Chapter 112

Chapter 112: A Thorough Plan

Irene felt that even among Yu Sheng’s pile of spooky The Door ideas, this new one was way too spooky.

But in another way, every idea he brought up had a strange pull that made you pay attention. After the first shock and awe, the little Doll realized she was already deeply interested in this “concept.” It sounded absurd and creepy and totally against the “basic rules of making Dolls” and “alchemy theory,” but [Shouldn’t we at least try? Trying isn’t a bad thing.]

“You see, you think it’s a good idea too,” Yu Sheng read the change on Irene’s face and got smug, saying: “And it’s not just swapping your frame for rebar. I’ll try casting a whole set of parts for you with cement. That stuff mixes into blood way easier than lotus root.”

Irene froze again, then asked in a small voice after a pause: “Isn’t that a little too ridiculous?”

Yu Sheng looked serious, saying: “Clay is earth, and concrete is also earth. That’s how I see it.”

Irene blinked, saying: “…Right, I guess?”

“If I’d known, when we went out The Door to buy things I should’ve visited the building materials market,” Yu Sheng said with a bit of regret, adding: “Grab a bag of cement, some rebar… oh, and some pro tools too, like a welder and an angle grinder. No idea how pricey they are.”

To Irene’s ears, none of those sounded like words that should appear in Alchemy.

But Yu Sheng didn’t stay on that topic. He waved it off, saying: “No rush this time anyway. First, get used to this extra body you’ve got. While you’re at it, make a list of improvements. Next time I shape you a new body, I’ll aim for something better.”

He looked excited, like this whole thing brought him real joy.

Then he walked to the edge of the platform, called Foxy over, and pointed to an Open Ground beside a crude stone hut that looked like a big matchbox, saying: “Let’s raise the Chicklings here. I’ll whip up a simple coop. When they grow up, and I’ve ‘pushed’ the Valley’s plants to grow out, we’ll let them roam.”

As he spoke, the Open Ground shuddered slightly. Stones grew up out of the earth and quickly formed a ring fence. Inside were a water trough and a feed trough. It was simple, but it would do.

Foxy blinked, reached into her own tail, and took out a bunch of Chicklings, placing them in the pen. Then she filled the feed trough and topped up the water trough with clear water. Her tail really had everything in it.

While she worked, the Fox Maiden’s face was all focus and delight, even a bit doting.

It was the kind of doting you give to future braised drumsticks, roasted wings, mouthwatering chicken, smoked chicken, roast chicken, and stewed free-range chicken.

“I’ll bring a little canal over from nearby later,” Yu Sheng said, watching Foxy take care of the chicks with such care, and he laid out his next steps: “There’s a water source in the old grove, not too far. Next time I come, I’ll bring tools and materials and upgrade this camp. From now on, this Valley will be our Hotel base.”

“Having a base is nice, but the trouble is only you can do Door Opening,” Irene muttered on the side, saying: “If Foxy comes to feed the chickens, you’ll have to open The Door each time. Isn’t that inconvenient?”

Yu Sheng frowned a little.

He’d been thinking about this a lot lately.

Door Opening was handy, sure. But if he had a team and a “team camp” like this Valley, then a Door that only he could open turned into a limit. Irene and Foxy couldn’t come and go on their own. Strictly speaking, this place couldn’t count as a base for all Hotel members.

“I’ve been chewing on that,” Yu Sheng said, thinking out loud, adding: “If we could set up a long-term passage for this Valley, that would be great. One you two can use without me holding it open.”

“Can that even be done?” Irene blinked, saying: “I don’t see a starting point.”

“First, this is an Otherworld, and all Otherworlds already have entry methods. I only smashed and rewrote the original access,” Yu Sheng analyzed, looking very serious, saying: “So the key is how to rebuild a ‘public channel.’ As for ideas… I do have a few.”

Not just Irene-Foxy, who had been counting Chicklings, perked her ears too and looked at Yu Sheng with curiosity, asking: “Benefactor, you have a way?”

“Remember this: you two can see and open the door at Wutong Road 66,” Yu Sheng reminded them, saying: “Strictly speaking, that door is a similar ‘entryway’ to an Otherworld. Others can’t see or touch it, but I hold Door Opening rights. After you shared my blood, you got the ability to open that Door.”

“Right, yeah!” Irene lit up, then frowned, saying: “But the Door at Wutong Road 66 already stands there. It has to be there first before Foxy and I can open it. This Valley doesn’t have a Door like that. Every time we come in, you make the passage on the spot, and it disappears as soon as you let go.”

“What if we fix a Door in place?” Yu Sheng said, mulling it over, adding: “Basically hand-build a Door like the one at Wutong Road 66. Use the Alchemy you taught me to put power into a thing. Theoretically, is that doable?”

Irene stared blankly for a while before reacting, saying: “Did I teach you that in Alchemy?”

“Ahem, I used a little imagination,” Yu Sheng coughed twice, saying: “I think it’s doable. Let’s try it, yeah? Trying doesn’t cost money.”

Irene thought: of course it’s Yu Sheng’s classic “let’s try.” His creepy ideas all end up at that step. [He could be called the king of trying.]

“Well then, we’ll be busy for a while,” Yu Sheng said cheerfully, firming up his plan and adding more to his to-do list, saying: “Make Irene a new concrete-and-rebar body, upgrade our Valley camp, next time really open up the Vegetable Patch and plant it, bring over a water channel, and build a stable Portal. Thinking about it, the days ahead look pretty full.”

As he spoke, he walked to the platform’s The End Web and stared into the wide, open valley.

The Valley that Entity-Hunger had devoured was now reviving. With Yu Sheng’s deliberate push, it was healing much faster than nature would on its own.

The gullies across the ground were slowly filling. The cracked faces of distant slopes were visibly mending. The first bits of green that had sprouted around the ruins that day had, without anyone noticing, spread far away.

A pale green line ran along the rises and dips of the Valley Floor, with tender shrubs among the new grass. It was the life this Valley once held. It had died in the earth’s dark depths, and now it pushed up to the surface again to meet the daylight.

A calm, solid feeling rose in his chest. Looking at the scene, Yu Sheng couldn’t help smiling, saying: “What a place… this really is a good place.”

Footsteps came from behind. Foxy walked over, holding two Chicklings in her hands, and, looking a little unsure, asked Yu Sheng, saying: “Benefactor, I want to take these two home and raise them. Is that okay?”

Yu Sheng turned back and saw the Fox Maiden gazing at him, her gold-red eyes full of hope. The two Chicklings in her hands peeped softly, carefree and happy.

Yu Sheng asked in curiosity, saying: “These two…?”

“Bai Qie and Yan Ju,” Foxy said right away.

“…”

These were the two chicks the Fox had personally named.

So she wanted them as pets!

His own Fox not only handled the chickens, she even named her favorites Bai Qie and Yan Ju. Even Yu Sheng felt that was weirdly The Door, but under the Fox’s pure, hopeful stare, he swallowed the snark and only nodded with a straight face, saying: “Okay. I’ll find a cardboard box when we get back. Keep them on the balcony.”

Foxy brightened, saying: “Thank you, Benefactor!”

Just then, Yu Sheng felt his pocket vibrate a few times, followed by a ringtone.

He pulled out his phone and saw Li Lin’s name on the screen.

But before he picked up, he froze.

[Signal?! There’s phone signal in this Valley?! When this Otherworld was still Night Valley, there was no signal. Back then, Little Red Riding Hood and Li Lin were trapped here and couldn’t contact anyone. But now there is signal? Is this another change after the Feast?] He hesitated for two or three seconds, then answered, saying: “Hello?”