“Have you ever offended anyone?”
The sudden question from Yu Sheng left Little Red Riding Hood montarily stunned. After a few seconds, she realized why he had asked. Frowning, she replied, “Are you suggesting that the museum incident was a trap specifically targeting ?”
“I’m not trying to sound paranoid, but there are a lot of suspicious things about this case. The most suspicious of all is why it landed on you in the first place. Rember the ‘ritual’ inside the museum? If I, Foxy, and Irene hadn’t helped stall that Evil Wolf that erged from the shadows, you would have completely lost control,” Yu Sheng said seriously. “The only reason you went to the museum and ended up in the White Exhibition Hall was because you took on a commission to retrieve a collectible. And it was ti-sensitive. Now, we’ve found out that the commission was fake… That level of ‘coincidence’ is highly suspect.”
“The ritual was orchestrated by two Angel Cultists,” Little Red Riding Hood’s expression turned grim, as she had always despised dealing with those lunatics. “You an to say that the followers of the Dark Angel set a trap just for ? Why? That doesn’t make any sense…”
“That’s why I asked if you’ve offended anyone.”
“…What could I have done to offend soone enough to be targeted by lunatics like them?” Little Red Riding Hood furrowed her brow deeply. “You know I never deal with anything related to the Dark Angel. Most of the ti, I just take small commissions from official channels. In fact, over half of my commissions co from the Special Affairs Bureau. Even within the Fairy Tale Organization, we maintain cautious external communications. At most, we have competitors in the Spirit Realm Detective field, but that doesn’t escalate to ‘enemies.'”
“Then there’s another possibility. You might not have offended the Angel Cultists, but you may hold ‘value’ that caught their attention,” Yu Sheng pondered. “After all, you said they’re lunatics. Their logic doesn’t align with normal people’s. They might believe you’re sohow useful to their ’cause,’ and that’s why they acted.”
Little Red Riding Hood fell silent, seemingly lost in thought and doubt.
Knowing his thoughts were veering wildly, Yu Sheng cleared his throat to shift the conversation. “Ahem. Let’s focus on the commission itself. What do you know so far?”
“I contacted the client directly. In hindsight, since I knew the client well, I didn’t verify the commission details thoroughly this ti,” Little Red Riding Hood admitted with a sigh. “The electronic commission docunt I received did have the Association of Strange Objects’s seal and a one-ti serial number. However, it wasn’t issued directly by their liaison departnt. Instead, the client forwarded it to using a personal account. We’ve done this before, so I didn’t think much of it at the ti.”
Yu Sheng frowned. “Doesn’t such a major organization prohibit these loopholes?”
“In principle, yes. But in practice, it’s hard to avoid, especially at the year’s end. Large organizations like the Association of Strange Objects have strict deadlines for outsourcing projects. To et those deadlines, the people responsible often push out tasks as quickly as possible. That way, they can use the tistamp for priority during budget reconciliation. Everyone’s under KPI pressure.”
“…So it boils down to sothing that mundane?” Yu Sheng exclaid.
Little Red Riding Hood glanced at the Nine-Tailed Fox dragging one of her tails along the ground. “Your fox walks like that for ‘practical’ reasons too, doesn’t she?”
“…Fair enough.” Yu Sheng quickly conceded but couldn’t help lanting, “The world truly is one giant circus troupe.”
Rubbing his temples, he contemplated briefly before looking up. “So, there’s no way to confirm whether the initial commission was falsified by the client or if soone higher up in the Association of Strange Objects acted as a mole and erased the records after issuing it?”
Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. “No way to confirm for now. But the Special Affairs Bureau will undoubtedly investigate. Loopholes like this may go unnoticed under normal circumstances, but now that sothing’s gone wrong, it’ll be scrutinized from top to bottom.”
“We’ll need to get updates from the Special Affairs Bureau later,” Yu Sheng muttered before asking, “What about the client who forwarded the commission? What’s their situation?”
“Details are unclear. From what I’ve heard, they fell from a high place, hit their head, and died on the spot,” Little Red Riding Hood explained. “I’ve arranged to visit their ho tonight. They lived alone, but their nephew is currently handling the funeral arrangents.”
“I’ll go with you,” Yu Sheng said imdiately.
Little Red Riding Hood hesitated. “Are you planning to…?”
“See if we can ‘ask’ anything,” Yu Sheng replied gravely. “Like we did at the museum. I’m not sure about the conditions for those ‘dead conversations,’ but it’s worth trying our luck.”
After so thought, Little Red Riding Hood nodded. “Alright… Shall we leave now?”
“Now.” Yu Sheng stood up, then glanced at Irene, who was sitting nearby. “You and Foxy stay ho this ti. I’ll handle it.”
Irene protested imdiately, “Why can’t I go?”
Yu Sheng rolled his eyes. “We’re going to a deceased person’s ho. Do you think bringing a doll along is appropriate?”
Though displeased, Irene had to agree. She plopped back onto the couch. “Fine. But I’m using your computer to play gas!”
“Go ahead—but use your own account. Don’t touch my personal files!”
“Got it.”
After leaving instructions for Irene, Yu Sheng turned to find Foxy standing behind him, looking concerned. “Benefactor, are you sure you don’t need ? I can fight.”
Yu Sheng’s eye twitched. He reassured her, emphasizing that this was an investigation, not a battle. Fighting, whether with the deceased or their family, would be entirely inappropriate.
As Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood left Wutong Road No. 66, Yu Sheng glanced back several tis during the short walk to the street.
“You seem uneasy,” Little Red Riding Hood remarked.
“It’s my first ti leaving Foxy and Irene alone. I’m worried I’ll co back to find the place demolished,” Yu Sheng admitted.
“She’s a Nine-Tailed Fox, not a husky with nine tails,” Little Red Riding Hood sighed. “And Irene seems responsible enough. She just gets a bit rash sotis.”
“Clearly, you don’t know her well. She once nearly cooked herself and almost set the house on fire,” Yu Sheng said, shaking his head.
“…What?”
“You’ll see one day,” Yu Sheng replied. “For now, let’s move on. How are we getting there?”
To save ti and avoid complications, Little Red Riding Hood invited Yu Sheng to travel with her Shadow Wolves.
Standing in a secluded alley, Yu Sheng eyed the towering Shadow Wolf before him, its body shifting with dark, ethereal outlines.
“Are you sure this thing doesn’t bite?” he asked skeptically. “And can it even carry people?”
“It can carry people,” Little Red Riding Hood said flatly, sensing the wolf’s nervousness. “And for the record, it’s more worried about you biting it.”
“What’s that supposed to an?” Yu Sheng huffed. “Do I look like soone with no standards?”
Little Red Riding Hood silently mounted her wolf, leaving Yu Sheng to clamber onto his. As he settled in, he remarked, “This thing’s trembling. Are you sure it can handle weight?”
With a wry smile, Little Red Riding Hood smacked the wolf’s head. “Coward.”
“Let’s go,” she commanded the pack.
Before Yu Sheng could ask how to control the wolf or replicate Little Red Riding Hood’s shadow-jumping technique, his vision suddenly shifted. The world around him transford.
Colors faded into shades of black and white. The cityscape dissolved into silhouettes, roads replaced by disjointed shadow bridges. The once orderly scenery fragnted, twisting into a surreal, mirrored maze.
The wolves leapt gracefully, carrying them into this bizarre monochro realm.
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