Chapter 1: The Vanished Teacher

[Please feed the ‘goods’ on the shelves with fresh blood in time, to ensure they remain active before being sold.]

[After nightfall, do not make eye contact with the ‘goods’ for more than ten seconds. It will drive you insane.]

[If you already feel your thoughts falling into chaos, light the white candle immediately. It will help you calm down.]

[Outside the door is danger. Do not lightly attempt to step into the darkness.]

[…]

[Lastly, strive to survive in this world full of horrors while retaining your identity as a human!]

The flame inside the old kerosene lamp hanging from the roof beam swayed gently.

Its surface was coated in a thin layer of dust and cottony spiderwebs.

By that dim yellow light, a girl with waist-length pink hair sat tiptoed behind the grocery counter, writing with a feather pen as she recorded the rules she had learned about this world.

The colors of her two eyes were different.

If the left eye resembled a flawless sapphire, then the right was like a gray spinel polished by master craftsmanship.

“If another compatriot unfortunately arrives in this world someday, maybe these rules will help them survive a little longer…”

Muttering to herself, Bai Tang rubbed her sore right eye with the back of her hand.

At the same time, several lines of text slowly appeared before her vision.

[Item Name: Handwritten Rules of an Unknown Person.]

[Item Description: Survival rules written by an obscure human girl who, after unfortunately falling into the hell world, clung to the fantasy that they might help fellow humans who suffered the same fate.]

[Item Value Appraisal: Worthless.]

“Fantasy… huh?”

The corners of Bai Tang’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.

She could not help but sigh at how merciless the information given by the Eye of Truth was, as always.

Bai Tang was a transmigrator.

A month ago, she had been an ordinary male high school student on Earth who had just finished the college entrance exams.

Then, by accident, he had crossed into this world filled with grotesque creatures.

And had become the cute young girl she was now, with waist-length pink hair and mismatched blue-gray eyes.

What else could she do?

Since she was already here, she might as well accept reality.

Just then, a series of low raven cries came from outside the tightly shut shop door, interrupting her wandering thoughts.

Coming back to herself, the girl vigorously shook her head and looked toward the old wall clock.

23:45.

Midnight was approaching.

It was almost time for the grocery store to open for business.

The girl hopped down from the stool and skillfully stood on tiptoe to take down a lantern made of pale human skin from the top shelf behind her.

She removed the cover, poured in fresh crimson lamp oil, and lit it once more.

Holding the metal handle, she slowly walked to the entrance, removed the bar, and pulled the door open.

‘Caw caw caw caw—!’

Less than a meter beyond the human-skin lantern, everything was swallowed in darkness.

Ravens circled overhead without end.

Night had fully fallen.

She stopped at the threshold.

Beyond the range of the lantern’s dim yellow glow, the darkness was so thick one could not see a hand before one’s face.

Within it, a group of crawling creatures lurked, clearly afraid of the light yet staring hungrily.

Bai Tang heard it clearly.

The sound of bones being chewed to fragments, and saliva splattering onto the ground.

She stared into the dark.

A moment later, words slowly surfaced in the right eye of the Eye of Truth.

[Name: Ghoul.]

[Description: A common species of the hell world. Generally not highly intelligent. Active during the long night, feeding on carrion. Usually hides underground during white day.]

[Level: Wandering Soul Rank.]

[Faction: Chaotic Evil.]

[Evaluation: The lowest form of existence in the hell world. It has already set its sights on the defenseless human girl before it, but fears the human-skin lantern in her hand and dares not approach.]

Bai Tang’s expression remained calm, though her grip on the lantern tightened.

Since transmigrating here, she had faced dangers like this nearly every day.

She truly ought to be grateful that before transmigrating, she already suffered from a mental illness that delayed fear responses.

That was the only reason she had survived until now.

Because of this, Bai Tang had summarized an important survival rule.

‘They fear your calmness. Do not show fear. Fear makes you look delicious.’

