Irene quickly understood what Yu Sheng meant by "rule-based."
"Actually, I'm not very sure. I said, I've forgotten a lot of things, even including many of the most basic knowledge—the effect this painting has on me is not just memory loss. It has dismantled my thinking over a long period of time," the doll in the painting pointed to her own head and said slowly. "Regarding the characteristics of 'Hunger,' many of them are just shallow impressions that I've reorganized based on my own understanding. You'd better just take it as a reference."
"…In any case, it's true that it's hard to deal with," Yu Sheng pondered for a moment and nodded. "It seems I still need a backup plan. If I can't handle that monster, I'll have to find a way to get Hu Li out of that valley—by the way, letting her leave that Otherworld should also get rid of the influence of 'Hunger,' right?"
"It should be possible. The influence of an Otherworld cannot spread to reality. But seriously, the difficulty of bringing another person out of an Otherworld under the blockade of 'Hunger' is also ridiculous."
Irene said as she thought, then suddenly looked up and stared at Yu Sheng. "Hey, wait, are you really planning to solve that thing yourself… no, let's not talk about how you're going to solve it first. How do you know you can definitely go back to that valley?"
"Didn't you say it? Once a person has come into contact with an Otherworld, they can never get rid of that connection," Yu Sheng said casually. "I understand it's like falling into a quicksand pit. You can only keep sinking. Even if you run out temporarily, you're just holding on for a while in the process of sinking…"
Irene stared. "I did say that, but what I meant was that after you've dealt with an Otherworld, you'll establish a connection with the entire realm 'beyond reason.' You'll have a higher chance of coming into contact with other Otherworlds or supernatural phenomena, not that you'll definitely return to the Otherworld you first came into contact with. This thing is completely random!"
"But I have a hunch that I'll see that monster again soon, and that valley," Yu Sheng met Irene's gaze seriously. "I haven't completely 'disconnected' from that place. It… seems to be still waiting for me to go back."
A trace of solemnity flashed across Irene's scarlet eyes. She thought for a moment and said uncertainly, "…Spiritual intuition?"
"I don't know if that's the spiritual intuition you mentioned," Yu Sheng spread his hands. "But ever since I dealt with that monster, I have indeed started to be able to 'feel' some things. It's very vague, but it seems to be very accurate."
"…Even after stimulation, it's difficult for ordinary people to develop spiritual intuition in such a short period of time, let alone control and use it to a certain extent," Irene couldn't help but look Yu Sheng up and down, a bit of amazement in her expression. "You're probably a natural-born investigator's holy body…"
Yu Sheng opened his mouth. "Ah, is this a good thing?"
Irene thought for a moment, her sharp tongue as usual. "The death rate of investigators is quite high."
Yu Sheng: "…"
Before he could say anything, he heard Irene's sharp tongue add another sentence, "But the death rate of ordinary people who have come into contact with an Otherworld but cannot develop spiritual intuition is even higher."
The corner of Yu Sheng's mouth twitched twice. "Alright then, it's not a big problem."
Irene was amazed at Yu Sheng's open-mindedness. Yu Sheng just shook his head and got up from the dining table.
A voice immediately came from the oil painting, "Hey, what are you doing?"
"The kitchen! I've been sleeping all day, and I still haven't figured out dinner!" Yu Sheng turned his head and glared at Irene. "By the way, why are you so nervous whenever I move? It's like I'm going to throw you away?"
"Nonsense. I'm having trouble moving myself right now. Do you know how unsettling that is—and you're the type who can fall into an Otherworld just by going out. How do I know if you'll disappear again one day when you get up, and we'll be separated forever…"
Irene's mouth was as annoying as ever, but Yu Sheng just frowned and noticed that she seemed to be just trying to care about him.
And… he noticed the doll's inability to control her own situation due to being trapped in an oil painting, and her fear of losing the only person she could communicate with after finally finding one.
He thought for a moment and got up to pick up Irene from the dining table.
The latter immediately cried out in surprise, "Hey, what are you doing? I… I'm still watching TV. I'm warning you, don't hang me back in that room on the second floor! I… at worst, I won't talk anymore. Just put me back…"
"It's boring to cook alone. Anyway, you're idle, so go to the kitchen and talk to me."
Irene was stunned for a moment. She peeked at Yu Sheng's expression from the edge of the frame, seemingly a little disbelieving, but she soon nodded vigorously. "Okay, okay!"
Yu Sheng pursed his lips, carried Irene into the kitchen, casually placed her on the windowsill, then turned around, opened the refrigerator, and checked the ingredients for dinner.
Hu Li's figure appeared in his mind—the moment he saw the food, he couldn't help but think of the fox demon girl who was squatting in the ruins of the temple, with a rotten vegetable leaf in her mouth, staring at him from a distance.
She was still hungry.
Yu Sheng pursed his lips, suppressed the many thoughts in his heart, and took out the leftover stewed meat from the morning and two steamed buns.
For dinner, he would just heat up the leftovers with the steamed buns and cook some porridge.
