Chapter 43: Irene’s Plan
Irene indeed possessed many miraculous abilities, something that Yu Sheng deeply understood when following this doll into Foxy’s dream. But to be fair, this unlucky doll had so many shortcomings in daily life that it was easy to forget how remarkable she could be.
“Now, there’s just one thing left—the most critical part,” Yu Sheng said, sitting on the sofa with a serious expression as he addressed the little doll beside him. “Figure out a way to recreate that Door to Otherworld Valley.”
“You’re still planning to use the brute-force method?” Irene asked curiously. “Trying each ‘frequency’ you think is close?”
Yu Sheng sighed. “It’s the only way. The first time I entered the Valley, I hadn’t truly mastered the art of ‘opening Doors’ and overlooked too many details.”
Irene turned her head to look at Yu Sheng, her little doll figure seemingly lost in thought. After a moment, she hesitantly spoke up, “Actually… I have an idea.”
Yu Sheng immediately leaned forward. “Oh? You’ve got a way?”
“Not necessarily. I don’t fully understand how you ‘open Doors’ or what you mean by ‘frequency.’” Irene squirmed around on the sofa cushion, trying to find the right words. “But as I understand it, you need some kind of ‘marker’ to lock onto your destination—like a navigational signal?”
“…That’s one way to think about it.” Yu Sheng seemed unsure. “Honestly, I’m not entirely clear myself. I’ve been fumbling through the process mostly by ‘feel.’ Your idea of a ‘navigational signal’ is pretty accurate, though—when I open a Door, the destination on the other side is entirely random. But if I can precisely ‘remember’ a specific ‘trait’ of that place, the passage collapses into a single path.”
“So, if we could leave a ‘navigational point’ over on Foxy’s side, you could recreate the passage directly?”
“Probably,” Yu Sheng nodded, though he still looked puzzled. “But where would we get such a navigational point? That’s the problem—if we could’ve left one there earlier, I wouldn’t be struggling to find the way back to the Valley.”
“What about from within a dream?” Irene suddenly suggested.
Yu Sheng froze, then slowly grasped what the doll meant.
Irene continued to elaborate, “Last time when I dove into Foxy’s dream with you, I managed to establish a faint connection with her. If I could deepen that link, I might be able to synchronize with her senses. Then, by dragging you into the connection, you could directly sense the Valley’s presence through Foxy’s perception. Wouldn’t that essentially establish a ‘navigational point’?”
Yu Sheng listened to Irene’s plan in disbelief. The more he thought about it, the more he realized this little doll’s wild idea… might actually work.
“There are two main difficulties,” Irene continued. “First, it requires Foxy’s cooperation. She must willingly open her mind to you. That shouldn’t be too hard—just explain it well to her. She trusts you. The second issue, however… is more dangerous.”
Yu Sheng didn’t interrupt, signaling Irene to continue with a glance.
“The second problem is that Foxy’s mind isn’t hers alone anymore,” Irene’s expression grew more serious as she looked Yu Sheng in the eyes. “Entity-Hunger has already sunk into her subconscious. Once you establish a deep connection with Foxy, you’ll also be linking with Entity-Hunger… I can’t predict what will happen then. In theory, short-term contact should be manageable, but there’s a risk that Hunger’s influence could take root in your own mind. If that happens, when you finally confront that monster in the Valley, the latent influence might erupt without warning…”
Yu Sheng fell into deep contemplation.
Noticing his silence, Irene’s crimson eyes glinted with sharp insight, and she suddenly stood on the sofa, hands on her hips—even then, she still wasn’t taller than Yu Sheng sitting down. “Don’t even think about dying just to see if that clears the influence! I’m telling you, that mindset is dangerous. If you die and come back but the influence remains, you’ll be in big trouble…”
Yu Sheng awkwardly adjusted his posture. “I never said—”
“I could see it written all over your face!”
Yu Sheng: “…”
Why was this doll’s intuition so unnervingly sharp right now when she was usually so scatterbrained?
“Alright, alright. I’ll put any thoughts of ‘dying to reset’ at the bottom of the list,” Yu Sheng relented, waving his hand in surrender as Irene’s crimson eyes bore into him. “But I’m still going to go with your plan. The risk of directly contacting Entity-Hunger is real, but… I think it’s worth it.”
Irene’s crimson gaze remained fixed on Yu Sheng. After several seconds, she finally relented. “Fine. It’s clear you really want to save that Fox, and honestly, her condition can’t afford any more delays. Let’s do it.”
Just then, Yu Sheng remembered something. “But there’s one more problem.”
