Chapter 481: Authentic Doll

Early the next morning, Yu Sheng moved a chair and sat at the door of No. 66 Wutong Road with Irene in his arms. Hu Li and Luna stood on his left and right like two door gods. The four of them (or maybe no one) were waiting eagerly on the roadside for the Alice doll who called herself Marlene to visit.

Irene kept fiddling with her smart watch - Yu Sheng helped her remove the strap and tied a colorful rope to the watch so that she could hang it around her neck - the little doll opened and closed several apps, and anyone could see that she was a little nervous.

But whenever Yu Sheng asked, she immediately denied it and said stubbornly that she was just bored.

This time, no one exposed the little guy's poor excuse.

Yu Sheng looked down at the time, then looked up at the intersection, his mind still thinking about the phone call he had with Baili Qing yesterday and what he had finally told the other party.

...I hope Baili Qing has accurately explained Irene's situation to the "Alice Cottage Messenger" and conveyed his thoughts.

When Hu Li finished eating the twelfth pancake, the people waiting at the door heard the sound of an engine - a black luxury car appeared at the intersection.

Yu Sheng looked up at the fox girl next to him, who narrowed her eyes proudly and said, "I drove here! My benefactor, you have to comb my tail tonight!"

Yu Sheng smacked his lips and frowned, "...Why aren't they riding electric scooters? This doesn't fit the usual style of people who come here."

Hu Li said seriously: "It's not safe to ride an electric scooter with one hand..."

Irene couldn't help but listen to the noise coming from the side and said, "You two are so boring!"

Yu Sheng chuckled as he listened, and while they were talking, the car had already driven closer and then stopped steadily in front of the door of No. 66 Wutong Road.

The car door opened, and the person who got out from the driver's seat was not the Alice doll that Yu Sheng had seen yesterday, but a short-haired woman who was dressed like a maid, but with a clearly mechanical appearance. After this short-haired woman got out, she opened the back door of the car, and the Alice doll who called herself "Marin" appeared in everyone's sight.

At the same time, Yu Sheng noticed that the short-haired "maid" driving the car not only had obvious inhuman mechanical features, but also had a large clockwork structure on her back near the waist - the silver-white clockwork key was inserted in a complex keyhole like a decorative bow, and a slight clicking sound could be heard from under the keyhole from time to time.

Irene's eyes were immediately drawn to the large key on the back of the "clockwork maid." God knows what went on in this little thing's head, but she started struggling with her arms and yelling, "Hey, Yusheng! I want that one! The one that spins!"

Yu Sheng was just getting up to greet Marlene when he heard the little thing in his arms beeping. He didn't react for a moment. It took him two seconds to understand what Irene meant. He immediately turned black and said, "What are you talking about? You want to—you need a clockwork? You don't even have a keyhole!"

Marlene, who had just gotten out of the car and was walking towards him with a faint smile on her face, paused for some reason and her eyes fell on Irene. But she immediately recovered and walked slowly to Yu Sheng, still wearing that flawless smile on her face. "We meet again, Mr. Yu - I'm sorry, I was reckless yesterday. I hope I didn't offend you."

"Ah, ah?" Yu Sheng was a little confused, not understanding the other party's solemn yet overly polite attitude. After all, he was used to people around him appearing and disappearing mysteriously or acting suddenly. He hadn't taken Malin's sudden departure yesterday too seriously, so he was a little uncomfortable at this moment. "Oh, it's okay, it's okay. I heard from Baili Qing that you had something urgent to do yesterday. It's inevitable..."

As he spoke, he extended his hand to the other party, thinking that it would be better for him to take the initiative and be polite this time.

Then the scene was silent for two seconds.

Yu Sheng switched to his left hand.

Marlene's reaction was a bit subtle. The puppet lady cautiously responded to Yu Sheng's handshake, then hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Mr. Yu, I accidentally dropped it yesterday..."

"Here it is." Yu Sheng nodded quickly without waiting for the other party to finish speaking, and then winked at Hu Li next to him.

The fox girl immediately patted the pancake crumbs on her palms, rubbed her hands on her tail, then reached into her storage tail, took out a puppet hand and a glove, and handed them to the Alice puppet in front of her.

"Thanks."

Marlene thanked him meticulously, took his hand and pressed it on his wrist. With a "pop" sound, the ball joint was reset. He turned it back and forth to confirm that the connection was normal. Only then did he look relieved and put on the long glove carefully.

"Hey, we've been studying this for half the night, but we're still at a loss," Yu Sheng sighed beside him, "I don't know what you mean by suddenly holding back..."

