Yu Sheng almost didn’t catch the little doll’s rapid-fire chatter, standing blankly for two or three seconds before shaking himself back to reality. But right now, he had no energy left to scold Irene.
A strange sound suddenly echoed from the depths of the underground passage.
It was like a cheerful flute melody, drifting nearer then farther, as if the musician was wandering the corridors.
Then, the melody vanished. In its place came a rush of footsteps. Yu Sheng saw wet footprints appearing one by one on the stone floor ahead—as if a group of children were joyfully running by. Soon after, the footsteps transformed into the clatter of carriage wheels over cobblestones. Lights ahead dimmed abruptly, and the scent of gunpowder filled the air.
But this lasted only a few seconds. Thick mist quickly rose around him, and shadowy figures appeared within it. The underground passage was suddenly a strange street lined with tall, crooked houses. People hurried along beneath a cold night sky, and winter arrived in a breath. Yu Sheng noticed his exhaled breath crystallizing instantly into tiny ice particles. In the blink of an eye, the passersby froze solid, turning into lifeless sculptures.
From the corner of his eye, Yu Sheng glimpsed a flame flickering at the street corner, growing brighter and warmer, spreading quickly toward him.
Yu Sheng shook his head sharply, fighting to see clearly through the rolling fog. He ducked low against the biting wind, pushing past the eerie frozen pedestrians and twisted buildings. The nightmare leaking into reality was intense, the chill almost piercing his bones. Then, warmth approached. Within the glow of firelight, a long-haired girl emerged, looking bewildered and amazed.
“… Old Brother, why are you here?”
“Your nightmares are leaking into reality,” Yu Sheng replied urgently, noticing her form beginning to fade. With no time for detailed explanations, he spoke swiftly, “Speed up tonight’s ‘stage,’ or head directly to Sheltering Wasteland. Find Irene—”
The corridor temporarily returned to normal, and Yu Sheng bolted toward the exit. Little Red Riding Hood would take some time gathering the Cursed Children, but with “King’s” knightly guards, reality should be secure enough. Irene was watching over Sheltering Wasteland, and defeated Fairy Tale members in the “Subsets” weren’t immediate threats. Yet, a vague unease crept up from his heart—as though he’d missed something crucial or as if unseen events were unfolding beneath his very eyes.
This unease intensified sharply. A sudden sting on the back of his hand caused him to instinctively glance back.
A thorny bush had scratched his hand; branches tugged at his clothes. He saw the twisted trees of the Black Forest around him. The passageway behind had vanished, replaced by dense vegetation.
He spun around sharply. The corridor ahead was gone, too. All around him stretched the boundless Black Forest, shadows creeping beneath endless trees. Dense branches blotted out the twilight sky, and wind whispered emptily in his ears, mixed with distant howling of wolves.
Walls, ceiling, floor—everything was gone. This wasn’t just an illusion leaking into reality; he had truly stepped into the Black Forest itself.
Realizing he was genuinely within the Black Forest, Yu Sheng stopped dead, eyes narrowed in cautious vigilance.
He heard the faint wailing of a baby, muffled yet persistent, echoing from somewhere deep within the woods.
Then, a timid, whispering voice spoke up from a nearby bush: “Here! Over here, pssst—I’m right here.”
Yu Sheng turned swiftly toward the voice. A brownish-red tail poked from behind the low shrubs—it was Squirrel’s tail.
He quickly approached, kneeling near the bushes. There he found Squirrel hiding among the branches, humorously clutching two leaves to cover himself, cautiously peeking outward.
“Shh!” Squirrel motioned hurriedly for silence, creeping carefully up to Yu Sheng and lowering his voice even further. “Anka Aila is here.”
Yu Sheng’s nerves tightened immediately. He inhaled softly, eyes darting anxiously around the dark trees.
“You can’t see it, and it probably hasn’t seen you yet. What’s here now is only its gaze—I don’t know how to explain, but I remember this gaze. I remember… what it feels like to be watched by it,” Squirrel whispered, her voice trembling slightly. “It seems to be looking for something. Its gaze just swept over this area… The entire Black Forest went quiet for a moment, but now the wolves are restless again.”
And it wasn’t only the Black Forest.
Anka Aila’s gaze swept through every subset of Fairy Tale, passing over every stage.
Yu Sheng instantly understood, his expression turning grim.
“What is it looking for? Could it still be searching for that lost Umbilical Cord?”
“I don’t know, but… perhaps not,” Squirrel curled up even smaller beneath the leaves. “It’s been looking for that cord for many years. There’s no reason it would suddenly grow this restless now… Ah! Why did you suddenly come here? And without any of your friends?”
Squirrel looked at him curiously.
“…Part of the Black Forest ‘leaked’ into the real world. I came directly through the overlapping section,” Yu Sheng explained seriously, unsure if Squirrel would even understand. After hesitating briefly, he gently scooped her into his palm, softly stroking her head. “Things might change very soon… You need to find a place to hide—do you have somewhere safe?”
Squirrel stared blankly at Yu Sheng, unconsciously dropping the two leaves she’d been clutching. After a moment of confusion, she nodded vigorously. “Yes! Squirrel can hide! The Black Forest has many hollow trees. Each tree hollow is a hiding spot for Squirrel…”
“Good, then hide inside one, no matter what happens. Protect yourself first. Also…”
Yu Sheng paused briefly, then decisively cut open his finger.
Squirrel seemed startled, staring at Yu Sheng’s sudden action with wide, confused eyes as blood seeped from his fingertip.
“Lick it,” Yu Sheng instructed.
“Every child has done this,” Yu Sheng looked deeply into Squirrel’s eyes. “It’s a new ‘rule’ of the Orphanage.”
Squirrel’s expression was completely dazed, her tiny walnut-sized head clearly struggling to process complex thoughts. After a few seconds, she decided not to think further, simply leaning forward and licking the blood from Yu Sheng’s finger.
Only afterward did she vaguely realize what “every child” meant, her expression turning nervous and flustered, mixed with an incredible, faint joy.
In truth, Yu Sheng had no idea if his blood would help, nor if Squirrel, already part of the Black Forest, would gain the same “protection” as the other children in their nightmares. He just wanted to offer whatever aid he could. In this urgent situation, every other child from the Orphanage had a safe place prepared, but this little Squirrel… if he didn’t help, she’d remain completely alone, endlessly hiding within the vast, dark woods.
Soon, Squirrel’s figure gradually faded from Yu Sheng’s palm.
The surrounding Black Forest also slowly dissolved, fading into darkness once again.
The dreamscape began to recede temporarily. Yu Sheng stood up, seeing the shadowy forest melt away, replaced by the walls and floors of the corridor emerging between flickering shapes.
He quickly headed toward the wavering exit, found the stairs leading upward, and rushed from the second basement level all the way to the first floor.
Strange, brief illusions and peculiar sounds erupted around him, like fleeting actors and props moving across a stage: distorted Fairy Tale scenes, twisted characters, sharp, short trumpet calls, cheerful flutes, roaring lions, the songs of princes and princesses. Like countless invisible hands desperately trying to hold him back at the final steps—each briefly emerged and vanished within seconds, left behind as he pressed forward.
A dull adult uninterested in fairy tales, Yu Sheng broke free of these dream-spawned illusions without hesitation. Soon he saw the hall on the first floor of the East Building, already crowded with figures.
Older kids were directing the scene, teenagers helping to maintain order and check belongings, while the younger Cursed Children stood quietly in line. Some still half-asleep, some clutching hastily grabbed water bottles, others looking anxious and fearful. Yet despite dozens of small faces filling the hall, not a single one cried or shouted.
The loudest sounds were the rapid exchanges between Little Red Riding Hood and several other “Guardians”—
“Put on your clothes properly! Has everyone brought their water bottles? There’s clean water on the other side. Once you have your bottle, wait over here.”
“Bring some food, and blankets too. There might not be beds or cooking facilities there, it’s all been too sudden…”
“Do another headcount—Long Haired Girl, keep an eye on the queue! The youngest ones are falling asleep again, don’t lose track of them!”
Then, someone spotted Yu Sheng.
“Big Brother’s here! Hurry, Big Brother—open the Door!”
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation