It turns out that dealing with Yu Sheng still requires some learning for the Director lady.

She had to confirm repeatedly to make sure she had not misunderstood.

Yu Sheng enthusiastically introduced Baili Qing to his ambitious Stardew Valley agritourism project, as well as the practical difficulties he currently faced in "farming in the Exotic Realm." He also detailed the feasibility and progress made so far, leaving the well-rounded Baili Qing quite bewildered.

Honestly speaking, Baili Qing, having been the Special Service Director for many years, has seen everything—but this was indeed something she had never encountered...

"Actually, I need quite a bit of help on my end," Yu Sheng said cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to the subtle changes in Baili Qing's expression (after all, this lady's facial expressions are quite inscrutable). He continued enthusiastically, "What I've told you is just the tip of the iceberg. The main issue is the valley has no electricity. If possible, can you get me a power generation system... but there's no sun there, though it's bright, I'm not sure if solar power would work. There's a small river at the foot of the mountain, but it's too small, even a small hydroelectric station might be a challenge, worst case we might have to resort to thermal power..."

Yu Sheng went on for quite a while before he suddenly realized and stopped talking, looking somewhat embarrassed at the Director in front of him: "Uh, are my requests a bit too much?"

Baili Qing was caught off guard for a few seconds not knowing what to say, until Yu Sheng spoke again before she responded, striving to maintain her usual calm expression: "...I will arrange as much as possible."

Then she paused for a moment, as if organizing her thoughts, her tone turned serious: "I am surprised—what you mentioned encompasses fields no one has ever ventured into. Frankly, just your ideas alone are of high research value... I'm very interested in everything about that valley, about the changes it has undergone and its current environment."

"Uh, I didn't think so much about it; just felt that it'd be a waste not to do something with such a large piece of land," Yu Sheng scratched his head, "So, is that settled then? Can I open up certain areas of the valley for your investigation, and you provide me with some support in materials and manpower?"

"No problem," Baili Qing nodded earnestly, "The specifics of 'support' and the list of projects can be finalized after an on-site inspection by professionals."

Yu Sheng smiled, rose from his chair, and extended his hand: "Then good, I'm looking forward to our cooperation."

Baili Qing hesitated slightly, but also got up and shook hands with Yu Sheng: "Looking forward to our cooperation."

Yu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, looked back once more at the busy laboratory across from him, and after a moment's thought said: "Since we've discussed everything, the 'Metal Parts' I brought don't seem to yield any results momentarily… how about we take this idle time for you to show me around? Consider it a celebration for our new 'collaboration project'—I'm quite interested in this headquarters building of yours."

Baili Qing was slightly startled, but soon nodded: "Of course."

"Then Erin, you and Hu Li wait here?" Yu Sheng turned his head towards the puppet and the demon fox.

Erin was a bit surprised, but before she could speak, Hu Li had already instinctively stood up: "Savior, I'll come with you..."

"We're just going to look around nearby," Yu Sheng extended his hand and rubbed the fur behind Hu Li's ears, "and discuss setting up an investigation team in the valley. It definitely won't be interesting, you and Erin wait here, and keep an eye on the lab."

Hu Li paused, seemingly hesitant.

Erin suddenly stood up, she climbed onto the table and tugged on Hu Li's tail: "Okay then, we'll wait here for Yu Sheng..."

While speaking, she turned to Baili Qing: "Do you have any good snacks here? Send some over, we'll eat while we wait."

"Sure, I'll have someone bring it over," Baili Qing nodded, "Our staff snacks are quite well-rated here."

Hearing this, Hu Li finally settled back into his chair, adopting a posture of waiting for a meal while watching Yu Sheng: "Then Savior, come back soon, I'll wait for you—don't go too far aw."

Yu Sheng smiled and nodded, bumped fists with Erin's tiny fist, and then turned to follow Baili Qing, walking unhurriedly out of the room.

Baili Qing said nothing along the way, like a moving ice block, maintaining an unchanging expression and mechanically precise steps, leading Yu Sheng across the long corridor of the 54-1/2 floor, only occasionally nodding in response when passed Special Service Bureau staff greeted her, and they moved into the elevator at the end of the corridor; the elevator ascended swiftly following the ride.

"Where are we going?" Yu Sheng noticed that Baili Qing had only swiped a black card and hadn't selected any floor, yet the elevator seemed to have its destination determined and started moving rapidly, which made him curiously inquire.

"N level," Baili Qing casually said, "A suitable place for discussing matters."

Yu Sheng subconsciously glanced at the elevator control panel but did not see the so-called "N level" option, only seeing numbers continuously increasing on the display. As it surpassed a certain limit, the display no longer showed the floor numbers but constantly displayed "Elevator Ascending."

After a while, he felt the elevator begin to slow down, the light within the cabin gradually dimming. The ascending indicator on the display disappeared, and a few seconds later, along with a slight jostling of the cabin, all characters on the screen vanished, leaving behind only a large letter: N.

The cabin doors opened, and Baili Qing stepped out first. Yu Sheng hesitated for a moment but also stepped out, driven by curiosity.

He stared dumbfounded at this place.

Outside the elevator, there was no corridor or room—just a bare expanse of ground covered with dark, jagged rocks. The area of the ground was very small, possibly only a few hundred meters in circumference, its edges jagged and broken, with countless pieces of rock floating in mid-air, and even this area of several hundred meters seemed to be floating in space.

Beyond this "island" was an endless chaotic space, with a massive and splendid beam of light streaming from the end of the space, piercing through the entire sky like a river of flowing light suspended above this "lonely island."

Yu Sheng looked back towards the direction from which they had come, seeing the "elevator" awkwardly piercing through the center of this "void island," with the shaft like a pipe piercing through the rocky ground and extending upward, disappearing into the depths of the splendid light stream.

"...This headquarters building of yours really does have a spectacular view. Is this still the Boundary Land?"

"Welcome to the 'roof' of the Boundary Land, at least a part of it," Baili Qing said indifferently, "Not many people come to this level, although it has always been my favorite viewing platform, others seem not to like it much—would you like something to drink?"

Yu Sheng was startled, only then noticing a small flat area near the elevator. The space was surrounded by a circle of stones, and there were sofas, coffee tables, chairs, a bar, and even a drinks cabinet and an ice maker—Baili Qing was taking out drinks and ice from the machine, extending an invitation.

Yu Sheng, with wide eyes: "...How do you get water and electricity up here?"

Baili Qing: "...Ah?"

Yu Sheng repeated, "I mean the water and electricity..."

Baili Qing's face finally showed a puzzled expression: "I've entertained guests here several times, and you're the first to ask this question."

"No choice, I'm a person who values rationality," Yu Sheng walked over and sat down on the sofa, "Water is fine, with extra ice."

Baili Qing handed Yu Sheng a cup of ice water and calmly responded: "It's connected from the elevator shaft, but if you ask how the shaft 'penetrates' here, that would be hard to explain, that question is for the engineering department."

Yu Sheng responded with an "Oh," not really delving further into the question. After taking a sip of water, he organized his words and straightforwardly asked, "Tell me plainly, what's the deal with Hu Li's hometown?"

Baili Qing didn't seem at all surprised.

Her answer was exceptionally straightforward: "We suspect she is from 'outside.'"

"Outside?" Yu Sheng immediately frowned, "You mean..."

"Remember the documents that Song Cheng brought you before?" Baili Qing looked into Yu Sheng's eyes, "About the Dark Angels."

Yu Sheng was slightly taken aback, then quickly realized, and said softly: "Dark Angels are 'invaders' from beyond our world..."

"Yes, the keyword is 'beyond our world'," Baili Qing put down her cup, calmly stating, "The appearance of these invaders early on revealed a fact to us, that beyond our 'known universe', there exists other 'things', completely different from us, incompatible, bizarre entities—at least, that was our entire impression of the 'Outer Realm Visitors' before Miss Hu Li appeared by your side."

Yu Sheng opened his mouth in astonishment for a few seconds, then furrowed his eyebrows slightly: "Hu Li is not a 'Dark Angel,' nor is she an invader—she is a victim of the Dark Angels."

"Right, I know, so I only said she might be an 'outsider,' not that she is a Dark Angel or something similar," Baili Qing remained calm, "Even though this challenges our hitherto understanding of 'outsiders,' I can still make a judgment based on reason."

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