Yu Sheng suddenly felt deeply pessimistic about his writing career. Extremely pessimistic. His gloom stemmed mainly from the fear that the literary legacy he would leave behind might become quite troublesome. Even though he’d only encountered one extreme case—Ren Wen Wen—he already sensed things wouldn’t end well for him.
But he couldn’t exactly interfere with someone’s hobbies, especially if that someone worked for the Special Affairs Bureau. Facing daily high-stress, high-risk environments—even clerks stationed at the Bureau’s headquarters had jobs comparable to elite operatives—perhaps these peculiar hobbies were the only things keeping their sanity intact.
Ren Wen Wen didn’t notice Yu Sheng’s shifting expressions at all and continued excitedly, “Teacher Yu, when’s your next story coming out? Will it still be a mystery? Any chance of old characters returning? I especially love Mr. Seventeen from your ‘Rainy Port’ story. Will he ever become the main character…?”
Yu Sheng remained silent. But Irene, still nestled comfortably in Foxy’s arms, quickly spoke up, her little face tilted upward, “The hero’s next ride is gonna be a three-wheeler!”
Ren Wen Wen’s eyes instantly lit up. “Oh, that’s intriguing! Love blossoming between man and machine spirit—such potential!”
Yu Sheng: “…!?”
He finally understood. [So her obsession was with people and machine spirits?!]
“Let’s talk about something else,” he sighed deeply, mentally and physically exhausted. He glanced up at the shop’s newly hung sign. “I was thinking… this place isn’t just a pick-up point, is it? Although I don’t know exactly how your Bureau classifies a ‘station,’ if you’ve set one up here, I doubt it’s simply to deliver parcels and takeout to my door. I’m guessing it’s also an observation post?”
Ren Wen Wen’s expression grew immediately awkward.
“Y-yes, you could call it that—I mean, an observation station,” Ren Wen Wen admitted sheepishly, then quickly turned serious. “This site does monitor the situation at Wutong Road No. 66. But as you know, we can’t actually observe your house. So the main focus is monitoring your surroundings—in fact, all of Wutong Road.”
Yu Sheng looked genuinely puzzled. “What’s so special about Wutong Road? Enough to warrant a dedicated station?”
Ren Wen Wen replied cautiously, “Because trouble always follows you around…”
Yu Sheng: “…”
“Wait, those weren’t my words!” Ren Wen Wen hastily added, sensing she’d stepped over a line. “Captain Song said that! As for where he heard it from, I honestly don’t know.”
“…I think I can guess,” Yu Sheng sighed helplessly, shaking his head with a bitter smile. “Alright, it’s fine by me. I’ll just consider it as having extra sentries outside. At least it’ll make receiving deliveries easier. I’ll leave you to your work now.”
He waved goodbye to Ren Wen Wen, then curiously glanced once more at the half-unloaded cargo on the truck before slowly walking away.
His stride carried the carefree aura of a retired elder out for a leisurely stroll.
Ren Wen Wen watched until Yu Sheng vanished through a door he casually opened midair several dozen meters away. Only then did she let out a quiet breath, turning back to inspect the large crates still on the truck bed—border scanning systems, fixed-depth sensors, entity detection radars, two stationary shield generators usually reserved solely for Deep Diver deployments, and numerous other specialized gadgets.
Enough gear for a full-scale Frontier outpost.
“Wen Wen, do we really need these shield generators?” a Special Affairs Bureau operative grumbled, hoisting a heavy equipment case. “And even if we do, isn’t one enough? Two feels excessive…”
“The frontline teams wish they could sleep surrounded by these things,” Ren Wen Wen gave him a flat look. “Stop complaining and move them inside. These are top-tier resources—normal domestic observation stations don’t get this kind of treatment.”
“Oh, alright.”
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In the Director’s office, Special Affairs Bureau Headquarters Building, Song Cheng was giving Bai Li Qing an update: “Wutong Road Station made contact with Yu Sheng. Ren Wen Wen was present. Everything went smoothly. Yu Sheng seemed okay with the new station. Actually, he appeared rather pleased.”
“In most cases, he’s easygoing and rather lazy,” Bai Li Qing replied calmly. “As long as we don’t seriously interfere with his life, he won’t resist. Our ‘observations’ mean nothing to him, but having an additional delivery point definitely adds convenience to Wutong Road No. 66—so naturally, he wouldn’t object. Just ensure the station personnel understand clearly that, under every circumstance—I repeat, every circumstance—they must treat ‘Yu Sheng’ strictly as a human being. This is paramount.”
