Dimensional Hotel

Little Red Riding Hood stood frozen in place, not reacting at all when a huge wolf-shaped shadow leaped at her from behind. It was as if her mind had stalled, leaving her body motionless and dazed.

But Yu Sheng was already on the move. He pushed off from the marble floor with every bit of strength he had, his foot pressing down so hard that the sturdy stone cracked beneath him. In the next heartbeat, he flew toward the girl in the red cloak like a living cannonball.

A split second later, he knocked Little Red Riding Hood aside, just as sharp fangs dug into his shoulder. Before the massive “shadow wolf” could deliver a killing bite, countless thin, black threads whirled through the air. They wove themselves around the creature, blocking every path it might use to escape. These dark strands pierced straight through the wolf’s shadowy body, trapping the seemingly intangible beast. At that same moment, Foxy appeared in a burst of blue flame, her entire form cloaked in ghostly fire. She darted over Yu Sheng’s head in a blur and slammed into the wolf with all her strength.

A thunderous crash echoed through the exhibition hall. Foxy, her belly still full from a recent meal and now burning with anger, struck the beast with a force more powerful than the blow that had once killed Yu Sheng himself. The resulting impact was like a gust of fierce wind, nearly making Yu Sheng lose his footing. The giant wolf shattered like spilled ink, scattering into a dark mist.

Yet within just a few seconds, the inky cloud began to gather again. It appeared that simple physical attacks had no real effect. Even a blow strong enough to rip through tank armor only managed to break the creature apart for a short while. The wolf stood once more, its head twisted and blurry, and opened its eyes—two crimson orbs that glowed as they locked onto Yu Sheng. Its fangs, still stained with his blood, looked both cruel and unsettling.

“What is that thing?!” Irene gasped, drawing in a sharp breath before lifting her hands again. She quickly began weaving more black, thread-like strands to bind the relentless shadow. “Foxy, you idiot! Stop headbutting it! You’re not going to kill it like that!” she cried.

But even as Irene shouted, the giant wolf seemed to freeze in place, caught mid-lunge and held in a strange, awkward pose as though time itself had paused for it.

Suddenly, howls echoed all around them. The rest of the “pack,” which had been trapped in place along with Little Red Riding Hood, sprang into action again. They snarled, charged at the giant wolf, and swarmed over it. Though they seemed like mere puppies compared to the massive creature, these smaller wolves tore into the larger shadow with surprising ease, ripping it apart within moments.

The black fragments drifted down like scattered ink, merging into a single dark patch that slipped back behind Little Red Riding Hood. Yu Sheng noticed that the crimson glow in her eyes was fading, a hint of clarity returning. A moment later, she blinked, fully awake.

After that, they fell silent, an awkward tension filling the white-walled exhibition hall.

“What just happened?” Yu Sheng finally spoke, studying the girl in red seriously. “That half-human, half-wolf creature came out of your shadow.”

Irene stepped closer to Yu Sheng, her doll-like face cautious. Foxy remained nearby, eyes alert.

“…That was the wolf hunting me,” said Little Red softly, her gaze fixed on the floor and avoiding the eerie, sacrificial scene at the center of the hall. “It’s a curse from ‘Fairy Tale.’ The person sacrificed in place of ‘The Weeper’ statue released a powerful psychic contamination. I saw something I shouldn’t have, and that allowed the ‘wicked wolf’ to slip into the real world for a moment. I’m sorry. I got you hurt.”

Yu Sheng glanced at his shoulder, where a fair amount of blood had soaked his shirt. He could already feel the wound slowly healing.

“It’s not that bad,” he said dismissively. “But you really lost control. You said it’s a curse from ‘Fairy Tale,’ but isn’t that also the name of your organization?”

Little Red Riding Hood hesitated for a couple of seconds, then replied quietly, “…‘Fairy Tale’ is also an otherworld.”

She reached into her bag and pulled out an injector without a needle, its glass vial filled with a faintly glowing liquid. Yu Sheng, with a single look, could tell it must be valuable—especially since Little Red paused, steeling herself before injecting it. Her face showed both reluctance and pain.

“Don’t worry,” she said as she finished, exhaling slowly. “I won’t lose control again, at least not during this mission.” She looked up at Yu Sheng, her gaze resolute. “As for the payment for this job… if we even get a reward, you can have it all.”

Yu Sheng frowned, puzzled. “Why?”

Little Red sighed. “I held everyone back. That’s the rule.”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that,” Yu Sheng said, waving a hand dismissively. “Let’s stick to the original deal. What happened just now was an accident. In team missions, things like that happen. It doesn’t mean you’re dragging anyone down.” He paused, a strange smile on his face. “Besides, I have bigger things to worry about than how to split rewards.” ŕ

Little Red blinked, confused, and looked at him.

“Curiosity,” Yu Sheng said, eyes lighting up with interest. “I’m curious about the ‘Fairy Tale’ otherworld you mentioned, and your curse. I’m guessing everyone in your group carries curses, right? I want to understand what’s really going on with your group. Why were you all cursed by an otherworld? And why would you name your organization after it?”

There was a sincere eagerness in Yu Sheng’s eyes, but for some reason it made Little Red uneasy. She wasn’t exactly afraid, yet it felt like she was facing something pure and intense, something burning bright beyond human understanding. Was it really just curiosity?

She hesitated. Normally, she would never reveal her group’s secrets, but there was something about Yu Sheng’s gaze that made her falter.

Finally, she nodded slowly. “If you truly want to know, I can tell you—but it’s a long story.”

“Alright, let’s save it for later,” Yu Sheng said easily, his mood brightening. “This isn’t the best place for storytelling, not with this mess around us.”

He glanced toward the sacrificial victim.

The fierce, brief chaos had left plenty of damage in the exhibition hall. Craters and scorch marks marred floors and walls. Thankfully, the central platform remained untouched. Two of the “guards” had been knocked over by the shockwave from Foxy’s earlier headbutt, but their silvery tails still gripped the mannequin’s head. These strange “entities,” following their own odd rules, lay perfectly still on the floor. The sight was bizarre, yet almost comical.

“Did the ‘guards’ do this?” Yu Sheng asked, looking at the lifeless victim with a growing curiosity.

“No,” Little Red answered immediately. Now that she had taken that extra dose of the rationality blocker, she could look at the grisly scene without losing her mind, though a faint static hummed in her head whenever she glanced at it. “The ‘guards’ only kill intruders in the museum. They wouldn’t set up something so elaborate or symbolic. This… this looks like a human’s doing.”

“So someone really did break in before us, stole the original ‘Weeper’ statue, and then arranged a living sacrifice in its place?” Yu Sheng frowned thoughtfully. “And because of that, the ‘guards’ activated and attacked us?”

“That seems likely,” Little Red agreed, nodding slightly. She studied Yu Sheng, who stood so calmly by the altar, and asked, “Doesn’t seeing this kind of sacrifice bother you at all? You didn’t take any rationality blocker beforehand?”

“Nope,” Yu Sheng replied with a shrug. “I don’t even know where to get that stuff. I’m pretty sure I haven’t even finished my basic training. You said that looking at the sacrifice caused contamination, but I don’t feel a thing.”

Little Red blinked, then turned to Irene.

“Dolls aren’t afraid of a little psychic contamination!” Irene declared, placing her hands proudly on her hips.

Little Red then looked at Foxy.

“She spent decades holding off ‘Hunger’ in Night Valley,” Yu Sheng reminded her. “She drove ‘Hunger’ so mad it almost grew a brain.”

Little Red fell silent, speechless.

What kind of people were these?