“Huh?”
“I can’t guarantee I’ll dream of that specific dream with Foxy in it. Last night, I didn’t even dream at all—I have no control over my own dreams.”
Hearing that, Irene broke into a smug grin, her expression full of pride and triumph.
“I can handle that,” the little doll proclaimed, standing confidently on the sofa. “You just focus on sleeping—I’ll take care of the rest. Now that I’m free from that cursed painting, I’m so ridiculously strong it’s scary… even to myself.”
Yu Sheng adjusted his position on the sofa, causing the cushion to deform. Standing at the edge of the cushion, Irene lost her balance the moment it shifted, letting out a startled “Ah!” before tumbling down. However, she didn’t fall completely, as the Oil Painting Frame strapped to her back got wedged between the sofa and the coffee table, leaving her dangling helplessly from it.
Like a trapped doll, Irene hung there, limbs flailing in a desperate yet absurd dance, almost as if trying to bite anyone who came near, all while spouting the most colorful curses imaginable.
Yu Sheng casually picked up the painting frame, raising an eyebrow at her predicament. “Looks like you’ve got quite the binding problem here.”
Irene glared at him, still awkwardly suspended. “Laugh again, and I’m not helping anymore!” With both arms trapped in the frame’s shoulder straps, she looked like a human cross as Yu Sheng lifted her up. “Put me down! Ow, ow—my arm! My joint’s stuck! Help me bend it back…”
Sighing, Yu Sheng reached out and carefully maneuvered her joints back into place, all while ignoring Irene’s continued complaints and the doll-like chatter echoing from the painting itself.
Late at night, after making all the preparations for sleep, Yu Sheng lay down in his bed, exhausted. Meanwhile, Irene was darting around on the bed like a little rocket, unable to stay still.
“Can’t you be quiet for just a moment?” Yu Sheng grumbled, glancing at her as she jumped from one side of the bed to the other. “I’m trying to sleep.”
“Your bed is huge!” Irene exclaimed with glee, hopping to the headboard and then onto the nightstand, where she grabbed the lamp and gave it a playful shake. “Hey, hey, this lamp’s shorter than me! Look, Yu Sheng! It’s shorter than me!”
Rolling his eyes, Yu Sheng picked her up off the lamp. “Next time, I’ll buy a nightlight that’s even smaller than you. Did you forget what you’re supposed to be doing? Keep this up, and I’ll lock you in the closet.”
Finally quieting down, Irene gave a sheepish smile. “I was just a little excited… Alright, alright, you sleep. I won’t cause trouble anymore.”
With a weary sigh, Yu Sheng set her down. “Go turn off the light.”
The doll spoke up matter-of-factly. “I can’t reach.”
“…Use a chair.”
“Oh.”
Finally, peace settled over the room. Yu Sheng exhaled deeply, savoring the quiet, adjusting his mind, and slowly slipping into sleep. But just as his consciousness was fading, he turned his head and saw two glowing, blood-red eyes fixed on him from the edge of the bed.
Irene clung to the bed frame like a koala, staring intently at him, her crimson gaze cutting through the darkness.
“You know, that just makes it harder to sleep,” Yu Sheng muttered helplessly. “Why are you even in my room? Didn’t you manage to enter my dream before while staying downstairs? Was it really necessary to follow me here?”
With a straight face, the doll replied, “Better signal when I’m close.”
Yu Sheng sighed once more, knowing full well that getting rid of her tonight was impossible. Resigned, he buried himself under the covers, forcing his mind to ignore the persistent, eerie stare as sleep slowly took hold.
He didn’t know how long he tossed and turned—maybe an hour, maybe longer—but eventually, fatigue overcame him, and his consciousness slipped into hazy darkness.
Within that foggy void, a soft voice called out. “You finally fell asleep… Come on, this way.”
Instinctively, Yu Sheng turned toward the voice. The mist thinned, shadows giving way to faint light. There it was again—that vast, desolate wilderness under a somber sky, stretching endlessly into the distance. The silver-white Demon Fox remained asleep amid the barren plains, a silent guardian of the dreamscape.
Moving forward, Yu Sheng noticed something odd floating beside him—the “Dream Guide.” It was Irene, guiding him through his dream.
He halted, eyebrows knitting in puzzlement as he stared at the floating painting of Irene, locked in a staring contest with her tiny figure inside.
“…Why do I get the feeling that painting is your true form?” Yu Sheng asked dryly.
Irene glanced at herself, then looked around, realization dawning too late.
“Wait… why am I in the painting again?!”