Along with the opening of the illusory door, Yu Sheng returned once more to the living room of No. 66 Wutong Road.
The baby's faint cries, which had been echoing in his ears all along, faded away. The warm, bright lights and familiar sight of home instantly dispelled the oppressive chill brought by the dark forest. Yu Sheng instinctively took a deep breath, easing his somewhat tense emotions.
Huli couldn't help looking back toward where the door had vanished, a little worried. "Is it really okay to leave the squirrel there?"
"We couldn't exactly bring it out with us." Yu Sheng shook his head. "The squirrel entered the Black Forest a very, very long time ago. By now, it's completely become part of that forest. We don't know what would happen if we rashly brought it out—but there's no need to worry, either. It's lived in the forest for so many years. It'll be fine."
Eileen also climbed down from Yu Sheng's shoulder, speaking as she crawled. "Indeed. And I feel like that squirrel seems much more relaxed now. Before, I always thought it was completely crazy. Although it doesn't seem to have returned to normal now, it's still much better than before."
Yu Sheng grunted and said no more. Instead, he lowered his head and glanced at the Angel Umbilical Cord (Imitation) and hunter's bullet he had brought back.
After leaving the Black Forest, the umbilical cord, which had once shown signs of partial activation, had returned to its original withered state. It now lay quietly inside the box.
As for the hunter's bullet... Yu Sheng hadn't seen the hunter in the end, either.
It seemed that next time, he would still have to bring Little Red Riding Hood into the Black Forest. Setting everything else aside, he at