Dimensional Hotel

Yu Sheng could not shake the strange feeling that Little Red Riding Hood had been on edge for quite some time now. He suspected it might have something to do with him, though he wasn’t entirely certain. Still, he refused to let it bother him too much. After all, he was quite used to puzzling situations by now, mostly thanks to Irene. She had taught him the skill of keeping calm even when everything around him seemed to be falling apart. So, Yu Sheng quickly pushed aside his doubts and stood up, focusing his mind on the task ahead. He concentrated on their next move, his senses sharpening like a well-trained scout before an important mission.

All around them, the museum’s guards—who looked more like unmoving, plastic mannequins—seemed scattered across various corridors and rooms. Yet something rather odd was happening. Yu Sheng could sense it: some of these mannequin-like guards were quietly being taken apart in midair, bit by plastic bit. It was as if the guards had stopped functioning altogether the moment the “intruders” (Yu Sheng and his companions) had slipped out of their line of sight. Now, these silent sentinels were gradually being “cleaned up,” as though the museum itself was removing them once they were no longer needed.

This peculiar process moved along slowly, too slowly for Yu Sheng’s liking. He knew that if he waited until every last plastic guard was completely gone, they would risk missing the narrow window of time during which the museum remained open. Yu Sheng recalled what Little Red Riding Hood had mentioned earlier: the museum would only appear during the night, and it would vanish once daybreak arrived, leaving them stranded if they lingered too long.

“Let’s keep going. We’ll head that way,” Yu Sheng said quietly, pointing toward a door at the very end of the corridor. His voice was calm and confident. “There aren’t any guards behind that door.”

“Understood,” replied Little Red Riding Hood, wasting no time. She gave a quick, silent signal to her wolf pack, and they followed Yu Sheng’s lead without hesitation. After all, he was the only one who could sense where the safe paths lay in this unpredictable place.

They stepped through the door and into a room softly lit with a warm, orange glow. In the center stood a grand sculpture shaped like a towering mountain range. All around them, the walls displayed bright, cheerful landscape paintings. Curiously, none of these paintings had a signature or artist’s name—each one was carefully labeled as “anonymous.” There were no plastic guards here, no signs of security blocking their way. Just as Yu Sheng had sensed, the path was indeed clear.

Little Red Riding Hood found it more than a bit unsettling. She had never imagined they could move so easily through a museum that was supposed to be “activated.” According to the Special Affairs Bureau’s reports, once these artificial guards were formed, the place became extremely dangerous—a threat severe enough to require a fully-armed, elite team to handle it. Yet here she was, leading her wolves through this hostile environment, passing through exhibition halls and branching corridors as if the guards—who were said to be everywhere—simply weren’t there.

But reality reminded her otherwise. Only when Yu Sheng quietly leaned in and whispered for them to look out, pointing to a distant corner where a hidden guard still lurked, did Little Red Riding Hood remember that deadly threats existed in every shadow. Without his guidance, they would have stumbled straight into danger.

They continued onward, passing through several more halls and rooms, yet they still couldn’t find the mysterious white exhibition hall mentioned in their information. This was starting to feel like a fruitless search, and the tension grew with every silent step.