Chapter 111: Yu Sheng's New Idea

As they crossed through a new gateway, the surrounding environment changed instantly—the pleasant, breezy warmth of the valley gave way to the stifling humidity of a tropical rainforest, accompanied by the distant cries of unknown creatures and the rustling sounds of insects and ants crawling over dead leaves.

Out of caution, Yu Sheng did not close that door; instead, after leading Erin through the passage, he kept the gateway open so they could return to that valley at any moment.

"And now?" He looked down at the little puppet resting on his arm. "Can you still sense the condition of the other body? Has the connection been severed?"

"... I'm shocked, it's still connected!" The little puppet said with some wonder. "Just when passing through the gate, I felt a slight disorientation, but it wasn't a break—more like a spatial displacement of perception. Now everything is normal again, and the connection between the two bodies hasn't weakened in the slightest."

Speaking thus, she lifted her head again and glanced around.

"Hey, Yu Sheng, do you have any idea just how far apart my two bodies are right now?"

"I'm afraid it's becoming difficult to measure in terms of 'distance'," Yu Sheng pondered seriously, shaking his head slightly. "I don't know what this place is, but it's definitely not in the Borderlands, and there's a 'dimensional' gap between here and that valley. If this kind of 'distance' cannot sever the connection between your two bodies, I reckon there's no need for further testing."

"Oh... so, shall we look around here?" Erin looked up at Yu Sheng curiously. "Since we're already here..."

"It's not safe," Yu Sheng shook his head. "Let's go back."

"Since when did you become so cautious and conservative?"

"We're carrying your picture frame; that's your main body. If I die here, it's no big deal, but if something happens to your picture frame, who knows what the consequences will be." Yu Sheng gave Erin a little shake, reminding her of the oil painting strapped to her back. "Let's go back, and tell Huli to return to our starting point to regroup."

"Oh, okay!"

Not long after, Yu Sheng, Huli, and Erin had returned to the newly leveled ground deep within the valley.

"Now we can basically summarize a few rules," Yu Sheng said, stroking his chin as he drew conclusions from the tests so far, watching Erin circling around practicing walking while simultaneously controlling her two bodies. "First, one puppet body must remain with the picture frame to ensure Erin can operate in the real world. Second, the puppet body accompanying the picture frame becomes the 'main body,' while any other bodies become 'copies.' Third, the control range for a 'copy' might be infinite, or at least extremely vast, unlike the main body which must stay with the oil painting. However, on the flip side..."

With a "thump," Erin's secondary body suddenly lost its balance while running around and fell flat on the ground.

Yu Sheng glanced down at the little puppet scrambling up in embarrassment and continued, "On the flip side, a 'copy's' 'performance' is significantly weaker than the main body's, from perception to agility to controllability. This is likely the price paid for 'ultra-long-range control.'"

"I think it's a pretty good deal," Erin said as she got up; though her fall had been clumsy, she seemed in high spirits. "Finally, I have a body that doesn't need to carry the painting around everywhere. I can run as far as I want! Plus, this way I can watch TV in the living room while playing games in the bedroom..."

Yu Sheng's eye twitched instantly: "... You get two bodies and this is what you want to do?!"

Immediately afterward, he reacted: "Wait! Playing games... what games are you playing?!"

Erin immediately shrank her neck, hesitated for two seconds, then cautiously spoke: "Um, your account has been unblocked..."

Yu Sheng's eyebrows shot up upon hearing this: "No more using my account! Go register your own later—you have an ID card now!"

Erin immediately lowered her head in dejection: "Oh..."

One really didn't know what she was so depressed about.

However, the little puppet's bad mood never lasted more than a few seconds; she quickly cheered up again, maneuvering her other body to stroll over in front of Yu Sheng, both puppets looking up together: "By the way, I discovered something interesting."

Yu Sheng looked puzzled: "What?"

"When controlling the second body, I actually don't need to split half my attention completely," Erin explained. As she spoke, the expression on that "secondary body's" face visibly stiffened and became dull, as if the soul had suddenly withdrawn. "See, I only need to allocate a tiny bit of mental energy to keep it moving."

That puppet body, with its blank expression, began walking around; although still somewhat unsteady, it was indeed moving freely.

Erin's face displayed immense pride.

Yu Sheng's expression, however, suddenly turned thoughtful.

"And I've found that this body actually possesses a certain degree of autonomous activity," she continued. "If I just want it to perform certain tasks, I don't need to fully 'take over.' For things like 'walk to a certain place' or 'fetch an object,' it can actually complete them on its own..."

The thoughtful look on Yu Sheng's face instantly turned into shock.

"Wait, are you saying... this shell has its own capacity for thought?!"

Hearing this, Erin also paused, thought seriously for a moment, then shook her head: "It doesn't seem so. It can't be called thinking ability; it's more like... some instincts? Higher-level instincts? And these instincts are only 'activated' when I establish a connection with it. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it."

Yu Sheng frowned deeply.

This was a situation he had completely failed to anticipate.

But one thing he could be sure of: when he had just finished "creating" them, those blank puppet shells possessed no ability to move whatsoever. Even if they suddenly exhibited characteristics of "living creatures" midway through, with chests rising and falling in breath, they were merely empty shells without souls or any instincts.

The "instincts" Erin mentioned only arose after she first took control of the new body.

So... the key lies with Erin?

A gradually more serious contemplation appeared in Yu Sheng's expression.

The little puppet looked up, and her first reaction was for both bodies to subconsciously step back half a pace: "Wait, you... you aren't getting another idea, are you?"

"I'm just suddenly a bit curious," Yu Sheng said, looking at the besieged Erin with an extremely serious expression. "Do you think... could you control a third body?"

Erin froze, her mouth dropping open instantly: "... Huh?"

"If these new shells can all generate the kind of 'instincts' you mentioned, and controlling them only requires diverting a tiny fraction of your mental energy, then perhaps two bodies aren't your limit at all. Tell me, if I craft a few more puppets, would you be able to handle it?"

Erin stood with her mouth agape, unable to speak for a long while.

Even though Miss Puppet was already quite familiar with Yu Sheng's "ideas" and possessed adaptability that was second to none, she was nearly knocked dead on the spot by the door to this new world swinging open before her.

But after the initial shock passed, she couldn't help but follow this marvelous line of thought further.

Even Huli, standing nearby, showed a look of curiosity: "It feels... like it's worth a try?"

Hearing Huli say so, Erin couldn't help but sigh: "This is how Yu Sheng's 'ideas' are. Although they initially sound like wild flights of fancy or even extremely unreliable schemes, they carry a sort of sinister 'attraction.' It's as if his 'exploratory mindset' of 'let's try it' spreads along with his ideas. Once you've heard his strange notions, you can't help but ponder their feasibility, consider their outcomes, and ultimately... end up 'trying it' alongside him."

Yu Sheng listened and felt somewhat dissatisfied: "The way you put it, my experimental creativity sounds like some sort of evil scheme."

Both Erins bared their teeth at him in unison: "Do you really not think it's sinister?"

Yu Sheng cleared his throat twice: "Ahem, ahem. Just tell me whether you want to try it or not!"

"It's not... entirely impossible," Erin muttered. "I'm actually a bit curious myself—but this time, when we reach the final step of the test, you must tell me beforehand so I can prepare to take over the new body. Don't do it like this morning..."

"Don't worry, don't worry," Yu Sheng agreed repeatedly. "The first time is unfamiliar, the second time is familiar; we've gained experience now, haven't we?"

As he spoke, his eyes suddenly shifted again, his gaze fixing steadily upon Miss Puppet once more.

This time, Erin didn't step back just half a pace.

"What other idea do you have now? You're scaring me! Just say it all at once, will you!"

"Uh, it's just a supplementary thought," Yu Sheng said, feeling slightly awkward himself at her reaction; he raised a hand to scratch his hair. "It's just that if we continue creating new bodies, should we perhaps research new crafting techniques while we're at it..."

Erin: "?"

"Look, your first body's primary materials are clay and lotus root, correct?" Yu Sheng explained his idea with great enthusiasm. "And you said yourself that lotus root originally couldn't serve as puppet material. Your second body's material is clay, but without your guidance in the middle, I suspect the ratios of the auxiliary materials weren't very standardized either. So for subsequent bodies, why not simply test several different materials and processing methods?"

Erin wore a face full of suspicion: "... Hah?"

"Actually, I've always been quite bothered by the fact that your first body was damaged in battle," Yu Sheng said after a moment's thought, his expression serious, "especially with all your arms broken and your legs in such a terrible state."

"I don't even mind myself," Irene waved her hand, "but what exactly are you trying to say?"

"I was just thinking, in the absence of higher-grade alchemical materials, whether there might be some other method to strengthen your body's durability."

Irene was even more puzzled: "... Ah, so what?"

"Simply put, next time I'd like to try replacing your iron-wire skeleton with rebar..."

Irene: "... Holy crap?!"

(End of this chapter)