Foxy wandered into the living room, holding a bowl. She crouched beside Yu Sheng, shoveling rice into her mouth while curiously eyeing the three Irenes curled into a tight circle, hugging their knees in gloomy silence.
After a long pause, Foxy couldn’t help but ask, “Benefactor, what happened to Irene?”
“She’s upset,” Yu Sheng sighed. “She just found out there’s a new type of stone in this world that’s completely useless, except specifically against her. She thinks she’s cursed.”
“Oh.” Foxy nodded absentmindedly, unsure if she understood. She leaned over and gently patted one Irene on the shoulder with her tail. “The teachers at school always say, the capable draw the envy of heaven…”
All three Irenes lifted their heads at once, speaking in perfect unison. “What’s that mean?”
Foxy honestly replied, “I don’t know. But Teacher said when someone’s very unlucky, that’s how you comfort them—though usually, it doesn’t change the fact they’re unlucky.”
All three Irenes let out identical sighs. Two of them promptly collapsed onto the sofa, resuming their miserable states, while the third got up and rushed over to Yu Sheng.
“Ahhhh—Yu Sheng! I swear this world is targeting me!”
Yu Sheng nodded seriously. “Yeah, I noticed.”
“How should I know?” Yu Sheng rolled his eyes. After a moment, he felt compelled to comfort the little doll. “But hey, maybe those crystals specifically target Alice Dolls. When we contact Alice’s Little House later, you can let your sisters test it out too.”
Yu Sheng had no actual evidence, yet Irene’s mood brightened immediately.
“Oh! You might be right! It must be because we Dolls are so amazing, naturally overpowering Dark Angels. Even after Anka Aila’s gone, the crystals still fear us…”
If nothing else, Irene’s optimism was impressive.
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by noisy sounds coming from outside. Foxy instantly perked up her ears, alert. Yu Sheng also raised his head, glancing toward the window in surprise. Wutong Road No. 66 had always been quiet; aside from Special Affairs Bureau or Fairy Tale members, ordinary people usually found it impossible to even approach within dozens of meters. Where was the commotion coming from?
Puzzled, Yu Sheng rose and walked to the window, followed closely by Irene, who squeezed past his arm onto the windowsill. Foxy quickly joined, still clutching her bowl. Two adults and a small doll peered curiously out the window together.
They saw several people bustling around the street corner closest to their house—a typically deserted area Yu Sheng jokingly called the “no-man’s zone.” A few storefronts stood there, perpetually vacant with rent signs hung for so long Yu Sheng once suspected them to be part of No. 66’s anomalous region. He’d even checked with local authorities, discovering they were simply too isolated to attract tenants.
Yet now, one of those storefronts appeared occupied. A large truck was parked at the corner, and several muscular young men briskly unloaded shelves, counters, and computers into the building.
Yu Sheng clicked his tongue in amazement. “…Wow, is our neighborhood finally becoming lively?”
“No way!” Irene squished her face flat against the glass, skeptically mumbling, “Even dogs avoid this place like the plague…”
Yu Sheng scowled playfully. “You’re right, but your phrasing’s annoying.”
Foxy, finishing her meal and casually wiping her mouth with her tail, looked thoughtful. “Benefactor, should we go say hello? They’re not exactly neighbors, but still new people around?”
Yu Sheng considered briefly. “Not exactly neighbors—but checking out what they’re up to might not hurt. I’ll go greet them.”
Immediately Foxy stuffed her bowl into her tail. “Benefactor, I’ll come too!”
“I’m coming!” Irene leaped from the windowsill into Foxy’s arms. “I’ll just play dead!”
Before finishing her sentence, the little doll dropped her limbs limply, her eyes instantly losing their spark—clearly practiced at this.
Not to be outdone, Foxy removed her ears and promptly retracted her tails with a pop.
Yu Sheng shook his head helplessly. “Fine, fine, let’s all go.”
After quickly changing into outdoor clothes, Yu Sheng led Foxy (with Irene still feigning death in her arms) out the door toward the newly occupied storefront. As he curiously glanced around, his gaze was suddenly captured by a logo on the truck—
A diamond-shaped emblem, black with red patterns, reminiscent of a vigilant vertical eye.
Yu Sheng stared blankly at the familiar Special Affairs Bureau symbol.
In that brief moment of distraction, a cheerful voice reached him: “Teacher Yu!”
He raised his head toward the voice and saw Ren Wen Wen standing in front of him, dressed smartly in a black office suit, smiling brightly.
Several young men busy arranging shelves nearby also looked up. Among them, Yu Sheng immediately recognized two Special Affairs Bureau operatives who had recently lent a hand back in the Valley.
As soon as Irene realized these were familiar faces, she stopped pretending to be asleep, poking her head out from Foxy’s arms: “Oh, it’s you guys? What are you doing here?!”
Yu Sheng also turned an inquisitive look toward Ren Wen Wen, who cheerfully pointed toward a sign lying next to the shop’s entrance, waiting to be hung—
“Stellar Transit Wutong Road Collection Point.”
Yu Sheng’s expression shifted subtly: “…A package station?”
Ren Wen Wen laughed lightly: “Didn’t you tell the Special Affairs Bureau before that living at Wutong Road No. 66 made it inconvenient to get deliveries or takeout? So, we decided to set up this collection point as close as possible. It might not look like much, but every aspect—from location to staffing—went through extensive analysis and testing.”
She explained earnestly: “This location is at the very edge of the ‘shielded zone’ around your home. It’s also the closest normal humans can approach without their perceptions getting distorted—a perfect spot. From now on, there’ll always be two Special Affairs operatives stationed here, essentially making this place a special bureau outpost. I’ll be directly managing communications here. You can even list this as your ‘Hotel’s’ reception address, so future clients won’t have trouble finding you when they have detective requests…”
Ren Wen Wen listed each benefit methodically. Yu Sheng could only nod along vaguely, murmuring things like, “Oh? Ah… I see…” as if he was caught completely off guard. Yet this actually wasn’t that sudden—he had mentioned this request to Bai Li Qing a long time ago, but with everything that happened recently, he’d forgotten completely.
Noticing Yu Sheng’s awkward reaction, Ren Wen Wen lowered her head apologetically: “Sorry for taking so long. It seems small, but it actually involved multiple departments. Plus, since we considered potential future needs, we integrated the Stellar Transit service into it too, and that required a full round of Council approvals. Every step was expedited, but it still took a lot of effort.”
Only now did Yu Sheng fully register the situation. Quickly waving off her apology, he said reassuringly, “Ah, no worries, no worries! It’s just that things got so hectic I totally forgot… Wait, what did you say ‘Stellar Transit’ was? I’ve been meaning to ask since I saw the sign…”
“Oh, it’s a delivery and shopping platform directly funded and managed by Borderland Council,” Ren Wen Wen replied, swiftly pulling out a QR code. “Here, scan this to download the app…”
At this moment, Yu Sheng suddenly felt she resembled less a bureau agent and more one of those eager shopping mall salespeople, chasing customers around to subscribe, follow public accounts, and sign up for membership cards.
Ren Wen Wen remained oblivious to Yu Sheng’s subtle reaction and continued enthusiastically, “Most people can’t even register; it’s strictly whitelisted, since many items there are restricted in Borderland or require special credentials. But you don’t have to worry—you’re already whitelisted, personally approved by our Director. You just need to register. Of course, if you actually select restricted items, it’ll still pop up a warning. But even if you never use the special merchandise, Stellar Transit still handles regular logistics within Borderland. It’ll be very convenient…”
Yu Sheng didn’t even register Ren Wen Wen’s trailing words clearly. He downloaded and opened the app, browsed silently for a moment, then closed it. Opened again, browsed, closed again.
He got the gist pretty quickly.
This thing was selling “Delicious Bargomo Alien Canned Meat” as its top recommendation. The first line in the product details explained practical self-defense techniques after opening the can…
He had a strong feeling he probably wouldn’t need such a hardcore product anytime soon.
But right then, Ren Wen Wen abruptly changed topics: “Oh, by the way, Teacher Yu—I saw the new story you published!”
Yu Sheng practically flinched.
Mainly because her previously intense enthusiasm for shipping character pairings had left a deep psychological impression on him.
However, he quickly recalled he’d changed the protagonist’s mount to a llama last time. Relieved, he smiled and casually asked, “Well? How’d you like it?”
“It’s… stimulating,” Ren Wen Wen said seriously after a moment’s thought, as if taking on some sacred duty. “To be honest, it’s really challenging, but I’m doing my best…”
He stood there dazedly, mentally trying to figure out what exactly she meant—until he suddenly wished he hadn’t figured it out at all.
[No, wait a second, Young Lady… Exactly what are you even trying so hard for?!]
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation