Chapter 20: Eileen's Intelligence and Advice

The puppet girl in the oil painting greeted Yu Sheng with joy and surprise, her voice carrying a hint of astonishment—but none of the shock or panic one would expect upon seeing a dead person return alive.

Yu Sheng felt this definitely wasn't because Eileen was thick-skinned.

Sure enough, the problem lay with him—but considering how many times he had died and come back in such a short period, it didn't seem strange that even weirder things could happen to him.

"Just stumbled into it, I guess. At least I made it back." Yu Sheng replied casually, then turned around and closed the half-open door. The first thing he did was check himself from head to toe, confirming that not only had his body fully recovered, but even his clothes were restored to their original state just like before.

Yu Sheng frowned. Connecting this with Eileen's current reaction, he felt that rather than being "resurrected," it was as if the entire event of his "death" had simply vanished into thin air...

The sight of him standing blankly by the door caught Eileen's attention, and the puppet in the painting spoke with confusion: "Yu Sheng? Are you okay? You look dazed. By the way, tell me how you got back. The connection with you was intermittent, and there were all kinds of chaotic noises on your end. I have no idea what strange things you ran into in that anomalous realm... Oh? What's that in your hand?"

Her reminder made Yu Sheng notice that he was still clutching something tightly—a bizarre, ugly broken tail with pitch-black scales.

Yu Sheng's mouth twitched. "Damn, I almost forgot about that... So it's still here."

Even now, the thing was still faintly contracting and wriggling in his hand, but it was clearly not as "lively" as before. It seemed that although the monster's severed limb had astonishing vitality, once separated from the main body, it would gradually die.

A strange feeling welled up in his heart. For a moment, Yu Sheng didn't even know how to explain the origin of this thing to Eileen. After some hesitation, he carried the broken tail toward the kitchen, casually saying to Eileen along the way, "...A little souvenir."

The puppet in the painting was taken aback. "...Huh?"

By then, Yu Sheng had already tossed the broken tail into the kitchen sink. After confirming that it no longer had the strength to climb out, he stabbed it a few more times to be safe, then placed a pot lid on top (at least if it really did manage to climb out, he would hear the lid fall). Only then did he return to the dining room with a hint of exhaustion, dragging his heavy body to slump down on a chair.

His mind was in turmoil. There were so many things he needed to think about, and more importantly, he was truly exhausted.

But he forced himself to stay awake. Now was not the time to sleep.

Eileen from across the table watched him cautiously: "Yu Sheng, tell me about your experience in that anomalous realm. And how did you..."

"I was just about to tell you," Yu Sheng interrupted her with a wave, then adjusted his sitting position and looked seriously at the puppet in the painting. "I have a whole bunch of questions. First, let me tell you what I encountered there. I met a girl trapped in the anomalous realm like me, but she might have been trapped for a very, very long time..."

Yu Sheng held nothing back. He poured out everything he had experienced in that twilight valley, including the information Hu Li had revealed to him, and that monster that looked like a bloody mix of flesh, whose form was quite... free-spirited.

The only thing he didn't mention was his "resurrection from death." He hadn't figured out how to explain that yet, so he left it out for now.

Of course, he knew he wasn't very familiar with Eileen yet and couldn't say he trusted her much, but he had no other choice. In this city, Eileen was the only "anomalous individual" he had encountered and could communicate with, and the only person he knew who understood things beyond common sense. Apart from Eileen, he really didn't know who else he could discuss the anomalous realm with.

He felt he should trust this puppet girl a little more. After all, so far her attitude had been quite friendly (except when she cursed, which was harsh).

Eileen listened very seriously. When Yu Sheng mentioned the flesh monster, her expression became extremely grave. A few times she seemed about to speak but held back, never interrupting Yu Sheng's account.

Only after Yu Sheng finished did the puppet girl adjust her posture, sitting properly on the chair covered in red velvet, and spoke with a serious expression: "First, I must emphasize again that I don't remember much. This painting has worn away too many of my memories, so the help I can offer you is very limited..."

Yu Sheng nodded. "I know."

"Mm," Eileen hummed, then relaxed her expression slightly. "Then I'll do my best to supplement your knowledge about the anomalous realm. First, you should already have some basic understanding of anomalous realms—they are regions that deviate from order and defy common sense. Do you know that anomalous realms also generate something called 'entities'?"

