Chapter 112: A Substantial Plan

Chapter 112: A Substantial Plan

Irene felt that even among Yu Sheng’s already extensive collection of bizarre ideas, this newly proposed one was excessively bizarre.

But on the other hand, every idea this guy proposed carried a kind of strangeness that made it impossible not to care about it. After the initial shock and astonishment, the doll found herself unable to suppress a strong interest in this “concept”. It sounded absurd, strange, and completely incompatible with the basic rules of doll construction and alchemy theory, but…

Was it really not worth trying? Trying it… did not seem like a bad thing.

“You see, you think it’s a good idea too,” Yu Sheng said proudly as he noticed the change in Irene’s expression. “And it’s not just the skeleton that can be replaced with rebar. I can also try casting your entire body with concrete. That stuff is easier to mix into blood than lotus root…”

Irene froze again. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke softly. “…Isn’t that a bit too absurd?”

Yu Sheng replied seriously, “Clay is earth, concrete is also earth. That’s how I see it.”

“…I, I guess?”

“I should’ve gone to the building materials market when we went shopping earlier,” Yu Sheng said with some regret. “Could’ve picked up some cement and steel bars. Oh, and I’d need some proper equipment too, welding machines, angle grinders. I wonder if they’re expensive.”

The names sounded increasingly unrelated to alchemy to Irene.

But Yu Sheng did not dwell on the topic for long. He quickly waved it off. “It’s fine, no rush this time. Just get familiar with your extra body first. You can also think about improvement suggestions. Next time I make a new body for you, I’ll try to make it better.”

He looked energized, as if this project brought him immense satisfaction.

Then he walked to the edge of the platform and called Hu Li over, pointing at an empty area next to the crude stone hut that looked like a giant matchbox.

“Let’s raise the chicks here. I’ll build a simple coop first. When they grow up and the vegetation in the valley has been ‘accelerated’ by me, we’ll let them out.”

As he spoke, the ground trembled slightly. Stones rose from below and quickly formed a fence. Inside, troughs for water and food were created. Rough, but functional.

Hu Li blinked, then reached into her tail and pulled out a group of chicks. She placed them inside the enclosure, then filled the troughs with food and clean water. Her tail truly seemed to contain everything.

While doing all this, the fox girl’s expression was focused and happy, even somewhat affectionate.

Affectionate toward future braised chicken legs, roasted wings, saliva chicken, smoked chicken, roast chicken, and stewed chicken.

“I’ll redirect a water channel here later,” Yu Sheng said, watching Hu Li carefully tend to the chicks. “There’s a water source over by the original grove, not too far from here. Next time we come, we can bring tools and materials to improve this camp. This valley will be the base of our organization…”

“Having a base is fine,” Irene muttered nearby, “but the problem is only you can open the door every time. Even Hu Li needs you to open it just to come feed the chickens, isn’t that inconvenient?”

Yu Sheng frowned slightly.

This was something he had also been thinking about recently.

The ability to “open doors” was convenient, but if he built a team and a fixed base like this valley, then a door only he could open became a limitation. Irene and Hu Li would not be able to enter or leave freely, meaning this could not truly count as a shared base.

“I’ve been thinking about that too,” Yu Sheng said thoughtfully. “It would be best if there were a permanently open passage here. One that doesn’t require me to maintain it.”

“Is that even possible?” Irene blinked. “That doesn’t sound like there’s any clear approach.”

“First, this is an Other Domain, and all Other Domains originally have entry methods. I just destroyed and rewrote this valley’s original access route,” Yu Sheng analyzed seriously. “So the key is how to rebuild a kind of ‘public channel’. And as for ideas… it’s not like I have none.”

Both Irene and Hu Li immediately perked up and looked at him.

“You have a solution?” Irene asked.

“There’s something you should remember,” Yu Sheng said. “You can see and open the gate at Wutong Road 66. Strictly speaking, that gate is also a kind of ‘entry-exit’ mechanism. Others cannot see or touch it, but I hold the authority to open it. And after sharing my blood, you and Hu Li also gained the ability to open it.”

“Right, right!” Irene reacted immediately, then frowned. “But the gate at Wutong Road 66 already exists. It’s already there, so we can open it. But this valley doesn’t have anything like that. The passage here only appears when you open it, and disappears once you let go.”

“What if we could fix a gate here?” Yu Sheng said thoughtfully. “Build something like the Wutong Road 66 gate by hand. Use your alchemy techniques to imbue an object with power. In theory, should it work?”

Irene stared at him blankly for a long moment. “…Did I teach you that in alchemy?”

“Ahem, I added a bit of imagination,” Yu Sheng coughed. “I think it’s feasible. We can try it later. Trying doesn’t cost anything.”

Irene immediately understood this was another of Yu Sheng’s classic “just try it” ideas. In the end, his strange ideas always seemed to go down that path.

This could almost be called the doctrine of experimentation.

“I guess we’ll be busy for a while,” Yu Sheng said happily as he finalized his plans. “Build Irene a new rebar-concrete body, develop this valley base, open proper farmland next time, build irrigation channels, construct a stable portal… thinking about it, the coming days are going to be pretty packed.”

He walked to the edge of the platform and looked out at the vast valley.

The valley that had once been devoured by Hunger Entities was now steadily recovering. Under his influence, the recovery rate far exceeded natural growth.

Cracks in the land were slowly sealing. Distant mountains showed visible signs of healing where they had collapsed and fractured. The faint greenery that had first appeared around the ruins had already spread far beyond its origin.

Pale green stretched along the contours of the valley floor. Tender sprouts of grass and young shrubs emerged between them, remnants of the valley’s former vitality. Once lost to the darkness beneath the earth, they were now breaking through the surface again and reaching toward the light.

An inexplicable sense of solidity rose within him. Yu Sheng looked at the scene and could not help but slightly curl his lips upward. “Good place… truly a good place.”

Footsteps came from behind him. Hu Li approached holding two chicks, hesitating slightly as she looked at him. “Benefactor, I want to take these two home to raise. Is that okay?”

Yu Sheng turned around. The fox girl was looking at him expectantly, golden-red eyes full of anticipation. The two chicks in her hands chirped softly, completely unaware of their fate.

Yu Sheng looked curious. “These two…”

“Bai Qie and Salt Bake,” Hu Li said immediately.

Yu Sheng: “…”

She had actually named them.

So she really intended to keep them as pets.

Even Yu Sheng found this arrangement slightly unhinged, but under the fox girl’s innocent and expectant gaze, he suppressed his urge to complain and said flatly, “Fine. I’ll find you a cardboard box when we get back. Keep them on the balcony.”

Hu Li immediately brightened. “Thank you, Benefactor!”

At that moment, Yu Sheng felt his pocket vibrate. A ringtone followed.

He pulled out his phone and saw Li Lin’s name on the screen.

But before answering, he paused.

Signal?

There was signal in this valley?

He clearly remembered that when this place was still Nightfall Valley, there had been no signal inside. Li Lin and the others who were trapped here at the time had been unable to contact the outside world.

But now there was signal?

Was this also a change after the “feast”?

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. After a two to three second pause, he answered the call.

“Hello?”