"Sister, are you hidden well? Giggles!"
In the middle of all that cute and sweet giggling, Elena could hear some teeth grinding. It was creepy and echoed in the quiet room, waking her up from a deep sleep.
Elena opened her eyes and realized she was hiding under the bed, hugging her knees. She was wearing this thin, expensive silk nightgown, and the cold floor made her shiver just a little.
"Wait... Did I just time-travel or something?"
Elena asked herself silently, and suddenly, memories of this body flooded into her mind.
Turns out, Elena was actually the child of a vampire and a human! She had this incredible beauty, a perfect figure, blood-red eyes as bright as rubies, and long, smooth white hair that flowed like moonlight.
But here's the thing—her mom passed away when she was young, and since she was 12, she'd been living with her dad in the vampire castle. Even though her dad was a vampire, she didn't inherit any vampire blood at all—she was completely human.
And humans? In the vampire castle, they were basically food. If it weren't for her dad being the owner of the castle, Elena was sure she'd have been drained dry by now and turned into some vampire's snack.
So over the years, Elena had lived super cautiously, barely stepping out of her room. Her personality became more and more isolated and timid.
Just now, her stepmom—a vampire—decided to "help" her "physical and mental health development" by sending this super-cute little girl to play games with her. But after playing just one game with the little girl, Elena was... absolutely terrified.
"Sister, are you hidden well?"
Right then, the little girl's cheerful voice broke through Elena's thoughts again.
"Alright, I'll come find you! Heeheehee, giggle giggle giggle!"
As the laughter rang out, Elena peeked at the little girl's red leather shoes, white lace stockings, and black-and-red gothic dress from under the bed. At first glance, she seemed like such a cute and delicate little girl.
But the memories of the original owner of this body before dying told her something else entirely...
This little girl was a devil!
A bloodthirsty, terrifying rag doll!
Elena shuddered as she remembered the last scene the original body owner saw before dying!
"If Nini finds you again, she'll eat you up, heeheehee, giggle giggle giggle!"
Elena froze. What should she do? What could she possibly do?
Was she really going to get eaten by some creepy ventriloquist's dummy right after crossing over? She watched as the little girl's red shoes hopped around the room, opening cabinets and pulling curtains.
"Nothing here, hehe!"
"Nope, nothing behind the curtain either, giggle giggle giggle!"
Elena bit her lip, realizing this was an impossible game. As long as she stayed in the room, she'd definitely be found—and eaten.
Just as she didn't know what to do, her eyes caught sight of some words carved on the back of the bed board.
Elena immediately understood these words were left by the previous owner of this body. The space under the bed was where the previous owner liked to hide the most. Whenever scared, she'd crawl under there and recite those words:
[Survival Rules in the Dark World]
1. In the vampire castle, you're totally safe. If you feel unsafe, ask yourself if you've lost your nobility and elegance.
2. Never look in the mirror.
3. Don't mess with any monsters that have tentacles.
4. Avoid talking to chaotic factions—even if they're "chaotic good." If they start a conversation with you, respond politely.
5. Always stay "normal."
6. All creatures below level 100 are ordinary life forms.
Elena knew these were survival tips the previous owner had figured out over the years. Each one was golden advice.
At that moment, "thump"!
The brown teddy bear accidentally fell to the ground with a loud thud. And guess where it landed? Right in front of Elena, its black bean-like eyes seeming to stare straight at her from under the bed.
Elena quickly covered her mouth and nose. What? "What?" The little girl suddenly screamed and laughed, "Tibbers, what did you say? You saw her? Ha ha! He he! Ke ke!"
"Sis...ter..."
Elena's heart was pounding so hard she thought it might burst out of her chest!
Suddenly, a head hung upside down right in front of her! Its mouth stretched wide open to the ears, like it had been split in half. A circle of sharp, messy teeth clicked together.
Elena's pupils contracted, and her sanity took a nosedive.
"Found you!"
"Found you!"
"Found you!"
