Eileen's Plan

Eileen truly possessed many miraculous abilities. Yu Sheng had deeply realized this when he followed the doll downward into Huli's dream, but, truth be told, the doll had so many useless aspects in her daily life that people always ended up overlooking this fact, intentionally or otherwise...

"Then there's only one thing left—the most crucial part." Yu Sheng sat on the sofa and addressed the little doll beside him with a serious expression. "Find a way to recreate the gateway leading to the Otherworld valley."

"You still plan to rely on brute force?" Eileen asked curiously. "Try every 'frequency' you think might be close, one by one?"

Yu Sheng sighed. "There's no other way. After all, when I first entered the valley, I hadn't truly mastered the technique of 'opening doors.' I overlooked too many details back then."

Eileen turned to look at Yu Sheng. The little doll seemed to be thinking hard. After a moment, she hesitantly said, "Actually... I have an idea."

Yu Sheng immediately leaned closer. "Hmm? You have a way?!"

"It may not work, since I don't understand how you manage to 'open doors' either, and I don't know what you mean by 'frequency,'" Eileen said as she rubbed and shuffled around on the sofa cushion until she turned around. "But based on my understanding, what you actually need is a 'feature' that can help you 'lock onto' your destination? Or some kind of navigation signal?"

"...I suppose that's roughly it?" Yu Sheng became uncertain himself. "I never fully figured it out either. I groped my way through the entire process, and relied on 'feel' for many things. But your 'navigation signal' explanation is fairly accurate. The instant I open a door, the place on the other side is completely random. But if I can accurately 'remember' some kind of 'feature' of the place beyond the door, the passage will collapse into a single fixed destination. That's probably how the process works."

"So, if we can leave a navigation point on Huli's side, you'll be able to recreate the passage directly?"

"That should work." Yu Sheng nodded, then grew puzzled. "But where are we supposed to get such a navigation point? The whole problem is that we can't find the way to the valley. If we could leave a navigation point over there, we wouldn't have anything to worry about..."

"What about through a dream?" Eileen suddenly said.

Yu Sheng froze, then vaguely understood what the doll meant.

Eileen continued explaining in detail. "The last time I sank into Huli's dream with you, I established a weak connection with her. If we take that connection a step further, perhaps I can link to her senses. Then I'll pull you in as well, and you'll be able to directly experience the aura of that valley through Huli's perceptions. Wouldn't that be equivalent to establishing a 'navigation point'?"

Yu Sheng listened to Eileen's plan in a daze. The more he heard, the more he felt that the doll's wild idea... might actually work?

"There are two difficulties," Eileen continued. "First, Huli herself needs to cooperate. She has to be willing to open her mind to you. But that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just explain it to her clearly. She trusts you, so the second difficulty is the dangerous one."

Yu Sheng didn't interrupt. He merely indicated with his eyes that Eileen should continue.

"The second difficulty is that Huli's mind doesn't contain only herself right now." Eileen's expression grew slightly serious as she looked into Yu Sheng's eyes. "Entity-Hunger has already penetrated to the deepest layers of her mind. So once you establish a deep connection with Huli, it will be equivalent to establishing the same connection with Entity-Hunger... I'm not sure what will happen then. In theory, you should be able to withstand brief contact, but I'm worried that Hunger's power might take root in your heart. By the time you enter the valley and face that monster, the influence that has taken root inside you could erupt at any moment..."

Yu Sheng fell into deep thought.

When Eileen saw that he had gone silent, her eyes shifted twice before she immediately understood. She rose from the sofa and planted her hands on her hips—though she was still not as tall as Yu Sheng while he was sitting. "Don't even think about dying once first to see if that clears the influence! I'm telling you, that inclination of yours is dangerous. What if you can't shake it off no matter how many times you die and come back? Then you'll really be in for it..."

Yu Sheng awkwardly adjusted his sitting position. "I never said..."

"I could tell!"

Yu Sheng: "..."

Why was this doll usually so hopeless, yet so terrifyingly sharp at times like this?!

"I know, I know. No matter what happens, I'll put the idea of 'dying once' aside," Yu Sheng said, unable to bear Eileen's stare from those scarlet eyes. He could only surrender and wave his hand, then forcibly steer the conversation back on track. "But I've still decided to try your plan. The risk of directly contacting Entity-Hunger does exist, but I think... it's worth taking."

Eileen's scarlet eyes remained fixed on Yu Sheng. Only after staring at him for several more seconds did she speak. "All right. It looks like you really want to save that fox, and her condition truly can't be delayed any longer. Then we'll go with this plan."

But just then, Yu Sheng suddenly remembered something else. "There's another problem."

"Huh?"

"I might not be able to dream of the dream where Huli exists." Yu Sheng spread his hands. "I didn't even dream last night. I don't know how to control my dreams."

Upon hearing this, Eileen instead began to laugh, her smile full of pride and smugness.

"I can." The little doll proudly stood on the sofa with her arms crossed over her chest (66.6 cm). "You just worry about dreaming. Leave the rest to me. I'm telling you, after breaking free from the painting's restraints, I'm frighteningly powerful now! Even I'm a little afrai—"

Before she could finish, Yu Sheng adjusted his position on the sofa. The cushion shifted with him, and Eileen, standing at its edge, immediately lost her footing. "Whoa—" was all she managed to say before tumbling off the sofa. Then the oil-painting frame on her back caught between the sofa and the coffee table, leaving her hanging beneath the frame.

The doll flailed beneath the painting frame as if she wanted to fly up and bite someone.

She cursed viciously.

Yu Sheng reached out and lifted the frame. "I'd say these restraints of yours are pretty serious."

"You're laug— Keep laughing and I won't help you!" Eileen's arms were caught between the straps on the back of the frame, and Yu Sheng's lifting motion left her hanging in the shape of a cross. "Put me down! Put me— Ow, ow, my arm! The joint's stuck! Help me bend it..."

Yu Sheng stared at Eileen speechlessly, then casually plucked her off the frame. He began enduring the doll's noisy complaints while working the trapped joint back into place.

Late that night, Yu Sheng finished preparing for bed.

Eileen was still running all over his bed, like a little rocket darting around in every direction.

"Can't you be quiet for a moment at a time like this?" Yu Sheng asked helplessly from the bed as he watched Eileen jump around beside him. "I'm going to sleep."

"Your bed is huge!" Eileen happily ran toward the head of the bed, then hopped onto the nightstand and grabbed the desk lamp, shaking it back and forth as if she hadn't heard Yu Sheng at all. "Hey, hey, this lamp is shorter than me! Yu Sheng, look! This lamp is shorter than me!"

"Next time I'll buy an even smaller night-light, one shorter than you!" Yu Sheng rolled his eyes in exasperation and reached out to pluck Eileen off his lamp. "Did you forget what you're supposed to be doing? If you keep this up, I'll lock you in the wardrobe!"

Eileen finally quieted down and smiled sheepishly. "I was just a little excited... All right, all right. You sleep. I won't cause trouble."

Yu Sheng sighed, exhausted in both body and mind, and set Eileen down. "Go turn off the light."

The doll answered righteously, "I can't reach it!"

"...Move a chair over!"

"Oh."

The world finally fell silent.

Yu Sheng let out a long breath and enjoyed the brief peace in the darkened bedroom as he worked on settling himself down and falling asleep.

Then he turned his head and saw two blood-red, glowing eyes staring at him from beside the bed.

Eileen was hanging over the edge of the bed, clutching the mattress like a koala, staring fixedly at Yu Sheng.

"...You're making it even harder for me to sleep." Yu Sheng looked helpless. "Why did you have to come to my room? Weren't you able to enter my dreams while staying downstairs before? Was it necessary to follow me here?"

"Closer means a better signal."

The doll answered with complete justification, and her words sounded so much like nonsense that they had to be true.

Still, she at least understood what Yu Sheng meant. She finally jumped down from the edge of the bed and ran over to sit on a chair nearby.

Yu Sheng sighed again.

He knew Eileen was still watching him. He had no idea what this doll was thinking—assuming she even had a brain—but judging by appearances, he probably wouldn't be able to get rid of her tonight.

He could only do his best to ignore the scarlet gaze coming from the darkness, banish his distracting thoughts, and cultivate his drowsiness.

He had no idea how long he tossed and turned in bed—perhaps an hour, perhaps even longer.

Only when his fatigue had accumulated to its limit did he finally sink groggily into a foggy darkness.

The dream descended, and through its thin mist came Eileen's soft voice. "You finally fell asleep... Come on, this way."

Yu Sheng instinctively turned toward the direction of the voice. In the next second, the mist dispersed, and light and shadows emerged from the darkness.

He truly saw that gloomy wilderness once again. The overcast sky shrouded the earth, nameless hills lay in the distance, and the silver-white demon fox was still sleeping in the wilderness.

Yu Sheng walked forward, then noticed the "guide" floating beside him.

It was Eileen, guiding his dream.

Yu Sheng stopped and looked strangely at the oil painting floating in midair.

Eileen in the painting stared wide-eyed at him, and he stared wide-eyed back.

Yu Sheng: "...Why do I feel like this painting is your true body?!"

Eileen looked down at herself, then raised her head and glanced around. At last, she belatedly realized what had happened.

"Wait, why am I in the painting again?!"