Dimensional Hotel
Chapter 313: The Spoils of War!

To be honest, Yu Sheng was still a bit surprised at this moment.

After all, he had seen people pretend to be meek, and he had seen those who, even with death looming over them, could still speak with fiery passion. But this was the first time he had seen such a fiery, impassioned meekness.

The flash of light disappeared suddenly in the distance. Clearly, the person had used some sort of teleportation technique—perhaps a prearranged safe haven, or maybe they had been randomly transported to some corner of space Yu Sheng could not even fathom. Either way, the person had vanished from Yu Sheng’s senses.

This left him feeling a bit regretful—he should have spent more time studying the structure of the ship. At the very least, he could have tried to find its weapons, to see if there were any offensive tools to use. He could have taken a shot at the flash of light before it accelerated further.

Of course, it was too late to think about that now. Though there was some regret, Yu Sheng had not left himself completely without options. When he fought that Sage, he had already infused his blood into the steel, leaving a “mark” on the enemy.

Even if he couldn’t track them now, the blood and the fear of death would eventually grow. When the time was right, the prey would return to the hunter.

With that, Yu Sheng quickly adjusted his mindset, shifting his focus back to the interior of the ship.

The Sage had fled, but there were still those left behind—plenty of secrets to extract from the surviving heretic cultists.

In the wrecked control hall, the surviving Hermitage Members were still trapped in iron cages. The solid metallic barriers formed by the living metal made it impossible for them to move even a finger. Yet, compared to this confinement, the betrayal of the “Sage” had clearly caused them much more harm.

Everyone had witnessed the flash of light accelerating through space, teleporting away in the distance.

Thus, when Yu Sheng’s face reappeared on the ship’s wall, none of the heretic cultists reacted.

“It’s clear that your ‘Sage’ has abandoned you,” the cold, metallic voice echoed through the hall, Yu Sheng’s face addressing the heretic cultists. “The so-called ‘Path of the Sacred’ and ‘Noble Sacrifice’ he preached, I doubt he even believed in them himself—how about you? How long do you plan to resist?”

There was silence in the hall for a moment, before someone finally spoke—an operator, still holding their head high. “Don’t… don’t try to manipulate us! A traitor is a traitor, and we are we! No matter what, we will never bow to a monster like you!”

Yu Sheng was momentarily speechless. “…At least you’re heretic cultists. I’m just a well-meaning citizen. You make it sound like the roles have reversed.”

The entire room of heretic cultists erupted in anger, far surpassing their fear. Some even started to curse.

Yu Sheng couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. Instead, he tightened the iron cages, silencing them before speaking again. “Before I send you all to your ‘new home,’ I have some questions. Of course, you can refuse to answer, but rest assured, more ‘professional’ people will be handling your interrogation later. The process may not be as… comfortable.”

“My questions are simple. Were the ‘Artificial Saintess’ and ‘Knights’ created by transforming living people? Where did you capture these people?”

Silence.

Yu Sheng wasn’t surprised. He knew that getting such information so easily was impossible. So, he shifted to a new topic. “Let’s talk about something else. What were you doing in the Borderlands? What’s the purpose of having such a large ship stationed there? And what’s the deal with that ‘Mistbound City’?”

Another uncomfortable silence. Finally, a Hermitage Member spoke, but it was filled with sarcasm and curses. “That place, full of errors and flaws, was deprived of our correction and salvation. It will soon face utter destruction! You will never know the truth—you will die with them! All who reject the Path of the Sacred will perish with this flawed world!”

“Alright, I think I understand your stance,” Yu Sheng said calmly. He knew he wouldn’t get any useful information from these people, so he decided not to waste any more words. “Given my mood right now, I wasn’t planning on letting you all live. But after learning the truth about the Artificial Saintess, I realized that simply killing you isn’t enough. Let’s go, I’ll take you to a ‘good place.’ There, the professionals will handle you, and sooner or later, you’ll ‘talk.'”

The doors of the control hall opened, but instead of leading into the ship’s corridors, it opened into a hall within the Special Affairs Bureau’s headquarters containment area.

Fully armed Special Affairs Bureau Operatives and Deep Dive members stood at the doorway. Nearby, Bai Li Qing and Song Cheng were also present. The former still held her icy demeanor, while the latter appeared as if he had just caught an eighty-kilogram fish, proudly surrounded by two thousand spectators, with a television crew filming for a live broadcast.

Now, the surviving Hermitage Members understood where their missing comrades had gone.

The activated floor began to squirm, and amid the screams of terror, the final group of ‘prisoners’ was shipped across to the other side.

And so, the ship, laden with secrets and conspiracies, finally fell silent.

The twisted, deformed walls and ceiling of the hall, which had been contorted during the battle, slowly began to return to their original shape. Yu Sheng’s face faded from the walls, and after a brief pause, a phantom door appeared in the corner of the hall. He pushed it open and stepped out.

