It was a crystal coffin.
Clear and luminous, like ice and snow.
A black rosebud grew without a stem at the upper left corner of the crystal coffin, dark as night.
Someone carefully dripped pure, fresh elk blood onto it.
The bud absorbed every drop, letting none escape.
Without warning, the black rosebud opened petal by petal, bursting into full bloom as its inky hue receded and blood-red flooded in.
The beautiful boy sleeping silently in the coffin slowly stirred his long lashes.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes.
They revealed a pair of flame-red irises, set against his sleek, lustrous black hair like blood in the night.
The entire Future Empire watched the exquisite scene on their screens. The boy possessed dazzling beauty-and snowy, ice-cold fangs.
He was the last pureblood vampire at the end of the century.
The last vampire noble.
The livestream comments exploded.
[He's so beautiful. They're throwing someone this beautiful into the escape game too??]
[What a shame. He's so beautiful I'm speechless. What a shame, aaaaaah! The escape game is so terrifying, this beauty probably won't last three days. Sigh.]
Che Quan had no idea that all eyes were on him.
He closed his eyes with languid indifference, rested for a breath, then slowly sat up in the crystal coffin.
His elegant fingertips, so pale they looked sickly, had barely touched the coffin's edge when the blood-red rose seemed to find its master. It swiftly sprouted roots, branches, and vines, affectionately winding around that slender finger.
At last, Che Quan stood up.
He wore a black waistcoat over a white shirt, the very picture of a noble at the end of the century. His shoulder-length black hair gleamed like polished jade, giving off a cool, inky sheen.
His exquisite features were cold and sharp as a dagger's point. His slightly exposed fangs rested lightly against his pale lips, inadvertently lending the beautiful vampire boy a soft, innocent cuteness he was unaware of.
The viewers beyond the screen were all stunned by such breathtaking, peerless beauty.
Meanwhile, Che Quan heard a succession of mechanical announcements ringing through the air.
[Player 002, Che Quan, is online.] [In 30 seconds, you will be placed in the escape game. Please follow the rules to clear it.] [Instance opening.] [You are a nobody in the crowd.] [You have skin hunger syndrome.] [You followed your secret crush into a villa hosting a reunion party for former classmates.] [Some strange things happened.] [You died.] [Everyone in the villa died.] [Instance: Haunting.] [Instance puzzle difficulty: two stars (maximum: ten stars); instance survival rate: 0.79% (maximum: 100%).] [Loading the other six players...] [Loading complete.] [Welcome to the escape game.]
So noisy.
Che Quan's eyes were icy and lifeless as he watched the scene before him change without a flicker of emotion.
In the blink of an eye, the eerily beautiful crystal coffin vanished, and the surrounding darkness receded. In their place stood five people with varying expressions and a large, three-story villa.
For some reason, one player had yet to arrive.
But the others had no attention to spare.
At that moment, the villa lay ahead of them, but there was no way back. Behind them, sinister black fog spread like an abyss.
They each had an identity in this instance. Every player did.
Now, they had to go inside.
But every player had clearly heard the mechanical voice say-[Everyone in the villa died.]
None of them moved.
The scrolling comments began urging them on impatiently.
[Don't chicken out. We didn't come here to watch you stand around.]
[Oh? Who did you bet would die first?]
[That little beauty who just woke up, of course. He doesn't even know what's going on, and they've thrown him into an instance with such a low survival rate. What a shame.]
Comments urging them on appeared one after another.
At that moment, the system's mechanical voice also began coldly prodding him:
[Warning! Warning! Player Che Quan, enter the villa within 30 seconds. Player Che Quan, enter the villa within 30 seconds, or you will receive the death penalty!!!]
Irritated by the noise, Che Quan's cold gaze abruptly darkened, as though black fog were spreading through his eyes. The mechanical voice instantly seemed to choke, unable to utter another word.
[...]
Still, Che Quan happened to want some rest, so he strode straight toward the villa.
Seeing someone finally move, the commenters quickly grew excited, and audience engagement soared.
[Not bad, not bad. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Looks like we really do need a newcomer.]
[Wow, the more I look at this little beauty, the more irresistible he gets. I'm practically going mad with desire... I hope he isn't the first to die.]
Che Quan, the center of the discussion, paid no attention whatsoever to the barrage of comments. He had chosen to block them all the moment they first appeared, so he showed no reaction now.
The other five players placed in this instance behaved differently.
Every one of them was frightened, anxious, and bewildered, terrified of missing any information. They did not dare turn off the comments. Even though the vast majority were nonsense or joking remarks and judgments, they kept them on, straining to spot any spoilers that might help them through the danger before them.
But there were none.
The comments were all condescending judgments and gleeful mockery. There were no kind souls looking to help them.
The five seemed nailed to the spot, unable to move, looking around timidly. Only when they suddenly saw the eerie, thick fog closing in behind them did they stagger after Che Quan, scrambling into the villa.
As soon as they entered, the five were stunned by the scene of bright lights and revelry before them, and by the deafening noise all around.
From outside, this desolate, deserted villa had looked utterly dark and deathly still, with no sign of anyone inside.
But once they rushed in, they found the enormous villa packed with people. Beneath dim, bar-like lighting, scantily dressed boys and girls writhed endlessly like snakes.
Combined with the blaring rock music, it was a scene of nightclub-like frenzy.
None of the five had expected to encounter anything like this. Their eyes widened with shock, doubt, and apprehension.
How eerie...
Far from making them feel relaxed or safe, the lively scene before them gave them a disorienting sense of unreality-as though, despite those figures clearly being human, a horde of demons were dancing before their eyes and shrill, frenzied cries filled their ears.
After exchanging trembling glances, all five turned their feeble gazes toward Che Quan, who had entered the villa ahead of them.
The beautiful boy they saw as cold and indifferent now stood on a corner step beyond the wildly dancing crowd, looking down at the intoxicated, dazed "people" on the dance floor. His expression was icy, with a hint of impatience.
As though he had been gravely disturbed, a bone-chilling displeasure was plainly visible in his exquisite features.
Che Quan coldly surveyed the scene before him.
In that brief span of time, the annoying mechanical voice had already shakily conveyed the rules of this instance to him.
From that heap of nonsense, Che Quan had distilled three genuinely useful pieces of information.
Before you continue