Irene slipped out of Foxy’s arms, stood on the table, and looked out at the deserted courtyard through the same window as Little Red Riding Hood, who seemed lost in thought.
“This is where the first ‘fairy tale’ outbreak happened,” the doll murmured quietly. “But after all that, the people who were hurt ended up turning this place into their home… That’s kind of strange, isn’t it?”
“There always has to be a home,” Little Red Riding Hood answered, turning away from the window with a faint smile. “I don’t know what decisions the ‘predecessors’ made back then, but for the kids who live here now, this orphanage is home. For me, it’s where I can feel safe… even though so much has happened here already.”
“Only orphans get tangled up with the fairy tales?” Yu Sheng asked, frowning. “Or do they send any affected kid here, too?”
“Only orphans,” Little Red Riding Hood sighed.
“Why is that? Any idea?”
“It’s because their hearts have no protection,” she said calmly. “We still have a lot to learn about ‘fairy tales,’ but we do know its influence depends on the victim’s ‘personality patterns’ and ‘social connections.’ Children without parents or relatives, living in a long state of mental and social insecurity, are easy targets. After all…”
She paused for a moment, then shook her head. “After all, when the real world turns bitterly cold, the warmth of fantasy becomes irresistible. At the start, the fairy tale’s grip isn’t strong. All it needs is a thin ‘thread’ to keep a child tied to reality. But a lot of orphans don’t even have that thread.”
Yu Sheng’s scowl deepened. After a moment, he pressed on. “How does the fairy tale’s influence even start? The squirrel said it was from reading the story.”
“Then why not just ban those stories altogether?” Foxy asked, curiosity shining in her eyes. “I remember back in my hometown, a rogue sorcerer merged himself into a local legend before he died, nearly coming back through folks retelling the tale. That’s just as scary.”
Irene’s eyes went round. “Wait—what?! Your hometown sounds nuts… So what happened? Did you seal off the ‘infected’ legend?”
“Not exactly,” Foxy answered with a dismissive gesture. “They tried at first, but the sorcerer was well-prepared, and it didn’t work. Then the age of social media arrived.”
Yu Sheng looked completely baffled. “Uh… come again?”
“You know, memes and viral videos? The poor sorcerer ended up a laughingstock,” Foxy said, waving her hands in excitement. “Even his final desperate shrieks got turned into silly edits and reaction videos. By the time the celestial alliance noticed, he’d been laughed out of existence.”
Silence fell. Little Red Riding Hood, Yu Sheng, and Irene stared at Foxy, who kept going like it was perfectly normal. “After that, even our clan’s grand demon foxes stayed away from merging with folk tales. Now if they pick a story, it’s some math or physics textbook—things people can’t just meme to death.”
Little Red Riding Hood blinked, then looked at Yu Sheng. “I… think I lost track of that story.”
“Don’t worry, it happens all the time with her,” Yu Sheng said with a sigh. “But Foxy has a point—if reading these stories triggers the outbreak, why not just crack them like her hometown did, or stop them from spreading?” ŔäΝ𝖔𝐛Ěṧ
Instead of giving a direct answer, Little Red Riding Hood posed her own question. “Remember when we were dealing with that museum and why we didn’t just tear the building down for good?”
Yu Sheng’s face tensed slightly.
He understood what she meant.
“An ‘informational’ anomalous realm… The same logic applies here?”
“That’s right,” Little Red Riding Hood replied. “A realm that exists in information is more complicated. The stories are just the doorways through which it enters our reality. Wrecking the door could lead to worse, more unpredictable dangers. It might even make everything more threatening. And…”
She turned to Yu Sheng, her gaze serious.
“‘Fairy tales’ have an even stranger quality. The ‘story’ doesn’t always need people to read or tell it. There’s a documented case of a child dropping into a fairy tale subset after hearing the story read aloud… from nowhere. That’s why, even though it doesn’t usually kill instantly, it’s labeled Level Three or higher—it has a will of its own.”
Yu Sheng slumped back on the sofa, feeling the weight of her words.
He stood up and began pacing, a frustrated look on his face. “This feels so wrong… Don’t tell me the Special Affairs Bureau has no way to fight this,” he said, turning abruptly to face her.
Little Red Riding Hood kept her tone calm. “Have humans ever wiped out the common cold?”
Yu Sheng didn’t answer.
“Think of it like a chronic disease that only hits orphans,” she went on. “It might help you understand—and accept—it better. It’s not a broken machine you can switch off. It’s a force woven into the world. The stable entrances you’ve seen are actually the anomaly giving in to us in the only way it can.”
Her voice stayed sure and steady, but Yu Sheng felt uneasy.
He thought of one anomaly—a whole realm—that he knew had been destroyed.
Ideas raced in his mind like a storm. Could what happened there happen again with the Black Forest? Even if it could, would it fix the main problem of the ‘fairy tale’? The Black Forest was only a small part, a fleeting “room” in what she called the Invisible Building. According to Little Red Riding Hood, nobody could reach the root of the anomaly…
How could he even smear his blood on a collection of stories?
Little Red Riding Hood watched Yu Sheng closely, noticing the emotions flashing across his face. She didn’t know exactly what the strange man from Wutong Road No. 66 was thinking, but she felt his sincere desire to help.
“You’re trying to tackle something huge,” she murmured. “I know you want to do something for us. Others have tried—deep divers, scholars, investigators, even a star-reader from Alglade. They all failed. I’m not trying to bring you down, just warning you: it’s dangerous, and there’s no map to guide you.”
But Yu Sheng seemed lost in thought, barely hearing her. After a while, he snapped his gaze up. “I don’t have a plan for the fairy tale’s core yet, but I can start with the Black Forest.”
Little Red Riding Hood blinked. “Wait—were you even listening?”
“I was. It doesn’t sound so bad,” Yu Sheng said with a casual shrug. “Lots of things in this world don’t have easy solutions. I still have no idea where my water bill goes or where the drainpipes lead from my house. And as for danger… well, all these anomalies are dangerous.”
She started to speak, but no words came.
Just then, rapid footsteps sounded in the hallway, interrupting them.
A slim girl with long black hair, who looked a bit younger than Little Red Riding Hood, burst through the door, her eyes tense and worried.
“Long Hair? What’s wrong?” Little Red Riding Hood asked, standing up right away.
The girl glanced at the strangers in the room, then took a steady breath and spoke in a low, urgent voice. “One of the kids just ‘left.’ It was too sudden… we couldn’t stop it.”
Yu Sheng saw Little Red Riding Hood’s face pale. She looked like she’d stopped breathing for a moment.
“…Who was it?” she asked softly.
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation