Chapter 131: Childhood Abruptly Ended?

From Little Red Riding Hood's reaction and the expression on the girl who had just entered, Yu Sheng quickly guessed what had happened.

His brows instantly furrowed, but before he could speak, Little Red Riding Hood waved her hands hurriedly: "Wait here, I... will be right back."

"No, I'm going with you." Yu Sheng stood up without discussion; beside him, Hu Li also reached out, holding Erin in his arms, and stood up as well.

"This is an internal matter of 'Fairy Tale', and we have... gone through similar procedures many times already," Little Red Riding Hood's expression was dark and heavy, "Thank you for your concern, but..."

"There are no 'buts'. I know what you mean—but your wolf bit me," Yu Sheng cut the other off directly. He knew how to make this somewhat stubborn Miss yield, so he brought up the old matter without hesitation, "I have already been dragged into 'Fairy Tale'. Perhaps next time I dream, I will return to that dark forest, so I must learn more about the situation."

Facing such words, Little Red Riding Hood indeed lost the confidence to persist, could only look at Yu Sheng with a complex expression, and then nodded lightly.

"Long Hair" looked at Yu Sheng and his group with some confusion, seeming to have many questions in mind, but after noticing Little Red Riding Hood's gaze, she swallowed her words and turned to open the door.

As soon as they came out of the reception room, Yu Sheng saw many children gathered in the corridor.

Some looked only six or seven years old, or even younger; others looked like twelve or thirteen-year-old half-grown children. They were gathered in small groups in the corridor, at the age when they should be most chattering and noisy, yet at this moment they appeared exceptionally quiet.

A little girl in a blue dress saw Little Red Riding Hood come out, hesitated, walked over, and cautiously tugged at the latter's clothes: "Teacher Su said... that Xiaoxiao graduated today, is it true?"

Little Red Riding Hood pressed her lips together, bent down, and patted the little girl's head: "Mm, she is leaving today, transferring to another place."

"Will she come to the classroom this afternoon? I made a gift for her..."

"Give the gift to Teacher Su; she will help you pass it on. Graduating children will leave quickly, probably without time to say goodbye to you, but... I will go see her off for you."

"Oh..."

Little Red Riding Hood stood up and led Yu Sheng and his group hurriedly down the corridor.

After leaving the sight of that group of children, Yu Sheng furrowed his brows and asked in a low voice: "You just said such things have happened many times?"

"Many times," Little Red Riding Hood nodded lightly. "Some children were already in very unstable conditions when they arrived here, and others... themselves suffered from mental illnesses. 'Fairy Tale' will worsen their conditions. We do not only face death crises at 'adulthood'; throughout the entire childhood process, there are hurdles everywhere."

Erin lifted her head from Hu Li's arms: "They don't know the truth?"

"The youngest batch of children do not know, because extra tension and fear and confusion about the unknown will intensify 'Fairy Tale's' effect on them. But at around the thirteen or fourteen-year-old stage, they will gradually understand from the 'dream' what will happen next, and simultaneously begin to master the power 'Fairy Tale' brings them. We call this node 'Awakening'. After that, they will become 'Parents'... We have a mature guidance process."

Erin buried her head back into Hu Li's arms, her voice sounding muffled: "... The first time I feel that describing the process of growing up like this sounds so uncomfortable."

Yu Sheng did not speak; he only pressed his lips tightly, his expression appearing exceptionally gloomy, as if carrying a fire, and some strong, persistent thoughts currently brewing.

Erin sensed something; she quickly lifted her head to look at Yu Sheng, but said nothing.

They quickly crossed the East Building, then, led by Little Red Riding Hood, walked through the corridor connecting the two buildings and entered the structure known as the "West Building".

As soon as they stepped into this large building, Yu Sheng quickly sensed the change in the surrounding environment, or rather, the atmosphere.

A vague... sense of "suppression" seemed to fill the entire building. The corridor was so quiet it was somewhat tense. The lights were clearly very bright, yet he always felt there were dark corners everywhere around him. That was a psychological "darkness", as if many things that could not be dispersed by the lights lurked in this West Building, splitting the entire structure into countless scattered parts.

"There are many seals and isolation measures in this building," Little Red Riding Hood seemed to notice the change in Yu Sheng's expression and explained softly, "This can be considered our containment and research facility. Children who have incidents must first undergo certain 'safety processing' here before they can be sent outside."

Yu Sheng did not speak, only nodded silently.

