Chapter 11: Three Times is a Charm

Chapter 11: Third Time’s the... Charm

In the final second as death descended, Yu Sheng felt a boundless, incredibly heavy, and almost tangible "darkness," like some sort of viscous fluid.

He felt his consciousness rapidly dissipating. He knew that the vessel supporting this consciousness was losing its vitality amidst the horrific injuries—as physiological functions ceased, the thoughts carried by the flesh sank and dissolved along with them. This was the law of nature.

Yet, on the edge of that dissolution, a force—or perhaps a powerful "thought," a strange obsession—seemed to bind his mind firmly. In his delirium, he remembered the frog that had devoured his heart, and he remembered his last "resurrection."

What exactly happened back then? What happened to him? Why was he alive?

These questions transformed into an obsession, forcing his consciousness to cling to the edge of that endless darkness. Even as it teetered on the brink, it refused to sink completely. He really wanted to know... what on earth had happened? How did he "come back" after death?

The darkness pressed down. Its viscous texture gradually turned cold and coarse. He felt as if he were being buried under thick layers of soil, and his soul was struggling to breathe under the immense pressure... but suddenly, this heavy weight vanished.

In a moment of sudden enlightenment, a thought emerged within his wavering consciousness—

In his death, death died before him.

Yu Sheng’s death had died, and so the dead Yu Sheng returned once more from that boundless darkness toward the realm of the living. He felt his "body" suddenly become light, and he began to accelerate away from that endless darkness.

During this process, he vaguely saw something on the surface of the darkness. It seemed as if he were skimming rapidly across some kind of "outer layer," but he had no time to see it clearly before he snapped his eyes open.

The cold night wind blew through the large hole in the wall. Outside the half-collapsed roof was a chaotic, murky sky, and deep within the night, the hollow wind of the valley howled.

Yu Sheng sat in the corner of the ruined temple, feeling his mind muddled. He was familiar with this sensation—he had experienced it just a short while ago.

But this time, his recovery was faster. Within just a few breaths, he recalled everything, including the feeling of being buried by the darkness.

After adjusting his breathing, Yu Sheng slowly stood up.

He felt the joints throughout his body gradually waking from their stiffness, as if a newly born body were rapidly learning how to "live." His physical strength quickly returned, his mind cleared, and only then did he look outside the temple, toward the spot where he had previously bled all over the ground.

It was empty now. The giant beast seemed to have left... or perhaps it was just hiding, just as it had before.

After a moment of silence, Yu Sheng tentatively spoke in his mind: "...Aileen."

Almost the moment his voice fell, Aileen’s boisterous voice exploded in his heart: "Yu Sheng! Holy crap, are you okay!?"

Then she began to chatter rapidly: "You suddenly stopped responding just now. No matter how much I called, there was no reaction. I couldn't even feel where your consciousness was. I thought you were dead! You scared me to death—if you die, there’ll be no one to fix the TV! Are you really okay?"

The muscles on Yu Sheng’s face twitched instantly: "So you were only worried that there’d be no one to go home and fix the TV, is that it?"

Aileen thought for a moment: "...That’s not entirely true. I was also a little worried that you were actually dead..."

Yu Sheng: "..."

She actually hesitated for a second!

Struggling to calm his mood, Yu Sheng finally gritted his teeth and made his voice sound calm: "What if I told you I actually died once just now?"

Aileen didn't believe it at all: "Stop it, you sound perfectly fine right now..."

"...Right, I was just joking with you." Hearing Aileen’s reaction, Yu Sheng quietly brushed the topic aside. He was silent for a moment before speaking somewhat abruptly, "How long has it been?"

"Huh? How long since what?"

"From when I told you I was hanging up until now, how much time has passed?"

"Uh... I can't see the clock in the living room from where I am... I’d estimate about half an hour? Not necessarily accurate. I’ve been sealed in this painting for years, so my perception of time is a bit dull. But looking at the sky outside, it hasn't changed much. At least a night hasn't passed; it’s still not dawn..."

Yu Sheng: "...Isn't that a bit too inaccurate? Do you know how big the difference is between half an hour and a whole night?!"

Aileen didn't say anything for a moment, but immediately after, a harsh, low mocking laugh came from her side.

Aileen immediately explained: "It wasn't me! It was the bear!"

Yu Sheng waved his hand, feeling physically and mentally exhausted: "I know."

Aileen sounded quite happy: "Ah, you’re finally willing to believe me..."

Yu Sheng couldn't be bothered to deal with this sealed doll anymore. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he didn't believe her explanation, but rather felt that—if she really wanted to get hit, she didn't even need to laugh; her way of speaking was already punchable enough.

As it turned out, in the face of Aileen’s sharp tongue, the bear’s mocking laughter was at most just adding fuel to the fire...

With useless thoughts swirling in his mind, Yu Sheng walked out of the ruined temple again.

Whether it was his imagination or not, he felt his physical strength was even better than before he had died. His steps were light, his movements powerful, and even his eyesight... seemed to have improved a little.

He seemed to be adapting to this place—adapting to the darkness here, the rugged ruins, and the pervasive malice and hungry gazes.

He walked toward the clearing in front of the ruined temple, toward the woods on the other side, and toward the deeper parts of this "Otherworld."

He knew he might die again, perhaps even in the next step, the next second.

"Yu Sheng," Aileen’s voice rang out in his mind again, "Are you really okay?"

"I'm fine, just a minor injury. It's all healed now."

"How about this, why don't you just stay where you are, or find a safe place to hide? I'll try to remember—maybe I've encountered the 'valley' you mentioned before..."

"Then you keep remembering. I'm going to keep looking around here," Yu Sheng said casually.

"Huh? That might be a bit dang..."

"Aileen," Yu Sheng interrupted her directly. He had reached the clearing. He took a deep breath of the cold, strangely foul-smelling air of the valley and looked at the shadowy, eerie forest in the distance. He suddenly curled his lips into a smile. "You know, I've been living in a daze these past few days."

Aileen clearly couldn't keep up with Yu Sheng’s train of thought: "Uh... yeah, should I know that..."

Yu Sheng didn't care about Aileen’s reaction and just kept talking to himself: "...I heard you mention 'Otherworld' just now, and some incidents of people accidentally wandering into it. Do you know what my reaction was?"

"What reaction?"

"Happy."

"Huh?"

"Happy. I'm very happy," Yu Sheng stood in the night, smiling uncontrollably. "You said that some people accidentally open the wrong door, or just by some extremely low-probability chance, step on the wrong floor tile at the wrong time, and fall into this hellhole called an 'Otherworld,' right? And you also said that if people who fall into an Otherworld are lucky enough to find the rules of the place, they actually have a chance to go back..."

"I did say that..." Aileen said hesitantly. "But it really depends on luck. Professional investigators are one thing, but ordinary people without training basically just wait to die once they fall into an Otherworld..."

Yu Sheng muttered softly: "It's fine, I'll just keep dying until I figure it out..."

Aileen: "...What?"

"Nothing, I just suddenly found something to do," Yu Sheng exhaled softly, as if he wanted to vent all the stagnant air he had been holding in for the past two months in this world. "Let's start here. It might take a bit more time, but I will definitely get out of this place."

"Although I don't know what your situation is, it feels like you've... perked up?" Aileen said tentatively. "Well, at least that's a good thing, right? Good luck? Try not to die... I'm still waiting for you to come back and fix the TV... and find me a body or something..."

"Sure, when I get back, I'll find a way to solve your body problem," Yu Sheng said casually. "I've had some contact with sculptures and models before, I should be able to try."

This time, Aileen was truly pleasantly surprised: "Ah? You have experience as a doll maker?! Why didn't you say so earlier! How are your skills? What kind of dolls or models can you make?"

Yu Sheng hesitated for a moment and confessed honestly: "It's about the level of watching videos of experts molding clay online, where my brain tells my hands that I've learned it, but my hands refuse to believe it."

Two seconds later, Aileen cursed him out quite harshly.

But Yu Sheng’s mood had completely relaxed. A sense of ease—he didn't know if it was right or wrong—bolstered his confidence. He walked forward and looked up into the night, wanting to see the high mountains to one side.

A flesh-and-blood giant beast, several meters tall and seemingly fused from the limbs of countless twisted monsters, was staring at him from the side of the road.

Yu Sheng stopped, thought for a moment, and greeted the doll in the painting who was still cursing in his mind: "Aileen."

"What now?"

"...Nothing, I'm going to hang up again."

"Huh?"