Dimensional Hotel

Although the little doll jumped quite high, Yu Sheng was serious.

His experience stemmed from the process of consuming the HungerEntity, and the feeling of devouring and merging when he made direct contact with its “deep essence.”

He knew that anything he “consumed” would be fundamentally absorbed and merged within him. This method was more effective and faster than any sealing or transfer techniques. If the Angel Umbilical Cord really triggered the premature activation of “Anka Aila,” even opening a Door and tossing it out wouldn’t necessarily sever the link between it and the “essence.” But eating it would work.

Of course, the risk was definitely there. After all, the Angel Umbilical Cord was different from the HungerEntity. Though the latter was greatly enhanced by the influence of Dark Angels, that was still just an “influence.” The Umbilical Cord had a far closer connection to the Dark Angels, especially the one named “Anka Aila.” If he consumed it…

It might lead to indigestion.

But it didn’t matter. Yu Sheng reasoned that it would work—he always trusted his reasoning.

At worst, if his reasoning failed, he could just consider it a death sentence—he trusted his death wishes as well.

Irene could tell from the expression on Yu Sheng’s face that there was no way to stop his strange ideas. Whenever something popped into his mind, he was bound to act on it. So, with a resigned sigh, she looked up. “Fine, people with good appetites usually have decent luck—when are we leaving? Now?”

“Yes, now,” Yu Sheng nodded, turning to Foxy. “Get ready, we’re heading to the Black Forest.”

Before he could finish his sentence, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a swarm of backup tails grow behind Foxy. The Demon Fox Maiden giggled joyfully, “I have plenty more~”

“…Right, I almost forgot about that,” Yu Sheng raised his hand, tapping the door of his mind. “Alright then, let’s go—Irene, open the Door.”

A phantom Door appeared out of nowhere, and black threads began to grow like thorns, wrapping around, opening a Door to the Black Forest.

Yu Sheng, holding a wooden box containing the Angel Umbilical Cord in one hand and his terrifying Tetanus Staff in the other, stepped through the Door. Immediately, a familiar chill and the faint howling of wolves reached him. He took a deep breath, raising his head to glance at the sky over the Black Forest, where the dusk’s golden glow spread through the gaps in the treetops, casting mottled shadows across the ground.

The Black Forest seemed to exist in an eternal cycle of two times—either it was a prolonged dusk, or a dim twilight just after nightfall, with a little lingering light from the sky.

From experience, Yu Sheng knew that the forest was more stable during the dusk period. After nightfall, the wolf packs in the forest would become much more active, and the Evil Wolves typically appeared only at night.

Foxy’s large ears twitched as she turned sharply toward the smallest rustle. She sniffed the air and studied the faint flow of breath.

“There’s no wolf scent nearby for now,” she whispered. “The sounds are erratic, coming and going.”

“Before the wolf packs truly form, those ‘sounds’ can be considered as background noise in the Black Forest,” Yu Sheng casually commented.

Irene looked nervously at the box Yu Sheng was holding. “Hey, is there any movement from that thing?”

Yu Sheng glanced at the wooden box containing the Umbilical Cord, opening it just slightly.

The Umbilical Cord still lay quietly on the red velvet lining, shriveled and lifeless.

“Nothing yet,” he shook his head. “If I must say… I’ve been hearing a faint baby’s cry, almost like it’s coming from deep underground, but it probably has nothing to do with the Umbilical Cord itself. I started hearing this after my encounter with the giant Wolf Granny.”

“A baby’s cry?” Irene frowned. “Well, Foxy and I can’t hear it.”

Yu Sheng carefully closed the box again, resting his Tetanus Staff temporarily beside him. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a bullet with a strange spiral-shaped tip.

“This bullet hasn’t reacted either,” he murmured softly. “Let’s head deeper into the forest and see if we can find the Little House. But since Little Red Riding Hood hasn’t entered the Black Forest yet, the Wolf Granny probably won’t show up, and neither will the Hunter. Anyway, let’s go and check the situation.”

The group moved cautiously into the deeper parts of the Black Forest, their eyes scanning the dim light of dusk, searching for the faint glow of the “little path.”

Foxy volunteered to lead the way. Aside from one Storage Tail she couldn’t use, she unleashed her other eight tails. Surrounded by gentle Fox Fire, these tails emitted a soft buzzing sound as they floated around the group, occasionally pointing in different directions as they kept watch for any signs of danger, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

Yu Sheng watched this scene, intrigued, and casually asked, “I’ve been meaning to ask, is this technique of yours called Fox Radish Drone?”

Demon Fox Maiden had a serious expression: “It’s the Fox Roaming Cannon—this name was also given by Irene.”

Irene immediately puffed her chest with pride—though Yu Sheng couldn’t understand why she felt so proud of it.

They continued deeper into the Forest, walking for an unknown length of time when, suddenly, Yu Sheng stopped.

Irene, sitting on his shoulder, curiously asked, “Hey? Why have we stopped?”

“There’s something wrong,” Yu Sheng frowned deeply. “How long have we been walking here?”

“I… I’m not sure, but it has been quite a while, hasn’t it?” Irene scratched her hair, “What’s wrong?”

“…We haven’t come across the ‘path’ yet, nor have we seen the sheltering Little House,” Yu Sheng spoke with a lowered voice, “But according to the Black Forest’s pattern, after walking a bit inside, we should have seen the first path by now.”

“Now that you mention it… that’s odd,” Foxy responded, her keen, gold-tinted eyes scanning the surroundings. “It feels different from the Black Forest we’ve encountered before… I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe the atmosphere?”

Yu Sheng’s heart tightened, and he instinctively glanced at the wooden box in his left hand.

Could it be the Angel Umbilical Cord inside? Is it interfering with the Black Forest’s natural flow? Or is there something else at play?…

“And Squirrel hasn’t shown up either. Normally, as our ‘guide’, it should’ve appeared first,” Yu Sheng mumbled, resting his Tetanus Staff on his shoulder.

Irene swiftly threw her arms around his neck and did a spin, flipping herself off his back and landing on the other shoulder.

The little doll grumbled, “I knew you were about to do that! Good thing I reacted fast, or one day, you’d knock me out with that damn stick…”

Yu Sheng turned, shocked, to look at the little doll on his shoulder. He was about to ask when she had developed such fine acrobatics, but before he could speak, a soft rustling sound emerged from a nearby bush.

Squirrel?

Yu Sheng and the others immediately turned toward the sound, but after a moment, what appeared before them wasn’t the familiar Squirrel, but a red-clad girl, her face full of tension, seemingly evading something.

She was a Long Haired Girl, thin, about fifteen or sixteen, and her face was unfamiliar—this wasn’t the Little Red Riding Hood that Yu Sheng knew.

The group froze for a moment.

“Another Little Red Riding Hood?!”

Yu Sheng stared, stunned, at the unfamiliar girl emerging from the bushes. After a couple of seconds, he took a cautious step forward, attempting to greet her, “Uh, hello. Are you also from the Fairy Tale Organization…?”

He was interrupted as the red-clad girl didn’t even glance at him, nor did it seem like she heard his words.

Instead, she was crouching, eyes scanning the Forest warily, as if trying to avoid invisible Wolf Packs, completely unaware of the three strangers right before her.

Foxy realized this and tugged on Yu Sheng’s sleeve: “Benefactor, she seems to not see us?”

Yu Sheng frowned. “It appears so.”

Just then, the unfamiliar Little Red Riding Hood seemed to sense something dangerous. Her expression tightened, and she glanced in a particular direction, before suddenly bolting in the opposite direction.

Yu Sheng, realizing what was happening, quickly responded, slinging Irene on his shoulder and chasing after her, “Follow her!”

So the Long Haired Girl ran through the Forest, with Yu Sheng, Irene, and Foxy trailing closely behind. Meanwhile, the howls of Wolves erupted from all around, their distant voices filling the air as if they were closing in—Yu Sheng could almost smell the stench of the Wolf Pack, their foul, bloodthirsty scent filling his senses, and he could feel their claws sweeping past him.

But when he glanced around, all he saw was the Forest’s shadows.

The Wolf Pack had gathered, pursuing the strange Little Red Riding Hood—yet Yu Sheng couldn’t see them.

Ahead, the red-clad girl slowed, her stamina clearly running out, her steps growing unsteady.

At that moment, an open patch of land appeared before them.

A small wooden house, slightly out of place with the surrounding environment, stood quietly on the clearing.

The moment Yu Sheng saw the house, his expression stiffened.

The house… had no lights.

But the nearly exhausted red-clad girl had no other choice. Upon seeing the small house, she froze for a moment before charging inside without hesitation.