Yu Sheng stared with wide eyes at Baili Qing and the hunter as they greeted each other. Then the scene fell silent for a moment. After two or three seconds, he couldn't help but speak up: "Wait, I have a question!"

Baili Qing turned her head to look at him.

"The hunter called you Bureau Chief?" Yu Sheng looked at the young woman before him who appeared to be only a few years older than him. "Their team went missing in 'Fairy Tales' seventy years ago, and you were their Bureau Chief?"

Baili Qing blinked, and Yu Sheng almost thought he saw a hint of a smile on her icy face, a slight expression of victory—she spoke, her voice calm yet slightly teasing: "That's right, I've been in this position for a century now."

"...How old are you?!" Yu Sheng blurted out.

Baili Qing did not respond, just looked at him with that ambiguous smile, clearly not intending to answer.

Yu Sheng finally began to realize that neither of the Baili sisters were normal—this woman, one of the five major council members of Boundary Land, who controlled the entire Special Service Bureau, likely couldn't be considered purely human anymore.

Was it due to special abilities? Some kind of power influence? Bloodlines? Or had something transformed during interactions with the Exotic Realm and entities?

So many possibilities flooded Yu Sheng's mind, conjuring up at least forty episodes with a couple of extras. But it was clear that asking directly wouldn't yield any answers.

So he didn't pursue the question further, just shrugged, suddenly realizing a detail that had puzzled him slightly before.

At the Special Service Bureau, Baili Qing always referred to the captain of the second team, Song Cheng, as "Little Song," not in the usual superior-to-subordinate manner, but more like an elder to a younger generation, even someone personally taught and guided—a curious thing since Song Cheng, in his forties, appeared to be a decade older than Baili Qing...

"I really didn't expect this," Yu Sheng sighed. "No wonder that when you explained the orphanage's situation and the 'Adult' plan to me, it felt odd. You always seemed to speak with a firsthand attitude."

"You never asked," Baili Qing said calmly, with a somewhat reflective tone. "Yes, those were many years ago..."

She turned her head to look at the hunter standing in the night's shadow.

After a while, she lowered her head as if searching for something on her body, then took a step forward to stand face-to-face with the hunter.

"When I sent you off back then, I said I would present the awards at the celebration once the children were safely rescued," she spoke slowly. "It's many years late, but today is indeed a day for celebration—would you mind just one medal?"

The hunter said nothing, but suddenly stood straight, despite his worn-out hunter's clothes floating in the air, appearing as dignified as a proud soldier.

No stage, no flowers and applause, no attending officers and comrades. This might be the most modest award ceremony in the history of the Special Service Bureau, seemingly too simple in Yu Sheng's view—for the heroic Deep Dive Team from seventy years ago and the hunter protecting Little Red Riding Hood against the Evil Wolf. Today's award recipient deserved a more formal and solemn ceremony.

Yet this humble award seemed to be a mutual and tacit choice of the two figures standing in the clearing.

Baili Qing's face showed a slight smile as she meticulously pinned the medal decorated with a short sword and wreath to the hunter's chest.

Fireworks rose, accompanied by sharp and cheerful whistling, exploding in the sky with loud bangs, reminiscent of the hunter's gunshots—

Massive and radiant rings of flame burst in the night sky, spreading crown-like light across the entire firmament.

Light reflected on Baili Qing's face and showered over the hunter, momentarily illuminating the entire clearing.

A squirrel jumped in fright at the loud noise from the sky, shrinking its neck tight but then excitedly looking up at the dazzling lights while shouting joyfully: "Wow! So spectacular—this is even grander than the previous fireworks!"

Yu Sheng also looked up at the sky, mumbling: "Of course it's grand, a cruise missile after all."

As he spoke, more fireworks shot up, accompanied by a sneaky fox tail firing up into the sky. The resounding boom even caused the clouds to ripple—luckily Yu Sheng controlled these clouds, or the excited Nine-tailed Fox's two Fox Carrot missiles would have blasted daylight into night...

Erin's voice rang in Yu Sheng's head: "Hey, Yu Sheng, where did you go? That silly fox is having a blast! She's firing tails into the sky, surrounded by a bunch of human kids cheering her on!"

"It's fine, let her play. I'll be back soon," Yu Sheng responded cheerfully. "Anyway, tonight's food is covered by the Special Service Bureau. She can eat and fire away without limits."

"You certainly have a lot of tolerance! She went to eat grilled meat and two people couldn't keep up with her, she just bit through two iron skewers!" Erin's voice was loud and stunned. "And she's eating charcoal! Red-hot charcoal with chili oil wrapped in pork belly—"

Yu Sheng: "..."

Hu Li is having that much fun?

He casually brushed off Erin's words, glanced at the hunter: "Want to join us at the square? Little Red Riding Hood and the others are waiting to see you."

The hunter hesitated a little: "The way we look now might scare those children who haven't been to the Black Forest yet."

Yu Sheng laughed: "You're overthinking it at this point—aren't they just ordinary kids? What haven't they seen in their daily lives? Even a six-year-old dares to hang themselves on a cruise missile... come on, let's go together."

The hunter hesitated again, but eventually, he stepped towards Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng then turned his head to continue watching Baili Qing.

"...Alright," Baili Qing raised her hand helplessly, "Let's agree first, it's not my fault if the atmosphere turns cold."

They returned to the square, where the bonfire burned the fiercest, Little Red Riding Hood saw the familiar figures of the hunter and the squirrel.

This might even be the happiest moment for her tonight.

A large group of children—big, small, and in between—quickly gathered around, greeting the hunter, asking all sorts of odd and strange questions, or simply hugging those floating, empty clothes. Many kids might just be curious, curious whether there was anything "holding" the clothes up inside. But anyhow, there was no resistance or fear surrounding the hunter at this moment.

That tall figure, supported by twelve noble souls, even seemed a bit at a loss at this moment.

The squirrel, on the other hand, was jumping excitedly on every child's head and shoulders.

Clearly, she would soon become friends with everyone here.

Yu Sheng watched this scene with satisfaction, then turned his head to see a quiet spot near the lively bonfire.

In the ten-meter radius around Baili Qing, it was extremely quiet; only a few people from the Special Service Bureau were around her, each with strained faces as if ready to report work at any moment...

"I told you," Baili Qing said expressionlessly as Yu Sheng walked over, "You just wouldn't believe it."

Yu Sheng looked around, opened his hands in mock resignation: "Well, I really am surprised, but how did you manage this?"

"Perhaps my usual work methods have some impact," Baili Qing sighed, "But the bigger issue isn't here."

Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"

"Imagine an old leader who has been stationed in a unit for over a hundred years. She knows the situation of every department and every person in the unit, knows every single thing you've done and every mistake you've made since entering through the unit's door, knows all your strengths, weaknesses, and shortcomings, and all these are constantly monitored and recorded. This process continues until her retirement, and the next newcomer will experience the same, until everyone considers this experience one of the many weird tales of the Special Service Bureau building, a rule story to relive before bed each night, passing these tales down from generation to generation like a legacy..."

Baili Qing pointed at herself.

"...It will be like this."

Yu Sheng was speechless.

Baili Qing, however, seemed not to care at all. She pulled a chair from the empty space next to her (the chair looked like it had been brought out from some castle banquet hall), sat down, and waved to the few nervous Special Service Bureau personnel around her: "Alright, go about your business, there's no need to report to me here."

Those people left as if pardoned.

Yu Sheng felt a bit emotional seeing this: "You seem quite relaxed."

"I don't mind because it actually improves the efficiency of the Special Service Bureau to a certain extent, so I don't plan to change it," Baili Qing said casually, "The Special Service Bureau is a very special place; I need it to always remain efficient and precise—if they aren't afraid of me, they will face even more terrifying things."

Yu Sheng didn't say anything else, he simply pulled a chair and sat next to Baili Qing, watching the blazing bonfire together.

The three Erins were setting off small fireworks in the empty space beside the bonfire, the fireworks probably begged off some children.

Hu Li grabbed a huge skewer from the barbecue rack, munching away and dripping oil from her mouth.

The squirrel was telling the long-haired princess about her heroic battle with the Shadow of Anka Aela in the Black Forest, one dared to speak, one dared to listen.

The mermaid was still providing background music, her mouth could practically make any sound; now it was an exhilarating orchestral performance—no idea what she was igniting, but she was passionate about it.

All was well.

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