Dimensional Hotel-Chapter 264: Within the Mirror

Shadowy Wolves gathered silently around Little Red Riding Hood. At a gentle command from their master, they melted into the rolling mist, swiftly vanishing without a trace.

Behind Foxy, a cluster of tails unfurled like a blooming lotus. Six tails detached smoothly, transforming into Fox Roaming Cannons that hovered protectively around the group, vigilantly scanning the misty surroundings. Two more tails rested securely in the arms of the Demon Fox Maiden, their tips flickering with ready Fox Fire—while the ninth tail, used for storage, trailed lazily along the ground like a furry lifeline.

Beside Yu Sheng, Irene gently lowered her hand. Threads of Black Spider Silk emerged from her fingertips, drifting into the haze like living things, probing for any presence that might disturb their minds or harbor ill intent. Though the theoretical depth of this Otherworld might only be L-2 or even L-1, Otherworld realms seldom adhered strictly to logic. Sometimes, immense dangers lurked within even the shallowest of realities.

Yu Sheng cast a glance at his companions, feeling an involuntary sigh build in his chest. [Why is it that everyone else has such impressive powers?]

“Honestly, I wish I had some flashy special effect whenever I used my abilities,” he murmured, “something that just pops out dramatically, useful or not, to intimidate anyone watching.”

Irene twisted her small head around, gazing curiously at him from his shoulder. “You already have a flashy effect. Isn’t your Door-opening spectacular enough?”

Yu Sheng sighed again, casually summoning a Door and pulling out his heavy combat rod—nicknamed “Reason,” a weapon that could severely injure just by grazing someone. He hefted it onto his shoulder.

Irene instantly executed another flawless acrobatic maneuver, flipping gracefully across Yu Sheng’s back to sit comfortably on his other shoulder.

Little Red Riding Hood stared in astonishment at Yu Sheng’s maneuver. “Did you… just convert your Door into storage space?”

“I just opened the Door to the basement at Wutong Road No. 66,” Yu Sheng replied, brightening. “But see? Isn’t it as convenient as actual storage?”

Little Red Riding Hood made a sound of wonder, while Foxy looked contemplative, perhaps linking this feat to some new immortal tale. Yu Sheng’s own attention, however, returned to their mist-shrouded surroundings, taking in the hauntingly empty streets and buildings around them.

This place was unmistakably the open plaza and avenue outside the shopping mall, mirroring reality precisely. But now, it lay smothered beneath a thick, uncanny fog, utterly devoid of life.

Yu Sheng cautiously stepped forward a few paces. Soon, he spotted the black vehicles belonging to the Special Affairs Bureau. They stood abandoned exactly where he remembered them—empty, of course.

“So this is… a world inside the Mirror?” Little Red Riding Hood murmured, her brow furrowed slightly as she surveyed the eerie scene. Then she shook her head decisively. “No, this Otherworld just has mirror-like properties. It reflects physical objects from our reality but not people.”

“Have you ever heard of an Otherworld like this?” Yu Sheng asked quietly.

Little Red Riding Hood thought carefully, then slowly shook her head. “No. There are many mirror-related Otherworlds, but nothing quite matching this.”

“Benefactor, something about this fog feels very wrong,” Foxy whispered, uneasy. “It’s as if there’s something creeping closer through the mist, but my Divine Sense finds nothing when I search.”

Yu Sheng glanced toward the doll perched on his shoulder. “Irene, can you sense anything?”

The doll shook her head, while Little Red Riding Hood also confirmed quietly: “My Wolves haven’t found anything either. No entities, no signs of people. And a human shouldn’t be able to get very far.”

“Hm,” Yu Sheng murmured thoughtfully, his eyes settling on the shopping mall’s entrance ahead. “‘Big Nephew’ said he escaped from inside the shopping mall. Could he have retreated back inside once he saw things were unsafe outside?”

Irene tilted her tiny head, thinking briefly. “That’s possible. Should we check?”

“Let’s check,” Yu Sheng nodded firmly. As he began walking toward the mall, he reminded the group again, “Stay close. Foxy mentioned something strange about the fog—separating here might be very dangerous.”

The small group stayed tightly clustered, cautiously navigating through the plaza enveloped by dense fog until they reached the open glass doors of the shopping mall and stepped inside.

Inside the mall, everything was similarly deserted. Storefront lights remained lit, illuminating shops and open spaces devoid of life. Thin mist seeped persistently through cracks and gaps, drifting in delicate, ghostly layers around them.

Suddenly, Foxy let out a soft cry of surprise. “There are mirrors everywhere here!”

Indeed, mirrors filled every corner of the shopping mall—the glass shop doors had become mirrors, advertising screens turned reflective, and even numerous products displayed on shelves had transformed into mirrors of varying sizes and shapes. Those few items that were not mirrors were twisted into bizarre shapes, grotesquely distorted as though malformed renderings or failed geometries.

Yu Sheng slowly moved past one of these mirrors, eyes instinctively drawn to his own reflection staring back at him from within its polished surface.

Before Yu Sheng could clearly grasp any details, the Mirror shattered with a sharp crack. In an instant, it seemed to endure countless years of erosion. The reflective surface, once seemingly made of glass, rapidly shriveled and wrinkled, turning into a charred mass before silently crumbling to black ash.

All Yu Sheng remembered was seeing a pitch-black humanoid shape cloaked in shadowy mist, standing within the Mirror.

Irene was startled by the sudden event. “…Wait, what the heck, it broke just like that?”

Yu Sheng, equally puzzled, stared at the black ash scattered on the ground. Instinctively, he bent down, dipping his finger into it, rubbing the powder gently between his fingertips—he had no idea what this would reveal, but detectives in movies always seemed to do this whenever they encountered mysterious powders.

But the moment his fingers rubbed together, the entire world around him lost its color. A monochrome realm of death abruptly enveloped him, accompanied by a muffled voice echoing through his mind—

“…Wait, what the heck—I just died!”

In barely a second, the gray world vanished. Colors and sounds flooded back, restoring normalcy.

Yu Sheng stood in stunned confusion, a single thought surfacing: [The rubbing trick actually works?]

Beside him, Foxy immediately turned her head, sensing the change in his aura. “Benefactor, what just happened?”

“Seems like I discovered two things,” Yu Sheng replied thoughtfully, brushing the remaining ash off his hand. “First, the Mirror here was alive. Second, I heard its dying words.”

Foxy, Irene, and Little Red Riding Hood exchanged bewildered glances.

Irene leaned closer. “And what did it say?”

Yu Sheng gave a helpless shrug. “Its dying words were that it died.”

Irene stared blankly. “…What the heck?”

“Don’t ask me, I’m just as confused,” Yu Sheng said with a sigh, his gaze cautiously shifting toward the other Mirrors scattered around.

He had half-expected them all to shatter simultaneously, filling the air with echoes of “I died,” yet nothing happened. Instead, the Mirrors simply stopped reflecting him altogether.

Even the largest Mirror before him showed only Foxy and Little Red Riding Hood standing normally. Irene floated midair as though suspended by invisible threads—his own reflection had been neatly erased.

They weren’t even pretending anymore.

Yu Sheng frowned. “Can you see me reflected in the Mirror?”

Little Red Riding Hood nodded quickly. “Of course, you’re standing right here beside us, perfectly normal… Wait—you can’t see yourself?”

Yu Sheng gave a slow nod. “…Right. I can’t.”

[So, the key isn’t about who’s reflected, but who’s looking? Or is it both conditions combined that caused the Mirror to die just now? But why? What’s the logic behind it?]

Questions flooded Yu Sheng’s mind, each more puzzling than the last. Yet, his companions seemed even more confused.

Little Red Riding Hood looked at Yu Sheng oddly. “I can’t tell whether this place is weirder, or if you’re somehow even stranger than this place. Did you eat too much weird stuff recently?”

Yu Sheng: “…”

Despite this strange interlude, their search inside the Shopping Mall proceeded swiftly.

With Foxy’s Divine Sense, Irene’s weaving spider threads, and Little Red Riding Hood’s Shadow Wolves scouring every corner, they quickly determined the mall was empty—no sign of survivors or hidden threats.

Frustrated, they eventually stepped back outside, confronting once again the unending sea of fog.

Perhaps it was imagination, but the mist seemed thicker now, heavy enough to blur the outline of those black luxury cars parked at the square’s edge.

“Doesn’t it feel like this fog is chasing us?” Irene whispered nervously. “Wherever we move, it gathers thicker, coming closer from all sides.”

Yu Sheng frowned. He hadn’t felt the subtle pursuit Irene mentioned, nor sensed anything hidden like Foxy did. He lacked their impressive spider senses or Divine Sight. Yet, he couldn’t deny an unsettling intuition was beginning to stir—a feeling like his Spiritual Intuition was warming up, ready to sound alarms at any moment.

The fog was changing.

And deep within the mist, faint sounds echoed.

Little Red Riding Hood’s expression suddenly twisted. “My Wolf was attacked!”

A Shadow Wolf abruptly appeared beside her, its shadowy body severely damaged as if something unseen had violently bitten it in half. The injured Wolf let out a confused, angry howl, quickly weakening to a frustrated whimper. After briefly brushing against its master’s leg for comfort, it faded back into the shadows.

The defeated Wolf had delivered critical information.

Little Red Riding Hood jerked her head up, eyes wide with alarm. “There’s a massive creature hidden in the fog—covered in countless limbs and teeth. Its exact shape was unclear, but it destroyed my Wolf instantly!”

The moment she finished speaking, Irene pointed urgently toward the immense glass wall of the Shopping Mall behind them.

“…Is it the thing currently crawling down the wall?”

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation