Dimensional Hotel

Then there was Foxy, a fox with several tails, who kept pulling random snacks out of her tails while eating—all sorts of bizarre combinations, like flatbread wrapped around a steamed bun or chilies paired with bananas. She seemed to eat whatever she found without any rhyme or reason.

But the strangest of all was Yu Sheng. He actually ate human food. It was unbelievable.

Yu Sheng noticed Little Red Riding Hood staring off into space. He assumed she was just shy about being a guest for the first time and warmly said, “Go ahead, help yourself. I have to say, I’m pretty confident in my cooking skills.”

He paused mid-sentence as if remembering something, then pointed to a dish on the table. “Oh, by the way, you probably shouldn’t eat that one.”

Little Red Riding Hood blinked, looking at the seemingly ordinary dish of stir-fried peppers and pork. “Why not?”

“That one’s made with a ‘special ingredient’ from the Otherworld. I’m not sure if regular humans can eat it,” Yu Sheng replied casually. “Foxy and Irene, they both avoid it.”

Little Red Riding Hood’s eyes widened slightly. “Special… ingredient from the Otherworld?”

“Yeah, it’s meat from Entity-Hunger. I quite like it, though most people wouldn’t,” Yu Sheng added matter-of-factly, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. “I’m pretty sensible about these things.”

He looked over and saw that the girl across the table had gone completely stiff, as if she’d turned to stone.

After a few seconds, Little Red Riding Hood blinked, her expression frozen as she looked at Irene, who was sitting on the table, tasting the air. “Really… an acquired taste, huh…”

“First time, huh?” Irene patted Little Red Riding Hood’s arm, looking like someone who had been through it all before. “I had the exact same reaction the first time I heard about it. Don’t overthink it. It is exactly what it sounds like. You’ve already seen us take out that Entity in the valley, so don’t be too shocked. Besides, at least this one’s cooked.”

“Cooking does help,” Yu Sheng agreed, nodding as he picked up a piece of stir-fried pork and popped it into his mouth. “I tried it raw once, like sashimi. Too tough.”

Little Red Riding Hood stared at the rest of the dishes on the table, suddenly regretting accepting Yu Sheng’s invitation today. Originally, she thought she might gather some new intel on this strange “person” and on the peculiar place that was Wutong Road No. 66—something that might fetch a good price at the Special Affairs Bureau. But now she realized one important thing:

If an Entity seems harmless, it will always have something more sinister hidden beneath. And if an Otherworldly place appears unusually safe, it definitely has its own, very creative brand of mental corruption.

Little Red Riding Hood swallowed nervously as she watched Yu Sheng eating happily. She wanted to ask, “Once you’re done with this, you won’t eat me, right?” But she didn’t have the nerve to say it out loud.

“Not to your taste?” Yu Sheng looked at her, confused by her hesitance. “I admit I tend to make things a bit heavy on flavor, but you can try this stir-fried greens dish. It’s decent.”

Under his gaze, Little Red Riding Hood couldn’t escape, nor could she shake her head. After hesitating for a moment, she slowly reached out with her chopsticks, all the while mentally chanting, “This is edible.” She swallowed it down like medicine—only to be surprised.

It was delicious.

Just regular, well-cooked food.

“Good cooking, isn’t it?” Foxy grinned cheerfully from beside her.

Little Red Riding Hood nodded subtly, her expression complicated. She watched Foxy, who never seemed to stop eating, and finally couldn’t help but ask, “Won’t you get full, eating so much?”

“Nope.” One of Foxy’s tails swished behind her. “I need to eat more to store it in my tails. That way, I can use it to help our Benefactor in a fight.”

Little Red Riding Hood: “…What?”

What kind of nonsense was this?

She suddenly doubted her own ability to understand things. It felt as if Wutong Road No. 66 operated on a set of rules that were completely different from the normal world. Everything looked and sounded normal, but somehow, it was all bizarre.

Just then, Yu Sheng’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “By the way, there’s something else I wanted to ask you about today.”

“Huh? Oh?” Little Red Riding Hood took a moment to react, her gaze puzzled as she looked at Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng, not noticing her confusion, asked directly, “As a ‘Spirit Realm Detective,’ how do you usually work? Or, I guess, what should one pay attention to in your line of work?”

“My usual work? Most of the time, I take on freelance assignments from the Special Affairs Bureau. Sometimes other organizations or individuals ask for help, but that’s less consistent,” Little Red Riding Hood explained casually. “Most Spirit Realm Detectives get their commissions through the Bureau or its subcontractors. Being an official organization, they have access to plenty of information, and many requests get collected there. Look at this.”

She pulled out her phone, tapped a few times, and showed the screen to Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng leaned in curiously, seeing a long list of chat threads, most of which had avatars marked with the Bureau’s insignia.

“This is a platform the Bureau set up—it’s called ‘Borderline Communication.’ Spirit Realm Detectives and independent investigators use it to share information, chat, and hang out. Official requests also get posted here. Some people just call it ‘Freelancer Hub.\'”

Yu Sheng listened with interest and tried to get a closer look at her screen, but Little Red Riding Hood had already put her phone away.

“Technically, I shouldn’t show this to outsiders, and I have to keep it confidential from regular people. But since you’re not a Detective or an investigator, yet also not an ordinary person, I thought I’d let you take a peek. As for what we should keep in mind doing this job—”

Little Red Riding Hood paused, her expression turning a little teasing. “Everyone has their own habits. If I had to sum up the common ‘rules,’ there’d be two. One, don’t mess with the order of the Borderland. Two, try to stay alive. If you can’t manage that, at least try to die in a ‘shallow’ place so the corpse collectors don’t have too much trouble.”

She looked at Yu Sheng, suddenly curious. “Why are you asking this all of a sudden?”

Yu Sheng answered frankly, “Oh, because we might soon be colleagues.”

Little Red Riding Hood: “…What?”

…

After dinner, Little Red Riding Hood left.

“Why do I feel like her expression was a bit off when she left?” Irene muttered, sitting on the table and watching Yu Sheng clear the dishes. “She looked kind of dazed…”

“High schoolers have a lot of stress. It’s normal. Plus, she’s working odd jobs during the holidays. Look at her phone—the screen’s cracked. I don’t think she’s doing all that well financially.” Yu Sheng wiped the table and spoke casually. “That’s why I invited her over for dinner—to help her relax.”

“Really?” Irene looked skeptical. “I feel like she was even more on edge when she left than when she came.”

“You’re imagining things,” Yu Sheng waved it off. “Trust me, I understand people. I used to be a high schooler myself. We’ll just invite her over a few more times, and she’ll get comfortable.”

“If you say so…”

With that, Yu Sheng finished cleaning up and handed the dishes to Foxy, who had enthusiastically volunteered to wash them. He let out a long breath, ready to do something more serious.

“I’m going to open a door.”

Irene, who had been about to hop off the table and run to the living room to watch TV, turned around. “Huh? Where are you going?”

“Back to that valley for another look.”

Irene slipped off the table leg, landing with a thud. She lay flat on the floor, staring up at Yu Sheng. “Did you run out of meat in the fridge?! Are you going there to restock?!”

“No,” Yu Sheng quickly waved his hands. “It’s just something that the Bureau Director mentioned earlier that’s been bothering me.” He told Irene what Bai Li Qing had said before she left.

Miss Doll frowned as she listened. “It’s not a trap, is it? Like, maybe she wants you to step on a landmine or something? Big shots like that always do this sort of thing on TV—they come out of nowhere and start talking at you endlessly.”

“Maybe you should watch less TV,” Yu Sheng rolled his eyes at her. “Anyway, even if she has some other plan, I need to check out that valley again.”

Irene frowned. “Why?”

“There are some things I need to investigate further. We left in a hurry last time.” Yu Sheng’s expression was serious. “Don’t worry so much. It’s not like I can’t come back. The pathway is stable now. If things go wrong, I can retreat immediately.”

“Alright…” Irene thought about it, reluctantly easing up. “Should we tell Foxy? She might worry.”

“I’m just going for a quick look. It shouldn’t take long. If she asks, just tell her I’ll be back soon.” Yu Sheng said as he reached out, and a shimmering door appeared in the air before him. “Besides, I’ll probably be back before she even finishes washing the dishes. I’m just taking a peek.”

He paused, looking back at the door he had just opened. “…Should I have notified the Special Affairs Bureau first?”

“You only think of that now, after opening the door?! Just go already, before they start calling with complaints! I’ll wait for you here.”