Chapter 863 - 862: Uneasy Red

Chapter 863: Chapter 862: Uneasy Red

Just as Yu Sheng uttered "a whole bunch of you," the first to react was the puppet beside him—Erin blinked her eyes and leaned in: "What? She has mass-produced machines too?"

Yu Sheng raised his hand, pressing on the puppet’s head as she leaned too close, pushing her back: "Don’t interrupt, it’s different from your situation."

He quickly organized his thoughts and recounted the experiences from his momentary distraction.

Even Dorothy, who was hugging her command knife in a daze, was drawn in, listening in astonishment to the strange scenes Yu Sheng described.

After Yu Sheng finished, a brief silence fell over the scene. Luna and Hu Li exchanged glances, while Red frowned slightly, seemingly pondering or perhaps just confused.

"Is this also..." Hu Li turned to Red with curiosity, "something that really happened before?"

Red hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook her head.

"I... don’t remember, I don’t remember anything... I..."

Her voice grew softer, filled with intense confusion and turmoil, and then she suddenly stopped. After a few seconds of silence, she bluntly stated—

"I am the Queen of the Dark Moon Royal Court."

"Uh... ah?" Erin blinked, "Well, we know that, you’ve mentioned it before."

Red shook her head, her spirit seeming a bit far off: "No, I just... somehow, that was the only thought in my mind just now."

"Stop, don’t reminisce," Yu Sheng sensed something off in her state and quickly interrupted, "Your memories in this area have major issues, there might still be remnants of contamination or influences from historical fragments."

Red paused, not sure what she was thinking, then gently nodded.

Meanwhile, Erin was poking the pale stone on the ground with her thin sword, then looking at the ruins in the clearing: "Speaking of which, this thing should be completely dead... but without a heart, this place is still a dream realm, might it come back to life tomorrow night?"

Several gazes fell on Red, who frowned and spoke with some uncertainty: "Sorry, I can’t answer. Although I have destroyed this cathedral several times before, I’ve never killed the ’moon’ inside it, so I don’t know if this little moon will revive like other elements in the dream realm."

"Alright, things should be quiet today," Yu Sheng sighed, "...though it’s almost dawn."

He glanced at Dorothy: "You did well today, I’ll treat you to barbecue later."

A bright smile spread across Dorothy’s face: "Alright, alright! I know a good place in South City..."

The girl babbled on, her figure slowly fading into the air.

Next, the Saintess and Knights of the Valhalla Corps also withdrew one by one from the dream realm.

Yu Sheng waved to Red one last time: "We’re leaving now, see you later."

Red smiled, nodding gently to him before her figure quickly faded into the darkness.

Yu Sheng opened his eyes; it was the next morning—the forest scenery outside was lush, tall twisted trees looming overhead, flowing mist floating above the forest.

Yu Sheng paused, then rubbed his forehead remembering he just moved his home here yesterday...

A small puppet quickly climbed over from the foot of the bed.

"Yu Sheng, Yu Sheng! Any plans for today?"

"I’ll go find Baili Qing later to check the anomalies in the forest, then I need to inspect the situation at the Rift."

...

Meanwhile, in the rest area of the temporary command center, Red had already awakened from her sleep.

Compared to her bedroom in the Council Tower, this dormitory in the temporary command center was quite simple, but at least it had a decent location, was relatively peaceful, and wasn’t disturbed by the frequent takeoffs and landings of drones at the base.

The events experienced in the dream realm were still clear, but with some additional noise occupying her mind. Already accustomed to it, Red simply shook her head lightly, then slowly moved to the dressing table in the corner of the room.

She began to comb the long hair that almost reached her ankles, as if simply to gain a bit of inner peace, her expression showing traces of contemplation.

Two supermarket bags bearing discount labels lay discarded on the floor nearby, contrasting sharply with the elegant, tranquil aura surrounding the vampire girl.

Red stopped her actions, looking at the plastic bag on the ground with a subtle expression. After a moment, she suddenly smiled, bending down to pick up the bag.

At this moment, footsteps suddenly came from the doorway, followed by the door being pushed open as Baili Qing appeared at the entrance.

Red maintained her posture of bending to pick up the plastic bag, while Baili Qing looked on expressionlessly at the scene, their eyes wide open.

After a brief silence, Red frowned displeasedly: "No knocking?"

"I saw red light coming out from the window when passing by outside, felt a bit worried so came to check, didn’t bother to knock," Baili Qing said with a stern face, quickly confirming the situation in the room, "Are you okay?"

