The Transdimensional Inn

Calm sea

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A stone struck the wolf's shadow squarely on the head, abruptly silencing its half-formed howl. Just then, a sharp reprimand echoed from the shadows of a nearby building: “Be quiet! Howling is prohibited in the city—don’t even add ‘woof’! Humans aren’t fools; no one will believe you’re dogs!”

The phantasmal wolves that had materialized in the shadows emitted soft whines, quickly retreating in understanding. From a short distance away, a petite figure approached.

It was a girl with short hair, clad in a black skirt and a dark red jacket. A single strand of hair curled upward on her forehead. She appeared to be merely sixteen or seventeen years old, yet her expression conveyed an extraordinary calmness and maturity. As she emerged from the shadows, she walked directly past the submissive wolves and soon came upon the male corpse lying by the roadside.

A fleeting shadow of gloom crossed her face. She crouched beside the body, inspecting something, while one of the wolves edged closer, murmuring in low, rumbling tones, conveying some sort of information.

“…The scent of rain?” The girl furrowed her brow and lifted her gaze to the sky, which had remained clear and bright for the past couple of days. Even though dusk was approaching, the expanse of sky visible between the towering buildings still appeared pristine and unobscured, with only the sunlight gradually dimming.

After a moment, she seemed to grasp something, lowering her head again to examine the horrific wound on the man’s body. She murmured softly, “...Rain, heart, the stench of frogs…”

At that moment, a sudden ringtone erupted from the small bag at her waist, interrupting her musings—the theme from the 1986 version of *Journey to the West*.

The short-haired girl answered the call before the monkey could complete its fourth somersault.

“Hello, who is this… Oh, yes, it’s me,” she pressed the phone to her ear and waved her hand to signal the accompanying wolves to secure the scene, rising to her feet as she stepped aside. “I’ve arrived; my wolves detected the anomaly here… but they didn’t catch anything, just came up empty.”

As she spoke, she sighed, her gaze falling upon the unfortunate corpse.

“It’s ‘rain,’ which generated the physical manifestation of ‘rain frogs,’ but this rain seems to be a localized projection, affecting only one person… Yes, quite unfortunate, a ‘rain’ that only fell for one individual. By the time I arrived, it had already stopped. The depth here has returned to L0, and the ‘rain’ has dissociated from the boundary.”

The girl paused, listening patiently as the voice on the other end of the line relayed instructions and inquiries, casting a glance back at the corpse in the distance.

“...Medical personnel? Just send someone to collect the body; an ordinary person encountering a ‘rain frog’ could hardly survive—his heart is missing… Tsk, I’ll stay here, don’t forget to calculate the overtime fees separately.”

A rambling voice from a middle-aged superior filtered through the phone, but the girl lost patience, offering a few perfunctory responses before hanging up.

With another sigh, she turned back and beckoned over one of the wolves stationed nearby, settling onto its back. Resting her chin on her hands, she gazed contemplatively at the lifeless body.

“Poor soul, I wonder if he has a family. Dying alone here… Sigh, I’ll keep you company for a while… It must be cold to die in the ‘rain,’ but unfortunately, I’m not the one selling matches; otherwise, I could at least warm you on your way…”

The girl murmured softly to herself, patiently waiting for the recovery team to arrive. After a short while, the thunderous roar of an engine rumbled from the direction of the nearby intersection—its sound was earth-shaking, reminiscent of a heavily armored vehicle dragging a container, as if it were racing over ten speed bumps. Even the wolf beneath her stirred in surprise, nearly jumping up—though the weight of her presence kept it grounded.

Turning her head toward the noise, she spotted a large van clattering as it approached the intersection, trembling as it crossed over the speed bumps, resembling something from 1991-era Soviet engineering.

Unhurried, the girl rose from the wolf's back, her expression impassive as she watched the van lurch over the bumps and come to a halt. A number of burly men, clad in all-black tactical gear and fully equipped with high-tech gear, emerged and began pushing the vehicle from behind.

Another robust middle-aged man, dressed in a brown coat and with a slightly dark complexion, alighted from the van, accompanied by a young woman in a white dress, her brown hair cascading over her shoulders. The two exchanged a resigned glance at their team members struggling to push the vehicle before turning their attention toward the girl.

As they approached, the short-haired girl could not help but murmur, “Honestly, can’t your second team request a replacement vehicle from above? The Special Operations Bureau can’t be this strapped for resources… I feel like any one of your team members has enough gear to trade for this clunker.”

“Shh!” The sturdy middle-aged man hurriedly waved his hand, lowering his voice as he glanced back at the idling vehicle and the struggling subordinates. “Don’t speak carelessly… You don’t understand the situation. Our Special Operations Bureau has unique circumstances; this vehicle is just having a rough day, and replacement is simply not an option…”

“Large organizations really do have their share of troubles,” the short-haired girl scoffed, clearly uninterested in the topic. She quickly shifted her gaze to the petite woman in the white dress who had accompanied the man. “Good afternoon, Dr. Lin. It’s been a while.”

“Perhaps we should say good evening, ‘Little Red Riding Hood,’” the woman referred to as Dr. Lin replied with a faint smile, her thin lips appearing restrained and composed. “How has your injury been since the last time?”

“It’s healing well,” the girl, dubbed ‘Little Red Riding Hood,’ replied as she flexed her right wrist. “You know, wolves typically have strong recovery abilities…”

“Humans possess the greatest recovery capabilities—but they are always quite resistant to injury,” Dr. Lin corrected earnestly.

“...Oh,” the short-haired girl responded dismissively, redirecting the conversation back to the corpse on the ground. “Let’s focus on this case first. The victim is male, appears to be in his twenties, and his heart has been taken by a rain frog. The time of death is approximately two hours ago. I haven’t searched him yet, so I’m not sure if he carried any identification… Yes, for the sake of preserving the scene.”

As she spoke, she glanced curiously at Dr. Lin. “You’ve come here… Are you really planning to treat him? Can this even be treated?”

“Not at all; I’m no deity,” Dr. Lin replied, shaking her head as she bent over the corpse. “I’m just here to take a look; it’s very close to my home…”

She examined the body for a moment, confirming the wound and checking the deceased’s belongings, ultimately finding his identification card.

“The deceased is named Noah, twenty-four years old, with a registered address at No. 66, Wutong Road, Old Town,” she remarked, comparing the thin card representing his identity with the deceased’s appearance. “Captain Song, please use the department’s equipment to check if we can contact his family later.”

The sturdy middle-aged man nodded in acknowledgment while glancing at the identification in Dr. Lin’s hand, unable to suppress a frown. “Why does the photo on this look so blurry?”

Upon hearing this, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ leaned in curiously to inspect the identification found on the deceased.

The face on the card appeared as if smeared with a layer of gray-black grime, obscuring the details completely.

Dr. Lin rubbed the smudges with her finger, realizing they wouldn’t come off easily; the stains were more tenacious than anticipated and nearly covered the entire card.

“Not even the name is legible,” Little Red Riding Hood murmured. “We can’t make out the ID number either; you’ll have to take it back and read the chip with a machine…”

Captain Song let out a resigned sigh, nodding as he gazed at the pile of remnants on the ground. “It’s unfortunate; it would have been great if we could find the victim’s identification… As it stands, we have too few leads.”

Dr. Lin nodded in agreement, her gaze lingering on the bloodstains that had nearly washed away to the point of being untraceable: “…The lack of even a body makes it difficult to ascertain what happened back then.”

Listening to their exchange, Little Red Riding Hood seemed to ponder something quietly. Suddenly, she lifted her head and looked at the woman in the white dress beside her. “Dr. Lin, good evening.”

“Good evening, Little Red Riding Hood,” Dr. Lin smiled back, greeting the short-haired girl. “How’s the patrol going?”

Little Red Riding Hood surveyed her surroundings, reaching out to stroke the head of the wolf nearest to her. “There was ‘rain’ here, and it likely manifested ‘rain frogs,’ but it seems no victims appeared.”

Dr. Lin appeared relieved. “That’s good to hear.”

The sound of an engine revving reached them from a distance, and the battered van sputtered to life, its engine noise gradually stabilizing. The armed agents who had been pushing the vehicle rounded the back, panting.

The leader approached, addressing Captain Song. “Captain Song, the vehicle

is running; shall we…”

Captain Song nodded and walked towards his team.

“Alright, let’s head back to the bureau. And don’t forget to bring Dr. Lin along.”