Dimensional Hotel-Chapter 247: Award

Yu Sheng stood there, eyes wide, watching as Bai Li Qing and Hunter greeted each other. The scene fell silent for a moment. After two or three awkward seconds, Yu Sheng finally broke in, unable to contain himself: “Wait a second—I have a question!”

Bai Li Qing turned to face him.

“Hunter called you ‘Director’?” Yu Sheng stared at the woman before him, who seemed only a few years older than himself. “Their squad vanished into the ‘Fairy Tale’ seventy years ago, yet you were their director?”

Bai Li Qing blinked slowly. Yu Sheng wondered if it was his imagination, but he was almost certain that a faint, victorious smile tugged at the corners of her usually cold face. She spoke calmly, tinged with a playful irony: “Correct. I’ve held this position for a hundred years.”

“Just how old are you?!” Yu Sheng blurted out.

Bai Li Qing didn’t answer. She merely stood there, her eyes carrying the barest hint of amusement, clearly with no intention of satisfying his curiosity.

Yu Sheng quickly realized that neither of the Bai Li sisters could possibly be considered ordinary—especially the one standing in front of him. Bai Li Qing, one of the five councilors ruling over Borderland and head of the Special Affairs Bureau, likely wasn’t entirely “human” anymore.

[Was it a special power? An influence from some strange force? A bloodline inheritance? Or perhaps some sort of transformation that happened while dealing with Otherworlds and Entities?]

Yu Sheng’s imagination instantly filled in five or six storylines, enough for at least forty episodes plus two specials. Still, it was clear he wouldn’t get answers just by asking.

He didn’t press further, simply shrugging instead. But his thoughts quickly jumped back to a small detail he had previously overlooked.

Back in the Special Affairs Bureau, Bai Li Qing always referred to Captain Song Cheng of Unit Two as “Little Song.” It wasn’t merely a superior addressing a subordinate; it was more like a senior guiding a junior—or even a mentor who had personally raised him. Yet Song Cheng, a man in his forties, appeared a good decade older than Bai Li Qing herself…

“I honestly never expected that,” Yu Sheng sighed aloud. “No wonder I felt something off when you told me about the Orphanage’s past and the ‘Coming of Age’ plan. You spoke like you’d witnessed it firsthand.”

“You never asked,” Bai Li Qing replied lightly, a hint of nostalgia in her voice. “Indeed, it was all a long time ago…”

She turned her head, gazing at Hunter, who stood quietly under the night sky.

After a long pause, she lowered her gaze, searching her pockets for something. Then she stepped forward, facing Hunter directly.

“When I sent you off on that mission, I promised there would be an award ceremony once the Cursed Children were safely rescued,” she said gently. “It’s many years late, but today is finally a day for celebration—do you mind if there’s only one medal?”

Hunter said nothing, yet suddenly stood straighter. It was merely a worn-out hunting uniform floating in the air, yet in this moment it stood proudly like a soldier at attention.

No stage, no flowers or applause, no commanding officers or comrades-in-arms to witness this moment—perhaps the simplest award ceremony in the Special Affairs Bureau’s history. Yu Sheng thought it far too humble. Whether as the brave Deep Dive Squad who’d disappeared seventy years ago, or as the Hunter tirelessly fighting Evil Wolves and protecting Little Red Riding Hood within the black Forest, today’s honoree surely deserved something grander, more formal.

Yet this modest awarding seemed deliberately chosen by the two figures standing in silent accord.

A faint smile rose on Bai Li Qing’s lips as she pinned a medal, decorated with a short sword encircled by a laurel wreath, onto Hunter’s chest.

At that very moment, fireworks soared skyward. With joyful, shrill whistles, they burst high overhead—echoing like Hunter’s own gunshots. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Great, dazzling rings of fire bloomed and expanded against the night sky like crowns of radiant flame.

The fiery glow reflected on Bai Li Qing’s face, lit up Hunter’s worn uniform, and briefly illuminated the entire clearing.

Startled by the loud booms, Squirrel shrank her neck in alarm, then quickly raised her head in excitement, letting out a delighted cry: “Wow! Amazing—these are even prettier than before!”

Yu Sheng also lifted his gaze to the spectacle, muttering under his breath: “Of course. That’s a cruise missile up there.”

More fireworks erupted into the sky, including a sneaky fox-tail rocket hidden among them, the blasts shaking even the clouds above. Fortunately, Yu Sheng himself controlled these clouds; otherwise, the overly excited Nine-Tailed Fox might’ve literally blown daylight back into existence…

Irene’s voice buzzed urgently inside Yu Sheng’s head: “Hey! Yu Sheng, where’d you run off to? That silly Fox is out of control—she’s launching her tails one by one, and a whole crowd of Human cubs is cheering her on!” ℝ𝘼ɴо𝐁ƐṠ

“Let her be, it’s fine! I’ll be back soon,” Yu Sheng chuckled lightly. “The Special Affairs Bureau is covering the food tonight anyway—she can play and eat as much as she likes.”

“You’re way too relaxed about this!” Irene complained loudly. “She’s chewing through the barbecue faster than two people can cook! She even bit through two metal skewers! And she’s eating charcoal straight off the grill! Red-hot charcoal covered in chili oil, wrapped in pork belly—”

Yu Sheng: “…”

[What exactly is Foxy getting so excited about?]

He absently said a few words to Irene before turning to Hunter. “Want to join us at the square? Little Red Riding Hood and the others have been waiting to see you.”

Hunter hesitated. “The way we look now might frighten those children who haven’t encountered the Black Forest yet.”

Yu Sheng laughed. “Now you’re overthinking things—have you forgotten those aren’t ordinary kids? They’ve seen it all. Even a six-year-old dares to ride a cruise missile to the sky… Come on, join us.”

Hunter paused another moment but eventually took a step toward Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng turned back to Bai Li Qing.

“Fine,” Bai Li Qing raised her hands helplessly, “but if things get awkward, don’t blame me.”

So they returned to the square, and at the height of the blazing bonfire, Little Red Riding Hood saw the familiar figures of Hunter and Squirrel arriving.

This might’ve been the happiest moment of her entire night.

Soon a group of children—older ones, younger ones, and those somewhere in between—crowded around Hunter, greeting him enthusiastically, asking all sorts of strange questions, or simply reaching out to hug that floating, empty outfit. Many of the children were probably just curious to see if there was anything actually filling out the clothes, but in this moment, there was no resistance or fear, only pure joy.

The tall figure, sustained by twelve noble souls, seemed even somewhat overwhelmed.

Squirrel excitedly leaped from head to shoulder among the children, clearly on the fast track to befriending every single one of them.

Yu Sheng watched with satisfaction, then glanced around and noticed that despite all the excitement, there remained one quiet spot by the bonfire.

Within ten meters of Bai Li Qing, there was absolute silence. Only a few people from Special Affairs Bureau stood nearby, stiff as if ready to deliver urgent reports at any moment.

“I told you so,” Bai Li Qing said dryly when she saw Yu Sheng approaching, “but you didn’t believe me.”

Yu Sheng looked around, spreading his hands helplessly. “All right, you really opened my eyes—but how exactly do you manage it?”

“My usual work style probably has something to do with it,” Bai Li Qing sighed, “but the real issue isn’t that simple.”

Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Imagine a leader who’s been running the same place for a hundred years, who knows every department, every person. She knows every step you’ve taken from the moment you walked through that big door, every mistake you’ve made, every strength and weakness. Imagine that each newcomer experiences exactly the same thing, year after year, until the entire bureau sees it as just another one of those weird phenomena in the building, a ritualistic nightly review of the rules, passed down through generations like an old legend…”

Bai Li Qing pointed to herself.

“…and you get this.”

Yu Sheng had nothing to say.

But Bai Li Qing didn’t seem bothered. She casually dragged over a chair from nearby (it looked as if it came straight from some castle’s banquet hall), sat down, and waved dismissively at the few anxious Special Affairs Bureau members nearby.

“All right, enough, you’re dismissed—no need to stand around here waiting to give me updates.”

They left swiftly, clearly relieved.

Seeing this, Yu Sheng sighed. “You seem pretty at ease about it all.”

“It doesn’t bother me. In fact, it helps maintain efficiency within Special Affairs Bureau, so I have no plans to change it,” Bai Li Qing said simply. “The Bureau is a special place, and I need it operating at maximum efficiency. If they weren’t wary of me, many of them would end up facing something much worse.”

Yu Sheng said nothing further, simply pulling another chair over and sitting beside Bai Li Qing, the two of them watching the bonfire roar.

The three Irenes were lighting small fireworks nearby, ones they’d probably begged off some child.

Foxy had grabbed a huge meat skewer from the roasting rack and was chewing eagerly, grease smeared all over her face.

Squirrel was enthusiastically recounting her epic battles against the shadow of Anka Aila in the Black Forest to the Long Haired Girl Princess—one bold enough to tell the tale, the other bold enough to believe it.

Little Mermaid was still providing background music, her voice capable of imitating any sound. Currently, she was mimicking a spirited orchestra—no one knew exactly what she was fired up about, but something had clearly lit a flame within her.

It was nice.

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation