Chapter 373: The Introduction
Gu Mu was shoved through the door by his mother.
This wasn't a metaphor. It was a literal, physical displacement. Zhou Fang held
her bag in one hand and her son's shoulder in the other, half-pushing and
half-dragging him into the bureau.
Gu Mu's hair had been groomed, his beard was gone, and he wore a reasonably
clean plaid shirt. However, as he stood there, his spine was slightly curved,
radiating a profound aura of "I am here under duress."
Sora invited them in and poured tea. Once Zhou Fang had firmly planted her son
into a chair, she got straight to the point.
"Owner Sora, are the dossiers synchronized?"
"Complete," Sora said, sliding the Elven file across the desk. "The candidate
you requested, Ayla Windwhisper, has been contacted via the Imperial Tour
Supervisor."
Zhou Fang's eyes gleamed with high-tier excitement. Gu Mu stared at the
tabletop, feigning a system-shutdown.
"What is her stance on the proposal?" Zhou Fang asked.
Sora checked her logs. "The tour liaison responded yesterday. Ms. Ayla is
naturally inclined toward cross-planar communication; her current mission in the
Eldritch Realm is folkloric research. She is willing to manifest for a session.
However..." Sora paused. "She has clarified that she interprets this meeting as
a 'Cultural Exchange,' not a formal matchmaking event."
Zhou Fang slapped the table. "A cultural exchange works! Establish the link
first, worry about the labels later!"
Beside her, Gu Mu finally looked up, his voice eerily calm. "Mom, she literally
doesn't consider this a date."
"So? Do you speak Elvish?"
"...No."
"You've been auditing Elven culture for two months. Do you even know their
preferences?"
Gu Mu was silent for a second. "I have some data. Elves possess a high
preference for botanical specimens and the mapping of regional flora. Ayla's
research vector is cross-planar folklore; she should technically have an
interest in human traditional customs."
He cut himself off halfway through, but Zhou Fang was already looking at him
with the satisfied expression of a mother whose son has finally shown a
high-tier stat.
Sora pushed a cup toward Gu Mu. "In that case, complete this personal data-entry
form. Standard variables: vocation, age, hobbies, and so on."
Gu Mu took the form and began to fill it out. While he wrote, Zhou Fang engaged
Sora in a side-channel:
"Owner Sora, what is the girl's aesthetic rating?"
Sora handed over the dossier. Zhou Fang scanned the identification photo, then
immediately flipped the paper face-down on the desk.
"He doesn't get to see it yet."
Gu Mu looked up. "...Mom?"
"Wait for the manifestation. No pre-set visual variables. Experience the person
first."
Gu Mu's pen paused, then he resumed his work. Sora silently gave Zhou Fang a
mental "thumbs-up"—it was a sound tactical move. Viewing a photo beforehand
often created unnecessary psychological bias.
Once the form was complete, Zhou Fang stood up and grabbed her bag, preparing to
depart. "The session is scheduled for the afternoon after tomorrow, correct?"
"Correct. 14:30."
"Good." Zhou Fang grabbed her son's arm and hoisted him up. "Go home and
prepare. Audit her research papers. Don't sit there like a frozen NPC when the
time comes."
As Gu Mu was dragged toward the exit, he leaned slightly toward Sora's desk.
"Owner Sora… you're sure she's interested in botanical specimens?"
"The archive is clear on that point."
Gu Mu nodded and followed his mother out. Once the door closed, Ruby poked her
head out from the back.
"Boss, what's your audit of that Gu Mu guy?"
Sora thought for a moment. "He speaks less than his mother, but he has deeper
parameters hidden beneath the surface."
The day of the manifestation arrived rapidly.
At 14:00, Sora conducted a final sweep of the reception room. It was a modest
space—a long table, a few chairs, and the hand-painted banner on the wall. Kaito
sat in his usual spot against the wall, his soul-fire dimmed. Bochi was nestled
comfortably inside Kaito's hood, two black-bead eyes peeking out to monitor the
doorway.
At 14:20, the Elf manifested first.
Ayla Windwhisper appeared significantly younger than her archival photo
suggested. Her ears were sharply pointed, her eyes a pale emerald, and she wore
the formal coat of the Imperial Cultural Exchange Squad. She carried a side-bag
that seemed stuffed with equipment, the strap swaying gently as she moved.
She scanned the room, spotted Sora, and offered a polite nod. "Greetings." Her
Mandarin was exceptionally standard, though her tone was slightly flat. "I am
Ayla. We coordinated via the liaison yesterday."
"Welcome, Ms. Ayla," Sora invited her to sit. "Tea or water?"
"Water is sufficient. Thank you."
Ayla took her seat, placing her bag on her lap. Her gaze swept the room once
more, lingering on Kaito for exactly two seconds—one full second longer than the
previous Anomaly. Then, she politely averted her eyes without asking questions.
Sora noted that Imperial citizens truly were built differently; their
adaptability was off the charts.
At 14:28, Gu Mu arrived.
His mother was absent; he had manifested alone. He held a small cloth pouch—Sora
couldn't tell what was inside, but it looked bulky.
The moment he saw Ayla, his footsteps faltered. It wasn't a visible expression
of shock, but a visceral physical hesitation. He recalibrated within a second
and sat down in the opposite chair.
Ayla nodded to him. Gu Mu returned the nod, but his nerves were so tight that
the gesture was overly stiff, looking more like a rhythmic exercise than a
greeting.
Sora scribbled a word in her notebook: [NERVOUS].
She cleared her throat and initiated the formal introduction protocols. "Ms.
Ayla, this is Gu Mu. A structural technician for the Imperial Architectural
Bureau and a local resident."
"Gu Mu, this is Ms. Ayla Windwhisper. A member of the Imperial Cultural Exchange
Squad, specializing in folkloric research."
The two nodded to each other. Silence fell over the room.
Sora: "..."
In the corner, the "Skeleton Decoration" saw its soul-fire flicker. Bochi was
vibrating with suppressed energy under the hood.
Sora decided to initiate a "Save-State" protocol. "Ms. Ayla, regarding your
research here in the Eldritch Realm… what is your primary focus at the moment?"
Ayla picked up her glass of water. "I am currently documenting the 'Informal
Rituals and Belief Systems' developed by humans during the Scourge-Era."
Her tone flattened into a comfortable, academic frequency. "Specifically, the
new collective behavior patterns. Things like synchronized community prayers or
the custom of hanging specific colored fabrics on doorways. These aren't
recorded in official historical logs, yet they appear statistically prevalent."
Gu Mu looked up. "The ones in District Two?"
Ayla's eyes shifted slightly. "You are aware of them?"
"Red threads on the apartment doors in District Two," Gu Mu said, setting his
glass down. "I handle the structural inspections in that sector. I've
encountered them frequently. I've asked the residents; they claim the color red
wards off anomalies, but no one can define the exact origin of the protocol."
Ayla unzipped a section of her side-bag and produced a research journal. "When
you observed them, were the threads tied to the door handles or draped over the
lintel?"
"Both," Gu Mu said, processing for a second. "But I noted a specific detail:
families with children tied them to the handles, while elderly residents living
alone tended to drape them over the lintel."
Ayla's pen stopped. She looked at Gu Mu again, this time for a significantly
longer duration.
"Have you audited this field before?"
"No. It's just a vocational habit," Gu Mu's voice remained steady. "During
structural inspections, one must record all external attachments to a building.
Over time, these variables become impossible to ignore."
Sora crossed out the word [NERVOUS] in her notebook and replaced it with
[SYNCHRONIZED].
For the next thirty minutes, Sora didn't need to intervene. The two shifted from
Scourge-era red threads to the psychological impact of architecture on
residents, then to the settlement patterns of other Imperial planes, and finally
to how Elves construct dwellings within forest ecosystems.
Gu Mu placed his cloth pouch on the table and pulled out a stack of printed
documents. "I found these on the Imperial Forums. It's a community-organized
diagram of Elven architecture. I wasn't sure if the data was verified, so I
brought it for audit."
Ayla took the papers and flipped through them. "The overall logic is sound, but
there are two deviations in the details." She took a pen and made two marks.
"Here and here. The forums likely referenced an archaic version. Modern Elven
structural protocols have been recalibrated."
"Could you elaborate on the recalibration?" Gu Mu asked.
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