Chapter 105: Unit Two

The sun had already risen; the morning light completely dispelled the gloom in the attic. Faintly from outside the window came the gradually increasing sounds of people and carriages on the street, along with the chirping of an unknown bird calling from a nearby roof.

But none of this interrupted Yu Sheng's focus.

He held a doll's head that was nearly finished shaping—currently still a lump of relatively hard clay—carefully using a knitting needle to press out the contours of the eyes and nose bridge on its surface. He had spent a long time completing this step, even reworking it several times in between, finally reaching a relatively satisfactory state just before the clay hardened completely to the point of being unsuitable for manipulation.

Actually, it still couldn't be called perfect; it certainly couldn't compare to models made by true professionals, but Yu Sheng felt that this little head in front of him would at least not be nagged by Erin as being hideously ugly again. At least... the little doll shouldn't cry when it climbed inside?

A slightly proud smile appeared on his face. He looked up at the few candles on the table and found that more than half of them had already burned away.

It seemed the step of "facial makeup" was destined to remain unfinished before the candles burned out. For him now, simply completing the doll's body parts was already good enough.

However, Yu Sheng wasn't particularly disappointed. After all, besides conducting experiments, this was just for practice. Familiarizing himself with the entire process several times before making Erin's next formal body was a good thing. Whether or not makeup was applied, the doll itself didn't really care.

After all, Erin herself could "grow" her face into a very good-looking shape.

Yu Sheng let out a soft breath, picked up the doll's torso he had just finished, and prepared to place it on the focal point of the alchemical array in the center of the table. Since this was a practice run, he had to do the full set. Even though Erin wasn't here now, he still wanted to complete the sense of ritual.

But after placing that torso in the center of the table, he couldn't help but frown again.

Whether it was an illusion or not, he actually felt that lump of clay possessed a hint of... eerie "elasticity," along with a slight warmth.

But when Yu Sheng observed it carefully again and reached out to touch it, that strange feeling vanished. It became an ordinary clay creation once more, and its surface was already slightly dry.

Was it because he slept too little at night, causing dizziness?

This thought floated into Yu Sheng's mind, but he didn't simply dismiss the doubt. Instead, while connecting the doll's other parts to the torso using a small amount of clay mixed with softener and water, he carefully observed the changes in this "body."

He quickly completed the assembly process. A rough, unpainted doll body lay quietly in the center of the "alchemical array" composed of concentric circles and connecting lines. Candles burned quietly around it. Except for the missing "soul source"—Erin's oil painting—the ritual for shaping the doll was now complete.

Yu Sheng stared intently at the body in front of him. At a certain moment, he felt as if his eyes had deceived him.

Then, he saw the chest of that body begin to rise and fall slightly.

Very faint, but it really was rising and falling, as if a tiny life was sleeping within that lump of clay, not yet awakened, but already "existing."

Yu Sheng's eyes widened instantly. After a dazed second or two, he finally realized what was happening. He immediately leaned forward and gently touched the "breathing" doll body with his hand: "Wake up, wake up... are you really, truly alive?"

However, the doll body did not respond to him as he had hoped. Although its chest rising and falling had become completely obvious and stabilized, its entire "activation" process seemed to stop there, with no signs of further awakening.

It was as if this was just an empty shell, still waiting for something to fill it.

Yu Sheng took a gentle breath, then vigorously shook his head. Turning his head, he shouted toward the staircase leading downstairs: "Erin! Erin, are you awake? Hurry up and come see what I made..."

Yu Sheng suddenly stopped halfway through his shout because the corner of his eye caught movement on the table.

The instant he had just spoken the name "Erin," that doll body underwent a sudden change. As if the most critical step of the ritual had been completed, the body first tensed up sharply, then a layer of skin color representing vitality and activity rapidly appeared on its four limbs. It began to grow hair frantically, facial features quickly became vivid and three-dimensional, fresh colors appeared, followed immediately by that familiar black dress. In the span of just a few seconds, an "Erin" lay before Yu Sheng and slowly opened her eyes.

Yu Sheng watched this scene with his mouth agape. Then, he saw that "Erin," who had been a lump of clay just a moment ago, suddenly jolt awake from her initial daze. This little doll "whoosh" sat up, turned her head to look at Yu Sheng: "What are you shouting for! I was just sleeping and you..."

She suddenly stopped, as if sensing something was wrong. This "new body" stiffly turned its neck, looking around in a strange posture.

"Hey, wait, where did they put me? I wasn't in the bedroom... wait, that's not right, why does this body feel... like nothing? I... I'm dizzy..."

The little doll spoke in a confused and somewhat panicked manner. Subconsciously, she tried to stand up from the table and walk toward Yu Sheng, but as soon as she got up, it felt like the world was spinning. Her body swayed twice before slowly tipping over the edge of the table: "Hey—I can't maintain my balance! I see double! I have two fields of vision now... pull me up, pull me u—"

Before she finished speaking, Yu Sheng had already reacted. With quick eyes and fast hands, he rushed forward and caught the Young Lady doll who was falling from the table. Before he could even sigh with relief, he heard a "Bang!" from downstairs.

Two exclamations of surprise from Erin entered Yu Sheng's ears simultaneously: "Oh my goodness—"

One was clear and loud, coming from the doll body in front of him; the other was distant and muffled, coming from downstairs.

"Yu Sheng, Yu Sheng, what happened? Why do I have two fields of vision now? Am I in two places? No, that's not right, why..." Yu Sheng heard the doll in his hand speaking in a panic, "Why do I have two bodies now?!"

The situation completely exceeded Yu Sheng's expectations, but at this moment he also realized what had happened. After forcibly shaking off the disbelief in his heart, he held the "New Erin" in his arms and ran quickly toward the stairs, clattering down to the second floor and running back into his bedroom.

The little doll in his arms clung tightly to his arm, as if afraid she would fall.

As soon as he opened the door, Yu Sheng saw Erin, who was leaning against the bedside table and barely maintaining her balance. The latter also lifted her head at almost the same time.

The doll held in his arms and the doll standing on the floor leaning against the bedside table stared at each other.

"... Wow!"

Two mouths spoke in unison.

"I have two bodies!"

Still in unison.

At this moment, Yu Sheng's head felt huge. He looked at the two identical dolls with a mix of shock and uncertainty. After holding back for a long time, he finally blurted out: "Erin? Are you both really you?"

"Yes." Both dolls nodded simultaneously.

"No, what I mean is, is there only one consciousness of yours?" Yu Sheng felt this was ambiguous and quickly added, "One consciousness in two bodies? Or are there two Erins now?"

"Just one," both dolls opened their mouths simultaneously again, but this time Erin quickly reacted. The one in Yu Sheng's arms suddenly closed her mouth, while the one standing on the floor pointed a finger at herself, "Just me. It's just... suddenly there's an extra body."

While speaking, she tried to let go of the hand holding the bedside table, swayed unsteadily in place for a few seconds, and covered her head: "Oh my, finally standing steady... I was so dizzy just now I almost threw up, you know? At first I didn't react, just felt like I woke up in the attic, then immediately the eyes on the bed side opened too. Two fields of vision and two sets of perception came crashing in all at once. As soon as I got up, I fell from both the table and the bed at the same time. Luckily you caught one of them..."

As soon as Erin stood steady, she started talking rapidly. Halfway through, she seemed to remember something again and looked up at Yu Sheng: "Wait, Yu Sheng, why did two bodies pop out? And... am I simultaneously inside both of these bodies?"

Yu Sheng's face immediately tensed up. An indescribable embarrassment poured from the crown of his head straight to the soles of his feet. When he ran down, he hadn't had time to think properly about how to explain this magical phenomenon to the doll. At this moment, after holding back for a long time, he finally blurted out: "... If I say our attic got damp and grew dolls, would you believe me?"

Erin looked at Yu Sheng in a daze: "... Yes, yes, oh?"

Yu Sheng: "...?"

How did this Miss actually believe it?!

Once the little doll reacted this way, Yu Sheng actually felt too embarrassed to really deceive her. He could only come to the bedside, first placing the "Erin Number Two" he was holding onto the bed, then trying hard to compose his expression before speaking slowly:

"Here's the thing. I couldn't sleep at night, suddenly some scientific spirit popped up, so I went upstairs and did a small experiment..."

Yu Sheng told the "victim" in front of him the whole process of him molding a "spare body" for Erin, not even forgetting to add his thought process while doing these things.

The little doll's expression went from confusion to surprise, then back to confusion, and finally successfully turned into panic.

"Yu Sheng, you damn it!!"

(End of Chapter)