The Great Door Opened

Eileen's decisive turn and sprint caught Yu Sheng slightly off guard. The little doll's short legs churned furiously, but unfortunately, she was only 66.6cm tall.

A doll just over sixty centimeters tall, with short legs churning to the point of creating afterimages, was still just that. Before she could even reach the door, the picture frame on her back got caught on a nearby chair leg. She had intended to duck under the chair, but forgot she was carrying something on her back.

Yu Sheng ambled over and easily scooped up Eileen, who was still flailing in mid-air.

"You can't hold a grudge like that!" Eileen thrashed her arms, punching and kicking at the air. "And wasn't I just trying to wake you up! I admit the method was a bit too creative, but didn't you wake up in the end! Hey, let me go..."

"I didn't say I was going to do anything," Yu Sheng interrupted Eileen with a smile, placing the little doll back on the ground. "I just wanted to tell you, don't bite so hard next time. Even with my recovery abilities, it took me this long to stop hurting. You're clearly taking some kind of revenge—though it would be even better if you didn't bite at all."

Eileen blinked, surprised. "Huh? You're not mad?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not ungrateful," Yu Sheng pouted and turned to walk out the door. "Go get ready now, we need to head to that Valley."

Eileen stood on the ground, a little dazed. Seeing Yu Sheng walk away, she quickly scrambled to catch up. "Did you remember all the 'characteristics' over there?"

"Crystal clear."

"I actually think this place is quite peaceful," Xu Jiali said, sitting by the window and munching on a Jianbing Guozi Li Lin had bought that morning. He watched the street outside with a sigh of emotion. "It's so nice, much more peaceful than the lawless star sector. And there are no Angel Cultists on the streets..."

"Compared to the intensity of your fieldwork, this place is definitely peaceful," Li Lin said, sitting next to Xu Jiali and slurping his hot soy milk. "Consider it half a vacation. The mission is just surveillance. If anything truly serious pops up, the Bureau will send reinforcements."

"But I noticed 'Little Red Riding Hood' has been really on edge," Xu Jiali glanced out the window. "She's just a kid, tense as a coiled spring. I was just like her when I first came out of the 'station'."

Not far outside the window, on the roof of a nearby building, a girl in a dark red coat was hidden in a corner, watching the street. A hot dog was in her mouth, and the phantom image of a wolf pack flickered in the air beside her.

As if sensing the gaze on her, "Little Red Riding Hood" alertly looked up towards the window where Li Lin and Xu Jiali were. Seeing that there was no situation, she nodded lightly, glanced at the street again, then pulled out a few notebooks and writing tools from her backpack and buried her head in her homework.

The wolf pack continued to monitor the street in her stead.

Li Lin looked at the dark red figure on the distant rooftop and couldn't help but mutter, "I've often heard the name 'Fairy Tale', but she's the only member I've actually seen... She looks underage, doesn't she? And she's out doing such dangerous work?"

"More than half of 'Fairy Tale's' members are around her age, and they mostly come from the same place," Xu Jiali sighed. "Unfortunate children, all of them."

Li Lin was surprised. "All of them? Why..."

"Because it's easier for children to fall into 'Fairy Tale', and it's often difficult for adult members to survive in 'Fairy Tale'," Xu Jiali waved his hand. "If you're really interested, go check the archives yourself later. Don't ask her about it in front of her."

Li Lin sensed something from his colleague's attitude. He hummed thoughtfully and turned his attention back to the peaceful old streets outside.

"Looks like nothing's going to happen today either," he sighed softly and continued slurping his soy milk.

Xu Jiali: "I'm not full. Where are your instant noodles? I'll grab a pack."

"Under the bed in the back room—boil the water yourself. The kettle's in the kitchen. The water dispenser in the living room is broken and doesn't dispense hot water. Oh, and make me a pack too."

Yu Sheng looked at Eileen, who was standing at the door, with a look of suspicion. "This is your preparation?"

Eileen stood on the shoe-changing bench just inside the entryway, puffing out her chest to appear more capable. In her hands, she clutched a large kitchen knife she had taken from the kitchen. The handle was too big for the little doll's palms, so she had to hold it with both hands to steady it.

"I'm just being prepared. Having an extra weapon makes me feel safer. When the fighting starts, you'll see my incredibly powerful magic!"

Yu Sheng's face twitched at the doll's confident boasting. "You might as well have grabbed a fruit knife. It would have been easier for you to hold."

"A fruit knife doesn't have enough presence."

"At your height, even a dragon-slaying sword wouldn't have presence!" Yu Sheng said helplessly. "Listen, don't break it after you get there, okay? I quite like this knife, it's very good for cutting meat."

"Alright, alright, stop nagging. Why so many worries?" Eileen held the knife with both hands, rolling her eyes impatiently at Yu Sheng. "Hurry up and open the door. We need to confirm the situation on the other side first."

Seeing this, Yu Sheng said no more. He turned and grasped the doorknob, simultaneously checking the pile of items at his feet.

That was food for Huli.

When he had entered the Otherworld before, the items he carried and the trash bag in his hand had also passed through the Great Door. But this time, he intended to bring many more things—besides a large amount of food, there was also Eileen. And with so much extra "load," he wasn't entirely confident about succeeding.

He had tested it, of course, but only with short-distance door openings at home. Traveling to the "Otherworld"... that was nothing like moving a short distance in the real world.

So, he had to make more preparations. If it didn't work, this time would just be a test.

Yu Sheng wore an unusually baggy coat, its pockets filled with compressed biscuits, bread, and several cans of eight-treasure porridge. When he opened the door later, he would try to "prop" it open as much as possible to send the supplies at his feet through first, then pass through the passage with Eileen.

To do this, he needed to "open" the door as wide as possible.

He still didn't know the principle behind the process, so he could only rely on his instincts.

Yu Sheng squinted slightly, recalling the characteristics of the Valley he had recorded through Huli's senses.

Recalling the cold night wind, the stench of decay, and the bone-chilling hunger that permeated the entire Otherworld.

And most importantly, the "aura" required for spiritual guidance.

All of this transformed into the "frequency" for opening the door, into the scenery he imagined on the other side.

Next, he attempted to focus all his attention on opening the Great Door this time. He wanted to open a door that was large enough, stable enough, sufficient to bring Eileen through, sufficient to bring all the supplies through, and to arrive precisely beside Huli...

The doorknob turned slightly. A cold draft flowed through the slowly opening gap into the entryway...

A passage far larger than any previous one was established.

As for how large this passage was?

It was certainly large enough to make Director Baili Qing of the Special Operations Bureau and all the action team captains emit sharp shrieks in their offices.

Hummm--

A strange, low hum suddenly echoed throughout the entire Wutong Road neighborhood. However, this hum was far beyond the limits of ordinary human hearing; only those who had undergone training and possessed extraordinary perception of the power from the "Otherworld" could hear its continuous tremor originating from the depths of spirituality.

Xu Jiali, who was walking out of the kitchen holding two bowls of instant noodles, instantly felt something. He looked up at the window in surprise, only to see the daylight outside rapidly darkening, as if a heavy curtain was gradually descending over the entire Boundary City. Beneath the curtain, all the buildings outside the window were gradually becoming transparent and disappearing. A hazy, strange landscape resembling a valley began to "grow" out of the original neighborhood.

Little Red Riding Hood, who was busy finishing her homework on the rooftop outside the window, also suddenly looked up. The wolf pack whimpered uneasily in the shadows, and a cold wind sprang up out of nowhere, rustling her math notebook.

Li Lin, who had been marveling at the peace and tranquility of the street just a moment before, jumped up with a "holy crap!" His exclamation was clear and precise: "Holy crap! Something's happening outside!!"

Xu Jiali, holding the noodles, rushed behind Li Lin in a few steps and immediately reacted: "No! The problem isn't outside!"

Li Lin turned around sharply: "What do you mean?"

"We're 'observing' a change—we're falling into the Otherworld!" As an experienced deep diver, Xu Jiali instantly assessed the situation. He then casually shoved the noodles into Li Lin's hands and rushed to his equipment case, taking out a beam dagger and protective gear. "Quick, contact the Bureau before the signal..."

However, the process of sinking into the Otherworld was faster than Xu Jiali had imagined.

A "pulling" force far beyond his experience dragged both his and Li Lin's senses past the boundaries of common sense and reason in almost an instant. He only felt a blur before his eyes, and before he could even pick up his gear, he heard the sound of hollow wind whistling towards him.

All the scenery before him changed. The rental room vanished like a dream, and a valley shrouded in darkness appeared before him.

Li Lin only had time to see the mobile phone screen on the table in front of him suddenly light up, the Director's phone number flashing for a moment—and then, all that remained before him were dark stones and dark woods.

The two Special Operations Bureau operatives looked up blankly, exchanged a glance, and then heard a wolf's low growl beside them.

They turned their heads and saw the young girl in the dark red coat standing beside them with a serious expression.

"We've fallen into the Otherworld," Xu Jiali said in a low voice after a moment of silence.

Little Red Riding Hood nodded gently: "I know. Judging by the scale and characteristics, it should be a 'Wilderness' type."

Li Lin looked at Xu Jiali, then at the girl in red, feeling like he should say something too.

He looked down, raised his hand, and asked, "Want some instant noodles?"