Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Irene’s Intelligence and Advice

The doll girl in the painting greeted Yu Sheng brightly, a little surprised—but without any of the shock or panic you’d expect from seeing someone come back from the dead.

Yu Sheng figured that definitely wasn’t because Irene was unusually chill.

So the problem had to be him. And considering how many times he’d died and come back in such a short span, the world doing stranger and stranger things to him didn’t even feel that strange anymore.

“It was kind of a fluke,” he said, shrugging, “but at least I’m back.”

He turned to shut the half-closed door, then immediately checked himself over. Not only was his body fully restored, even his clothes looked exactly the same as before.

Yu Sheng’s brow furrowed. Judging by Irene’s reaction, it felt less like “resurrection” and more like the entire “event” of his “death” had simply been erased.

When Irene saw him standing there by the door, lost in thought, the portrait doll asked, puzzled, “Yu Sheng? Are you okay? Why do you look so spaced out? And hey—tell me how you got back. When I tried to contact you, it kept cutting in and out, and there was all this messy noise. I had no idea what kind of weird stuff you ran into in that Otherworld… Huh? What’s that thing you’re holding?”

Only then did Yu Sheng realize his hand was clenched around something. Something ugly and wrong—a severed tail covered in pitch-black scales.

His mouth twitched. “Holy shit. I almost forgot about it… and it’s still here.”

The thing even squirmed, shrinking slightly in his grip, though it was nowhere near as lively as it had been before. The severed limb had shocking vitality, but without the main body, it was clearly dying—just slowly.

A strange feeling rose in Yu Sheng’s chest. For a moment, he didn’t even know how to explain it. After a brief hesitation, he carried the tail into the kitchen and said casually as he walked, “…A local specialty.”

The portrait doll froze. “…Huh?”

Yu Sheng tossed the tail into the sink. After making sure it didn’t have the strength to climb out, he still didn’t feel safe. He stabbed the scaled surface a few times, then set a pot lid over it—so if it somehow crawled out, he’d at least hear the lid clatter.

Only then did he return to the dining room, exhaustion dragging at his limbs. He pulled out a chair and dropped into it.

His mind was a wreck. There was too much to sort through, and more than anything, he was genuinely tired.

But he forced himself to stay awake. It wasn’t time to sleep yet.

Across the table, Irene watched him cautiously. “Yu Sheng, tell me what you went through over there, and how you—”

“That’s exactly what I’m about to do.” Yu Sheng waved her off, straightened in his chair, and fixed his gaze on the doll. His face went serious. “I’ve got a whole stomach full of questions. But first, let me tell you what happened. I met a young lady trapped in the Otherworld, just like me—except she might’ve been stuck there for a very, very long time…”

He didn’t hide anything. He poured out everything he’d experienced in that night-shrouded valley—the information Foxy had shared, the grotesque monster that looked like a heap of mixed flesh with no respect for anatomy.

He didn’t mention the “resurrection” part. He still had no idea how to explain it, so he shelved it for later.

He knew he and Irene weren’t close. It wasn’t like he trusted her completely. But he didn’t have a choice. In this city, Irene was the only “abnormal” being he’d met who could communicate with him, and the only one he knew who understood anything outside common sense. Besides her, he honestly didn’t know who he could talk to about the Otherworld.

So he decided he had to trust this portrait doll a little more—at least for now. So far, her attitude had been friendly. (Even if her insults could get vicious.)

Irene listened without interrupting. The moment he mentioned the flesh monster, her expression turned especially grim. A few times she looked like she wanted to speak, but she held back until he finally paused.

Only then did the doll girl adjust her posture. Sitting stiffly straight in the chair draped with a red velvet blanket, she spoke solemnly. “First, I still need to emphasize this: I don’t remember much. This painting scraped away too many of my memories, so the help I can give you is limited.”

Yu Sheng nodded. “I know.”

“Mm.” Irene’s expression relaxed slightly. “Then I’ll do what I can and fill in some basics about the Otherworld.

“First, you probably already understand the general idea. You know the Otherworld is a catch-all term for certain ‘areas’ that deviate from order and violate common sense. But did you know the Otherworld can also generate something called an entity?”

“An entity…?” Yu Sheng frowned.

