As they crossed through a new gateway, the surrounding environment instantly transformed—the pleasant breeze of the valley became the sweltering humidity of a tropical rainforest, along with the cries of unknown animals in the distance and the rustling sound of insects and ants crawling over dry leaves.

Out of caution, Yu Sheng did not close the door but maintained its open state after leading Erin through the passage so that they could return to the valley at any moment.

"What now?" he asked, glancing at the little puppet perched on his arm, "Can you still feel the other body? Has the connection been severed?"

"...Wow, it's still connected!" The little puppet exclaimed with surprise, "Just now, when we passed through the gateway, it was a bit hazy for a moment, but not a disconnect. It was more like a misalignment of perception, and now everything is back to normal. Moreover, the connection between the two bodies hasn't weakened at all."

As she spoke, she lifted her head and glanced around.

"Hey, Yu Sheng, just how far are my two bodies from each other now?"

"I'm afraid it's no longer a matter of 'distance,'" Yu Sheng thoughtfully considered and slightly shook his head, "I don't know where this place is, but it's certainly not the Boundary Land, and it's separated from that valley by 'dimensions.' If such 'distance' can't sever the connection between your two bodies, then there's probably no need for further tests."

"Oh... Shall we take a look around here?" Erin asked looking up at Yu Sheng curiously, "We're already here..."

"It's not safe," Yu Sheng shook his head, "Let's go back."

"Since when did you become so cautious and conservative?"

"It's your frame we're carrying; that's your essence. It doesn't matter if I die here, but if something happens to your painting, it's unpredictable," Yu Sheng jostled Erin, reminding her that they were still carrying her oil painting, "Let's go back, and on the way, let Hu Li know to return to the starting point and meet us."

"Oh, okay!"

Not long after, Yu Sheng, Hu Li, and Erin returned to the newly leveled ground deep in the valley.

"We can now summarize a few patterns," Yu Sheng said, stroking his chin as he watched Erin practice walking with both bodies simultaneously, "First, one puppet body must be with the frame to ensure that Erin can move in the real world; second, the puppet body with the frame becomes the 'Lord', and any other body becomes a 'duplicate'; third, the 'duplicate's' control distance may be infinite, or at least extremely far, not like the Lord that has to be with the painting. But conversely..."

With a "thud," Erin's duplicate body suddenly lost balance while running about and fell to the ground with a solid thump.

Yu Sheng glanced at the little puppet clumsily getting up and continued: "Conversely, the 'duplicate's' 'performance' is significantly weaker than that of the Lord, from perception to agility and control. This must be the price for 'ultra-long control distance.'"

"I think it's quite a bargain," Erin got up, looking disheveled but happy, "Finally, I have a body that doesn't need to lug around the painting everywhere. I can run as far as I want! Plus, now I can watch TV in the living room while playing games in the bedroom..."

Yu Sheng's eyebrows twitched immediately: "...you got two bodies and this is what you want to do?!"

Then he reacted: "Wait a minute! Playing games... what games are you playing?!"

Erin shrank her neck, hesitated for two seconds before opening her mouth carefully: "Well, your account has been unbanned..."

Yu Sheng's eyebrows shot up: "You're not allowed to use my account anymore! Go register your own—you have an identity card now!"

Erin's head drooped dejectedly: "Oh..."

She didn't understand why she was so downcast.

However, the puppet's bad mood never lasted more than a few seconds, and she quickly became cheerful again, controlling her other body to slide over to Yu Sheng, both puppets looking up at him together: "By the way, I've discovered something interesting."

Yu Sheng looked puzzled: "What's that?"

"It's that when controlling the second body, you don't need to fully divert half of your attention," Erin said, and the expressions on the "duplicate's" face visibly stiffened and became mechanical, as if its soul had suddenly been withdrawn, "See, it can move just by using a tiny bit of energy."

The expressionless puppet body began to move around, albeit unsteadily, but indeed freely.

Erin appeared rather smug.

Yu Sheng's expression suddenly became contemplative.

"And I've found that this body actually has some capacity for autonomous action," she went on, "You don't need to completely 'take over' for it to perform certain tasks. For example, 'walking to a certain place' or 'bringing something back' can be completed by itself..."

Yu Sheng's thoughtful expression abruptly turned into shock.

"Wait, you mean... this husk, it has its own cognitive abilities?!"

Erin was also stunned by these words, and after seriously pondering, she shook her head: "Doesn't seem like it. It's not about cognitive abilities; it's more like... instincts? Rather advanced instincts? And those are only 'activated' when I've established a connection with it. I'm not exactly sure how to describe them."

Yu Sheng deeply furrowed his brows.

This was a situation he had not anticipated at all.

But one thing he could be sure of was that when he had just completed the "manufacture," the blank puppet shell had no ability to move at all. Even if it suddenly exhibited "living" characteristics halfway through, and its chest began heaving with breaths, it was still just a soulless shell without any instincts.

The "instincts" that Erin mentioned only emerged after she first took over the new body.

So... was the key with Erin?

Serious contemplation gradually overtook Yu Sheng's expression.

The little puppet looked up and instinctively took a half step back with both bodies: "Wait, you... you don't have another idea, do you?"

"I'm just a bit curious," Yu Sheng said earnestly, eyeing the defensive Erin, "Do you think... you could control a third body?"

Erin was stunned, and her mouth hung open: "...Ah?"

"If these new bodies can all develop the kind of 'instinct' you mentioned, and controlling them only requires a little energy, then maybe two bodies are not the limit of what you can handle. What if I made a few more puppets, could you still cope with that?"

Erin was speechless with her mouth open.

Even the puppet Miss Erin, who was already fairly used to Yu Sheng's "ideas" and was quite adaptable, was nearly called to the heavens by the gateway to the new world that had just opened up.

However, after the initial shock wore off, she couldn't help but follow this wonderful train of thought.

Even Hu Li showed a curious expression: "Feels like... we could give it a try?"

Hearing Hu Li say that, Erin sighed: "Yu Sheng's 'ideas' are just like this. Although they sound far-fetched and not very reliable at first, they carry a kind of 'attractiveness' like a perverse charm. It's as if his 'let's-try-it' 'explorative mindset' ends up being contagious with his ideas. Once you've heard his bizarre thoughts, you can't help but to think about their feasibility, consider the outcomes, and in the end... join him to 'give it a try.'"

Yu Sheng was slightly dissatisfied hearing this: "The way you put it, why does it sound like all my experimental creativity is some kind of forbidding affair?"

The two Erins bared their teeth at him: "You really don't think it's forbidding?"

Yu Sheng coughed twice: "Ahem, then you decide whether to give it a try or not!"

"It's not... not possible," Erin muttered, "I am actually a bit curious myself—though you need to tell me in advance when doing the test to the last step, so I am prepared when taking over the new body. Not like this morning..."

"Don't worry, don't worry," Yu Sheng reassured her quickly, "Once bitten, twice shy, now we have some experience, right?"

With that, his eyes suddenly shifted again, once more settling steadfastly on the puppet Miss Erin.

This time, Erin stepped back more than just half a step.

"What idea do you have again! It's freaky, just say everything at once!"

"Uh, it's just a passing thought," Yu Sheng said, scratching his head a bit embarrassed by her reaction, "If we continue to make new bodies, should we maybe look into studying new crafts and processes..."

Erin: "?"

"You see, the main materials for your first body are clay and lotus root, right?" Yu Sheng began to explain his idea enthusiastically, "And you even said, lotus root originally couldn't be used for puppet materials. The second body's material is clay, but without your instructions, I suspect even the auxiliary materials' proportions were probably not standard. So, for the subsequent bodies, why not simply test several different materials and processing methods?"

Erin looked skeptical: "... Huh?"

"I've always been quite bothered about how your first body got damaged in combat," Yu Sheng pondered, his expression sincere, "Especially when the arms were completely broken, and the legs were so badly off."

"I don't mind it myself," Erin waved her hand, "But what exactly are you getting at?"

"I was just thinking, if we can't find higher-grade alchemy materials, could we find another way to enhance your body's strength."

Erin was even more puzzled: "... Ah, so what?"

"In simple terms, next time I'm thinking of trying to replace your skeletal frame with reinforced steel rods instead of wire..."

Erin: "... What the fuck?!"

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