The illusions surrounding the Alice Tree quietly vanished, and the lush garden reappeared before everyone.Erin shook her head, stood up unsteadily beside the big tree, tilted her head, knocked her forehead with her fist, then knocked the other side, muttering, "Why do I feel so dizzy..."
"If you talk less during mind detection next time, you won't feel dizzy," Yu Sheng reached out and picked up the little thing, placing it on his shoulder, saying helplessly, "There's barely enough thread as it is."
Erin thought for a moment, opened her mouth wide, and bit down on the back of Yu Sheng's head—forgetting that her mouth was too small to bite anything, she only ended up with a few strands of hair.
While trying to suppress the little puppet on his head, Yu Sheng turned to look at the captain beside him: "In short, our preliminary conclusion is that this thing requires the involvement of those Dark Angels who originally created the World Bridge with the Omen Goddess... like the Beauty God or Tree Angel, right?"
"That's the most likely scenario," the Captain glanced helplessly at the little puppet still flailing on Yu Sheng's shoulder and nodded slightly, "The Omen Goddess probably planned this route the moment the World Bridge fell because the evaporation of information is pushing the Dark Angels towards death every second. In a way, these calibration data were extracted by her companions at the cost of their survival in the void... she has to take responsibility for this legacy."
He sighed lightly before continuing, "It's a reasonable decision, one I completely understand.
"Anyway, the most urgent thing now is to find a way to contact the angel cluster from that year—currently, it seems the Beauty God and Tree Angel are in the best condition, and it's confirmed that these two Dark Angels are still fulfilling their old agreements. If I remember correctly, Heka Star, Glorious Cross, Swollen Skull, and Mirror Lake should also be part of this cluster...
"But regardless, too much time has passed, and their condition might not be great. We should be very cautious when approaching. After all, the Beauty God also mentioned a situation of many angels losing control when she sent you warnings."
Yu Sheng nodded solemnly.
He knew it was almost time to head back.
Everyone returned to the deck of the Lost Home—this was the initial spot where Yu Sheng and his group were transported. According to the Captain, opening the door back to the internal universe from here would cause the least interference with the void engine.
Erin climbed onto Alice, looking reluctant to leave, muttering nonstop while holding onto the head of the Puppet Progenitor.
Alice seemed to cherish the little thing as well, several times removing her own head to give to Erin to hold, fearing she would get tired, but Erin would always "boop" it back in place...
The two puppets whispered and pushed each other, creating an atmosphere so warm that Baili Qing would need to check his sanity three times if he saw it.
Eventually, Yu Sheng, who couldn't stand it any longer, squatted down to draw an array on the ground while looking up to remind them: "It's not like you won't come back, why are you acting like it's life and death... if it comes to that, you can leave a mass-produced body here on the Lost Home?"
Only then did Erin finally react, jumping from Alice onto the deck while speaking, "Oh, right, of course..."
The Captain stood behind Yu Sheng, curiously watching him work. He saw Yu Sheng holding a marker, drawing a bunch of symbols on the deck that seemed useless and sketching lines that were mostly asymmetrical. Before long, he couldn't help but ask, "...What are these for?"
"Huh? Didn't I mention leaving a fixed door on the Lost Home?" Yu Sheng looked up, "It'll make future trips more convenient, save me some energy, and you some fries—seriously, that pigeon needs to lose weight. It's the first time I've seen a bird wider than it is tall in my life..."
Before he finished speaking, a plump silhouette crashed onto the deck from the mast, and Ai Yi paced back and forth: "Does that make sense, does that make sense, does that make sense..."
The Captain wasn't bothered by the plump pigeon's rambling. He still stared at the stuff Yu Sheng had drawn, saying, "Um, I know what you're trying to do, but I can't see what this stuff you've drawn is supposed to do... none of it seems functional in either alchemy or curse skills!?"
Yu Sheng blinked, scratched his head, "Is that so?"
While speaking, he completed the last step of the Teleportation Gate Array, and not far in front of him, a plain wooden door was leaning against the outer wall of the rear side of the Lost Home's cabin—a door provided by the Captain as a favor, nothing special, just something his son Tirian crafted while dabbling in woodworking.
Then, Yu Sheng raised his hand: "Go..."
A shadow instantly flashed over, stabbing Yu Sheng's palm with a knife.
Blood flowed into the array, and candle flames soared immediately. Pale flames danced, and the edge of the plain wooden door began to ripple and writhe as if coming to life. Red vein-like patterns grew all around the door, and in the blink of an eye, they tightly connected the entire door to the hull of the Lost Home.
