Dimensional Hotel-Chapter 261: Call for Help

News that the great Door was open quickly spread throughout the Valley. Cursed Children came running, excitedly entering and exiting the new Teleportation Door. But soon enough, the youngest ones were caught by their ears and dragged back to the safety of the “Town” by their Guardians. After all, the Orphanage was still a sprawling ruin littered with construction machinery—far too dangerous for children who hadn’t mastered their abilities, or those who hadn’t even awakened yet.

Snow White, along with a handful of older kids, wandered through the debris, careful not to disturb the cleanup crew while searching for anything familiar.

Even though the Orphanage had been leveled, and the main buildings had twisted grotesquely into the “Umbilical Cord,” scattered items somehow survived amidst the rubble. They weren’t necessarily useful, but each was filled with memories precious to the members of “Fairy Tale.”

Dorothy suddenly called out from afar, her voice excited. “Long Haired Girl! I found some novels—are these yours? There are two broken figurines beside them!”

Long Haired Girl immediately shrieked, rushing toward Dorothy with desperation in her eyes.

At another corner, Snow White directed the Thunder Titans to shift aside melted, congealed chunks of concrete, uncovering part of what had once been their activity room. Beneath the wreckage lay a Graffiti Board and a wooden chest filled with indoor toys.

Standing not far away, Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood quietly watched the search. After a moment, Yu Sheng softly asked, “Don’t you want to look around? Maybe something of yours survived.”

Little Red Riding Hood shook her head gently. “I’ve already taken out everything important.” Yet, after a brief silence, she glanced toward Li Lin, standing nearby. “Can we ask you to help us keep an eye out? If your team comes across anything intact during cleanup, could you collect them for us?”

Li Lin immediately nodded. “Of course, we’ll try our best.” Then he added quickly, “But no promises—we’ll mostly be using heavy machinery, and our cleanup crew probably won’t be as careful as your people.”

“Doing your best is enough,” she said quietly.

“No problem.”

Yu Sheng listened quietly without interrupting, when suddenly his pocket vibrated with the shrill ring of his phone, cutting off Little Red Riding Hood and Li Lin’s conversation.

Pulling out the phone, Yu Sheng glanced at an unfamiliar number. After a slight hesitation, he answered the call.

An anxious and vaguely familiar voice crackled through, interrupted by bursts of static. It was a young man’s voice, trembling with fear. “Hello? Hello! Can you hear me? Brother Yu? I’m—%?%%@…”

Yu Sheng frowned, struggling briefly before recognition dawned on him. “…Big Nephew?!”

Little Red Riding Hood stared at him in confusion. “Who is it?”

“Old Zheng’s nephew,” Yu Sheng quickly explained. A sudden chill ran through him as the garbled words registered danger. “This is Yu Sheng. What’s going on there? Are you in trouble?”

After another brief wave of static, the voice returned, clearer this time. “I’m in the Shopping Mall, but something’s really wrong. Everything changed positions suddenly, people have changed, and there are mirrors everywhere… I’ve never encountered anything like this, and I don’t know any other experts… Can you come here—%?@%#?…”

Yu Sheng quickly switched to speaker mode. Before he could respond, Little Red Riding Hood impatiently shouted at the phone, “Quit the nonsense! Just say which shopping mall!”

Static again poured from the speaker, mixed with the young man’s increasingly panicked, distorted voice. “He Yang District… @#?Wanxiang Mall… but I entered through a strange Door, inside it doesn’t feel like—&**&?…”

The static surged, overwhelming the words until the voice became a muffled blur, and then the call abruptly ended.

Yu Sheng exchanged a tense glance with Little Red Riding Hood. Before either could speak, Li Lin had already pulled out his own phone, dialing with practiced ease.

“This is Li Lin, Squad Two. We have an Abnormality III at Wanxiang Mall in He Yang District. Someone’s potentially trapped. Communication ceased one minute ago, suspected submersion into an Otherworld… Understood, Patrol Squad’s already dispatched? Good.”

Yu Sheng stared in slight surprise at Li Lin’s swift, professional response. Noticing his gaze, Li Lin awkwardly asked, “Er… something wrong?” freёwebnoѵel.com

“You’re pretty reliable,” Yu Sheng remarked casually. “Do you handle stuff like this often?”

“Not that often,” Li Lin answered quickly, somewhat embarrassed. “But we were trained for this—it’s literally Special Affairs Bureau’s job.” He shifted nervously. “Actually, I’m still a bit nervous. This was my first time handling an Abnormality III alone…”

“I have to go check it out,” Little Red Riding Hood interrupted Li Lin and Yu Sheng’s conversation. Shadows rippled around her, Wolf-shapes already forming. She turned toward Yu Sheng, urgency clear in her eyes. “Coming?”

“Of course,” Yu Sheng replied without hesitation, rising instantly. “The guy called me, after all.”

Li Lin shook his head with a sigh, clearly frustrated. “I’ve got tasks keeping me here. But my colleagues are already there—just ask if you need anything.”

Yu Sheng nodded, then quickly motioned for Foxy and Irene. Moments later, they slipped into the shifting shadows, following Little Red Riding Hood’s Wolf pack.

Shadowy Wolves leapt between abstract buildings—twisted silhouettes of reality, flattened into monochrome projections. The city flickered rapidly around them as they crossed multiple blocks in mere moments.

Foxy, imitating Yu Sheng, sat cautiously atop a Shadow Wolf, eyes wide with curiosity as the surreal, shadowy structures rushed past. Irene clung tightly to Yu Sheng’s shoulder, nervously scanning the surroundings, her voice wavering. “What’s happening…? Is that ‘Big Nephew’ okay?”

“It’s typical for someone with High Sensitivity and Low Stability,” Little Red Riding Hood explained, her voice tinged with regret. “I should’ve requested Special Affairs Bureau protection for him earlier. But this case is truly bizarre—he hardly interacted with any supernatural elements during Old Zheng’s incident. All he did was get close… Who knew just that could invite attention from the ‘Other Side’?”

“Who could’ve guessed?” Yu Sheng replied, conflicted emotions evident in his voice. It was his first time witnessing a normal person entangled again in supernatural events just because they’d brushed against the Otherworld once. “After Old Zheng’s issue was handled, I sent him straight home. I really thought it was fine…”

Yu Sheng paused, glancing thoughtfully at Little Red Riding Hood. “You know that shopping mall he mentioned? Could it be an Otherworld?”

“Wanxiang Mall? I’ve been there twice—it’s definitely not an Otherworld. But entrances shift unpredictably. Sometimes they appear directly in front of the victim’s face,” Little Red Riding Hood answered gravely. “Remember the freezing rain you ran into once?”

Yu Sheng froze for a moment, recalling the frog in the storm. His expression turned complicated. “Wow, if you hadn’t reminded me, I’d have forgotten. Feels like it was ages ago.”

He shook off the strange nostalgia, refocusing on the immediate issue. “You’re the expert here. From what you heard on the phone, can you guess what happened to him? Is ‘Big Nephew’ in danger?”

“When the call first connected, his voice was clear. He hadn’t fully ‘sunk’ yet—probably somewhere between L-0 and L-1,” Little Red Riding Hood said calmly, explaining with practiced clarity. “If he were an experienced Spirit Realm Detective or Investigator, he could’ve easily escaped at that point. L-0 and L-1 are nearly connected directly to reality; the safe cracks back to normal are visible even to the naked eye.”

She shook her head slowly.

“But soon the static interfered, suggesting he dropped beyond L-1. At that point, a normal person’s chances depend solely on luck. Thankfully, L-1 is usually harmless—it just looks wrong, but there’s no lethal mechanism there. Safe paths back to reality still exist… though, again, it’s down to pure luck.”

Her voice grew heavier. “The real trouble is how quickly the signal degraded—barely a minute before it was consumed by noise and strange whispers. He was descending too fast, possibly straight past L-1, even into L-2. I just hope he managed to anchor himself in an Otherworld at L-2. At least until the rescue team arrives…”

Yu Sheng listened attentively. Despite facing even Dark Angels, these practical insights into the foundational layers of the supernatural were new to him. Much of this knowledge couldn’t be found in databases. It was earned through years of experience—something only seasoned professionals like Little Red Riding Hood possessed.

Foxy turned her head, chiming in thoughtfully. “He mentioned strange changes, people and objects altering, and mirrors everywhere…”

“That alone doesn’t help much,” Little Red Riding Hood replied, shaking her head. “Distortions like that are common when slipping into an Otherworld. Often it’s the victim’s perception changing, not the actual surroundings. Mirrors… Well, mirrors are common motifs—dozens of Otherworlds feature them. We’ll know more once we reach the site. Special Affairs Bureau teams should’ve already arrived; they have plenty of high-powered detection gear, plus city-wide scanners. They might’ve already caught his descent signal.”

Irene glanced at Little Red Riding Hood, then back to Yu Sheng, finally blurting out the question she couldn’t hold back any longer. “…You two keep calling him ‘Big Nephew,’ but he does have a real name, right? What’s his name?”

Little Red Riding Hood and Yu Sheng exchanged a quick, bewildered glance.

“…No idea!” they answered together, almost sheepishly.

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation