Irene soon understood what Yu Sheng meant by "rule-based."
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure either. Like I said, much of my memory is hazy, including a lot of basic knowledge—the effect this painting has had on me goes beyond mere memory loss; it dismantled my mind over the long years." The doll in the painting pointed to her head and spoke slowly, "Much of what I know about 'Hunger' consists of superficial impressions that I reconstructed based on my own understanding. You'd better treat it as a reference only."
"...Regardless, it's definitely going to be hard to deal with," Yu Sheng mused for a moment, then nodded. "It looks like we need a fallback plan. If I can't take down that monster, I'll still have to figure out a way to get Hu Li out of that valley. By the way, pulling her out of that foreign domain should break her free of Hunger's influence, right?"
"It should. The influence of a foreign domain can't spread into reality. But honestly, bringing someone out of a domain while under Hunger's lockdown is already ridiculously difficult on its own."
Irene spoke thoughtfully, then suddenly raised her head and stared straight at Yu Sheng. "Wait, do you really plan on taking care of that thing yourself? No, leaving aside how you'd even defeat it, how can you be so sure you can get back to that valley in the first place?"
"Didn't you say so yourself? Once a person makes contact with a foreign domain, they can never break that connection," Yu Sheng replied offhandedly. "The way I see it, it's like falling into quicksand. You can only sink deeper and deeper, and even if you manage to climb out for a moment, you're merely holding yourself up mid-fall..."
Irene's eyes widened. "I did say that, but that means once you've had dealings with a foreign domain, you establish a connection with the entire realm beyond sanity! You'll have a higher chance of encountering other foreign domains or supernatural phenomena, not that you'll necessarily return to the exact one you first encountered. This stuff is completely random!"
"Yet I have an intuition that I'll see that monster again soon—and that valley too." Yu Sheng met Irene's gaze with utter seriousness. "I'm not completely disconnected from that place. It... feels like it's still waiting for me to return."
A flicker of gravity crossed Irene's scarlet eyes. She pondered for a moment before speaking uncertainly, "...Spiritual intuition?"
"I don't know if that's what you call spiritual intuition," Yu Sheng said with open hands, "but ever since I crossed paths with that monster, I really have started to sense certain things. It's faint, but it seems very accurate."
"...Even with external stimuli, it's virtually impossible for an ordinary person to develop spiritual intuition in such a short time, let alone control and utilize it to some degree." Irene couldn't help eyeing Yu Sheng up and down, a touch of wonder in her expression. "Are you some kind of natural-born investigator...?"
Yu Sheng parted his lips. "Ah, is that a good thing?"
Irene thought about it, her foul mouth running true to form. "Investigators have pretty high mortality rates."
Yu Sheng: "..."
Before he could speak, her sharp tongue added another line: "Though ordinary people who come into contact with foreign domains without developing spiritual intuition have an even higher mortality rate."
The corner of Yu Sheng's mouth twitched twice. "All right then, no big deal."
Irene was instantly struck dumb by Yu Sheng's laid-back attitude, while Yu Sheng merely shook his head and stood up from the dining table.
A voice immediately came from the oil painting: "Hey, where are you going?"
"The kitchen! I've slept all day, and dinner won't make itself!" Yu Sheng glanced back and glared at Irene. "Speaking of which, why do you get so jittery every time I move an inch? It's like you think I'm going to throw you away."
"Of course I am! I can barely move on my own right now—do you know how unsettling that is? And with a guy like you who falls into a foreign domain the moment he steps out the door, how do I know if one of these times you'll stand up and vanish forever, separated between life and death..."
Irene's mouth was as provocative as ever, but Yu Sheng merely frowned, sensing that she was likely just trying to show some concern for him.
And... he also sensed the doll's utter lack of control over her own fate trapped in an oil painting, and her anxious clinginess after finally finding someone she could talk to.
He considered it, then picked up Irene's painting from the dining table.
She immediately cried out, "Hey, what are you doing?! I... I'm still watching TV! Warning you, don't you hang me back up in that second-floor room! I... fine, I won't talk, just put me back down..."
"Cooking alone is boring. You've got nothing better to do anyway, so come chat with me in the kitchen."
Irene froze for a second, peering secretly at Yu Sheng's expression from the edge of the frame in slight disbelief, before nodding vigorously. "Sure, sure!"
Yu Sheng curled his lip, carried Irene into the kitchen, propped her on the windowsill, and turned to open the refrigerator to check his dinner ingredients.
Hu Li's figure floated into his mind, however. The moment he laid eyes on the food, he couldn't help remembering the fox maiden squatting among the ruins of the ruined temple, gnawing on a rotten vegetable leaf and gazing at him from afar.
She was still hungry.
Yu Sheng pressed his lips together, suppressed the flood of thoughts, and retrieved the leftover braised meat from the morning along with two steamed buns.
He would just heat up the leftovers to go with the buns and make some porridge.
Popping the buns and stew into the microwave, he washed rice and set it to simmer into porridge. Yu Sheng busied himself in silence, and half a minute later, he began to regret bringing Irene into the kitchen.
This chatterbox hadn't shut up for a single second since the moment he opened the fridge!
