Chapter 111: Yu Sheng's New Idea

As they crossed a new gate, the surroundings changed instantly—the pleasant breeze of the valley gave way to the stifling humidity of a tropical rainforest, accompanied by the calls of some unknown animal in the distance and the rustling of insects crawling over dead leaves.

Out of caution, Yu Sheng did not close the gate. Instead, after bringing Ai Lin through the passage, he kept the gate open so they could return to the valley at any time.

"What about now?" He looked down at the little puppet lying on his arm. "Can you still sense the other body? Has the connection been severed?"

"...Whoa, it's still connected!" The little puppet said in surprise. "When I passed through the gate, I felt a bit dazed, but it wasn't a disconnection—just a kind of sensory misalignment. Now everything is back to normal, and the connection between the two bodies hasn't weakened at all."

As she spoke, she lifted her head and looked around.

"Hey, Yu Sheng, how far apart do you think my two bodies are right now?"

"I'm afraid it's hard to measure in terms of 'distance,'" Yu Sheng thought seriously and shook his head slightly. "I don't know where this place is, but it's definitely not in the Borderlands. There's a 'dimension' difference between here and that valley. If even this kind of 'distance' can't cut the connection between your two bodies, then I guess there's no need for further testing."

"Oh... should we take a look around here?" Ai Lin looked up at Yu Sheng curiously. "Since we're here..."

"It's not safe," Yu Sheng shook his head. "Let's go back."

"Since when are you so cautious and conservative?"

"I'm carrying your painting frame—that's your true body. It's fine if I die here, but if something happens to your frame, who knows what would happen," Yu Sheng shook Ai Lin, reminding her of the oil painting on his back. "Let's go back. Also, tell Hu Li to return to the starting point and meet us."

"Oh, okay!"

After a short while, Yu Sheng, Hu Li, and Ai Lin returned to the newly cleared area deep in the valley.

"Now I can basically summarize a few patterns," Yu Sheng said, watching Ai Lin practice walking with both bodies simultaneously while stroking his chin. "First, one puppet body must stay with the painting frame to ensure Ai Lin can move in the real world. Second, the puppet body with the frame becomes the 'primary body,' and any other body becomes a 'secondary body.' Third, the control range of the 'secondary body' might be unlimited, or at least extremely far, unlike the primary body which must stay with the painting. But on the flip side..."

With a 'thud,' Ai Lin's secondary body lost balance while running around and fell flat on the ground.

Yu Sheng looked down at the little puppet struggling to get up and continued, "On the other hand, the 'performance' of the 'secondary body' is clearly weaker than the primary—from perception to agility to control. This should be considered the cost of 'ultra-long-range control.'"

"I think it's totally worth it," Ai Lin got up. Although she fell clumsily, she looked in a great mood. "I finally have a body that doesn't have to carry the painting around—I can go as far as I want! Plus, I can watch TV in the living room and play games in the bedroom at the same time..."

Yu Sheng's temple twitched. "...You have two bodies and that's what you want to do?!"

Then he realized, "Wait! Playing games... what games are you playing?!"

Ai Lin immediately shrunk her neck. After hesitating for two seconds, she spoke cautiously, "Um, your account has been unbanned..."

Upon hearing that, Yu Sheng's eyebrows shot up. "Don't use my account anymore! Register your own—you have an ID card now!"

Ai Lin drooped her head in disappointment. "Oh..."

No idea what she had to be disappointed about.

But the little puppet's bad mood never lasted more than a few seconds. Soon she perked up again, controlling her other body to sidle up to Yu Sheng, both puppets looking up at him. "By the way, I found something interesting."

Yu Sheng looked puzzled. "What?"

"When controlling the second body, I don't actually have to split half of my attention," Ai Lin said. The expression on the 'secondary body's' face visibly became stiff and dull, as if the soul had suddenly been drawn away. "See, I only need to allocate a tiny bit of focus to make it move."

The puppet body with the vacant expression began to walk around. Though still a bit unsteady, it was indeed moving freely.

Ai Lin looked smug.

Yu Sheng's expression suddenly turned thoughtful.

"Also, I've noticed that this body actually has a certain ability to move on its own," she continued. "If I just want it to do something simple, I don't need to fully 'take over.' For example, 'walk to a place,' 'bring something back'—it can actually do these things by itself..."

