Yu Sheng admitted that he couldn’t hold it together.
He had considered the possibility of Snow White leading the Forty Thieves right to his doorstep, but he never imagined seeing a phrase as niche as “Snow White and Her Seven Thunder Titans.” As he stared at the silent giants—each towering as tall as two-story buildings—standing before him, he felt as if he’d been struck by lightning for two straight hours. After a long moment of stunned silence, he finally managed to stammer out a few words: “I… this… she… what in the world?!”
“Every subset is a distorted story,” Little Red Riding Hood said calmly, a faint smile on her face. “Sometimes, distortions can get this severe. In my original tale, there were neither a four-meter-tall Giant Wolf nor a howling pack of Shadow Wolves in the Whistling Forest. Likewise, in Snow White’s ‘Bloodstained Court,’ the hunt and chase between her and the ‘Queen’ are far more brutal than you could ever imagine.”
Yu Sheng, still trying to process it all, pointed at Snow White, who was dazed by the unfamiliar surroundings. “She needs that kind of configuration just to fight the ‘Queen’?! What kind of monster is that Queen—some kind of gene prototype?!”
“…I don’t get that reference,” Little Red Riding Hood replied. “But the Queen of the Bloodstained Court can manipulate magnetic fields.”
Yu Sheng fell silent, merely raising his head to watch as one of the steel-armored Thunder Titans slowly bent down, gently placing the frail-looking girl on the ground before fading into the air one by one. Only after the giants vanished did Snow White’s exhausted expression finally ease.
After a long pause, Yu Sheng finally broke the silence, addressing Little Red Riding Hood with a sigh, “Suddenly, your ‘Black Forest’ seems quite peaceful and comfortable in comparison. Finding a breakthrough from the ‘Fairy Tale’ subset there seems much more feasible.”
“I agree—her domain is pretty chaotic.”
Snow White, having approached them, looked around the bleak, ashen landscape with a mixture of wonder and disbelief. The short-haired girl, who appeared harmless and slender, seemed uncertain about whether she had truly escaped from that terrifying Bloodstained Court. “Is this the ‘Wasteland’ you mentioned?”
Snow White tilted her head, gazing at the gray sky in the distance, then abruptly lay down on the barren ground. Her body tensed for a moment before gradually relaxing. With her eyes half-closed, she murmured softly, “I don’t want to move at all.”
“I can relate,” Little Red Riding Hood said, lying down beside her. “It’s exhausting—at least we can finally take a breather.”
Yu Sheng initially intended to discuss plans for the next day and ask if they could proceed with the formal ‘Blood Bestowal’ ceremony for the others. However, seeing the two girls finally at ease, he swallowed his words.
[There’s no rush—let them have these few minutes. It’s been a long time since they could relax .]
Yu Sheng’s expression grew serious in an instant. He looked up at Little Red Riding Hood and quickly responded over the phone, “Alright, we’ll head over immediately, we’ll be there shortly.”
“What’s going on?” After Yu Sheng hung up, Little Red Riding Hood couldn’t help but ask curiously.
“It’s Old Zheng’s nephew. It seems like he found something while sorting through Old Zheng’s belongings,” Yu Sheng said as he stood up. “We’re finished here, so let’s head over and check it out.”
Little Red Riding Hood was momentarily stunned before immediately standing up as well. “How do we get there?”
“We just need to open the Door.”
When Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood arrived, Old Zheng’s nephew appeared somewhat surprised.
He probably didn’t expect Yu Sheng to show up so soon after saying “we’ll be there shortly” over the phone.
Compared to a few days ago, the young man’s tiredness had diminished slightly, and his mental state seemed to have improved. He quickly adjusted and didn’t inquire further about how the two “detectives” could appear so soon after hanging up. Instead, he stepped aside to let them in.
Yu Sheng noticed that many items in the room had already been packed up. Some large furniture and appliances were gone, likely sold second-hand or sent back home in the last couple of days. The living room was now rather empty, with only an old coffee table and a few stools remaining. On the coffee table was a half-eaten order of rice noodles, the packaging of which hadn’t been cleaned away yet.
“Sorry, it’s a bit of a mess right now. There’s more stuff than I expected, and even after two days of packing, it’s still not finished,” the young man said awkwardly, throwing the rice noodle packaging into the trash. He then grabbed a napkin and casually wiped the table. “The Special Affairs Bureau came by these last two days. I told them about my uncle’s situation. They said it’s gotten the attention of higher-ups, and the criminals will be captured soon… Do you want anything to drink?”
“Thanks, we’re fine,” Little Red Riding Hood waved her hand quickly, her voice swift. “Let’s just see the ‘strange thing’ you found.”
“Right, it’s this,” the young man said as he opened the drawer beneath the coffee table and pulled out a small wooden box that looked old but very delicate. “It was hidden in a secret compartment in the cabinet by my uncle. I think it might have been important to him.”
Yu Sheng took the box and opened it curiously.
Little Red Riding Hood leaned in immediately to take a closer look.
Inside the box was a wrinkled, dark-colored strip of material that looked like dried seaweed.
The unremarkable dried item lay quietly on a piece of red velvet inside the box. Yu Sheng couldn’t tell what it was, though it seemed like something older people might use to soak in alcohol — quite fitting for Old Zheng’s age.
However, just as he pondered this, Little Red Riding Hood suddenly gasped softly.
Yu Sheng quickly turned his head. “What happened?”
“I’m feeling a little dizzy…” Little Red Riding Hood frowned, her eyes cautiously avoiding the wooden box. “And I heard some weird noise. There’s something wrong with this thing.”
“Really? I felt dizzy too. As soon as I opened it, I got lightheaded, so I quickly closed it back up,” the young man said with a fearful look. “That’s why I suspect it’s some kind of ‘strange object’ that my uncle was keeping. It’s definitely not something a regular person like me can deal with…”
Before he could finish, Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood both stared at him intently.
“…I didn’t know what it was before I opened it,” the young man said awkwardly. “My uncle hid it so carefully. I had to check if it was something useful.”
Little Red Riding Hood pulled a wry smile. “Good thing you didn’t join the Special Affairs Bureau. By now, you’d probably be featured on the annual ‘typical incidents’ wall.”
Meanwhile, after a moment’s hesitation, Yu Sheng cautiously extended his finger toward the dried item in the box.
Seeing this, the young man was suddenly alarmed. He quickly tried not to look at the box and said hurriedly, “Hey, didn’t we say not to…”
Yu Sheng didn’t even glance up. “It’s different for us. We’re professionals.”
Before the young man could react, Yu Sheng’s finger had already made contact with the item.
The sound of a baby’s cry suddenly pierced into Yu Sheng’s mind.
The sound seemed to come from deep within his soul, as if it originated from a faraway place and then was transmitted into his consciousness through the strip of material. The sharp, unsettling cry echoed in his mind, even making Yu Sheng freeze for a moment.
The next second, he quickly withdrew his finger.
In that brief moment of contact, the ‘knowledge’ was transferred, and he understood exactly what the item was.
Little Red Riding Hood’s concerned voice came from beside him. “Are you alright?!”
“I’m fine,” Yu Sheng shook his head slowly, his mind still a bit clouded. He then slowly began to clear his thoughts, his face turning slightly pale as he stared at the box in his hands. “I know what this is now.”
“This is an Umbilical Cord.”
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation