Chapter 90: A Job Has Come

Yu Sheng thought carefully and felt that taking all those towels, basins, and drink bottles from home to the Special Bureau for appraisal seemed unwise—setting aside whether the Special Bureau would even be willing, just hauling this pile of junk into the "Curio Collection Market" would likely be suspected of disrupting market order; it was already a niche circle, and if he casually flipped a few things from his room, it might shock the entire year's trading volume.

But his restless and agile train of thought did not cool down completely due to this rationality; instead, it shifted into even more serious contemplation.

Erin looked up at Yu Sheng, her small doll face full of suspicion: "Are you still planning to flip junk to sell?"

"Little Red Riding Hood said we must at least sell something that looks mysterious and has 'atmosphere'," Yu Sheng waved his hand, "because many collectors are those 'well-informed' ordinary people who know things about the supernatural realm; they acquire these items mainly out of a love for the occult and as capital for mutual bragging..."

Erin sighed: "So sometimes I really can't understand humans; many have no ability yet love to court death—isn't it better to be an ordinary person who sees neither the Otherworld nor entities? At least you can live a stable life, yet you insist on being interested in things from the 'other side of the world,' thinking that learning a couple of safety measures is enough. Never mind whether those blindly devised safety measures are useful, there might be dangerous items among these things brought out from the Otherworld."

"Anyway, even the Special Bureau hasn't banned this," Yu Sheng shrugged, "items that can be appraised by them and then enter market circulation basically pose no danger; truly bizarre things are locked away in the Special Bureau's containment warehouses—that's what the Border Communications Data Encyclopedia says."

As soon as he finished speaking, his phone suddenly vibrated again; Little Red Riding Hood had sent a new message.

"If you want to earn some 'side income,' I actually have a job; are you willing to help?"

Yu Sheng was stunned for a moment, then immediately replied: "What job?"

"A commission from the Curio Association; I originally turned it down because it carried some risk and uncertain returns, and most importantly, I was short on manpower. But if you can come to help—bring that exceptionally capable fox—this commission would be very suitable. You can familiarize yourself with the 'working methods' of a true Spirit Realm detective, split half the commission, and most importantly: if you really encounter a situation you can't fight, you can just take me and run."

A while later, Yu Sheng saw a new message pop up on the screen: "The specific task is to find something inside the 'Museum'; successfully bringing it out counts as success. If you are interested, I will send you the 'Museum' data, along with the specific reward."

Yu Sheng instinctively exchanged a glance with Erin (the fox nearby was still busy gnawing a chicken leg and had no idea what was happening); each saw a hint of eagerness in the other's eyes.

A job has come!

Of course, what Yu Sheng thought of at this moment included not only the words "commission" and "reward"; more importantly, there was one point: the opportunity to access more of the Otherworld, learn more about matters related to the "supernatural realm," and accumulate more knowledge!

To him, the weight of this knowledge even surpassed any reward—because who knows, perhaps one piece of intelligence related to the Otherworld would help him find that door leading back to his homeland!

"Send it over and let me see!" He replied to the message very quickly.

Little Red Riding Hood wasted no words, directly forwarding a long string of data, followed by a string of numbers representing the reward.

When Yu Sheng saw that string of numbers, he was instantly stunned.

"So much?"

"We split it fifty-fifty," Little Red Riding Hood explained. "Entering the Otherworld is a dangerous endeavor, so the rewards for this line of work must naturally be higher; however, our costs are correspondingly far from low. Setting aside equipment wear and tear during operations, just the potions required for replenishment each time—such as Sanity Blockers, Nebulized Inhalers, and Inducers—are all expensive. These must be paid out of pocket, and after deducting them from our earnings, what actually ends up in your hands isn't that much."

Yu Sheng stared blankly at the string of messages Little Red Riding Hood sent, held back for a long time, and finally asked: "What are the Sanity Blockers, Nebulized Inhalers, and those Inducers you mentioned?"

After this message was sent, Little Red Riding Hood suddenly fell silent.

Yu Sheng waited a long time before finally seeing the other party's reply pop up on the screen, which began with a string of exclamation marks.

"!!!!!! You triggered a bug again! I'm so envious of you!!"

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, looked down at Erin, and asked: "What does she mean?"

"I don't know," Erin scratched her head, "probably envious of your open-mindedness?"

"I don't think so..."

Yu Sheng muttered, and then saw a new message pop up on the screen: "I just contacted the Curio Association's client; the other party agreed to reassign this job, but the time requirement is very tight; the latest it can be is midnight tomorrow night. If you have time, it's best to set off tonight."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, felt that since there was nothing to do at home anyway, and Hu Li had eaten so much and needed to go out to digest, so he replied quickly: "Okay, then tonight."

"I'll send you the address; come as soon as possible."

Putting away his phone, Yu Sheng exhaled lightly, then looked at the fox Miss who had just chewed up and swallowed the chicken bones and was seriously licking her fingers.

He reached out and patted the other's tail: "Hu Li, change clothes, get ready to go out with me."

Hu Li looked completely bewildered: "Huh? Benefactor, what are we going to do?"

"'The Inn' has a job," Yu Sheng smiled, looking eager, "let's go out on an adventure with me."

"Okay!"

A moment later, Yu Sheng walked out of his home, while Hu Li, clutching the now-lusterless Erin, followed closely behind him.

The three of them stood on the empty ground in front of No. 66 Wutong Road, facing the night breeze, gazing at the city district in the night sky.

After a while, Erin suddenly blurted out: "How are we getting there?"

"Shall I take you?" Hu Li looked at Yu Sheng, her eyes shining brightly in the night; although she had been a bit dazed before leaving, she now seemed excited too, "Benefactor, just point me in the direction~"

A scene flashed through Yu Sheng's mind, and he shook his head repeatedly: "No way; a rocket-boosted fox subsonically soaring over the city district in the middle of the night—I don't even know how the news in Jie City will write about it the next day. Let's just call a car."

Erin shifted slightly: "... For the first mission of a proper supernatural organization, the three of us are squeezing into a ride-hailing car?"

"This is the startup phase..." Yu Sheng also felt a bit subtle, "We'll need to get a car later, once we have money. But then again, the three of us aren't that crowded; you don't take up much space anyway."

Erin cursed very harshly.

Yu Sheng could now very skillfully treat Erin's chatter as background noise; he directly blocked the doll's nagging, brought Hu Li to the street corner, took out his phone, and called a car.

—The reason for not calling a car at the door was to worry about a recurrence of the "locksmith" situation.

Hu Li curiously watched Yu Sheng's actions with his hands; after a long while, she pointed at Yu Sheng's phone and sighed: "Benefactor's magic treasure seems very convenient; it can do everything."

"Don't you have anything similar to this?" Yu Sheng asked curiously; he felt that Hu Li's hometown civilization level was so high, it shouldn't be that they didn't even have such personal information devices.

"We do," Hu Li indeed nodded, but immediately added, "but children aren't allowed to play with them; it's feared to affect cultivation. Mother is generous, allowing me to play for half a shichen each day, but still, more than half the functions cannot be used..."

Yu Sheng: "..."

What the hell, even a cyber-cultivating fox has to face minor anti-addiction measures?!

"I'll reset that old phone I changed out and give it to you later," Yu Sheng mused internally, then said casually, "It might not be as high-level as the 'magic treasure' you used when you were young, but it should be enough to entertain you, and you can also use it to understand this world in daily life."

Hu Li's eyes immediately lit up: "Thank you, Benefactor!"

"Hey! Just for her?" Erin instantly became dissatisfied, "I want one too..."

Yu Sheng glanced at her: "With your size, can you even handle a phone? Even answering a call would be hard; can your mouth and ears simultaneously reach the microphone and earpiece?"

"How can I not? I can even use your laptop!" Erin argued convincingly, "I'll hold it with both hands!"

She shouldn't have mentioned it; once she did, Yu Sheng's forehead bulged with veins: "You still dare to mention using my computer—I haven't forgotten about the account issue!"

Erin's tone suddenly softened: "Didn't you already hang me on the clothesline for half an hour? That should even it out—and besides, the ban was only twelve hours in total..."

Yu Sheng opened his mouth, just about to say something else, when a light from a distant intersection suddenly cut off his intended words.

The car called on the phone had arrived.

He and Hu Li simultaneously looked in the direction from which the car sound came.

A shivering little cart came into their view.

Erin: "This cart... isn't it a bit too shabby? It looks like it's about to be scrapped."

Yu Sheng watched the cart hit the speed bump; with every clatter, he feared the bumper would fall off. He picked up his phone and checked the ride-hailing license plate number again, confirming this was indeed the car he had called. His expression began to crack: "It is a bit old, but it shouldn't be at the scrap stage yet."

As he spoke, that little cart, looking as if it had changed hands seven times, came to a creaking halt right before him.

To be honest, the moment it stopped, Yu Sheng seriously wondered whether it had braked normally or simply broken down...

Then he saw the driver's window roll down, and a familiar face appeared before his eyes.

Xu Jiali's face.

"It's you guys?"

The two-meter-tall burly man huddled in the driver's seat looked utterly surprised.

(End of this chapter)