Chapter 106 – Research and Testing

Chapter 106 – Research and Testing

Grandpa Yu had endured far too much.

Especially after Eileen face-planted into the ground yet again—though Yu Sheng didn’t actually have a grandpa, he couldn’t help feeling that if this little doll kept making a ruckus, he’d spontaneously generate one from thin air just so Eileen could finish him off…

Fortunately, the little doll’s temper came fast and went even faster. More importantly, after a brief initial period of chaos and flailing, she and Yu Sheng suddenly realized at the same time a detail they had both overlooked—

“This newly made body… when it was up in the attic earlier, wasn’t the distance between it and the painting more than five meters?” Eileen (Prime) raised her head blankly, belatedly looking at the other body that Yu Sheng had already placed on the bed. That new body simultaneously looked down at itself, and the two bodies spoke in perfect unison, giving off the impression of an echo.

Yu Sheng reacted the very next second: “…Holy crap! You’re right! It woke up in the attic… it’s broken through the painting’s restriction!”

Then the two of them stared at each other in stunned silence (though you could also say it was three people). After a long while, Yu Sheng hesitantly spoke: “So this might not actually be a bad thing…?”

“Having an extra body was never a bad thing to begin with—the biggest problem is that it made me dizzy!” Eileen’s eyes immediately went wide, but then she quickly changed tack. “But when you get down to it, ‘dizziness’ might be something I can overcome. Maybe I just need to get used to it. The fact that this body can break free of the painting’s distance limitation—now that’s truly incredible… Yu Sheng, how on earth did you pull this off?!”

“How should I know? If you’re asking how I made it, I can talk about that a bit. But if you’re asking about the underlying principles, I know even less alchemy than you do,” Yu Sheng scratched his hair. “I just wanted to get some practice in before you transfer to a new body in a few months, so you wouldn’t complain about my dolls being ugly again. I also ran through the whole alchemy procedure you taught me while I was at it. Who knew it would actually come alive? Without your involvement, it still became a usable ‘vessel’—I was just about to call you up to take a look when I called your name and it started growing hair…”

“Wait!” Eileen suddenly cut Yu Sheng off. Both dolls raised their heads to look at him, four eyes filled with suspicion. “You just said… the situation suddenly changed after you called my name?”

“Yes,” Yu Sheng nodded immediately, and then instantly realized something. “…You mean, that’s the reason you ended up inhabiting the second vessel?”

“It’s just a possibility, because ‘names’ carry power. When you created an empty doll vessel, it was merely an ‘object.’ But when you, the ‘creator,’ called my name during the ritual process, it was equivalent to ‘imbuing’ that object with meaning…”

Eileen spoke thoughtfully, but couldn’t help shaking her head.

“But this is all extremely advanced alchemy territory. It requires specific rituals, even specific times and places, and the alchemical objects involved couldn’t possibly be clay figures kneaded during beginner practice… With those tea powders and rose oil you used as mediums, how could they possibly produce such a powerful effect? Setting everything else aside, at the price point you paid, I doubt that rose oil contains any actual rose components…”

“…Maybe it’s because of my blood?” Yu Sheng offered carefully. “I bled a ton this time.”

“…?”

Eileen momentarily went blank.

Then she snapped back: “That actually freaking works?!”

“I have no idea,” Yu Sheng said helplessly, waving his hands. “I originally just wanted to study what’s going on with my blood, but now that I’m done studying, I’ve got even more questions. Though I did genuinely discover some new properties.”

The two of them continued staring at each other, then simultaneously began analyzing Eileen’s “Body Number Two.”

After all, this body had broken through the oil painting’s five-meter distance seal, and that was simply too important for Eileen.

“Is there any difference between the new body and your current ‘main vessel’?” Yu Sheng asked curiously, looking at the two dolls sitting on the bed (honestly, the feeling was pretty strange, especially knowing that both dolls shared Eileen’s single consciousness). “I mean in terms of ‘sensation.'”

“Hmm… this vessel feels stiffer, a bit more sluggish?” Eileen thought it over, carefully sensing as she spoke. “Especially perception-wise—it’s very dull and numb. Touch is roughly halved. Hearing and vision are still okay. Hot and cold… I can barely feel temperature at all, and pain is also very faint.”

As she spoke, her Number Two body reached up and pinched its own cheek.

“Another thing is, when I control this vessel to move, there’s always a sense of… unreality, a lack of ‘immersion.’ It’s like using extremely realistic equipment to control a virtual character. No matter how realistic it gets, you can always tell that you’re ‘controlling’ it rather than actually being it.”

Yu Sheng furrowed his brow slightly.

The two Eileens on the bed gazed at him expectantly.

The two dolls looked almost identical in appearance, but telling them apart was still easy—one Eileen always had the oil painting strapped to her back, while the other Eileen, upon close observation, had noticeably duller eyes and facial expressions that weren’t as rich or animated as the main vessel’s.

Looking at both Eileens, especially the one carrying the painting, Yu Sheng suddenly had an idea.

He stood up, walked over, and removed the oil painting from Eileen’s back.

“Hey, what are you doing—” “I have an idea. Let me test something.”

Yu Sheng said to the slightly alarmed little doll with a serious expression. Though still somewhat confused, she nodded and settled down.

Yu Sheng hung the oil painting directly onto Eileen’s new vessel.

“How about now? How does it feel?” He watched the two dolls nervously.

Eileen clearly froze for a moment—both of them froze.

Then both bodies spoke in unison: “Holy crap! The sensation switched over!”

The doll now carrying the painting raised a hand and pointed at the other one: “This body has now become the one that feels stiff and sluggish.”

“Just as I thought,” Yu Sheng exhaled softly, then solemnly drew his conclusion. “Whichever one carries the painting is the main body—so when it comes down to it, the painting itself is still the true vessel.”

Eileen’s expression immediately turned complicated, radiating a resentment that practically sizzled—the kind that said “I broke out of prison but didn’t fully break out, and the damn cell is chasing me.”

Yu Sheng, meanwhile, was already thinking ahead.

“We need to run a whole series of tests next. For instance, what happens when both bodies are separated from the painting? With the ‘main body’ carrying the painting, how far can the ‘secondary body’ move freely? And most importantly, how to get you adapted to having two vessels as quickly as possible. If there’s really no way to adapt, we’ll need to figure out how to temporarily ‘disconnect’ one of the vessels,” he said, stroking his chin as he thought it through. “We should get Hu Li to help.”

“Oh, I’ll go wake her up!” Both dolls immediately stood up at the same time and were about to hop off the bed. “With all this commotion in the house, she still hasn’t— oh no!”

Eileen had forgotten that she was currently controlling two bodies simultaneously and didn’t quite have enough processing threads to go around. After just two steps, she lost her balance, and both bodies tumbled headfirst off the edge of the bed.

Luckily, Yu Sheng’s reflexes were quick. He caught one ankle in each hand and hoisted them up.

Both dolls simultaneously pressed their hands against their skirts, thoroughly embarrassed as they dangled upside-down looking at Yu Sheng: “Maybe you should go call her instead. I still need a moment to stop being dizzy…”

Yu Sheng sighed helplessly, set the Eileens down on the bed, then turned and left the room. He knocked on the door across the hall: “Hu Li! You awake? Come help out!”

After knocking three times, he finally heard the fox girl’s somewhat flustered response from inside the room. A moment later, Hu Li appeared at the door still wearing her nightgown, her hair not even brushed, looking like she was still half asleep.

“I overslept…” She lowered her head sheepishly the moment she opened the door, as if she’d done something wrong. “Last night, I went to bed too late.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, that’s on me,” Yu Sheng quickly waved it off. He knew that Hu Li had exerted herself the most at the museum yesterday, and it was perfectly normal for her to need extra sleep afterward. “Something’s come up. Come take a look first.”

Hu Li followed Yu Sheng without understanding what was going on and entered the master bedroom across the hall.

Then she saw two Eileens sitting side by side on the bed, staring straight at the doorway like Player 1 and Player 2 in a video game.

Hu Li froze on the spot in the doorway. After standing stunned for a long while, she vigorously rubbed her eyes. When she looked again after rubbing, she still saw double.

“Oh no! Benefactor! I’m hallucinating from sleep!” She turned to Yu Sheng in alarm. “There’s two Eileens!”

“Stop rubbing—rub a couple more times and you’ll see four of her,” Yu Sheng reached out to stop Hu Li from continuing to rub her eyes, then coughed awkwardly twice. “There was a little accident. Eileen really does have two bodies now. You’re not seeing things.”

Hu Li stared at the two Eileens in stunned amazement. After a moment, something seemed to click, and an expression of admiration spread across her face: “So you’ve been cultivating the art of astral body projection! I had no idea you were an immortal too, Eileen…”

“Immortal my ass! What fox-brained nonsense are you spouting? Yu Sheng made me an extra body!” Eileen immediately started yelling. “I was sound asleep and when I woke up I nearly passed out!”

“Let’s not get into that right now,” Yu Sheng hurriedly cut off the doll’s complaints. He stepped forward and removed the oil painting from Eileen’s back, then turned and handed it to Hu Li. “You—take this painting up to the attic.”

(End of Chapter)