Chapter 83: The ID Card Handler Has Arrived

Morning. Bright sunshine, clear sky, sparse clouds.

In the living room, a boring urban variety show played on the TV; Erin hugged the remote, watching with relish, while Hu Lizheng licked bowls clean in the dining area, simultaneously using a pile of tails to tidy the dishes and chopsticks on the table.

Yu Sheng placed his laptop on the dining table and had been staring at it ever since finishing his meal, completely focused.

Hu Lizheng was curious about what his "Benefactor" was doing, but seeing Yu Sheng so serious, he didn't dare speak up to disturb him; he only occasionally tilted his head over for a glance while clearing the table, and upon finding he couldn't understand anything, he would turn back to busy himself with other tasks.

Just like that, until Hu Lizheng ran to the kitchen to finish washing the dishes, Yu Sheng was still staring intently at the screen, while Erin strolled over from the living room—she wasn't as polite as Hu Lizheng; seeing Yu Sheng staring at the computer busy with something unknown, she immediately trotted over with a pitter-patter, grabbed Yu Sheng's trousers, and started climbing up: "Hey, hey, what are you busy with? Can I take a look?"

Yu Sheng casually lifted Erin by the scruff of her neck and placed her on the dining table: "Don't make trouble, I need to write something."

"... Write something?" Erin was instantly bewildered, "Why?"

"... My job, I'm a writer," Yu Sheng didn't even lift his head, merely sweeping a glance at the doll from the corner of his eye, "You don't think I'm an unemployed loafer, do you? I have a legitimate livelihood."

Erin listened, stunned step by step, a look of surprise gradually appearing on the little doll's face; she had probably never considered such complex issues as Yu Sheng needing to work or where the family's money came from, and now she wore an expression as if the doors to a new world had just swung open.

Yu Sheng paid no attention to Erin's reaction, continuing instead: "Expenses have been a bit high lately; we've acquired quite a few things for the house, plus I owe two manuscripts to someone for over half a month now, so I need to make them up quickly—don't make trouble, go watch TV obediently."

Erin stood with her mouth agape for a long while, then suddenly realized something, shuffled from the table edge to under Yu Sheng's arm, and peeked over: "But you're clearly browsing a video website..."

Yu Sheng kept a straight face: "... This is a necessary preparatory process before breaking through my train of thought."

The little doll raised her hand and pointed at the screen: "But you also have a forum page open behind the video website."

Yu Sheng continued striving to keep a straight face, though his eyes grew slightly awkward: "Reading other people's articles has benefits too—forums like this often feature highly creative ideas; there's no harm in looking to spark some inspiration, right?"

Erin looked up: "But you haven't even opened a document..."

"So much nonsense!" Yu Sheng finally couldn't keep it up; he picked Erin up and set her on the floor, "Have you ever written anything? This stuff relies heavily on professionalism; the thinking and accumulation before putting pen to paper are the main part..."

Standing beside the table leg, Erin planted her hands on her hips, looked up, and spoke with righteous confidence: "Then when are you going to start writing?"

Yu Sheng glared: "I'll start writing once you stop making trouble."

The Young Lady doll pursed her lips, turned around, and walked toward the living room, muttering as she went: "Tsk, a procrastinator with so many excuses..."

Yu Sheng thought about it and felt the little one was right—then he withdrew his gaze and continued staring at the videos on the computer screen, his mind going blank.

He was a writer—of course, that was a more dignified way of putting it; plainly speaking, he was just a second-rate minor author.

This was also one of the few commonalities between his "hometown life" in memory and his life in this Border City: he had always done this, from that quiet coastal small town to this vast, unfamiliar city, and the means by which he earned his living had not changed much, which could be considered an extremely fortunate thing.

But too many accidents had occurred in recent days; he found he simply couldn't calm his mind enough to write—not that he lacked ideas, but rather that absurd ideas were too numerous, leaving him unsure which could be placed in a story and which might actually point to alien realms, attracting certain unsafe things.

After actually encountering many supernatural things, an author who originally wrote eerie fantasy genres felt especially at a loss.

He sat before the computer with his mind blank; after an unknown amount of time had passed, he finally took a deep breath and quickly closed the video website and forum pages.

Yu Sheng, oh Yu Sheng, you should pull yourself together; think of Hu Lizheng's appetite, think of Hu Lizheng's new clothes, think of the materials for making Erin's body—and think of the new TV the Young Lady doll has been longing for.

Where does a bottom-tier typist have so many savings to squander? If I don't write soon, I'll really be eating dirt! Let alone being a Spirit Realm Detective, right now I must first figure out how to feed the people in this house!

So Yu Sheng slapped his face hard, flicked the mouse, and opened a game.

Concentrating thoughts is too exhausting; better to play one match against AI to relax first...

But before he could even start, he felt something bump against his calf—Erin had somehow slipped over from the living room again and was now banging her head against his leg: "Yu Sheng, you're playing a game!"

"Hey, why are you involved in everything!" Yu Sheng immediately felt a bit embarrassed; he bent down, preparing to shoo the doll away, but before he could raise his hand, he suddenly felt a vibration in his pocket, followed by the ringing of his mobile phone.

Pulling out his phone, he saw it was yet another unfamiliar number.

Yu Sheng hesitated for a moment, then answered and held the phone to his ear: "Ah, hello?"

On the other end of the receiver, a very young female voice spoke with a hint of hesitation and panic: "H-hello! Is this Mr. Yu? I was sent by Director Baili Qing! To... to deliver the registration forms to you."

Yu Sheng was startled upon hearing this, but then immediately realized—it was the matter he had mentioned with that "Director" earlier; he had almost forgotten!

"Yes, yes, it's me, there is such a matter," Yu Sheng quickly stood up, setting the issue of Erin aside for the moment, and while continuing the call, looked out the window, "I'm at home; where are you now?"

"I should be right next to your house, but I can't see your building," the voice on the phone sounded very nervous, "The Director told me to call you before coming, but I forgot and only remembered once I got here..."

"Wait a moment, I'll open the door for you."

As Yu Sheng spoke, he walked toward the door; Erin quickly called out behind him: "Hey, who is it! Should I use disguise?"

Hu Lizheng also walked out somewhat nervously: "Do we need to transform?"

"No, no," Yu Sheng waved his hand, "The person who's come to handle your ID cards has arrived."

Before his voice had even faded, he had already reached the door; looking through the peephole, he indeed saw a young lady standing not far outside, holding a mobile phone—dressed in a neat black suit, with short hair, looking around the open ground.

She looked exactly like a clear-eyed temporary worker sent out to work after being screwed over by her boss.

Yu Sheng casually pushed the door open.

The short-haired young lady, who had been looking around the open ground, was instantly startled; then she turned her head and stared blankly at the door that had suddenly appeared not far away, and at Yu Sheng standing in the doorway.

"Mr. Yu!" She came to her senses and quickly took a few small steps running to the door, still clutching a document bag in her hand, "Hello, I'm from the Special Operations Bureau's Second Brigade; just call me Ren Wenwen—may I come in? Later, we'll need to take photos of the registrants and so on... Oh right, here's my ID, please take a look."

While speaking, the young lady hurriedly fished a small black booklet from her pocket and unfolded it.

Yu Sheng swept a glance at it and found its style similar to the IDs previously shown by Li Lin, Xu Jiali, and the others.

Actually, he didn't really need to check the authenticity of the other party's credentials—after all, nowadays, the only ones who knew both his phone number and "66 Wutong Road" were the Special Operations Bureau people and "Little Red Riding Hood."

Oh, and those three locksmiths from before.

"Come in." Yu Sheng stepped aside to let her enter, while also feeling somewhat strange: whether it was an illusion or not, he always felt this young lady calling herself "Ren Wenwen" appeared exceptionally nervous, but it wasn't the same kind of nervousness Li Lin and Xu Jiali had displayed when first entering 66 Wutong Road; rather, it was...

Anyway, he couldn't put it into words.

After Ren Wenwen entered the house, Yu Sheng poked his head out to look again, finding the large area outside the door as empty as ever, so he casually closed the door.

Erin and Hu Lizheng curiously watched this short-haired young lady who had suddenly appeared in their home.

Ren Wenwen also curiously sized up the doll and the fox spirit.

"How does the procedure go?" Yu Sheng walked over; seeing the three people in the living room standing there dazed, he took the initiative to ask, "Do we register them first, or handle my registration process first?"

"F-first register their legal identities," Ren Wenwen only then came to her senses; quickly speaking while pulling forms from her document bag and retrieving portable equipment from the bag on her back, "You want to register an independent team, right? This requires resolving identity issues for every member first. Fill out these two forms first, then I'll take their photos and make cards—I brought the equipment with me; the colleague coordinating from the office is ready, so we can issue cards and record them into the system right here on the spot."

Yu Sheng watched as the other party deftly laid out a pile of items on the table; then the young lady took out two pens, looked up at the little doll (66.6 cm) standing on the table, and at the fox spirit beside her.

"Will you fill these out yourselves?"

Hu Lizheng blinked, glanced at the forms on the table, then looked up at Yu Sheng helplessly.

She did not recognize these characters...

Yu Sheng immediately sighed, stepped forward, and took the brush: "I will fill it out for her."

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(End of Chapter)