When Foxy finally explained what had gone wrong, the little doll’s expression collapsed—as if the entire sky had crashed down upon her.

She’d never imagined that her powerful new body was nothing but a limited-time trial version.

Now that her energy had run dry, even moving a finger was nearly impossible.

“What do we do now…?” Irene Number One murmured beside Yu Sheng, tilting her head upward to gaze at the immobile new body still resting helplessly in Yu Sheng’s arms. She then turned anxiously toward the Fox Girl. “Do you have any ideas?”

Foxy stepped forward seriously and examined Pro Irene’s state, carefully bending and stretching the doll’s limbs and performing a series of mystical gestures and chants whose usefulness seemed questionable. After a long while, she nodded: “In theory… just wait.”

Yu Sheng and Irene spoke together: “Wait?”

“Just wait for her to recharge,” Foxy explained, pointing toward the doll’s hand. “See? Her fingers are already moving a little. Spirit Fox Dark Iron naturally gathers the spiritual energies of heaven and earth. Once forged into such a complex puppet body, it still retains this ability. If we wait patiently, she should slowly recover.”

“R-Really?” Irene Number One’s eyes sparkled hopefully. “You’re not tricking me, right?”

Foxy tapped Irene Number One lightly with her tail. “Why would I trick you?”

“Fine, fine… let’s just wait…”

As it turned out, Foxy really wasn’t lying. After several more minutes, Pro Irene gradually regained basic motor functions. Although she moved stiffly, squeaking and creaking like an old iron puppet that hadn’t seen oil in years, at least she could finally stand and even shuffle around.

Recovering basic mobility cheered the little doll slightly, though clearly not enough.

Dragging her feet like an old, rusty machine, she shuffled half a circle around Yu Sheng, stopping next to her other three bodies with a gloomy look. “Feels like I’m hauling around a human-shaped coffin. This recharging speed is awful! If just moving takes this long, when can I ever gather enough energy to fire another laser cannon?”

She turned hopefully to Foxy again. “Isn’t there a way to speed up the charging?”

Foxy pondered. “Usually, I just eat things. Lots and lots of things.”

Irene: “…”

Yu Sheng coughed quietly at her side. “Um, she doesn’t have a digestive system.”

“Wouldn’t matter even if she did,” Foxy’s ears twitched. “Ordinary stomachs can’t refine matter into energy anyway.”

“Then please think harder—is there another quicker way?” Yu Sheng glanced nervously at Irene’s face. “She looks like she’s about to cry again.”

“Absorbing spiritual energies directly?” Foxy suggested tentatively. Before Irene’s eyes fully lit up with excitement, Foxy quickly shook her head. “But I only saw that technique in short online videos about ancient cultivation… I don’t actually know how it’s done. Maybe some other external power source? But I can’t think of how… we can’t exactly plug her into a power socket, right?”

Hearing Foxy muttering, Yu Sheng knew the Nine-Tailed Fox, who hadn’t even finished elementary school, wasn’t likely to offer much help. With a sigh, he picked up Pro Irene again and spoke gently, trying to comfort her: “At least you can recharge yourself. Sure, it’s a bit slow, but you have multiple bodies, remember? Think of this as your special trump card—charge it slowly at home, and when there’s trouble, I’ll open a Door and bring you out to unleash your big move…”

The little doll raised her head, glaring from Yu Sheng’s embrace. “Yu Sheng…”

“Hm?”

She clenched her teeth. “You really are great at comforting people!”

Yu Sheng had a feeling this wasn’t a compliment…

A while later, the nearby crowd—led by the Long-Haired Girl Princess—had finally figured out the situation. They all gathered around, some offering comfort, others eagerly questioning the doll about her multiple-body “replication” process, a few praising the colorful daily life at the hotel, and one, in particular, enthusiastically complimenting Irene’s earlier military boxing moves. This last person was none other than the carefree Long-Haired Girl Princess herself—who, halfway through praising Irene, was soon pounced upon by three angry little dolls and hammered with a furious barrage of tiny headbutts until she fled, squealing.

Yu Sheng looked around briefly and noticed someone was missing. Curious, he asked, “Where’s Little Red Riding Hood? Off on another mission?”

“She’s in class,” Snow White answered casually, watching the playful scuffle between Irene and the princess. “She won’t be back until evening.”

Yu Sheng blinked. “But isn’t it Saturday?”

Snow White shrugged. “She’s a senior, remember?”

Yu Sheng paused, nodding slowly. “…Right, I forgot.”

“Oh, by the way,” Snow White leaned closer, whispering quietly, “Did you know her birthday’s next week?”

Yu Sheng nodded. “She mentioned it to me ages ago.”

“Have you picked a gift yet?” Snow White murmured again before quickly adding, “I plan to give her some books.”

Yu Sheng’s expression turned uncertain. After a long hesitation, he admitted sheepishly, “Actually… I was also thinking of giving her some books.”

