Chapter 111

Chapter 111: Yu Sheng’s New Idea

As they crossed the new door, the world changed in an instant. The pleasant, breezy valley became the hot, damp air of a tropical rainforest. Distant cries echoed from unknown animals, and insects rustled through dead leaves.

Out of caution, Yu Sheng didn’t close the door. After taking Irene through, he kept it open so they could return to the valley at any time.

“Now what?” He lowered his head and glanced at the little doll on his arm. “Can you still sense the other body? Did the connection break?”

“I’m shocked,” Irene said, eyes wide. “It’s still connected. When we passed through the door, I spaced out for a second, but it wasn’t a disconnect. More like… my perception slipped out of alignment. And now it’s normal again. The link hasn’t weakened at all.”

She lifted her head and looked around. “Hey, Yu Sheng. How far apart are my two bodies right now?”

“It’s probably not something you can measure as near or far anymore.” Yu Sheng shook his head slightly, thinking it through. “I don’t even know where this is, but it’s definitely not in the Borderland. And it’s separated from the valley by dimensions. If even this kind of distance can’t cut your link, we probably don’t need to test further.”

“Oh…” Irene peered into the rainforest, curiosity bubbling up anyway. “Then should we look around? Since we’re already here…”

“Not safe.” Yu Sheng shook his head. “We’re going back.”

“Since when are you so cautious?”

“You’re carrying your painting frame. That’s your true body.” Yu Sheng gave her a small shake, tapping the frame on her back as a reminder. “If something happens to me, fine. If something happens to your painting… we don’t get a redo. Let’s go back, tell Foxy to return to the starting point, and regroup.”

“Oh. Okay!”

Not long after, Yu Sheng, Foxy, and Irene were back on the newly leveled ground deep in the valley.

“At this point, we can sum up a few rules,” Yu Sheng said, rubbing his chin as he watched Irene practice walking while controlling two bodies at once. “First: one doll body has to stay with the painting frame so you can move in the real world. Second: the body with the painting frame becomes the main body, and any other body becomes a copy. Third: the copy’s control distance is probably infinite—or at least extremely far—unlike the main body, which has to stay with the painting. But in return…”

Thump.

Irene’s copy body lost balance mid-jog and faceplanted into the ground.

Yu Sheng looked down as the little doll scrambled up, embarrassed, and continued, “In return, the copy’s performance is clearly worse—from perception to agility to fine control. That’s probably the price of that ultra-long distance.”

“I think it’s totally worth it,” Irene said, dusting herself off. She looked clumsy, but her mood was bright. “I finally have a body that doesn’t have to carry the painting everywhere. I can run as far as I want! And now I can watch TV in the living room while playing games in the bedroom…”

Yu Sheng’s eye twitched. “…You get two bodies and that’s what you want to do?”

Then something hit him. “Wait. Games… what games are you playing?!”

His brows shot up. “Don’t use my account anymore! Go register your own—you already have an identification card!”

Irene’s shoulders drooped instantly. “Oh…”

Who knew what she was even sulking about.

But Irene’s gloom never lasted more than a few seconds. She perked up again, guiding her other body to shuffle closer. The two dolls looked up at Yu Sheng together. “By the way, I found something interesting.”

Yu Sheng frowned. “What?”

“When I control the second body, I don’t actually have to split off half my attention,” Irene said. As she spoke, the copy’s expression visibly went stiff and blank, like the soul had been yanked out of it. “See? I only need to spend a tiny bit of energy, and I can still make it move.”

The blank-faced doll walked a slow circle. It was still unsteady, but it moved on its own.

Irene looked smug. “And I found it can do some things without me fully taking over. If I only want it to handle certain tasks, I can give it simple goals. Like ‘walk to a place’ or ‘bring something back.’ It can actually do that by itself…”

Yu Sheng’s thoughtful look snapped into shock. “Wait. You mean… this shell has its own thinking ability?!”

Irene froze too. Then she thought it over and slowly shook her head. “Not really. I wouldn’t call it thinking. More like… instincts? Higher-level instincts. And it only activates when I’m linked to it. I don’t know how to explain it better.”

Yu Sheng’s brow furrowed deeply. This wasn’t something he’d expected.

One thing he was sure of: when he’d finished making that shell, it hadn’t been able to move at all. Even if it had briefly shown signs of being “alive,” even if its chest rose and fell like breathing, it had still been an empty husk—no instincts, no will.

Those “instincts” only appeared after Irene took over the new body.

So… the key was Irene?

Yu Sheng’s face slowly tightened with serious thought.

Irene looked up—and both bodies unconsciously took half a step back. “Wait, you… you don’t have another idea, do you?”

“I’m just suddenly curious,” Yu Sheng said, so serious he looked like he was facing an enemy. “Tell me… can you control a third body too?”

Irene stared, mouth falling open. “…Huh?”

“If these shells can all develop those instincts you mentioned, and controlling them only takes a little energy, then maybe two bodies aren’t your limit.” Yu Sheng’s eyes lit up. “If I pinch out a few more dolls, can you handle it?”

Irene stayed frozen for a long moment, unable to speak.

Even Miss Doll—who was already used to Yu Sheng’s ideas, whose adaptability was downright insane—almost got knocked out by that curveball.

But once the first shock passed, she couldn’t help following the thought.

Even Foxy perked up, curious. “Feels like… we can try?”

Irene sighed. “Yu Sheng’s ideas are always like this. At first they sound wild and totally unreliable, but they have this creepy pull. It’s like his ‘try it’ attitude spreads with the idea. Once you hear it, you can’t stop thinking about whether it could work… and then you end up trying it with him.”

Yu Sheng looked offended. “When you put it like that, it sounds like my experiments are some kind of evil nonsense.”

The two Irenes bared their teeth at him together. “You seriously don’t think it’s creepy, huh?”

Yu Sheng cleared his throat. “Ahem. So are we trying or not?!”

“Well… it’s not impossible,” Irene muttered. “I’m kind of curious too. But this time, when we reach the final step, you have to warn me first. So I can be ready when I take over the new body. Don’t do what you did this morning.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Yu Sheng promised quickly. “Once is new, twice is familiar. We’ve got experience now.”

As he spoke, his gaze drifted again—locked right onto Miss Doll.

Irene didn’t just take half a step back this time. “You’ve got another idea! You’re terrifying. Just say it all at once, okay?!”

“Uh… it’s just a side thought.” Yu Sheng scratched his hair, a little embarrassed by her reaction. “If we keep making new bodies, should we also research some new techniques or something…”

Irene blinked. “?”

“You said your first body’s main materials are clay and lotus root, right?” Yu Sheng explained, excitement rising. “And you also said lotus root wasn’t really meant to be doll material. Your second body is clay, but you didn’t guide me in the middle. I’m pretty sure the ratios for the additives weren’t even standard. So for future bodies, why don’t we test different materials and processing methods?”

Irene narrowed her eyes. “…”

“Honestly, I’ve always been bothered by your first body getting damaged in battle,” Yu Sheng continued, expression turning serious. “Especially since your arms snapped clean off, and your legs were in such bad shape.”

“I’m not bothered,” Irene waved it off. “But what are you trying to say?”

“I’m thinking… if we can’t find higher-grade alchemy materials, maybe we can strengthen your body another way.”

Irene stared, confused. “…So?”

“Simply put,” Yu Sheng said, solemn as if he were announcing a grand breakthrough, “next time I want to replace your wire skeleton with rebar.”

Irene’s jaw dropped. “…What the hell?!”