[Please feed the “merchandise” on the shelves with fresh blood in a timely manner to ensure it remains active before sale.]
[After night falls, do not maintain eye contact with the “merchandise” for more than ten seconds, or it will drive you into madness.]
[If you already feel your thoughts slipping into chaos, please light a white candle in time. It will help you calm down.]
[Outside the door is dangerous. Do not casually attempt to venture into the darkness.]
[……]
[Finally, please strive to survive in this bizarre world as a human!]
The old kerosene lamp hung suspended from the beam, its surface covered in a thin layer of dust and cotton-fluff-like spiderwebs.
The flame inside it flickered.
Borrowing the weak, dim yellow light, a girl with waist-length pink hair sat cross-legged behind the counter of the general store, writing down the rules of this world with a quill pen.
The girl’s two eyes had different pupil colors.
If the left eye resembled an exquisite sapphire, then the right eye looked like a gray topaz polished by top-tier craftsmanship.
“If any compatriots unfortunately arrive in this world later, perhaps they can live a little longer thanks to this rulebook…”
Muttering to herself, Bai Tang rubbed her aching right eye with the back of her hand.
At the same time, several lines of text information slowly appeared before her eyes.
[Item Name: Nameless One’s Handwritten Rules.]
[Item Description: A survival rulebook written by an unknown human girl who, after unfortunately falling into the hell world, harbored the fantasy of “perhaps being able to help human compatriots who encounter the same fate as herself.”]
[Item Value Appraisal: Appraised as worthless.]
“Fantasy… huh?”
The corners of Bai Tang’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.
She could not help but lament that the information provided by her Eye of Breaking Delusions was as merciless as always.
Bai Tang was a transmigrator.
Previously she had been an ordinary male high school student living on Earth who had just finished the college entrance exam.
A month ago she had accidentally transmigrated to this world full of bizarre creatures.
She had also turned into this cute, beautiful girl with waist-length pink hair and heterochromatic blue-gray eyes.
What else could she do?
When in Rome, do as the Romans do and accept reality.
At that moment, low, hoarse caws came from outside the tightly closed store door.
Caw caw caw caw—!
The sounds interrupted Bai Tang’s gradually wandering thoughts.
Snapping back to attention, the girl shook her head vigorously and looked toward the old wall clock on the wall.
23:45.
It was almost midnight, nearly time for the general store to open for business.
The girl jumped down from the stool, tiptoed skillfully, and took a lantern made of pale human skin from the topmost shelf behind her.
She removed the lampshade, poured in fresh red lamp oil, and lit it again.
Holding the metal handle, she walked slowly to the door, unbolted it, and pulled the door open.
Caw caw caw caw—!
The area less than a meter outside the human-skin lantern was completely shrouded in darkness, with ravens circling overhead continuously.
The sky had turned completely black.
Her footsteps halted.
Beyond the dim yellow light of the human-skin lantern, in the pitch-black darkness where one could not see their own hand, a group of light-fearing crawling creatures lurked and stared greedily.
Bai Tang heard sounds like chewing on bone fragments and saliva splattering onto the ground.
Staring fixedly into the darkness, she waited a moment.
Then her right eye’s Eye of Breaking Delusions slowly displayed text information.
[Name: Ghoul.]
[Introduction: A common species in the hell world, generally not possessing very high intelligence, active during the long nights, feeding on rotten flesh, and often hiding underground during the white days.]
[Level: Wandering Soul Level.]
[Alignment: Chaotic Evil.]
[Evaluation: The lowest existence in the hell world. They have already set their sights on the powerless human girl before them but fear the human-skin lantern in the girl’s hand and dare not approach.]
Bai Tang’s expression remained calm, though her grip on the lantern tightened slightly.
Since transmigrating, she had encountered dangers like this almost every day.
She really should be grateful for the fear-delay mental illness she had suffered before crossing over.
That was how she had survived until now.
For this, Bai Tang had also summarized an important survival rule.
They will be wary of your calmness. Do not show fear. That will make you appear appetizing in their eyes.
After waiting a moment and confirming that the ghoul pack in the darkness had no intention of leaving, Bai Tang furrowed her brows.
“You all gathering here will affect the general store’s business.”
Since the ghouls did not possess very high intelligence, Bai Tang naturally did not expect them to understand and obediently leave.
She hung the human-skin lantern on the rusted iron hook beside the doorframe, then turned and walked deeper into the general store.
Moments later she emerged from the kitchen carrying two hanging pale human legs, milky-white preservative fluid dripping onto the floor.
Bai Tang swung her arm in a wide arc and tossed them into the darkness outside the door.
Following the sound of heavy objects hitting the ground, the ghouls that had been blocking the entrance tightly scrambled to snatch the food, drawn by the scent.
Sounds of biting and chewing filled the air.
They had finally been lured away.
Seeing this, Bai Tang breathed a sigh of relief.
There was no choice.
In this hell world, even the lowest-tier wandering soul level bizarre beings were not something she, as a human, could deal with.
Higher-level bizarre beings might still maintain wariness toward calm-looking humans and not interfere with each other, but brainless ghouls had no such restraint.
After finishing everything, the time was 23:55.
Gurgle~
Her stomach let out a rumble.
If she did not want the night shift to be too unbearable, she needed to find something to eat.
Searching around the shelves, Bai Tang finally found two unopened cans.
She opened one can of fruit and poured it onto a plate.
It looked like canned peaches.
She took a taste.
It was astringent, with a flavor like unripe, moldy persimmons.
Bai Tang still finished it.
In this current hell world, it was already one of the rare normal foods for humans.
As for the other can of eyeball preserves…
She pulled open the tab, and over a dozen stewed-soft eyeballs mixed with blackened viscous broth all poured onto the plate.
Bai Tang carried the plate toward a room not far away.
Knock knock knock~!
Carrying the food, Bai Tang knocked on the door of the room belonging to the general store’s true owner.
“Teacher, it’s time for dinner.”
The general store’s shopkeeper, who was also Bai Tang’s teacher, had returned from an outing a week ago, warned her not to approach within seven days, and then locked herself inside the room.
During this period, strange sounds had emanated from the room every night.
Now it was the final day.
“Teacher, are you okay? It’s time for dinner.”
With no response, Bai Tang repeated herself.
At the same time, sounds like tearing leather came from inside the door.
Because it was the first time in seven days she had gotten this close to the room, Bai Tang now noticed that the room door was not fully closed.
A narrow gap the width of a finger remained.
Had it never been shut properly from the start, or had the teacher come out during this time?
What exactly had happened in the room during these seven days?
What was making those bizarre noises in the room during the long night?
Curiosity ultimately overcame everything.
Bai Tang’s right eye, the gray one, pressed closer and closer, observing the darkness inside the room through the door crack.
Her heartbeat accelerated, her breathing growing heavier bit by bit.
Bai Tang saw it.
A black shadow lay on the bed, seemingly still fast asleep.
[Name: Night Demon.]
[Introduction: A race born for the long night, fond of quiet solitude, with a preferred food of instant canned goods made from various creatures’ eyeballs.]
[Level: Blood Robe Level.]
[Alignment: Chaotic Neutral.]
[Evaluation: A gentleman who walks the long night, the shopkeeper of the general store at No. 111 Undead Street, and also the only night postman on Undead Street. Half a year ago, on a whim, he took in a frail human girl and hoped she could inherit his mantle.]
Before Bai Tang could react in any way, suddenly the Eye of Breaking Delusions seemed to glitch and repair itself.
The text appearing before her eyes shook wildly until it all disappeared.
Such a situation had never happened before.
The girl rubbed her eyes.
When her vision refocused through the door crack, what met her gaze was a blood-red glowing pupil right up close.
That eyeball was also staring at Bai Tang outside through the door crack.
The event happened too suddenly.
No matter how strong Bai Tang’s mental fortitude was, her heart still skipped a beat, and she plopped down onto the ground.
Her pupils contracted, her face paling.
Creak—~
The door was pulled open.
When she looked up and saw clearly that the one standing before her was actually a gray-haired, red-eyed girl, Bai Tang was stunned.
Her teacher, who a week ago had still been a middle-aged uncle?
How had he turned into a girl just like her?!
“Bai Tang, you… are giving me this kind of thing for dinner?”
Looking at the iron plate knocked over on the ground and the eyeballs bursting with pulp rolling everywhere, the red-eyed girl narrowed her eyes into a dangerous arc, her tone icy cold.
Bai Tang’s right eye flickered with static for a moment.
Shortly after, the Eye of Breaking Delusions updated the identity information of the girl before her.