"I just can't shake this feeling of unease," Daniel said, rubbing his chin as he watched Chloe's retreating figure. "Why don't we follow her?"
"Good idea," Qin Huaibei agreed without hesitation, immediately rushing to Chloe's side.
The elderly woman probably hadn't expected a group of youngsters to escort her. She kept expressing her gratitude repeatedly.
Chloe smiled warmly and said sincerely, "Don't worry, ma'am. It's our pleasure to help."
Hearing this, the old woman nodded repeatedly, saying "good" many times over.
Chloe smiled and said it wasn't necessary, her dark red eyes twinkling with amusement.
Soon after, they arrived at the elevators in the shopping mall. Chloe let go of the woman's arm and said, "Ma'am, this is where we'll leave you. Please go on up."
The elderly woman's wrinkled face broke into a smile as she reached into her bag and pulled out a few apples, offering them to Chloe.
"Here, dear child. Take these to eat."
Chloe's gaze lingered on the apples for a moment before quickly looking away. She then obediently accepted the apples, saying, "Thank you, ma'am."
The old woman finally disappeared behind the elevator doors.
For a moment, only Chloe and her companions remained in the mall corridor.
Chloe examined the apples in her hand, turning them over a few times before tossing one into the air.
Seeing this, Daniel grumbled, "If you're going to eat them, eat them. If not, give them to me. What's the point in insulting the apple's dignity like that?"
Chloe couldn't be bothered with his talk of apple dignity and snatched back the fruit Daniel had grabbed.
"Who said I won't use them? These apples will come in very handy, you'll see."
Daniel couldn't fathom what use a mere apple could have, thinking it would be better off in his stomach.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a commotion erupted nearby in the mall.
They turned to look and saw a group of people in casual clothes approaching.
The group was diverse – men and women, young and old – all dressed in the fashionable attire of the Vampire King City.
They seemed to have been searching for something, and their gaze finally settled on Chloe and her companions.
Or more accurately, on the apples.
The group of city dwellers swarmed towards them en masse.
Chloe and her friends tried to avoid them, but the crowd was too large, leaving them no room to escape.
In the end, all four young ones were swept into the elevator.
Chloe sensed something was amiss and was about to dash out when a sweet scent reached her nostrils.
Almost instantly, she felt an overwhelming urge to sleep.
Realizing things had taken a dangerous turn, she immediately tried to cover her nose and mouth.
But it was clearly too late. In the next second, Chloe fell into a deep slumber.
"Thud!"
The sound of an apple rolling on the floor echoed.
In her hazy state, Chloe heard adult voices nearby, though they seemed distant and unclear:
"Is this really the Ancestor's offspring? Doesn't seem all that impressive."
"Be careful. Some people tried to kidnap her before and failed miserably."
"That's because they were stupid. We wolves..."
"Huh? There's a little wolf here too?"
"Enough talk. Let's take them all."
In the final moment before losing consciousness completely, Chloe's last thought was—
Damn it, we really did run into kidnappers.
...
Darkness. Endless darkness.
When Chloe regained consciousness, she found herself bound hand and foot, unable to move an inch.
She had clearly opened her eyes, but her surroundings were a void of nothingness. She couldn't see any objects or detect any light source.
Chloe sat still for a while, feeling her limbs growing numb. With great effort, she managed to stand up and began hopping around like a zombie.
She didn't really want to move like this, as it was hardly befitting of a noble vampire. But given the circumstances, she had no choice but to take a chance.
Chloe hopped around in a circle but couldn't find any useful information.
The only thing she discovered was a sharp protrusion on the wall.
It cut her hand, and Chloe caught the strong scent of blood.
She didn't cry out in pain. Instead, she used the protrusion to cut through the ropes binding her hands.
After what seemed like an eternity, the ropes on her hands finally came loose.
Chloe let out a long sigh of relief, then leaned against the wall and started working on the ropes around her legs.
This time, she managed to untie them easily.
Once all her restraints were removed, Chloe felt a sense of freedom. She stretched her limbs for a moment, then found a spot to lie down and sleep.
Yes, she went to sleep.
This thirteen-year-old vampire child seemed to have completely misunderstood her current predicament.
How on earth could anyone sleep in such a situation?
The hidden camera in the room moved slightly, and a voice that sounded like thousands of voices scraping over sandpaper came through:
"You should understand your situation, child. You are now..."
Before the sentence could be finished, the monitor screen was shattered by a small stone.
Though she couldn't see, Chloe had precisely located the camera by sound. Holding a stone she'd found on the ground, her voice was filled with cold irritation:
"Shut up, you fools."
"Your young mistress is very tired right now. If you dare make another sound, I'll skin you alive."
This outburst left the people behind the monitor at a loss.
They exchanged bewildered glances, unsure what to do. Finally, they turned to look at their superior behind them:
"General, she's now..."
"Let her sleep."
The speaker was a Werewolf Race general in military uniform. Dressed all in black, he was tall and imposing, with a very serious expression and deep wrinkles between his brows, indicating his advanced age.
At that moment, he was observing Chloe, the famous offspring of the Vampire Ancestor, through another monitor.
"After all, she may never have the chance to sleep so peacefully again."
Chloe hadn't meant to challenge the people behind the monitor. It was just that the unknown composition of the anesthetic used by her kidnappers had been extremely potent.
Even after waking up, Chloe's mind was still somewhat foggy.
Her remaining willpower told her to quickly escape from her current predicament. Chloe felt this referred to the ropes binding her body and restricting her movement.
So Chloe carefully untied the ropes, then immediately fell asleep.
She was too exhausted. Even if the world were to end in a few seconds, Chloe felt she should take a nap first.
No one could disturb her rest. If anyone tried, she would simply eliminate them.
Having come to this conclusion, Chloe gradually drifted into a deep slumber.
