One hour later, Baili Qing was already sitting in the Special Service Bureau cafeteria, in the special private room prepared specifically for Hu Li. Across from her sat Yu Sheng and Erin (strictly speaking, Erin was sitting on the table), and beside her sat Hu Li, stuffing herself like a fox at a feast. Luna stood at the door like a bodyguard with a blade, and Apiao was floating up by the ceiling—the room didn't even have the lights on, yet it was bright as noon.The fox girl's mouth was stuffed full, both hands still clutching a chicken drumstick, yet somehow it didn't affect her speech at all: "Director Baili, let me tell you, that place is seriously magical. There are wooden barrels that keep spawning fried chicken and French fries, and the fountain gushes out cola and ketchup… the cola is ice-cold!"
Baili Qing's expression looked even stiffer than usual, but to be fair, aside from the rigidity in her face, this big-sister director actually seemed in pretty good shape. There was a clear, well-rested sharpness in her eyes—Yu Sheng wanted to ask how she'd been sleeping these past two days, but when the words reached his lips, his Spiritual Intuition pushed them back down…
Just because he didn't ask didn't mean no one on site spoke up. A pair of phantom eyes somehow drifted down onto the tabletop, swaying back and forth in front of Yu Sheng: "Hey Yu Sheng, listen, my sis finally managed to take two days off, and this morning she was muttering about feeling like something was missing—and then your call came in…"
Baili Qing let out a soft sigh, tapping her fingers lightly on the table. The pair of eyes instantly shot down under the table, then poked out a little from the underside of the edge, blinking sneakily as they peeked around.
Baili Qing acted as if she hadn't noticed her "little sister's" antics at all, instead fixing her gaze on Yu Sheng.
"All right, I've more or less gotten used to the 'surprises' you bring," she sighed, sounding resigned. "Talk. What's the situation… and why did you all come back from the Lost Home?! Weren't you saying before that you couldn't get in touch…"
"We really couldn't get in touch before, but we upgraded the equipment recently, right?" Yu Sheng spread his hands. "Then the Lost Home sent over a messenger named Ai Yi, and after going back and forth a few times, I opened the door… it all happened kind of suddenly, I didn't have time to tell you."
He waved as he spoke: "Come on, eat while we talk, eat while we talk. You probably haven't had anything this early anyway, and what I'm about to say is not something you can finish in a couple of minutes."
Baili Qing sighed again, quietly shoving the broccoli on her tray into a corner as she slowly began: "So what news did you bring? Don't worry, I'm mentally prepared. There's been enough going on lately as it is."
Hearing that, Yu Sheng relaxed, nodding cheerfully: "First of all, I think I've figured out the nature of my existence. Turns out I'm actually a bit removed from being human…"
He hadn't even finished the second half of that sentence when he saw Baili Qing across from him open her mouth and even lapse into dialect: "Gah-ao?!"
Right after the "gah," she broke into a coughing fit, with a patch of dragon scales bulging out on her neck on the spot. A clump of pale, translucent flame spurted onto the table, and wherever the fire touched, it left a layer of crystalline frost like ice.
Hu Li hurriedly shifted her giant plate aside to make room.
Yu Sheng stared, struggling to keep a straight face as he watched Baili Qing—who, just one second earlier, had claimed to be fully mentally prepared. Honestly, this was the most dramatic facial expression he'd seen on her since he'd met her: "Okay, first calm down. Look at me—my state is fine. I'm still me. I mean, I'm still here mooching meals off you, aren't I?"
Baili Qing finally managed to stop coughing as she clamped a hand over her mouth. She stared into Yu Sheng's eyes for several seconds, nobody knew what she was thinking, and only after a long while did she speak: "I… it's nothing, I'm fine. Just a bit surprised. I didn't expect you to lead with that the moment you opened your mouth…"
"No need to worry, no need to worry," Yu Sheng laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm in good shape now, very stable. And you can rest assured—my existential nature is very friendly to you all. You could even say that, within the entire observable Universe—counting in those Ancient Saints on the Lost Home—I might actually be the one who's friendliest to you."
Baili Qing noticed that Yu Sheng seemed a bit hyped up, but that familiar warmth and friendliness in his demeanor really did let her relax again. So she nodded lightly: "So, what exactly are you…"
"Put simply, I'm the God of Death, Bartok. And by the way, your entire Boundary Land is sitting on top of my tomb."
Baili Qing's dialect and Dragon Breath nearly burst out again—but this time she barely managed to hold it in.
Because judging from Yu Sheng's expression, it looked like there was something even bigger coming after that…
And Yu Sheng did not disappoint her. Right then and there, he started telling her about the Old World beneath the Fault, about the God of Death's slumber and tomb, and about the chain car crash that happened on the Death God's gravesite—as well as his own inner monologue and main reflections as someone on the scene of that crash.
He also put a lot of effort into choosing his words, trying to explain the origin of the Boundary Land in a way that was tactful yet clear—he was really hesitant about this part. After all, for someone living in the Boundary Land, this was absolutely the kind of thing that would shatter and rebuild your entire worldview. So before he said it, he laid a lot of groundwork. But in the end, he still said it.
