Chapter 72: The World Behind the Veil

Yu Sheng's question made Baili Qing immediately raise her eyebrows ever so slightly, though the movement was minimal.

"Of course there is only one Borderland," Baili Qing said. "Things like 'World Convergence Points' aren't mass-produced."

"I'm talking about 'Border City'," Yu Sheng said with a serious expression. "If there's only one Borderland, then what about 'Border City'? Could there possibly be another city in this world similar to the one located in the Borderland?"

He paused, looked into Baili Qing's eyes, and slowly continued: "Very similar, yet not quite the same. They share the same name, have some locations with identical names, but aren't 'extraordinary' like this place—they're just ordinary places... If this universe has an observable scale of hundreds of billions of light-years or even vaster, then within such an immense scope, could a city matching my description possibly exist?"

Whether it was Yu Sheng's illusion or not, upon hearing this, the expression on Baili Qing's face became somewhat unusually serious.

This "Director" remained silent for several seconds before speaking cautiously: "Regarding your 'speculation'—let's call it that for now—scholars actually have a hypothesis. The hypothesis goes like this:

"If the spatial and temporal scales of the entire universe are infinite, or at least statistically nearly infinite within the range humans can imagine and hypothesize, then it's possible for two identical or highly similar locations to appear in the universe, two planets with highly similar parameters, two similar Shanfeng, or even... two extremely similar histories. The probability of such 'mirrors' appearing might not be high, but given sufficient time and spatial scale, it is absolutely not zero."

Yu Sheng pondered for a moment and nodded lightly: "I seem to have heard of similar theories..."

"Then let me tell you one limitation of this hypothesis—that's its non-public part," Baili Qing said. "That is, even if the hypothesis holds true, even if any location and event in the universe could potentially have a 'mirror' existing across infinite time and space, there are two exceptions where no mirrors can exist.

"First, a planet called 'Terra,' located deep among the stars, far from here, yet possessing some secret 'connections' with the Borderland.

"Second, this very Borderland.

"In other words, there cannot be a second 'Border City' in this world, because this city is the main component of the Borderland, and the Borderland itself... has no 'mirror.' Even if the universe's space is boundless and time infinite, from past to future, there will only ever be this one 'Borderland,' this one 'Border City.'"

Yu Sheng's eyes widened slightly, and he remained silent for a long time.

"Judging by your reaction..." Baili Qing adjusted her sitting posture. "You are almost certain that another 'Border City' exists in this world—or even, have you seen it?"

Yu Sheng forcibly suppressed the surging thoughts in his heart, took a deep breath, and slowly tapped his fingers on the table before him.

"Yes, I have seen it. It's a small coastal city. Driving from its southernmost point to its northernmost point takes only thirty minutes. There are no 'Otherworlds' there, no Special Operations Bureau; people live very ordinary lives. The sunlight... the sunlight is always pleasant, soft, not glaring, and the sunset glow is also beautiful..."

Yu Sheng described those scenes from his memory to the woman before him.

He did not hide these facts. Given that the other party already knew the truth about No. 66 Wutong Road and was specifically responsible for managing affairs related to the "Otherworld," this "Director" seemed to be the person he could currently reach who was most likely able to help him.

Baili Qing listened quietly to these descriptions. Her eyes, lacking in color, seemed forever capable of concealing her truest emotional fluctuations; no one could tell what she was thinking upon hearing these descriptions. Only after Yu Sheng finished speaking did she suddenly ask: "May I see?"

Yu Sheng was startled: "See? How?"

The woman opposite directly reached out her hand and pressed it against his temple.

Along with the cool sensation came a momentary daze.

"This is my ability—if you don't mind, temporarily open your imagination to me. Of course, if you're uneasy, I certainly won't force you," Baili Qing said very seriously.

Yu Sheng frowned, quickly weighed the options, and then nodded lightly.

Closing his eyes slightly, he imagined his hometown, the appearance of the "other Border City," within his memories.

That ordinary little coastal town floated up in his mind, and then he felt as though another pair of eyes was watching those imagined landscapes along with his recollections.

A moment later, Yu Sheng opened his eyes.

He found that Baili Qing opposite him still had her eyes closed, while behind her, the infinitely extending café was silently collapsing from far to near. Those neatly arranged, infinitely repeating tables and chairs were rapidly swallowed by darkness, and the collapsing architectural structures seemed to fall into an invisible abyss.

Yu Sheng was instantly stunned, unsure what was happening: "Hey! This place is collapsing! Hey, wake up! This..."

Before he could finish, Baili Qing finally opened her eyes: "It's fine, just a slight aftereffect of activating my ability."

As she spoke, the collapsed buildings and tables in the distance quietly restored themselves to their original state.

Yu Sheng immediately felt somewhat awkward and chuckled sheepishly: "Oh, your ability is quite... cool."

Baili Qing said nothing, merely rubbing her forehead lightly, seemingly lost in thought.

"Did you see it all?" Yu Sheng asked curiously upon seeing this. "So, what do you think..."

"I saw it. It is indeed as you described: a... peaceful coastal town, with many places bearing the shadow of this city," Baili Qing interrupted Yu Sheng. For some reason, she hesitated slightly when speaking, but this hesitation was quickly masked. "I now believe you have indeed seen such a 'Border City,' but I am curious, why are you so fixated on this 'place'?"

"For some personal reasons, I want to find it," Yu Sheng said seriously. "But according to what you said..."

"Theory, after all, is just theory," Baili Qing shook her head. Her attitude was suddenly not as definite as before; instead, her words left much more room for maneuver. "In fact, I still don't believe a second 'Borderland' exists in this world, but if some place just happens to share some architectural and layout similarities with this city... that's not entirely impossible."

Yu Sheng looked at the woman before him with some suspicion: "... Really?"

"Who knows?" Baili Qing exhaled. "Some scholars have said that our universe is still very young, and some new physical laws haven't even had time to emerge yet—therefore, all cognition of this world based on a human perspective could be wrong, or destined to be overturned someday. I now believe the 'Border City' you showed me truly exists; it's just... not recorded in the Borderland archives, that's all."

"Then if one day you find it..."

"You will be the first to know," Baili Qing nodded very seriously.

Yu Sheng expressed his thanks.

But he didn't fully believe it, because intuitively, he always felt this woman before him wasn't being so "sincere" regarding this matter.

He didn't know where this feeling came from, but he decided not to continue on this topic.

"I have another question," Yu Sheng quickly switched to a new topic. "It's on behalf of a friend of mine."

Baili Qing nodded: "Ask away. I have plenty of time today."

Yu Sheng thought briefly, organized his words, and asked: "Regarding 'Alice's Cottage,' does your Special Operations Bureau know about this organization?"

"Alice's Cottage? Of course we know," Baili Qing answered immediately. "Those 'Living Dolls' are active in the supernatural realm and have had quite a few dealings with us."

Yu Sheng's heart stirred, feeling he had finally helped the little doll find her organization: "You mean 'Alice's Dolls'? Does that mean this 'Cottage' is also registered with the Special Operations Bureau?"

"No, you've mistaken one thing," Baili Qing shook her head. "Alice's Cottage isn't something 'registered with the Special Operations Bureau'—it's an independent power located outside the Borderland. Although they keep a low profile, their influence is actually no smaller than that of the Special Operations Bureau."

Yu Sheng: "...?"

"This world doesn't have only the 'Borderland' as a special place, and naturally, it doesn't have only the 'Special Operations Bureau' as a major organization. We are merely one of many official organizations dealing with Otherworlds and entities. Besides us, there is the 'Hermit Society of Bamosa' established by the Bamosa people, the 'Academy' and 'Archaeological Association' from Terra, the 'Astrology Association' of the Alglaid people, and so on. The 'Alice's Cottage' you just mentioned is also a similar independent power—they follow an ancient spirit called 'Alice,' are ancient creations directly blessed by this ancient spirit, and the era in which they were active... is even earlier than that of the Special Operations Bureau."

Yu Sheng: "..."

Erin has such a huge background?! So the little doll wasn't bragging after all!

Yu Sheng did not hide the change in his expression, and Baili Qing quickly noticed something: "I recall the report mentioning there is also a 'doll' by your side?"

"That's right. Her name is Erin. She claims to be one of 'Alice's Dolls,' but was accidentally sealed for a very long time."

"But I also recall the report mentioning her height was only about this much..."

As she spoke, Baili Qing raised her hand and gestured a height next to the table.

Yu Sheng awkwardly touched the tip of his nose: "Ah, well, that's another accident..."

(End of Chapter)