Chapter 106: Research and Testing
Grandpa Yu had endured far too much.
Especially after Irene collapsed onto the ground again—though Yu Sheng didn’t actually have a Grandpa, he was starting to feel like if this little doll kept up her antics, he might just have to manifest one from the void, only to watch Irene destroy him immediately afterward…
Thankfully, the little doll’s temper flared as quickly as it faded. More importantly, after a brief moment of chaos and confusion, she and Yu Sheng suddenly realized a detail they had both overlooked just moments before.
“This new body you made… back when we were in the attic, wasn’t it more than five meters away from the Painting?” Irene (Main) asked, raising her head in delayed realization to look at the second body Yu Sheng had placed on the bed. The new body, meanwhile, lowered its head to inspect itself, and both spoke in eerie unison, giving the unsettling sensation of an echo.
Yu Sheng reacted a second later. “Whoa, hold up—you’re right! It woke up in the attic… which means it broke through the Painting’s restriction!”
The two of them exchanged looks (or three, one could argue). After a long pause, Yu Sheng finally ventured, “So maybe… this isn’t a bad thing?”
“Having an extra body is never a bad thing—the real problem was me fainting!” Irene puffed up indignantly, then abruptly changed tone. “But actually, maybe the ‘fainting’ can be overcome. With some adaptation, I might get used to it. But the fact that this body can operate beyond the Painting’s distance limit—Yu Sheng, that’s seriously incredible! How did you even manage it?!”
“I have no idea,” Yu Sheng replied, scratching his head. “If you asked how I made it, I could explain that. But the underlying principle? You know more alchemy than I do. I just wanted to practice before your actual body transfer a few months from now—so you wouldn’t complain that I made the Doll ugly. I followed the process you taught me step by step. Then it suddenly came to life. And that was without your participation! It became a usable ‘shell’ on its own. I was just about to call you upstairs to check it out, and the moment I said your name—its hair started growing…”
“Wait!” Irene suddenly interrupted, both Dolls lifting their heads to stare at him, four eyes full of suspicion. “You said it changed right after you called my name?”
“Yeah,” Yu Sheng nodded quickly, and then realization dawned on him. “You’re thinking… that might be why your consciousness entered the second body?”
“It’s just a possibility. Names hold power. When you created a blank Doll shell, it was merely an object. But the moment you, as its creator, invoked my name during the ritual… it could have ‘granted’ it meaning.”
Irene mused aloud, though she couldn’t help but shake her head.
“But this delves into some very advanced alchemical theory. It would require specific rituals, possibly tied to time and place. And it usually doesn’t work on amateur clay Dolls made during basic practice. Not to mention you used tea powder and rose essential oil as mediums. With the price you paid for that oil, I’d be shocked if it even had any real rose in it.”
“…What if it was because of my blood?” Yu Sheng offered cautiously. “I bled a lot during this one.”
“…Huh?”
Irene blinked in a daze.
Then she snapped back to herself. “You’re telling me that actually worked?!”
“I don’t know!” Yu Sheng spread his hands helplessly. “Originally, I just wanted to study what’s up with my blood. Now I’ve got more questions than answers. But I did find some new traits.”
They resumed staring at each other.
Then, together, they shifted focus back to analyzing this “Second Body” of Irene’s.
After all, this vessel had broken free from the Painting’s five-meter restriction—an unprecedented development of critical importance for Irene.
“Is there anything different about this new body compared to your current ‘main shell’?” Yu Sheng asked the two Dolls seated on the bed. (Admittedly, it was a strange sight—especially knowing both Dolls shared one consciousness.)
“Hmm… This shell feels more rigid, slower,” Irene answered after some thought, carefully sensing its condition. “Especially in terms of perception—it’s very dull and numb. Touch is about half as sensitive. Hearing and sight are alright. But hot and cold? Almost nothing. Pain is also very weak.”
As she spoke, the Second Body pinched its own face experimentally.
“Another thing is… when I control this body, there’s a constant feeling of disconnection. Like using an extremely realistic device to control a virtual avatar. No matter how lifelike it is, I can always tell I’m ‘controlling’ it, not truly inhabiting it.”
Yu Sheng frowned slightly.
The two Irenes on the bed stared at him in unison, wide-eyed and expectant.
The two Dolls looked nearly identical at first glance, but were still easily distinguishable—one Irene always carried the Painting on her back, while the other, if one looked closely, had eyes slightly more vacant and an expression not quite as animated or flexible as that of the main body.
Staring at the two Irenes, especially the one carrying the Painting, Yu Sheng suddenly had a realization.
He stood and approached, removing the Painting from Irene’s back.
“Hey, what are you doing…”
“Just a theory. Let me test something.”
Yu Sheng gave the slightly panicked little doll a serious look. Though still confused, she nodded and quieted down.
Yu Sheng then strapped the Painting onto the back of the new Irene body.
“And now? How do you feel?” He watched the two Dolls nervously.
Both Irenes visibly froze for a moment.
Then they spoke in unison, “Whoa! The sensation switched!”
The Doll now carrying the Painting pointed at the other, “This body now feels all stiff and sluggish.”
“Just as I thought,” Yu Sheng exhaled lightly and came to a solemn conclusion, “Whichever one is carrying the Painting is the main body. So essentially, the Painting itself is the true core.”
Irene’s expression turned oddly nuanced, an air of someone who had escaped prison only to realize the cell was still chasing her.
Meanwhile, Yu Sheng’s mind was already racing ahead.
“We’ll need to conduct a whole series of tests. Like, what happens if both bodies are separated from the Painting? Or how far the secondary body can move freely when the primary is carrying it. And most importantly, how to help you adapt to operating two bodies at once. If that’s not possible, we might have to find a way to temporarily ‘disconnect’ one.”
He rubbed his chin, lost in thought. “Best to call Foxy for help.”
“I’ll go wake her!” Both Dolls sprang up at once.
“Hard to believe she didn’t wake up with all this… Oh no!”
Irene had forgotten she was now running two bodies on a threadbare processing thread. As soon as she took two steps, both bodies lost balance and toppled headfirst off the bed.
Fortunately, Yu Sheng had fast reflexes, catching them both by the ankles.
Dangling upside down, the two Dolls awkwardly held their skirts down and looked at Yu Sheng with mutual embarrassment.
“Maybe you should go call her. I need to lie here and recompose myself…”
With a resigned sigh, Yu Sheng laid the Irenes back on the bed and left the room. He knocked on the opposite room’s Door.
“Foxy! You awake? I need your help!”
He knocked three times before hearing a flustered response from within. A moment later, a drowsy-eyed Fox Girl appeared, still in her nightgown, hair unbrushed.
“I overslept…” she said sheepishly, eyes cast down like a child caught misbehaving. “I stayed up too late last night.”
“No worries, my fault really,” Yu Sheng quickly waved it off. He knew that during the Night at the Museum, Foxy had borne the brunt of the effort. It was only natural for her to sleep in.
“There’s a situation. Come take a look.”
Still confused, Foxy followed Yu Sheng back into the master bedroom.
Where she promptly froze.
Two Irenes sat side-by-side on the bed like P1 and P2 from a video game, staring blankly at the Door.
Foxy stood frozen in the doorway for several long moments before rubbing her eyes furiously.
Then again.
Still double vision.
“Oh no, Benefactor! I’m hallucinating from sleep! Irene has doubled!”
“Stop rubbing. Another rub or two and you’ll see four of her,” Yu Sheng quickly stopped her hand mid-motion, coughing awkwardly. “It’s real. Something strange happened—Irene really does have two bodies now. You’re not seeing things.”
Foxy stared, dumbfounded, then her eyes lit up in sudden reverence.
“So… it’s the Art of External Incarnation! I didn’t expect this, Irene, you’ve become an Immortal…”
“Immortal my tail! Stop talking nonsense, Yu Sheng made a second body for me while I was asleep! I woke up and nearly died from shock!”
“Let’s not get into that now,” Yu Sheng quickly cut in before the Doll could keep ranting. He stepped forward, removed the Painting from Irene’s back, and handed it to Foxy.
“Take this up to the attic.”