Chapter 274: Very Eerie

By the streetlight, Yu Sheng was on the phone, listening to Bai Liqing on the other end describe the absurd situation where the iron ingot Hu Li had pulled out back then was casually used to make a hammer, which then manifested a machine soul.

Not far away, the fox girl was squatting beside the green belt, very seriously digging a hole, seemingly intending to bury a stone she had picked up from who knows where.

Yu Sheng was a bit too preoccupied to remind the fox miss not to damage the green belt—because the situation revealed by Bai Liqing was truly too absurd.

"Originally, the lab was preparing to immediately start manufacturing a series of items to test the 'spirit-imbuing' characteristics of that material... but considering such material might be very precious, I ordered them to halt their tests," Bai Liqing said the situation quite seriously on the other end, "The characteristics presented by that material are very puzzling to us. Its composition isn't special, yet after simple processing, it displayed incredible energy activity. So we are very curious: what exactly is it, and—can Miss Hu Li provide more samples?"

Speaking of this, she paused, then added: "Of course, it would be paid."

Yu Sheng rubbed his forehead, recalling as he spoke: "That thing... Hu Li said it was a core product after some reaction. From the way she put it, it seemed quite worthless, at least in her hometown."

As soon as he said this, there was silence on Bai Liqing's end for at least ten seconds; only after a long while did a response come through: "A reactor?! You mean Hu Li has a reactor inside her belly?!"

"Seems like that's what she meant?" Yu Sheng only then belatedly realized what was going on, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "That sounds a bit absurd, doesn't it?"

"... A 'bit' absurd?!" This was the first time Yu Sheng heard such a hint of hidden frenzy in Bai Liqing's tone. The bureau chief, who was usually calm and indifferent about everything, suddenly raised her voice by three octaves, "Do you think that's just a bit absurd?"

Yu Sheng's mouth corner couldn't help but twitch. Looking at the fox girl digging a hole in the green belt, his expression was truly quite spectacular—unfortunately, Bai Liqing on the other end of the phone couldn't see it: "Let me put it this way: the first time I saw her shoot her tail out, my capacity for surprise regarding her was pretty much exhausted for this lifetime. My ability to reshape my worldview is now so high that even I'm afraid of it, you understand..."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for another two or three seconds; Yu Sheng clearly heard Bai Liqing take a deep breath.

"In short, your meaning is that Hu Li can produce more of these 'ingots' at any time, but she needs some time to accumulate, right?"

"Yes, that's what she said, but she might still have some stock. I'll ask her later—but right now she's busy."

"What is she busy with?" Bai Liqing asked casually.

"Busy digging holes in the green belt."

Bai Liqing: "...?"

Silence fell on the other end of the phone again.

Yu Sheng also felt a bit awkward; he coughed twice and walked behind the fox girl: "Hu Li, stop digging. I have something to ask you."

The fox miss finally lifted her head from her enthusiastic digging, her eyes shining in the night: "What's up, benefactor?"

"That metal lump you left for them after eating in the Special Affairs Bureau cafeteria last time," Yu Sheng tried hard to think of how to describe the thing the fox girl had pulled out back then, but in the end couldn't come up with a more suitable term, "Do you have more? Also, how long does it take you to 'make' one of those things?"

"It depends on the type of food consumed and the reactor's daily output power; it's unpredictable," Hu Li blinked her eyes, "About one every seven or eight days? But I actually still have a few stored up... They still want them?"

Yu Sheng nodded. Before he could open his mouth, he heard Bai Liqing's voice come through the phone: "Tell her the Special Affairs Bureau can build a dedicated cafeteria for her—you can even open the door directly to the serving window."

Yu Sheng: "..."

Hu Li continued blinking her eyes, as if she didn't understand what was happening.

Yu Sheng then explained the situation discovered by the Special Affairs Bureau to the fox girl.

Hu Li usually appears simple-minded, but in reality, she is smarter than anyone. In just a few words, she had already figured out the situation and immediately clapped her hands with a smile: "It's just 'spirit essence'. 'Spirit Fox Black Iron' is the basic material for forging weapon spirits in our place; this phenomenon appearing is quite normal..."

Yu Sheng opened his mouth, thinking to himself: No wonder it's Hu Li—so this is also a "normal situation" she has witnessed!?

Meanwhile, Bai Liqing on the other end of the phone continued: "When we have time, we can seriously discuss establishing a 'dedicated cafeteria' for the Inn within the Special Affairs Bureau, and formally place long-term orders in the name of the Special Affairs Bureau for... what was it called?"

Hu Li leaned over: "Spirit Fox Black Iron."

"Right, a long-term order contract for 'Spirit Fox Black Iron'..."

Irene stared at Yu Sheng with scarlet eyes, while Yu Sheng sat on the sofa, looking extremely calm at the doll before him.

Beside them, Hu Li had arranged a huge pile of treasures she had collected while out for a walk on the coffee table—very straight wooden sticks, very round stones, and oddly shaped screws.

