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“You’re still planning to use brute force?” Irene asked curiously. “Trying every ‘frequency’ you think might be close?”

Yu Sheng sighed. “It’s the only option. When I first entered the valley, I hadn’t truly mastered the technique of ‘opening doors.’ I missed too many details back then.”

Irene tilted her head, her tiny face deep in thought. After a moment, she spoke hesitantly. “Actually… I have an idea.”

Yu Sheng leaned forward eagerly. “Oh? You have a way?!”

“It might not work,” she cautioned. “I don’t really understand how you ‘open doors,’ or what you mean by ‘frequency.’ But from what I gather, you need some kind of ‘feature’ to help you lock onto the destination? Like a navigation signal?”

“Well… that makes sense,” Yu Sheng admitted, though uncertainty tinged his voice. “Honestly, I haven’t fully figured it out myself. The whole process was me fumbling around, relying on ‘feel.’ But your description of a ‘navigation signal’ is pretty accurate. When I open a door, the destination on the other side is completely random. But if I can accurately ‘remember’ some ‘feature’ of the place beyond the door, the pathway collapses into a single, specific route. That’s roughly how it works.”

“So, if we could leave a navigation point where Foxy is, you could recreate the pathway directly?” Irene suggested.

“That should be possible,” Yu Sheng nodded, then hesitated. “But where are we supposed to get such a navigation point? The problem is that we can’t find the way to the valley. If we could leave a navigation point there, we wouldn’t be worrying about this.”

“From within the dream,” Irene said suddenly.

Yu Sheng blinked, beginning to understand what she was suggesting.

Irene continued, explaining in detail. “Last time, when we delved into Foxy’s dream together, I established a weak connection with her. If we take that connection further, I might be able to link to her senses. Then, if I bring you along, you could directly experience the valley through Foxy’s perceptions. Wouldn’t that effectively establish a ‘navigation point’?”

Yu Sheng listened, his eyes widening as he considered her plan. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this doll’s wild idea might actually work.

“There are two challenges with this,” Irene went on. “First, we’ll need Foxy’s cooperation. She has to be willing to open her mind to you. But that shouldn’t be too big of a problem; just explain it to her properly. She trusts you. The second challenge is a bit… dangerous.”

Yu Sheng didn’t interrupt, signaling with his eyes for her to continue.

“The second challenge is that Foxy’s mind isn’t just her own anymore,” Irene’s expression turned serious, her gaze meeting Yu Sheng’s. “That entity has deeply infiltrated her subconscious. So once you establish a deep connection with Foxy, it’s equivalent to connecting directly with Hunger as well. I don’t know what might happen then. In theory, you should be able to withstand brief contact, but I’m worried that Hunger’s influence could take root in your mind. When you confront that monster in the valley, the part of its influence embedded in you might erupt at any time…”

Yu Sheng fell into a deep silence, pondering her words.

Seeing his quiet contemplation, Irene’s eyes darted around before she reacted. She stood up on the sofa, hands on her hips (though still not as tall as Yu Sheng sitting down). “Don’t you dare think about dying first to see if you can clear the influence! I’m telling you, that tendency is dangerous. If dying and coming back doesn’t shake it off, you’ll be in big trouble…”

Yu Sheng adjusted his sitting position awkwardly. “I didn’t say…”

“I can see it written all over your face!”

Yu Sheng sighed. The doll’s mind didn’t usually work well, so why was her intuition so sharp now?

“Alright, alright, I’ll put any thoughts of ‘dying’ to the back of my mind,” he conceded, uncomfortable under Irene’s piercing red gaze. He waved his hand in surrender and forcibly steered the conversation back on track. “But I still think we should try your plan. The risk of direct contact with Hunger is real, but I believe… it’s worth taking.”

Irene continued to stare at him with her scarlet eyes. After a few seconds, she finally spoke. “Fine. It seems you really want to save that fox. Her situation can’t be delayed any longer. We’ll go with this plan.”

But then Yu Sheng remembered something. “But there’s still a problem.”

“What is it?”

“I might not be able to dream the same dream with Foxy,” he said, spreading his hands helplessly. “Last night, I didn’t even dream at all—I have no idea how to control my own dreams.”

Hearing this, Irene grinned, a mischievous and proud smile spreading across her face.

