Chapter 247: Rewards

Yu Sheng just stood there, eyes wide, watching Bai Liqing and the Hunter exchange greetings before the scene fell silent. After another two or three seconds, he finally couldn't hold back: "Wait, I have a question!"

Bai Liqing turned her head to look at him.

"The Hunter called you Director?" Yu Sheng looked at the female director before him, who appeared only a few years older than himself. "Their squad went missing in 'Fairy Tale' seventy years ago, and you are their Director?"

Bai Liqing blinked. Whether it was an illusion or not, Yu Sheng even felt a hint of a smile on the corner of her lips; that ice-cold face faintly bore an air of victory. She spoke, calm yet tinged with mockery: "That's right. I've held this position for a hundred years."

"... How old are you?!" Yu Sheng blurted out.

Bai Liqing said nothing, simply looking at him with that suspected smile, clearly having no intention of answering the question.

Yu Sheng finally gradually realized that the Bai sisters were neither normal to begin with—the woman before him, one of the five Councilors of the Borderland who controlled the entire Special Operations Bureau, likely could no longer be considered purely "human."

Was it due to special abilities? Influenced by some power? Bloodline? Or did some "transformation" occur during her dealings with the Otherworld and entities?

There seemed to be many possibilities; in an instant, Yu Sheng had already imagined five or six versions of the plot, totaling at least forty episodes plus two side stories—but obviously, asking directly would yield no results.

So he didn't press further, simply shrugging his shoulders, while simultaneously clarifying a detail in his mind that had previously been slightly questionable.

At the Special Operations Bureau, Bai Liqing had always called Song Cheng, the captain of the Second Squad, "Little Song." It wasn't merely a superior addressing a subordinate, but more like an elder addressing a junior, or even one she had personally taught hand-in-hand—yet, judging by outward age, the forty-something Song Cheng looked nearly a full decade older than Bai Liqing...

"I really didn't expect this," Yu Sheng sighed. "No wonder when you introduced me to the orphanage's situation back then and the 'Adulthood' Plan, I felt something was off. You always carried an attitude as if you had personally experienced it."

"You didn't ask," Bai Liqing said lightly, her tone somewhat emotional. "Yes, those were things from many years ago..."

She turned her head, looking at the Hunter standing in the night.

After a long while, she lowered her head, as if searching for something on her person, then took another step forward, standing face-to-face with the Hunter.

"When I saw you off back then, I said I would award you at the victory celebration once the children were safely rescued," she said slowly. "It's been many years late, but today is indeed a day of celebration—do you mind if there is only one medal?"

The Hunter said nothing, simply straightening his body. Though it was merely a tattered hunting outfit floating in the air, it now stood as tall and proud as a soldier.

There was no stage, no flowers or applause, and no officials or comrades-in-arms present to witness the ceremony. Perhaps this was the Special Operations Bureau's most humble award ceremony in history; in Yu Sheng's view, it was even a bit too crude—yet whether as the heroic Deep Dive Squad from seventy years ago, or as the "Hunter" who constantly fought wolves in the Black Forest to protect Little Red Riding Hood, today's recipient deserved a more formal and solemn ceremony.

However, this humble award ceremony seemed to be a shared and tacit choice by the two figures standing in the clearing at that moment.

A smile appeared on Bai Liqing's face as she carefully pinned a medal bearing the pattern of a short sword and a wreath onto the Hunter's chest.

Fireworks rose up, accompanied by a sharp and cheerful whistle, exploding with a bang in the sky, just like when the Hunter fired his gun—

Huge and brilliant rings of flame burst in the night, spreading crown-like firelight across the entire sky.

The light reflected on Bai Liqing's face and spilled over the Hunter, even illuminating the entire clearing for a moment.

Squirrel was startled by the loud noise from the sky; she shrank her neck tightly, but then raised her head, excitedly watching the magnificent firelight above, and let out a happy cry: "Wow! So spectacular—this is even more spectacular than the fireworks before!"

Yu Sheng also looked up at the sky, muttering: "Of course, it's definitely spectacular. That was a cruise missile."

As he spoke, several more fireworks shot into the sky, mixed with a fox tail that had been secretly launched. After a thunderous boom, even the cloud layers were shaken into waves—fortunately, those clouds were under Yu Sheng's control; otherwise, that excited Nine-Tailed Fox might have blown the day into the night with those two "Fox Radish Missiles"...

Erin's voice rang in Yu Sheng's mind: "Hey, hey, where did you go, Yu Sheng? The silly fox is having too much fun! She's launching tails into the sky one after another, and a bunch of human cubs are cheering her on!"

"It's fine, let her play. I'll be back in a moment," Yu Sheng replied cheerfully. "Anyway, the Special Operations Bureau is covering the food tonight; she can eat her fill."