"...Entities?" Yu Sheng showed confusion.

"In short, they are the 'natives' or 'products' of the anomalous realm. Entities can take any form—sometimes bizarre humanoid shapes, sometimes wild beasts or monsters, and sometimes even a ball of fire, a gust of wind, or a running stone. Anything that originates within the anomalous realm, exhibits clear 'activity,' and can react to outsiders can be considered an 'entity.'"

Yu Sheng nodded thoughtfully.

"Entities are broadly categorized and numerous," Eileen continued. "Generally, entities have distinct 'anomalous' characteristics. They are born in anomalous realms, inherently possessing features that defy common sense and are bizarre and dangerous. Most entities lack intelligence—at least, they won't display 'thinking behavior' understandable to humans—but it seems a very few entities possess wisdom... I can't recall the details.

"Anyway, ninety percent of entities are dangerous, though they vary in strength. Some entities might only cause your nose to itch, while others could pose a lethal threat just by being seen. This has led to speculation that 'entities' are a kind of rejection reaction from the anomalous realm—a killer program designed to eliminate intruders. According to this view, to the anomalous realm, investigators and lost individuals from the orderly and common-sense world are the true eldritch monsters..."

Yu Sheng listened silently, then suddenly realized: "...So the 'monster' I encountered was an 'entity' generated in the valley?"

"Probably," Eileen nodded.

"Can entities be destroyed?" Yu Sheng pressed.

"Entities can be killed, but they cannot be completely eliminated," Eileen said seriously. "Because strictly speaking, entities are merely 'generated objects.' Kill one, and a new 'copy' will be generated in the anomalous realm. They are manifestations of the anomalous realm's operating rules. As long as the realm exists, entities will keep generating—though usually, generation also takes time, and there seem to be ways to inhibit the operation of certain anomalous realms, delaying or even blocking the generation of entities within them... The specifics, I don't remember."

"Can be killed, but cannot be completely eliminated..." Yu Sheng repeated the words, suddenly feeling that things were more troublesome than he had imagined.

He wasn't afraid of death.

But that monster seemed even less afraid...

Unconsciously, Yu Sheng had already assumed that he would return to that valley and encounter that monster again. He didn't know where this thought came from, but by the time he noticed, this notion, or rather some kind of "intuition," had already taken root in his heart.

"...Whatever, being able to temporarily kill it is good enough," he let out a soft breath and looked up at Eileen again. "What else do you know about entities? Like their weaknesses?"

"Entities don't have universal weaknesses. Sometimes the weakness of an entity isn't even on itself, but on the 'anomalous realm' or in the realm's own rules. Some entities... even change their weaknesses," Eileen shook her head. "So exploring anomalous realms and combating entities is a professional and dangerous job. I suggest you find a professional to help—not someone trapped in a painting like me."

Yu Sheng rolled his eyes at that. "Easy to say. Where am I going to find a professional? It's not like they put ads on telephone poles..."

Eileen: "They do."

Yu Sheng: "...?"

"They have contact methods—though not necessarily ads on telephone poles," Eileen emphasized, seeing Yu Sheng's stunned expression. "Since there are anomalous realms everywhere and they are dangerous to ordinary people, of course there will be a lot of professionals dealing with this kind of thing. Not to mention, a city this big needs people to maintain order, both overt and covert—there are official special departments and civilian organizations of various sizes. Although I can't recall the specifics clearly, these people are definitely active everywhere...

"Of course, under normal circumstances, they keep their distance from ordinary life and hide in the shadows, because many anomalous realms have bizarre characteristics, such as 'becoming active once known' or 'actively approaching those who fear them,' so they try to keep ordinary people from getting information about anomalous realms. But once an unlucky person actually comes into contact with an anomalous realm, or an anomalous reaction occurs in the city, these professionals naturally have methods to quickly locate and find the person..."

Yu Sheng listened dumbfounded to Eileen's explanation. After a moment of hesitation, he raised his head and looked out the window.

"So, now that I've already had an 'anomalous reaction' here, all I have to do is wait, and your so-called 'professionals' will take the initiative to contact me, right?"

"...Probably?" For some reason, Eileen's tone suddenly lacked confidence.

Yu Sheng could tell she was unsure. "...Then why haven't they come yet?"

"I don't know. They should have come by now."