.


    The truth is, as soon as Yu Sheng realized that “Otherworlds” were not just dangerous but amon phenomenon, and that this massive “Boundary City” was a special ce called the “Crossroads,” he had already guessed there must be groups of people dealing with these kinds of events. Not just lone wanderers, though those surely existed too, butrger, perhaps even organized and professional groups.


    Official ones, maybe, and possibly even some from the civilian side.


    But as Irene had pointed out, these kinds of people wouldn’t normally interact with regr folks.


    Otherworlds were beyond ordinary understanding. They marked the edge of reason, tiny but dangerous cracks in the seemingly solid mountain of reality. Most people would live their whole lives without ever glimpsing the strange, fleeting visions that slipped out from these cracks. But for the unlucky few who identally caught a glimpse, there was no going back.


    This was what Irene had told him from the start. From that description alone, Yu Sheng could tell that those who dealt with Otherworlds would go to great lengths to prevent ordinary people froming into contact with any information about them—including their own existence.


    But if something really did happen, surely they would have their own system to respond to it…


    Yu Sheng looked up once again, staring out at the cold, quiet street beyond the window.


    “Honestly, how long does it usually take for these ‘professionals’ you mentioned to respond?” he asked, feeling uneasy.“I’m not sure. I can’t really remember… But I think it’s usually quick,” Irene said, hugging her toy bear and rocking back and forth on the chair. She had an almost irritatingly smug expression. “They’ve got tons of ways to sense abnormal situations. The whole Crossroads should be under their surveince. It was like that before I was sealed, and they’ve probably gotten even better since then.”


    Yu Sheng didn’t say anything, his eyes just lingering on the painting of the doll.


    “Of course, professionals are still human. Humans can be sloppy sometimes,” Irene quickly added, looking a bit sheepish. “Maybe they missed the unusual stuff happening around you… even though things have been pretty loud over here.”


    “Doesn’t sound very professional,” Yu Sheng muttered, frowning. He sighed, rubbing his temples. “So, ording to you, my whole house is basically an ‘Otherworld,’ and yet no one’se knocking. I’m starting to seriously doubt howpetent these ‘professionals’ really are… Looks like, in the end, I’ll have to handle this myself.”


    Irene blinked at him. “Oh, is that so?”


    Then, with sudden curiosity, she asked, “So, what’s your n? From what you’re saying, it sounds like you’re nning to deal with that valley… and whatever’s lurking there?”


    “It’s not that I want to deal with it,” Yu Sheng said, tugging the corner of his mouth into a grim smile, “but I have a feeling it’s going to find me again, sooner orter. And besides, didn’t you say it yourself? Once you’ve had contact with an Otherworld, there’s no going back. My encounter with the ‘Otherworld’ probably started long before you think.”


    “Well… you’ve got a point there,” Irene admitted with a grumble. “A lot of people who ended up dealing with Otherworlds started off as just unlucky regr folks who got dragged into things. From what I remember, about one in ten who make contact with an Otherworld end up bing ‘experts’ on it—mostly because they’re stuck with the bad stuff.”


    Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow at her. “Only one in ten? What happens to the other nine-tenths? Do they just go back to their normal lives?”


    Irene threw her head back. “They die, of course.”


    Yu Sheng: “…”


    “There… there are survivors too, though!” Irene quickly added, noticing Yu Sheng’s expression and bing flustered. “They save a bunch of people every year. But… well, yeah, I think more people die.”


    “Irene,” Yu Sheng said, looking at the painted doll.


    “Uh… yeah?”


    “If you don’t know how to say something… you can always choose not to say anything.”


    “Is that so…?”


    Yu Sheng sighed and slowly rose from his seat at the dining table.


    “Honestly, living or dying doesn’t matter that much to me, but I do need to find out more about these Otherworlds,” he said, thinking aloud. “If those ‘professionals’ you talked about aren’ting, I’ll have to seek them out myself. After all, your memory and experience aren’t exactly reliable.”


    “Seek them out, huh?” Irene didn’t seem too bothered by hisment, still smiling happily. “Well then… why don’t you check the telephone poles nearby for ads from Otherworld securitypanies?”


    Yu Sheng gave her a look of disbelief. “…Are you serious?”


    “I am serious,” Irene blinked innocently. “They do leave contact info around. It’s so people like you, who’ve survived an Otherworld encounter, can find help. Of course, regr people won’t see it. They use ‘special techniques’ to hide the symbols. But people who’ve made contact with Otherworlds experience some kind of ‘spiritual awakening,’ so there’s a good chance you’d notice them.”


    She suddenly stopped, her expression turning serious as she looked Yu Sheng up and down. “Haven’t you noticed any changes in yourself?”


    Changes aftering into contact with an Otherworld?!


    Yu Sheng felt a jolt run through him and quickly asked, “Do you mean things like superhuman strength, being able to crush stones with my bare hands, healing from sword wounds after a few deep breaths, reading people’s memories and thoughts, or… oh, I don’t know,ing back from the dead?”


    Irene stared at him, wide-eyed, as if she was seeing an alien. “What?!”


    “…No?”


    “At most, you’ll start seeing things regr people can’t. What you’re describing—are you sure you’re still human? Maybe you’ve changed species or something. Seriously, stop reading so many novels and watching anime.”


    Yu Sheng: “…”


    Seeing her reaction, Yu Sheng decided to drop the subject. Clearly, something wasn’t right with him, even by supernatural standards. But thankfully, Irene didn’t seem to be thinking too hard about it—probably because her brain had been dulled by being sealed away for so long.


    He exhaled, ncing toward the kitchen.


    A brief look of hesitation crossed his face before he forced a smile and started walking in that direction.


    Irene jumped down from her chair in excitement. “Oh, are you making breakfast?”


    Yu Sheng didn’t bother to look back, unsure why this girl, who couldn’t even eat, would act so excited about food. “I’m going to deal with the ‘local specialty’ I brought back.”


    Irene waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, go ahead, go ahead…”


    Then, suddenly, she froze.


    Her mind, sluggish from centuries of being sealed, finally caught up to what he had said.


    …Wait, where in an Otherworld do you find “local specialties”?!


    “Hold on!” Irene shrieked, nearly scaring Yu Sheng out of his skin as he reached the kitchen door. “What kind of ‘specialty’ did you bring back?!”


    Yu Sheng paused in the doorway, turning slightly with a sly smile. “Take a guess.”


    Irene’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Yu Sheng, who had started tying an apron around his waist. Her crimson eyes glinted with a mix of surprise and horror. “W-Wait a minute! What are you doing? You don’t mean to tell me… No, no way! That thing… Did you really take that from the entity in the valley? How did a regr person like you even manage that?! Hey, wait, you’re not seriously going to—”


    But before she could finish, Yu Sheng calmly shut the kitchen door, cutting off her frantic voice.


    A few momentster, Irene’s muffled shouts could be heard through the door. “Hey, don’t close the door! At least help me fix the TV first! I can’t watch anything!”


    But Yu Sheng was no longer paying attention.


    He approached the sink, removing the pot lid covering the severed tail. The wriggling appendage had finally fallen still, with only the asional twitch in its muscles.


    He stared down at the tail that had once burrowed into his body, feeling that strange hunger rise again from deep within his bones.


    This time, however, the hunger wasn’t as fierce as it had been before. It was more of a gentle stirring—an anticipation that was almost pleasant.


    Can I really do this? Is this normal? Am I still normal?


    He ran through these questions in his mind, but none of them made his hands falter.


    With precise movements, Yu Sheng washed the tail thoroughly, scraping off the scales, before cing it on the cutting board. He picked up a knife and, with a single clean cut, sliced through the flesh.


    It was easier than he’d expected—though it had been rock-hard when still attached to the creature, now it cut like firm beef.


    And there was no bone inside.


    Yu Sheng had figured it out by now. The first time he noticed his body changing was after he had eaten some of the creature. After that, during their second encounter, he had torn at its flesh again, feeling another small boost in strength—though not as much as before, it was still noticeable.


    This led him to a bold and… delicious idea.


    What would happen if I cooked it?


    As he chopped the meat into pieces, his mood lightened.


    Even Irene’s noisyining outside seemed to fade into the background.


    He didn’t know if what he was doing was right or wrong… It was probably wrong. After all, even a doll sealed in a painting thought this was super weird.


    Butpared toing back from the dead, a piece of suspicious meat didn’t seem like that big of a deal.


    “I’ve already eaten it raw,” Yu Sheng muttered to himself as he continued cutting. “Once raw, twice cooked…”


    <em></em>