Chapter 43: Irene's Proposal

Irene certainly possessed many magical abilities. Yu Sheng had deeply experienced this when he followed the puppet down into Hu Li's dreamscape, but needless to say, this jinxed puppet had so many useless moments in daily life that people often overlooked this fact intentionally or unintentionally...

"So now there is only one thing left, the most critical part," Yu Sheng sat on the sofa, looking with a serious expression at the little puppet beside him, "We need to find a way to recreate that gate leading to the exotic valley."

"Are you still planning to rely on the brute-force method?" Irene asked curiously, "Trying out every single 'frequency' you think is close?"

Yu Sheng sighed: "We have no other choice. After all, when I first entered the valley, I hadn't truly mastered the technique of 'opening the door,' and I overlooked too many details back then."

Irene turned to look at Yu Sheng, the little puppet seemingly trying hard to ponder, and after a moment, she spoke hesitantly: "Actually... I have an idea."

Yu Sheng immediately leaned forward: "Huh? You have a way?!"

"It might not work, because I still don't understand how you manage to 'open the door' in the first place, nor do I understand what this 'frequency' you keep mentioning means," Irene turned around on the sofa cushion with a scuttling motion, "However, based on my understanding, you actually need a 'characteristic' or some kind of navigation signal that can help you 'lock onto' the destination?"

"...... That's probably a fair way to put it?" Yu Sheng himself became a bit uncertain, "Actually, I haven't quite figured it out either. After all, the whole process was just me blindly groping in the dark, and many things relied purely on 'feeling.' But your description of a 'navigation signal' is quite fitting—at the moment I open the door, the location pointed to on the opposite side is completely random, but if I can accurately 'remember' a certain 'characteristic' of the other side of the door, the passage will collapse into a unique one. That's roughly how the process goes."

"Which means, if we can leave a navigation point on 'Hu Li's' side, you can directly replicate the passage?"

"Should be," Yu Sheng nodded, but then looked somewhat puzzled, "Where on earth are we going to get such a navigation point? What I've been worrying about is not being able to find the road leading to the valley. If I could just leave a navigation point over there, I wouldn't have to worry at all..."

"What about from within the dream?" Irene suddenly said.

Yu Sheng was stunned, and immediately grasped the puppet's intention vaguely.

Irene continued explaining in detail: "The last time I sank into Hu Li's dreamscape with you, I already established a weak connection with her. And if this connection goes a step further, perhaps I can link to her senses—and then I'll pull you along. At that time, you can directly touch the aura of that valley through Hu Li's perception. Doesn't that amount to establishing a 'navigation point'?"

Yu Sheng listened to Irene's plan in a daze, and the more he listened, the more he felt that this wild imagination of the puppet... actually seemed feasible?

"There are two difficulties in this process," Irene continued, "First, we need Hu Li's own cooperation. She must be willing to open her mind to you. But this problem shouldn't be too big; we just need to explain it clearly to her. She probably trusts you. The second difficulty is somewhat... dangerous."

Yu Sheng did not interrupt, only signaling with his eyes for Irene to continue.

"The second difficulty is that Hu Li's mind is no longer just her own," Irene's expression turned slightly serious as she looked into Yu Sheng's eyes, "The Entity - Hunger has penetrated deep into the foundation of her mind. Therefore, once you establish a deep connection with Hu Li, it is equivalent to establishing the same connection with the Entity - Hunger... I'm not sure what will happen by then. Although theoretically you should be able to withstand a short-term contact, I'm afraid that the power of Hunger will take root deep in your heart. When you actually enter the valley and confront that monster, that rooted part of the influence might erupt at any moment..."

Yu Sheng fell into deep thought.

Seeing him fall silent, Irene rolled her eyes twice as realization dawned on her. She immediately stood up from the sofa and put her hands on her hips (though she was still not as tall as Yu Sheng sitting down): "Don't you dare think about dying a few times first to see if you can clear the influence! Let me tell you, this tendency of yours is very dangerous. If you end up unable to shake it off even after dying and coming back to life, you'll be in big trouble..."

Yu Sheng awkwardly adjusted his sitting posture: "I didn't even say..."

"I can read it all over your face!"

Yu Sheng: "......"

Why is this puppet, whose brain doesn't usually work very well, suddenly so sharp with her intuition at a time like this!

"I know, I know, I'll put the idea of 'dying a few times' at the very bottom of the list under any circumstances," Yu Sheng felt thoroughly awkward under Irene's glowing crimson eyes, so he could only wave his hands in surrender and forcefully pull the topic back on track, "But I've decided to try your plan anyway. The risk of direct contact with the 'Entity - Hunger' certainly exists, but I think... it's a risk worth taking."

Irene's crimson eyes continued to stare at Yu Sheng for a few more seconds before she finally spoke: "Fine, it looks like you really want to rescue that fox, and her condition indeed cannot be delayed any longer. Let's go with this plan."

Just at that moment, however, Yu Sheng suddenly thought of another problem: "There's still one more issue, though."

"Ah?"

"I might not necessarily dream of that dream where Hu Li exists," Yu Sheng spread his hands, "I didn't even dream last night—and I don't know how to control my own dreams."

Hearing this, Irene instead burst into laughter, her smile filled with complacency and showing off.

"I can," the little puppet stood proudly on the sofa with her arms crossed (measuring 66.6 cm), "You just worry about sleeping, leave the rest to me—let me tell you, now that I've broken free from the shackles of that painting, I am practically terrifyingly strong! Even I am scared of mys—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Yu Sheng shifted his posture on the sofa. The sofa cushion deformed accordingly, and Irene, standing on the edge of the cushion, immediately lost her footing. With a cry of "Oops," she tumbled right off the sofa—and got stuck between the sofa and the coffee table by the oil painting frame on her back, hanging upside down beneath the frame.

The puppet hung beneath the painting frame, flailing her limbs wildly as if she were about to fly up and bite someone.

She was cursing quite fiercely.

Yu Sheng reached out and lifted the painting frame: "I see your shackles are still pretty severe."

"You laughing... If you laugh again, I won't help you!" Irene's arms were wedged between the frame's hanging straps, leaving her hanging in a cross shape as Yu Sheng lifted the frame, "Put me down! Put me... Hey hey, my arm, the joint on my arm is stuck! Bend it back for me..."

Speechless, Yu Sheng looked at Irene, casually plucked her off the painting frame, and began enduring the puppet's chatter while bending her stuck joints back into place.

Late into the night, Yu Sheng had made all preparations for sleep.

Irene, however, was still running back and forth across his bed like a darting little rocket.

"I say, can't you be quiet for even a moment right now?" Lying in bed, Yu Sheng looked at Irene, who was jumping up and down beside him, with a face full of helplessness, "I'm going to sleep."

"Your bed is so huge!" Irene happily ran toward the head of the bed, jumped onto the bedside table, and shook the desk lamp there back and forth, completely ignoring what Yu Sheng was saying, "Hey hey, this desk lamp is shorter than me! Look, Yu Sheng! This desk lamp is shorter than me!"

"Next time I'll buy a nightlight that's even shorter than you!" Yu Sheng rolled his eyes in annoyance, reached out, and plucked Irene off his desk lamp, "Did you forget what you're supposed to be doing? Keep this up and I'll lock you in the wardrobe!"

Only then did Irene finally quiet down, smiling sheepishly: "I was just a little excited... Alright, alright, sleep away, I won't cause trouble."

With a physically and mentally exhausted sigh, Yu Sheng put Irene down: "Go help turn off the light."

The puppet was utterly理直气壮 (unashamed and righteous): "Can't reach!"

"...... Then pull over a chair!"

"Oh."

The world finally grew quiet.

Yu Sheng let out a long breath, enjoying the fleeting peace in the darkened bedroom as he tried hard to adjust his state and fall asleep.

Then, turning his head, he saw two glowing red eyes staring at him from the dark by the bedside.

Irene was hanging entirely off the edge of the bed like a koala, clinging to the mattress and staring unblinkingly at Yu Sheng.

"...... You looking at me like that makes it even harder to sleep," Yu Sheng said with a helpless expression, "By the way, why do you insist on coming to my room? Didn't you enter my dream from the first floor before? Was it necessary to follow me up here?"

"Closer distance means better signal."

The puppet spoke with utter confidence, sounding as ridiculous as it was earnest.

At least she understood Yu Sheng's meaning this time, finally jumping off the edge of the bed and running over to sit in a chair not far away.

Yu Sheng sighed once more.

He knew Irene was still watching him, and he had no idea what was going on in that puppet's head (if she had one), but judging by appearances, she wasn't going to be driven away tonight.

He could only force himself to ignore the crimson gaze coming from the dark, clearing his mind of distracting thoughts as much as possible to brew some sleepiness.

He didn't know how long he tossed and turned in bed—perhaps an hour, perhaps longer.

When exhaustion reached its peak, he finally drifted drowsily into a misty darkness.

The dream descended, and from the mist of the dreamscape came Irene's soft, thin voice: "You're finally asleep... Come on, this way."

Yu Sheng instinctively turned toward the direction of the voice, and the very next second, the mist dissipated, and light and shadow emerged from the darkness.

He once again saw that dim, desolate wilderness, with a gloomy sky blanketing the earth, nameless hillocks in the distance, and the silvery-white demon fox still slumbering amidst the wasteland.

Yu Sheng walked forward, and immediately noticed the "guide" floating beside him.

It was Irene, guiding his dreamscape.

Yu Sheng stopped in his tracks, looking at the oil painting suspended in mid-air with an odd expression.

The Irene inside the oil painting locked eyes with him in a mutual stare.

Yu Sheng: "...... Why do I feel like this painting is actually your true body?!"

Irene looked down at herself, then looked up to scan her surroundings, finally realizing belatedly: "Hey, why am I back in the painting?!"