He put the steamed buns and stewed meat from the refrigerator into the microwave, then washed the rice and prepared to cook porridge. Yu Sheng was busy in silence, and half a minute later, he began to regret bringing Irene into the kitchen—
This blabbermouth hadn't been idle since the moment he opened the refrigerator!
"Hey, your refrigerator is pretty big! Do you really need such a big one for yourself?
"That's the meat you stewed this morning, right… to be honest, that 'local specialty' looks quite normal after being processed… by the way, will it really suddenly come to life in the bowl?
"You're just cooking porridge? Then there's nothing much to see. Why don't you carve a flower out of a radish, or carve a seal?
"Why don't you turn on the range hood… oh, you're not stir-frying.
"Is it getting dark outside? Can you turn me around so I can see the street… if not, then forget it.
"What's your mother's maiden name?"
Yu Sheng finally couldn't stand it anymore. He picked up Irene and brought her to the sink. "Do you believe that I'll soak you in here right now! I'll scrub you with detergent until your color fades, do you believe me!"
Irene immediately shrank her neck and sat back in her chair, hugging her teddy bear. "If you don't want to talk, then don't talk…"
The world was finally quiet.
Irene returned to the windowsill, hugging her teddy bear and sitting in the chair, watching Yu Sheng. The latter was leaning against the stove in a daze. Neither of them spoke.
After an unknown amount of time, Irene was the first to break the silence. "I still think it's very dangerous to deal with 'Hunger' alone. Although I don't remember how strong that entity is, it's definitely not something an ordinary person can deal with. You… will die."
"I will be resurrected."
"I'm being serious with you!"
"I'm also being serious."
Irene stared, as if a little angry at Yu Sheng.
But she was only angry for a few seconds before she sighed.
"Seriously, let's think of another way. Find a way to contact the group of people in this city who specialize in dealing with Otherworlds. Don't take risks."
"I don't want to take risks. I just feel that 'risk' will come to me," Yu Sheng shook his head. "But I know what you mean. I won't just throw my life away. As for those 'professionals' you mentioned, I will go find them."
"Oh, that's good."
Dinner passed in peace. Irene watched the mindless urban drama on TV, occasionally commenting on the people and events in the plot. Yu Sheng ate seriously, occasionally responding to Irene's babbles.
For this meal, Yu Sheng ate very cleanly. In the end, he didn't even let go of the last bit of meat soup in the bowl, wiping the bowl clean with a steamed bun.
"I'm going out for a while." After cleaning up the dining room and kitchen, Yu Sheng changed into his outdoor clothes and said casually to Irene.
Irene, who was watching TV, immediately looked up upon hearing this, her expression even carrying a hint of panic. "Where are you going?!"
"I'm going to the small supermarket at the intersection to buy some food. It's not far," Yu Sheng said, noticing the expression on Irene's face and finding it a little funny. "Don't be so nervous. I don't fall into an Otherworld every time I go out… don't worry, although this house is a bit strange, I'll observe it carefully every time I open the door from now on."
"Uh, alright then," Irene scratched her hair, a little confused. "But I thought there was still a lot of stuff in the refrigerator."
"I'm going to buy some more," Yu Sheng said. "Things that don't need to be refrigerated, and are easy to eat."
Irene understood.
"Oh, okay then. Be careful when you go out… and remember not to go out directly after opening the door! Look outside first!"
Yu Sheng smiled.
It had been a long time since anyone had said "be careful when you go out" to him. Although the one who said it this time was a doll who was usually full of trash talk, it felt pretty good.
He changed his clothes, then thought for a moment and stuffed several more pieces of bread and biscuits into his pockets. Only then did he come to the main door, his hand on the doorknob, and took a light breath.
Seriously, ever since he had pushed open this door and fallen directly into an Otherworld, he did have a bit of a… shadow about this door.
But he couldn't just never leave this house because of it.
Yu Sheng gritted his teeth and slowly pushed the door open.
First, he opened a crack, then he opened it a little wider, cautiously observing the situation outside.
After confirming it several times, he let out a long breath and stepped out of the house.
Fortunately, the door wasn't that strange.
It seemed that falling into an Otherworld after leaving that house was not a high-probability event. Perhaps it required specific conditions to trigger some kind of "effect" of that door? Perhaps it required opening the door several times, or at a specific time?
Yu Sheng walked on the street, his heart calming down a little. He couldn't help but think about this and that. But in any case, he was really relieved.
He just walked lightly on the street with almost no pedestrians. Not long after, he came to the small supermarket at the intersection and pushed the door.
The moment he pushed the door, he had already felt a jolt in his heart, and then—
A hot wind blew in his face. On the other side of the door, the scorched earth steamed with heat. A crashed aircraft smoked on a distant hill, and two fully armed men in black power armor that looked like some kind of alien battle armor were fighting each other. One of them suddenly raised his hand, and a plasma blade ignited from his wrist with a "hiss," stabbing towards the other.
Then, the two black-armored men who looked like interstellar mercenaries seemed to have noticed the gaze from the side at the same time. They abruptly turned their heads to look at Yu Sheng, the dark red monitor lights on their faceplates flickering slightly.
Yu Sheng: "…?"
He took a sharp step back and slammed the door shut with a bang.