Hearing Irene's request, Yu Sheng was a little surprised. He didn't know why she would bring up this matter so solemnly at this time.
They had indeed talked about making a body for this doll in the painting more than once before, but they had never settled on it. On the one hand, it was because Yu Sheng and Irene still lacked trust and understanding of each other. On the other hand, there were too many chaotic things happening now, and Yu Sheng didn't have time to consider Irene's body problem.
But now, seeing the extremely solemn expression on the little doll's face, Yu Sheng realized that she didn't bring this up on a whim or out of temporary willfulness.
He looked at Irene with a questioning gaze.
"I want to go with you," Irene's answer was also very simple. "Just as an extra hand."
"Are you sure?" Yu Sheng's expression was a little subtle. "Of course I'm not doubting your strength…"
"Listen," Irene interrupted Yu Sheng's words. She leaned against the edge of the frame, her face almost occupying two-thirds of the picture, and her tone was unusually serious. "I'm not kidding you—although I don't know how you plan to deal with that 'entity,' but just from the fact that you can bring back 'local specialties' from there, you should be quite capable. I won't ask about the specific kind of ability you have, but you have to know that when dealing with an Otherworld, it's not enough to just be 'able to fight,' at least it's not enough when dealing with a tricky entity like 'Hunger'."
As she spoke, she stepped back a little. "Make me a body and let me regain some freedom of movement. It doesn't matter if it's rough. As long as I'm free from the shackles of this damn oil painting, there's a lot more I can do. Although I can't recover all my strength, I'm definitely much stronger than an ordinary investigator or a so-called spirit world detective or Otherworld hunter. Even if I've forgotten a lot of knowledge, I still have the instinct of a living doll."
Yu Sheng stared at Irene, and Irene also looked at Yu Sheng with her scarlet eyes.
"I can help you, Yu Sheng," Irene said very seriously. "We have already cooperated once when we went to Hu Li's dream."
This time, Yu Sheng thought longer than ever before. Then he had to admit Irene's reasoning.
He was obsessed with returning to that valley to solve the "Entity-Hunger" there, but he also knew that the chances of him just rushing in and eliminating that monster on his own were not high—of course, he was not afraid of death, and he had gradually become stronger in the process of devouring "Entity-Hunger," but this enhancement obviously had a limit, and "Hunger"… was not easy to eliminate.
Relying on constant death to "drag the corpse" and wear out that monster might be a way, but this was obviously the worst strategy. If there could really be a helper who was relatively capable and knew some extraordinary powers, it would definitely be good.
He only needed to give Irene some trust and release her from this painting.
And this trust had been established long ago when they fell into Hu Li's dream together and then woke up from the dream to see each other and vomit.
"It seems I have to go to the city center," Yu Sheng let out a light breath and leaned back in his chair. "I have to go to a specialized craft store to buy materials like clay and wigs. There are none in this old district."
The doll in the oil painting blinked, and after reacting, she showed a look of surprise. "You… you agreed?!"
"If you don't have high requirements for the quality of the body and you trust my craftsmanship," Yu Sheng waved his hand. "I can give it a try."
"The requirements are not high. It just needs to look like a person. I can reshape it myself—as long as you don't make any mistakes in the 'alchemy' part," Irene said hurriedly, as if she was afraid that Yu Sheng would go back on his word if she was late. After she finished speaking, she thought for a moment, and her expression became a little subtle as she turned her face to the side. "And… and if you really can't buy suitable materials…"
Yu Sheng looked curious. "What if you really can't buy suitable materials?"
"…You can use dough."
Yu Sheng was stunned for two or three seconds, and finally showed the most shocked expression since he met Irene. "Huh?!"
Irene explained in a low voice, "The material is just a medium. The part that really takes effect is the alchemy, your blood and my soul…"
Yu Sheng was completely dumbfounded. "Hey, wait… I know about settling for second best, but this is too much, isn't it?!"
Irene thought for a moment and decided to give Yu Sheng a harmless smile to get through this.
She passed.
But Yu Sheng still decided to go out and buy things.
"I'd better go buy some proper clay. The amount needed to make a body for you should be quite a lot, so it's better not to waste food. And I have other things to buy," Yu Sheng let out a breath and said casually as he got up. "You just be good at home and watch TV. If anything happens, call me remotely—if the TV crashes again, just wait for me to come back."
As he spoke, he picked up the remote control and helped Irene turn on the TV. Irene in the frame nodded obediently. "Oh… then come back quickly."
Yu Sheng agreed, put on his coat, and walked towards the entrance.
When he grasped the doorknob, the first thing he did was to calm himself down. After confirming that there would be no crater meteorite shower, sulfur lake, little green man with a lightsaber, and a big sister elf with mechanical modifications outside the door, he took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and smoothly walked onto the old street of Wutong Road.
Yu Sheng suddenly felt that this matter was very interesting.
It was very easy for him to go to the end of the world (whether he could come back and whether he would die outside was another matter), but it was much more difficult for him now to push open the door and walk onto the street…
Walking on the way to the bus stop, Yu Sheng casually looked around.
He didn't know when, but the mentality he had when walking in this huge and strange city had changed slightly. The depression and unease of the previous days had quietly faded away. He walked on this street that could not be considered his "hometown," and what he felt in his heart was not only peace, but also a hint of… excitement and anticipation.
Even the sky that was so bright that it was a bit dazzling now looked like a pleasant sunny color.
There were vendors selling things at the intersection, scattered pedestrians passing by, and a naughty child who had caused some trouble running down the street shouting, followed by an adult who was running and cursing.
Yu Sheng thought to himself, would there be those "professionals" that Irene mentioned among them? Those people who protected this city in the dark and fought against the Otherworld, had anyone noticed that there was a little "abnormality" hidden in this peaceful and quiet old district?
He even let his thoughts wander and began to guess which of the pedestrians on the roadside looked unfamiliar, which looked like plainclothes, and which looked like spirit world detectives and investigators.
The uncle selling pancakes at the intersection looked a bit like it. He had changed to one with poor craftsmanship today. The aunt who was hanging clothes on the balcony opposite was also possible. He had never seen her before. Could it be the naughty child who had just run past shouting? He heard from Irene that spirit world detectives also had "tricks" to change their appearance, which was very magical…
Anyway, the young man with a vest, dyed yellow hair, and phone on speaker squatting on the ground next to him was definitely not one. He was too unlike one.
Yu Sheng hummed a little tune, passed through the old street, and brushed past Li Lin, who was wearing a vest, dyed yellow hair (wig), and phone on speaker squatting on the ground.
After a while, Xu Jiali (male), who was nearly two meters tall, swayed onto the street. He looked down at Li Lin, who was staking out, and then squatted down, lit a cigarette, and squatted with him like a big shot.
"Is your outfit reliable?" Xu Jiali asked.
"Very reliable," Li Lin said casually. "I used to wear this for field missions. Even my colleagues who sold pancakes were exposed, but I wasn't—I also have a set of anime battle armor. That one has higher concealment. Once I even caught a border smuggler, and he didn't believe that an anime fan was a spy from the Special Operations Bureau."
The strong man was stunned. "What's an anime battle armor? It sounds like a force field type power armor? Aren't you not allowed to use that stuff in the borderland?"
"…I can't explain it to you," Li Lin said with a look of disgust and moved to the side. "Stay away from me. You're too big. Don't expose me."
"Definitely not. My temperament looks more like an unemployed person than you," the strong man pursed his lips. "As for you, you haven't found anything all morning, right? Seriously, I suspect that even if there is something hidden in this place, it's not likely to be a 'person.' It's more likely to be a weird entity or an Otherworld erosion point. That's more in line with the clues you've found here so far—damn, there was such a big commotion in Boundary City last night. I don't know how the situation at the bureau is now. We two have to sit here like fools and stare at something we don't know what it is…"
Li Lin couldn't be bothered to deal with this strong man. He took out a large power bank and plugged it into his phone, then chose to turn the phone's speaker volume up even higher.
And two or three hours later, Yu Sheng had already bought everything he wanted in the downtown shopping mall.
Now, he was dragging large and small bags to a deserted place and began to fall into thought.
He had bought a lot of things—the weight was not a problem for him now, but it would still be very troublesome to carry them all the way back on the crowded bus.
So, he had a bold idea.
He felt that it was very worth trying.
Yu Sheng raised his head, confirmed again that no one around was paying attention, and then silently reached out and explored the air beside him—a door took shape in his hand.
Three seconds later, in a hidden "depth" deep within Boundary City, countless agents, clerks, captains, and their director, Baili Qing, who had been working overtime until their consciousness was blurred in the headquarters of the Special Operations Bureau, jumped up from their chairs at the sound of the sudden alarm…
Yu Sheng came home carrying several large plastic bags.