Chapter 590 Suspicious Sounds in the Dark Alley
Peaceful and uneventful days are rare. In this border region, a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, it seems that life is only normal if something goes wrong. Yu Sheng thought that after the border bridge incident, the city would at least be quiet for two months. However, the truth is that in this vast border region, there has never been a day that is truly uneventful.
To be honest, he wasn't particularly interested in minor incidents elsewhere, since the Secret Service would always step in, but changes in the back alleys... he had to go and check it out.
Dusk has fallen.
Little Red Riding Hood and Yu Sheng returned to the entrance of the old street, this time with Hu Li and Luna. As for Eileen—at the little doll's insistence, Yu Sheng finally brought out the blonde version.
The little doll was still holding her beloved frying pan, eager to show off her skills if danger arose.
To be honest, Yu Sheng wasn't very confident about Eileen's "show of skills," since the little thing always seemed to run into trouble when she was overconfident. But he also wanted to see how well the little doll's "primitive body" actually performed in combat...
The Secret Service has raised the danger rating of the alley and issued a warning on the border communications that it is dangerous to go to the alley recently. Many ordinary spirit detectives and independent investigators who originally had exploration plans have now temporarily put aside their tasks. When Yu Sheng and his group arrived, they even saw several Secret Service vehicles next to the node device at the entrance of the old street.
Several heavily armed Secret Service agents guarded the entrance to the alien world, with the node devices running at full power humming behind them.
Noticing someone approaching, the armed agents on site appeared somewhat nervous, but they relaxed after recognizing Yu Sheng's face—clearly, Yu Sheng's face was quite well-known within the Secret Service.
However, the operators relaxed for only a moment. The next second, their expressions became even more tense than before. When they saw Yu Sheng approaching, the veins on the necks of two of them bulged. An operator who looked like a squad leader took the initiative to step forward, first saluting, and then revealing a solemn and tense look on his face.
As soon as he spoke, Yu Sheng said in unison, "Is the situation already that serious?"
Then they both froze.
Yu Sheng was the first to react, and quickly coughed twice: "Ahem, I mean the situation has become so serious that the Secret Service has sent people to directly seal off the 'dark alley'?"
“I also thought the situation was serious enough to require your intervention… I was worried that there hadn’t been any official notification from above,” the squad leader on the other end said awkwardly, rubbing his nose before quickly explaining, “There hasn’t been a complete lockdown order yet, but non-senior spirit detectives and independent investigators are prohibited from entering. We’re here guarding the area in case something happens.”
Little Red Riding Hood frowned, seemingly sensing something from the operator's tone: "...Has the situation changed again?"
"...The entrance to the alley has drifted," the squad leader glanced at the group in front of him, not hiding the situation. "Now, entering the alley will directly teleport you to a random depth and random location, instead of entering the safe zone on the first floor. The risk of injury or death has become very high. In addition... the previous rumors about the appearance of 'humanoid entities' in the deeper levels have also been confirmed. The current danger rating given by the department is 3, but it can be raised at any time."
Little Red Riding Hood blinked: "...It's already been confirmed to be lethal?"
“There is obvious and indiscriminate malice. They will actively attack and try to kill intruders—and they are active in groups. They have the ability to teleport and become invisible. An elite squad detected this in there,” the squad leader nodded. “The only good news is that the evacuation mechanism in the alley is still working, and there are still safe exits at the crossroads.”
Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood exchanged a glance.
“Let’s go in and check the situation,” Yu Sheng said, turning his head. “Are there any procedures we need to go through?”
"No need. The bureau has ordered that, unless otherwise notified, you have the authority to investigate any foreign territory at any time, including places that have been designated as restricted areas—and the team you lead has the same authority."
Yu Sheng didn't say much, just thanked them, greeted the special agents on site, and then led his team through the blockade to the narrow entrance between the two buildings.
The weathered old brick wall did not retreat or hide; at least this time, the entrance to the dark alley was open as usual.
Upon entering this alien realm, a unique sense of "alienation" spread around them. The scenery before their eyes changed, and the noisy sounds from the streets of the real world instantly faded away, revealing a quiet and gloomy alleyway.
Little Red Riding Hood immediately summoned her wolf pack, which guarded the team. The ghostly blue foxfire rose silently in the air, dispelling the nearby gloom and chill.
Yu Sheng looked up and saw the alley extending out on both sides of him. A damp mist filled the narrow street, and the sky was so dark it seemed to be maliceful. The wet pavement reflected the messy strings of lights and wires in the sky. Strings of colored lights were lit up above the nearby buildings, but those lights, which should have symbolized vitality and liveliness, emitted an eerie and cold light, flickering in the mist like a video with a poor signal, and even trembling and deforming slightly.
The situation was as the squad leader had described: the entrance to the dark alley had shifted—this was clearly not the safe and stable "first level," and Yu Sheng and the others were already in the middle of the alley when they entered.
However, the rumored "humanoid entities" were not in sight.
"Something's definitely not right," Little Red Riding Hood muttered softly, controlling the shadow wolves as she moved them outwards while glancing towards the end of the alley. Her eyes, which had somehow transformed into wolf-like forms, glowed eerily in the dim light. "All the doors are open..."
Along the narrow streets, all the shops facing the street were lit up, and the doors that were originally closed were now open, stretching all the way to the hazy crossroads at the end of the thin mist.
However, the lights in the shop windows and doors did not appear warm; instead, they exuded an eerie coldness. The light could not extend into the distance, as if it were being held back by some invisible force, trapped within the buildings like... a sticky, viscous substance.
Luna silently equipped herself with her fingertip blades, then lightly leaped onto a nearby rooftop, returning to Yu Sheng's side moments later.
"cat."
She said briefly.
Yu Sheng was taken aback, then quickly realized what was happening and looked around: "It seems like all the 'cats' here have disappeared."
Deep within the alley, physical "cats" will spawn. These cats will actively attack "intruders" who enter the alley, and their numbers will multiply as the depth increases.
This was clearly a level deep within a dark alley, but there wasn't a single "cat" in sight.
"...This is not as good as when there were spider webs everywhere," Eileen muttered, hugging her precious frying pan. "At least I knew that thing well."
Hu Li pulled off two of his tails, one on each side, and tucked them under his arms. He turned to Yu Sheng and asked, "My benefactor, shall we bomb this place?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Sheng quickly waved his hand and said, "No, no, let's figure out what's going on here first."
Just as they were talking, Yu Sheng suddenly heard a faint sound drifting from the thin mist, vaguely reaching his ears.
It sounded like someone was whispering not far away, but the voices seemed to be coming through a thick curtain.
Yu Sheng looked in the direction from which the sound came. There was only one shop with its lights on. The shop sign was crooked and the colorful LED lights that seemed to writhe like living creatures pieced together unreadable symbols. He had no idea what the shop sold.
He walked toward the shop, stopped by a dirty shop window and looked inside—the dim yellow light shining through the window was trapped a few centimeters above the glass, and on the other side of the window, there seemed to be several almost transparent figures.
Was that a "customer" in the store? Or the rumored "humanoid entity"?
Yu Sheng was slightly taken aback. This was the first time he had seen human figures in the dark alley. The changes in this place were indeed a bit strange. But the blurry figures did not attack as the intelligence had mentioned. Instead, they just swayed in the windows, like... projections from a great distance onto these few panes of glass.
Luna also stood in front of the shop window, staring at the blurry reflection in it for a long time, tilting her head slightly.
"A C-shaped buckle? What did you find?" Eileen asked curiously.
“No,” Luna slowly shook her head, her voice hesitant, “It’s just… a momentary… doubt?”
Yu Sheng frowned: Although Miss Saintess usually speaks very slowly, she has never seemed to have such an uncertain tone before.
He walked on, and after passing two more shops whose business he couldn't discern, he finally saw a place that looked somewhat familiar.
It's a "secondhand bookstore" tucked away in a dark alley.
But at this moment, the situation at the "old bookstore" was clearly abnormal—while all the street-facing shops along the dark alley were lit up, this bookstore, which was usually open, was not lit up, and even the string lights on its signboard were not turned on.
But its door was open.
The inside of the door was pitch black, and the shop window next to it was also completely dark.
Eileen boldly jumped off Yu Sheng's shoulder, peered into the bookstore from the entrance, but before she could even take a step inside, she nimbly scurried back.
“It’s pitch black inside, you silly fox, light a fire inside.”
"You can't light fires in a bookstore..." Hu Li muttered to himself, but still managed to conjure a bright flame and prepare to throw it into the used bookstore.
But just as she rubbed the flame, Yu Sheng heard that indistinct whispering sound coming from a certain direction again, and it sounded clearer than before.
A man and a woman are talking.
"...Have you heard? The two sons of that old blacksmith from the next village have both been 'selected' and are going to the city to become knights. The red-robed messenger himself came to fetch them..."
"What are knights... Our village once had a saintess... that girl named Luna..."
Yu Sheng's eyes widened suddenly.
(End of this chapter)
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