Chapter 194: Angel Umbilical Cord

As soon as the words "umbilical cord" left his lips, Yu Sheng noticed that Little Red Riding Hood's expression had become visibly strange.

Immediately, she frowned slightly: "I feel like... I've heard this term before, but not for the first time."

"The earliest was when I went to the Special Operations Bureau to check the records of the 'Adulthood' operation from seventy years ago," Yu Sheng nodded lightly, his expression exceptionally serious, "After returning, I mentioned to you that the records stated one of the deep divers returning to the real world kept repeating the words 'a baby's cry' and 'umbilical cord' until his death."

Little Red Riding Hood took a light breath.

Yu Sheng could not help but turn his gaze back to the "umbilical cord" inside the box.

... Why did Old Zheng have this thing? What exactly was this so-called "umbilical cord"? Whose umbilical cord was it? What connection did it have with the "Fairy Tale"?

The answer seemed to faintly emerge. Yu Sheng frowned tightly, trying to piece those vague and trivial clues and thoughts into a complete ring. In his thinking, he hesitated before speaking: "If this 'umbilical cord' is truly related to that Dark Angel trapped in the 'Fairy Tale'..."

Little Red Riding Hood unconsciously took another breath: "That sentence is a bit scary."

Then she paused, continuing somewhat uncertainly: "The key is... Old Zheng was just an 'ordinary person' who researched and collected strange objects. At most, he knew some small tricks for self-defense against supernatural forces. Something at the level of an 'Angel Umbilical Cord' would be explosive even in the Special Operations Bureau. How could it have ended up in his hands?"

Yu Sheng fell silent for a moment, but his mind could not help but recall the "Spirit Ring" he had seen in Old Zheng's bedroom earlier, and the black tentacle that had drilled out from the crack in the ceiling after he touched that Spirit Ring.

That tentacle had been swaying everywhere in the air at the time, as if constantly searching for something.

In his contemplation, he hesitated and spoke: "What if this umbilical cord wasn't something Old Zheng 'found' somewhere, but was actively given to him by the Dark Angel?"

Little Red Riding Hood's eyebrows knitted tightly together. She understood what Yu Sheng meant, and her expression grew stranger and stranger. Gradually, that strange expression turned into a helpless and complex smile. She smiled bitterly like that and muttered: "Old Zheng... Old Zheng..."

She raised her head, looking at Yu Sheng beside her, her smile bitter: "Do you remember those 'Spirit' runes Old Zheng left behind? Rough and crude, they would be considered clumsy craftsmanship even in a novice's hands, yet he used those runes to easily contact the 'Dark Angel' that the cultists struggled with all their might to even see. Now there's this umbilical cord... Do you know how ironic this is?"

"Those Angel cultists treated Old Zheng as a disposable tool. They even killed Old Zheng because they felt he would 'defile' their Lord. But in fact, according to their own theory, Old Zheng might truly be the chosen one of 'Ankara'—at least in terms of 'distance' to that Dark Angel, he was closer than every single cultist."

"For an ordinary person, being naturally closely connected to a Dark Angel is not a good thing," Yu Sheng sighed, closing the box, "What those Angel cultists desperately pursue is something normal people avoid at all costs."

"We are taking this thing," Little Red Riding Hood nodded to Old Zheng's nephew, "If you find any other suspicious items in your uncle's belongings later, contact us immediately."

Then she paused, took out a notepad and a pen from her pocket, quickly wrote an address, and handed it to the other person: "Also, you might have nightmares these next couple of days. That is a normal phenomenon after contacting a 'contaminant', but the influence is shallow so there won't be any sequelae. If the nightmares continue to plague you, go to this address and find a doctor named Lin. Tell him 'Little Red Riding Hood' sent you; she can help you."

The young man hurriedly took the note: "Oh, oh, thank you, I remember."

After leaving Old Zheng's house, Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood did not return directly to the orphanage but walked slowly along a quiet path near the apartment building.

"After returning, I will go to the Black Forest again," Yu Sheng said, simultaneously weighing the wooden box in his hand, "At that time, I will bring this 'umbilical cord' and the bullet the hunter gave me last time to see what happens."

"... I feel like every single one of your operations steps right on the taboo line of the Spirit Detective profession," Little Red Riding Hood couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Do you know how many safety regulations you violated in just that one sentence? If you were an ordinary Spirit Detective, with this kind of conduct, you would have died several times over long ago."

Yu Sheng chuckled: "Even if I were an extraordinary Spirit Detective, I would have already died several times."

Little Red Riding Hood slapped her forehead: "... Alright, I forgot about that."

Yu Sheng smiled, let out a long breath, and looked up at the sky: "Alright, things are done here too, time for everyone to go home—I'll send you back first?"

"No need. My wolf pack and I will take the shadow shortcut back. Running along the way will count as a mental break."

"Okay, then I'll go home first. Be safe on the way."

"Got it, got it—bye."

An illusory door opened in the living room at 66 Wutong Road. Yu Sheng stepped across the threshold, and in the blink of an eye, he returned home from another district.

As soon as he entered, he saw three Ireens huddled in front of a computer: one was furiously typing on the keyboard, one was holding a mouse and creating afterimages with her movements, and another was just responsible for staring at the mini-map. Not far away, Hu Lizheng was hanging the freshly washed tails one by one on the clothesline on the balcony. The neat silver-white fox tails sparkled in the sunlight.

Seeing this familiar and ordinary daily scene, Yu Sheng couldn't help but relax. He casually hung his coat on the coat rack near the entrance and called out to the doll and the fox who were busy: "I'm back." "Master is back!" Hu Lizheng happily ran over first, quickly circling Yu Sheng several times, "Did everything go smoothly?"

"Smooth, smooth," Yu Sheng, whose head was spinning from the fox girl circling him, had to reach out and hold her down first, then glanced at the pile of tails she had hung on the balcony, "... By the way, you've been washing your tails frequently lately, and each time it's such a big production."

Hu Lizheng looked serious: "It's winter, cold and dry. Tails need maintenance. Plus, after washing and drying, they become fluffy and soft, which is very comfortable to hug while sleeping!"

Yu Sheng actually couldn't quite understand. After all, when Hu Lizheng's pile of tails was well-maintained, they would be launched as a round of missiles the next time she fought. Moreover, she could grow new ones to replace them at any time. Was there really a need for such maintenance?

But seeing the happy and serious look on the fox girl's face, he decided not to ask. A Cyber Fox Immortal was probably just like this...

At this moment, one of the Ireens also walked over. She looked up at Yu Sheng and asked curiously, "What are you holding in your hand?"

Yu Sheng weighed the wooden box in his hand, and his expression immediately became serious: "If I'm not mistaken, it should be the 'umbilical cord' of a Dark Angel."

As soon as he said this, all three Ireens froze instantly.

Immediately, the sound of being killed came from the computer on the coffee table.

"Oh my god..." The two Ireens in front of the computer immediately exclaimed, quickly furiously typing on the keyboard, and during the few dozen seconds while waiting for resurrection, they went all out cursing the game developers' families.

The Ireen standing in front of Yu Sheng exaggeratedly stepped back half a pace: "What?! What the heck did you bring home?!"

After looking at each one...

Yu Sheng bent down and opened the wooden box to show Ireen.

"This was found among Old Zheng's belongings. Before coming back, I went to his nephew's place again," he explained the origin of the thing, "I suspect Old Zheng actually had a very strong connection with that Dark Angel trapped in the 'Fairy Tale', and he probably didn't fully trust those Angel cultists either. So after obtaining this umbilical cord during a certain ritual, he hid it. Now, this thing might be the key to solving the mystery of the Dark Angel 'Ankara'."

After seeing the shriveled umbilical cord in the box, Ireen instinctively stepped back. She actually wouldn't be affected by mental pollution, but she instinctively felt the thing was a bit disgusting. After hearing Yu Sheng's explanation, an expression of suspicion appeared on her face, and she looked at Yu Sheng with a strange gaze: "You're not going to soak it in alcohol, are you?"

Yu Sheng: "...?"

Seeing the other person fall silent, Ireen's expression immediately became even more complex: "... You're not going to soak it in alcohol, are you?"

"Is that the impression I have in your mind? Eating anything and everything?" Yu Sheng couldn't help but laugh and cry, "I'm going to take this thing into the Black Forest to see what reaction the 'subset' of the Fairy Tale will have on this Angel umbilical cord. Hopefully, I can use this opportunity to figure out what state that 'Ankara' is in. If I can find its weakness, that would be even better."

Ireen listened blankly to Yu Sheng's "plan", frowned, and said, "Maybe you should just soak it in alcohol after all."

Yu Sheng: "Is my plan that unreliable?"

"It's not a matter of reliability," Ireen's expression suddenly became serious, and she said very seriously, "but have you thought about another possibility? What if you take this 'Angel Umbilical Cord' into the Black Forest and it causes the Dark Angel to wake up or accelerates the progress of its escape? After all, it is the kind of thing."

Yu Sheng frowned.

"Indeed, there is a risk in this regard, so we must be prepared to 'cut off' the connection of this umbilical cord at any time," he said slowly in a serious tone, "But no matter what, we have to try. We are really lacking too much understanding of the Dark Angel 'Ankara' right now."

Seeing Yu Sheng's serious look, Ireen actually felt much more reassured in her heart, but she still instinctively asked, "The plan is good, but are you sure you can cut off the 'connection' between this umbilical cord and the outside world at any time? You should know nothing about sealing..."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment and said with a serious face: "If all else fails, I'll eat it right there on the spot."

The small doll instantly froze.

A few seconds later, she jumped up on the spot: "... So in the end you still want to eat it!?"

(End of this chapter)