Paths Diverge

"Our feet are on the ground!"

Eileen stood on a dark, heavy stone, struggling to hold the cleaver with both hands. She strained to strike a pose she thought looked imposing against the night wind, shouting into the empty valley bottom.

Yu Sheng poked the doll's head with a finger, nearly knocking her off the stone. "Stop being so loud. We haven't found Huli yet. You'll attract Hunger's attention prematurely."

"That thing doesn't sense by hearing," Eileen grumbled, jumping down from the stone. She tightened the buckle of the frame on her back and then looked up to observe their surroundings. "...It really is desolate, and just like you said, it's incredibly eerie and sinister. The sky looks like it's covered by something."

"Be extra careful," Yu Sheng glanced at Eileen, who was so small she barely showed any combat capability. Although he knew this doll had many strange abilities, he couldn't help but remind her, "If anything happens, prioritize your own safety. I'm not afraid of dying, but you are. Neither of us is sure if your soul can survive if this temporary body of yours is destroyed."

"Don't worry, I'll protect myself. And honestly, 'Hunger' isn't much of a threat to me," Eileen tilted her head up. "Dolls aren't usually affected mentally, and more importantly—I don't get hungry."

"Yes, you don't get hungry, but you're usually quite gluttonous. I have to put a cup of water in front of you just to look at it," Yu Sheng muttered, glancing at his feet.

The large plastic bags he brought were all there, which instantly relieved him. The caution and meticulousness he'd shown when opening the gate were warranted. He had sent all his "payload" through the gate, so at least the beginning was smooth.

Yu Sheng bent down, easily lifting the food, which was quite heavy for an ordinary person. He looked up towards the not-too-distant front.

The collapsed, dilapidated temple stood quietly in the night, not much different from when he had left it.

"Let's head over there first. Huli should be around here; I can feel it," Yu Sheng said softly, stepping towards the night.

Then, after taking just two steps, he heard Eileen shouting from behind, "Hey, wait up! Slow down! I can't keep up!"

Yu Sheng turned his head and saw the 66.6 cm tall little doll, dragging the cleaver with one hand and balancing herself with the other. She was navigating around several large rocks on the path as if traversing mountains, then trudging through the rocky valley floor, stepping shallowly in the debris.

Obstacles that an ordinary person would step over, she had to climb over or go around for a long time...

Yu Sheng watched this scene speechlessly, then sighed and walked over, squatting down in front of Eileen. "Why don't you just sit on my shoulders? And don't say 'giddy up'!"

Eileen instantly brightened, raising the cleaver and running towards Yu Sheng. "Hey! You're so nice!"

Yu Sheng let out a loud yell, "Put that thing away first! Or at least turn the blade the other way!"

Good grief, a living doll with a blood-red eye charging towards his neck in the dark was a terrifying sight.

Yu Sheng wasn't afraid of dying, but he was afraid.

"What have they gotten us into?" Li Lin shivered as the cold wind blew through the forest, a growing sense of unease lingering in his heart. "Is this still the Crossroads?"

"Otherworld, Nightfall Valley, current depth L-3, gradually sinking towards L-4. Danger assessment... according to records, above level three," Xu Jiali's voice came from nearby. This burly man, nearly two meters tall, had somehow connected the portable depth detector to his eyeball. He was scanning his surroundings while rapidly speaking based on the data stored in his mind. "This Otherworld is classified as 'Wilderness'—this is big trouble."

Li Lin's eyes widened slowly. With Xu Jiali's reminder, he finally recalled the information he had encountered during training.

'Wilderness' type Otherworlds were vast, with no clear boundaries or exits. Leaving required meeting specific conditions or being in a specific time and location. L-3 depth meant this place was largely completely isolated from reality and operated under rules that defied sanity. Prolonged stays also carried a high risk of mental and cognitive erosion and interference. Level three danger meant there was evident malice here, something resided here and would actively attack and attempt to kill intruders—the threat was lethal and could not be avoided or countered by "following the rules."

Operating in Otherworlds of this level typically required at least a full team of Special Operations Bureau agents, over a dozen people, fully armed and carrying heavy equipment.

And that was just for investigation missions—in other words, the objective was simply to gather intelligence and withdraw alive, not to confront the Entities here. That would require more personnel or more experienced special operatives.

Li Lin looked around. Including Xu Jiali, there were two Special Operations Bureau agents present. Although one of them was a deep diver, a special operative specifically trained to confront Entities, the situation had been sudden, and this strong man hadn't brought much equipment.

Next to them was an underage "Spirit Realm Detective" taking on an outsourced job, reportedly a reconnaissance type.

His fate was utterly ruined.

"Give the food in your hand to that little girl over there," at this moment, Xu Jiali, the most experienced person on site, broke the silence, giving instructions with a serious expression. "Li Lin, you and I will use this."

Li Lin quickly snapped out of his "utterly ruined fate" contemplation and followed the senior agent's instructions without hesitation. He handed the two bowls of instant noodles in his hand to the still somewhat dazed Little Red Riding Hood, then reached out to take what Xu Jiali was offering.

It was a needle-less syringe, containing a pale green liquid that faintly glowed in the night.

A rationality blocker.

Li Lin looked up in astonishment, watching his colleague who had already placed the syringe against his arm.

"The Entity generated here is 'Hunger,' which has a tendency for mental attacks," the burly man said calmly. "You should know what that means from the name—take a shot first. Although the side effects are greater than with a nebulizer, it will at least guarantee you won't lose your judgment for forty-eight hours."

Li Lin nodded. With a "hiss," the rationality blocker in the syringe was injected into his body.

Little Red Riding Hood, on the other hand, reacted instantly upon hearing the name "Hunger." She immediately stepped forward, "Wait, then you guys should eat your food quickly. Your bodies are still ordinary people. I can resist much better than you—and I have snacks on me..."

"Listen to me," Xu Jiali interrupted her directly. This burly man, nearly two meters tall, stood in the night, almost two heads taller than Little Red Riding Hood. He looked down at the girl in front of him with an exceptionally serious expression. "I know your situation."

Little Red Riding Hood opened her mouth, then finally said nothing more.

Xu Jiali patted her shoulder, his deep voice seeming to carry a reassuring power. "This is for us too—your wolf pack is our greatest hope against the Entities. You need to maintain your combat effectiveness."

Li Lin watched Little Red Riding Hood squat down beside a rock and begin to silently eat the now-cold instant noodles. He turned to look at his colleague, his expression carrying a hint of confusion.

Xu Jiali gently shook his head and lowered his voice, "If she falls into hunger, her wolves will eat her."

In the night, the wolf pack let out restless, soft whines in the forest.

In the cold wind, malicious "gazes" were spreading through the valley.

Within the ruins of the temple, Yu Sheng and Eileen searched cautiously.

The pervasive stench of decay grew more intense, even drilling into their nostrils as if conscious, causing extreme discomfort.

Eileen simply stopped breathing.

Yu Sheng envied her for this.

"Are you sure that fox is here?" Eileen held the cleaver in one hand and Yu Sheng's hair in the other, riding on his shoulders and stretching her neck to peer intently. "I can't see anything..."

"Confirmed," Yu Sheng replied casually. "I have a faint connection with her, established by blood—and with you too, though you might not be aware of it yourself."

"Yes, yes, really?" Eileen glanced at Yu Sheng suspiciously before looking down at her own hands, as if pondering what this "faint connection" he mentioned might be.

Just then, a faint rustling sound suddenly broke the silence of the ruins, interrupting Eileen's thoughts and Yu Sheng's movements.

The two of them looked up almost simultaneously, towards the direction of the sound.

A white figure cautiously emerged from behind a collapsed wall.

A silvery-white fox tail swayed gently in the night, and fluffy ears twitched slightly in the wind. The demon fox girl, who had emerged from the ruins, stared with wide eyes at the figures standing not far away. Once she finally made out who it was, she immediately broke into a happy smile.

"Benefactor!"

Huli ran out from behind the broken wall, practically a gust of wind as she swept over the debris and rubble on the path. She quickly circled Yu Sheng twice before stopping in front of him, her face filled with pure joy and a touch of disbelief. "You, you really came! Benefactor, really?"

"It's me, it's me, it's real," Yu Sheng replied with an equally happy smile. He immediately put down the things he was holding. "I brought you a lot of delicious food. You won't have to go hungry starting today."