that computer will temporarily gain permission to access the Special Operations Bureau's information platform. You can log in to 'Border Communications' just like your custom phone. It has a built-in public account for the 'Inn'; the account cannot be changed or cancelled. The devices themselves come with security measures, so there's no need to worry about data leakage or tampering. Access records are cleared the moment they are unplugged. Additionally, if they suffer severe damage, they will automatically alert the Special Operations Bureau and transmit the coordinates from the last moment before destruction."

"... That amazing?" Yu Sheng looked at the two unremarkable small devices with some surprise. Although he didn't understand much about technology, hearing Song Cheng's description, he instinctively felt these things were on a different level from the electronic products he had encountered. If he had to say... it was a bit like black technology.

"The Special Operations Bureau's technology is, most of the time, still trustworthy," Song Cheng showed a slight smile on his face. "So this thing can also be used as a one-time emergency distress device in extreme situations."

Yu Sheng looked curious: "Then if this thing breaks in my house, can it still transmit the coordinates back?"

The smile on Song Cheng's face stiffened for a moment, but he managed to recover: "That's why I said it's trustworthy most of the time..."

Yu Sheng laughed, casually put the items away, then thought for a moment, raised his hand, and called over the fox that was combing its tail nearby. He handed one of the "digital data drives" to it: "Put this in your tail as a secure backup."

Hu Li made an "oh" sound, stuffed the small device into its tail, and then wandered back to continue combing its tail.

"Don't forget to sweep after you're done combing," Yu Sheng reminded upon seeing this, "Don't let fur get everywhere."

"Mm!"

The smile on Song Cheng's face continued to stiffen. After a while, he blurted out, "... Where did she put the thing!?"

"I guessed your report definitely didn't include this detail," Yu Sheng chuckled, "Hu Li has a set of strange abilities. You'll have a chance to learn about them later—but let's talk about the museum matter first."

"We have already launched a manhunt. We are currently using technical means to screen suspects among the active population in Nancheng District. Checkpoints have been set up at all exit points of the Borderland. As long as those two cultists are still active in Border City, catching them is only a matter of time," Song Cheng quickly adjusted his expression and spoke, "The key clues you provided are extremely important. In fact, having worked at the Special Operations Bureau for so many years, I rarely receive such detailed suspect information at the early stage of an incident."

Xu Jiali, sitting nearby, also spoke up: "Angel cultists have always been elusive and almost never leave any witnesses alive. They are usually very hard to catch. The officers in charge of this matter say this is a favorable battle that one might not encounter in eight lifetimes."

"That's right, they didn't leave any survivors this time either," Yu Sheng said casually, "It's just that the dead spoke up."

The expression on Song Cheng's face changed slightly. Then he looked at Yu Sheng very seriously: "I was just about to say this—regarding your ability to converse with the deceased, and the overall strength displayed by the 'Inn' in various aspects, the Special Operations Bureau hopes for more cooperation in the future."

While speaking, he took a thick envelope out of his bag and placed it on the coffee table.

Yu Sheng was stunned for a moment, then quickly guessed what it was.

He opened it and took a look, his face showing some surprise: "A bonus? Considered a reward for reporting? That's a lot."

"It's remuneration for assisting in the capture of Angel cultists. Although the people haven't been caught yet, the help you provided has far exceeded that of a typical 'informant'," Song Cheng said very seriously. "All kinds of cooperation with the Special Operations Bureau have corresponding rewards. You just became a Spirit World Detective, so you might not be very familiar with this—when it comes to dangerous targets like Angel cultists, the Special Operations Bureau's budget is always very generous."

Yu Sheng actually didn't pay much attention to what the other person specifically said—he was full of thoughts about the new TV for Iren finally being settled.

And Hu Li's chicken leg, and his huge pile of "plans."

This way of making money is much faster than writing books!

Book recommendation: "Non-Reality Prevention Manual" by author San Ren Ta. It is also a story about anomalies and entities, with guaranteed quality. Everyone can support it~

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(End of this chapter)