Chapter 96: Active Test

"The 'Security Guards' generated within the Museum do not move across zones; we can rest in this corridor for a while," Little Red Riding Hood said to Yu Sheng, looking at the quiet corridor before them. "We must be extra careful when transferring to other areas later. We still don't know exactly how many 'Security Guards' have been generated in the Museum. If they happen to be blocking the White Exhibition Hall... then we're in trouble."

"The key is, how exactly were these 'Security Guards' 'activated'?" Irene jumped down from Yu Sheng, wearing a serious expression as if thinking. "We definitely didn't make any mistakes, but as soon as those guards appeared, they attacked indiscriminately..."

Little Red Riding Hood opened her mouth, seeming to want to say something, yet appearing very hesitant.

Irene asked her directly: "What do you want to say?"

Only then did Little Red Riding Hood speak: "Actually, the most likely explanation is that someone else besides us entered the Museum. They triggered the Museum's 'Clearance' mechanism, but... theoretically, that shouldn't happen. Before coming, I checked, and there were no investigators other than us scheduled to come here tonight..."

Irene thought for a moment: "Perhaps they came secretly? With some undisclosed purpose or something..."

"The possibility is very small," Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. "The Special Operations Bureau has regulations: opening an Otherworld within the Borderland area requires prior notification. Every 'Node' has monitoring functions, forming a massive sensor network. If an Otherworld passage or spacetime rift opens unexpectedly, it will definitely trigger an alarm."

"Ah, that's true, we know that well," Irene nodded without the slightest shame, not knowing if she had really listened, then her eyes darted, and her attention fell on Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng was currently squatting on the floor, picking up a slightly twisted and deformed plastic arm.

This was left by the 'Security Guard' that had lunged and grabbed him at the very last moment of crossing the door. The 'Door' had severed this arm. Probably because it was too far from the main body, this arm had now completely lost its vitality. Like a part fallen from a real plastic mannequin, it lay motionless at this moment.

Yu Sheng curiously observed this 'limb' severed from the entity, then tapped it against the ground, producing a hollow sound.

Plastic. It looked like plastic, felt like plastic. Just didn't know if the texture would be plastic if he took a bite...

As soon as this bizarre thought crossed Yu Sheng's mind, a horrified shout came from the little doll nearby: "Hey! What are you doing, Yu Sheng? That thing is plastic! You can't eat it!"

"Nonsense, of course I know this isn't edible. I'm not that absurd!" Yu Sheng helplessly rolled his eyes at the doll. "Even if this weren't plastic, I wouldn't eat it—after all, those 'Security Guards' are humanoid; I definitely couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm just a bit curious about how these 'Entities' move."

Irene immediately patted her chest: "Good thing, you scared me to death... Let me tell you, I wouldn't be surprised if you actually found a pot and stewed this thing right here. You, the person..."

Yu Sheng wore an expression of helplessness: "Is that the image I have in your mind?"

Little Red Riding Hood watched from the side with a horrified expression.

She wasn't horrified by Irene shouting "This isn't edible," but rather horrifiedly recalling the plate of stir-fried meat she had seen when visiting 66 Wutong Road last time. She even suspected that Yu Sheng had really been considering whether that arm segment was edible—at the very least, he might have considered its texture.

Then she saw Yu Sheng suddenly pull a small knife from his pocket, slice a small cut on his own arm, let out some blood, and smear it onto that plastic arm segment.

A sense of horror and eeriness, completely different from "He's going to eat it," rose from the bottom of her heart. Little Red Riding Hood cried out in shock: "What are you doing?"

"Trying to see if I can grasp some information and establish some advantage," Yu Sheng said casually while carefully smearing the blood. "My blood can establish connections with many things, including Entities—but I just don't know if it still works on this 'limb' that has already been severed."

This time, Irene standing nearby was much calmer. She had long developed resistance to Yu Sheng's level of bizarre operations and even explained to Little Red Riding Hood: "Yu Sheng's blood is very strange. Both Hu Li and I have come into contact with his blood..."

"So seriously, are you really not considering taking a bite?" Yu Sheng turned his head to look at Little Red Riding Hood, extending his arm. "While the wound hasn't healed yet—I'm telling you, my wound healing speed is incredibly fast. If you don't come now, it'll be gone."

Little Red Riding Hood instantly jumped down from the wolf, scurrying backward several steps: "No!"

Immediately, she turned her head to look at Hu Li, who had remained silent the whole time—she intuitively believed this great demon fox was probably the one with the most normal worldview among the "Inn Trio": "Don't you think there's something wrong with this?"

Hu Li, however, only looked at Yu Sheng with an expression of admiration: "The benefactor's immortal arts are profound. The Witch Blood Technique is just like this!"

Little Red Riding Hood looked utterly confused. She didn't know what the "Witch Blood Technique" the other person mentioned was, after all, she was just a Gao Zhongsheng, and so far, she hadn't dealt with many cultivators.

On the other side, Yu Sheng noticed that the blood he had smeared on the plastic arm was being absorbed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Seems to be working," he murmured softly.

"Really works?" Irene immediately rushed over, looking at Yu Sheng with a face full of expectation. "What did you see? What did you see? Did you figure out why those 'Security Guards' suddenly went crazy?"

"The connection just established is vague; I can't probe such complex information yet." While speaking, Yu Sheng waved his hand, signaling the little doll to quiet down, then focused his spirit even more, perceiving the faint connection established by the blood between himself and this "Museum."

He slowly narrowed his eyes, imagining his perception extending into the void, imagining his gaze piercing through this long corridor, through those doors and exhibition halls one by one. Among the countless arranged collections, he sought the source of the arm, seeking... those other auras similar to the source of the arm.

Suddenly, he perceived their existence.

He even felt as if he were standing right among them.

He was wearing a Security Guard uniform, his body crooked and twisted, surrounded by plastic mannequins also wearing Security Guard uniforms.

But this was only a brief illusion. Just like when he had previously perceived the movement of "Hunger," Yu Sheng knew he had mistaken the "information" transmitted through the blood for an extension of his own limbs.

The connection between him and this "Museum" had not yet reached this stage, but if this connection continued to strengthen, whether this feeling would still be an illusion was uncertain. Perhaps just like the "Feast" in that valley back then... he could truly briefly "become" those Security Guards standing in the exhibition halls and corridors.

"Most of the 'Security Guards' are concentrated in this direction, two intersections away from us," Yu Sheng suddenly opened his eyes, pointing his finger toward a certain direction on the side of the corridor. "Right now, they are all stationary, as if they haven't received further movement orders. Additionally, there are a few scattered ones distributed in several distant exhibition halls; they all seem to have no tendency to act proactively."

Little Red Riding Hood widened her eyes slightly, her face full of disbelief.

This was the first time she had understood Yu Sheng's ability so intuitively—last time, the "fighting side by side" in the Night Valley was more like a chaotic hand-hold; the information she had perceived then was indeed limited.

Of course, she immediately realized how useful this ability truly was.

Just one contact, just finding an opportunity to "implant" her blood into the target's body, and a stable "sensing" could be established. Being able to grasp the information of Entities in the Otherworld in advance, knowing their current positions and states... The significance of this for Spirit World Detectives and Investigators was self-evident!

And immediately, Little Red Riding Hood thought of a second question: Does this ability work on humans as well?

For some reason, she suddenly recalled Yu Sheng's invitation to "take a bite."

The young girl felt a bit creepy all over, quickly controlling the wild thoughts in her mind, shaking her head while speaking rapidly: "In that case, we can avoid direct contact with those 'Entities'... Can you only perceive the positions of those 'Security Guards'? Can you also perceive the situations in various exhibition halls? Like, find the White Exhibition Hall..."

"No," Yu Sheng shook his head. "The connection is still very shallow, and it is mainly established with the 'Security Guards.' Regarding the structure of the Museum itself, I can perceive almost nothing at present."

While speaking, he sliced another small cut on his arm (the previous one had already healed) and, with an experimental mindset, evenly smeared his blood on the nearby walls and floor.

The fresh blood quickly seeped into the floor tiles and wall plaster, but Yu Sheng felt almost no change.

"Probably the amount isn't enough," he said very seriously. "I reckon I'd have to smear myself all over this place three or four times..."

The expression on Little Red Riding Hood's face instantly became more than just horrified.

Fortunately, Yu Sheng noticed the change in the young girl's expression in time and, with common sense, judged why the other person looked like they had seen a ghost. He quickly waved his hands: "Just kidding, just kidding. I have a strong spirit of exploration."

Little Red Riding Hood: "..."

Is the spirit of exploration used like that?!

(End of Chapter)