Chapter 145: New Theory and Speculations

Hearing Yu Sheng's confusion, Ai Lin's expression also turned dazed.

"If the 'Black Forest' is truly just a pure consciousness space, then how did I bring out the wolf's corpse? The Wolf Grandma's body is still in Hu Li's tail, right?" Yu Sheng spread his hands. "Besides, Little Red Riding Hood once said that some anomalous domains don't just trap a person's consciousness—they can even transfer the physical body into those 'extra-dimensional spaces' built from stories or emotions—so I think the boundary between consciousness and matter in 'domains' may not be so clear. Our inability to open a door to the Black Forest from outside must have another reason."

Ai Lin listened, bewildered, not sure how much she understood: "Uh… right?"

Then she turned her head and saw Hu Li, who had remained expressionless the whole time, and suddenly gasped: "Hey, dumb fox, you actually understood that?"

Hu Li spoke calmly: "Of course I did."

"... Really?!"

"From void to substance, from substance to void," Hu Li nodded as if stating the obvious. "All things in the world are interconnected at the 'fundamental scale.' There was never a boundary between consciousness and matter. The immortals said the entire world is like a complex 'wave.' What we call 'void' and 'substance' are merely different waveforms produced at different frequencies. The Celestials call this Information Unity; the immortals call it All Things Return to the Void..."

Ai Lin listened again, utterly baffled, like hearing scripture from another realm. After a long silence, she blurted out: "What even is this... Who taught you all this?!"

The fox girl looked dead serious: "Compulsory Education Immortals."

Ai Lin turned her blank expression toward Yu Sheng: "... Yu Sheng, did you understand any of that?"

"I... I think I understood, but I've never heard this theory before," Yu Sheng hesitated, then nodded. His gaze toward Hu Li grew even more puzzled—

What kind of world did this fox girl come from? She barely finished elementary school, yet she learns this stuff in class?! What do they test in middle school there? Hand-crafting jump drives?!

But such questions were bound to remain unanswered. After a brief mental storm, Yu Sheng's focus returned to the Black Forest—and this time, as he thought, he couldn't help incorporating Hu Li's recent "knowledge."

In thought, he slowly raised his hand and grasped the door handle in the void. The illusory door reappeared, and he began opening it bit by bit.

This time, he opened it extremely, extremely slowly—as if trying to perceive every instant and detail of the door's opening and dissolution. He poured nearly all his attention into the act of opening it.

At one moment, he felt he had touched the Black Forest's aura. He sensed the passage had already formed; his connection to the evil wolf suddenly strengthened, as if the door would materialize as usual in the next second.

But suddenly, those newly formed "connections" underwent violent misalignment. He felt the Black Forest instantly "recede," and the intense dizziness from the channel's collapse struck him again.

Misalignment?

As this question surfaced in his mind, Yu Sheng momentarily blurred—but didn't fall. In this short time, he'd grown used to dizziness.

"Ah, the door collapsed again," Ai Lin blinked, watching the fragments of the door vanish rapidly into the air. She turned to Yu Sheng, whose gaze was slightly unfocused. "You okay? Maybe we should stop for today—I'm afraid you'll throw up your last meal..."

"I'm fine," Yu Sheng interrupted the doll. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. After struggling to piece it together, he suddenly looked up: "I think I just figured it out... It might be a positioning error."

"Positioning?" Ai Lin frowned. "You mean 'coordinates'?"

"Coordinates... Yes! That's it!" Yu Sheng nodded, as if a key had turned. His gaze instantly locked onto Ai Lin. "Wait—Ai Lin, I just realized... How did you determine the 'location' of the Black Forest and send my and Little Red Riding Hood's consciousness into it?"

Ai Lin hadn't expected the topic to shift to her, but she answered quickly: "This... is simple. I just slip into dreams. I have the ability to infiltrate dreams—it's as natural to me as breathing."

"Exactly! Infiltrating dreams—that's what I was missing when I set coordinates!" Yu Sheng suddenly brightened, lifting Ai Lin off the ground in excitement. "Ai Lin, you're incredibly talented!"