He followed Little Red Riding Hood and Long Hair through that uncomfortable corridor. Sunlight streaming through the windows cast intermittent, mottled shadows on the walls. Finally, they arrived before a heavy-looking large iron door. A young woman in a light gray coat, appearing to be in her twenties with a weary expression, stood at the door, seemingly leaning against the wall in a daze.

It was an adult.

Yu Sheng was stunned when he saw the other party, but quickly, he remembered the situation Little Red Riding Hood had told him about.

Was she an "employee" sent by the Council?

"This is 'Teacher Su'. She is responsible for caring for children under seven," indeed, "Long Hair" introduced in a low voice, "She was sent by the Council. The children all like her very much."

The young woman called "Teacher Su" finally snapped out of her daze at this moment. She noticed the newcomers but seemed not to care about Yu Sheng; instead, her gaze fell on Little Red Riding Hood.

"It was during class..." she said softly. Although she was an adult, she seemed like a child who had made a mistake in front of Little Red Riding Hood. "I... should have noticed earlier..."

"Noticing earlier would have been useless; it might have been too late before they were sent here," Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. "We need to go in and see the situation."

"... Okay," the young woman bit her lip and nodded, but just then, she finally seemed to notice the presence of Yu Sheng, Erin, and Hu Li. "Wait, who are they?"

"Allies," Little Red Riding Hood had already pushed open that heavy iron door. "And my friends."

The woman was stunned. Yu Sheng had already walked past her. Before entering, he turned his face and nodded to her: "Hello, my name is Yu Sheng, from the 'Inn'."

Hu Li followed suit: "My name is Hu Li, from the 'Inn'."

"My name is Erin, from the 'Inn'!"

Before the woman could react, several figures had already walked through that door. The iron door closed, leaving her standing somewhat dazed in the corridor.

The room was brightly lit.

But that "dimness" that seemed to spread directly from the psychological level was even more severe than in the corridor.

Yu Sheng saw that this vast room had no furnishings at all, with only a small single bed placed in the middle.

A thin, small figure covered by a thin quilt lay on the bed, apparently sleeping deeply.

A nameless resistance stirred in his heart, but Yu Sheng still took a step forward.

The child lay there, her sleeping face peaceful.

But there was no breath, and her chest did not rise or fall even slightly.

Some fine, unsettling red patterns covered her neck, arms, and calves. Bloodstains remained between the patterns, as if those places had once been shattered and then barely patched back together.

Yu Sheng instantly recalled the changes he had seen earlier in the valley on Little Red Riding Hood's arm.

"The handling was timely; no other children saw it," Long Hair said softly beside him. "She briefly turned into a wolf in her nightmare. In just an instant, it was already too late."

"... Fortunately, at the last moment she finally returned to human form," Little Red Riding Hood sighed lightly. "At least we can send her off in a 'human' way."

"Wait, wolf?" Yu Sheng finally confirmed something and looked at Little Red Riding Hood in shock. "Her 'symptom' is also turning into a wolf? So..."

"Didn't you know?" It was Long Hair on the other side who spoke. She pointed to the child lying on the bed. "She might be the next Little Red Riding Hood."

Saying this, she shook her head with a low expression: "But it is meaningless to say this now."

"You have seen it," Little Red Riding Hood took a long breath and said to Yu Sheng. "This is the ending of the story—her childhood has ended."

"Will you be like this when the time comes?"

"Yes, later I will be like this too. If lucky, in human form; if unlucky... then it will be another appearance."

Yu Sheng said nothing. He stared fixedly at the red-clothed girl before him for a long time, then looked at the child lying on the bed, motionless for a very long time, unknown what he was thinking.

Just like that, several minutes passed. Just as Little Red Riding Hood was finally about to speak, Yu Sheng suddenly moved.

He reached out, touching the bloodstain near the child's neck on the bed.

Princess Rapunzel's eyes widened instantly; she stepped forward: "What are you doing?"

Yu Sheng did not look up: "I want to know what she saw in her final moments. If possible, perhaps I can even say a few more words to her."

Princess Rapunzel paused, but just as she was about to speak, Little Red Riding Hood beside her reached out and stopped her.

And at almost the same moment, Yu Sheng also uttered a puzzled "Eh?"

"What's wrong?" Erin asked instinctively.

Yu Sheng did not respond; he simply held his pose, hand reaching out to touch the bloodstain, standing motionless there for over ten seconds, as if observing or sensing some unusual information. After a while, he suddenly blinked his eyes and let out a sharp breath.

"... She isn't dead."

He said softly, his tone filled with hesitation and confusion. Then, as if to emphasize it, he raised his head, glanced around at everyone present, and nodded firmly again.

"I feel that she isn't dead."

(End of this chapter)