Accompanied by the opening of a magical door, Yu Sheng returned once more to the living room of No. 66 Wutong Road.

The distant sound of a baby's crying faded away, and the warm, bright light and familiar home scenery instantly dispelled the oppressive cold brought by the dark forest. Yu Sheng instinctively took a deep breath to soothe his somewhat tense emotions.

Hu Li couldn't help but glance back in the direction where the door disappeared, a bit worried: "Is it okay to leave the squirrel there like that?"

"I can't just bring it out," Yu Sheng shook his head. "The squirrel entered the Black Forest many, many years ago, and now it has completely become part of the forest. Bringing it out recklessly could lead to unpredictable consequences — but don't worry, it has lived in the forest for so many years, it will be fine."

Erin also climbed down from Yu Sheng's shoulder, saying as she crawled: "Indeed, and I feel that the squirrel is much more relaxed now. It always seemed crazy before, but although it hasn't returned to normal, it's much better than before."

Yu Sheng responded with a hum and didn't say more, instead looking down at the Angel Umbilical Cord (fake) and Hunter Bullet he brought back.

After leaving the Black Forest, the umbilical cord, which once showed signs of partial activation, returned to its original shriveled state and now lay quietly in the box.

As for the Hunter Bullet... Yu Sheng never did see the hunter.

It seems like next time, he must bring Little Red Riding Hood to the Black Forest. At least by utilizing the mechanisms of the Black Forest, he should first encounter the "Wolf Grandmother," and only then will he have the chance to meet the hunter.

But Yu Sheng suddenly thought of another question —

If he enters the Black Forest with Little Red Riding Hood carrying the Angel Umbilical Cord, what will happen?

Will Little Red Riding Hood be "pulled" by him to see those "initial memories"? Will she see the phantom of the first Little Red Riding Hood and the early shapes of the Black Forest? Or will these "flashbacks" be one-time events? Or will she see "Black Forest memories" from other periods?

Yu Sheng's thoughts wandered far, standing there motionless for half a day. When Erin saw this, she bumped his leg with her head: "Hey, hey, why are you suddenly daydreaming again?"

Yu Sheng snapped back to reality: "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about bringing Little Red Riding Hood to the Black Forest next time. By then, I want to try and see if the Angel Umbilical Cord has other uses."

"Next time's worry can wait for next time, but what about now?"

Yu Sheng thought for a moment and took out his phone from his pocket: "We need to inform the Special Service Bureau about the new information we discovered — and about the Angel Umbilical Cord."

While saying this, he opened his contact list. First, he saw the names Li Lin and Xu Jiali, but considering the importance of the matter, he looked at Song Cheng's name. After hesitating for a couple of seconds, he frowned and finally tapped another name with his finger: "… No, this kind of thing has to go to Baili Qing."

"A director of the bureau, taking your calls all the time," Erin couldn't help but comment, "Your frequent calls are almost like those from insurance salesmen — it's a good thing she's professional and hasn't cursed you to your face."

"This is information of the Dark Angel level!" Yu Sheng immediately glared at the little puppet, "She probably wishes she could get more of this kind of intel."

He didn't notice that the call had already been connected; just as he finished speaking, Baili Qing's rarely urgent voice came from the earpiece: "What information are you talking about?!"

"Uh, cough, cough," Yu Sheng cleared his throat twice, quickly organizing his thoughts, "Dark Angel level, regarding Anka Aela. It's a long story, but I have new progress on the investigation — I also need your help to find some material, so I called you."

"… Tell me the general situation first so I can make arrangements."

"This starts with me obtaining an 'Angel Umbilical Cord'…" Yu Sheng had just begun when he heard a light inhaling sound from the receiver.

"We need to talk face-to-face," Baili Qing said decisively.

The next moment, Baili Qing looked up to see Yu Sheng push the door of her office, find a seat, and nod towards her: "Fine, face-to-face it is."

Even the director, famed for her ironclad expression, had a somewhat blank look on her face at this moment.

After several seconds, she finally uttered: "… Did you report this?"

"Reported it," Yu Sheng shook his phone, "You guys have a pretty useful phone."

"...Good to know it's reported," Baili Qing nodded with a strange expression, then took another glance behind Yu Sheng, "Those two, Erin and Hu Li, didn't come with you this time?"

"Just opening the door to talk, no need to bring everyone each time," Yu Sheng waved his hand, "Besides, you are quite nearby now."