“I can help with that,” the little doll declared confidently, standing on the sofa with her arms crossed. “You just go to sleep and leave the rest to me—I tell you, ever since I broke free from that painting’s restraints, I’m incredibly powerful now! I’m even scar—”

She didn’t get to finish. Yu Sheng shifted his position on the sofa, causing the cushion to deform. Standing on the edge, Irene wobbled with the movement. With a startled “Ah!”, she tumbled off the sofa—only to be caught between the sofa and the coffee table by the oil painting strapped to her back, dangling beneath it.

She flailed beneath the painting, arms, and legs waving wildly as if trying to take flight and bite someone.

Her curses were surprisingly colorful.

Yu Sheng picked up the painting and held it aloft. “Seems like this restraint is still pretty serious for you.”

“Stop laughing… If you laugh again, I won’t help you!” Irene’s arms were stuck between the painting’s straps, and as Yu Sheng lifted the painting, she hung there like a little crucifix. “Put me down! Put me… Ow, my arms! My joints are stuck! Help me bend them back…”

Yu Sheng looked at her, speechless. He carefully plucked her off the painting, enduring her indignant chatter as he helped bend her joints back into place.

Late that night, Yu Sheng had prepared everything for sleep.

Irene was still scampering around on his bed, like a tiny rocket zooming back and forth.

“Can’t you settle down for a bit?” Yu Sheng asked helplessly, lying on the bed and watching her bounce around. “I’m trying to sleep.”

“Your bed is so big!” Irene exclaimed happily, running near the headboard. She hopped onto the nightstand, hugging the lamp and shaking it enthusiastically, seemingly oblivious to Yu Sheng’s words. “Hey, hey, this lamp is shorter than me! Yu Sheng, look! This lamp is shorter than me!”

“I’ll get an even smaller nightlight next time, shorter than you!” Yu Sheng rolled his eyes, exasperated. He reached out and plucked Irene off the lamp. “Have you forgotten what we’re supposed to be doing? If you keep messing around, I’ll lock you in the wardrobe!”

Irene finally settled down, giving him a sheepish grin. “I’m just a bit excited… Okay, okay, you sleep, you sleep. I won’t cause any trouble.”

Yu Sheng sighed, weariness evident in his expression. He set her down gently. “Go help me turn off the light.”

“I can’t reach it!” she declared, unapologetic.

“…Then get a chair!”

“Oh.”

Finally, the world was quiet.

Yu Sheng took a deep breath, enjoying the momentary peace in the now-dark bedroom. He began to adjust his state of mind, trying to drift into sleep.

Then he turned his head and saw, in the darkness, two glowing red eyes staring at him from the side of the bed.

Irene was clinging to the edge of the mattress like a koala, her scarlet eyes fixed intently on him.

“…You’re making it harder for me to sleep,” Yu Sheng said, a note of exasperation in his voice. “By the way, why did you insist on coming to my room? Didn’t you stay downstairs before and still enter my dreams? Is it necessary to follow me?”

“Being closer improves the signal,” she replied matter-of-factly as if that explained everything.

Her excuse was both nonsensical and strangely convincing.

At least she seemed to understand his point, finally jumping down and scampering over to a nearby chair, where she settled herself.

Yu Sheng sighed again.

He knew Irene was still watching him. He had no idea what went on in that doll’s mind (if she even had one), but it seemed he wouldn’t be able to get rid of her tonight.

He could only try his best to ignore the scarlet gaze from the darkness, pushing away distractions and letting sleepiness take over.

He wasn’t sure how long he tossed and turned—perhaps an hour, maybe longer.

When exhaustion finally claimed him, he drifted into a misty darkness.

Dreams enveloped him, and through the haze, he heard Irene’s soft voice. “You finally fell asleep… Come on, this way.”

Yu Sheng instinctively turned toward the sound. In the next moment, the mist parted, and light and shadows emerged from the darkness.

He found himself once again in that vast, dim wilderness. A gloomy sky hung overhead, blanketing the earth. In the distance were unnamed hills, and the silver-white fox still slumbered in the open plain.

He began walking forward, immediately noticing the ‘guide’ floating beside him.

It was Irene guiding his dream.

Yu Sheng halted, his expression a mix of surprise and amusement as he looked at the oil painting floating in midair.

From within the painting, Irene stared back at him.

“Why do I feel like this painting is your true form?” Yu Sheng remarked.

Irene looked down at herself, then glanced around. It took a moment before realization dawned on her.

“Hey, why am I back in the painting?!”