“That’s good then. She likes books anyway.”

With that, Snow White walked away.

Yu Sheng watched Irene and the Long Haired Girl playfully chasing each other nearby, lost in thought.

[A gift, huh…]

He tried to remember, but couldn’t recall ever choosing gifts for others. He couldn’t even remember many birthdays he’d celebrated.

His life before arriving in this strange place called “Borderland” had always flowed quietly, like clear, gentle waters. Quiet. Peaceful. Solitary. Even writing had been little more than a way to get by. Compared to that serene past, even three days here felt noisier and brighter than all those previous years combined.

…Though sometimes, things here were too lively.

Yu Sheng chuckled quietly, shaking his head. He glanced once more at Irene and the Long Haired Princess, who were now squealing and tumbling about even more fiercely. Finally, he sighed in resignation.

“Hey, you two! Take your play-fighting somewhere else! Get away from the platform—I’m going to build something here!”

The moment he spoke, Irene and the Long Haired Girl froze, immediately ceasing their playful tussle.

Several pairs of curious eyes turned toward Yu Sheng at once.

The Long Haired Girl was the first to hurry over, tilting her head inquisitively. “Brother, what exactly are you building?”

“Walls and a roof around this platform,” Yu Sheng explained, spreading his hands helplessly. “It’s the heart of our Hotel base, after all. We can’t leave it as just a plain slab of stone. Actually, I plan to build several floors—make it impressive.”

“Several floors?” Irene’s interest was instantly piqued. “What will you do with all of them?”

“Haven’t figured that out yet. I’ll build them first, then decide,” Yu Sheng admitted easily. “But the second floor definitely needs an alchemy lab—not a makeshift one, a real one, complete with an alchemy table, preparation room, and storage.”

Irene’s eyes sparkled. “To make new bodies for me?”

Yu Sheng scowled slightly. “Can’t I research something else?”

“You know how to make something else?”

Yu Sheng’s mouth twitched. “…To make new bodies for you.”

“Great!”

Regardless, after many chaotic twists and turns, Yu Sheng was finally ready to build atop the long-prepared “Hub Platform.”

Thanks to their profound trust in Yu Sheng’s talent for raising buildings out of the ground, the Long Haired Princess and her companions immediately moved a hundred meters away from the platform.

Even Foxy and Irene fled—the mobility-impaired Pro Irene had to be carried off by her other three doll-like selves.

“Is this really necessary…?”

Yu Sheng glanced back, muttering helplessly at the group, already gathered at a safe distance. Still, he paid them no further attention, instead calming his mind and turning his focus inward.

Standing at the edge of the platform, he began visualizing the construction in his mind, the “blueprint” slowly taking shape.

First, he needed a good vantage point for construction.

The soil beneath his feet stirred and squirmed, hardening into solidity, rising steadily. Soon, a tall, gray-white pillar emerged, carrying Yu Sheng upward, granting him an expansive view over the Portal Platform.

Far away, Irene observed quietly, whispering in awe. “It actually looks pretty cool…”

Foxy nodded solemnly. “I’ve always said Benefactor could become a Civil Engineering Immortal.”

Yu Sheng could hear their distant whispers.

In fact, at this moment, he could hear everything on and around the platform with stunning clarity: the faint whisper of wind over sand, tender sprouts breaking through soil, and even the quiet, grinding sounds of rock rising steadily from the earth.

In his vision, the land had become a living thing, a form he could mold and shape at will.

Massive walls began ascending from the platform’s edge, their deep rumbling echoing through the air. Sturdy, ancient-looking stone columns rose alongside them, supporting a graceful walkway circling the outer perimeter. Additional columns rose inside, appearing like the mighty ribs of some giant beast, preparing to support the dome that would soon cover it all.

Yu Sheng watched closely as this structure of stone swiftly assembled itself—the bones and flesh of his building rising floor by floor.

His mental blueprint depicted an enormous pyramid.

The pyramid had seven levels, each smaller than the one below, each distinct in purpose.

The first floor would serve as the foundation—the Portal Platform itself, a core structure connecting the Hotel’s many destinations. Considering the boundless vastness of the universe, even the largest hall wouldn’t suffice, so the Doors here would connect only to the most critical points. Hence, it would be known as the “Hub Hall.”

The second floor was for research, centered around an alchemy lab dedicated primarily to crafting more Irene bodies. It would be surrounded by additional rooms awaiting future use.

The third level was a massive storage area. Yu Sheng needed a warehouse—a grand one, to hold all the strange and wondrous things he found, along with useful tools and weapons. After all, the basement at Wutong Road No. 66 was spacious, but nowhere near as vast as a marvel built here in the Valley. Considering how many unusual items existed in this universe, space in the basement would soon run short.

Thus, the entire third floor would become his personal “Treasure Pavilion.”

The fourth to seventh levels… Well, they weren’t particularly useful. They were mainly to complete the majestic look and achieve the perfect pyramid shape…