Chapter 29: Days with Dolls
Irene quickly understood what Yu Sheng meant by the "rule system".
"I'm not really sure, actually. I've said that my memory of many things is fuzzy, even including a lot of the most basic knowledge. The impact of this painting on me is not just a simple memory loss. It has dismantled my mind over a long period of time," the puppet in the painting pointed to his head and said slowly, "Many of the characteristics of 'hunger' are just superficial impressions. I reorganized them based on my own understanding. You'd better just use them as a reference."
"...Anyway, it's true that that thing is difficult to deal with," Yu Sheng pondered for a moment and nodded, "It seems that we need a backup plan. If we can't deal with the monster, we should also find a way to get Hu Li out of the valley - right, getting her out of that foreign land should also help get rid of the influence of 'hunger', right?"
"It should be possible. The influence of the alien world cannot spread to reality. But to be honest, it is ridiculously difficult to bring another person out of the alien world under the blockade of 'hunger'."
As Irene was thinking, she suddenly raised her head and stared at Yu Sheng: "No, are you really going to solve that thing yourself... No, let's not talk about how you solve it, how do you know that you can definitely go back to that valley?"
"Didn't you say that? Once a person comes into contact with a foreign land, he can never get rid of this connection," Yu Sheng said casually, "I understand that it's like falling into a quicksand pit. You can only keep sinking. Even if you escape temporarily, you can only hold on for a while during the sinking process..."
Irene stared. "I did say that, but what it means is that after you have dealt with the alien world, you will establish a connection with the entire realm of 'beyond reason'. You will have a higher chance of coming into contact with other alien worlds or supernatural phenomena. It does not mean that you will definitely return to the alien world you first came into contact with. This thing is completely random!"
"But I have a hunch that I will see that monster and that valley again soon," Yu Sheng met Irene's gaze seriously, "I am not completely 'disconnected' from that place. It... seems to be waiting for me to return."
A trace of solemnity flashed across Irene's scarlet eyes. She thought for a moment and spoke uncertainly, "...Spiritual intuition?"
"I don't know if that's what you call spiritual intuition," Yu Sheng spread his hands, "but since dealing with that monster, I have indeed begun to be able to 'feel' something. It's very vague, but seems to be very accurate."
"...Even if ordinary people are stimulated, it is difficult for them to develop spiritual intuition in such a short period of time, let alone control and utilize it to a certain extent." Irene couldn't help but look Yu Sheng up and down, with a little surprise in her expression, "I'm afraid you are a natural investigator..."
Yu Sheng opened his mouth: "Ah, is this a good thing?"
Irene thought about it and said with a broken mouth as usual: "The mortality rate of investigators is quite high."
Yu Sheng: “…”
Before he could say anything, he heard Irene's broken mouth add another sentence: "But the mortality rate of ordinary people who come into contact with alien worlds and cannot develop spiritual intuition is higher."
Yu Sheng's mouth trembled twice: "Okay, it's not a big problem."
Irene was immediately amazed at Yu Sheng's generosity, but Yu Sheng just shook his head and stood up from the dining table.
A voice immediately came from the painting: "Hey, where are you going?"
"Kitchen! I've been sleeping all day and there's still no dinner!" Yu Sheng turned his head and glared at Irene. "Why are you so nervous whenever I move, as if I'm going to throw you away?"
"What nonsense! It's a problem for me to move on my own now. Do you know how uneasy I feel? And for someone like you who can fall into a foreign land as soon as you step out of the door, how can I know if you will disappear again when you get up, and then we will be separated forever..."
Irene's mouth was as annoying as ever, but Yu Sheng just frowned and realized that the other party just seemed to want to care about him.
And... the realization that the doll was trapped in a painting led to the inability to control its own situation and the state of anxiety after finally finding someone to communicate with.
He thought about it, then stood up and took Irene from the dining table.
The latter immediately exclaimed: "Hey, what are you doing? I... I'm still watching TV. I'm warning you, don't hang me back up in the room on the second floor! I... At worst, I won't say anything and you can just put me back first..."
"Cooking alone is boring. You're free anyway, so come to the kitchen and talk to me."
Irene was stunned for a moment, secretly observing Yu Sheng's expression from the edge of the frame. She seemed a little bit unbelievable, but soon nodded: "Okay, okay!"
Yu Sheng curled his lips, carried Irene into the kitchen, and casually leaned her on the windowsill. Then he turned around, opened the refrigerator, and checked the ingredients for dinner.
The figure of Hu Li appeared in his mind - the moment he saw the food, he couldn't help but think of the fox girl squatting in the ruins of the dilapidated temple, holding a rotten vegetable leaf in her mouth and looking at him from a distance.
She was still hungry.
Yu Sheng pursed his lips, suppressed the many thoughts in his mind, and took out the stewed meat and two steamed buns left over from the morning.
Just heat up the leftovers with steamed buns in the evening and cook some porridge at the same time.
