Chapter 12: Unexpected Events

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“Ch-change clothes…?”

Liuli was somewhat surprised, and that surprise quickly turned into panic over the unknown.

‘This… this is something Sister Zhiyi never told me about… What do I do?’

And besides… what clothes is she supposed to change into?

“Yes… it’s a palace dress, exquisitely crafted, made with fabric lighter than clouds, jewels brighter than the sun, and a necklace more colorful than nature itself…”

“Um… ah… this…”

Liuli turned back to look at Lin Zhiyi, at a loss for what to do.

Lin Zhiyi was hesitating as well at that moment.

Because right now, she was looking at the data being relayed from the containment unit’s detector temporarily linked to her tablet.

The anomaly index inside the containment unit was rising noticeably, but the index on Liuli herself wasn’t increasing by much.

The information on the Poison Grandma was relatively complete and clear compared to other anomalies.

She uses apples to put people to sleep, and if someone answers her questions about beauty in a way that doesn’t satisfy her, she launches a psychic attack.

At that point, the anomaly index rises noticeably.

But no matter how you looked at it, this anomaly seemed like a character who’d only exist in fairy tales.

That wasn’t unusual, though, since quite a few known anomalies could be matched to certain stories.

It was hard to say whether they birthed the stories, or the stories birthed them.

As for this Poison Grandma…

Lin Zhiyi had naturally heard the story related to her.

After all, it was a household fairy tale: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

In the story, Snow White’s wicked stepmother—the queen of the kingdom—jealous of Snow White’s beauty, used every means possible to kill her.

That included making Snow White eat a poisoned apple.

If you mapped that story onto the Poison Grandma, a lot of things could be explained.

For instance, she demanded the room be arranged like a royal bedroom, and every time she asked for food, it was a massive amount of elaborately prepared royal cuisine—yet she only ever took a few bites.

All these signs indicated that whether this anomaly loved cosplaying or was simply a creature that walked straight out of the story, its behavioral logic and abilities could at least be aligned with that framework.

It was possible to make some deductions from that.

If they had Liuli put on the dress, who knew what would happen?

Maybe she’d suffer the same fate as Snow White, falling into an endless slumber?

Or perhaps being hunted down by a huntsman…

But if she didn’t wear it… if that counted as a wrong answer, the other party probably wouldn’t let it go and would launch a psychic attack on everyone in the containment room.

She had to ensure both containment stability and everyone’s safety.

Lin Zhiyi found herself in a dilemma.

“Ahem… hey there, pretty sister~ Can’t I wear it instead? I’d love to try on new clothes too~”

Seeing how troubled Lin Zhiyi was, Lisa coughed a couple of times, hoping to draw the Poison Grandma’s attention and give Liuli and Lin Zhiyi a way out.

“Hehehe… no… it has to be this little girl who wears it… she’ll look so lovely in it.”

The old crone squinted at them, and that eye barely open to a slit seemed to hold some sort of magic that made people want to obey its owner’s commands.

But it didn’t seem to have any effect on any of them.

Why was that?

“…”

A confused expression appeared on the old woman’s face.

Yes, why?

She didn’t know either.

“How can this be… hehehe… hehehe hahaha… I’ve changed my mind… little girl, how about you try on the dress instead?”

The old woman turned to look at Lin Zhiyi, her eyes narrowing into slits once more as she let out a chilling laugh—though this time, it carried a bit more feverish madness than shadowy malice.

“I… I’ll pass. I don’t have a good figure, so I wouldn’t look good in a dress.”

Lin Zhiyi shook her head and declined.

“How do you know without trying… so many girls were completely transformed after wearing dresses… they all discovered how beautiful they were… hehehe…”

The old woman’s voice grew more and more sinister, almost lecherous, so much so that just hearing it made one feel deeply uncomfortable.

‘So scary… I feel like something bad will happen if I put on that dress.’

Hearing the old woman speak in such a sinister tone, Liuli couldn’t help but fidget with her fingers.

“None of us really like wearing dresses that much… after all, such fine dresses can only be worn by those of noble status, like yourself, right?”

Lin Zhiyi moved a bit closer to Liuli and reached out to take her fidgeting hand.

Two warm hands intertwined, naturally coming together, sharing each other’s warmth and the emotions of the present moment.

“Fine, fine… you young people… young people.”

The old woman walked over to the mirror in the corner.

“White-haired little girl, your hair looks a bit messy. I happen to have a mirror right here—would you like to comb your hair?”

“Ah… ah… um…”

The old woman had invited Liuli many times just now, and Liuli hadn’t agreed to any of them.

‘If I refuse again now… will something happen… after all, she’s an anomaly…’

‘But if I look into the mirror… would it be dangerous… what if my ability isn’t enough to handle hers…’

Liuli didn’t know the exact operational protocols for containment, so she could only act based on the limited information she had.

She hadn’t brought any earpieces or remote control devices this time either…

“Don’t be scared, it’s not like I’m going to eat you. Hehehe…”

The old woman let out another sinister laugh, and it didn’t look at all like someone who wouldn’t eat people.

“Ugh…”

At that moment, Lin Zhiyi tightened her grip on Liuli’s hand and pulled her back slightly.

That simple, firm gesture clearly conveyed Lin Zhiyi’s intention to Liuli.

Don’t go.

“Hehehe… it’s rare for me to be so kind-hearted. It’d really be a waste if you didn’t take a look… look here…”

The old woman pointed at the oval mirror embedded in the wall.

Its reflective surface was currently emitting a faint, ominous purple glow.

“Pretty sister, this mirror is extremely precious, so of course you should be the one to look first.”

Lisa tried to smooth things over from the side once again.

Only this time, it didn’t seem to work as well.

“Look… go look now! Why won’t you look?!”

The old woman’s face suddenly changed.

All her wrinkles bunched together from rage, making her look like a vengeful ghost demanding a life.

“Since none of you want to look, then all of you will look!”

The enraged old woman’s form suddenly began to shift—growing bigger and taller, the wrinkles on her skin gradually smoothing out.

Her originally loose-fitting clothes slowly became tailored to her changing form until, in the end, they fit her perfectly—revealing a lavish, extravagant gown.

The dress was adorned with countless gold, silver, and jewels, and its owner now faced Lin Zhiyi, Lisa, and Liuli with a strikingly beautiful face and furious, wide-open eyes.

“Wh-what is this…”

Liuli was stunned speechless by the sight.

Since when was there a henshin sequence?

“Damn it! Start the suppression protocol now!”

Lin Zhiyi quickly pressed the button on the side of her tablet.

The emergency suppression field protocol was a procedure that rapidly strengthened and compressed the field over a designated area.

Normally, one needed to have been granted activation permissions for the corresponding containment unit during operations, and at least two people had to press the button simultaneously to initiate it.

Lisa was a bit slow to react.

By the time she pulled out her phone and pressed the button on its side, the purple mirror on the wall had already torn itself free, flying in front of the three of them with a purple glow.

The mirror reflected all three of their faces, and the purple light flooded the space, making the previously dim room now somewhat bright.

‘Wh-what now… what the hell is this…’

Liuli bit her lip hard.

It hurt… but at least she was a little more clear-headed now.

Liuli frantically recalled what she could do… her ability was, at best, just for self-preservation.

Refraction, deflection, immunity, reflection…

Since it only protected herself, then what if… what if she used herself as a shield?

There was no time to think it through.

Liuli dashed forward on her white-stockinged legs and spread her arms wide in front of Lin Zhiyi and Lisa, hoping to block whatever was coming.

“!”

The mirror suddenly burst into a blinding flash of light, and for a moment, everyone instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes.

“Crack————”