"My hand joints aren't strong. That's part of my 'blessing,'" Marlene said, her eyes falling on the little doll in Yu Sheng's arms. She studied it quietly, but her perfect, porcelain-like smile betrayed no real thoughts or emotions. After a long moment, she nodded gently, "Irene, is that so?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The little doll had been staring at Marlene in front of her, as if she was missing her own 1.67 meters tall from this normal-sized living doll. However, she had kept her mouth tightly shut and didn't dare to speak. Only when the other party took the initiative to greet her did she speak hurriedly, "I'm Irene! Irene from Alice's Cottage! I... I don't know you... Do you know me?"

As she spoke, her voice suddenly became softer, as if she was a little nervous. Then she turned around and climbed onto Yu Sheng's shoulders, hugging his head tightly.

This was her habitual reaction when she felt nervous or scared outside.

Marlene didn't answer Irene's question immediately. The "big puppet" simply looked at the small puppet carefully for a few more seconds before turning to Yu Sheng: "This isn't a good place for conversation. May I ask..."

"Oh, then let's go inside and talk." Yu Sheng reacted immediately, turned around and took two steps to open the door of No. 66 Wutong Road. "I forgot, you shouldn't be able to see my house."

Marlene and the clockwork doll beside her instantly widened their eyes slightly, looking in astonishment at the door that suddenly appeared in front of them, and the living room opposite the door that looked simple yet full of life.

A moment later, the two guests were brought into No. 66 Wutong Road and sat on the sofa in the living room.

Marlene stared blankly at the other three Ires sitting neatly on the sofa.

“…What’s going on?”

"These are all my extensions. Yu Sheng made them for me!" Irene explained immediately, a hint of pride in her voice. "Number one, number two, number three... There's no particular order. Get up in the morning and grab the painting. Whoever grabs it first gets number one!"

Marlene listened in confusion, clearly not understanding. She turned to look at Yu Sheng and said, "You're also an alchemist? You know how to make living dolls?"

Yu Sheng quickly waved his hands: "No, no, no, my skills are very crude, and it was Irene who taught me the basics."

Marlene was stunned for a moment, then looked at the row of dolls: "...Then, are there more?"

"Yes," Yu Sheng nodded with a smile, "I have another group in my backyard."

Marlene: “?!”

Why does the Alice doll have a group extension?!

Irene tugged at Yu Sheng's sleeve, leaned over and whispered, "There are two groups now."

Yu Sheng was shocked: "...When?!"

"I discovered it when I was counting yesterday," Irene stuck out her tongue. "Last time I was making the dolls, I ordered them to produce in a loop and forgot to stop. I used up all the blood you left in the alchemy workshop before I received the error message. When I counted again, I found that there were already two groups."

Yu Sheng: “…”

He was silent for a moment, but Marlene on the opposite side seemed a little confused. This Alice doll, who had just been sent to the border as an envoy, probably had never encountered such a situation before. Only then did she more or less understand the meaning of the words "the border is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery" that were widely circulated in the outside world. By the way, she also understood the good intentions of Baili Qing's advice to her before coming here, "Be careful to keep a calm mind when you get to Yu Sheng's place." And then, she noticed another unusual thing.

There was a strange gray-white stone ball that kept spinning around the head of one of the Irenes.

"What is this?" she asked curiously.

"This is Irene's satellite." Hu Li said casually.

Marlene: “……?”

Why does the Alice doll have a satellite?!

She turned her head slightly and met the slightly numb gaze of the clockwork doll Maryse.

"Maryse," she called over the telepathic link.

"Yes, Miss Marlene." The voice of the clockwork maid came from the bottom of her heart.

"Is it possible," Marlene muttered in her heart with a strange tone, "that this little guy is the real Alice doll, and I'm actually a fake?"

"Please calm down. I understand your jealousy when you see other dolls with high-end accessories, but this bumpy ball doesn't really suit your hairstyle."

Marlene's eyes twitched, and she noticed several glances from across the sofa falling on her. She coughed twice and turned her attention back to Irene.

And the strange painting that Irene carried on her back.

"As you can see," Yu Sheng's voice rang out, "Eileen's current situation... is rather special. Although she has several bodies, part of her 'essence' is likely still bound by this painting. Before today, she had been trying to contact Alice's cabin, but there had been no progress. Now, you've appeared - we're eager to know what's going on with Eileen?"

Marlene pursed her lips, and after a few seconds of solemn silence and thought, she extended her hand to Irene (the one closest to her).

"At least one thing is certain," she said with a hint of a smile on her face, "you are indeed our sister - although, it seems something has gone wrong."

(End of this chapter)