Chapter 35: Trapped Again

On a deserted roadside, the young girl saw a car coming and waved, but the vehicle sped past without paying her any attention.  

With no other choice, Ying Su could only continue walking along the road. There had to be a place to stop eventually, right?  

“If you had followed my advice, we would have hitched a ride by now,” Olivia said from inside her body.  

“If the shelter finds something wrong and comes after us, it’ll be trouble,” Ying Su said. Olivia’s method was brutally simple: just block the road, and when a car comes, kill the driver and hijack the vehicle.  

“They have a fortune-teller on their side. It’s only been a few days, and we haven’t gotten far. I don’t want to stir up trouble.”  

“You’re too cautious,” Olivia thought. In her view, Ying Su was almost paranoid.  

“This is called being careful,” Ying Su said.  

She glanced at her system.  

〖Save Loads Remaining: 3〗  

If she counted the few points she had left, she would have four more save loads in total. In other words, aside from that one unclear possible load, she had used a full six lives to escape.  

But after escaping, Ying Su felt no joy at all. She was too tired.  

“Olivia, did we really escape?” Ying Su said. She was still worried that the shelter might chase after them, but maybe she was just a bit mentally unstable from being pushed too hard by the shelter.  

“........”  

Then, blood seeped out of her body and formed a humanoid figure beside her.  

“Huh?” Actually, Ying Su hadn’t expected much of a form from her. After all, in their conversations over the past few days, Olivia had never shown a fixed appearance. Ying Su had even forgotten that the other might be a cute, soft, and cuddly little loli. She had started to think she was dating a blob of red water.  

And this was the first time the other had come out in days.  

Of course, Ying Su’s current body no longer had that strange scent or abilities. Olivia was still inside her, but simply put, it was daytime, there was sun, and... she was lazy.  

As the other deformed and reshaped, Ying Su mustered a bit of energy, waiting to hug a cute loli and inhale deeply to recover some spirit.  

But... this height wasn’t right?  

The blood solidified into a tall, silver-haired young woman wearing an old-fashioned aristocratic military uniform, with a hint of heroic spirit, and a short saber at her waist.  

“Eh?” Ying Su gestured at the height. “No... that’s not right!! Is this your original form?!”  

“What else did you expect?” Olivia pressed down on Ying Su’s head to stop her from fussing.  

Where’s my loli?! Why are you a mature woman?! A mature woman is fine, but you’re so flat!!  

Another car approached. Olivia’s tentacles shot out from under her clothes, flipped the car over, pulled out the people inside, and stabbed them dead.  

“........”  

Ying Su was speechless, but in the end, she just sighed.  

That’s just how this world was. She had come to understand it—monsters were everywhere, and death was perhaps just an everyday occurrence.  

“What did you ask me just now?”  

“Your original form?”  

“The sentence before that.”  

“Did we escape?”  

“Not yet, my little prisoner.” Then, a collar pulled from nowhere was locked around Ying Su’s neck.  

Is this thing useful?  

Ying Su felt a bit speechless. She was now a Vampire Clan member with shapeshifting abilities—how could this thing trap her...  

“What the hell, why can’t I transform?!”  

Ying Su, realizing she couldn’t transform at all, cried out. But her following emotion wasn’t fear or anger—it was, “Wait, sis, if you had this thing all along, why didn’t you put it on Roland earlier!”  

“It’s specialized. Roland is different from us,” Olivia said.  

“She’s different from us too?”  

“Our shapeshifting is an ability of the Volk Vampire Clan. As you should know, we just change appearances. She’s a superpowered individual who completely transforms,” Olivia said.  

“Fine.”  

So this thing was specifically designed to counter the Volk family. Ying Su didn’t mention where her royal blood came from, and Olivia didn’t ask—it was probably an unspoken understanding.  

And Ying Su didn’t think the other would harm her, so she didn’t struggle much.  

“Then I’ll sleep for a bit,” Ying Su said. She got into the back seat and lay down.  

“......”  

Olivia, who had originally wanted the other to drive, saw her close her eyes and decided not to wake her. She got into the driver’s seat and looked at the dashboard and various controls.  

“This is the brake, right... hmm...”  

.......  

Clang... clang...  

In a dark, lightless basement, the air was stifling and humid. The long-unventilated space reeked of an unpleasant odor.  

“Cough, cough...” Ying Su coughed twice, her throat parched and uncomfortable, but she continued tirelessly hitting the steel pipe beside her with the chain in her hand.  

If only the sound could be heard by someone outside...  

Ying Su thought, but it was probably just a psychological comfort. She already knew that escape from here was impossible...  

Tap... tap...  