The thoughtful look on Yu Sheng's face instantly turned into astonishment.

"Wait, you mean... this shell has its own thinking ability?!"

Ai Lin was also stunned by this, thought seriously for a moment, then shook her head. "It doesn't seem like that. It's not thinking ability, just... some instincts? Higher-level instincts? And these instincts only 'activate' when I've established a connection with it. I don't know how to describe it exactly."

Yu Sheng frowned deeply.

This was a situation he had never anticipated.

But one thing he was certain of: when he first completed the 'creation,' the blank puppet shell had no ability to move at all. Even if it suddenly showed signs of being 'alive,' with its chest rising and falling, it was still just an empty shell without a soul or any instincts.

The 'instincts' Ai Lin mentioned only appeared after she first took over the new body.

So... the key was Ai Lin?

Yu Sheng's expression gradually became more serious and contemplative.

The little puppet looked up, and her first reaction was to unconsciously take half a step back with both bodies. "Wait, you... you don't have another idea, do you?"

"I'm just suddenly a bit curious," Yu Sheng looked extremely serious at the wary Ai Lin. "What do you think... can you control a third body?"

Ai Lin was stunned and immediately opened her mouth wide. "...Ah?"

"If these new shells can all develop the 'instincts' you mentioned, and controlling them only requires a tiny bit of attention, then maybe two bodies aren't your limit. What do you think—if I make a few more puppets, can you handle them?"

Ai Lin's mouth hung open, and she was speechless for a long time.

Even the puppet lady, who was already quite familiar with Yu Sheng's 'ideas' and had an extremely strong ability to adapt, was nearly flattened on the spot by the door to a new world.

But after the initial shock passed, she couldn't help but follow this bizarre train of thought.

Even Hu Li beside her looked curious. "Feels like... it's worth a try?"

Hearing Hu Li say that, Ai Lin couldn't help but sigh. "Yu Sheng's 'ideas' are like this. Although they initially sound wild and even unreliable, they have a sort of uncanny 'attraction.' It's as if his 'try-it-out' exploratory mindset is contagious. Once you hear his fantastic ideas, you can't help but think about their feasibility and their results, and eventually... you 'try it out' together with him."

Yu Sheng was a bit dissatisfied hearing that. "The way you put it, it sounds like my experimental ideas are all some kind of sinister stuff."

Both Ai Lins bared their teeth at him. "You really don't think it's sinister, do you?"

Yu Sheng coughed twice. "Ahem, well, just say whether you want to try it or not!"

"It's... not impossible," Ai Lin muttered. "I'm actually a bit curious myself. But when we test it, you need to tell me before the last step so I can be prepared when taking over the new body. Don't do it like this morning..."

"Don't worry, don't worry," Yu Sheng promised repeatedly. "First time is always strange, second time gets easier—we have experience now."

As he spoke, his eyes suddenly shifted again, and he fixed his gaze on the puppet lady.

This time, Ai Lin stepped back more than half a step.

"What other idea do you have?! It's scary—just say it all at once!"

"Uh, it's just a side thought," Yu Sheng felt a bit awkward seeing her reaction and raised a hand to scratch his hair. "It's just that if we're going to make more bodies, maybe we should also research new crafting techniques or something..."

Ai Lin: "?"

"See, your first body's main materials were clay and lotus root, right?" Yu Sheng explained his idea with great enthusiasm. "And you said lotus root wasn't originally a material for puppets. Your second body's material is clay, but without your guidance, I suspect the proportion of auxiliary ingredients wasn't standard either. For subsequent bodies, why not test more materials and processing methods?"

Ai Lin looked skeptical. "...Huh?"

"Actually, I've always been bothered by how your first body got damaged in battle," Yu Sheng thought for a moment and said seriously. "Especially the arms breaking off completely and the legs being so badly hurt."

"I don't mind it myself," Ai Lin waved her hand. "But what are you trying to say?"

"I was thinking, since we can't find higher-grade alchemical materials, can we use some other method to strengthen your body?"

Ai Lin was even more puzzled. "...Ah, so?"

"In simple terms, next time I want to try changing your skeleton from wire to rebar..."

Ai Lin: "...Holy shit?!"