"You're so carefree! She's eating barbecue; two people grilling can't keep up with one person gnawing. She just chewed through two iron skewers!" Erin's voice was loud and frantic. "She even stole charcoal to eat! She poured chili oil on burning red charcoal and wrapped it with pork belly to eat—"

Yu Sheng: "..."

Is Hu Li having that much fun?

He casually brushed off Erin's words, then turned to look at the Hunter: "Do you want to come with us to the square? Little Red Riding Hood and the others are waiting to see you."

The Hunter hesitated slightly: "Our current appearance might scare the children who haven't yet encountered the Black Forest."

Yu Sheng laughed: "Now you're overthinking it—don't you think they're just ordinary children? What haven't they seen before? A six-year-old dares to hang themselves on a cruise missile and fly up there... Come on, let's go together." The Hunter hesitated once more, but finally, he took a step toward Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng turned his head to continue looking at Bai Liqing.

"... Alright," Bai Liqing helplessly raised her hand. "Let's make one thing clear first: if the mood dies, it's not my fault."

They returned to the square. At the peak of the bonfire's blaze, Little Red Riding Hood spotted the familiar figures of the Hunter and Squirrel.

This might even be her happiest moment of the entire evening.

A large group of children—big, small, and in-between—quickly gathered around to greet the Hunter, asking all sorts of chaotic and strange questions, or simply hugging that floating, empty clothing suspended in the air. Many children might have been driven by pure curiosity, wondering if there was anything actually "supporting" the clothes inside, but regardless, at this moment, there was no resistance or fear surrounding the Hunter.

That tall figure, supported by twelve noble souls, seemed almost at a loss at this moment.

Squirrel jumped from head to shoulder on every child, extremely excited.

Clearly, she would soon become friends with everyone here.

Yu Sheng watched the scene with satisfaction, then turned his head and saw that amidst such a lively bonfire, there was actually a quiet spot.

No mistake, one sentence, one release, one content, one look!

Within a ten-meter radius around Bai Liqing, it was so quiet; only a few people from the Special Operations Bureau were standing around her, their faces stiff as if ready to report work at any moment...

"I told you so," Bai Liqing said expressionlessly as Yu Sheng approached. "You just wouldn't believe me."

Yu Sheng looked around, helplessly shrugging his hands: "Alright, I've truly seen something amazing, but how did you manage this?"

"Perhaps my usual working style really has some influence," Bai Liqing sighed. "But the bigger problem isn't there."

Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"

"You can imagine a veteran leader who has been stationed at the unit for a hundred years. She knows the situation of every department and every person in the entire unit. She knows every action you've taken and every mistake you've made since stepping through the unit's main gate. All your strengths, weaknesses, and flaws, as well as all your advantages and shortcomings, are constantly watched and recorded by a pair of eyes. You work until retirement, and the next newcomer will experience this entire process one hundred percent, until everyone treats this experience as one of the countless eerie phenomena in the Special Operations Bureau building, as a rule-based strange tale to be reviewed before sleeping every night, and then passes these experiences down like an inheritance from generation to generation..."

As Bai Liqing spoke, she raised her hand and pointed at herself.

"... it becomes like this."

Yu Sheng was speechless.

Bai Liqing, however, looked completely unconcerned. She reached out, grabbed a chair from the empty ground nearby (the chair looked as if it had been moved from a banquet hall in some castle), sat down, and waved her hand at the few nervous Special Operations Bureau personnel around her: "Alright, go do what you need to do. No need to report to me here."

Those people left as if granted a great reprieve.

Seeing this, Yu Sheng felt somewhat emotional: "You seem quite open-minded."

"I don't mind, because this actually improves the operational efficiency of the Special Operations Bureau to a certain extent, so I have no intention of changing it," Bai Liqing said casually. "The Special Operations Bureau is already a very special place. I need it to remain efficient and precise at all times—if they aren't afraid of me, then many people will have to face something even more terrifying."

Yu Sheng said no more, simply grabbing a chair himself and sitting beside Bai Liqing, the two of them watching the huge bonfire burning fiercely together.

Three Einers were setting off small fireworks on the empty ground by the bonfire, fireworks they had begged from some child.

Hu Li grabbed a huge meat skewer from the barbecue rack and was gnawing on it, oil dripping from her mouth.

The squirrel was telling Princess Rapunzel the story of her heroic battle against the Shadow of Ankaela in the Black Forest; one dared to speak, the other dared to listen.

The mermaid was still playing the BGM; her mouth could produce almost any sound, and now it was an impassioned orchestra—no one knew what exactly she was hyping up, but it was definitely hyped up.

That's good.

(End of this chapter)