Because the person in front of him was Baili Qing, Director of the Special Service Bureau—she was the one guarding the greatest number of secrets in this Space-Time Exotic Realm, watching the largest shadow behind this city. Almost everyone in this city could choose to live in peaceful ignorance. She couldn't.
Of course, neither could those colleagues of hers living in the Council Tower—Yu Sheng would have to tell them too, or Baili Qing would.
The room gradually fell silent, with only the faint noise of the conveyor belt at the serving window beside the dining table breaking the stillness.
By now Hu Li was already full, but she was still lying beside the conveyor belt with a very serious face, stuffing plate after plate of food into her tail.
Erin was squatting on Hu Li's shoulder, in charge of madly pressing the call bell next to the food outlet—she probably didn't even know what the bell was for, but she sure was having fun pressing it.
Yu Sheng looked at Baili Qing, who was sitting across the table, her expression tightly drawn and completely silent ever since just now, and he let out a quiet breath:
"…And then, there was Boundary City."
Baili Qing's expression was taut; although it looked very much like her usual cool and indifferent demeanor, Yu Sheng could see the difference—her mood was far from as calm as that face suggested.
He didn't know how long had passed before she finally broke the silence: "So, from a certain angle, Boundary Land is actually the first Dark Angel of this Universe."
Yu Sheng didn't speak for a moment, instead suddenly recalling a line he'd heard back when Black Stone Space Station caused the World Bridge collapse incident, from the "little bear" Erin had left behind in the Illusion—
"…My mission is to cross the border and observe, from inside the Zero Angel, the process of the world Rift opening…"
So everything had already been revealed back then; it was just that he hadn't been able to understand what Erin's message from 3700 years ago actually meant at the time.
"How should I put it, it depends on how you look at it," Yu Sheng thought for a moment and said with a very serious face, "By definition, Boundary Land can indeed be considered the Zero Angel of this Universe, but in terms of the actual process, the instant Boundary Land fell back then it basically got its new-world ID processed through me—and considering that was still right after the birth of the new world, you guys totally count as 'locals'—the whole process just left some sequelae with me…"
The corner of Baili Qing's mouth twitched; he couldn't tell if it was a smile that failed to make it: "…You've got a pretty good mentality about this."
"What else can I do, lie back down and try sleeping it all over again?" Yu Sheng spread his hands. "If we start from the omen's Descent, the whole Boundary City is basically like having a rave on my grave for 3700 years; if we start from the day Boundary Land came crashing down, you guys are basically like having been dancing on top of my head from the dawn of the primordial era till now… and I haven't exactly complained, have I?"
Baili Xue crawled back out from under the edge of the table: "People say rough words can still carry sound logic, but aren't you a bit too rough?"
Yu Sheng chuckled, thinking that while his words were indeed a bit crude, at least they had successfully snapped Baili Qing out of her mood—count it as a kind of talk therapy…
Erin strolled along the table and came over, tilting her head up to look at Baili Qing's face: "You okay? Is it a bit hard to accept suddenly finding out your whole hometown is actually from out of town?"
Listening to this, Yu Sheng thought this uncouth little thing was going to settle the score for being denied access to the Fault back then—"being ostracized by the locals"—but then he heard the Little Puppet go on: "Let me tell you, relax. I was pretty upset too when I first found out I'd fused with half an omen. I mean, I'm a dignified Alice Puppet after all…"
As the Little Puppet spoke, Baili Qing didn't react much, but Baili Xue had already scooted quickly over in front of Erin: "So how did you get over it later?"
Erin tipped her head back: "I realized fusion Summoning is badass!"
Baili Xue: "?"
Yu Sheng beside them almost laughed himself angry. He directly ignored the Little Puppet's nonsense and let his gaze return to Baili Qing: "For this matter, are you going to explain it to the other council members, or should I? Either way, they have to be told. After all, my next step is to go study that door under the Fault, and since the Fault involves the foundation of Boundary Land, I definitely need your cooperation."
"I'll tell them," Baili Qing drew in a gentle breath, and then, seemingly noticing a hint of worry in Yu Sheng's eyes, a trace of what might be a smile actually appeared on her face. "Don't worry, I'm not so fragile that I'd be at a loss over something like this. It's just that the information is a lot all at once; I need to consider many things."
As she spoke, she let out a long breath, her tone tinged with a bit of emotion: "In fact, regarding the particularity of Boundary Land, scholars have had all sorts of speculations for years, the more outrageous the better. What truly surprised me today is actually the real situation of the epoch changes, and… the truths behind you.
"An Ancient Saints revived from the Old World, and during the revival you completed the Protection and reshaping of the entire Boundary Land… Honestly, this already exceeds the wildest imagination I've ever had about you since I met you. I suppose… it'll exceed the others' too."
Baili Qing fell silent for two or three seconds at this, then her tone shifted and the corners of her mouth actually lifted: "Thinking about it this way, I suddenly find myself looking forward to their reactions when the time comes."
Erin immediately scooted over and poked Yu Sheng's arm, muttering under her breath: "Yu Sheng, Yu Sheng, even the Ironclad Expression has her bad little moments…"
"I am not an Ironclad Expression!"