It took longer than expected for the Special Affairs Bureau to finish the sample extraction from the “Umbilical Cord” and share their findings. By the time Yu Sheng returned to his home, darkness had fully cloaked the sky. As he pushed open the Door, he was greeted by a scene so horrifying it nearly caused a cardiac arrest:
Foxy and Irene were huddled at the kitchen Doorway, enthusiastically debating what to make for dinner.
Irene proposed deep-fried stuffed eggplants, along with stewing the half chicken left in the fridge.
Foxy’s suggestion? Stew everything left in the fridge—including two newly purchased jars of chili sauce.
Yu Sheng entered just as they were voting on it. Irene, clearly not bound by any notions of fairness, raised six hands.
Foxy countered with two hands and nine tails.
Thankfully, Yu Sheng arrived just in time to avert yet another “Fox in the Kitchen” catastrophe, sparing the Borderland a culinary explosion on this peaceful winter evening.
“Didn’t I tell you both not to go into the kitchen when I’m not home!” Yu Sheng said with exasperation, tying on an apron. “Did you forget the Iron Pot Stew Irene Incident? Or the time that warped frying pan almost melted the ceiling?”
As he climbed onto Yu Sheng’s shoulder, Irene tried to sound casual, “You look like something turned up at the Special Affairs Bureau?”
Irene swiftly leapt down, rummaging through Yu Sheng’s pocket while hanging from his leg. Yu Sheng glanced down at the nimble little doll and thought [she really does resemble a Squirrel more than the real one…]
“…Zhao Le Le, eight and a half years old, went missing eighty-six years ago…” Irene mumbled after finding and unfolding the paper, her tone skewed with disbelief. “Tch, from the photo you wouldn’t guess that thing now chain-smokes and curses like a sailor.”
“Eighty-six years,” Yu Sheng murmured with a sigh. “She’s long ceased to be that child.”
“…Who knows what she’s become now,” Irene muttered, folding the A4 sheet and slipping it back into Yu Sheng’s pocket. Seeing that dinner was nearly done, she climbed back onto his shoulder and flipped off the range hood.
“What’s the plan after dinner? Straight to the Orphanage to brief Little Red Riding Hood and the other Guardians? Better think through your wording; the Dark Angels are seriously scary…”
Yu Sheng shook his head while plating the stir-fry, “No, lights out at the Orphanage is ten-thirty. I plan to speak with them after they sleep, once I enter the Sheltering Wasteland. If the Blessed Shelter mechanism activates as expected, it’ll give everyone some peace of mind before I break the Dark Angel news. Before that, you and Foxy are coming with me to the Valley.”
“The Valley? What for?”
“To finish an experiment we previously postponed. There should be enough time,” Yu Sheng said offhandedly, heading toward the Door with the plates. “Foxy! Dinner’s ready!”
After dinner, Yu Sheng did a quick cleanup, then led Irene and Foxy down to the basement.
Wutong Road No. 66 had a spacious basement mirroring the oversized attic at the top of the house. With nearly half the ground floor’s area, the space was accessed via a staircase from the living room. Most of one wall was stacked with clutter, but the other half lay empty.
Yu Sheng rarely visited the basement, even less than the attic.
Flipping on the light, he began rummaging through the junk heap near the wall. Irene watched curiously, eyes wide.
“Hey, weren’t we going to the Valley?”
“Just doing some prep work,” Yu Sheng replied without pausing. “I remember seeing it around here… Ah, found it.”
Grinning, he bent down and lifted a large object with effort. Irene stared, stunned and confused, as Yu Sheng emerged from the dust and debris with a full-sized, weathered wooden Door still attached to its frame.
Irene stared in stunned disbelief. “What do you even want that thing for?!”
Yu Sheng hoisted the old, battered Door from a pile of junk as he spoke casually, “Figured I’d see if I could construct a fixed Door. Didn’t I mention it before? Right now, getting in and out of the Valley relies entirely on me opening a Door, which isn’t exactly convenient. I’ve got time now—might as well test if my earlier theory holds.”
As he spoke, he propped the Door against the blank wall at the far end of the basement. Then, grabbing a rag, he gave it a quick dust-off before pulling out a pen and beginning to sketch on the nearby floor.
Irene instantly recognized it—a simple Soul Imbuement Rite in the form of an Alchemy Formation, the only Alchemy pattern Yu Sheng had ever shown familiarity with.
The little doll instantly caught on.
“You’re trying to use a physical Door as a medium, and treat the ‘Teleportation Door’ you create as an Alchemy effect… to solidify it?!”
Yu Sheng nodded. “That’s the plan.”
The little doll opened her mouth, at a temporary loss for words. Reflexively, she turned to glance at Foxy, curious about the reaction from the so-called “Silly Fox.” As expected, the fox girl did not disappoint—upon hearing Yu Sheng’s idea, her eyes lit up and she clapped excitedly.
“Benefactor’s path of artifact crafting is one of following the heart—simplifying complexity and tracing things back to their essence!”
Irene eyed her suspiciously. “You don’t even understand Alchemy, do you?”
Foxy shot back with a grin, “Do you understand Benefactor’s ‘Path Through the Underworld’?”
The little doll was left speechless by the fox girl’s counter, finally sighing and stepping forward as she noticed Yu Sheng still scribbling on the ground.
“Ugh, fine, let me help you. Drawing it won’t cut it—this size of Alchemy Array is already considered medium scale. You can’t just upscale the small formation I taught you; each node needs extra augmentation… I’ll show you.”
Yu Sheng hesitated, but handed over the pen. He watched her start adjusting the rough sketch with additional nodes while mumbling to herself.
“Just drawing it isn’t enough, you know. Proper Alchemy requires special ink for larger formations. But since we’re using your blood as material, that step might not make much difference… See these runes? They’re augmentation nodes—when the complexity doubles, you need to add symbols at every line intersection…”
Yu Sheng listened, wide-eyed, watching Irene clutch the pen—clearly oversized for her—while continuing to sketch furiously.
Then came the sound of rapid footsteps from the stairwell.
The other two Irenes had arrived.
Each held a pen, and without a word, joined in to help.
Three little dolls dashed about Yu Sheng’s feet, the massive, intricate Alchemy Array quickly taking shape.
He couldn’t help but feel… she seemed genuinely happy.
Eventually, Irene extended part of the runic pattern onto the frame of the old Door and finally stepped back.
“Done!” She turned with a smug grin, still holding her pen like a banner. “That’s the base formation. Memorize it! For anything over a meter in radius, you must use augmentation … Why are you looking at me like that?”
Yu Sheng, ever blunt, replied, “Just thinking, you suddenly seem pretty reliable. Like an Alchemy expert.”
“I am an Alchemy expert! And I’m always reliable!” Irene snapped, crimson eyes glaring. “Anyway, the array’s done, but I’m not promising it’ll work. No one’s ever tried something before. I don’t even understand the true nature of your ‘Teleportation Door.’ Just don’t blow up the place…”
Yu Sheng quickly waved it off. “Relax, relax. I know what I’m doing. I can feel every part of the Door-opening process clearly. If anything feels off, I’ll stop right away.”
Even as he spoke, he was already pulling out his phone.
First on his frequent contacts: Bai Li Qing.
Yu Sheng curled his lip at the name, hesitated for a couple of seconds, then tapped to call.
The line picked up immediately.
“Uh, Director Bai Li…” he began with an awkward cough.
But before he could finish, a cool, calm voice came from the other end.
“Two, maybe three hours…”
“Alright. I’ve cleared the schedule. Tell me when you’re done.”
Yu Sheng blinked, caught off guard. “Oh—thanks… Wait, how’d you know I was—”
“Ahem, polite honorifics—never heard you be this formal when you open a Door.”
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation