Chapter 150: The Special Borderland

To be honest, hearing Xu Jiali describe the situation, Yu Sheng felt quite apologetic in his heart, even seriously reflecting on the timing and frequency of his recent calls to Bai Liqing; the conclusion he finally reached was that he could spare a few calls to Song Cheng later to ease the Director's late-night workload.

The point was to emphasize "not yet asleep"—this matter required equal distribution of attention; anyway, asking him not to open the door was impossible.

Besides this reflection, Yu Sheng also developed a strong curiosity about the Special Operations Bureau's headquarters' structure, which was so incredible.

This was the first time he had observed so intuitively and so closely what a wonderful "place" the Borderland actually was—especially after Xu Jiali led him through this corridor and pointed to an office at the end, telling him that the office would drift into some abnormal space every night after ten o'clock.

"We have many special rooms and 'sections' here; the entire structure of the Special Operations Bureau building is not fixed. Some areas move to other places at scheduled times, even moving into the territories of certain alien races. We use this regular movement to deliver supplies to colleagues stationed elsewhere or to conduct periodic shift changes," Xu Jiali introduced this wonderful place to the guests with great patience. "I don't know if anyone else has told you about this before, but although the Borderland is called the 'hub' of this world, in terms of spatial structure, it is not directly connected to the outside world."

"Not directly connected?" Yu Sheng asked curiously, "What does that mean?"

"It means you cannot leave here by normal 'transportation'," Xu Jiali smiled. "Whether from the sky or underground, you cannot get out. If you leave this city, you will find vast wilderness outside; beyond that lies the 'unstable zone'; and beyond the boundary marker is the border. You will encounter spatial folding at the border and return to the city's edge. The spacetime of the Borderland curls inward; that is what it means."

Listening, Yu Sheng slightly widened his eyes, and his heartbeat suddenly accelerated uncontrollably by a few beats.

This was the first time he had heard intelligence about the "edge" of the Borderland! It was the first time he had established a cognitive understanding of the spatial structure of this vast and bizarre land!

The space between the end of the Borderland and the normal universe is discontinuous!?

This subconsciously reminded him of that valley, of the constantly repeating "mountain barriers" at the end of the valley, and of the "teleportation" phenomenon occurring after crossing the barriers. In surprise, he blurted out, "This sounds a bit like some kind of... 'Otherworld'?"

"Yes, it sounds very much like an Otherworld, but the entire Borderland has a depth of zero, does not generate physical entities, and simultaneously follows the mathematical laws of the 'external world'. Therefore, except for occasional supernatural phenomena in some local areas, the place as a whole should still be classified as a 'normal zone'," Xu Jiali stopped walking, smiled, and said to Yu Sheng with a serious tone. "Thus, scholars have many interesting views on this place. Most believe it simply has a special spatial structure, while the more radical ones believe the entire Borderland is an Otherworld with zero depth, and that the rules operating here are 'everything is normal', generating an entity named 'human society' according to the order of the normal universe."

This burly man, nearly two meters tall, deliberately spoke these astonishing theories in a somewhat eerie tone, paused intentionally at the end, and added a few more sentences: "But this extreme theory can neither be proven nor disproven, so some scholars have proposed a more compromise theory: they believe the Borderland itself is not an Otherworld, but is wrapped by an Otherworld in the shape of a 'bubble'. This Otherworld is a film with zero thickness; it 'cuts' a piece of normal space from the universe, thus forming the current Borderland."

Erin thought for a moment and blurted out, "Then this also sounds like it can neither be proven nor disproven?"

"Right, so not many people believe this theory either," Xu Jiali shrugged. "Anyway, speculation doesn't cost money, and the Borderland itself has countless secrets. Everyone uses this place to pad their papers. Do you know how many apprentices and trainees from various places come to Border City to stay temporarily every year? Half of them are probably just here near the end of the semester to mix in research points or projects because their topic scores aren't enough."

Yu Sheng was left speechless, feeling something was a bit off about this topic, but soon he pulled his attention back: "Wait, if the Borderland and the outside space are discontinuous, then how do people from outside get in? And how do they get out from inside?"

"These are the 'channels' I just mentioned, such as those special floors and offices in this building," Xu Jiali said. "Normal transportation cannot get out, but the Borderland itself has many natural 'passages' connecting various places. These passages are basically completely controlled by the Council, and they are also the only way to enter or leave the Borderland..."

Speaking of this, he suddenly stopped, looking at Yu Sheng with a somewhat strange expression again.

Yu Sheng felt utterly confused: "What's wrong?"