“Understood. We’ve already put that into our official protocols. Everyone there will undergo specialized training,” Song Cheng nodded gravely. “I’ve instructed them explicitly: even if they witness Yu Sheng capture and devour an entity alive right in front of them, they’re required to remain absolutely calm…”
“Incorrect,” Bai Li Qing said calmly. “A natural human response would show appropriate surprise or even comment on why someone would eat something strange. Your training logic is flawed—rework the materials. If necessary, assign that young man, Li Lin, or find someone equally open-minded.”
Song Cheng tensed slightly, nodding in embarrassment. “Understood, Director. I’ll adjust it immediately.”
Bai Li Qing nodded briefly.
A polite knock broke the brief silence, and the duty secretary stepped inside. “Director, Technical Division Director Zhang is here. He says there’s a significant update requiring your immediate attention.”
“Send him in,” Bai Li Qing instructed.
Moments later, a lean middle-aged man with thinning hair strode confidently into the room, his white shirt neatly tucked into dark brown trousers. His eyes sparkled with barely-contained excitement. Spotting Song Cheng, he offered a quick nod in greeting, his smile unwavering.
Bai Li Qing raised an eyebrow. “Xiao Zhang, you’re in an unusually good mood today.”
“Director, the filtering system is finally ready!” Zhang’s excitement was palpable. “You know—the system designed to automatically recognize and suppress alarms whenever Yu Sheng activates his teleportation door, switching seamlessly to data-recording mode? It’s fully operational!”
For the first time, Bai Li Qing’s normally icy expression softened visibly, a subtle smile curling at the corners of her mouth. “Excellent. I’ll contact Yu Sheng soon and arrange a test run to verify your system.”
Director Zhang kept smiling but suddenly seemed hesitant, rubbing his hands awkwardly. “There’s something else, Director.”
“Oh?” Bai Li Qing prompted.
“Just before coming here, I received a message from the testing lab,” Director Zhang began cautiously, his thinning hair gleaming slightly beneath the lights. “It’s about that piece of…‘cast iron sample’ delivered from the cafeteria recently.”
Bai Li Qing quickly understood. “You mean the iron block left by our Hotel guest—the Fox—as payment for her meal? What have they discovered?”
“Well,” Director Zhang reported carefully, “routine analyses revealed nothing unusual; it’s simply highly pure iron. After standard tests, the lab team decided to forge it into a tool—to see how reshaping it might affect its mechanical properties. They crafted a hammer…”
“You’re rambling,” Bai Li Qing sharply interrupted. “Simplify. Tell me clearly what happened.”
Director Zhang spread his hands helplessly. “It manifested a Machine Spirit…”
Song Cheng, previously content to remain quietly observing, visibly jolted, eyes widening dramatically: “…(?0?)!?”
Even Bai Li Qing couldn’t hide her surprise, abruptly looking up with a penetrating gaze that made Director Zhang flinch.
After a brief silence, Bai Li Qing composed herself. “Explain—in detail this time.”
“To be honest, there isn’t much more detail,” Director Zhang admitted, clearly uneasy now, his previous confidence fading into bewilderment. “Simply put, the hammer developed a Machine Spirit. It exhibits self-repairing abilities, actively seems to assist human strength when used, and even shows a desire to interact with nearby machinery. Surveillance footage captured it lightly tapping a shock-analysis device in what appears to be social behavior, according to our researchers…”
Song Cheng finally blurted out incredulously, “What exactly did you make—a powered war hammer? A rocket-propelled impact hammer? Or was something else installed inside—”
“Nope, just an ordinary hammer,” Director Zhang interrupted helplessly. “They literally cut off a chunk from the iron block, shaped it a bit, drilled a hole, and stuck a wooden handle through it. Nothing fancy at all.”
“And it developed a Machine Spirit just like that?” Song Cheng’s voice was thick with disbelief.
“Yes, just like that.” Director Zhang sighed deeply. “I’ve overseen the Technical Division for years, researched numerous Machine Spirit phenomena. Such things normally require extreme complexity, long-term human interaction, or incredibly rare conditions. Never in my career have I witnessed anything remotely like this. Honestly, I suspect if they’d made something even simpler—like an ear pick—it would’ve also gained a Machine Spirit.”
Song Cheng stared blankly, thoroughly stunned. “Forget you, Old Zhang—no one has ever seen something like this.”
“Indeed, it’s unprecedented,” Bai Li Qing said as she stood decisively from behind her desk. “Show me this hammer—right now.”
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
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