Chapter 18: Escape from the Secret Chamber

Inside the ancient castle, the flickering light of a dozen chandeliers cast eerie shadows that swayed subtly in the dimness—a setting favored by vampires.

A vampire landed outside the grand hall, retracting his bat-like wings. The large doors creaked open, revealing him as he walked in, nursing a silver gunshot wound on his arm. Despite his efforts to endure the pain, his limp was evident, and his legs trembled slightly. Dark traces of liquid stained his black trousers around the thighs.

However, even with his injured leg, he couldn't unfold his wings to fly into the hall, as it would be considered disrespectful to the king.

If walking wasn't an option, crawling was the only alternative.

He knelt beneath the throne, awaiting the arrival of Michael.

Every new king had a busy period before assuming office, dealing with various matters. Therefore, Michael was currently occupied outside.

The vampire remained motionless, kneeling there patiently. After some time, Michael finally arrived.

He kept his head bowed, unwilling to lift it, and confessed, "My lord, forgive my incompetence. None of the vampires who infiltrated the M.R. laboratory returned successfully. I failed to infiltrate the laboratory."

Continuing without pause, he added, "But based on information from insiders, I learned that Daisy had been dissected several days ago and was already dead."

"Hehe..." Michael stroked his chin, smiling with evident satisfaction but tinged with a hint of regret. The woman who had always stood a head above him had died so easily, robbing him of the pleasure of crushing her beneath his feet. What a pity.

As for the legends, who would think of such things besides Sītú Mù, who had witnessed the inexplicable disappearance of the ancestral ring with his own eyes?

Michael's mood improved, and he naturally became more lenient with his subordinate. So, he spoke in a relaxed tone, "Although you are useless and couldn't even handle such a simple task, I am a generous king. I won't punish you severely. However, punishment is still necessary to establish my authority and gain the trust of our people. So, go and accept your punishment; it won't be too harsh, just thirty silver nails."

Thirty silver nails would be enough to immobilize this impure bloodline vampire in a coffin for half a month.

He showed no signs of discontent, expressing deep gratitude and respect for Michael's forgiveness. Then, he went to accept his punishment as if he were accustomed to it long ago.

City A---

Worried about Danny, the lone cat, Tan Yinyin brought him to school every day to keep him from getting bored in her room.

Anyway, there were many stray cats in the school, and there was no prohibition on feeding animals.

However, she discovered that, during her classes, the cat didn't like to play with other cats but preferred to crouch by the window, sneakily staring at her.

Whenever she turned to look at him, he immediately averted his gaze, pretending to focus on the electronic whiteboard in the middle of the blackboard as if he were diligently attending class.

A cat pretending to attentively listen to a lecture? How adorable!

When Danny secretly glanced at Tan Yinyin, many students in the classroom noticed him, causing their hearts to almost melt with his cuteness.

After class, they would gather to watch Tan Yinyin feed the cat some fish flakes, envying her for having such a cute cat.

Meanwhile, Danny blissfully enjoyed his fish flakes, his head swaying back and forth, allowing Tan Yinyin to gently stroke his back fur.

At first, everything felt so novel to Danny! It was completely different from being with the vampires because, in the vampire world, he was a prince, and even if he needed to learn, it was the teachers in the castle who educated him, not attending school himself.

He never expected that humans would gather in one place to attend school together, learning knowledge that he had never heard of.

However, although he thought being with so many peers would be fun, there were also aspects that he found not enjoyable.

For instance, after class, students would always come to find him, offering him fish flakes stuffed in their backpacks. Then, at such times, a groping hand would reach out to pet him, and there would be laughter along with it.

After enduring being petted twice, he couldn't take it anymore, feeling like his fur would be rubbed off at this rate. So, he swiped a paw.

"Damn!"

Ji Ziwei, caught off guard, received a paw scratch, reflexively retracted his hand and looked at the scratch marks, which were bleeding!

His eyes widened in shock, and he shouted in panic, "Yinyin, could your cat have some disease!"

"You're the one with the problem!"

Tan Yinyin retorted angrily. She had initially felt sorry for him, but who would have thought that he would accuse her cat of having a disease the next moment?

Although she knew it was a normal reaction after being scratched by a cat, she still felt angry. After all, this was her cat, and no one was allowed to scold him.

"Is it really not sick?" Ji Ziwei couldn't help but confirm with her again, emphasizing, "This directly relates to your brother's life safety!"

Tan Yinyin furrowed her brows, a bit displeased and pouting, "Of course, he's not sick. I took Blue for a checkup last weekend."

Although Tan Yinyin's upset expression was also cute, seeing her unhappy, Ji Ziwei touched his nose and said, "Don't be upset, it's your brother who got injured."

"It's just a wound. Blue's injuries are much worse than yours." Tan Yinyin, who was usually gentle and sweet, unreasonably defended her cat, her emotions seeming to have gone to some strange place.

Not only that, but she also carefully inspected the wound on Danny's abdomen. As she examined it, she blamed Ji Ziwei, "It must be because you hurt him. I told you not to touch him, and you still did. If you touch him again, I'll ignore you forever."

"Okay, okay, I won't touch him anymore. It's all my fault," Ji Ziwei, feeling that, as a man, he shouldn't argue with a girl and a cat, immediately changed the topic and spoke again. "Hey, do you have time this Saturday? I made plans with Fang Chuan and others to go to Oriental City for an escape room adventure. Will you join us?"

He thought, calling Fang Chuan and the others was just a diversion; his real intention was to take Tan Yinyin to play.

Because, isn't it true that girls playing escape room games would be scared and then cling to guys, shivering in their arms?

He thought a delicate girl like Yinyin would definitely shiver, whimper, and then cling to a guy. And a sturdy guy like him would be just perfect.

However, little did he know that his actions would make him deeply regret later.

"Can we bring pets in there?" Tan Yinyin asked. If she couldn't bring Blue, she wouldn't go.

"Seriously?" Ji Ziwei looked incredulous. "You immediately find Blue after every class, and that's fine, but for an escape room adventure, you want to bring it?"

"Is it not allowed?" Tan Yinyin held up Danny, who was busy nibbling on fish flakes by the window. "In that case, I won't go. I wish you all a fun time."

"No, no, no, you can bring it!" Ji Ziwei hastily assured her. He was confident he could find an escape room that allowed pets.