It seems the trouble in Boundary Land has worsened.
Yu Sheng rarely hears such a heavy and subtly uneasy tone from Baili Qing.
The remnants of the Old World lie dormant within the universe's cosmic data, and the unique yet chaotic temporal structure of Boundary Land is evidently susceptible to these ancient echoes. Now, there's a breach in the "Space-Time Base" of this Cosmic Hub, and things that shouldn't appear in the real world are emerging from the past—yet for some reason, Yu Sheng feels that there's still something off about this.
What Baili Qing described seems to conflict a bit with his understanding of this world.
Yu Sheng rubbed his temples in thought for two minutes, suddenly grasping the source of discord.
"Wasn't it said that when the Captain 'rebirthed the universe,' all the living beings of the Old World were safely transferred to the New World? So what's the situation with that supposedly rational 'Knight'? Was it left behind during the world's rebirth?"
"That's why we need to find him and figure out what exactly happened," Baili Qing slowly said, "Occasionally, there are indeed some 'delayed awakeners' from the Old World transfer, especially in Boundary Land, such cases have appeared more than once, and the Special Service Bureau has carried out control and rescue operations for these 'delayed awakeners,' but this time… it's different.
"That 'Knight' doesn't fit the characteristics of a delayed awakening, and more importantly, the Council has confirmed observing the existence of fracture rifts in the Fault area beneath Boundary Land, and the things emerging from the rifts… possess extremely high danger."
Yu Sheng grasped his chin, falling into brief contemplation, while Baili Xue suddenly broke the silence after being quiet for a while: "Sometimes, 'old world echoes' popping up from other parts of the universe aren't that dangerous, and some are even valuable items that the Archaeological Association collects at high prices. But from those emerging beneath Boundary Land… eight out of ten are life-threatening."
Yu Sheng was shocked hearing this: "The numbers are a bit off, right?!"
Baili Xue: "Because quite a portion of them possess pollution and proliferation characteristics…"
Whether it's a delusion or not, Yu Sheng noticed that Baili Qing's expression subtly changed when Baili Xue said this. She glanced at her sister, a complex emotion in her eyes.
Yu Sheng didn't inquire further, instead deciding after a brief deliberation, "Could I take a look at that fracture rift you mentioned?"
Baili Qing appeared slightly surprised.
"I just mentioned it offhandedly, if it's too confidential, never mind," Yu Sheng quickly added, "I'm mainly just curious, but honestly, even if you let me see it, I'd probably be unable to solve such a technical problem…"
Baili Qing's tone became serious, and every word was weighed: "… It's not about confidentiality, whatever you already know so much, taking you there to have a look won't be an issue—mainly it's a matter of certain danger."
Yu Sheng opened his mouth, but Erin beat him to it: "No worries, Yu Sheng isn't afraid of danger, at most half an hour later he'll be alive again…"
Yu Sheng picked up the little figure: "That's a bit too much, you could at least pretend to care!"
Erin kicked and flailed in the air, a flurry of colorful imagery, while Baili Qing, having seen this scene many times, calmly said: "I didn't mean that Yu Sheng would be in danger."
Erin immediately stopped her antics.
"That thing is highly unstable," Baili Qing continued blandly, "and its nature is easily affected by 'observation'—even Council members, must approach the 'Fault' in a specific manner after adequate preparation to avoid stimulating the unstable temporal structure below. Since the Council's formation, we haven't allowed outsiders near that place."
Yu Sheng: "Then…"
"I'll go back to discuss with other Council members," Baili Qing quickly added, "Wait for my message."
"Alright then," Yu Sheng smiled, "I'm really curious. By the way, let me ask, that 'Fault'… where exactly is it located? From where should one go?"
At this moment, Baili Qing had already risen from the couch, responding without concealment: "Right beneath the Council Tower—it's also the only entrance to the 'bottom' of Boundary Land."
With that, the Baili sisters left.
The living room at No. 66 Wutong Road briefly returned to silence.
The rain outside continued heavily, Erin leaned on the windowsill, watching Baili Qing's figure disappear into the rain, a car's headlights flashed past the window fading away into the distance, before finally turning her head: "Hey Yu Sheng, I've got an idea!"
"You've got an idea too?" Yu Sheng looked surprisingly at the puppet, "What do you want to do?"
"We'll send the silly fox to dig a hole downwards," Erin gestured, "If the Ironclad Expression doesn't negotiate it, we'll just go underground ourselves…"
The fox girl perked up hearing this, eyes shining brightly: "That's doable!"
