"Can you two see the house in front of us?"

Standing in front of the gate at No. 66 Wutong Road, Yu Sheng pointed at the old building in front of them and spoke to Hu Li who was holding Erin in her arms.

"Yeah," Hu Li nodded naturally, "It's right there in front of us, visible when we go out, and still visible when we return."

Yu Sheng nodded, then turned to Little Red Riding Hood who had come along: "Can you see it?"

Little Red Riding Hood widened her eyes, looked at the empty space ahead and the low wall at the end of the open space, then turned her head doubtfully to glance at Hu Li and Erin: "Can you two really see it?"

"It seems you can't see it," Yu Sheng realized immediately, "Even though I've extended an 'invitation' to you, you still can't see it from here."

Little Red Riding Hood shrugged.

Yu Sheng started to contemplate.

He was curious about many things lately: things concerning himself, the Exotic Realm, the Special Service Bureau, as well as the Nightfall Valley—and of course the peculiar mansion he had been living in for the past two months. Driven by a hint of "necessary research spirit," he invited Little Red Riding Hood over today to test out what other oddities "the non-existent No. 66 Wutong Road" might still harbor.

Now he had some preliminary test results.

Hu Li and Erin could see No. 66 Wutong Road, but Little Red Riding Hood could not, even with the "house owner's" invitation, she couldn't perceive its existence.

Yu Sheng briefly pondered and identified the biggest difference between Hu Li, Erin, and Little Red Riding Hood.

"So... is it a 'blood' issue?" he mused, raising his head, his gaze shifting back and forth between Little Red Riding Hood and Hu Li, Erin.

Both Hu Li and Erin had "received" his blood, which established a subtle "connection" between them, also through this connection, the two of them could sense his "resurrection"—Little Red Riding Hood, however, had never experienced this.

This was the most likely reason Yu Sheng could think of at the moment.

Little Red Riding Hood hadn't noticed the change in Yu Sheng's expression; she was curiously looking around at that time.

The sun was gradually setting, and in the shadows of the buildings along the street, the silhouettes of wolves appeared intermittently, with the Wolf Pack keeping an eye on the entire neighborhood, serving as the guardian of the girl.

She noticed something: From the moment she entered Wutong Road, the closer she got to this deep, open space, the fewer passersby there were around, and by the time she reached the open space where "No. 66 Wutong Road" was located, there were no pedestrians in sight at all.

It was as if an invisible dispersing force was preventing ordinary people from approaching the mansion.

However, even her Wolf Pack couldn't detect how this force operated. The "environment" of the entire block was so "clean" that under the gaze of Extraordinary Power, it was almost as clean as a vacuum.

Right then, Little Red Riding Hood suddenly noticed the gaze on herself. She immediately turned her head, only to see Yu Sheng looking seriously in her direction.

The girl felt a bit awkward: "Uh... what is it?"

Then she saw Yu Sheng extend his hand: "Want a bite?"

Little Red Riding Hood: "...Huh?"

"Blood. Erin and Hu Li have both been in contact with my blood, and after that, they experienced some changes, and now they can also see No. 66 Wutong Road," Yu Sheng explained earnestly, "So I was thinking, maybe you'd like to try as well, just as an experiment..."

Little Red Riding Hood's expression visibly grew strange, she even stepped back a half-step, her look was like a bristling dog, only relaxing a little after confirming Yu Sheng was indeed motivated purely by "research spirit," but still clearly rejecting: "No thanks!"

"It won't upset your stomach," Yu Sheng actually expected her reaction; after all, inviting someone to bite himself right away sounded a bit abrupt, but he still wanted to persuade further, "Don't you want to see what No. 66 Wutong Road looks like from the outside?"

"I'm not a cat, why should I be so curious!" Little Red Riding Hood took another half step back, turned her head to look at Hu Li and Erin, "What's with him always having one idea after another?"

Erin, held in Hu Li's arms, shifted slightly after ensuring no one else was around, finally getting a chance to speak: "That's just how he is, always coming up with one idea after another, and calling it 'research spirit.' Just ignore him."

"How can you say that," Yu Sheng was displeased hearing this, "Am I really that bad?"

Erin said nothing, just quietly emanating a lotus fragrance in Hu Li's arms.

Yu Sheng: "..."

"If you're not willing, let it be," after an awkward silence for a couple of seconds, Yu Sheng chuckled and waved to Little Red Riding Hood, then stepped towards the front door of his home. But just as he was about to unlock the door and enter, he thought of something, stepped aside and called the fox girl following behind, "Come and see if you can open this door."

"Ah? Okay." Hu Li was taken aback, but nodded anyway, stepping forward to grab the door handle.

Click, the unlocked door was easily pushed open.

In Little Red Riding Hood's eyes, however, a door appeared out of thin air in the clearing, hovering near the short wall covered in many abstract graffiti.

"Good, at least this way it's convenient for you and Erin to come and go without me having to open the door," Yu Sheng sighed in relief upon seeing this. After learning that No. 66 Wutong Road was an "Exotic Realm" that outsiders could neither see nor enter, he had been worried about many details, including but not limited to food delivery not being possible, home appliances not being delivered, online shopping addresses not being usable, and the two guests at home not being able to freely come and go, but now at least one of those troubles was gone.

"Come in and have a seat," Yu Sheng said with a smile, extending his hand to Little Red Riding Hood, "I'll cook later, and we'll have dinner at home as a way to thank you for spending the day with Hu Li and Erin."

"It's nothing; you helped me with half of my homework already," Little Red Riding Hood responded, but still accepted the invitation and entered this mansion that didn't exist in the real world.

Yu Sheng turned on the living room lights, the bright lights dispelling the gloom of the evening and quickly warming up the chilly atmosphere of the house.

Then he quickly organized the things he had bought, took out the ingredients needed for tonight's dinner from the shopping bag, told Little Red Riding Hood to find a seat, and then he turned and headed to the kitchen.

Little Red Riding Hood, with a trace of unease and curiosity, cautiously looked around.

This was her second time visiting this place, but this time she was an "invited guest."

She rarely visited other people's homes, and the number of times she visited various Exotic Realms even surpassed those of stepping through other people's doors, but on the other hand, she knew clearly that this seemingly ordinary house was actually an "Exotic Realm," and today's "visit"... was essentially an adventure in an Exotic Realm.

This was indeed the quirkiest "adventure" experience she had had since becoming a Spirit Realm detective. No bizarre twisted landscapes, no pervasive pollution, no illusions disguised as team members, only bright lights and a warm environment, a gentle and friendly demon fox standing beside her, a jubilant puppet running to turn on the TV, while the physical entity of the Exotic Realm... the one that could devour "Hunger," was cooking in the kitchen.

She could even go to the dining table to do some homework while waiting for the meal.

There were so many incongruities, she didn't even know which to complain about first.

However, the noisy Erin soon distracted her enough to not think too much—the clamor from the living room came through: "Come watch TV! The TV here in the living room is bigger than the one in the dining room!"

"I need to catch up on homework," Little Red Riding Hood shook her head, casually responding while walking towards the table, "I'm still half a book behind!"

"Geez, you humans really are tiresome," Erin, who had already climbed onto the sofa, immediately exclaimed loudly, "Fox girl, are you coming?"

Hu Li waved her hand, and leisurely walked towards the kitchen: "I want to see if Savior needs any help..."

She went into the kitchen, then not even two minutes later, she walked back out, holding a braised chicken leg and nibbling on it as she walked.

Little Red Riding Hood, just having started her homework, saw this and looked surprised: "... why did you come back out?"

"I got kicked out. Savior said I was snacking on the spices, and if all are eaten, there'd be none left for the stew," Hu Li said innocently, then proudly raised the chicken leg in her hand, "But Savior gave me a chicken leg. Want a bite?"

Little Red Riding Hood hesitated: "Uh... I just—"

Hu Li immediately retracted the chicken leg: "If you don't want it, I'll eat it all."

Little Red Riding Hood: "..."

A hint of cooking aroma wafted from the kitchen at that moment, stirring up appetites.

Little Red Riding Hood thought for a bit, reached into her bag, and pulled out her phone, dialing a number.

"It's me, I'm not coming home for dinner tonight, eating at a friend's—yeah, someone I just met, it's safe, safe, I'll tell you when I get back, definitely home by ten, gotta hang up now..."

After hanging up, Little Red Riding Hood turned around and saw Hu Li staring straight at her—still munching on the chicken leg without pause.

"This one's not edible." Little Red Riding Hood instinctively covered her phone.

She didn't know why she blurted out that line.

But Hu Li didn't mind that, merely asking curiously, "Were you just contacting your family?"

"Yeah."

"Your mom and dad?"

Little Red Riding Hood's expression became slightly uncomfortable: "Uh... my parents passed away early, I was talking to someone else at home."

"Oh," Hu Li nodded, and Little Red Riding Hood didn't know what the demon fox girl was thinking in those few seconds, then saw her suddenly extend the nearly finished chicken leg again, "Want a bite? Just a small one."

Little Red Riding Hood: "...?"

She realized that she still found it very difficult to understand these... "strange people" living in the Exotic Realm.

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