Dimensional Hotel-Chapter 189: Shadow of Thorns

Before departing the Special Affairs Bureau Headquarters Building, Yu Sheng took a moment to share with Bai Li Qing the details he had uncovered during his investigation with Old Zheng.

Upon hearing Old Zheng’s ordeal, Song Cheng—despite the presence of the Leader—couldn’t hold back his anger and cursed, “Damn those Angel Cultists, they never do anything remotely human…”

Bai Li Qing silently processed the account for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly. “That Spirit Summoning Ritual the Heretic Cultists taught Old Zheng… The blood-drawn sigil—did you record it?”

Yu Sheng hesitated, a bit embarrassed. “Uh, not really… I can’t remember it clearly. The sigil had already been partially erased—it was so faded I could barely…”

Before he could finish, Irene suddenly blinked and raised her hand cheerfully. “I memorized it!”

The little doll glanced at Yu Sheng, then explained, “When you zoned out, the sigil on the ground briefly lit up. It only flashed for a moment, but I remembered it.”

Without delay, Bai Li Qing handed over pen and paper from her desk. “Can you draw it for us?”

Gripping a pen nearly the length of her entire arm, Irene muttered, “I’ll give it a shot…”

She bent forward and began sketching a complex circular array made of bizarre symbols and arcane patterns. At first, her strokes were awkward—clearly not used to the tool in hand—but soon, her motions grew fluid. The array slowly took form, a ring that induced a faint sense of vertigo just by looking at it.

Yu Sheng stared in awe. After a while, he blurted out, “Wait—how the hell is your memory that good?! You can’t even remember the important stuff most of the time!”

Still drawing, Irene didn’t look up. “I’ve forgotten a lot due to my sealing, but that doesn’t mean my brain’s broken! My memory’s actually pretty great under normal circumstances… Ugh, my hands are too tiny, this is exhausting. Yu Sheng, when are you gonna get me a normal-sized body already…?”

As she muttered, Yu Sheng found himself glancing at her head, wondering—

[Three Irenes—one made of clay and lotus root, another built from rebar and stone… does she even have a brain in that head of hers?]

While he was lost in thought, Irene neared completion. Just as she was about to finish the final segment, Bai Li Qing interrupted.

“Don’t finish the last part on this one. Draw it separately on another sheet.”

“Okay!” Irene chirped, hopping over to the second sheet and continuing her work with care.

Yu Sheng blinked in surprise and glanced at Bai Li Qing. [Now that is a pro. I didn’t even think of safety measures like that.]

“Done at last—damn, I’m wiped,” Doll Lady groaned, handing the two sheets to Bai Li Qing. “Pretty sure it’s accurate.”

Bai Li Qing took them with utmost seriousness, examining both patterns intently.

“This does have the fundamental elements of the Spirit Summoning Technique… but the key nodes have been altered. It seems to act as a conduit pointing toward the slumbering Dark Angels. This could be instrumental in understanding its true nature—extremely valuable intel. Thank you.”

Irene immediately puffed up with pride, her expression turning smug.

Meanwhile, Little Red Riding Hood was wandering across the open space between East Building and the western wing. As she passed the outdoor activity area, she suddenly stopped, her gaze drawn toward something.

Near the sandbox where the Cursed Children played stood a brightly colored swing set.

Staring at it, she couldn’t help but recall the sketch in Old Zheng’s notebook—and the image of the smiling Young Lady standing before a swing set.

This was likely the very place from Old Zheng’s memories. But the swing set here wasn’t the one from twenty years ago. That old, dangerously worn structure had been replaced several years back for safety reasons.

Little Red Riding Hood hesitated for a moment before stepping onto the swing set, gently rocking back and forth. Winter bit sharply at the air, and the early evening wind made the activity far from pleasant. She soon came to a halt, but at that very moment, something flickered at the edge of her vision.

In the glow of twilight, a shadow seemed to float against the exterior wall of the East Building. It took the shape of bramble-like tendrils creeping up from the base of the wall to about a meter high.