The Captain was utterly shocked: "...How did this become operational?!"
Yu Sheng: "I have no idea, it's just how I do it every time. This thing was initially taught to me by Erin. She called it alchemy and even showed me how to use it to inject a living doll with a soul..."
The Captain: "...But Erin doesn't know alchemy either?"
Yu Sheng: "...Huh?"
Erin: "...Huh?"
The Captain remained silent for a while, seriously looking into Yu Sheng's eyes: "...Alchemy is a very advanced field, especially when it involves the domains of time and life."
Yu Sheng thought for a moment and pointed at the glowing Alchemy Array and the array-side candles, which were blazing, "Then what's this?"
The Captain was at a loss for words, but then Erin came over and patted Yu Sheng's knee, the little thing still grinning up at him, "This is the power of believing..."
Yu Sheng stroked his chin, pondered a bit, and nodded, "Fair enough."
The Captain: "...?"
Anyway, whatever the case, the Teleportation Gate was up and running, and everyone could only attribute it to the wondrous technology of the Dark Angels.
Now, everyone was gathered by the door, and before pushing it open, Yu Sheng glanced back at the Captain standing nearby.
"By the way, can't you just come directly with us? From here, all it takes is opening a door, and you'd be at my place."
The Captain didn't speak, just slightly opened his arms.
At that moment, his figure became illusory, as if an illusionary star river drifted from behind him. In just a moment, the shimmering star sea surrounding the void engine blurred the boundary with the Lost Home, subtly resonating with his figure.
"As you can see, at this stage, my main body can't easily leave—whether it's the adjustment of the void engine or vigil outside of the order field, none of these tasks can tolerate any mistakes," the Captain said, "But I'll think of an alternative. In any case, I must go to see that otherworldly spaceship that crashed in the 'valley'."
"Alright, I'll head back first, take a look at the fault situation on the Boundary Land side, and wait for your updates. Anyway, the teleportation gate is here, so sending a messenger to my place is convenient."
The Captain slightly nodded.
Out of the corner of his eye, Yu Sheng observed two figures quietly standing near a mast.
They were Lady Agathas.
They were also here to see him off, but hadn't approached closer.
Yu Sheng smiled and waved at them.
"See you later—you're welcome to visit my place whenever you want. Although we no longer have a working relationship, as former employees you can always come by."
...
Moments before the alarm rang, Baili Qing woke up on time—she glanced at the time on her phone on the bedside table, then got out of bed.
After a long yawn, Baili Qing sat on the edge of the bed and spaced out for half a minute, then raised her hand to touch her head.
The horns had finally receded.
A pair of illusory eyes appeared in the air beside her, spinning in circles around Baili Qing's head.
"Sis, how was your sleep last night?"
"Very well, I've been sleeping well for the past few days."
While speaking, Baili Qing got up, but somehow felt a bit uncomfortable.
"Xue..."
The pair of illusory eyes immediately followed: "What's the matter, sister?"
"Do you feel... like something's off these past few days?"
"Off?" Bai Lixue blinked, "Is the remote work causing you anxiety? I filled in for you at the Special Service Bureau, and there was nothing major happening there... Or is it that you slept with your pillow too high and got a stiff neck? You shouldn't have such issues given your constitution."
"I'm not talking about that, I mean..." Baili Qing frowned, "It's like... something is missing?"
"Missing two horns? Or missing the late-night overtime? You said yourself, it's rare to get two good nights of sleep..."
Bai Lixue stopped halfway.
Then, the sisters simultaneously reacted, speaking at the same time—
"What has Yu Sheng been doing these past couple of days..."
"Is that living dad unusually quiet these days?"
The room fell into brief silence, then Baili Qing felt her spiritual intuition suddenly ringing, and the next moment the phone on the bedside table started vibrating.
Bai Lixue swiftly floated over, glanced at the screen, then exclaimed: "Sis! The living dad is calling!"
Even Baili Qing found her face tense in that instant. She almost glared hard at Bai Lixue before going over to pick up her phone. An odd feeling of unease welled up inside her, causing her to hesitate for a few seconds before answering the call and putting it to her ear.
"Hello? Yu Sheng?"
"Oh, Director Baili, I've got something to tell you..."
Yu Sheng's voice came through the receiver, relaxed and natural as usual. It didn't sound like anything serious had happened, which also made Baili Qing feel relaxed.
But she relaxed too early.
For Yu Sheng's next words were: "We've just returned from the Lost Home..."