Baili Qing was silent for a while, then slowly took a breath, "True. So, tell me now, what's this 'Angel Umbilical Cord' about? Did you bring it?"

"The thing is right here. I know you are definitely interested in this," Yu Sheng didn't hesitate and directly placed the wooden box on Baili Qing's desk, "You can research it briefly, take small samples if necessary, but do not damage its integrity. And when I leave, I need to take it with me—this thing still has significant use for me."

Baili Qing watched as Yu Sheng "bang" put the box containing the Angel Umbilical Cord on her desk, her eyebrows twitching slightly. Then she cautiously opened the box lid, examining the "contents" inside with her faded eyes.

And in the air behind her, a pair of eyes seemed to vaguely materialize, curiously observing the items in the box along with her.

Upon hearing Yu Sheng say "significant use," Baili Qing retracted her gaze from the box, raising her head to look at Yu Sheng with a slightly peculiar expression, and after a while, she muttered almost unconsciously, "...Wine brewing?"

Yu Sheng: "...Come on, why do you all think that way?!"

"All?"

Yu Sheng's eyebrows knotted: "Erin thought the same!"

Baili Qing: "..."

The director lady stayed silent for a moment, swiftly adjusting her posture and expression in the next second.

"I'll ask the dispatch center to send a recovery team over now," she said seriously, "The lab will perform a quick analysis on this thing, rest assured it will be according to your instructions—afterwards, you can take it away anytime."

Yu Sheng nodded in agreement.

The "recovery team" Baili Qing mentioned arrived quickly, seemingly having several such action squads stationed throughout the building, ready to contain and handle the "dangerous items" that seemingly popped up from nowhere. Just a few minutes later, heavy and hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor, and soon, several tall figures clad in heavy protective suits resembling the ones Yu Sheng saw in the analysis lab appeared in the office.

These people, fully armored like Terminators and with their faces covered by thick masks, took the Angel Umbilical Cord away in a special container. After they left, Baili Qing once again focused her gaze on Yu Sheng.

"Let me tell you the data I need—the conditions are somewhat vague, so it may take a lot of time to search," Yu Sheng immediately began, "First, it's about the orphanage where Little Red Riding Hood stayed. During the first 'Fairy Tales' Exotic Realm eruption, or even earlier, see if there were reports of 'falling objects,' 'impacts,' or 'hallucinations.' Generally described, it's a luminous ellipsoid object falling from the sky, silent during descent, and ultimately disappearing. Check for similar witness records.

"Additionally, within that timeframe, see if abnormal... 'signals' were detected around the orphanage or nearby areas. I'm unsure how to describe them, but like an omen of an angel's descent... Right, I mean Anka Aela might have arrived at that time—however, its arrival process was disrupted. So, the Special Service Bureau probably recorded some clues then, but didn't realize what they were."

Baili Qing listened seriously. Every detail Yu Sheng mentioned made her realize the gravity of the situation. She wanted to speak several times but held back the impulse, finally unable to restrain herself now, "Wait, you say Anka Aela already descended then—its descent process was merely interrupted? Interrupted by what?"

"By a child, using a fairy tale book—I know this sounds unbelievable, so I think the primary reason was that Anka Aela's state was very special at that time, and the child offering the fairy tale book merely pushed it by accident at the 'critical point.'

"So, this is the other part of the data I need you to investigate: the missing children from that orphanage.

"The timeframe is before the first 'Fairy Tales' Exotic Realm eruption. One child should have disappeared from the orphanage then, along with a fairy tale book."

Baili Qing opened the computer on her desk, quickly typing orders to send to subordinate departments, but simultaneously she looked up at Yu Sheng, reminding him, "Let me warn you in advance, these records are hard to find. Especially the missing child and fairy tale book you mentioned—the 'Adulthood' operation happened seventy years ago, the first 'Fairy Tales' eruption was around eighty years ago, and the events you referred to are even earlier.

"The technology and systems from back then were not as advanced and complete as today. Also, the management of the orphanage was somewhat chaotic."

Yu Sheng expected the difficulty of this matter but still couldn't help frowning upon hearing Baili Qing's words, "Chaotic to the extent that even if a child disappeared, records might not be left?"

"Theoretically, not to that extent," Baili Qing paused her actions, then softly sighed, "Regardless, hope everything goes smoothly."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.