Yu Sheng felt something in his heart about what Marin described as the "terrifying darkness" and instinctively looked up at the door at the end of the second-floor corridor.

He was uncertain how this living doll perceived and judged those "unknown elements" within Erin, but one thing was clear: this genuine Alice Puppet understood Erin's situation more clearly than the average person—professional matters are best left to professionals, and now a long-standing question finally found its answer.

The good news is that Erin is indeed an "Alice Puppet," her sisters, her memories, her "hometown," they all truly exist.

The bad news is... not entirely.

Now Yu Sheng could almost be certain that the "terrifying darkness" within her was from the "Omen Goddess" of unknown origin.

"Is there any information about the designation 'Omen Goddess' in your 'Alice's Cottage' records?" He looked up, breaking the silence with a serious expression.

Marin immediately responded: "...Is this the source of that 'darkness'?"

Yu Sheng nodded slightly.

Marin was silent for a moment, her eyes suddenly becoming a bit vacant. She stood motionless as a faint humming came from within her, and after a moment, she "woke up" again, frowning slightly and shaking her head: "There is no record of this in the Matrix Network."

However, she quickly added, "But it doesn't rule out the possibility that this information is stored in the local database of some remote nodes—if it has a memetic contamination risk, the 'Casket' system will automatically intercept the related data at its place of release. I've already made a wide-area inquiry in the Garden Network to see if any other sisters have encountered intelligence that might be related, but there's been no response yet."

Yu Sheng wasn't very clear about the internal workings of this puppet organization, but from Marin's brief words, he still determined their professionalism and caution in this regard, so he naturally didn't say much more, but brought up another question.

"Are there any other puppets named 'Erin'? Are any of them missing? Are there any that look very similar to my Erin at home?"

Marin immediately nodded: "That's exactly the other reason I'm visiting you today."

As she spoke, she casually took out a silver-gray metal rod, and upon stroking its surface lightly, it quickly unfolded into a light screen—as the images on the screen changed, she explained beside it: "'Erin' is not a particularly rare name in Alice's Cottage, and among them, there are indeed three whose status is unaccounted for. Here is their information..."

Yu Sheng leaned in and watched as the images on the light screen rolled, and the three missing dolls named "Erin" came into view.

The first wasn't it, nor the second—but the third made his eyes suddenly freeze.

"Stop for a moment—that's the one."

A golden-haired, expressionless puppet girl stood in the image, looking extremely similar to the broken puppet Yu Sheng had seen in the illusion of those temple ruins.

"I've seen this face in a ruin illusion!" he quickly exclaimed.

"Are you certain it's her?" Marin's tone carried a hint of astonishment.

Yu Sheng took the light screen again and meticulously compared it—after all, compared to the appearance he had seen before, the person in the ID photo now didn't look as cracked, and there was a slight difference in appearance—after repeatedly comparing for a few seconds, he nodded: "That's the one. By the way, her expression is very aloof... it's nothing like the 'Erin' at my home now."

Marin casually remarked: "That's how ID photos are."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment: "...That's not necessarily so. Erin's photo on her ID looks like she's about to jump up. It was quite a struggle to hold her down on the couch for the photo back then."

Marin: "..."

"Ahem," Yu Sheng cleared his throat twice, pointing to the "Erin" on the light screen, "when did she disappear?"

"...Three thousand seven hundred years ago," Marin's expression became serious, "so I was a bit stunned earlier—if it truly is her, investigating this matter will likely be even more challenging."

Three thousand seven hundred years ago!!

Upon hearing Marin's answer, Yu Sheng couldn't hide the astonishment in his expression—the time span far exceeded his expectations.

In other words, if the little one at home now truly is the "Erin" from the missing records, and if that scene of mutual destruction in the dark ruins indeed happened so long ago... then until he opened that room at the end of the corridor, Erin had already been sealed in that painting for three thousand seven hundred years?!

Yu Sheng once again looked back at the door at the end of the corridor, while Marin quickly noticed his action and asked curiously, "Is that the room where you first discovered 'Erin'?"

Yu Sheng nodded and directly led this living doll to the end of the corridor, opened the door to confirm the situation inside, and then took her into this eerie, vacant room.

"Erin's 'painting' used to hang in this spot," Yu Sheng raised his hand to point to the opposite wall, "after taking down the painting, the room changed. When I opened the door the second time, the place where the painting hung had turned into this mirror..."

He briefly told Marin about the state of the room and the events at that time, and she curiously approached the mirror. Yu Sheng quickly reminded her, "Don't touch that thing—it's very unstable; sometimes it leads to very dangerous dimensions. I'm telling you, this whole room is quite eerie..."

Marin withdrew her hand obediently, but when she heard Yu Sheng's last sentence, she showed a subtle expression and glanced at the corridor outside the room.

The corridor was hazy, with fractures of various sizes extending from the floor to the ceiling. "Projections" from various space-time coordinates chaotically reflected in every corner of the house. The entire building was filled with indescribable, incomprehensible distortions and abnormalities, and it seemed as if every inch of space simultaneously existed everywhere in the universe—.

Yet, the owner of No. 66 Wutong Road claimed the room at the end of the corridor on the second floor was particularly eerie.

Is there anywhere in this entire house that's not eerie!

...

Erin once again sneakily hopped under the coffee table, using her height advantage to slide under the sofa, silently approaching the back of the spring doll standing beside the sofa.

Maris turned her head somewhat helplessly, looking at the tiny figure behind her, straining on tiptoes but unable to reach her waist.

"Miss Erin, my spring key isn't meant to be installed on you..."

Erin stood with hands on hips, tilting her face up, showing no embarrassment at being caught in the act, instead she was righteous: "Are you really powered by springs?"

"That's not power," Maris shook her head, "My spring key is merely due to the mistress's personal aesthetic and interests—she turns it for fun when she's bored."

"Oh..." Erin nodded dazedly, suddenly curious again, "Does Marin herself have a spring key?"

"Of course she does," Maris explained earnestly, perhaps convinced that this tiny figure was also a special model of Alice Puppet, she showed great patience towards Erin's questions, "Alice Puppets all have their own spring keys."

Erin blinked: "Also for decoration?"

"No, the spring key for Alice Puppets is a crucial component, which can enhance strength or protect oneself in emergencies—Miss Marin said so."

Erin thought for a moment, scratching her head: "I don't have one."

She turned around to show Maris her back—nothing was visible with clothes on, but she clearly wasn't conscious of such details: "This body is temporary! Once I find my own Alice Secret Key, I'll reconnect the garden network, recreate my original body, and then I'll have a spring key too!"

Maris paused, seeming slightly unaccustomed to the communication rhythm with this "mini Alice Puppet," so she resorted to a perfunctory response: "Well then, let's hope you find your secret key smoothly."

Next second, Erin popped another question: "Does the secret key look the same as the spring key?"

Maris: "..."

It was the sofa fox who broke the situation, relieving the spring doll's embarrassment: "Definitely not the same! The secret key sounds more like a password, while a spring key is for winding..."

"Is that so?" Erin scratched her head again, turned to continue looking at Maris, "Ah, also, you're not an Alice Puppet, are you?"

"I am a versatile personal assistant purchased by Miss Marin," Maris bent her waist slightly, "Produced by Algerde-Universe United Industry, specially customized for Alice's Cottage, designed with multiple functions tailored for Alice Puppets to fully adapt and satisfy various needs in daily life and work..."

Erin's eyes instantly lit up: "Oh, like what?"

"For example, maintenance and cleaning of ball joints, assisting the mistress in manufacturing and commanding other subordinate dolls, managing daily life, and telling dad jokes."

"Sounds like... not much?" Erin's eyes turned, waving her hand, "I have Yu Sheng—though he doesn't tell dad jokes."

After this, the little puppet seemed to suddenly lose interest in Maris, turned around and climbed onto the sofa, sat cross-legged on the cushion, and began to drawl: "Ah—why isn't Yu Sheng back yet... Yu Sheng! Yu Sheng! Yu Sheng—I am bored!!"

While she was only halfway through her whining, Yu Sheng's hurried footsteps came from the stairs along with a resigned murmur: "I heard you, I heard you; stop calling like you're invoking spirits all day."

Erin lifted her head and saw Yu Sheng descending the stairs with Marin; she immediately became cheerful, jumped off the sofa and ran towards the stairs, babbling rapidly: "Hey Yu Sheng, guess what, all Alice Puppets have keys! When you have time, drill a hole in my back too. Maris said her key is installed after production; it can be turned for entertainment, and turning it activates hidden energy. When I go out in the future, I'll need a power bank, how long does a smartwatch battery last..."

Marin stopped midway down the stairs, her expression bewildered, and after a while she ventured, "Is her logic always like this?"

Yu Sheng sighed: "Always like this; today it's actually mild compared to usual..."

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