Chapter 594 "Opportunity"
The shoving "cat polymer" rolled and crawled in front of Yu Sheng. A bunch of eyes flashing with an eerie white light swayed on the surface of the amorphous mass of black shadows. A jumble of cat meows came from inside the mass. Then the mass of black shadows suddenly collapsed on the spot, instantly disintegrating into dozens or even hundreds of black cats. As the collapse occurred, each cat was covered with a plastic or rubber-like texture from its illusory shadow state, transforming into a form that Yu Sheng was familiar with.
Immediately afterwards, the black cats scattered and disappeared into every corner of the alley.
Only one cat remained—this dark, "plastic kitten" stared intently into Yu Sheng's eyes, raising one front paw.
Yu Sheng hesitated for a moment, then bent down and reached out to touch the paw.
A few superficial thoughts entered his mind.
"The invaders will return."
The little black cat turned and ran away, like a series of fragmented images, its figure quickly disappearing into the depths of the street corner in continuous short-distance teleportation.
Yu Sheng raised his head and looked in the direction where the black cats had disappeared. He saw that the shops on both sides of the dark alley were still lit with eerie lights, and the shop windows reflected hazy shadows.
Once the fog thinned to a certain degree, it stopped changing and continued to drift in the alley.
The dark alley did not completely return to its original state after the departure of those brass knights.
Yu Sheng shared the information he had obtained from "Cat" with the others.
Little Red Riding Hood frowned, looking at Yu Sheng with some unease: "What do you think is going on? So many bronze knights... and they're moving freely in the alleys. It doesn't seem like they stumbled in by accident. It's more like a special forces unit that came out on a mission. If it's those Hermitage cultists infiltrating again... I feel like it's even bigger than last time?"
Eileen scratched her head and turned to look at Yu Sheng: "So that means our family is going to have a new spaceship again?"
“It has nothing to do with that,” Yu Sheng waved his hand, then took out his phone and glanced at the time. “Anyway, we need to tell the Special Operations Bureau about this. The changes in the alleys are no ordinary events. We probably won’t be able to find anything by ourselves… It’s too late today. You guys go back and rest first. I’ll talk to Baili Qing about this after I go out. Maybe she’s still at the bureau.”
Eileen thought for a moment and said, "To be honest, I'm starting to feel sorry for that expressionless guy..."
What could Yu Sheng say? He also felt quite sorry for the bureau chief's sister.
He didn't understand why he always contacted her at night to discuss important matters that couldn't be delayed.
The only good news was that nothing else changed in the alley after that, and the group managed to get out of the alley safely.
Before leaving the alley, the last thing Yu Sheng did was to take out a few blood grenades and detonate them all on the street—only after watching the blood mist seep into the surrounding buildings and into the shop windows that reflected eerie light and shadow did he feel at ease to leave.
As dusk settled over the city, the Special Operations team remained stationed at the entrance to the old street, though some personnel had been rotated – they knew nothing of what was happening inside the alien territory.
After all, their mission was merely to prevent reckless rookie investigators and spirit detectives from wandering into the alley, not to monitor the state of the otherworld in real time.
Yu Sheng hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell them about the situation inside first.
Then Eileen was the first to run over—the 66.6-centimeter-tall doll trotted up to the two Secret Service agents, tilting its head back with an air of arrogance: "What are you standing there for! Something's spawning right under your noses!!"
The two sentries were initially amused by the little girl running all the way, but when they heard Eileen's shouting, they were immediately taken aback and looked up at Yu Sheng.
Yu Sheng gave them a general account of the situation in the alley—dozens of bronze knights had spawned, and it seemed to have "connected" to a secret colony of the Sacred Order, even altering the spatial order...
The Secret Service agents on guard duty immediately changed their expressions.
Of course, how they would write their reports was not Yu Sheng's concern—after fulfilling his duty as a "spirit detective" to investigate and report, he first opened a door and sent Little Red Riding Hood back to Fairy Tale Town, then sent Hu Li, Eileen, and Luna back to No. 66 Wutong Road, before turning around and going straight into the Special Operations Bureau.
As soon as the door opened, it led to Baili Qing's office. Yu Sheng saw that she had just finished tidying up her desk and was carrying a bag, clearly preparing to leave.
Yu Sheng looked at Baili Qing, and Baili Qing also looked up at him.
Yu Sheng felt as if he was seeing a series of micro-expressions measured in pixels.
"I'm going home now," Baili Qing said expressionlessly, though her tone carried a hint of resentment.
Yu Sheng sighed, picked up a chair, and sat down opposite Baili Qing's desk: "Let's talk about working overtime."
Bai Liqing didn't move, but simply put down her bag and pretended to listen.