Putting the steamed buns and stewed meat from the refrigerator into the microwave, and then washing the rice to prepare porridge, Yu Sheng was busy in silence, and after half a minute he began to regret bringing Irene into the kitchen——
This Bibiji has been busy since he opened the refrigerator! "Hey, your refrigerator is quite big! Can you use such a big refrigerator by yourself?
"That's the meat you stewed this morning... Come to think of it, that 'local specialty' looks pretty normal after being processed... By the way, it really won't suddenly come alive in the bowl?
"You just cook some porridge? That's nothing fancy. How about you carve a flower out of the radish or make a seal?"
“Why don’t you turn on the range hood…Oh, you’re not cooking.
"It's getting dark outside, can you please turn me around so I can look at the street... No, then no.
"What's your mother's last name?"
Yu Sheng finally couldn't stand it anymore, so he took Irene and walked to the front of the sink: "Believe it or not, I will soak you in it right now! I will use detergent to scrub you until the color fades, believe it or not!"
Irene shrank her neck instantly and sat back in the chair with her teddy bear in her arms: "If you don't want to tell me, then don't tell me..."
The world is finally quiet.
Irene returned to the windowsill, sat on the chair holding her teddy bear and looked at Yu Sheng, who was leaning against the stove in a daze at the moment. Neither of them spoke.
After an unknown amount of time, it was Irene who broke the silence first: "I still think it is very dangerous to deal with 'Hunger' alone. Although I can't remember how powerful that entity is, it is definitely not something that ordinary people can deal with. You... will die."
"I will be resurrected."
"I'm serious with you!"
"I'm serious, too."
Irene stared at Yu Sheng with eyes wide open, looking a little angry.
But she was only angry for a few seconds before she sighed.
"Honestly, think of another way. Try to get in touch with the group of people in this city who specialize in fighting against aliens. Don't take any risks."
"I don't want to take risks, I just think that 'risk' will find me," Yu Sheng shook his head, "But I know what you mean, I won't die easily, as for those 'professionals' you mentioned, I will go find them."
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"Oh, that's good."
The dinner was spent in peace. Irene watched the meaningless urban drama on TV, occasionally commenting on the people and events in the plot. Yu Sheng ate seriously and occasionally responded to Irene's chatter.
Yu Sheng ate every bit of the meal, even the last bit of broth in the bowl, and wiped the edge of the bowl with his steamed bun to get it clean.
"I'm going out for a while." After cleaning up the restaurant and kitchen, Yu Sheng changed into going-out clothes and said casually to Irene.
Irene, who was watching TV, looked up immediately after hearing this, with a panicked expression: "Where are you going?!"
"Let's go to the small supermarket at the intersection and buy some food. It's not far away," Yu Sheng said. He noticed the expression on Irene's face and felt a little amused. "Don't be so nervous. It's not like I'll fall into a foreign land every time I go out... Don't worry. Although this house is a little weird, I will observe it every time I open the door next time."
"Uh, okay," Irene scratched her hair, a little confused, "but I saw there were quite a lot of things in the refrigerator before."
"I'll buy some more," Yu Sheng said, "these don't need to be stored in the refrigerator, they're convenient to eat right away."
Irene understood.
"Oh, well, be careful when you go out... Remember not to go out directly after opening the door! Take a look outside first!"
Yu Sheng laughed.
It has been a long time since anyone told him to "be careful when you go out". Although the person who said this this time was a puppet who usually talks trash, it still felt good.
He changed his clothes, thought for a while, and stuffed several pieces of bread and biscuits into his pockets. Then he came to the door, held the door handle, and took a deep breath.
To be honest, ever since he pushed open this door and fell directly into a foreign land last time, he did have a little... trauma about this door.
But that doesn't mean you'll never leave this house.
Yu Sheng gritted his teeth and slowly pushed open the door.
He opened a crack at first, then opened it a little wider, carefully observing the situation outside.
After confirming it for a long time, he let out a long breath and walked out of the house.
Fortunately, that door wasn't that weird.
It seems that it is not a very high probability event to fall into a foreign land after leaving that house. Perhaps it requires specific conditions to trigger a certain "effect" of the door? Maybe it needs to be opened several times, or at a specific time? Walking on the street, Yu Sheng couldn't help thinking about this and that after he felt a little more at ease, but no matter what, he was really relieved.
He walked briskly through the street where there were almost no passers-by, and soon came to a small supermarket at the intersection and pushed the door.
The moment he pushed the door open, he felt a jolt in his heart, and then—
Hot wind blew in my face, and the scorched earth opposite the door was steaming with heat. A crashed aircraft was emitting thick smoke on a distant hill, and two fully armed men wearing some kind of black power armor like alien armor were wrestling with each other. One of them suddenly raised his hand, and a plasma blade ignited at his wrist with a "hiss", and he stabbed towards the opposite side.
Then, two black canned men dressed like interstellar mercenaries seemed to notice the gazes beside them at the same time. They suddenly turned their heads to look at Yu Sheng, and the dark red monitors on their visors flickered.
Yu Sheng: “……?”
He took a sharp step back and slammed the door.
(End of this chapter)
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