The moment they passed through the newly opened doorway, the surroundings changed in an instant. The refreshing breeze from the tranquil valley disappeared, replaced by the hot, steamy air of a tropical rainforest. Unfamiliar calls from strange creatures echoed in the distance, and the sound of insects and ants crawling over dry leaves rose around them like a chorus.
Yu Sheng, ever cautious, left the door partially open behind them instead of shutting it completely. He kept it ajar after guiding Irene through, just in case they needed to beat a quick retreat back to the valley.
“How about now?” Yu Sheng asked, glancing down at the small doll resting on his arm. “Can you still feel your other body? Or is the connection broken?”
“Wow, it’s still there!” exclaimed the tiny doll in a surprised tone. “I felt a bit dizzy when we walked through the door, like my senses got mixed up for a moment. But now everything’s back to normal, and the link between my two bodies hasn’t weakened at all.”
As she spoke, Irene looked up and took a quick glance around.
“Hey, Yu Sheng, how far apart do you think my two bodies are now?” she wondered aloud.
“I think we’ve gone beyond what we could call ‘distance,’” Yu Sheng replied, tapping his chin and then shaking his head. “I have no idea where this place is, but it’s definitely not part of the Borderland. There’s even a difference in dimension between here and the valley. If that doesn’t break the link between your bodies, then I don’t see any need for more testing.”
“Oh… So should we take a look around?” Irene asked, peering curiously up at Yu Sheng. “Since we’re already here…”
“It’s not safe,” Yu Sheng said, shaking his head. “We should go back.”
“You’re carrying your painting frame, and that’s your real self,” Yu Sheng reminded her, pointing at the canvas in her arms. “If something happens to me, that’s one thing, but if something happens to your painting frame, who knows how it would affect you. Let’s head back, and let’s tell Foxy to meet us at the starting point.”
A short time later, Yu Sheng, Foxy, and Irene were all together again at the newly paved clearing deep in the valley.
“Right, so we’ve observed a few rules,” Yu Sheng said, watching as Irene practiced walking around while controlling both her bodies. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “First, at least one doll body needs to stay close to the painting frame for Irene to be active in the real world. Second, the body holding the frame is the ‘main’ body, and the other one is a ‘copy.’ Third, the copy’s control range seems limitless—or at least incredibly far—unlike the main body, which can’t stray far from the frame. But…”
With a thud, Irene’s copy, while running in circles, suddenly lost its balance and fell flat on its face.
Yu Sheng glanced at the doll picking itself up in an awkward way. “But the copy’s ‘performance’ is clearly weaker than the main body’s—less sensitive, less agile, and a bit harder to control. It looks like that’s the price for having such a wide control range.”
“I think it’s totally worth it!” Irene chimed in happily, standing up without showing any sign of distress. “Now I can have one body free from carrying the frame so I can run around as much as I want! And better yet, I could watch TV in one room and play games in another…”
Yu Sheng’s eye twitched. “That’s what you want to do with two bodies?!”
Suddenly, he thought of something else. “Wait, you mentioned playing games… Which games are you talking about?!”
Irene winced a little, looking sheepish. “Well, your account got unbanned…”
Yu Sheng’s eyebrows shot straight up. “You’re not allowed to use my account again! Make your own—you have your own ID now!”
Irene drooped her head. “Okay…” She sounded disappointed, though Yu Sheng couldn’t quite figure out why.
But her sadness quickly vanished, and a moment later, she was beaming once more. Controlling her other body, she directed it to scurry over to Yu Sheng. Both dolls gazed up at him with identical bright expressions. “Hey, I noticed something else,” she said. 𝖗åɴоβΕS̩
Yu Sheng looked curious. “What is it?”
“It doesn’t feel like I need to split my attention in half to control the second body,” Irene explained. Right then, the copy’s face grew stiff, as if its spirit had suddenly gone somewhere else. “See? I only need a little bit of focus to keep it moving.”
The copy wobbled around, not super steady, but still able to walk.
Irene seemed very pleased with herself, while Yu Sheng stood there, lost in thought.
“And I realized this copy can do some tasks on its own,” Irene continued. “If it’s something simple, like walking to a specific spot or picking something up, it can do it without needing me to guide it every second.”
Yu Sheng’s face quickly turned astonished. “Wait, you mean… this body has some kind of thinking ability of its own?!”
Irene paused, frowning as she thought. Then she shook her head. “Not exactly. It’s not real thinking. It’s more like… instincts? They’re more advanced than normal instincts, but they only work because I’m linked to it. It’s hard to explain.”
Yu Sheng’s expression grew serious, as though something new had dawned on him. He hadn’t anticipated anything .
But one thing was certain: when he had originally “created” the doll, it was nothing more than a shell. It had no movement, no spirit, and no instincts. These “instincts” Irene spoke of only emerged after she first occupied the new body.
So it all came from Irene…?
Yu Sheng looked more thoughtful by the second.
Seeing his expression, both versions of Irene took a small step back. “You’re getting another idea, aren’t you?” they asked in unison.
“I’m just curious,” Yu Sheng admitted, looking at Irene with unwavering focus. “What if… you tried controlling a third body?”
Irene’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Huh?”
“If each new body develops the instincts you mentioned,” Yu Sheng said, “and if controlling them only needs a little bit of your attention, maybe two bodies isn’t your limit. What if I made more dolls? Could you handle them?”
Irene just stood there, eyes wide. Even she, who was used to Yu Sheng’s wild ideas, felt a bit overwhelmed by this new possibility. But soon, after the initial shock wore off, she found herself thinking about it too.
Foxy, who had stayed quiet until now, also looked intrigued. “It does sound like it might be worth a try.”
Irene let out a big sigh. “Yu Sheng’s ideas are always like that. At first, they sound outrageous—or outright impossible—but then they start to feel strangely logical. It’s like his ‘let’s just give it a shot’ attitude rubs off on you. Once you hear his crazy idea, you can’t help wondering if it might actually work and what could happen. Then, before you know it, you’ve jumped right in.”
Yu Sheng looked a bit offended. “You’re making my experiments sound shady.”
Both Irenes flashed him a grin. “Do you seriously think they aren’t?”
Yu Sheng cleared his throat. “Ahem. So, do you want to try or not?”
“I guess… it’s not impossible,” Irene said softly, shrugging. “I’m curious too. But you have to warn me before the final step, all right? I need time to prepare myself before I take over another new body. I don’t want a repeat of what happened this morning.”
“Sure, sure,” Yu Sheng agreed at once. “The first time is always a learning experience. Now we know what to expect.”
Then, he looked at Irene again in a way that made her take another step back.
“You’ve got another idea, don’t you?! Just tell me all at once so it’s not so creepy!”
“Uh, it’s just a side thought,” Yu Sheng said, sounding slightly embarrassed as he scratched his head. “If I keep making more bodies, maybe I should improve the design a bit…”
Irene blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Well, your first body was made with clay and lotus roots,” he reminded her. “You said yourself lotus roots aren’t ideal for doll-making. And for the second body, I just guessed at how to mix the materials, so it’s probably not perfect either. So for the next bodies, we could try different materials and methods.”
Irene looked puzzled. “Uh… what?”
“I’ve always felt bad that your first body got so damaged in battle,” Yu Sheng explained, sounding earnest. “Especially your arm breaking off and your leg getting mangled.”
“I didn’t mind,” Irene said, waving off his concern. “But what are you getting at?”
“Well, since we don’t have any high-grade alchemy materials right now, maybe we can make the bodies tougher in simpler ways.”
Irene raised an eyebrow. “And that would be…?”
“In plain language, next time, I’m thinking we replace your wire skeleton with rebar.”
Irene stared at him in shock. “What?!”
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation