Chapter 105: Unit 02

The sun had already risen. The morning light completely dispelled the dimness of the attic, and faintly through the window came the increasing sounds of people and traffic from the street, along with the chirping of unknown birds on nearby rooftops.

But none of that interrupted Yu Sheng's focus.

He held a puppet head that was nearly finished being shaped—for now it was still a lump of clay with a somewhat firm texture—and carefully used a knitting needle to press out the contours of eyes and a nose bridge on its surface. He had spent a long time on this step, even redoing it several times, before finally reaching a relatively satisfactory result before the clay hardened completely and became unsuitable to work with.

It still wasn't anything close to perfect; it definitely couldn't compare to something made by a real professional. But Yu Sheng felt that at least this little head wouldn't earn him another lecture from Erin about being hideously ugly. At the very least... the little puppet probably wouldn't cry when it climbed inside?

A hint of smug satisfaction appeared on his face. He looked up at the few candles on the table and saw that they had burned down more than halfway.

It looked like the "face makeup" step was destined to be unfinished before the candles burned out. Just getting the puppet's body parts completed was already pretty good for him at this stage.

Still, Yu Sheng wasn't all that disappointed. After all, aside from running experiments, this was just practice. Getting more familiar with the whole process before making the next official body for Erin was a good thing. Whether or not the face was painted didn't really bother the puppet itself.

After all, Erin could "grow" her face into a very pretty appearance on her own.

Yu Sheng let out a soft breath. He picked up the just-completed puppet torso and prepared to place it at the center of the alchemy array on the table. Since this was a practice run, he had to go through the full motions. Even if Erin wasn't here right now, he still wanted to complete this sense of ritual.

But as he set the torso down in the center of the table, he couldn't help frowning.

Whether it was his imagination or not, he felt that the lump of clay carried a faint... eerie "elasticity," and a slight warmth.

But when Yu Sheng looked closer and reached out to touch it, that strange sensation disappeared. It became an ordinary clay object again, the surface already somewhat dry.

Was it because he hadn't slept enough that he was feeling dazed?

That thought floated through Yu Sheng's mind, but he didn't simply dismiss the doubt. Instead, as he attached the puppet's other parts to the torso using a small amount of clay mixed with softener and water, he carefully observed the changes in this "body."

He quickly finished the assembly process. A rough puppet blank lay quietly at the center of the "alchemy array" composed of concentric circles and connecting lines. The candles burned silently around it. Except for the lack of Erin's oil painting, which served as the "soul source," the ritual for shaping the puppet was complete.

Yu Sheng stared intently at the blank. At some point, he felt as if his vision had blurred.

And then, he saw the chest of that body begin to rise and fall slightly.

Very faint, but it really was rising and falling, as if a tiny life was sleeping within that lump of clay, not yet awake, but already "existing."

Yu Sheng's eyes went wide instantly. After a second or two of stunned paralysis, he finally realized what was happening. He immediately leaned in, gently touching the puppet blank that was now "breathing": "Wake up, wake up... are you... really alive?"

But the puppet blank did not respond as he had hoped. Although the rising and falling of its chest had become completely obvious and steady, its entire "activation" process seemed to stop there. There was no sign of further awakening.

It was as if this was just an empty shell, still waiting for something to fill it.

Yu Sheng took a soft breath, then shook his head vigorously. He turned toward the stairwell leading downstairs and shouted: "Erin! Erin, are you awake yet! Come up quick and see what I made..."

Yu Sheng stopped mid-shout because out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement on the table.

The moment he called out the name "Erin," the puppet blank instantly changed. It was as if the most critical step of the ritual had been completed. The body first tensed up violently, then a layer of skin color representing life and vitality rapidly spread over its limbs. Hair began to grow wildly, the facial features quickly became vivid and three-dimensional, vibrant colors appeared, and then came the familiar black dress. In just a few seconds, an "Erin" lay before Yu Sheng and slowly opened her eyes.

Yu Sheng stared dumbfounded at the sight. Then, he saw the "Erin" that had been a clay creation just moments before suddenly jolt awake from her initial daze. The little puppet sat up with a "poof," turned to look at Yu Sheng: "What are you yelling for! I was sleeping soundly and you..."