"Red light?" Red frowned, then without showing any emotion, tossed the plastic bag into the nearby trash can while shaking her head, "No, I’m fine."

"What happened?" Baili Qing came in, though having confirmed Red’s safety, her tone was still a bit worried, "Is it about that Dream Realm again?"

"...Yu Sheng helped me get rid of the little moon parasite in that nightmare," Red didn’t conceal anything, as the person before her was the child she personally raised; she knew Baili Qing’s character well, "I don’t know if it has anything to do with the red light you saw, but as you see, there’s nothing to worry about here."

Baili Qing slightly raised an eyebrow, an extremely subtle expression change that did not escape Red’s eyes.

"Perhaps it’s just temporary, maybe next time I dream it will resurface, but at least this morning, I feel much more relaxed," Red said with a smile, a tone of ease, "Go handle your affairs, the situation in the forest is still a mess, you probably don’t have much free time."

Baili Qing however didn’t seem inclined to leave, her gaze remained fixed on Red, with a penetrating aura that faintly questioned; after a while, she directly walked to the side chair and sat down, staring at Red’s face without blinking: "Rarely see you so uneasy."

"Uneasy? Me?" Red raised her hand, pointing to herself, a somewhat laughable tone, "Where did you see that?"

Baili Qing’s face remained expressionless: "I’ve seen it, so I can identify it."

Red spoke impulsively: "Where have you seen it..."

"127 years ago, when I first went on a trip with you, you lost me—though I was actually hiding on the nearby rooftop, watching you secretly."

Red’s expression subtly stiffened, seemingly recalling something, she smirked slightly: "I remember... then you cried loudly when I caught you."

"Yes, but I also remembered what you looked like when helpless," Baili Qing said, stern-faced, "Besides, the ’crying loudly’ part doesn’t need to be remembered so clearly."

"That’s not possible," Red turned to sit beside the dresser mirror, "I don’t like forgetting things, especially yours Ah Qing, you were quite fun as a child..."

She gradually stopped speaking.

The gaze opposite remained calmly focused here, with an irresistible aura—the once naïve little dragon girl had long grown into a formidable Special Service Director, now taller than her "foster mother", no longer easily deceived.

Red slowly lowered her shoulders.

"This feeling isn’t very good, I don’t like being seen through—but since it’s you, seeing things isn’t unusual," she gently exhaled, speaking softly, "You probably know, I’ve forgotten many things—more than the council head and Kant. A fault once described my condition as ’memory disintegration’, not simple amnesia, but a reconstruction of the self from the Old World in the New World...

"He said I’m like a sheet of paper that once contained words, wiped clean during Boundary Land’s reshaping stage, only to be rewritten with the name ’Red’, with only some old impressions remaining..."

Baili Qing sat opposite Red, listening to this "foster mother" who appeared even thinner and younger than herself repeat things she’s heard countless times, until Red finally stopped, she seriously asked: "So, now you..."

"I seem to be about to recall something," Red hesitated, speaking softly, "Not really remembering specific things, but a sense... intuition. Recent events all seem to point to my Hometown, before, I’ve always wanted to understand what happened there, but now I get increasingly... apprehensive."

Baili Qing said nothing, merely continuing to watch her calmly, knowing Red wasn’t done speaking.

"I don’t know what I’ll face eventually, but I instinctively feel resistance, Ah Qing, do you understand this feeling? Like a long trek, you’re in thick fog seeking the path home, suddenly seeing a light appear in the fog, as if pointing homeward, but a dread suddenly wells from the heart, you think it might not be light, it could be a fire that burns everything, taking a step forward gives answers, but as long as you don’t move forward..."

"All our Hometown World is already destroyed in fire, isn’t it?" Baili Qing abruptly interrupted her, "Moreover, given current developments, there’s likely no option of ’not moving forward’—the Rift in the forest is becoming unstable, Time Shadow from the Dark Moon Royal Court is infiltrating the Tree Angel’s Dream Realm, regardless, next we will face the true form of the Dark Moon Royal Court."

Baili Qing paused, then slowly continued: "And this is just the first one."

Red pursed her lips.

"You really aren’t good at comforting people, are you?"

"Yes, not quite, it’s hard to learn," Baili Qing nodded, "However, I want to say... if when the time really feels bad, you could hide in Valhalla, no matter what is faced, the soul will find peace there."

"...You seem quite trusting of Yu Sheng’s ’Protection’?"

"Seems so," Baili Qing considered, seriously nodding, "He’s at least prepared suitable places to settle for all the displaced people in every sense..."