“…Finally done,” he gasped, tugging at the corner of his mouth in a faint smirk. “Died twice in a row, and Irene’s mouth really has been blessed.”

As he spoke, he casually pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed Bai Li Qing: “Hey, it’s Yu Sheng. Have you sorted things out over there? Have you managed to control everyone?”

“Everything’s going smoothly,” Bai Li Qing’s calm and indifferent voice came through the phone. “Their resistance is weak.”

“Of course it’s weak,” Yu Sheng replied, his tone showing some irritation. “After their boss gave a grand speech and ran off in front of them, even killing off a dozen of his own men just to fight me… Ugh, letting that guy escape was really careless.”

“The Special Affairs Bureau has had many dealings with the Holy Revere Hermitage. Capturing this many cultists in one go is already a rare victory,” Bai Li Qing’s voice remained steady, but she seemed to be trying to console him. “Don’t worry too much about the escaping leader. These heretic cultists you’ve brought back will be enough for us to piece together the truth of their operation.”

“Yeah, hopefully,” Yu Sheng muttered, then seemed to lose focus for a moment. After a pause, he suddenly said, “Oh, by the way, the artificial Saintess and the holy coffin I was going to send to the Special Affairs Bureau… I might have to go back on that.”

“What happened?” Bai Li Qing asked, her voice sharp.

“Some accidents,” Yu Sheng sighed. “The artificial Saintess died, and the holy coffin broke. I’m not sure if I can fix them.”

He paused again before continuing, “And… the situation with the artificial Saintess is a bit special. I’ll explain once I’m back.”

“Alright,” Bai Li Qing responded quickly. “When will you return?”

“Just a little longer,” Yu Sheng said as he looked around, “I’ve got an idea.”

On the other end of the line, Bai Li Qing took a soft breath.

Yu Sheng couldn’t help but laugh. “Is my idea really that scary?”

“…Tell me what you’re thinking,” Bai Li Qing said, her tone calm and collected.

Yu Sheng thought for a moment. “I want to try ‘steering’ this ship back.”

This time, Bai Li Qing’s tone wavered slightly. “You can pilot the Hermitage Order’s ship?! Their navigation and piloting systems are notoriously strange…”

“No,” Yu Sheng replied plainly, cutting her off. “But I don’t need to ‘pilot’ it. I just need some time to ‘understand’ it.”

Bai Li Qing went silent for a few seconds, clearly processing his words. Then, she seemed to grasp what he meant. “…Like with that valley?”

“Something like that.”

“You’re going to…”

“Absorb it,” Yu Sheng said matter-of-factly. “Otherwise, how do you think I’ve been sending these heretic cultists over to you in neat little packages? I can’t exactly fight them with just my bare hands.”

Bai Li Qing inhaled sharply.

“Alright, I understand. Since you have a better plan, the Special Affairs Bureau won’t interfere. Good luck with everything.”

“Thanks,” Yu Sheng chuckled. Before hanging up, however, he suddenly remembered something and raised his voice slightly. “Ah, wait, there’s one more thing! I almost forgot!”

Bai Li Qing’s tone shifted to one of concern. “What is it?”

“I’ve been calling Borderland through interstellar roaming,” Yu Sheng said, his expression full of frustration. When he’d checked the cost of the “Starry Union Telecom” charges while wandering the ship after his revival, the numbers had nearly blinded him. “Can the bureau cover this?”

A long silence stretched across the stars before Bai Li Qing finally ground out a word through clenched teeth: “They can.”

“Oh, that’s good then. I’m off to study the ship. See you.”

With that, Yu Sheng hung up, his mood lifting. The process of tallying up the spoils always brought satisfaction.

In the control hall, the chaos left by the battle was visibly reversing. Yu Sheng didn’t actually know how to repair the advanced, seemingly alien technology around him. He simply restored the damaged areas to the state they were in when he “took control.” If he had to describe the process, it was somewhat like his “regeneration” after death.

Damage was reversed. Destruction was erased.

This was also why, when the “Sage” had attempted to self-destruct (though it hadn’t happened), Yu Sheng had been adamant about throwing him out. At that point, he hadn’t fully taken control of the entire upper area, and if the explosion had spread beyond the hall, he wouldn’t have been able to fix the damage outside.

He had promised Irene to bring back “local specialties.”

Now, with the full “takeover” of the ship nearly complete, Yu Sheng strolled past rows of seats and control panels.

The metal beneath his feet seemed to writhe, pipes reshaping themselves beside him, cables curled back into place like living creatures, returning to the walls and ceiling grooves. The hum of the equipment came to life as the energy supply throughout the hall was quickly restored.

Behind him, the once-dead control panels lit up again, their holographic projections and screens now dancing with secrets about the universe, the stars, and distant deep space.

Yu Sheng walked to the wide viewport, squinting slightly. Bathed in the distant starlight, he let out a satisfied sigh.

This “local specialty” would surely give Irene a surprise.

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation