Hearing about the situation with the long-haired princess, Little Red Riding Hood, who was practicing driving outside, rushed back, and the long-haired princess recounted her encounter in detail.
In the castle hall of Fairy Tale Town, a large group of people gathered around the long table, with the long-haired princess seated in the center.
Aside from Yu Sheng, most of the people around were members of the Fairy Tales. Some came for the fun of it, some to help, and some ended up being more of a hindrance. There were even those who thought it was mealtime and brought their food over—Hu Li started shouting that she was hungry upon seeing the bowls, and then found a spot in the corner of the castle hall to roast sweet potatoes. When halfway done, Luna returned, leading the cyber fox dog to battle the malfunctioning cycloid robot, with a few Erins next to her cheering them on...
Halfway through, Yu Sheng couldn't stand it any longer and pushed Luna, Hu Li, and Erin, who was cheering, out. But within minutes, they quietly sneaked back. Hu Li resumed roasting sweet potatoes in the corner, while Luna stood beside the long table with a victorious look.
Out of curiosity, Yu Sheng asked, and Erin next to him replied that the two had just reached an agreement—Hu Li would help Luna cultivate two acres of land in exchange for the freedom to dig sweet potatoes in Luna's field.
What can I say... It appears Luna isn't aware of the situation with corn, eggplants, carrots, and tomatoes...
The long-haired princess, seated in the central position, watched the lively scene before her with a hint of exasperation: "Seriously, can't you be a bit more serious? I just went through a major crisis..."
"With your sturdy physique and brawny combat style, being besieged by 'entities' in the subway hardly counts as a crisis," Little Red Riding Hood said casually. "Besides, compared to the train and graffiti, that suddenly appearing 'knight' is more intriguing."
"What does that knight even look like? Didn't you record it?" Cinderella asked curiously, leaning in a bit closer. "Just from your description, I can't quite imagine..."
"Given the situation at the time, I didn't get a chance to record," the long-haired princess shook her head but quickly thought of something. "Though I could try to draw it."
Yu Sheng fetched paper and pen, placing them in front of the long-haired princess, who then lowered her head and began diligently sketching on the paper. Midway through, Erin also leaned over, pointing out details as she remembered them—when the long-haired princess encountered the strange knight, there was a mass-produced puppet present. Although Erin's main consciousness wasn't focused on the inconspicuous thread at the time, she glanced over out of curiosity during the puppet's urgent transfer, so she had some impression of what the knight looked like.
A few heads gathered together, curiously watching the long-haired princess draw. Halfway through, Yu Sheng widened his eyes in surprise, "…your drawing skills are impressive!"
The long-haired princess smugly continued, "Of course, I drew all the class board newspapers..."
Little Red Riding Hood sighed next to her, "Her cultural subjects are abysmal, but at least she's talented in something to make up for it."
The long-haired princess pretended not to hear, continuing to sketch diligently.
A mysterious knight clad in heavy armor, wielding a massive sword, emerged on the paper. The knight faced away from the group, slightly turning his head, his face obscured by a helmet, yet exuding an air of steadiness and reliability, an indomitable aura.
Yu Sheng furrowed his brows, observing for a while, then decisively took out his phone to snap a picture and sent it to Baili Qing.
He then composed a brief message, explaining the situation and sent it.
"I've never seen this before," Little Red Riding Hood said, frowning. "There's nothing like this in the Exotic Realm-related materials released by the Special Service Bureau... As far as I know, neither the Spirit Realm detective nor Independent Investigator have encountered such an oddly styled character."
The other Fairy Tale members who had come over to join the fun started murmuring among themselves:
"Could it be another tear, like those space rifts, came through from elsewhere?"
"It's hard to say. The Exotic Realm around Boundary Land had just calmed down recently; is it changing again?"
"The Exotic Realm never truly stays calm; change is the norm, isn't it..."
Listening to the discussions around her, Yu Sheng's gaze fell back on the long-haired princess.
"You mentioned the knight was hit by the train in the end, right?"
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes, collided into the 'graffiti.' Normally, you'd think he's dead, but I have a feeling he's not quite right..."
"Typically, it's not easy for characters with suspicious art styles to die," a small puppet shook its head knowingly, as if it had extensive experience.
Yu Sheng realized the little puppet was drawing from gaming experience, but just as he was about to speak, a notification interrupted him.
