Chapter 110: Test

This was a very interesting and unbelievable process.

Earth and rock shaped themselves according to his will. Large patches of ruins and debris melted and were swallowed by the ground like chocolate falling into hot milk. The outline of the distant farmland was already taking shape, and on the original site of the ruined temple, a flat open space that looked as if it had been machine-smoothed was rapidly forming.

Then, stone blocks rose from the center of the empty space, coalescing into a large platform raised about a dozen centimeters off the ground.

Yu Sheng felt his connection to this valley growing tighter and tighter, and his control over it was becoming more and more effortless. He concentrated further, trying to refine the platform in detail, constantly increasing its strength and the "depth" of its roots in the ground.

This process was like gradually becoming familiar with one's own "limbs."

He planned to use this "valley" as a base for himself. He had wanted to do this ever since the day he confirmed that this alien land had been rendered harmless—this place would let him farm, serve as a "testing ground" for Ai Lin, give Hu Li a place to run wild and "cultivate," and in the future, if there were any "projects" that weren't suitable to carry out outside, they could all be done in this valley.

But he hadn't expected this "construction" process to start in such a way.

Hu Li's eyes were wide open. Together with the two Ai Lins, she stood curiously on the sidelines watching Yu Sheng work, her gaze full of admiration. After a long while, she suddenly sighed with emotion: "Benefactor can become a 'civil engineering immortal'..."

"So in your hometown, everything has an immortal, huh?" Ai Lin finally couldn't hold back. She had wanted to complain about this for a long time. "Do you guys have 'Stir-Fried Noodle Immortal,' 'Braised Noodle Immortal,' 'Beef Board Noodle Immortal' over there too?"

"That would be collectively called the 'Cooking Immortal,'" Hu Li corrected her seriously. "Registering separately would waste a lot of social resources, wouldn't it? The Immortal Alliance wouldn't allow it."

Ai Lin was stunned. "...Holy crap, there really is a 'Cooking Immortal'!"

Meanwhile, Yu Sheng had finally finished building his foundation. On top of it, he shaped a small shelter in one corner of the platform that could provide some protection from the elements (though it seemed there was no wind or rain in this valley). He came before Hu Li and Ai Lin and asked curiously, "What are you two chatting about?"

The two puppets pointed at the fox girl at the same time. "Silly fox says you can be a 'concrete-pouring immortal.'"

"No, 'civil engineering immortal.'" Hu Li immediately corrected her seriously.

Yu Sheng's mouth twitched, but he managed to suppress it. He turned and introduced them to his work: "Look, this place will be our second 'home base' besides No. 66 Wutong Road. I have a very grand building plan. I intend to erect a large structure on the site of the original ruined temple, something like an ancient civilization's temple—imposing, magnificent, and mysterious. In the future, this will be the headquarters of our 'Traveler's Inn' organization..."

"Three people occupying a city, huh? You sure have big plans," Ai Lin ruthlessly teased him. Then, curiously, she pointed at a grayish, matchbox-like square "box" at the edge of the platform. "Is that a temporary toilet?"

Yu Sheng stood there with a stiff expression for a while before awkwardly speaking: "...That's the first step of the building plan. You can consider it the first generation of the temple."

Ai Lin was speechless.

For the first time, this chatterbox actually didn't know what to say for a moment.

Yu Sheng quickly took the chance to change the subject: "Just practicing, starting with the most basic geometric shapes. Forget that for now, let's get down to business. Let's test the 'remote control range' of your new body."

Ai Lin was indeed immediately distracted. Both puppets looked up at Yu Sheng. "How are we testing? Should we start running in two directions and see when we lose the connection?"

"With your little short legs, how long would it take you to run that yourself?" Yu Sheng glanced at Ai Lin, then, before she could throw a fit, reached out and lifted the puppet body carrying the easel (the main unit). Then he pointed at the other one. "This body will go with Hu Li. You two run in that direction, all the way to the end of the valley. I'll take your main body and open a door directly to the 'mountain edge' we reached last time and see what happens."

As he spoke, Hu Li had already run ten meters ahead and lay down on the ground. In a flash of auspicious clouds and floating light, the nine-tailed demon fox, as big as two minivans, emerged from the glow. She looked expectantly at the Ai Lin on the ground (the secondary body): "Ai Lin! Come on, let's run together!"

Ai Lin instantly recalled the last time she had crossed the valley with this rocket-propelled supersonic fox. Her little face immediately scrunched up. "Can't we come up with another plan..."

Yu Sheng immediately handed over the puppet he was holding, the one carrying the easel: "Then switch. This one goes with Hu Li. You come with me."

Both puppets froze for a second, then reacted at the same time, glaring at Yu Sheng in unison: "That's still me, dammit!"

Meanwhile, the Ai Lin on the ground had already wobbled to her feet and started walking toward Hu Li, muttering as she went: "Forget it, I'll take this body with the silly fox. At least this body's senses are duller, so maybe it won't react as violently."

Hu Li laid one tail on the ground and watched Ai Lin climb up her back using hands and feet. She turned her head to remind her: "Sit further back and grab some fur. Don't fall off when I accelerate."

Ai Lin carefully grabbed a tuft of fur on Hu Li's back while negotiating with her: "Go a bit slower this time, okay? Don't just take off like last time..."

Hu Li nodded repeatedly without waiting for the puppet to finish: "Mm-hmm, don't worry. My acceleration curve is excellent!"

She obviously hadn't listened to a word the puppet said. Her mind was full of the joy of getting ready to run wild. Her big tails were swinging behind her, kicking up dust and stones...

Then she turned around, jogged a few steps in the direction Yu Sheng had pointed out, and began to accelerate.

Accompanied by Ai Lin's rapidly fading scream, the great demon fox shot off with a roar...

The foxfire trailing behind Hu Li's tails even produced Mach rings.

"It's really different when she's well-fed."

Yu Sheng watched the scene of Hu Li racing across the valley floor in the distance, hearing the continuous thunderous roar, and couldn't help but sigh.

Then he heard Ai Lin, who was on his shoulder, start to complain loudly: "I should have known she wouldn't slow down! I feel like I'm about to fall apart!"

"It's okay. If you really fall apart, I'll glue you back together later," Yu Sheng grinned. Then he casually opened a door to the other side of the valley. "Come on, let's go wait over there first."

The rocket-propelled supersonic fox was fast, but not faster than Yu Sheng, who could open portals.

By the time Yu Sheng, carrying Ai Lin on his shoulder, reached the mountain boundary, Hu Li and the other Ai Lin were still halfway there.

Looking down from the mountaintop, one could see a beautiful silver-white shadow sweeping through the valley like a gale. The blue foxfire had already converged into a long tail flame during the intense eruption, propelling the great demon fox all the way toward the mountain range at the other end. The violently erupting thrust flames kicked up sand and stones along the way, looking quite spectacular.

"...I suspect she really can fly using these tails for thrust," Yu Sheng muttered, rubbing his chin. "Not this ground-hugging flight, I mean really flying up high."

A moment later, Ai Lin suddenly pressed against his ear and shouted loudly: "Silly fox says she really can!"

Yu Sheng quickly lifted the puppet off his shoulder: "Don't shout right into my ear. I can hear you!"

Ai Lin dangled in midair, held by the strap of her easel, swaying: "Oh, the environment around the other body is too noisy. I couldn't switch over for a moment."

"So, how is it? Do you feel any sign of the connection to the other body breaking?"

"It doesn't seem so," Ai Lin said, maintaining her dangling position, one hand under her chin as she concentrated. "Not only is there no sign of breaking, I don't even feel it weakening at all."

As she spoke, Yu Sheng saw the bright thrust tail flame in the distance rise halfway up the mountain and quickly approach the other mountain boundary at the end of the valley.

"The connection is still very strong. There's no delay with the other body," Ai Lin answered proactively before Yu Sheng could ask. "No attenuation at all."

"Can't even feel attenuation..." Yu Sheng frowned, thinking and muttering to himself. "That means even if there is a limit to the connection between the two bodies, that limit might be far, far away..."

"This entire alien domain, including the surrounding mountains, is quite large," Ai Lin said. Then, with a flexible sit-up, she hooked her legs around Yu Sheng's forearm, climbed onto his arm, and looked into the distance. "Okay, Hu Li has reached the top of the opposite mountain now. She's asking what to do next."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then broke the silence: "For now, we only know that within the same space, the 'communication' range between the two bodies is long enough. We can't yet determine what would happen if they were placed in different spaces."

Ai Lin looked very curious: "Ah, so...?"

Yu Sheng reached out and opened a door.

Outside the door was a nameless dense forest.

It was one of the places he had discovered during his countless previous door-opening tests.

Completely unremarkable. And he had "stockpiled" many, many such unremarkable coordinates.

"Want to test a more extreme scenario?" Yu Sheng looked at the puppet lying on his arm. "Let's see how far apart your two bodies can actually get."

"...Is it safe over there?"

"I took a quick look before. Nothing dangerous, just a bit hot."

Ai Lin was clearly a little hesitant.

But after a moment, she gritted her teeth and nodded: "Okay."

(The End)