Chapter 77: Catering Hospitality at No. 66 Wutong Road

Little Red Riding Hood knew that anyone living in a strange realm must be odd, but she found she had still underestimated just how strange the "family of three" here truly was.

Especially when they started eating.

A doll who didn't need to eat sat perfectly upright at the dining table, with a dedicated set of bowls and chopsticks placed before it, looking like a ritual offering.

A fox spirit with a dozen tails kept pulling out all sorts of snacks from her own tails while eating, mixing her diet in utter chaos—everything from pancake-wrapped steamed buns to chili peppers with bananas, anything and everything went straight into her mouth.

But the strangest of all was Yu Sheng—he actually ate human food.

Impossible. jpg.

Yu Sheng noticed Little Red Riding Hood staring blankly and assumed she was just nervous, being a first-time guest; he warmly urged, "Eat, eat—I'll tell you, I'm pretty confident in my cooking skills…"

Mid-sentence, he suddenly remembered something and pointed at a dish on the table, adding, "Oh, by the way, you'd better not eat this one."

Little Red Riding Hood blinked in surprise, seeing it was just an ordinary-looking dish of chili stir-fried pork, and asked, confused, "Why?"

"This is made from the 'local specialty' of the strange realm—I'm not sure if ordinary people can eat it," Yu Sheng said offhandedly, "Anyway, both Elin and Hu Li are pretty resistant to it."

Little Red Riding Hood's expression went slack: "The strange realm's… local specialty?"

"It's meat cut off from the Entity-Hunger—I'm fond of it—but ordinary people don't eat this," Yu Sheng said with utter calmness, then added, "I still have common sense in this regard."

Then he saw the girl across the table freeze completely, as if turned to stone.

After several seconds, Little Red Riding Hood's eyes suddenly blinked, her face stiff as she turned to Elin, who was sitting on the table sniffing the air: "Truly… niche terminology…"

"First time, huh?" Elin patted Little Red Riding Hood's arm with a knowing smile, "I had the exact same reaction the first time I heard it—don't doubt it, it's exactly that thing. By the way, you've already seen how we destroyed that Entity in the valley—don't be so shocked—it's at least cooked."

"This is better cooked," Yu Sheng nodded while picking up a slice of stir-fried meat and putting it in his mouth, "I tried it raw—it was too dry."

Little Red Riding Hood stared in horror at the rest of the dishes on the table, suddenly regretting why she had accepted Yu Sheng's invitation—she had only wanted a chance to observe this strange "person" and the odd No. 66 Wutong Road, perhaps gathering new intelligence about the strange realm to sell for a good price at the Special Tasks Bureau, but now she realized one thing:

If an Entity appears harmless, it will inevitably be terrifyingly bizarre elsewhere; if a strange realm seems unusually safe, it must possess an exceptionally creative form of mental contamination…

Little Red Riding Hood nervously swallowed, watching Yu Sheng devour his meal, and suddenly wanted to ask—after you eat this, you won't eat me, right?

But after hesitating for a long time, she still couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Not to your taste?" Yu Sheng noticed the girl hadn't touched her chopsticks and found it odd; "Uh, I like my food salty, but you could try this dish of greens—it's fine."

Under his gaze, she couldn't dodge or shake her head; after struggling for a long time, she timidly picked up her chopsticks, took a bite, silently chanting "this is edible" as she swallowed like medicine—and was surprised to find it tasted good.

It was just normal stir-fried vegetables.

"Isn't my master's cooking great?" Hu Li grinned happily.

Little Red Riding Hood nodded with a strange expression, watching Hu Li keep eating nonstop, and remembering how the fox spirit hadn't stopped talking since entering—she finally couldn't help asking curiously, "You eat so much—don't you get full?"

"No," Hu Li's tails swayed behind her, "Eat more, store up some tails—I'll use them to help my master fight later."

Little Red Riding Hood: "…?"

What the hell is all this?!

She suddenly began doubting whether her own comprehension was broken, feeling as if No. 66 Wutong Road operated under a worldview utterly alien to the normal world—everything looked normal, everything sounded normal, yet everything felt deeply wrong.

Just then, Yu Sheng's voice broke in again, interrupting Little Red Riding Hood's thoughts: "By the way, I invited you here today because I have something I'd like to ask you."

"Ah… ah?" Little Red Riding Hood took half a beat to react, gazing at Yu Sheng with a dazed look.

Yu Sheng didn't wonder why she reacted that way and asked directly: "How do you usually work as a 'Spirit World Detective'? Or, what should one pay attention to when being a Spirit World Detective?"

"Work? Most of the time I take freelance jobs from the Special Tasks Bureau; sometimes other organizations or individuals reach out, but those are unstable," Little Red Riding Hood replied casually, "Most Spirit World Detectives get their main assignments from the Special Tasks Bureau or its subcontractors—after all, they're an official organization, well-informed, and many assignments are centralized through them—look at this."

As she spoke, she pulled out her phone, tapped a few times, and showed it to Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng leaned in curiously and saw a long string of chat interfaces on the screen.

More than half the chat avatars bore a uniform logo with Special Tasks Bureau annotations.

"It's a dedicated platform built by the Special Tasks Bureau—any Spirit World Detective or independent investigator can use it. We use it to exchange intel, chat, gossip, and public assignments are posted here too. The official name is 'Border Communications,' but many just call it 'Didi Work'…"

Yu Sheng listened in amazement, wanting to look closer at the screen, but Little Red Riding Hood had already put her phone away.

"Technically, this shouldn't be shown to outsiders—it's confidential for ordinary people—but you're not a Spirit World Detective or investigator, yet you're not ordinary either, so I'll let you see it. As for what you should watch out for in this line of work…"

Little Red Riding Hood paused, a teasing glint in her eyes: "Everyone has their own habits. If you insist on a common 'framework,' there are only two: First, don't disrupt the order of the Borderlands; second, try to stay alive—if you absolutely can't manage the second, at least die in a 'shallow' place so the corpse collectors won't have it too hard."

She suddenly looked puzzled, studying Yu Sheng's eyes: "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

Yu Sheng looked perfectly calm: "Oh, we might soon be colleagues."

Little Red Riding Hood: "…?"

…

After dinner, Little Red Riding Hood left.

"I feel like her expression was weird when she left," Elin sat on the table, muttering as she watched Yu Sheng clear the dishes, "Like she was completely dazed…"

"High schoolers are under a lot of pressure—it's normal, especially since they often work part-time jobs during holidays—look at her phone screen, it's cracked; her living conditions are probably pretty bad," Yu Sheng wiped the table, speaking casually, "That's why I invited her over for dinner—to help her relax."

"Really?" Elin looked skeptical, "I feel like she seemed even more tense leaving than when she arrived…"

"That's your imagination," Yu Sheng waved his hand, "You have to believe me—I understand humans better than anyone. Besides, I was a high schooler too. If I invite her over more often, she'll be fine—guaranteed."

"Yes… yes?"

By then, Yu Sheng had finished clearing the table. After handing the bowls and chopsticks to Hu Li, who volunteered to wash them, he let out a long breath and prepared to get down to business.

"I'm going to open a door."

Elin, who had just climbed down from the table to head to the living room to watch TV, turned back: "Huh? Where are you going?"

"To take another look at that valley."

Elin fell straight off the table leg, landing with a thud, her body and painting smacking the floor.

"Did you run out of meat from the fridge?!" The little doll scrambled up, staring at Yu Sheng in horror, "Are you going to restock?!"

"No," Yu Sheng quickly waved his hands, "It's because of what the 'Director' who came to see me today said—it got me thinking."

He told Elin what Baili Qing had specifically mentioned before leaving.

The doll lady frowned as she listened: "Could it be a trap… luring you into a minefield or something? Big shots who suddenly start rambling at you always do this—I've seen it on TV."

"Then watch less TV," Yu Sheng rolled his eyes, "Besides, even if she has other plans, I'm still going to take a look at that valley."

Erin continued to frown: "Why?"

"There's something I want to investigate again; I left too hastily back then," Yu Sheng said very seriously. "Don't be so nervous. I can always come back. Now that the passage is stable, if something feels off, I can withdraw immediately."

"Then... alright," Erin thought for a moment and reluctantly felt reassured. "Should I tell Hu Li about this? She might worry."

"I'm just going over there to check the situation; it shouldn't take long. If she comes out asking, just tell her I'll be back soon," Yu Sheng said, already reaching out into the air. A illusory great door opened in his hand. "But I estimate I'll be out before she finishes washing the dishes, after all, it's just a quick look."

Speaking of this, he suddenly stopped, turning back to glance at the door he had opened.

"... Shouldn't I have informed the Special Operations Bureau in advance?"

"You only remembered after opening the door? Get in there quickly! The complaint call will be coming in soon! Go, go, I'll wait for you here."

(End of this chapter)