Irene found it absurd that Yu Sheng could live in an "Otherworld" for a long time without knowing it—but Yu Sheng found the whole world absurd.
"According to you, this world is full of 'Otherworlds,' right?" Hiding in the corner of the ruined temple, Yu Sheng chatted idly with Irene in his mind. "It's just that most people can't access them? Because they can't observe them?"
"That's about right, but as for whether the whole 'world' is like this… actually, I'm not too sure," Irene said. "After all, the world is so big, right? But at least within 'Boundary City'… the probability of an Otherworld appearing is very high, so this place seems to be called a 'Boundary' or something… I'm not too clear on the specifics. I've been in the painting for too long, and my mind is a bit muddled."
"Boundary?" Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow, feeling a sense of déjà vu with this term. But then he noticed another piece of information that Irene had just revealed—
She had specifically emphasized "within Boundary City"—so, this city that was so vast it seemed endless, actually had an "outside"!
He hesitated for two or three seconds, but still couldn't help but ask, "What's… 'outside' Boundary City?"
"Outside Boundary City? Maybe more cities? Or maybe… the sea or something?" Irene's answer was vague. "I don't remember either. I've really been in this painting for too long. I only remember a little bit about this city…"
She paused here, then asked with some confusion, "You don't know? You've never left Boundary City?"
The corner of Yu Sheng's mouth twitched, and he immediately fell silent.
How would he know! He had only been here for two months—let alone outside Boundary City, he hadn't even figured out the bus routes four blocks from his own home!
But he remained silent for a long time, and still decided not to mention this matter—he didn't want to let a "cursed painting" he had only just met know about this secret of his for the time being.
"I've never been out. I'm a bit of a homebody… never mind, let's not talk about this for now," he said perfunctorily, then changed the subject. "Let's figure out how to solve my trouble here first. How can I get out of this so-called 'Otherworld'? By the way… is it possible to get out of an Otherworld?"
Irene on the other side thought for a while, seeming to be organizing her long-sealed and messy memories. After a long time, she replied, "Otherworlds… there are many kinds. Sometimes it might just be a house that doesn't exist on the map, sometimes it might be an extra stop on a bus route, and sometimes it might even be a forest, a country you can walk into by opening a wardrobe door—basically, smaller Otherworlds have relatively fixed and obvious exits, or you can return to reality by following specific rules, but the larger the Otherworld, the more complicated the situation."
She paused here, then continued, "I don't really remember the specifics. Otherworlds should have a complete classification system, and there's also some kind of 'depth' and 'danger level' classification standard, but I really… have been in this painting for too long…"
Her voice gradually lowered, sounding a little lost.
Yu Sheng had originally wanted to complain a little, thinking that this doll had rambled on and on but hadn't remembered any useful information. But after hearing her final quiet mutter, he closed his mouth and didn't bicker with Irene as he had before.
She had already tried her best to help—she had just been sealed for too long.
"Let's look for it. We'll find an exit eventually," Yu Sheng shook his head, looking up at the valley outside the ruined temple. "This place doesn't look small. At least as far as the eye can see, there are high mountains on both sides and a forest in the distance. According to you, leaving… might not be so easy."
"Yeah," Irene hummed. "You can first look around the 'original landing point' after entering the Otherworld, see if there's anything that doesn't fit in with the surrounding environment, something that you feel shouldn't be there at a glance. Usually, the exit of an Otherworld will be nearby. If there's nothing nearby, find a higher place, see if you can see a mirror-like reflection or hear a continuous sound of wind…
"But even if you find something similar, don't rush to touch it. It could also be a trap leading to a 'deeper layer.' I can't explain the specifics… you have to go by feel."
"Feel?" Yu Sheng couldn't help but ask.
"…Yes, strictly speaking, what it requires is 'inspiration,' a kind of spiritual intuition. Trained investigators will master this perception method—I know you haven't been trained in this, but there's no other way now. You can only bite the bullet.
"But don't worry too much. Spirituality exists in all intelligent beings. Ordinary people who haven't been trained also have it, it's just that it hasn't been stimulated. If you're careful, you'll feel that kind of warning and premonition from your own essence—if you really encounter something you can't judge, just tell me. I… will try my best to help."
Yu Sheng agreed and slowly walked out from his hiding corner, cautiously walking towards the main gate of the ruined temple—that unsettling "sense of being watched" and "hunger" still surrounded him, even seeming to have permeated the surrounding air, becoming a part of this entire valley. But he still braced himself and walked out.
Because from the information Irene provided, he had to find an "exit" as soon as possible to leave this place—waiting in a corner wouldn't make a door open in front of him.
At the same time, probably to relieve the tension in his heart, he was still chatting idly with Irene.
"You said the place I've been living in is an 'Otherworld.' How did you judge that? I don't feel like there's anything wrong with my house…"
"I can feel it," Irene replied. "It's that kind of 'inspiration' I mentioned. I can clearly feel that there's something wrong with this building—of course, it does look quite normal on the surface… I don't know how that is."
"Is it a feeling again…" Yu Sheng shook his head. "So according to you, every day when I go home and enter the door, I'm walking into an Otherworld, and when I open the door and go out, I'm leaving the Otherworld? Then my house is really a 'good Otherworld' that's easy to come and go from and harmless."
After two or three seconds, Irene spoke faintly, "…Opening the door and going out doesn't necessarily lead to the place you want to go, does it?"
Yu Sheng's expression instantly stiffened. He remembered why he was unlucky enough to be trapped in this place.
He seemed to know what was wrong with his "home."
Thinking about it this way, it was a miracle that he had lived peacefully in that large house for two months!
As they spoke, he had already returned to the open space in front of the ruined temple, which was his "landing point" when he first entered this "Otherworld."
"I didn't find anything here," Yu Sheng carefully checked the area around the open space, confirming that he hadn't found the "incongruous key item" that Irene had described. "It seems it's not that easy."
"Yeah, it's expected," Irene sighed. "Then you should try walking out a bit first, but remember, don't touch anything that's glowing or suddenly moves in front of you. Also, unless you have to, don't eat or drink anything in the Otherworld…"
"I know… by the way, would it be better to search during the day?" Yu Sheng said, looking up at the sky above, which seemed to be perpetually covered by a turbid veil. "It always feels gloomy to be active in the wild at night."
"Otherworlds are often counter-intuitive. Daytime isn't necessarily safer, and even… there might not be a daytime," Irene said immediately. "I still suggest you find an exit as soon as possible. If you drag it on for too long, who knows what changes might happen on your side."
Yu Sheng pursed his lips and could only walk further away helplessly.
And just as he took a step out of the ruined temple's range, he heard… a sound in his ear.
At first, it was like a faint, muffled breath.
Yu Sheng subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound and saw a puff of white mist slowly dissipating in the air, as if some invisible giant beast had just exhaled a breath of turbid air.
He heard the sound, and thus, the giant beast's breath was generated.
He saw the white mist, and thus, the giant beast's existence began to be confirmed.
A black shadow appeared in the air, a shadow almost three times Yu Sheng's size, slowly taking shape in front of him, accompanied by heavy breathing.
Now, he saw the giant beast's silhouette—the giant beast existed.
Yu Sheng's heart instantly tightened. A huge sense of crisis crushed down on him, heavier than the oppression brought by the frog in the rain!
And just as he felt his heart tighten, the black shadow solidified.
It was something Yu Sheng had never seen before—a bear? A lion? An eagle? Or a tiger and a snake? Countless ferocious, bizarre, and seemingly disparate limbs were piled on a huge and ugly ball of flesh, as if many beasts had been melted together in a large pot and then ran out as a jumbled mess. This disgusting and terrifying thing supported its huge body with its swollen limbs of various sizes and shapes, looking down at Yu Sheng. And in those chaotically layered eyes… was hunger.
Yu Sheng slowly looked up, his gaze meeting the giant beast's.
The giant beast pounced without hesitation—at the last moment, Yu Sheng abruptly lowered his body and险险地躲过了巨兽的其中一张血盆大口.
Then he fell into its other giant mouth.
The sharp teeth closed viciously. A small part of Yu Sheng's body was instantly torn apart. However, at this moment, the intense pain seemed to become a distant, numb illusion. He felt everything around him slow down. He saw a snake-like limb extend from behind the giant beast, and another huge mouth bit down on him, tearing at the remaining part of his body below the chest—he saw his heart again.
The heart beat slowly, then disappeared into the depths of the snake's mouth.
"Fuck you!"
Yu Sheng squeezed out a final curse from his throat. He knew he was about to die again, but he felt that he couldn't just let it end like this.
While he could still contract the last bit of muscle in his body, he turned his head with all his might and bit down on the side of the monster—he didn't know which part of the giant beast it was, he didn't know what use this bite was, he just knew that he had bitten the other party.
At least he would tear off a piece of flesh before he died.
All of Yu Sheng's strength was used up in this moment. He bit down violently on the giant beast, and the giant beast also bit down on him. Blood and flesh, claws and teeth, food and diner…
Before his mind completely descended into darkness, Yu Sheng squeezed out a final thought—he spoke softly to Irene, who was somewhere far away, "Irene…"
"Huh?"
"If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."
Irene was stunned for a moment, not reacting in time.
Then Yu Sheng hung up.