Footsteps approached. Ying Su stopped hitting. After the sound of a door opening, the footsteps drew closer.  

Smack—!  

The space lit up again. A glimpse of red hair...  

“Ha... Hsss—!” Ying Su suddenly woke with a start and sat up, only to be yanked back onto the bed by the chain around her neck.  

So dark... Where am I?!  

Did I load again? I... in bed? Huh?  

“Phew...” Realizing her situation, Ying Su relaxed. She had actually had a nightmare? Do vampires dream?  

Click—!  

The door opened, bringing a little light into the room. “Olivia, could you turn on the light?”  

The newcomer didn’t answer. Instead, they walked to the window and pulled open the curtains. With a swoosh, bright sunlight flooded the room.  

“So there’s a vampire who doesn’t like the dark,” the other said.  

“Mm...” Seeing the other dressed in a maid uniform, with chestnut hair tied up at the back and small braids at the temples, looking very neat. “Misha?”  

“It’s an honor to hear you call my name, miss,” Misha said. “Please wait a moment, I’ll go get breakfast.”  

Ying Su touched the collar around her neck, the attached chain fixed to the bedpost. She also felt her clothes—she had been changed into a thinner set of pajamas.  

But the bed was soft and comfortable. Looking around the room, it had an old European antique style, with no electrical appliances in sight.  

She remembered that the shelter had already used high-tech. Why was this place so old-fashioned...  

Seeing Misha wheel in a dining cart with covered dishes, Ying Su sat up, a little curious about what good food there might be.  

After all, she didn’t have much to hope for anymore. Eating something good would be fine.  

As the cart drew closer, Ying Su rubbed her hands together. Given the room’s condition, Olivia hadn’t lied—she was indeed somewhat wealthy. The food must be a delicacy, right?  

Misha lifted the lid. Ying Su’s expression froze, then collapsed.  

Because on the plate was only a small round cup of blood.  

It looked like the owner’s complexion was very good—the color was quite pure.  

Ying Su picked up the cup, looked at its bottom, then picked up the plate and set it aside. She lifted the napkin and confirmed there was nothing else before pointing at the cup and asking, “Just... just this?”  

“?” Misha tilted her head. “Yes?”  

“......”  

“Hmm... or do you think it’s not fresh enough?” Misha said. She unbuttoned her collar, sat next to Ying Su, tilted her head slightly, and exposed her fair neck. “Please, help yourself.”  

“......”  

Ying Su was speechless. Who in their right mind has blood for breakfast... wait...  

“Misha,” Ying Su put the cup back on the cart and asked seriously, “Shouldn’t vampires drink blood?”  

“????”  

Misha was full of question marks. A vampire that doesn’t drink blood—is it still a vampire?  

“Little mistress... are you okay?”  

“Strange, strange.” Ying Su stroked her chin, as if she had found a blind spot.  

According to vampire stories, shouldn’t there be a bloodsucking urge, getting excited and frenzied at the sight of blood, then turning into a monster or something?  

Why hadn’t she encountered that?  

Then she picked up the cup, looked at it, took a cautious sip, and smacked her lips. “Ew, that’s terrible. It tastes like iron rust.”  

“........” Misha seemed to want to say something but held back. Had she been dropped on her head when she was born?  

“Oh, right, vampires can’t be in the sun, can they?”  

“Well... to be precise, low-level or insufficiently powerful vampires can’t be in the sun,” Misha said.  

“I see.”  

Olivia had indeed come out under the strong sun earlier.  

“Where’s Olivia?”  

“Lady Olivia has matters to attend to,” Misha said. She had indeed left in a hurry, but Misha could guess something; after all, she had been gone for so long, there were indeed many troublesome things to handle.  

“Hmm...” Ying Su glanced at the window again. “By the way, could you undo this? I want to try the sun again.”  

She had been out in the strong sun before, after all.  

“.........” Misha confirmed that the little mistress in front of her definitely had a problem with her brain. “Don’t you fear the pain...”  

“Uh... it hurts?”  

“Sigh...” Misha felt like the other knew nothing. “Little mistress, how long has it been since you were born?”  

“How should I know?!”  

Why was this person suddenly asking such a private question?!  

“Never mind, never mind. As for high-level vampires, actually it’s not that they aren’t afraid of the sun, but their recovery ability balances or exceeds the burning ability, so they can walk in the sun, but it’s still unpleasant.”  

“Then that’s not right. I didn’t feel anything at all,” Ying Su said, stroking her chin. “Could it be?”  

“Could it be?” Misha tilted her head, watching the other prepare to say something earth-shattering.  

“I’m an even higher-level vampire?!! Ahahaha—!!”  

Misha watched the other laugh wildly and sighed.  

Hopeless.