“Simply put: natives. Products. Things born there.” Irene spoke as if reciting a definition. “Entities don’t have to look like anything specific. Sometimes it’s a humanoid with a bizarre appearance. Sometimes it’s a beast or a monster. Sometimes it’s a ball of fire, a gust of wind, or a rock that can run around. As long as it’s born in the Otherworld, shows obvious ‘activity,’ and can respond to outsiders, it can be considered an entity.”

Yu Sheng nodded slowly.

“Entity is a broad classification,” Irene continued, “and there are a lot of them. Generally speaking, entities all have very obvious ‘abnormal’ traits. They’re born in the Otherworld, so they naturally come with features that don’t fit common sense—strange, dangerous, and so on. Most of them have no rationality, or at least they don’t show any thinking a human can understand. But a very small number might have intelligence… I can’t remember that part clearly.

“Anyway, nine times out of ten, entities are dangerous. Their strength varies, too. Some might only make your nose itch. Others can kill a person just from being seen. There’s even a theory that entities are the Otherworld’s rejection response—like an immune system program generated to eliminate intruders. In that view, investigators and lost wanderers from the world of order and common sense are the real unspeakable monsters.”

Yu Sheng listened, then his eyes sharpened. “So the ‘monster’ I met was an entity generated by the valley?”

“It should be,” Irene said with a firm nod.

“Can entities be destroyed?” Yu Sheng asked at once.

“They can be killed,” Irene said gravely, “but they can’t be completely eliminated. Strictly speaking, entities are generated products. Kill one, and the Otherworld can generate a new ‘copy.’ They’re manifestations of the Otherworld’s operating rules. As long as the Otherworld exists, entities will keep generating—though it usually takes time. And there are ways to suppress certain Otherworlds, delaying or even blocking entity generation… but I don’t remember the details.”

“They can be killed, but not completely eliminated…” Yu Sheng repeated, and a cold weight settled in his chest.

He wasn’t afraid of dying.

That monster had seemed even less afraid.

Without realizing it, he’d already started to assume he would return to that valley—and that he’d face that thing again. He didn’t know where the thought came from. By the time he noticed it, it had already taken root like an instinct.

“…Whatever.” He let out a quiet breath and looked up at Irene. “If I can kill it temporarily, that’s still something. What else do you know about entities? Like weaknesses.”

“There isn’t one unified weakness,” Irene shook her head. “Sometimes an entity’s weakness isn’t even on itself, but in the Otherworld—or in the rules of that Otherworld. And some entities… can even change their own weaknesses.”

She leaned back, her expression sour. “Exploring the Otherworld and fighting entities is a professional job. A dangerous one. I suggest you find professionals to help you—not someone like me stuck in a painting.”

Yu Sheng rolled his eyes. “Easy for you to say. Where am I supposed to find professionals? They’re not going to paint classifieds on utility poles.”

“They will,” Irene said.

Yu Sheng blinked. “…What?”

“They have contact methods. Not necessarily ads on utility poles.” Irene saw his expression and emphasized with a serious, extra-firm nod. “Otherworlds are everywhere, and they’re dangerous to ordinary people. Of course there’s a whole group of professionals who handle this kind of thing. Forget everything else—in a city this big, someone has to maintain order in public and in the shadows. The official side has the Special Administration Bureau. The private side has all kinds of organizations. I don’t remember the specifics, but these people are definitely active everywhere.

“Under normal circumstances, they keep their distance from ordinary people and stay hidden. A lot of Otherworlds have weird properties—like becoming active once they’re known, or moving toward people who fear them. So the professionals try their best to keep ordinary people from learning anything about the Otherworld. But once someone’s already touched it, or there’s an Otherworld reaction in the city, they have their ways of locating it quickly. They come to you.”

Yu Sheng stared out the window, dazed.

“So if there’s already been an Otherworld reaction on my side,” he said slowly, “then all I have to do is wait, and those professionals will come find me on their own, right?”

“…Probably…?” For some reason, Irene suddenly sounded far less confident.

Yu Sheng heard it. His eyes narrowed. “…Then why haven’t they come?”

“I don’t know,” Irene admitted. “In theory, they should’ve come already.”