Chapter 163: Ailin Enhancement Plan

The hair dryer hummed as Ailin sat cross-legged on the coffee table, gripping its edges to keep from being blown away while waiting for Yu Sheng to dry her hair.

When the nozzle swung to face her, she would suddenly lift her head into the airflow, opening her mouth wide to cry, "Ah-wa-wa-wa-wa—," thoroughly enjoying herself.

Sometimes Yu Sheng genuinely doubted what kind of material was inside this doll's head.

"Stop playing," he said, forcibly pressing her head down as she shrieked "Ah-wa-wa" for the third time, sighing helplessly, "It's almost dry… There, that's enough."

"Thanks~" Ailin scratched her hair, then watched Yu Sheng pack up the dryer before suddenly asking, "What's going on? Why do you seem distracted?"

Yu Sheng paused his movements and exhaled softly: "Nothing much—I dreamed of Little Red Riding Hood and had a few words with her."

"Dreamed of Little Red Riding Hood?" Ailin first looked puzzled, then quickly realized, "Ah! You mean that weird dream of yours—the one where you met Fox Girl… Did Little Red get in too?!"

"Yes, and unlike with Fox Girl, she was fully conscious when she entered," Yu Sheng said casually, though he didn't mention what he'd seen in Little Red's memories, "... I plan to return to the Black Forest tonight."

"Little Red's condition has reached 'late stage'—each time she enters the dream, she falls into the Black Forest," Yu Sheng continued, "I might be able to help. And if I'm lucky, I might catch the 'Wolf Grandma' she's facing—or see the 'Hunter' again… She turns eighteen next month; there isn't much time left."

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"Next, we'll use these to forge the doll's skeleton," he murmured.

The little doll was always easy to pacify.

Yes, this was exactly how it should be used. It should've been done this way long ago.

Yu Sheng put away his phone, leaned back on the sofa, and let out a long breath.

Ailin wore a thoughtful expression; Yu Sheng looked up and glanced at the daylight outside the window.

"The Black Forest is dangerous. You haven't faced the largest 'Wolf'—you don't know how brutal it is. In raw threat level, it's probably stronger than 'Hunger' back then. Your threads might control it, but your body absolutely can't withstand it," Yu Sheng's expression turned serious; when he spoke this seriously, even Ailin dropped her usual carefree demeanor, "After all, Fox Girl may be strong, but she's only one. If you, as support, can't hold your ground… the Wolf becomes far harder to deal with."

"Who the hell uses rebar to build dolls?!" Ailin exploded, "If you thought of using rebar for an alchemical doll, why didn't you think of a welder?!"

!.

"I didn't mean that…" Ailin muttered, but halfway through, she just sighed, "Whatever, do whatever you want."

Ailin finally looked satisfied: "Now that's more like it."

"Alright!" Moments later, a door opened between the living room of No. 66 Wutong Road and the valley. Yu Sheng led Fox Girl and Ailin (the one with intact clothes) through the door to the central platform of the valley.

"It's still early—we have time to prepare for tonight's operation… We need to go out."

He simply stood on the open ground and extended his hand toward the flat surface.

Then the doll leapt straight up, trying to bite him: "So all this prep work was for nothing?! You brought the rebar but didn't get a welder?!"

Ailin: "... Huh?"

Ailin froze for two seconds: "..."

Two more seconds passed, and another message arrived: "Why?"

The fox girl nodded, rummaged inside her tail, and began dumping items onto the ground—candles for the ritual (ordinary ones from the convenience store), rose oil with probably no rose content, unbranded essential oil likely made from dye and fragrance, tea powder of unknown expiration, assorted bottles and jars of uncertain use…

Ailin looked up at him: "Yeah, so get started."

Yu Sheng nodded: "As long as the skeleton is sturdy, the strength will definitely improve significantly—that's how I understand it."

Preparations were complete. Yu Sheng's gaze settled on the rebar.

He lowered his head and met Ailin's stunned stare.

Ailin listened to Yu Sheng's train of thought and twitched her lips: "Will this even work?"

"The valley—this place is suitable," Yu Sheng said, then turned to the fox girl who had just walked over, "Fox Girl, come with me upstairs first—we need to fetch something."

"Is that how you talk?!" Yu Sheng immediately turned and glared at the doll, "And why did you wait until after I sent the message?!" This time, Little Red's reply came after a long delay—she seemed to have spent considerable time organizing her words, but ultimately sent only three brief characters: "Okay… Also, thank you."

The "ritual array" required for doll crafting formed almost in the space of a few breaths.

Yu Sheng didn't believe it—and at that moment, his phone vibrated, and a private message popped up: Little Red: "...???"

Yu Sheng frantically blocked the doll's jumping attacks while explaining: "I just forgot—it's not like anyone makes dolls and needs a welder…"

"I was just worried you wouldn't survive a direct encounter with the Wolf," Yu Sheng sighed helplessly, then seemed to ponder something, but finally nodded, "But you're right—I need your support. Your threads might be useful against those invisible wolf packs."

Yu Sheng smiled, then pulled out his phone and sent a private message to Little Red on "Border Communications": "Send me a message before you sleep tonight."

Yu Sheng rubbed his chin, face serious: "... I forgot to buy a welder."

"This spot's fine," Yu Sheng glanced around, seemingly at random, then pointed to the open ground nearby, "Fox Girl, put the things here."

A faint scraping sound came from the ground; lines of engraving spread rapidly from under Yu Sheng's feet, intertwining and closing together.

Ailin peered over from the side, watching his phone screen; only after he sent the message did she suddenly say, "That sounds weird—how you put it, it's practically harassment."

Yu Sheng focused intently on controlling the process, and a faint smile gradually appeared on his face.

He didn't laboriously draw alchemical symbols or arrays on the table like he did on the "Alchemy Platform" in his attic.

Ailin turned her head: "I just realized it now…"

Ailin looked at him curiously: "What's next? We just wait till tonight?"

Ailin blinked, but said nothing, simply watching Yu Sheng.

"You call meeting the Wolf Grandma 'lucky'? Typical you," Ailin finally sighed, "Fine. Since you can open the door anytime now… Are you taking me and Fox Girl? We'll probably need to fight once we're in."

Finally, she pulled out her tail and shook it in midair—air twisted, followed by a clatter of metallic clangs, and several rods of rebar tumbled out…

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then looked up and saw Ailin staring fixedly at him. He swallowed the long explanation he'd been preparing and simply typed three short characters in his reply: "Black Forest."

"Fox Girl will come," Yu Sheng nodded, but then his tone hesitated slightly, "But you…"

Yu Sheng said nothing, just stared thoughtfully at the little doll, making her gradually uneasy: "Hey, why are you staring at me? Did I say something wrong…?"

Ailin watched, dumbfounded, staring at Yu Sheng: "... You're not seriously planning to mold my body out of rebar and cement, are you?!"

"I need to upgrade you," Yu Sheng suddenly said.

"Where to?" Ailin asked instinctively.

Before she could even speak, Yu Sheng had already started working.

"That's pretty convenient!" the doll couldn't help exclaiming.

"Of course—I should've used this place long ago," Yu Sheng chuckled, then began instructing Fox Girl to help; together they quickly arranged the ritual candles, then raised a temporary wall around the open ground to prevent the valley wind from blowing out the flames, and lifted Ailin—with her painted frame still on her back—onto the designated nodes of the array on the ground.

"Why not? I already said I wanted to upgrade it," Yu Sheng replied as if it were obvious, but immediately added, "Of course, rebar can be used, but cement is out for now—mainly because last time I tried it, cement isn't like clay; you need to build a mold first to shape it properly, and it's hard to control... That's exactly why I chose this place—the valley has more than enough materials, and most importantly, these materials are easy for me to 'control'."

Seeing his reaction, Ai Lin immediately stood up from the coffee table: "What did I do! I've played a crucial role how many times already! You—"

The head and deputy head of the guesthouse instantly fell into serious internal conflict, the two of them fighting like a blazing kiln—until the very moment Ai Lin finally succeeded in biting down on Yu Sheng's hand, a sudden flash of light beside them halted both their movements.

Yu Sheng turned his head in shock and saw Hu Li just using a sharp, focused foxfire to cut through a steel bar, then bringing two other bars together and melting them into one with a faint "hiss-hiss" from the flame at the tip of her tail.

Moments later, Hu Li held the welded rebar in one hand and cradled her tail in the other, looking up at Yu Sheng with hopeful eyes: "Savior, is this acceptable?"

Yu Sheng: "... I swear to god, fox-welding!"

(End of Chapter)