Chapter 94: Security

Yu Guang suddenly gained a completely new understanding of the "peace" in the worldview of these Spirit Realm detectives and investigators in the borderlands.

How can such an evil and bizarre place be called "peace"?

But after briefly recalling the valley he had seen earlier, he suddenly felt that Little Red Riding Hood's phrasing wasn't entirely wrong—the "Museum" was strange, yes, but at least it was merely strange; it had a set of rules that allowed safe movement, and as long as you followed them, nothing bad would happen. Yet in that valley, there was a tangible entity that would relentlessly hunt and kill anyone, no matter how strictly they followed the rules, and lethal dangers permeated the entire alien realm; from the perspective of lethality, the latter was clearly far more hostile.

The most important criterion distinguishing Level Two danger from Level Three danger is whether the lethal factors within the environment can be avoided by following rules; the lethality of alien realms and entities at Level Three and above is unconditional.

"The object we're looking for is a statue called 'The Sorrower,' a small statue whose dimensions fluctuate between fifteen and twenty-five centimeters," Little Red Riding Hood whispered to Yu Guang and Hu Li as she carefully observed the corridor, "The statue depicts a woman with her face covered, weeping, in a half-figure form with abstract lines and a hollowed-back design. Normally, this small statue is placed alone in a white hall, the only exhibit, with no guards around—so as long as we find the white hall, retrieving the statue will be relatively easy."

Yu Guang walked beside Little Red Riding Hood, curiously observing the "Museum," and asked casually: "I have a question—what does the Curio Association want this thing for?"

"Who knows? Either some collector paid a huge sum to commission the Curio Association, and they outsourced it to us, or the Association itself wants it for research," Little Red Riding Hood replied offhandedly, "The Museum is one of the few alien realms that can continuously 'produce' collectibles, and many of its outputs possess high artistic value… I don't understand art, but plenty of wealthy people are obsessed with its harmless collections. And it's not just art—sometimes it also yields mysterious antiques and mechanical exhibits, which seem to display a fabricated civilization to 'visitors,' offering high research value, so some scholars collect them."

Yu Guang nodded thoughtfully, then turned to glance back at the direction he had come from.

"What are you thinking about?" Little Red Riding Hood asked.

"I'm thinking about the previous 'Stage,' the invisible audience clapping, and even earlier, the ticket window," Yu Guang voiced his doubt, "Those were clearly part of the 'anomalous phenomena,' so shouldn't the entire 'Theater' be part of the alien realm, and 'Museum Night' just a segment of the 'Theater'?"

"You've hit the key point," Little Red Riding Hood smiled slightly, "Indeed, the Theater is the origin of all anomalous phenomena here—but the 'Theater' isn't a complete alien realm; it's merely an entrance. An alien realm must have its own complete spatiotemporal structure and closed-loop rules; the rules governing movement within the Museum don't apply during the Theater phase, so they can't be conflated. Also…"

Little Red Riding Hood paused, then turned her head: "Let me tell you another piece of intelligence: the 'entrance' known as the Theater doesn't connect to just the Museum."

Yu Guang raised an eyebrow: "Not just the Museum?"

"During sunset hours, it's the night show—the Theater's stage leads to 'Museum Night.' But during daytime, another ticket window opens, and the day show's stage leads to 'The Manor Mystery,' a far more dangerous place where an active hunter known as 'Suspect No. 0' pursues and kills 'performers,' and its power is extremely strong."

"How does it compare to 'Hunger'?"

"... It certainly can't match 'Hunger' after being influenced by the Obscure Angel, but that thing's abilities are bizarre—how dangerous exactly… I've never encountered it."

"Oh."

Yu Guang walked alongside Little Red Riding Hood through the Museum, absorbing various knowledge about alien realms with curiosity, while Ailin sat quietly on his shoulder, unusually silent and listening with exceptional focus.

Hu Li, meanwhile, continuously observed her surroundings with caution, her fluffy ears occasionally swiveling sharply toward a direction, meticulously listening for any rustle within the Museum.

"Master, that painting ahead… it's making a sound."

She suddenly lowered her voice and tugged at Yu Guang's sleeve.

Yu Guang and Little Red Riding Hood immediately stopped.

A faint, muffled breathing sound emanated from the oil painting ahead.

The painting depicted a lion pierced through the forehead by a sharp sword; at the edge of the scene, a gloved hand appeared, as if it had just moments before forcefully hurled the blade.

The breathing came from the perspective of the sword-thrower—and as Yu Guang and the others noticed the painting, the breathing instantly grew louder, clearer, as if a real person stood just outside the unseen "frame" of the painting, gasping heavily after slaying the lion.

"Avoid this area, follow the wall," Little Red Riding Hood immediately whispered, leading Yu Guang and the others around the artifact emitting the breathing.

The breathing gradually faded away.

They passed through this hall and, in a corridor lined with many doors, Yu Guang cautiously opened one.

"Red Room," he stepped back and told Little Red Riding Hood.

"Skip this one, go to the next door."

Yu Guang nodded, walked a few more meters, and opened another door.

On the other side was a completely empty hall, brightly lit in sky blue, with only a plaque column near the entrance listing the exhibit's details:

"My Friend and My Endless Wealth," Creator: Fang Wen.

Below the plaque was a comment: This is a sorrowful work, infused with the creator's lifelong contemplation and insight.

Yu Guang stared at the plaque for a moment, stunned for several seconds, then turned to Little Red Riding Hood: "... Does this Museum have a sense of humor?"

"The humor comes from those the Museum has 'eaten'—their 'final works' sometimes carry absurd, self-mocking absurdity, but no one knows their state when leaving these works, nor whether they truly completed these 'creations' with rationality," Little Red Riding Hood shook her head, "Ultimately, the Museum itself doesn't think—it merely clumsily and distortsly imitates human-run facilities and operates according to its own rules."

As she spoke, she lifted her head toward the opposite end of the hall displaying nothing but air, where an exit lay.

"Go through here—the Museum's exhibition halls and corridors are mostly repetitive and randomly generated upon each entry; there's no need to memorize routes, but its actual scope is limited. As long as you keep following the rules and moving to the next area, you'll eventually reach the hall holding 'The Sorrower,' assuming you're not too unlucky."

Yu Guang nodded and stepped forward with Hu Li.

But just as he was about to cross the center of the hall, a sudden, stiff, monotonous footstep echoed from the opposite corridor, halting him in his tracks.

The next moment, he saw several swaying figures.

They were several plastic mannequins clad in security uniforms, their smooth faces bearing rigid, eerie features, shuffling forward with stiff, absurd steps from the corridor opposite into the hall.

Hu Li's tail and ear fur instantly bristled.

"It's 'Security'!" Little Red Riding Hood whispered in shock, "Why did Security suddenly generate…"

But the next second she calmed down, inching closer to Yu Guang while whispering: "Don't retreat, don't make suspicious moves—Security is an aggressive entity, but it follows rules. We haven't violated the Museum's 'management order' since entering, so these things shouldn't actively attack…"

Before she finished speaking, Yu Guang's peripheral vision caught one of the plastic mannequins in the corridor suddenly raising its hand—it mimed blowing a whistle—and the next instant, a piercing, shrill whistle shattered the entire hall!

All the "Security" units moved at once, charging toward the group with inhuman speed and ferocity.

"Fuck—"

Yu Guang barely shouted before lunging sideways, landing and instantly kicking one plastic mannequin with all his strength—only to hear a deafening clang of metal striking stone.

The mannequin was severed at the waist, but Yu Guang's own leg throbbed painfully from the massive recoil.

"This thing is insanely hard! It's like it's made of fucking stone!"

Yu Guang couldn't help shouting, and almost simultaneously, thick black threads erupted from the tiny doll on his shoulder, tightly binding another "Security" unit mid-air as it charged out of the corridor.

Hu Li lunged viciously, tearing the temporarily immobilized "Security" apart with her bare hands, then spun and smashed its head clean off with a single tail strike.

But the next second, the shattered plastic fragments on the ground violently trembled, their limb pieces writhing like blocks, rapidly reassembling into a complete "Security" unit that charged forward again.

More footsteps echoed from the corridor direction, and more swaying figures appeared in Yu Guang's peripheral vision.

(End of Chapter)