Chapter 33: Delayed Effect?

Yu Sheng thought to himself that his blood didn't seem to work on Irene—perhaps because the oil painting serving as the sealing medium prevented the blood from penetrating, or perhaps because Irene, being a doll herself, was simply immune to the blood's influence. More likely... it was Hu Li, who was affected, who was the special case.

After waiting for a long time without anything happening, Irene lost her patience. She looked up at the top of the frame and grumbled, "Then just wipe the blood off. It's my home, after all; having so much blood on it is bad luck..."

Yu Sheng: "...You're a creepy doll sealed in an oil painting and you still have the nerve to complain about that! Just you standing here is bad luck enough!"

Irene immediately sounded dissatisfied. "Who said I'm bad luck! How can I be bad luck when I'm this beautiful? Some people keep a whole wall of plastic figurines in their rooms; you've got a painting of a beautiful girl on your wall and you're complaining about bad luck?!"

Yu Sheng listened, stunned, unable to fathom how this girl could condense such a long string of arguments into a single sentence.

However, he waved his hand dismissively, muttering "How is that even the same thing?" as he stood up to grab a wet wipe, intending to wipe the blood off the frame.

It wouldn't come off.

Yu Sheng froze. Seeing that the wet wipe had no effect, he rubbed harder against the frame (not daring to press too hard on the canvas for fear of damaging it), but the bloodstains remained unmoved.

But more than the stubborn blood on the frame, Yu Sheng noticed something about the wet wipe—there wasn't even a single red trace on it.

No matter how difficult a bloodstain was to remove, it couldn't be like this!

Irene couldn't see the wipe. She only saw Yu Sheng suddenly freeze, and she felt a surge of unease. "Uh, what happened?"

"It won't wipe off," Yu Sheng said blankly, staring at the bloodstains that seemed to have become a part of the frame itself. "It didn't soak in... it's like it's the original color of the frame."

Irene did not respond.

Confused, Yu Sheng looked down and saw the doll in the painting staring at him blankly, as if her mind had suddenly disconnected. After two or three seconds, Irene's expression gradually shifted from blankness to terror. As if suddenly remembering something, she abruptly pointed a finger at Yu Sheng and let out a scream: "Aaaaah! Yu Sheng, you—you—you die, die, die..."

Yu Sheng froze for a second, then immediately understood what was happening. Seeing that Irene was still screaming, he sat down on the opposite chair quite calmly. "Stop shouting 'die' so much, it's bad luck—even if the actual frequency is indeed a bit high."

Irene stopped abruptly, glared at Yu Sheng, and then resumed screaming.

Yu Sheng had no choice but to stand up and find a way to soothe the terrified doll—she was far less composed than that fox.

However, verbal comfort was clearly of limited effect. Perhaps because the impact of the delayed blood effect was too violent, she seemed exceptionally agitated.

Fortunately, a sudden spark of inspiration hit Yu Sheng, and he found a solution.

In the next second, he grabbed Irene's oil painting, swung and shook it violently in the air, and finally threw it into mid-air with a spin. After catching it, he gave it two more shakes before placing it back on the table.

He watched as the doll lady struggled immensely to crawl onto the chair covered with a red velvet rug.

Irene stopped screaming.

Irene started cursing, and quite profanely at that.

But this time, Yu Sheng was well-practiced in soothing her—he finally managed to calm the doll down and, amidst her lingering, angry rants, clearly communicated the situation to her.

At the same time, he finally confirmed that his blood was equally effective on the sealed Irene. Although it appeared the blood only acted upon the frame, for some reason, Irene was indeed affected by it and experienced the same thing as Hu Li: she recalled the "event" of witnessing Yu Sheng's death.

However, so far, Yu Sheng had not been able to perceive Irene's "thoughts" or "memories" as he had when he was with Hu Li.

He glanced up at the still-angry doll, not having the heart to tell her that he actually suspected she was quite lacking in both...

Irene was still huffing with rage, but regardless, the impact of Yu Sheng's "return from the dead" was greater than the previous "rollercoaster" ride. Her focus remained on Yu Sheng's "resurrection."

"You're saying... this isn't the first time?" She stared at Yu Sheng, her tone still filled with disbelief.

"Yeah, actually it started before I met you," Yu Sheng thought for a moment, recalling that frog in the rain. "But don't ask me about the principle. Just like that door earlier, I only know that it happened, but I don't know how..."

"Are there side effects or a price?" Irene asked immediately.

"So far... none discovered," Yu Sheng said hesitantly and cautiously. On this matter, he set aside his usual nonchalant attitude. "Including physical and mental aspects, I haven't found any issues."

Irene continued to stare intently into Yu Sheng's eyes. "Then in the future, you must try to avoid this kind of 'resurrection'."

Yu Sheng sighed helplessly. "I know, of course."

"The side effects might manifest in the distant future, and the price might be in a way you can't imagine," Irene explained repeatedly, as if fearing Yu Sheng didn't truly grasp the warning. "All things in this world tend toward balance. Things that exceed reason and order will always encounter a 'counterattack' brought by reason and order. And rising from the dead... is truly the most absurd of all supra-rational events. Even if you say you haven't found any problems, I don't quite believe it."

She paused, then explained with a serious face, "It's not that I don't believe you; I don't believe the 'appearance' of this phenomenon."

"I understand, I understand," Yu Sheng nodded earnestly, but then spread his hands helplessly. "But then again, do you think any of my recent deaths were voluntary?"

Irene: "...True."

"I just have a good mindset. I have no choice; I can only maintain a good mindset in that valley situation," Yu Sheng sighed. "I understand your concern. Don't worry, I know my limits."

Irene stared at him for a long time before finally withdrawing her gaze with a mumble. "Fine, just remember... I'm still waiting for you to get me a body."

Yu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief.

He had to admit, this doll's capacity for acceptance was quite strong. Even with such an absurd occurrence, she eventually accepted it quite easily...

Irene suddenly looked up again, her expression one of suppressed amusement. "Wait, I'm seriously wondering, are you even human! Are you absolutely sure you were born and raised by parents and grew up eating human food? Can't you try to remember if you had any... during your childhood..."

Yu Sheng: "..."

He retracted his thought; it seemed this doll's capacity for acceptance wasn't actually that strong.

After a few perfunctory words, Yu Sheng ignored her subsequent muttering. After testing the "blood" matter, he remembered his original plan.

To continue familiarizing himself with the "opening doors" ability and its characteristics, and to find a way to replicate the passage and accurately locate the "landing point."

Until he could open that door leading to the valley.

To bring food to Hu Li.

Irene finally quieted down. She watched Yu Sheng grasp the handle of the kitchen door, hesitated, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Even if you truly find the 'door' back to that valley, have you thought about how to deal with 'Hunger' afterward?"

Yu Sheng slowly turned the handle, sensing that subtle feeling coming from the depths of his so-called "spiritual intuition," and spoke slowly, "I'll take it one step at a time."

"That's exactly what you mean you haven't thought it through!?" Without even looking back, he knew Irene's eyes were likely bulging again. "Then are you going to deliver food to Hu Li or to that monster!?"

"I mean, if we can beat the monster, we'll fight it. Being able to temporarily eliminate the physical incarnation of 'Hunger' would be good; there's a high probability it would help Hu Li escape its influence. If we can't beat it, we'll find a way to bring Hu Li out through the 'door,' though that has side effects and she might still be targeted by 'Hunger.' If the second method doesn't work, at least we can send some food in to make things easier for her. Anyway, as long as I have a stable way to open the door, everything can be planned for in the long run.

"When I say 'one step at a time,' I mean I'll choose one of these three plans based on the situation when the time comes. But as for how to deal with that 'entity' specifically... I truly don't have a clue right now."

"Fine, since you've planned to that extent, it's alright then," Irene sounded relieved. "As long as you don't just charge in blindly to deliver food to that monster."

Yu Sheng thought about it, but decided not to say the sentence, "The monster's mouth and stomach won't match the accounts after it eats me," because once he said that, there was no telling how much more she would nag...

With that trivial thought swirling in his mind, he slowly pulled open the kitchen door.

An infinite darkness met his eyes, with dim stars flickering in the distant void. Other than that... there seemed to be nothing outside the door.

Yu Sheng stared in confusion at the empty void on the other side of the door. A moment later, he reacted suddenly and slammed the door shut with a loud *bang*.

"Holy crap, it's freaking outer space!"

(End of Chapter)