"Now..." The little girl jumped off the bed, grinding her sharp teeth and said in a sickly sweet tone, "Now, it's time for me to eat you up, sister!"
Elena swallowed hard, her blood-red eyes flickering. Then she nodded and gave a kind smile.
"Sure."
With that, she placed her pale hand into the little girl's mouth, letting her sharp teeth crush her bones easily.
"He he he! Then I'll eat you up!"
The little girl laughed excitedly and sickly, then took a bite.
But unexpectedly, she only pretended to bite down. Her sharp teeth merely grazed against Elena's wrist like grass.
Then, she stood up and clapped her hands happily.
"I ate my sister up! So much fun, so much fun!"
Elena let out a sigh of relief. Phew, it was just a game after all.
First rule of survival in the dark world: In the vampire castle, you're absolutely safe. If you feel unsafe, ask yourself if you've lost your nobility and elegance.
Nobility and elegance are what make a vampire princess.
So, why would a proud vampire princess like her let herself get eaten by some scary doll in her own home?
Unless... she forgot who she was.
Elena calmly crawled out from under the bed. Now, the little girl no longer looked scary; instead, she had a cute, confused face.
"I suddenly realized... you're actually pretty cute," Elena said gently, stroking the little girl's blood-red hair.
Everything can be corrupted, but cuteness? Priceless.
Elena's lips curled up, giving her pale face a slightly sickly look.
"Sister! Let's play again! Play again, okay?" The little girl jumped up and down, her pink cheeks full of excitement.
Just then!
"Dong - dong - dong..."
The ancient castle clock struck twelve times.
[Ding dong! The host has officially turned eighteen! Qualified age to become a queen. Queen system binding in progress...]
Elena froze, tears streaming down her face.
Of course, even as a time traveler, she couldn't escape having some annoying system attached to her.
[Ding dong! Queen system binding successful. This system will wholeheartedly assist the host in becoming a disaster, destroying all worlds, and crowning as a queen!]
Queen system?
Such big promises...
But Elena, still remembering her past life, only wanted one thing: to survive in this strange world.
[At eighteen, you're an adult. You've taken a firm (and kinda rotten) step toward becoming a queen! Therefore, the system has sent you a queen's coming-of-age gift package—the Cognition of the World skill!]
The Cognition of the World skill?
It lets a qualified queen understand the world thoroughly, knowing both herself and her enemies to be unbeatable in every battle. This skill can monitor changes in attributes in real-time. When used actively, it shows basic info about herself and others.
So it's like a detection-type skill.
Elena was curious and immediately focused on the little girl standing in front of her.
Let me, your older sister, give you a proper check.
Suddenly, an attribute panel popped up in front of Elena's eyes.
[Nini]
[Race]: Blood Doll.
[Age]: 101 years old.
[Level]: 98.
[Alignment]: Lawful Evil.
[Possessions]: The terrifying teddy bear Tibbers. Level: ???
[Weakness]: Girls have three great qualities: light bodies, soft bodies, and are easy to knock down.
[Introduction]: Born from children's nightmares, she loves eating flesh and stuffing souls into toy dolls to keep them company. She hates being alone and loves playing with people. Her voice has a mental pollution effect, making it hard for anyone to refuse her. But if someone doesn't make her happy during their game, she'll turn them into part of her plush toy collection and keep them forever.
Elena: ((;꒪ꈊ꒪;) )
Whoa, this girl with the split mouth is seriously terrifying! I didn't expect that this [Cognition of the World] skill could actually reveal the opponent's weakness. Still, it doesn't seem super useful.
Then Elena glanced at her attribute panel again.
[Elena]
[Race]: Human.
[Age]: 18 years old.
[Level]: 1.
[Faction]: Absolute Neutrality.
[Owns]: Mother's hairpin.
[Weakness]: A "food" like existence—wherever she goes, life starts drooling.
[Brief Introduction]: The human princess of the vampire castle, a delicacy in the eyes of dark creatures. When she came of age, beneath her harmless beauty, a slightly rotten heart began to grow. She particularly likes girls with split mouths and maybe even wants to do something about it...
"Damn, what a lousy system…" Elena muttered under her breath.
Just then, Nini's little hand tightly grabbed Elena's white silk nightgown and kept shaking it while saying, "Sister! Sister! Let's play hide-and-seek again! Just one more time!"
One more time? Are you feeling sorry for me because I haven't gone crazy yet?
Elena was about to refuse, but then—
[System Task: Play hide-and-seek with Blood Baby until she's satisfied.]
[A qualified queen must be respected by all. Friendly activities are one of the essential tasks for a queen. So, play hide-and-seek with your adorable subjects right now!]
[Task Success Reward: Queen's Halo.]
[Task Failure Condition: SAN value drops to zero—you're no longer "normal."]
Elena's blood-red pupils tightened as she immediately realized how dangerous this task was.
Rule 6 of survival in the dark world: Always stay "normal."
In other words, if she fails the task, her abnormal self will surely forget her noble and elegant status as a princess and become "unsafe" in the vampire castle.
But to successfully complete the task, who knows how long she'll have to keep playing with Blood Baby? She's pretty scary when she plays, and Elena feels her SAN value won't last through too many rounds.
Still, her blood-red pupils flashed with a mischievous light like moonlight, and she looked down at Blood Baby and said, "Alright. But sister will only play with you once, and it'll be a big game."
The cute blood-haired little girl tilted her head 360 degrees in confusion.
[Your SAN value -10]
"How do we play?" Nini asked with big, innocent eyes.
"You hide, and I'll find you. If I can find you, you'll become my blood contractee." Elena steadied herself and tried to lure her.
Nini's weakness: Girls are light and easy to knock over. You could also say they're easy to trick.
"Sister is so good at playing!" Nini's mouth stretched wide in surprise, and her tongue stuck out long.
[Your SAN value -10]
"So exciting, so thrilling! Nini's body seems like it might break down from excitement." Nini giggled shrilly, "Nini agrees, but, sister, you only have one minute."
Elena was stunned. This little girl is way smarter than she looks.
But one minute should be enough.
"Okay!"
"What if sister loses?" Nini asked with ill intentions.
"Then sister will become your blood contractee." Elena stayed calm.
"I don't want such a weak sister as my blood contractee."
Elena: (▼ヘ▼#)
"I want your hairpin."
Elena hesitated, then touched the blood moon hairpin on her silver long hair. The attribute panel described it as: Mother's hairpin.
Looking at the little girl's shining eyes, it seemed she really liked this hairpin.
"Alright, I agree."
"Giggle giggle giggle! Sister can't go back on her word!" Nini showed a row of greedy sharp teeth.
"You too." Elena smiled gracefully.
...
Ten!
Nine! ...
After lying on the bed and counting to ten with her eyes closed, Elena got up and looked around. Sure enough, the blood doll had vanished from the room.
She only had one minute to find her.
So, Elena walked resolutely to her dressing table, slowly raised her head, and looked into the mirror.
Survival rule number two in the dark world: Never look in the mirror.
At that moment, Elena moved her lips in front of the mirror. Though she didn't make a sound, her lip movements said, "Tell me, where are you hiding?"
And just as Elena's lips stopped moving, she saw her reflection in the mirror suddenly give a strange smile.
But she was sure she hadn't smiled at all.
Even though she was mentally prepared, she still couldn't help but tremble all over.
[Your sanity -10]
Am I really this fragile? These damned oddities!
Then, she saw her reflection in the mirror smiling more and more distorted, more and more ferocious. Gradually, three blood-red characters appeared on the mirror.
——In the teapot.
Elena turned her head away, got up, and walked toward her desk. Her fingertips gently slid over the exquisite ceramic teapot on it.
"Nini, where are you hiding?"
"Here…"
Elena quickly lifted the lid of the teapot and, with an eerie smile, quickly stuck one of her blood-red pupils into the mouth of the teapot!
"Is it here?"
[Nini's sanity -10]