She suddenly stopped, seeming to sense something wrong. This "new body" stiffly turned its neck, looking around in a strange posture.

"Hey wait, where did you put me? I wasn't in the bedroom... no wait, this body doesn't... feel right. I'm... dizzy..."

The little puppet spoke in a dazed and panicked tone, instinctively trying to stand up from the table and walk toward Yu Sheng. But as soon as she got up, it was as if the world was spinning. Her body wobbled twice and slowly began to fall off the edge of the table: "Hey—can't keep my balance! I'm seeing double! I've got two fields of vision now... pull me up, pull me..."

Before she could finish, Yu Sheng had already reacted. With quick eyes and hands, he stepped forward and caught the puppet miss as she fell off the table. But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard a "thump" from downstairs.

Two startled cries from Erin reached Yu Sheng's ears at the same time: "Oh my gosh—"

One was clear and loud, coming from the puppet body in his arms. The other was distant and muffled, coming from downstairs.

"Yu Sheng, Yu Sheng, what happened? Why do I have two fields of vision? I'm in two places? No, that's not right, why..." the puppet in his hands spoke frantically, "Why do I have two bodies now?!"

The situation was completely beyond Yu Sheng's expectations, but by now he also realized what was happening. Forcing aside the disbelief in his heart, he hugged the "new Erin" in his arms and quickly ran toward the stairs. Thump-thump-thump, he went down to the second floor, ran back into his bedroom.

The little puppet in his arms clung tightly to his arm, as if afraid of falling.

As soon as he opened the door, Yu Sheng saw Erin supporting herself on the nightstand, barely keeping her balance. At almost the same moment, she looked up.

The puppet in his arms and the puppet standing on the floor holding the nightstand stared at each other.

"...Wow!"

Two mouths spoke in unison.

"I have two bodies!"

Again in unison.

Yu Sheng's head was spinning at this point. He looked in shock and uncertainty at the two identical puppets. After holding it in for a long time, he finally blurted out: "Erin? It's really both you?"

"Yeah," the two puppets nodded at the same time.

"No, I mean, is it just one consciousness?" Yu Sheng felt there was ambiguity, so he quickly added, "One consciousness in two bodies? Or are there two Erins now?"

"Just one," the two puppets spoke together again, but this time Erin quickly caught on. The one in Yu Sheng's arms suddenly shut up, while the one standing on the ground pointed at herself: "Just me, only... I suddenly have an extra body."

As she spoke, she tentatively let go of her hand holding the nightstand, wobbled in place for a few seconds, then held her head: "Oh man, finally steady... You know, I was so dizzy I almost threw up just now. At first I didn't react—I just thought I'd woken up in the attic. Then suddenly the one on the bed opened its eyes too. Two fields of vision and two sets of sensations crashed down on me all at once. As soon as I got up, I fell off both the table and the bed. Lucky you caught one of them..."

Once Erin steadied herself, she rattled off a bunch of words. Then, as if remembering something, she looked up at Yu Sheng: "Wait, Yu Sheng, why are there two bodies? And... I'm inside both of them at the same time?"

Yu Sheng's expression immediately tensed. An indescribable awkwardness poured from the crown of his head straight down to the soles of his feet. When he rushed down, he hadn't had time to properly think about how to explain this bizarre phenomenon to the puppet. Now, after holding back for a long time, he finally blurted out: "...What if I said the attic got damp and grew a puppet?"

Erin stared blankly at Yu Sheng: "...Is, is that so?"

Yu Sheng: "...?"

How could this girl actually believe that?!

Seeing this reaction from the little puppet, Yu Sheng really couldn't bring himself to keep bluffing her. He had to come over to the bed, gently set down the "Erin No. 2" he was holding, then struggled to compose his expression before slowly speaking:

"It's like this. I couldn't sleep last night and suddenly got struck by some scientific spirit. I went upstairs to do a little experiment..."

Yu Sheng explained the whole process of making the "spare body" for Erin to the "victim" in front of him, even remembering to fill in his state of mind while doing all this.

The little puppet's expression went from confusion, to surprise, then back to confusion, and finally settled into exasperation.

"Yu Sheng, you son of a bitch!!"