Dimensional Hotel-Chapter 604: The First Snow of the Year

Zheng Zhi didn't know what was happening, but he could sense from Yu Sheng's changing expression that the matter was quite serious, feeling so tense that he dared not even breathe for fear of interrupting Yu Sheng's train of thought.

Yu Sheng was considering various possibilities in his mind for a brief moment before focusing his attention on the street and alley in front of him.

This was the place where Zheng Zhi had previously encountered "abnormal phenomena," but now all the anomalies had subsided, and apart from the sparsely populated street seeming a bit desolate, there was nothing peculiar visible to the naked eye.

Yu Sheng still carefully inspected the area and then concocted some blood to spread a mycelial carpet...

He'd become accustomed to this, feeling uneasy if he didn't leave a mark wherever he went, and during his daily bloodletting, he always felt like the constantly regenerating blood was a waste if not let out—sometimes he thought this habit might be a bit abnormal, but both Luna and Erin considered it a form of frugality.

As for Hu Li, she didn't have much opinion on it, as long as she could suck a few sips after the bloodletting.

Just like now.

Hu Li quickly devoured the roasted sweet potato in her hand and clung to Yu Sheng's arm, sucking noisily, while Yu Sheng looked at his nephew thoughtfully: "Based on your description, what you encountered were just 'illusions' projected from another space. The Artificial Saintess stabbing you without harm is clear proof. This is distinctly different from what we encountered in the Dark Alley... The 'knights' we met were actually real."

Zheng Zhi pondered: "From what I've heard, those knights 'landed on this side'..."

"This indicates that this process is somewhat uncontrollable for the Hidden Monastery," Yu Sheng frowned deeply, "A technology still in the experimental stage? Or a force or 'mysterious object' that they themselves cannot control?"

He paused, turning to Hu Li: "Can you sense anything?"

Hu Li finally lifted her head, reluctantly licking her lips, and started to survey her surroundings.

Subtle spiritual power spread around her, and the Divine Sense of the Great Demon Fox swept across the entire district.

After a moment, the fox girl shook her head: "No, this place is no different from anywhere else."

"...Perhaps it's related to the 'Exotic Realm' attribute of the Dark Alley itself, or maybe it's all happening randomly," Yu Sheng exhaled lightly, "Anyway, I'll inform Baili Qing about the situation here."

...

Having been delayed outside for quite some time, Yu Sheng and Hu Li returned to No. 66 Wutong Road near evening—after a day of cold winds, the weather calmed by dusk, but the skies grew more gloomy, led-grey clouds piled into dense masses, pressing low over the city.

Entering the living room and habitually looking toward the sofa, Yu Sheng didn't see the little puppet that usually occupied it at this time.

He quickly heard noises coming from the balcony.

Following the sound, Yu Sheng exchanged glances with a line of Erin puppets hanging on the clothesline.

Five Erins dangled neatly in mid-air, the line threading through the sleeves of the little puppets, resembling a string of small flags, with the blonde one in the center.

Just then, the small puppets were still swaying in the air, and the blonde one, upon seeing Yu Sheng return, vigorously kicked her short legs: "Yu Sheng! Get me down! The C-type buckle doesn't respect Martial Virtue—"

Yu Sheng hesitated, was about to ask what was happening, when he noticed a paper note pinned to one Erin's clothing. The note was penned by Luna: "I shouldn't have tossed the Omen Wandering Star into the water bucket while someone was mopping."

Fine, let them hang.

Yu Sheng directly ignored the bunch of puppets bickering faintly in the wind, pulled out his phone, and started messaging Baili Qing.

After explaining to Baili Qing about what Zheng Zhi had encountered and the developments at Black Stone Station, he diverted his attention and directly contacted Luo, who was still at Black Stone Station.

Upon hearing that the Venerate Saints Monastery seemed to be discussing the World Bridge incident, Luo was visibly shocked.

"Those lunatics? What do they want get involved with the World Bridge instead of confining themselves to their secret cult rituals and biochemical experiments? Are they crazy?!"

"Can decent people run a cult?" Yu Sheng was quite calm, as he realized that cultists are indeed disliked everywhere, even by extreme groups like the Black Dot Group, "In any case, we can't confirm how they're involved, but logically this makes sense—the Hidden Monastery is dedicated to studying the Dark Angel's power and collects 'Angel Catalysts' worldwide, while the World Bridge itself is a Dark Angel... even though the bridge is gone now, there is ample reason for them to be interested."

"...This doesn't seem like merely 'interest'; it clearly looks to be causing a stir," Luo's tone was anxious, "I sense the taste of a project collapsing."

Don't know if it's an illusion, but Yu Sheng actually detected a hint of an experienced feeling in the other's tone.

"When do you plan to make a trip back to your previous base?" He suddenly asked.

"I've already prepared a shuttle, but I can't leave these days. A critical system is being repaired here, and only I know how to handle it—and I don't trust those so-called 'Star Scholars' Alvin brought along," Luo said casually, with a hint of grumbling in his voice, "Back in the day, those slackers couldn't even write a simple paper clearly, and now they've become 'masters' back home, leading teams and providing interstellar tech support. Watching them wandering around the control hub at Black Stone Station just makes me shiver inside..."

Listening to the other's ramblings, Yu Sheng could somewhat understand, even though he hadn't experienced anything similar. Just think of it like this—someday you're lying on the operating table, and the chief surgeon who walks in is none other than that college roommate, old X, who couldn't even properly anesthetize a rabbit back then. You clearly remember that you even helped him piece together his graduation thesis from the internet. Seeing those same clear eyes through the surgical mask, wouldn't you be scared?

Putting himself in that position, Yu Sheng felt that even if he were under anesthesia, he'd struggle to crawl a few steps towards the door...

After handling Luo's matters, Yu Sheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. As he pondered recent events, he shifted positions on the sofa, leaning back more comfortably.

Five Erins hanging from the clothesline in his field of vision swayed back and forth like a row of wind chimes.

It's just a pity they didn't make sounds as melodious as wind chimes.

These little things made noises too, but they were a bit noisy.

"Alright, alright, put her down," Yu Sheng finally couldn't stand the incessant chattering and buzz, and glanced at Luna standing in standby at the stairway, "You know how Erin is, hang her up for two weeks and she'll still dare next time. Mischievousness seems hard-coded into her bottom layer."

Only then did Luna go to release them, and Yu Sheng joined her on the balcony to help. Together, they took the clothesline down, letting the puppets slide down one by one. Erin, halfway down, even looked up and asked, "Yu Sheng, were you speaking up for me just now?"

"...Yes."

"Thank you!"

As the last Erin slid off the line, Yu Sheng's peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of white specks drifting past the balcony window.

The next second, Hu Li's somewhat surprised voice came from the living room: "It's snowing!"

The recently descended Erins immediately started making a commotion, some climbing onto the windowsill, some running to the door, and two even clambered onto Yu Sheng's shoulders, eyes wide as they gazed outside: "It's snowing, it's snowing!"

Sparse white snowflakes were falling gently, descending into the already dim twilight of the nearing evening. Initially, they fell lightly, melting away quickly upon touching the ground, but in the blink of an eye, the snow intensified, gradually covering the massive Boundary City in a veiling shroud.

Erin ran to open the door—this time, she stacked two of herself together to accomplish this feat—and then stood at the doorway, facing the swirling snow, a silly smile slowly emerging on her face.

Hu Li also rushed outside. Since it was within the coverage area of No. 66 Wutong Road, she dashed through the open space at the door in her demon fox form, arms outstretched, spinning happily.

The fox girl's tail had fluffed up to at least twice its summer size, looking from behind like a ball of yarn rolling in the snow.

Yu Sheng casually threw on a coat and stepped outside with Luna, spotting Hu Li catching snowflakes—white hair, red eyes, in the snow running back and forth, fluffy and fuzzy.

He then glanced at the little house not far away with a logistics point sign, just in time to see Zheng Zhi push the door open and step out, a faint plume of heat drifting from the door.

"Brother Yu, want to join us for hot pot?" Zheng Zhi waved cheerfully.

Yu Sheng hadn't had time to respond before Hu Li, spinning in the snow, whipped her head around, drooling almost instantly...

Those tails of hers wagged vigorously, dizzying anyone who watched.

Yu Sheng looked at Hu Li, then back at Zheng Zhi, and after a brief thought said, "I'm thinking you all might not have enough."

But then he quickly changed his tone: "You wait a bit, I'll go grab some meatballs, sliced meat, and frozen tofu from the Special Service Bureau's cafeteria..."

As soon as he finished, Luna also spoke up: "I'll go to the valley and pick some vegetables."

Seeing that everyone seemed to have things to do, the Erin at Yu Sheng's feet also began pondering. The Omen Wandering Star circled above one of the little puppets' heads, then suddenly came to a stop—it looked just like a light bulb popping up over a comic character's head, only missing the "ding" sound effect.

Seeing this, Yu Sheng immediately felt a surge of alarm, pointing at the little puppet and warning: "If you dare throw that thing in the pot later, I'll hang you from the ceiling!"