"Hey, your fridge is pretty big! Can one person even use that much fridge space?
"Is that the meat you stewed this morning? Honestly, after processing, that 'local specialty' looks pretty normal... But tell me, it really won't suddenly come back to life in the bowl, will it?
"You're just cooking porridge? Well, that's boring to watch. Why don't you carve a radish into a flower, or maybe carve a seal stamp out of it?
"Why didn't you turn on the range hood... oh, right, you're not stir-frying.
"Is it getting dark outside? Hey, turn me around, let me look at the street... Fine, be that way if you won't.
"What's your mother's maiden name?"
Finally pushed beyond his limit, Yu Sheng grabbed Irene and thrust her in front of the sink. "Do you believe I'll dunk you right in there right now?! I'll scrub you with dish soap until your paint fades, you want to see?!"
Irene instantly shrank her neck, hugging her teddy bear as she retreated back to her chair. "Fine, I won't talk, sheesh..."
The world was finally peaceful.
Irene stayed on the windowsill, sitting on her chair hugging her teddy bear and watching Yu Sheng. Yu Sheng was leaning against the stove, lost in thought. Neither of them spoke.
After an unknown stretch of time, Irene was the first to break the silence. "I still think taking on Hunger by yourself is too dangerous. Even if I can't remember how powerful that entity really is, it's definitely not something an ordinary person can handle. You... you'll die."
"I'll revive."
"I'm being serious with you!"
"So am I."
Irene glared at Yu Sheng, looking somewhat irritated.
Yet her anger lasted only a few seconds before dissolving into a sigh.
"Seriously, think of another way. Try to get in touch with the people in this city who specialize in fighting foreign domains. Don't take unnecessary risks."
"I don't want to take risks; I just feel like risk will come looking for me," Yu Sheng said, shaking his head. "Still, I get what you mean. I won't throw my life away for nothing. As for those 'professionals' you mentioned, I will look for them."
"Oh, good then."
Dinner passed in peace. Irene watched a brainless urban drama on TV, occasionally passing judgment on the plot and characters, while Yu Sheng ate diligently, tossing out occasional replies to Irene's running commentary.
Yu Sheng cleaned his plate thoroughly, leaving not even the last drop of broth behind, wiping the rim and bottom of the bowl clean with the remnants of his steamed bun.
"I'm heading out for a bit," Yu Sheng said casually to Irene after tidying up the dining room and kitchen and changing into clothes for going out.
Watching TV, Irene whipped her head around at his words, a hint of panic showing on her face. "Where are you going?!"
"Just to the corner convenience store to buy some food. It's not far," Yu Sheng replied. Catching the look on her face, he couldn't help smiling ruefully. "Don't be so anxious. It's not like I'm going to tumble into a foreign domain every time I walk out the door... Don't worry. This house may be a bit weird, but from now on, I'll check first whenever I open the door."
"Uh, fine then." Irene scratched her hair, looking slightly puzzled. "Though I saw plenty of food in the fridge earlier."
"I'm buying more," Yu Sheng said. "Shelf-stable stuff, ready-to-eat."
Irene caught on.
"Oh, all right. Be careful out there... and remember, whatever you do, don't just stride straight out after opening the door! Look outside first!"
Yu Sheng smiled.
It had been a long time since anyone had told him to "be careful out there." Even if the one saying it this time was a doll whose mouth was usually full of trash talk, it still felt quite nice.
After changing, he paused, thought for a moment, and stuffed several packs of bread and biscuits into his pockets. Only then did he walk up to the front door, take hold of the knob, and gently draw a breath.
Truth be told, ever since pushing this door open last time and dropping straight into a foreign domain, he really did have a bit of a... lingering dread about it.
Yet he couldn't just never leave this house again because of that.
Yu Sheng gritted his teeth and slowly pushed the front door open.
First a sliver of a crack, then a little wider, cautiously scanning the outside.
Only after double-checking repeatedly did he let out a long breath and step outside.
Fortunately, the door wasn't quite that cursed after all.
It seemed tumbling into a foreign domain upon leaving the house wasn't a high-probability event. Maybe specific conditions were required to trigger whatever "effect" the door had? Perhaps it took a certain number of openings, or a specific time of day?
Walking along the street, his mind eased a little, and he couldn't help turning over various possibilities. But regardless, he was truly relieved.
With light steps, he walked down the nearly empty street, soon arriving in front of the convenience store at the intersection. He pushed the door open.
The moment he did, a jolt shot through his heart, and then—
A scorching wind blasted against his face. The scorched earth beyond the threshold simmered with rising heat. A crashed aircraft billowed thick smoke on a distant hill, while two fully armed figures in pitch-black power armor—resembling some sort of alien battle gear—were locked in a grapple. One of them suddenly raised a hand, and with a hiss, a plasma blade ignited at the wrist and stabbed toward the other.
Then, both of the black-canned figures, geared up like astral mercenaries, seemed to notice the gaze from the side at the same instant. They snapped their heads toward Yu Sheng, the dark red optical sensors on their visors flickering faintly.
Yu Sheng: "...?"
He took a violent step back and slammed the door shut with a bang.
Chapter 29