"It's no longer the only way," Xu Jiali said in a muffled voice.

Yu Sheng was slightly stunned, then quickly realized.

His doors—those doors leading to all sorts of strange places.

Due to his appearance, the Borderland now had a brand new way to leave this "hub land" in addition to the various existing "natural passages".

Yu Sheng couldn't help but fall into deep thought, while Xu Jiali's voice sounded from beside him: "... Anyway, if you want to further study those 'doors' in the future, or if you want to go to the 'distance', you can come find us anytime. After all, the Special Operations Bureau has managed this place for many years; some of our experience will be very helpful to you."

Yu Sheng slowly nodded. Regardless of what deep meaning lay behind this unsolicited kindness, he was willing to sincerely say thank you.

While speaking, they had already stopped in front of a large door.

"We've arrived," Xu Jiali raised his hand and pointed to the room ahead.

Yu Sheng looked up and saw this was the last laboratory at the end of the corridor. Even without being familiar with the place, he could see the special nature of this laboratory—the exceptionally thick door, the distance kept from other rooms, the multiple surveillance facilities at the entrance, and the many warning signs posted in prominent places, all indicating the importance and security level of this location.

Above the laboratory's large door, a lit signboard marked a line of text: High-Risk/Special Sample Analysis and Containment Comprehensive Disposal Room No. 2.

Immediately after, Xu Jiali stepped forward again, operated the access control device at the laboratory entrance a few times, verified his high-level identity card as a senior deep diver and his temporary authority as a "special guide", then spoke a few words via intercom to the people inside. Only then did the heavy isolation door emit a sound of mechanical operation, slowly opening and retreating to both sides.

Two staff members wearing full white protective suits and masks appeared inside the door, standing behind a glowing red isolation line to "welcome" Yu Sheng and his group.

Yu Sheng felt a bit dumbfounded, turned his head to look at Xu Jiali: "Uh... I just brought a piece of paper and an iron lump. Is your preparation a bit exaggerated?"

"This was arranged by our Director. Don't overthink it. Mainly, this is the only laboratory available for immediate activation right now," Xu Jiali explained cheerfully. "Each laboratory has its own security level and supporting procedures. No matter when, the process must be strictly followed. Since it was assigned to this one, even if what you brought was just a button, they would still have to wear protective suits and complete the sample transfer within the handover zone. That's how the workflow in the Special Operations Bureau works; get used to it."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment and actually understood, but felt awkward when taking things out.

He first rummaged in his pocket, took out that tattered-looking piece of paper, and placed it on the tray in the handover zone according to the staff's instructions: "This is a sample brought from the Black Forest, a lost item from the physical entity 'Hunter'."

The staff member solemnly took the paper away.

Then Yu Sheng rummaged in another pocket, took out a white plastic bag used for grocery shopping, opened the bag, took out a bundle wrapped in old newspaper, and unfolded the newspaper to reveal the "iron lump" he had picked up from that strange room on the second floor of his home.

The clattering sound of opening the shopping bag and old newspaper was particularly grating at the solemn and silent laboratory entrance. While fumbling, Yu Sheng felt cold sweat almost coming out and couldn't help but look down at Erin by his feet: "Should I have put this thing in a small suitcase when I left? The kind commonly seen in movies, with a combination lock, looking very high-end..."

By this time, Erin had already covered her face with her hand: "... I don't know. Anyway, I think you might as well have just stuffed it in your pocket..."

"I was afraid it would scratch the clothes. This thing has sharp corners and protrusions everywhere, and I just bought this outfit."

While muttering, Yu Sheng placed the iron lump on another tray and, steeling himself, instructed the laboratory staff member in a full protective suit opposite: "This is another sample. The recovery location is my home. Uh, no, it's 66 Wutong Road, Otherworld."

Then he saw two other staff members wearing even thicker protective suits walk out from a small door on the inner side. Their protective suits were as thick as TM Titan armor. One of them was holding a silver-white alloy container covered in symbols. They solemnly packed the unknown-purpose iron lump into the container. Under the other person's filtered mask came a muffled yet very polite voice: "Could you also hand over your carrying container to us?"

Yu Sheng was stunned for a long time before realizing the other party was referring to the old plastic bag and newspaper in his hand...

He handed over the plastic bag and newspaper in confusion, watched the two Titan-armored figures solemnly take them away, turn, and enter the laboratory. After being stunned for a few seconds, he turned his head to look at Xu Jiali: "... Is this also your standard procedure?"

Xu Jiali, steeling himself: "... Yes. Arranged by the Director."

(End of Chapter)