Chapter 106: Research and Testing

Yu Daye has endured too much.

Especially after Erin once again flung herself onto the ground—though Yu Sheng didn't actually have a Daye, he always felt that if this little doll kept making noise, he'd genuinely summon a Daye out of thin air and get killed by Erin…

Fortunately, the doll's temper came fast and vanished even faster; more importantly, after that initial brief period of chaos and helplessness, she and Yu Sheng suddenly realized a detail both had overlooked just moments ago—

"This newly created body… wasn't the distance between it and the painting back in the attic more than five meters?" Erin (Main) stared blankly upward, belatedly looking at the other body now placed on the bed by Yu Sheng, while the new body simultaneously looked down at itself; both bodies spoke in unison, giving the impression of an echo.

In the next instant, Yu Sheng realized: "... Damn! That's right! This one woke up in the attic… it broke through the painting's limitation!"

Then the two stared at each other (though one could also say three), and after a long while, Yu Sheng hesitantly spoke: "So this might not be a bad thing…?"

"Having an extra body is never a bad thing—the biggest problem is that I get dizzy!" Erin immediately widened her eyes, then quickly shifted tone, "But ultimately, 'dizziness' might be overcome—maybe with adaptation it'll be fine; the real breakthrough is that this body can move beyond the painting's distance limit… Yu Sheng, how the hell did you do it?!"

"I don't know either. If you ask me how I built it, I can explain that, but if you're asking about the underlying principles, I know less alchemy than you do," Yu Sheng scratched his head, "I just wanted to practice before you could transfer into a new body in a few months, so you wouldn't complain that my dolls were ugly, and also to go through the alchemical procedures you taught me—I never expected it would actually come alive, even without your cooperation, becoming a usable 'shell'—I was just about to call you up to take a look, and the moment I shouted your name, it started growing hair…"

"Wait!" Erin suddenly interrupted Yu Sheng; both dolls raised their heads, four eyes filled with suspicion, "You just said… the situation changed suddenly after you called my name?"

"Yes," Yu Sheng immediately nodded, then suddenly understood, "... You mean this is why you ended up entering the second shell?"

"It's just a possibility—because 'names' carry power. When you created a blank doll body, it was merely an 'object,' but when you, the 'creator,' called my name during the ritual, you essentially 'imparted meaning' to this object…"

Erin spoke thoughtfully, yet couldn't help shaking her head.

"But this is far too advanced alchemy—it requires specific rituals, even specific times and locations, and the alchemical object involved certainly couldn't be a clay doll you molded as a beginner's practice… with just those tea powder and rose oil you used as mediums, how could they possibly produce such an effect? Not to mention, for the price you paid, I doubt your rose oil even contains any actual rose components…"

"... Maybe it's because of my blood?" Yu Sheng cautiously reminded, "I bled a lot this time."

"...?"

Erin instantly froze.

Then she realized: "Wait, this actually works?!"

"I don't know," Yu Sheng helplessly waved his hands, "I just wanted to study what was weird about my blood, but now after studying it, there are even more questions—though I did discover a new property."

The two continued staring at each other, then simultaneously began analyzing Erin's "Body No. 2."

After all, this body had broken through the five-meter restriction of the painting's seal—this was incredibly important to Erin.

"What's different between this new body and your current 'main shell'?" Yu Sheng asked curiously, looking at the two dolls sitting on the bed (to be honest, the feeling was strange, especially knowing both dolls shared Erin's single consciousness), "I mean, in terms of 'feel.'"

"Hmm… this body feels stiffer, slower?" Erin thought, carefully sensing as she spoke, "Especially in perception—it's extremely dull and numb; touch is only about half as sharp, hearing and vision are fine, but temperature… I can barely feel hot or cold, and pain is very weak."

As she spoke, her Body No. 2 reached out and pinched her own cheek.

"Another thing: when controlling this body, there's always a sense of… unreality, not being 'immersed'—like using an extremely realistic device to control a virtual character; no matter how lifelike, you're always aware you're 'controlling' it, not actually being it."

Yu Sheng slightly frowned.

The two Erins on the bed stared at him expectantly.

The two dolls were nearly identical in appearance, but easy to distinguish: one Erin always had the painting on her back, while the other, upon closer inspection, had noticeably duller eyes and less expressive, rigid facial movements than the main body.

Looking at the two Erins—especially the one with the painting—Yu Sheng suddenly had an idea.

He stood up, walked over, and removed the painting from behind Erin.

"Hey, what are you doing…"

"I have an idea. Let me test it."

Yu Sheng said seriously to the slightly alarmed doll, who, though puzzled, nodded and fell silent.

Yu Sheng directly hung the painting onto Erin's new body.

"How does it feel now?" he asked nervously, watching both dolls.

Erin visibly froze—both bodies froze.

Then both bodies spoke in unison: "Holy shit! The feeling switched!"

The doll with the painting pointed at the other: "This body has now become stiff and slow."

"Just as I thought," Yu Sheng exhaled softly, then concluded solemnly, "Whoever has the painting on their back is the original—so in plain terms, the painting is still the original."

Erin's expression turned subtly bitter, radiating a quiet resentment like "I escaped, but not fully—the prison's still chasing me."

Yu Sheng quickly thought of more.

"We need a series of tests next: what happens if both bodies leave the painting, how far the 'secondary body' can move freely while the 'main body' still carries the painting, and most importantly, how to help you adapt quickly to having two bodies—if adaptation proves impossible, we'll have to find a way to temporarily 'disconnect' one body," he rubbed his chin, thinking aloud, "We'd better get Hu Li to help."

"Oh, I'll go wake her up!" Both dolls immediately stood up and jumped off the bed, "With all this noise in the house, she still didn't… Oh my god!"

Erin forgot she was currently managing two body streams and didn't have enough processing power; after taking two steps, she lost balance, and both bodies tumbled headfirst off the bed.

Fortunately, Yu Sheng reacted quickly, grabbing each ankle and lifting them up.

Both dolls simultaneously grabbed their skirts, hanging upside down and staring awkwardly at Yu Sheng: "You go call her—I need to lie down for a bit longer…"

Yu Sheng sighed helplessly, placed the Erins back on the bed, turned, and knocked on the opposite door: "Hu Li! Awake? Come help!"

After three knocks, he heard a flustered reply from inside the room; after another moment, Hu Li, still in her nightgown, hair uncombed, opened the door, looking half-asleep.

"I overslept…" she lowered her head apologetically as soon as she opened the door, as if she'd done something wrong, "I went to bed too late last night."

"No problem, no problem, it's my fault," Yu Sheng quickly waved his hands—he knew Hu Li had done the most work at the museum yesterday, and sleeping longer afterward was normal, "There's something unusual—come take a look."

Hu Li, confused, followed Yu Sheng into the main bedroom.

Then she saw two Erins sitting side by side on the bed, staring fixedly at the door like P1 and P2 in a game.

Hu Li froze in place at the doorway, staring blankly for a long time before rubbing her eyes hard—then she looked again, still double vision.

"Oh no! Master! I'm having a hallucination!" She looked at Yu Sheng in panic, "Erin's split into two!"

"Stop rubbing—rub two more times and you'll see four of her," Yu Sheng stopped her from rubbing further, coughing awkwardly, "There was a small accident—Erin really does have two bodies now. You're not imagining it."

Hu Li stared, dumbfounded, at the two Erins; after a moment, she seemed to understand something, her face lighting up with admiration: "So you're practicing the Body Outside the Body technique—I didn't know Erin was also an immortal…"

"Immortal my ass! What nonsense are you spouting? Yu Sheng just made me another body!" Erin immediately blared, "I was sleeping, woke up, and nearly fainted!"

"Forget that, forget that," Yu Sheng quickly cut off the doll's outburst, stepped forward, removed the painting from behind Erin, and handed it to Hu Li, "You—take this painting to the attic."

(End of Chapter)