Yu Sheng wiped cold sweat from his forehead: "Not a chance, you're just messing around—remember the report against you for digging pits in the greenbelt last time? What's more, the 'beneath Boundary Land' Baili Qing mentioned might not be a mere spatial concept, at least it isn't a standard spatial concept, digging straight down might land you from the sky."
Erin scratched her head: "True enough, no wonder Ironclad Expression especially emphasized before leaving that the Council Tower is the only entrance to Boundary Land's bottom… hey, do you think she anticipated my plan beforehand? Is this her preventive measure?"
Luna, listening beside her for a long time, seemingly tried to speak several times but never found the opportunity, finally only managed two words: "Um, right."
Yu Sheng no longer paid attention to Erin's ongoing chatter; his mind was now filled with a jumble of thoughts about the so-called "Old World," the mysterious Knight, and even the long-haired princess.
He returned to the sofa and sat down. A big, fluffy tail stretched over from the side, sweeping back and forth across his lap.
The fox girl handed over a brush, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
The brush was a gift from Yu Sheng, especially useful for grooming during the season change, and she loved using it.
Yu Sheng chuckled as he took the brush, casually combing the fluffy tail resting on his leg.
Then he brushed out several small white foam balls from Hu Li's tail.
Yu Sheng: "..."
"There's still more!?" Erin was taken aback, "Is the lazy sofa really that intense?"
Luna leisurely spoke up next to him, "Back then, when she used her tail to sweep the floor, I guessed this would happen."
"Why not get rid of this tail altogether?" Yu Sheng, looking at the fox tail that kept producing white balls, face filled with concern, "It's been days..."
"No way," Hu Li shook her head, "This tail is for storing things."
Yu Sheng, "Oh my..."
...
The black luxury sedan drove through the rain, the street lamps on both sides receding continuously, appearing a bit blurred in the rain. The headlights illuminated the road ahead, but the view was still exceptionally unclear.
But this didn't affect Baili Qing too much.
She intentionally didn't use a "shortcut" and chose the normal roads of reality instead, knowing it would take more time, but to her, it was a rare kind of relaxation.
Baili Xue at some point slowly slid from the dashboard to the passenger seat. She twisted twice on the seat back, and the nearby seatbelt was pulled by an invisible force, slowly latching into the buckle.
Baili Qing glanced over, noticing her "sister" seriously fastening her seatbelt: "Do you need a seatbelt?"
"Safety, safety," Baili Xue blinked, "One must follow traffic rules."
"...You seem in good spirits?"
"Is that so? I didn't notice."
"I can see it," Baili Qing said softly, "At first, you'd always seem uneasy whenever you checked on No. 66 Wutong Road or secretly observed Yu Sheng, but after that 'Blood Transfer' at the Omen Divine Temple, you've been in good spirits when seeing Yu Sheng."
"...Sister, your way of saying things sounds odd?"
"Just speaking the truth."
Baili Xue went silent, unsure what she was contemplating, before suddenly speaking after a while, "Really sending him to Fault? No outsider has ever entered the Reversed Council Tower, and the Council Chairman is quite strict about this, especially now."
"Whether the Council Chairman agrees or not, I want at least to arrange a meeting between Yu Sheng and the Council members," Baili Qing said, "Red supports this idea too."
"Why?" Baili Xue asked curiously, "I mean, why do you want Yu Sheng to meet the Council members?"
Baili Qing paused for several seconds.
"The Council is the ghost rising from the residues of old days; we have forgotten too many things. Over the years, including the Council Chairman, everyone has been maintaining the Boundary Land, a fragile 'house' we call home, almost relying solely on instinct—we understand this home even less than some of the remote Colonized Stars."
Baili Qing spoke slowly, her gaze seemingly penetrating the endless rain, reaching the end of this land.
"Yu Sheng... We still know so little about him, but there's no doubt he's related to the Ancient Saints. Even the Lost Home, after years of voyaging, is now trying to reconnect with this world. I don't know what other secrets Yu Sheng holds, or what profound plans the Ancient Saints have regarding this matter, but one thing is clear: we need to bind Boundary Land more closely to him.
"I have a premonition, a critical moment is approaching, events happening soon might directly impact the future of Boundary Land. The rift in Fault is tearing our reality, but perhaps... this will also give us an opportunity to solve a question that has troubled us for many years—
"Where do we truly come from."
Comments