Chapter 70: Win-Win

So cold…

Sylvie pulled the tattered, oversized cloak tighter around herself, burying deeper into the thin fabric.

But that chill was not from Eternal Night City’s never-ending biting wind.

The chill seeped out from inside her body.

Her fingertips were ice-cold, her chest was ice-cold, and even the breath she exhaled barely produced any white mist in the already frigid air of Eternal Night City.

Her body temperature was draining away at an incomprehensible speed, or rather… being replaced by another kind of icy temperature.

She wandered aimlessly through the filthy, rundown alleys, her steps unsteady like a wooden puppet on the verge of collapsing.

She did not dare go to crowded places, nor approach any windows with light.

Her eyes… her hair… her body temperature… were all changing…

She… was turning into… a vampire?

Sylvie, who had lived here, had also heard that after turning eighteen, blood livestock would face their own “coming-of-age ceremony.” And she was already seventeen.

Could it be… that on one of the nights when she had fainted, she had already been assimilated into one of them? Sylvie could not even imagine it.

She could not accept the reality that she was transforming into a vampire. She could not accept having to sustain herself by drinking human blood from now on.

In her panic and fear, she burst out the door, but the problem was… where could she go now?

When she snapped back to reality, Sylvie had unknowingly arrived at the hiding place of Cassia and Shiluo. She quietly lifted her head and gazed blankly at the dilapidated building ahead. That single crimson eye trembled slightly.

A decision formed in her heart.

Creak—

The door opened slowly. Dim light seeped in through the gap, casting a thin silver glow over the room.

“Sorry… I’m a little late.”

Sylvie tightened her cloak, her voice low as it emerged.

Inside the room, Shiluo remained seated quietly in the corner, waiting. She looked up at her, her expression somewhat complex.

The other cold figure, as always, paid Sylvie no attention and simply gazed quietly out the window.

Sylvie pursed her lips. She wanted to say something but swallowed it back.

She turned to Shiluo and spoke softly.

“Lady Shiluo… could you come with Sylvie for a moment? Sylvie has found some information you might need.”

Although she always looked gloomy and depressed, today that feeling was particularly intense. Sylvie’s condition isn’t right… Shiluo thought to herself.

Wrapped in the overly large cloak, her figure appeared even smaller and frailer than usual, yet an indescribable icy aura emanated from her entire body.

It was not killing intent or hostility, but a strange sense of detachment and silence.

Shiluo suppressed the confusion in her heart and simply replied in a low voice.

“All right.”

In the adjacent room.

Sylvie stood by the window, maintaining a subtle distance from Shiluo. Even after entering, she did not remove her cloak. She slowly recounted what she had seen.

“The syringe was found. It was in the hands of a vampire noble named Utia. My master had her clean me up. While I was in the bathroom, I tried to take it… but I failed. It should have been taken by my master by now… I’m sorry.”

After Sylvie finished, Shiluo did not feel particularly surprised, because the vampire Utia had already told her that the Vampire Queen had found the other companions carrying out the mission in another penned district, seized their syringe, and informed them of the entire mission process. So the syringe Sylvie mentioned should be the one Utia had referred to.

“It’s fine. Since we cannot get it back, there is no need to insist on it anymore.” Shiluo spoke softly. For some reason, after learning the truth, she unconsciously softened her tone.

“Huh? Lady Shiluo is not planning to retrieve the syringe?” Sylvie asked in confusion.

Shiluo shook her head.

“There is… no need for that anymore.”

Since the mission had been fully exposed, she had no reason to keep clinging to that syringe.

As for searching for the Container, the detector on the syringe was broken anyway, so the mission could only be declared a failure.

The urgent priority now was to return to the base as quickly as possible and report all the information to headquarters.

And it had to be fast—the sooner the better. Before the vampires could analyze the syringe’s structure and usage, she needed to inform all remaining companions still on the mission that it had failed, so they could evacuate completely before the encirclement and extermination operation began, minimizing losses.

“There is no need to continue looking for the Container either, Sylvie… we should act now.”

A silence slowly spread through the dim, dilapidated room.

The only sound was the low howl of the cold wind.

After a long moment, Sylvie nodded slightly and replied softly. “Mm.”

Shiluo let out a breath of relief and asked.

“When do you plan to start the operation?”

Sylvie gently turned her head and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window at the darkness and despair outside. She pondered, murmuring as if to herself.

“Then… right now.”

Sylvie knew that her unauthorized escape would definitely anger the Queen. Perhaps right now she had already ordered people to search for her.

And once she was captured and brought back to that grand hall, back to the Queen’s side, the enraged Queen would absolutely not give her another chance to sneak out on her own.

She would imprison her with chains and cages, using methods Sylvie could not even imagine… making it impossible for her to leave the Queen’s sight again. Until one day the emotions in her heart were once more overtaken by pathological numbness, until the Queen could truly feel satisfied.

By then, cooperating with Shiluo to help the children escape the city would become almost impossible.

“Now?” Shiluo frowned, suppressing the untimely pity and worry in her heart.

“Are you sure? Your current condition…”

Her words trailed off.

Sylvie’s current state was clearly extremely poor. Could she really carry out the plan like this?

Under the even dimmer light filtering through the broken window, Sylvie’s face was paler than she had imagined—almost devoid of any color. Her skin had a near-morbid transparency, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

Shiluo’s pupils contracted slightly.

She finally raised her head.

“I… can do it.” Sylvie turned around to face Shiluo. The face under the hood was fully exposed in the faint light.

The once dull black hair had now mostly turned into a cold silver-white, gleaming with an eerie luster under the weak light. And her eyes—the left one was still the familiar emerald green, while the right one was a weary, hollow dark red.

Shiluo froze in place. Utia’s words flashed in her mind:

Sylvie was already seventeen years old. Soon… her Trial would arrive.

Sylvie had nothing left to hold onto anymore.

But for Lady Shiluo, this might just be the perfect opportunity.

As long as they followed the original plan.

Everything would head toward the outcome both of them desired.

This was… a win-win.