Chapter 109: Construction
It was a joyous spree of grand acquisitions—especially once Yu Sheng discovered that many of the items were far cheaper than he’d expected.
For what must have been the umpteenth time, Yu Sheng retreated to a quiet, unnoticed corner with his two companions in tow. There, he instructed Miss Foxy to unfurl her Storage Tail and began stuffing the newly purchased Chicks into it.
Watching Miss Foxy’s eyes sparkle as she eagerly grabbed each Chick and slipped it into her tail, Yu Sheng felt a strange blend of emotions. Irene, sprawled lazily over his arm, had long given up on expressing her dismay. “You actually bought them… You’re seriously going to raise chickens in Night Valley?”
“Why not?” Yu Sheng replied with a dreamy gleam in his eye. “It’s a huge place—no worries about them getting lost or dragged off by stray beasts. I’ll let them roam free, mountain-style chickens!” He sighed in contentment. “If only I’d found some piglets too…”
“So you want free-range pigs now, huh? And you’re planning to let these tiny chicks loose just like that?” Irene sighed. “That place barely has any grass growing yet. You sure it can even support livestock?”
“Which is why it’s all part of the future plan,” Yu Sheng muttered, scratching his head sheepishly. “For now, I’ll keep them in coops. Meanwhile, I’ll study up on how to accelerate the ecosystem recovery in the Valley, maybe pick up a few books on farming and animal husbandry.”
Irene stared at him blankly. “…So you don’t actually know how to do any of this?”
With all the confidence of a charlatan sage, Yu Sheng nodded solemnly. “Of course not. Do I look like I would? But I do have a wealth of theoretical knowledge and vivid imagination!”
“You’re unbelievable,” Irene groaned. “Here I was, thinking you were some kind of expert, drawing up all these plans like you’re turning Night Valley into a rustic Otherworld farmstay.”
Yu Sheng gave her a mysterious glance. “You don’t understand. Farming is the soul.”
“Yeah, I don’t get it,” Irene replied, rolling her eyes dramatically. “We Dolls don’t even need to eat. The Ancestor of the Dolls never taught us anything about agriculture. None of the sisters have ever reported studying farming, either.”
“Which is exactly why your correspondence-school upbringing is flawed…”
“Say one more word like that and I’ll bite your skull, you uncultured swine!”
At that moment, Miss Foxy had finished stuffing the last Chick into her tail. She looked up at the two bickering figures and hesitantly asked, “Benefactor, may I raise them?”
Yu Sheng paused. “You know how?”
Miss Foxy nodded enthusiastically. “I do! We were taught in school!”
There was something odd about that—Yu Sheng could feel it. But seeing her eyes shine so brightly, he nodded anyway. “Alright, they’re yours to raise.”
Irene was aghast. “You’re letting her raise the chickens?!”
Yu Sheng immediately realized the issue. He turned to the Demon Fox Maiden and added, “Raise them first, then eat—after they’ve grown.”
Miss Foxy beamed so wide her eyes disappeared into crescent moons. She nodded cheerfully. “Okay~”
Yu Sheng suddenly had the sinking feeling he’d never get to see those Chickens running free in Night Valley after all…
All he could hope for now was that Miss Foxy would at least remember to cook them before eating.
“We’re done shopping. Let’s skip the construction market for now,” Yu Sheng said, checking his list one last time before sighing in relief. Then he looked at the little doll on his arm. “How’s your body holding up back home?”
“Just fine,” Irene replied. “Even this far away, there’s no sign of disconnection. I’m trying to make it walk around the room a bit.”
She shifted, raising herself slightly from Yu Sheng’s arm and testing her limbs. “At this distance, both bodies are operating smoothly. My control over them has improved a bit. I can just about adapt to managing dual perspectives now. But I still feel constrained here—further testing will have to happen in the Valley.”
“Alright then, let’s head home. We’ll sort out our haul and go to Night Valley.”
“And how exactly are we getting back? Cab?” Irene asked suspiciously. “We’re not getting another ‘coincidental’ lift from the Special Affairs Bureau, are we…?”
Yu Sheng grinned. “Of course not. We’ll open a Door. You two wait a sec while I let the Bureau know.”
He pulled out his phone, but his brows rose the moment he unlocked it. “Frontier Communications just pushed a software update…” he murmured, tapping to confirm. “What could it possibly be updating… oh, done already?”
The update was nearly instantaneous. For a moment, Yu Sheng wondered if his phone was glitching. Then, the app for Frontier Communications auto-restarted and brought him straight to the main interface.
“This doesn’t look any different… huh?”
Yu Sheng had barely muttered half a complaint when he noticed something new on the main interface of the Border Communication Platform: a small button had appeared in the bottom right corner.
Irene, brimming with curiosity, leaned in close. “What? What? Let me see! What’s the update?”
With a blank expression, Yu Sheng simply pointed at the button.
“…’One-Tap Door Report’?” The little doll paused, blinking up at Yu Sheng. “A special feature… just for you?”
“I doubt anyone else has this function on their Border Communication Platform,” Yu Sheng said, the corner of his mouth twitching. “Seems that midnight call to Bai Li Qing really made an impression.”
As he spoke, he casually tapped the report button, then turned to open the great Door leading to Wutong Road No. 66.
After returning home, he first had Foxy dump out the heap of items stored in her tail. He sorted them into categories, placing grains and oils in the kitchen. Then, without ceremony, he hoisted Irene onto his shoulder and carried her upstairs to check on her condition.
To be fair, even he felt like everything he just did sounded like a jumbled fever dream.
Irene was pacing in circles on the master bedroom floor, seemingly having a great time. She looked nothing like the unsteady mess from the morning when both her bodies had awoken at once.
“I think I’m close to figuring out how to control both bodies at once,” the two Irenes said in eerie unison—the one on his shoulder and the one on the floor. “Actually, I suspect there might be an even simpler way. The ‘secondary body’ doesn’t seem to need detailed instructions to function. Look—”
As she spoke, the Irene on the floor suddenly froze, her expression turning disturbingly blank. Yet this seemingly ‘disconnected’ doll didn’t collapse. After a brief pause, it shakily resumed movement, staggering toward Yu Sheng like something from a horror movie.
“Okay, okay, I get it. But this is creeping me out.” Yu Sheng raised both hands as he watched the red-eyed little doll lurch toward him like a cursed totem, a parade of horror films flashing through his mind. He quickly waved for her to return to normal, then bent down and picked her up, placing her beside the other Irene on his shoulder.
With an Irene on each shoulder, Yu Sheng headed downstairs. In the living room, he found Foxy lying beside the dining table, wearing a simpleminded smile. Two little chicks pecked happily at a handful of millet in front of her, completely devoid of any survival instinct.
The Demon Fox Maiden was chatting with the chicks. “Eat up, grow fast. I have big plans for you… Plain Boiled, Salt Baked.”
Yu Sheng processed that for a moment before breaking into a cold sweat. “Are those… their names?”
Foxy’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “Yup~”
“…Alright then. As long as you’re happy,” Yu Sheng muttered, his expression twitching. “Grab Plain Boiled and Salt Baked. We’re heading to the Valley.”
“Aye!”
As expected, the Valley was still bathed in daylight.
A clear sky with wisps of cloud stretched over the wide gorge, sunlight illuminating the jagged outlines of distant mountains. Not the slightest hint of darkness.
By now, Yu Sheng had entered the Valley at all hours of the day. He was almost certain: this place had no cycle of day and night.
The Valley remained eternally locked in this bright, comfortable state. That had its pros and cons.
On one hand, it was a much more pleasant environment compared to the constant night shrouded in chilling winds and the stench of decay.
On the other hand, he wasn’t sure if crops could grow properly in such unchanging conditions. Plants needed a rhythm of light and darkness.
Still, that was a problem for later. For now, Yu Sheng needed to clear some land—and demolish the ruins of that obstructive, crumbling temple. That wouldn’t take long.
Knowing he might spend a lot of time in this Valley, he decided to carve out a basic camp before conducting the scheduled “tests” with Irene.
The temple ruins, which had once hosted a “feast,” were now little more than rubble—broken bricks and shards strewn across the uneven earth. Utterly useless except for getting in the way of his farming plans.
Under Yu Sheng’s influence, the earth began to “awaken.”
Soil wriggled and churned, swallowing the bricks and stones, grinding and burying them. Rocks large and small were pushed aside and stacked at the edge of the clearing. A smooth patch of land emerged at Yu Sheng’s feet, slowly expanding outward, tracing the outline of his future fields.
He stood at the border of the clearing, immersing himself in the sensation—feeling his connection to the Valley, its soil, its stones, even the air and flowing water, all shifting according to his will.
Without realizing it, he felt his “control” over this place deepen… just a little more.