Chapter 173: Morning

After sending the message, Yu Sheng looked up and glanced at the sky outside the window.

The sky had just begun to lighten; it was still early before work hours, and Bai Liqing might not have a response for a while yet.

So he didn't just wait idly. After sending the message, Yu Sheng found a small box originally used for cookies, put away the "bullet" from the Hunter, and then went to the kitchen to prepare something to eat.

Hu Li and Irene followed along quite naturally—the former ready to mooch some food, the latter clearly still having some questions she hadn't figured out.

"How did that Hunter know you could bring the bullet to the 'outside'?" Irene asked, following behind Yu Sheng with a puzzled look. "They just shot you once and dared to be certain you'd not only survive but also get the bullet out? And even have a chance to find someone to analyze the bullet's origin? How does one pass on a message like that?"

Yu Sheng was busy at the stove; upon hearing Irene's words, he didn't stop his hands, only frowning slightly, his expression thoughtful.

The problem mentioned by the small doll was exactly what he had been pondering since just now.

Whether that bullet was a piece of "information" remained unclear, but one fact was certain: in the Black Forest, the Hunter had shot him without hesitation, and that shot had been aimed straight at his heart. Setting aside other motives, that shot clearly seemed intended to kill him.

"So, the most likely possibility is... they didn't know." After a moment of thought, Yu Sheng broke the silence.

Irene blinked her eyes: "They didn't know?"

"An entity wandering in the Black Forest couldn't possibly know about my 'resurrection' ability," Yu Sheng said slowly, "and they probably don't know I entered the Black Forest directly by 'opening a door' from reality. So theoretically, when the Hunter shot, they didn't know I could later survive and bring the bullet back to the real world."

"Then they really wanted to kill you? But Little Red Riding Hood just said the Hunter doesn't make mistakes; they had no motive to shoot you..."

"I can't figure that out either," Yu Sheng shook his head, "but regardless, next time I enter the Black Forest, I will carry that bullet with me."

He skillfully sliced a plate of shredded cucumber, then casually picked up the remaining half of the cucumber and handed it to Hu Li, who had been waiting for a while. After a brief pause, he said, "Since the Hunter 'gave' me a bullet, I'd better keep it properly and see what changes this thing causes later."

Irene made an "oh" sound, and just then, a phone ringtone suddenly rang from Yu Sheng's pocket.

"It's Bai Liqing," Yu Sheng took out his phone, glanced at it, spoke quickly, and then answered the call. "Up so early? Did you see the message I sent you?"

Bai Liqing skipped all pleasantries; her first words got straight to the point: "That is a standard exorcism warhead used by deep-diving team members and Special Agents Bureau officers seventy years ago; it has since been updated and replaced."

Yu Sheng wiped his hands on a Mao Jin, instructed Hu Li to watch the pot of noodles cooking, and told Irene not to climb onto the stove again, then walked aside: "... Alright, as I thought."

"The warhead came from the Black Forest?" Bai Liqing's voice came through the receiver. "Another 'relic' obtained from the 'Hunter'?"

Yu Sheng instinctively pondered, mainly thinking about whether that bullet, in the process of the other party shooting him, counted as something the other party "left behind" or something "gifted" to him. He pondered for two seconds before quickly shaking his head to cut off this somewhat absurd wild speculation: "You could say so. The process of acquiring it was quite tortuous, but it was indeed the 'Hunter's' thing, and an item they were using."

"Then we can basically confirm that the Hunter comes from that twelve-person deep-diving team from seventy years ago," Bai Liqing's tone shifted slightly, carrying an imperceptible solemnity. Then she took a light breath. "Have you established contact with them? Is this veteran... still willing to help us?"

Yu Sheng fell silent. After a moment, he sighed: "Unfortunately, I failed to establish communication with the 'Hunter'. Although I showed them that group photo, I'm not sure if they reacted to it."

"You didn't get a single word in?"

Yu Sheng thought for a moment: "Didn't have time to speak."

Bai Liqing paused for a moment: "... Then how did you get the Hunter's bullet? Such a thing should be a warrior's personal possession..."

"They shot it at me."

This time, Bai Liqing was silent for even longer.

Obviously, she was hard-stunned by Yu Sheng's sentence and fell into thought.

"Literally," Yu Sheng added by way of explanation.

This time, the Director finally understood. The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly sounded a bit hesitant: "... Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," what else could Yu Sheng say? Since the other party didn't know about his unkillable condition, he could only brush it off. "Just a little scratch. And I feel the other party should still be communicable; it's just that the method this time might not have been right."

"You still want to try contacting the 'Hunter'?" Bai Liqing seemed somewhat surprised. "That could be very dangerous."

"It is a bit dangerous, but worth trying again. I've already made some progress on my end. Later, I'll organize the situation from last night and send it to you—your side has many think-tank members, so help me analyze it and see if there are any details I overlooked," Yu Sheng spoke quickly, not leaving the other party a chance to interrupt. "Little Red Riding Hood doesn't have much time left. That orphanage still has many children; their time is short too... You understand what I mean."

"... I understand. The Special Agents Bureau will assist to the fullest. If you need anything, contact me anytime."

The call ended. Yu Sheng leaned against the cabinet and took a deep breath. "Benefactor," Hu Li's voice came from the direction of the stove, interrupting Yu Sheng's somewhat chaotic thoughts. "The noodles are cooked. Should we rinse them in cold water?"

"Yes, rinse them in cold water," Yu Sheng quickly shook his head. Looking at the expectant Hu Li, his irritability gradually dissipated without him noticing, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face. "Then we'll get ready to eat."

The children were lining up at the sink, obediently washing their hands and faces and applying lotion in order. The children who had already washed their hands were sitting at the dining table early, waiting for the "parents" to serve them food.

Little Red Riding Hood was supervising the doll-heads by the sink, occasionally turning her head to check the order at the dining table, her expression somewhat bored.

Rapunzel passed by from the side, carrying a large bucket of vegetable soup she had just fetched from the kitchen. As she walked past Little Red Riding Hood, she curiously looked up at the latter: "Hey, are you still mad at me?"

"Do I look like I'm angry?" Little Red Riding Hood felt somewhat baffled.

"Anyway, you look quite serious," Rapunzel nodded. "Last time I owed you twenty yuan, you looked just like this."

Little Red Riding Hood's mouth twitched immediately; she didn't know how to respond.

"Hey, tell me what happened," Rapunzel asked curiously. "I knew you were 'kicked' out of a dream. You suddenly sat up in the middle of the night, vomiting loudly, and then sat there sulking. What exactly happened?"

"... Nothing. I just suddenly realized I'm actually quite afraid of next month's birthday—but at the same time, I have some inexplicable expectation for that day," Little Red Riding Hood was silent for a few seconds, took a light breath, and waved her hand at the other party. "Alright, don't waste time on me here. If you don't take the soup over soon, the children will start making a fuss."

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"Oh..."

Rapunzel walked away carrying the soup bucket, while Little Red Riding Hood's gaze involuntarily followed the direction of the other's departure, looking at that long table.

Children of all sizes sat there, chatting and playing.

Several adults wearing Council employee uniforms stood at the kitchen door, looking over here with somewhat complex smiles on their faces.

Xiao Xiao had fully recovered her spirits. The girl who had been very shy just two days ago, not daring to speak loudly to others in the orphanage, now seemed to have her own friends. She was seriously describing a strange dream she had had to the child sitting next to her—it seemed to be a dream unrelated to the Black Forest, a bit strange, but ordinary and peaceful.

The other children, who often had nightmares, seemed very envious of the scenes Xiao Xiao described; several children were attracted over.

Little Red Riding Hood tilted her head back, facing the sunlight streaming in from the window, which was gradually becoming warmer, and squinted her eyes slightly.

The phone emitted a notification sound for receiving a message. Bai Liqing opened it and took a look, seeing it was a message sent by Yu Sheng.

The message described a bold adventure in the Black Forest, a thrilling experience of a direct confrontation with the "Wolf Grandmother," and the events that occurred during the brief contact with the Hunter.

There were also many of Yu Sheng's personal speculations, as well as some intelligence regarding the current state of the Black Forest that had never appeared in investigation reports before.

The text was very long; it was clearly edited on a computer before being forwarded—writing out many details very clearly.

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, Bai Liqing carefully read this "report" that she wasn't sure could even be called a report, and couldn't help muttering: "Truly worthy of a novelist..."

A pair of eyes quietly appeared outside the floor-to-ceiling window behind her at some point, and a mechanical, dull voice rang in her mind: "The wording is very beautiful?"

"No, what I mean is that reading what he writes is much easier to understand than listening to him speak," Bai Li Qing sighed. "At least it's not so… overwhelming."

That pair of illusory eyes blinked, then joined Bai Li Qing in staring intently at the text on the phone.

After a moment, Bai Li Qing dialed a number.

Song Cheng's voice came from the phone: "Director?"

"Assign an additional Deep Dive platoon at headquarters, not for immediate deployment, but ready to act at any moment," Bai Li Qing said coolly. "Prepare the large deep-dive pool at D2 Dock now."

"Yes," Song Cheng replied immediately, yet couldn't help feeling puzzled. "Director, what's happened?"

"For contingency," Bai Li Qing said. "... The 'core' of the Fairy Tale may finally be dug up this time."

(End of Chapter)