Picking up his phone, he saw that a new message had arrived from "Border Communication"—the sender was Baili Qing.
A strange feeling welled up inside his heart as Yu Sheng quickly opened the message, and a photograph immediately materialized before him.
The photograph was taken hastily; the scene is a commercial street in Boundary City engulfed in mist. The shop signs on the street are shrouded in an eerie light and shadow, while a tall, dark figure stands amidst the fog, leaning slightly as if ready to run towards the intersection ahead.
The figure resembles the knight that the long-haired princess just painted, except he doesn't hold a longsword but a giant axe of peculiar design.
"Yes, yes, that's it," the long-haired princess glanced at it and nodded continuously, "Hey, bingo, now there's a photo... where was this taken?"
Yu Sheng was about to speak when another message popped up beneath the photo Baili Qing sent: "This photo was taken by an agent unit in Mist City three days ago—we should talk about this in person."
Yu Sheng looked up, but his gaze had just landed on the long-haired princess when she vigorously waved her hand.
"Brother, you go; I'm not going. I'll wait here for your news."
Erin asked curiously, "Are you afraid of that ironclad expression?"
"Who wouldn't be nervous seeing her!" The long-haired princess glared, "That's the bureau chief..."
"Alright, I'll go and ask what's going on," Yu Sheng cut her off with a wave of his hand and then called out to the fox girl still roasting sweet potatoes in the corner, "Hu Li, are you coming?"
Half a minute later, the scent of roasted sweet potatoes filled the bureau chief's office at the Special Service Bureau Headquarters Building.
Baili Qing struggled to divert her attention from Hu Li in the corner—a difficult task since a nine-tailed Immortal Fox using her tail to roast sweet potatoes with fox fire stands out no matter where she is...
"...Be careful not to darken the walls." After a long pause, Baili Qing couldn't help but remind.
"Uh-huh," Hu Li agreed without lifting her head and added a clarification, "I'm using Immortal Law; Immortal Law doesn't stain walls."
Faced with the silent questioning gaze of Baili Qing, Yu Sheng shrugged: "Don't look at me; I don't understand her so-called spells either..."
"Let's talk about the 'knight' then," Baili Qing rubbed her forehead and sat back behind her desk, "In fact, these are not the only incidents—we've received at least two other suspected sightings; only those reports are textual with no images."
Yu Sheng widened his eyes with curiosity, "You don't know where he's from either?"
"No, this 'knight' appears and disappears unpredictably and has yet to communicate with anyone," Baili Qing said calmly, "but as it stands, we can deduce some patterns. The first is that he only appears in Exotic Realm and seems unconstrained by its entry-exit rules.
"The second point is that this 'knight' seems to have no malice towards humans; there are no reports of attacks by him so far. From the long-haired princess's account, this knight even tends to protect others.
"The third is more of a deduction based on the previous point—this knight seems to be rational, but for some reason, he refuses to communicate."
As Baili Qing spoke, she turned on the screen at her desk, showing the photo she had sent to Yu Sheng.
"During this encounter, our agent unit showed a friendly attitude towards the knight; he hesitated briefly but eventually hurried away."
Erin was now perched on the desk, surprised by the words: "You didn't catch up? Aren't you all using high-tech gear?"
Baili Qing: "...the opponent directly melted into the mist."
Erin: "...Whoa, impressive."
"If he can move around various Exotic Realms, then this is not some entity generated within them. Melting into the mist doesn't sound human either," Yu Sheng mused, stroking his chin, "but one thing is certain, such a skilled individual...may not necessarily perish just from getting hit by the 'train' in the subway."
Baili Qing nodded: "In any case, the appearance of this 'knight' has now garnered the attention of the Special Service Bureau. In the past, a strange entity moving between Exotic Realms might not have been significant, but considering the recent series of events, we must be vigilant about any changes between Exotic Realms, especially those suggesting 'breaches.'
Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow: "Do you need our help?"
"We must find this knight first, and if possible, establish communication," Baili Qing said, her gaze falling on Erin, "for this, we might need Erin's help."
The little puppet stopped in her tracks when she heard this and looked at Baili Qing curiously: "Huh?"
"We hope...well, to hire some of your hands," Baili Qing's pause was apparent, showing her effort to choose her words carefully, "using your mass-produced puppets' ability to communicate and transport instantly, to deploy defensive measures across various Exotic Realms within the Boundary Land..."
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