Chapter 113 – Compensation

Chapter 113 – Compensation

The Special Operations Bureau would send people over—Yu Sheng had known this for a long time. Just based on Little Red Riding Hood’s report about Angel Cult members appearing in the museum, the Bureau would definitely come to confirm the intelligence with him, the “special party involved,” at the first opportunity. And the ones most likely to be sent were Li Lin and Xu Jiali, who had at least some rapport with him.

What Yu Sheng hadn’t expected was that more than just those two came—the captain of the Second Squad, Song Cheng, was here too.

In the living room of No. 66 Wutong Road, Yu Sheng studied the burly man before him with some curiosity. The action squad captain gave off an air of seasoned reliability—he was a middle-aged man with short black hair and slightly dark skin. A scar was faintly visible below his neck. He wore a plain black jacket over a white dress shirt, the contours of his arm muscles vaguely discernible beneath the jacket. While his build wasn’t as exaggerated as Xu Jiali’s, he was clearly someone who’d come up through frontline combat.

With their leader present, Li Lin and Xu Jiali sat on the adjacent sofa looking somewhat stiff.

At the same time, Song Cheng was also curiously surveying the place.

This was his first time visiting this hidden Otherworld—No. 66 Wutong Road, currently one of the most mysterious locations in the Borderland.

It gave him the impression of a perfectly ordinary residence. Everything looked completely normal—furniture and appliances were all present and accounted for, and every single item fit the current “social backdrop” of the Borderland with remarkable precision. Not too new, not too old—whatever a middle-class household should look like, that’s exactly what this place looked like.

This actually didn’t match his experience at all.

The Borderland wasn’t without Otherworlds that resembled “residences.” He was familiar with the Dim Cottage, Dormitory 404, and the elusive “Apartment No. 6” that appeared and disappeared along the city’s outskirts. These Otherworlds all closely resembled normal dwellings on the surface—first-time visitors might even relax, thinking they’d merely entered a harmless empty house. But in reality, such Otherworlds always contained obvious points of incongruity with reality. These were usually objects that didn’t match the overall time period, or things placed in the wrong locations.

Like a brass oil lamp sitting next to an electric light. Like a clepsydra placed on a windowsill. Or a window set into the floor—giving the impression that something inhuman was desperately trying to imitate a “human” dwelling, succeeding in most areas but accidentally revealing a flawed understanding of human implements in the details.

But not here. At least as far as the eye could see, everything at No. 66 Wutong Road perfectly aligned with Song Cheng’s human “common sense.”

…Of course, that was on the condition of ignoring the two dolls currently sitting on the coffee table watching television, and the fox earnestly combing her own tail.

Just then, Yu Sheng’s voice broke the slightly awkward silence in the living room: “So, uh… want some tea?”

“Oh, no need for the trouble, water’s fine for us,” Song Cheng quickly looked away. He wore a smile as he first apologized to Yu Sheng. “Sorry for the sudden visit—it’s mainly because this involves the Twilight Angel. There’s certain intelligence that requires my on-site authorization before it can be disclosed to third parties.”

Yu Sheng waved his hand. “No worries at all. I’ve actually been quite curious about what kind of person the ‘captain’ that Li Lin and the others always mention is. A pleasure to meet you.”

The two Eileens sitting on the coffee table watching TV heard the polite chatter from the sofa, turned their heads, and quipped: “Human socializing is so tedious.”

The two dolls spoke in perfect unison, sounding like an echo.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Song Cheng finally couldn’t hold back, raising his hand to point at Eileen. “Didn’t the intelligence say… there was only one?”

Li Lin and Xu Jiali were also looking at Yu Sheng, appearing thoroughly bewildered.

When Yu Sheng had opened the door to let them in earlier, the two of them had seen two Eileens strolling around the living room and had momentarily thought they were hallucinating.

“There was a little hiccup, and the quantity increased,” Yu Sheng said, rubbing his hands together somewhat awkwardly. “Just think of it as a research achievement between Eileen and me.”

Li Lin’s expression went blank, and as if possessed, he blurted out: “So in the future… will there be more?”

Yu Sheng thought about it and nodded quite seriously. “Possibly.”

Li Lin froze for a moment but didn’t feel comfortable pressing further, because he could tell Yu Sheng didn’t seem eager to explain the principle behind it.

Song Cheng, meanwhile, felt something was oddly off about this conversation. He couldn’t even comprehend how such a bizarre exchange could proceed so naturally…

But he hadn’t forgotten the business at hand.

“I’m here for two things. One is regarding Little Red Riding Hood’s report about Angel Cult members appearing in the Otherworld museum—I need to confirm some details with you. The other is to deliver something.” As he spoke, he gestured for Xu Jiali to open the briefcase she’d brought along. She placed a document envelope on the coffee table. “These are the complete set of legal registration documents and qualification certificates for the ‘Inn.’ Take a look, and feel free to ask me if anything’s unclear.”

The registration documents for the “Inn” as a legal organization! Yu Sheng had almost forgotten about this. His eyes lit up immediately, and he grabbed the document envelope. One of the Eileens sitting on the coffee table instantly scooted over (the other was still engrossed in the TV), and together they unpacked its contents.

First was a registration certificate in a bi-fold format with a black cover. Printed on it in solemn, deep red were the circular emblem of the Borderland Council and the diamond-shaped emblem of the Special Operations Bureau. Opening it revealed the lodge’s basic registration information, including registered address, registration date, business type, name, and other details. The large characters reading “Inn” in the center of the certificate made Yu Sheng feel remarkably reassured.

Then there was a copy of the registration certificate, along with two small black devices that looked like USB drives.

“These two are your digital data drives, and they also have a special version of the ‘Frontier Communications’ program built in,” Song Cheng explained from the side. “Plug them into any internet-connected computer, and that computer will temporarily gain access to the Special Operations Bureau’s information platform. You can log into Frontier Communications just like on your specialized phone. They have a built-in public account for the ‘Inn’—the account cannot be modified or deactivated. The devices have their own security measures, so there’s no need to worry about data leaks or tampering. Unplugging them automatically clears all access records. Additionally, if severely damaged, they’ll automatically send an alert to the Special Operations Bureau and transmit the coordinates from the moment before destruction.”

“…That impressive?” Yu Sheng looked at the two unassuming little devices with some surprise. While he wasn’t particularly tech-savvy, hearing Song Cheng’s description, he instinctively felt these things were on a completely different level from any electronics he’d encountered before. If he had to describe it… they had a bit of a sci-fi vibe.

“The Bureau’s technology is trustworthy—most of the time,” Song Cheng said with a faint smile. “So in extreme situations, these can also be used as one-time emergency beacons.”

Yu Sheng’s face lit up with curiosity. “If one of these broke inside this house, could it still transmit coordinates back?”

Song Cheng’s smile stiffened slightly, but he actually managed to recover: “That’s why I said most of the time…”

Yu Sheng laughed, casually put the items away, then thought for a moment and waved over the fox who was combing her tail nearby. He handed her one of the digital data drives. “Keep this in your tail as a safety backup.”

Hu Li gave a little “oh” and stuffed the small device into her tail, then wandered back to continue grooming.

“Don’t forget to sweep the floor when you’re done,” Yu Sheng reminded her when he saw this. “Don’t get fur everywhere.”

“Mm-hm!”

Song Cheng’s smile continued to be frozen in place. After a long moment, he managed: “…Where did she just put that!?”

“I figured the report you received definitely didn’t include that detail,” Yu Sheng said with a grin. “Hu Li has all sorts of strange abilities. You’ll get to know them in time—but for now, let’s talk about what happened at the museum.”

“We’ve already launched a manhunt. We’re currently using technical methods to screen suspects among the active population in the south district. All exit routes from the Borderland have been checkpointed. As long as those two cultists are still operating in Boundary City, catching them is only a matter of time,” Song Cheng quickly composed his expression and began speaking. “The key intelligence you provided was extremely important—in fact, in all my years at the Bureau, I’ve rarely obtained such detailed suspect intelligence this early in an incident.”

Xu Jiali chimed in from the side: “Angel Cult members have always been elusive and almost never leave witnesses alive. They’ve always been incredibly difficult to catch—the agents handling this case are saying this is a once-in-a-lifetime easy win.”

“Well, they didn’t leave any survivors this time either,” Yu Sheng said casually. “It’s just that the dead decided to speak up.”

Song Cheng’s expression shifted slightly. Then he looked at Yu Sheng with great solemnity. “That’s exactly what I wanted to bring up—regarding your ability to speak with the deceased, as well as the various other capabilities the ‘Inn’ has demonstrated, the Special Operations Bureau hopes for more cooperation going forward.”

As he spoke, he pulled a thick envelope from his bag and placed it on the coffee table.

Yu Sheng was startled for a moment, then quickly guessed what it was.

He opened it and glanced inside, his face showing some surprise. “A bonus? A reward for the tip-off? That’s quite generous.”

“It’s compensation for assisting in the capture of Angel Cult members. Although no one’s been caught yet, the help you’ve provided has far exceeded that of an ordinary informant,” Song Cheng said with utmost seriousness. “All forms of cooperation with the Special Operations Bureau come with corresponding compensation. You’ve only recently become a Spirit Detective, so you might not be familiar with this yet—when it comes to dangerous targets like Angel Cult members, the Bureau’s budget has always been very generous.”

Yu Sheng wasn’t really paying attention to the specifics of what Song Cheng was saying—at this moment, his mind was entirely occupied with the thought that Eileen’s new television was finally within reach.

And Hu Li’s chicken drumsticks, along with his whole pile of “plans.”

This gig paid way faster than writing books!