“I just led a group in a fight in the ‘dark alley’,” Yu Sheng said without keeping anyone in suspense. “You should already know about the recent changes in that place—we discovered something new when we went there this time. There are ‘knights’ of the Sacred Heart Order there. If I’m not mistaken, the ‘humanoid entities’ mentioned in the sighting reports of other spirit detectives should be that thing.”
Baili Qing sat down.
"How many?" She raised her eyes, her light gray pupils filled with seriousness.
“We encountered dozens—and probably not all of them,” Yu Sheng said frankly. “Those bronze knights seemed to move freely, and when they ‘entered’ the alley, they caused a very obvious spatial change, as if the entire alley was ‘widened’ and extended infinitely at both ends… But that’s not the most suspicious thing. The most suspicious thing is that I also heard some voices over there, some… voices that seemed to come from Luna’s homeland.”
Even Baili Qing gradually showed a serious expression at this moment.
The fact that the Secret Service had caused trouble for the second time right under their noses clearly displeased the female director, but as Yu Sheng recounted more and more details, her anger turned into seriousness and thoughtfulness.
“…This doesn’t seem like a simple ‘infiltration’ or invasion,” she suddenly broke the silence. “Are you sure that when the alley finally ‘shrank’ again, those ‘knights’ simply ‘merged’ into the surrounding buildings?”
“That’s what it looks like,” Yu Sheng thought for a moment, “and some knights just disappeared into the fog in the distance. I didn’t see any kind of spatial teleportation. Also, I gave one of the knights two blood needles before he disappeared, but the two blood needles lost contact very quickly. I don’t know if it was because the distance was too far or because something interfered with them.”
Bai Liqing was deep in thought.
Seeing this, Yu Sheng didn't dare to disturb him and waited patiently for a while before he saw the other person raise his head again.
"Did we only encounter 'Knights'?"
“It’s just them,” Yu Sheng scratched his head. “What’s wrong with that?”
“If the number of ‘knights’ reaches a certain level, there must be a command node behind them, either a high-ranking monk from the Cult of Saints or… an artificial saintess. You have encountered dozens of ‘knights’, so theoretically, there must be other high-level units hiding near those knights.”
Artificial Saintess...
Yu Sheng's expression was somewhat solemn, but the scene of his first meeting with Luna and the first time he heard Luna speak came to mind.
“At the time, Hu Li’s divine sense did not detect anything else, and Luna’s radar did not react either,” he said slowly. “Theoretically, if there were other members of the Hermitage or artificial saints nearby, she would definitely have noticed them.”
Baili Qing pondered for a while.
"So, either the command nodes of those 'knights' weren't in the alley, or some phenomenon in the alley at the time blocked your perception. Furthermore, considering the other strange occurrences you mentioned, the possibility that the alley intersected with other dimensions cannot be ruled out. If those 'knights' 'smuggled' in from another dimension, this situation might also occur..."
Yu Sheng remained silent for a moment.
He didn't know how those "knights" got in, nor did he know what the Secret Order behind those enemies was planning this time. At this moment, he only realized one thing.
This is an opportunity.
Those elusive cultists who always lurk in the shadows have resurfaced—not only have they resurfaced, but news of Luna's hometown has even surfaced in the alleyways.
Even the smallest clue, or some strange phenomenon that baffles people, can be an opportunity.
He had promised to avenge Luna and help her return home.
Baili Qing didn't speak, but observed Yu Sheng's expression. She seemed to know what he was thinking. After a long silence, she spoke as if casually: "I think I told you before that the Holy Order is a behemoth, a troublesome enemy of a different type than the Dark Angels - we speculate that they have dozens of colony planets, highly fortified fortress star sectors and at least two illegal stargates, as well as a huge population and an industrialized production system."
“Yes, I remember you also said that we could ask you to call in people,” Yu Sheng said. “The border area has also been looking for an opportunity to completely eliminate these lunatics.”
“Completely eliminating such a behemoth is no easy task. It requires more than just one or two battles; it requires a real war. But you’re right, the Borderlands have indeed been waiting for this opportunity, provided you can actually find their lair,” Baili Qing said earnestly. “Over the years, we’ve tried, but the lawless sector is shrouded in shadows. Finding a few specific clusters of starlight in the vast expanse of space is no simple matter. Last time you captured one of their capital ships, that was probably the closest we’ve come to success in all these years… but the star map on that ship was wiped clean by those cultists at the last moment.”
Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Last time it was because I had no experience, but I think it can work this time."
Baili Qing stared into his eyes immediately: "Do you have any basis for what you're saying?"
Yu Sheng: "That's what I was thinking."
Baili Qing nodded: "...Okay then."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
