To be honest, Erin wasn't wrong.

Yu Sheng was indeed very interested in the "Qianfeng Ling Mountain" now.

A "place" beyond the Boundary Land, a "distant" location he actually knew and could reach—and there was even an online friend there.

But he was really afraid of being beaten to death when meeting his online friend.

There was even a possibility that he might get beaten to death by the online friend himself.

Of course, getting beaten to death wasn't a big deal; the key issue was that this was a rather delicate misunderstanding from the start, one that he had unknowingly created back then. Dying once or twice was manageable, but the embarrassment that would come upon reviving might be a bit too much to handle—that made him hesitate a little.

Yu Sheng figured that he should at least find out more about this "Wayward Disciple Three Thousand" and learn more about Qianfeng Ling Mountain before making any plans. Misunderstandings needed to be clarified eventually, but he knew his door-opening quirks. He knew the next time he opened a door, he might end up in his senior brother's Pill Furnace—without some preparations, there was a real risk of another door-opening disaster.

With all these thoughts swirling around, Yu Sheng looked at the street outside and sighed deeply, "Better plan this carefully..."

Erin sat on the windowsill, looking up at him, "You're just afraid of getting chased and beaten."

Yu Sheng poked the little puppet, almost knocking it over, "You think you know everything, huh!"

"Savior," Hu Li walked over from behind, the demon fox girl full of curiosity, "What were you talking about just now? It sounds like you have some history with that 'Qianfeng Ling Mountain'?"

"It's a long story," Yu Sheng sighed and began explaining, "This started before you arrived. I was trying to find a way to Nightfall Valley and attempted to open many teleportation gates. But my skills were unrefined back then and I was quite reckless..."

He then gave a brief account of that time he ended up in someone's Alchemy Furnace while opening gates and added, "Of course, it's not certain that it was the same place, but there's a high probability it was—considering the architectural style in the news photos looks very similar."

Listening to Yu Sheng's story, Hu Li's expression gradually changed, her ears drooping halfway and her eyes reddening.

This startled Yu Sheng, "Hey, why are you getting all emotional..."

Before he could finish, Hu Li pounced on him, "Savior... I didn't know you went through so much..."

The demon fox girl held onto Yu Sheng tightly, wrapping him securely with her many fluffy tails, as if afraid he would slip away.

"Savior, you're so good."

The warmth and softness only lasted for less than half a second before the sound of bones being squeezed by a hydraulic clamp took over.

Yu Sheng struggled desperately, "You're... strangling me..."

"Ah!" Hu Li exclaimed, all her tails releasing at once like a bursting peacock, "I'm so sorry, Savior!"

It took Yu Sheng about half a minute to catch his breath, healing the tiny cracks in his ribs and various internal injuries. He then took a deep breath and looked at the awkward fox girl helplessly, "I appreciate your gratitude, but remember, I'm a fragile human. Also, it wasn't that difficult back then—I was just opening a bunch of gates, took some effort at most. If anything, it was the Special Service Bureau that had it hard. I kind of owe them... huh?"

He paused suddenly, as if he remembered something, and then checked the time on his phone.

"Speaking of the Special Service Bureau, it just reminded me," he mumbled to himself while opening "Border Communication" and scrolling through his private messages, "Baili Qing should be awake by now... I'll send her a message."

Erin, sitting on the windowsill and watching, widened her eyes. Even with her composure, she nearly lost it, "Are you for real—do you even remember what you were just talking about? Sending an urgent work order at breakfast time..."

Yu Sheng had already sent the message, just a picture he had taken of that piece of cloth, accompanied by the text: "Guess what I found in my own house?"

"You don't understand human diversity," Yu Sheng raised his head after sending the message and replied cheerfully to Erin, "Someone like her, she probably starts planning her entire day's work the moment she opens her eyes. If I wait until work hours to send this important info, it might disrupt her schedule."

The little puppet was left speechless, and only after a few seconds did she hesitantly respond, "Is... is that so?"

"I'm confident in my judgment of people," Yu Sheng said casually, turning to walk out, "You reminded me, it's time to eat, I'll go make something."

Hu Li instantly followed him happily.

But halfway there, Yu Sheng suddenly stopped again and picked up his phone—Baili Qing was calling.

He answered the call, and before he could speak, the familiar cool and concise voice of the female director came through, "The room with the previous snow accumulation?"