The doll was utterly stunned, frozen mid-air. But upon hearing his praise, she instantly puffed up: "Of course I am! I'm a doll from Alice's Cottage—I've got serious skills... But what exactly do you mean?"

Yu Sheng quickly set Ai Lin down on his forearm, bringing her to eye level, his face alight: "When I open doors, I always set the 'frequency' based on spacetime structure—that's all I can do. But to enter the Black Forest, I must pinpoint its coordinate within the 'dream layer,' because it has no fixed spacetime position—do you get it? Dreams constantly 'drift' outside reality!"

"The previous door collapses weren't because 'it can't be opened from this side'—they happened because the Black Forest's 'location' shifted the instant I opened the door!"

He spoke rapidly, noticing Ai Lin still looked confused, and patiently continued: "Still not clear? Imagine the Black Forest as a train moving along its track, and reality as solid ground. When I exit the Black Forest, it's like jumping off a moving train—you'll always land on the ground. But entering the Black Forest from outside is like jumping from the ground into a train door that's already speeding away—the moment you leap, the train's gone."

"Of course, this analogy is just for understanding. The real situation is certainly more complex. After all, even jumping from a moving train onto solid ground causes 'offset'—but my door corrects this offset when pointing toward reality. The reverse doesn't work..."

"Alright, alright, I get it—but if you explain more, I might get even more confused," Ai Lin waved her arms to cut him off. "So what? How do you fix this? You can only set spacetime coordinates, but the Black Forest has none—and you can't determine dream coordinates..."

Yu Sheng grinned, eyes gleaming at the doll in his hand: "I can't. But you can."

Ai Lin: "... Huh?"

"You navigate while I open the door," Yu Sheng said seriously. "Use some of your magical Alice's Cottage powers—you always brag about them, right?"

"... Is this reliable?!" Ai Lin's whole body went numb. She quickly added: "Of course, Alice's Cottage's powers are definitely reliable—I mean your plan. Don't open a door and vanish yourself."

Yu Sheng shrugged: "Try it."

Ai Lin: "..."

The doll stared blankly for a moment, then finally frowned at the guy who always said "try it" and either succeeded or died: "Why are you so obsessed with opening a door from outside into the Black Forest? Can't I just use dream power to send you in?"

"But you can only send my 'consciousness' in," Yu Sheng said as if it were obvious. "And right now it's just the Black Forest—but later there'll be Cinderella's ball and the Gao Ta of Rapunzel. Being able to open a door is always more convenient. Besides..."

He paused suddenly, glanced at Hu Li standing beside them, and his voice lowered involuntarily: "I still want to see the cyber fox immortal beating up children's literature..."

Ai Lin: "... Are you insane?!"

"Just say whether you want to see it or not!"

"I want to see it."

"Then there you go. Try it."

"Oh."

The doll quickly surrendered.

In fact, Ai Lin had guessed this would happen from the start—not just because she also thought Yu Sheng's "cyber fox immortal beating up children's literature" idea was awesome, but because she knew him. She knew his "obsession" always worked this way.

An obsession unlike any other, beyond reason. Once a wild idea took root, he'd absolutely have to try it before letting go. This obsession, like his intense curiosity, was pure and powerful—like...

A child.

But it didn't matter. She'd tease him all she wanted—but she still enjoyed playing along.

"When you summon the door, don't open it yet—just hold it steady and relax your mind," the doll climbed onto Yu Sheng's shoulder, speaking with solemnity. "Then I'll guide your consciousness... Just like how I usually guide you into dreams, but this time I'll do it while you're awake. And at the final step, I'll 'take over' part of your 'spiritual intuition'—so I can influence your 'door.' Can you do that?"

She confirmed with extra seriousness, adding: "You must cooperate fully—trust me completely. Otherwise, we'll both experience a shock like 'sudden awakening.' I won't throw up, but you've already passed out so many times—you'll definitely vomit your last meal."

Yu Sheng nodded rapidly: "Alright, alright, I get it. Let's begin."

Ai Lin stared at him for a moment, then finally exhaled softly, bending down gently to embrace his head.

"Now, let our minds become one..."

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(End of Chapter)