Chapter 112

Chapter 112: A Full Plan

Irene felt that even among Yu Sheng’s pile of unsettling ideas, this one was too unsettling.

And yet—like all his ideas—it had that ridiculous, attention-grabbing weirdness. After the initial shock, she realized she was already developing a fierce interest in the concept. It sounded absurd and completely opposed to every “basic rule” of doll-making and alchemy theory, but…

Wasn’t it worth trying?

Trying wasn’t inherently bad.

“See?” Yu Sheng said the moment he noticed her expression shift. He looked pleased with himself. “You think it’s a good idea too. And not only can we swap the skeleton to rebar—I can also try casting a whole set of parts with cement. That stuff mixes into blood way easier than lotus root…”

Irene’s face went blank again. After hesitating, she finally muttered, “Isn’t this a little too crazy?”

Yu Sheng’s expression didn’t budge. “Clay is dirt. Concrete is dirt too. That’s how I see it.”

Irene stared at him. “I-is it?”

“I should’ve gone to a building materials market when we went shopping,” Yu Sheng said, full of regret. “Grab a bag of cement, buy some rebar… oh, and we’d need professional gear too. A welder, an angle grinder, that kind of thing. No idea if it’s expensive.”

The more Irene listened, the more she felt none of those words belonged anywhere near alchemy.

But Yu Sheng didn’t dwell on it. He waved a hand. “It’s fine. We’re not doing it this time anyway. For now, get used to this extra body. If you have suggestions, organize them. Next time I pinch you a new body, I’ll try to make it better.”

He looked excited, as if the thought alone brought him immense joy.

Then he walked to the platform’s edge, called Foxy over, and pointed toward a patch of open ground beside the crude stone hut—something like a giant Little Match Girl matchbox.

“Let’s raise the chicklings here. I’ll make a simple coop first. Once they’re grown and I’ve pushed the vegetation in the valley to come back, we’ll let them out.”

The ground trembled. Stones rose, quickly forming a ring fence. Inside, a water trough and a feed trough took shape—crude, but usable.

Foxy blinked, rummaged through her tail, and set a group of chicklings inside. Then she poured food into the trough and filled the water with clean water, moving with focused care. Her tail really did hold everything.

As she worked, her face was full of quiet happiness… and the faintest hint of indulgence.

An indulgence for future braised chicken legs, grilled wings, spicy shredded chicken, smoked chicken, roasted chicken, and stewed free-range chicken.

“Later I’ll divert a water channel from nearby,” Yu Sheng said, watching her tend the chicks with such seriousness. “There’s a water source by that little grove over there, not too far. Next time we come, we can bring tools and materials and improve this camp. From now on, this valley will be our Hotel base…”

“Having a base is nice,” Irene muttered, “but the annoying part is only you can door-open every time. If Foxy wants to come feed the chickens later, she’ll need you to open a door each time. Isn’t that inconvenient?”

Yu Sheng’s brows pulled together. It was something he’d been thinking about, too.

Door-opening was convenient, sure. But if he had a team—and a team base like this valley—then a door only he could open became a restriction. Irene and Foxy couldn’t come and go on their own. Strictly speaking, this couldn’t be a base for all Hotel members.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Yu Sheng said slowly. “If we could set up a long-term passage into this valley—one you don’t need me to maintain, and you can use yourselves.”

“Can that be done?” Irene blinked. “I don’t see how.”

“First, this is an otherworld, and every otherworld has an entry method,” Yu Sheng said, analyzing it carefully. “It’s just that this valley’s original access route was destroyed and overwritten by me. So the key is rebuilding a public route. And as for ideas… it’s not like I have none.”

Now even Foxy, who had been busy counting chicklings with grave seriousness, perked up and looked over.

“Benefactor has a way?”

“You remember something, right?” Yu Sheng prompted. “You can see and open the door at No. 66, Wu Tong Road. Strictly speaking, that door is the same kind of entrance—it leads to an otherworld. Other people can’t see it or touch it, but I have permission to open it. And after you shared my blood, you gained the ability to open that door too.”

“Right, right!” Irene nodded fast, then frowned. “But the door at No. 66, Wu Tong Road already exists. It has to be there first so Foxy and I can open it. There isn’t a similar door in this valley. Every time we come in, the passage is something you build out of thin air. The moment you let go, it’s gone.”

“What if we anchor it?” Yu Sheng said, thoughtful. “Manually create a door similar to the No. 66, Wu Tong Road door. Using the alchemy techniques you taught me—giving power to an object. In theory, isn’t that workable?”

Irene stared at him for a long moment. “…You taught me that in alchemy?”

Yu Sheng coughed. “Ahem. I used a little imagination. But I think it’s workable. We can try later, right? Trying doesn’t cost money.”

Irene’s eyelids lowered in weary recognition. Of course. Yu Sheng’s classic try it.

“This means we’ll be busy for a while,” Yu Sheng said, clearly delighted as he added more lines to his plan. “Make Irene a new rebar-and-cement body, improve the camp in the valley, properly open and plant the vegetable patch next time, divert a water channel, build a stable teleportation door… when I think about it, the days ahead feel pretty busy.”

As he spoke, he walked to the platform’s end and stared out over the valley.

The valley, once devoured by Entity-Hunger, was steadily reviving. Under Yu Sheng’s deliberate catalysis, it revived far faster than it would naturally.

Gullies in the land slowly filled in. Broken, cracked structures on the distant mountains showed visible progress as they healed. And the faint green that had first pushed up around the ruins that day had spread without anyone noticing.

Pale green ran along the rolling terrain. New grass sprouted among tender shrubs—life the valley had once held, life that had died deep beneath the dark earth, now pushing back to the surface to embrace the sunlight.

A strange steadiness rose in Yu Sheng’s chest. His mouth lifted slightly. “Good place… really a good place.”

Footsteps approached from behind. Foxy came over holding two chicklings, hesitating a little. “Benefactor, I want to take these two home and raise them. Is that okay?”

Yu Sheng turned. Foxy looked at him with golden-red eyes full of hope, the two chicklings chirping softly in her hands without a care in the world.

“These two…?” Yu Sheng asked.

“Bai Qie and Yan Ju,” Foxy answered at once.

Yu Sheng went silent.

They were two chicks she’d already named.

So she wanted to keep them as pets.

His fox not only raised chickens—she named her favorites Bai Qie and Yan Ju. It was deeply strange, but under her pure, hopeful gaze, Yu Sheng swallowed every roasting remark he could’ve made and nodded with a straight face. “Fine. I’ll find you a cardboard box when we get back. Raise them on the balcony.”

Foxy brightened instantly. “Thank you, Benefactor!”

Just then, Yu Sheng felt his pocket vibrate, followed by a ringtone. He pulled out his phone and saw Li Lin’s name on the screen.

But before he answered, he froze.

…There was signal?

In this valley, his phone had signal?

Yu Sheng clearly remembered that when this otherworld had been the Night Curtain Valley, there had been no signal inside. Back then, Little Red Riding Hood and Li Lin and the others had been trapped here, unable to contact the outside world.

But now there was signal.

Was this another change after the “grand feast”?

Thoughts flashed through his mind. After two seconds of hesitation, Yu Sheng finally answered. “Hello?”