"Right," Yu Sheng exhaled, "This time, it's not just snow accumulation; the wind and snow blew directly into the house. Then I found this thing in the corner—did you notice the pattern on it?"

"I noticed," Baili Qing said bluntly, "Do you have time now? Come to the Special Service Bureau and bring that thing with you."

This time it was Yu Sheng who was dumbfounded.

"Uh, now?" he asked tentatively, "I haven't had breakfast yet."

"The Special Service Bureau has a morning cafeteria."

Yu Sheng: "It's not urgent; I can wait for you at the unit since I can push the door and be there right away..."

"I'm right here—I spent the night in the office because I had to handle the aftermath of Angel Fall."

Yu Sheng: "..."

Beside him, Erin who had been eavesdropping swung her arms and clapped: "Oh wow ~"

Yu Sheng's mouth twitched as he tried hard to keep a straight face, speaking into the phone: "...Alright, then I'll be there."

"Oh dear, you're quite perceptive; workaholics are really different—they go full throttle as soon as they open their eyes," Erin said gleefully from the side, "Though you have to follow—ya!"

Yu Sheng casually picked up the puppet, hoisting it onto his shoulder: "Oh wow, right? Oh dear, right?—You're coming with me too."

"Whatever, I still have two bodies here to watch TV and play games."

Yu Sheng had already reached out to pull open the door leading to the Special Service Bureau and paid no attention to Erin's teasing voice, turning instead to look at Hu Li.

"Come on, follow your Savior to the Special Service Bureau and grab some food!"

...

A few minutes later, Hu Li was already sitting in the cafeteria of the Special Service Bureau headquarters, eating heartily.

Yu Sheng and Erin, meanwhile, were personally brought by Baili Qing to the high-security lab from last time, immediately handing over the "fabric sample" they brought to the lab staff.

The transfer process was as stringent as before, with personnel in full heavy gear handling it, even though Yu Sheng had casually stuffed the fabric sample in his jacket pocket. The entire procedure was carried out without any compromise.

"Is it necessary to be this cautious?" Yu Sheng asked, watching the handlers disappear with the "sample" behind the lab's gate, "Last time, the metal parts I brought were confirmed to be non-hazardous. I thought the alert level for this fabric sample could be lowered."

"New samples follow the highest-level 'initial contact protocol'—that's the rule," Baili Qing said flatly, "Lowering the danger rating comes after a series of tests."

"Alright, makes sense," Yu Sheng nodded, then brought up his communication with "Wayward Disciple Three Thousand" seriously, "There's something I need to tell you about this fabric sample—I posted it on Border Communication again, and someone named 'Wayward Disciple Three Thousand' has something similar."

Baili Qing immediately turned her head: "What?!"

Yu Sheng candidly recounted the events of the morning to the female director before him.

It was hard to discern any change in Baili Qing's expression, but from her brief silence, Yu Sheng knew she had become serious.

"That Qianfeng Ling Mountain," Yu Sheng pondered and asked tentatively, "What kind of place is it? Does the Special Service Bureau usually deal with them?"

"That's one of the most influential factions on Feiyu-13b. Its headquarters is located at FY13b-17c-1426-3—ah, that's the planet identification number. But they call the planet under their feet 'Taixu Spirit Hub,' and Qianfeng Ling Mountain is near its North Pole," Baili Qing said casually, "The Taixu Spirit Hub led by Qianfeng Ling Mountain controls a dozen resource and colonized stars around it. Though they rarely leave their territory and seldom pay attention to places beyond Feiyu-13b, their connection with the Special Service Bureau is quite close. Some of our 'Outer Realm Stations' also trade with them."

She paused and added, "Last time, when we sought many friends to find Hu Li's hometown, Qianfeng Ling Mountain played a significant role."

Yu Sheng listened beside her, feeling a mix of emotions.

It was like being suddenly pulled from his cozy bed to face the vast starry sea.

Fortunately, he had already come to understand the vastness of the world through his interactions with Hu Li. Compared to Hu Li's cyber-immortal homeland, what Baili Qing just told him only left him slightly stunned—and the main reason for that surprise was his previous misconception about Qianfeng Ling Mountain being just a mountain or a sect on a mountain. But now he knew...

It's the TMD name of an interstellar civilization's capital!

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