Frowning, Little Red Riding Hood swiftly pulled out her phone and snapped a picture, then leapt off the swing and dashed toward the wall. Her figure seemed to flicker through the gathering gloom, reaching the spot in an instant. But when she arrived, the shadowy brambles had vanished.

She checked the photo on her phone—nothing out of the ordinary. No brambles, no strange shadows.

[An illusion? Just a trick of the evening light?]

She dismissed that thought immediately. As a seasoned Spirit Realm Detective, one of the first lessons she’d learned was never to disregard those fleeting moments of dissonance. In the realm of Mysticism, even a false vision seen by chance carried real-world implications.

Footsteps approached from the side. Little Red Riding Hood looked up to see a petite girl with ear-length hair, cradling a stack of books as she passed by. The girl paused, curious, and called out, “Red Hood Sis, what are you doing?”

Within the Orphanage, those who had become Guardians referred to each other only by their codenames. The children who had yet to pass through their Awakening Thresholds were the only ones addressed by their birth names—a long-standing tradition said to help stabilize their “role identity” after awakening, though no one knew if it truly worked.

Within the Fairy Tale Organization, there were many such rules whose effectiveness was uncertain, yet they were universally followed to prolong survival.

“I just saw a strange shadow, but it disappeared as soon as I looked directly at it. We should arrange for a few more patrols around this building tonight,” she said casually, then noticed the books in the girl’s arms. “Snow White? Where did those books come from?”

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The girl named Snow White lifted her arms slightly. “Donations. Came through the Sunshine Foundation. I’m taking them to the reading room.”

Little Red Riding Hood’s brow furrowed. She asked seriously:

“Did you check the contents?”

“Checked. No boys’ love, no girls’ love. All content for readers above fourteen is standard heterosexual. Below fourteen? No romance at all…”

“That’s not what I meant!” Little Red Riding Hood glared at her. “What are you even focusing on lately?”

“Just kidding! You’ve been super tense lately,” Snow White chuckled. “I really did check. The books are clean. No alterations, no substitutions, nothing that could destabilize the mental state of the Cursed Children.”

Little Red Riding Hood sighed and waved her off. Just then, her phone rang—that ridiculous monkey tune again.

Snow White couldn’t help but tease her: “Seriously, Red Hood Sis, aren’t you gonna change that ringtone? And where did you even find it? You’ve had it for years…”

“Picked it up during a mission. A noble from the Alglade Star System shared it with me. Said it was a melody from the ‘Remote Domain’. I like it. Changing it just feels weird.”

She answered the call as she spoke. Yu Sheng’s voice came through the receiver: “Hello? Is this Wang Jia Jia?”

Little Red Riding Hood’s eye twitched. Snow White grinned. “Ooh, your real name got leaked?”

“Shoo,” she waved her off and cleared her throat. “Ahem, didn’t you call for a reason?”

Yu Sheng continued, “I’m back from the Special Affairs Bureau. I told them about Old Zheng. Also, we caught the Angel Cultists responsible for the sacrifice at the White Exhibition Hall. I dug some things out of one of their minds.”

Her expression changed visibly. Her tone turned grave: “What did you find?”

“You at the Orphanage now? I’ll come by and explain. We need to discuss something else too.”

“I’m here…”

Before she could finish, a nearby Door burst open. Yu Sheng stepped out, Foxy trailing behind, waving his phone. “Perfect timing. Shall we use the same room as last time?”

Irene poked her head from behind Yu Sheng, chirping, “Hey hey, we’re back again!”

Little Red Riding Hood: “……”

After a long pause, she finally blurted, “Can you not announce yourself before opening a Door?”

Yu Sheng: “I reported to the Special Affairs Bureau while calling you…”

“I meant to me! What if I was in the shower or something?!”

Yu Sheng flushed. “That… shouldn’t happen. Unless it’s random teleportation, I can only open Doors to places I’ve been. You’ve never taken me to your bathroom—and I’m not a pervert.”

Irene headbutted his knee. “Stop explaining. You’re making it worse.”

Yu Sheng: “…..”