The fox girl was having a wonderful time playing with them, paying no attention to the commotion beside her. "You mean the Special Affairs Bureau is willing to spend a huge sum of money or regularly provide various supplies in exchange for that iron lump Hu Li throws out?! To ensure production, they even really want to build a dedicated cafeteria for the silly fox—so absurd that they'd let you open the door directly at the serving window?!" The little doll stared with wide eyes, "Wait, are they sick or something?"

"What iron lump? That thing is now called 'Spirit Fox Black Iron'," Yu Sheng corrected solemnly, "Even in Hu Li's hometown, it belongs to the category of spiritual treasure materials. In this world, it's even more of a treasure capable of stably crafting machine souls, you understand..."

The little doll listened, stunned, then sat down on the sofa: "Oh, is that so?"

But immediately after, she reacted again, stood up, and continued glaring at Yu Sheng: "No, why?! Why is the slag she spits out after eating something the Special Affairs Bureau buys back at a high price, while I cooperated with them for so long testing crystals and only got a 'Crystal Anti-Irene' out of it... I just knew this world was targeting me!"

Yu Sheng sighed, reaching out to pat the little doll's head: "Ah, I sympathize too."

Irene tilted her head, thought for a while, and waved her hand generously: "Alright then, I'm not angry anymore."

This time, it was Yu Sheng's turn to be stunned: "..."

Is this doll's mentality that good?

After tricking and coaxing Irene past it, Yu Sheng, half laughing and half crying, went over to Hu Li, who was playing with her "trophies" beside the coffee table: "Haven't you sorted them yet?"

The fox girl looked up, happily showing Yu Sheng the two wooden sticks in her hand: "Benefactor, look! Do these two sticks look like two swords?"

Yu Sheng looked down, stroking his chin: "Actually, don't say it, they really do look quite similar..."

"Then these two are the Male and Female Twin Swords. One for you, benefactor, and one for me." Hu Li generously shoved one of the wooden sticks into Yu Sheng's hand, then started sweeping the huge pile of messy things on the coffee table into her tail. In no time, she had cleaned everything up.

!

Yu Sheng didn't react in time at all; another peerless good stick appeared in his hand...

Then he couldn't help but look at Hu Li's storage tail, stroking his chin and muttering: "I'm really curious how your tail stores things inside. Usually, I see you just throw whatever you have in there, and I've never seen you organize it, yet when you take things out, it's not messy at all?"

"I do organize it!" Hu Li immediately said with a serious face, "Although, although the organization isn't that good, it's actually not very messy inside... Hey, benefactor, do you want to come in and take a look?"

Yu Sheng was just pondering the similarities and differences between the principle of Hu Li's storage tail and his own process of opening doors to retrieve items when he heard her words and didn't react in time at all. After he finally reacted, the whole person was a bit dazed: "... What?"

"Benefactor, do you want to come inside my tail to take a look?" Hu Li said happily, "I haven't invited anyone in to look before! Ah, that time I stuffed Irene's picture frame in there doesn't count..."

Yu Sheng: "..."

Yu Sheng pondered in his mind for a long time, finally admitting that his imagination was slightly inferior in the face of the nine-tailed fox's worldview. However, just as he was beginning to feel a hidden interest in this proposal and was about to open his mouth to answer, a sudden cry of alarm coming from the direction of the window abruptly interrupted his exchange with Hu Li—

"Hey! Yu Sheng! Look outside! A thick fog has risen!"

It was Irene crying out in alarm.

Perhaps because of the recent experience of saving people from a foreign land shrouded in thick fog, the moment Yu Sheng heard the word "fog," he shivered, then suddenly stood up and looked at the living room window.

Irene was standing on the windowsill, pointing at the outside of the glass.

Outside the glass window, thick fog was everywhere. The heavy white mist seemed like a viscous, flowing "fluid," covering not only the entire street but even making the light from the distant streetlamps appear in a disturbingly trembling and skewed state, as if the whole world was viewed through some strange lens, appearing eerie and inexplicable.

"Holy crap?!"

Yu Sheng cried out in alarm, jumped up, ran a few steps to the window, and looked at the fog-shrouded street outside together with Irene.

"When did it become like this?" He looked down at the puppet and asked in an urgent tone.

"I don't know; I just looked up a moment ago, and outside it was already like this," Eileen said, completely bewildered. "But it definitely hasn't been long—when night first fell, one of my bodies turned to glance out the window, and there was no fog outside then."

"Benefactor, this mist looks..." Hu Li had also crowded over by now and spoke with a hint of hesitation. "It looks very much like the thick fog that previously trapped Zheng Zhi, but it seems denser, heavier, and the atmosphere within it is exceptionally ominous."

Yu Sheng frowned, then turned and strode to the main entrance, shoving the door open with one hand.

He wanted to confirm the situation on the street outside.

Outside the door, the night on Wutong Road's old street was quiet and serene; the streetlights were clear and bright, and the night sky was as if washed clean.

Where was any thick fog?

(End of Chapter)