After waiting a while and confirming the ghouls in the darkness had no intention of leaving, Bai Tang frowned.

“You gathering here will affect the grocery store’s business.”

Since ghouls did not possess much intelligence, Bai Tang naturally had no expectation they would 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 shop.

Moments later, she emerged from the kitchen carrying two pale human legs.

Milky preservative fluid dripped all over the floor.

Bai Tang swung her arms in a full arc and hurled them into the darkness outside.

The moment the heavy objects hit the ground, the ghouls smelled food.

Those that had blocked the entrance completely now fought one another in a frenzy.

The sounds of biting and chewing rang out endlessly.

At last, they had been lured away.

Seeing this, Bai Tang let out a breath of relief.

It could not be helped.

Even the lowest Wandering Soul Rank horrors in this hell world were not something she, as a human, could deal with.

Higher-ranked horrors might still remain wary of a calm-faced human and keep to themselves.

But brainless ghouls attacked without restraint.

When everything was finished, the time was 23:55.

‘Grrr~’

Her stomach rumbled.

If she did not want guarding the shop to become unbearable, she needed to eat something first.

After rummaging through the shelves, Bai Tang finally found two unopened cans.

She opened one fruit can and poured it onto a plate.

It looked like canned yellow peaches.

She tasted it.

Astringent.

Like moldy unripe persimmon.

Bai Tang still finished it.

In this current hell world, it was already considered rare normal food for a human.

As for the other can of eyeballs…

She pulled open the lid.

More than ten eyeballs, stewed until soft, tumbled onto the plate together with blackened sticky broth.

Holding the plate, Bai Tang walked toward a nearby room.

‘Knock knock knock~!’

Carrying the food, she knocked on the door of the true owner of the grocery store.

“Teacher, it’s time for dinner.”

The shopkeeper of the grocery store, and also Bai Tang’s teacher, had returned from going out one week ago.

He warned Bai Tang not to approach for seven days, then locked himself inside the room.

During that time, strange noises came from within every night.

Today was the final day.

“Teacher, are you alright? It’s time for dinner.”

Receiving no response, Bai Tang repeated herself.

At the same time, sounds like leather being torn came from inside the room.

Because this was the first time in seven days she had come so close, Bai Tang only now noticed the door was not fully shut.

There remained a narrow crack the width of a finger.

Had it never been closed properly from the start?

Or had Teacher come out during these seven days?

What exactly had happened inside that room?

What was making those eerie sounds during the long night?

Curiosity finally overcame everything else.

Bai Tang pressed her gray right eye closer and closer, peering through the crack into the darkness inside.

Her heartbeat quickened.

Her breathing gradually grew heavier.

Bai Tang saw it.

A shadowy figure lay on the bed, seemingly still asleep.

[Name: Night Demon.]

[Description: A race born for the long night. Prefers quiet solitude. Favorite food is instant canned meals made from the eyeballs of various creatures.]

[Level: Blood Garment Rank.]

[Faction: Chaotic Neutral.]

[Evaluation: A gentleman who walks through the long night. Owner of Grocery Store No. 111 on 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 legacy.]

Before Bai Tang could react, the Eye of Truth suddenly behaved as if encountering an error.

The words floating before her eyes trembled violently before disappearing altogether.

Such a thing had never happened before.

The girl rubbed her eyes.

When she looked through the crack again, what entered her sight was a scarlet glowing pupil at point-blank range.

That eyeball was also staring at Bai Tang through the gap.

It happened too suddenly.

No matter how strong Bai Tang’s nerves were, her heart still skipped a beat.

She fell backward onto the floor.

Her pupils contracted, and her face went pale.

‘Creeeak—~’

The door opened.

When Bai Tang finally saw clearly that the person now standing before her was actually a gray-haired, red-eyed girl, she froze.

Her teacher—wasn’t he a middle-aged man just one week ago?

How had he become a girl like her?!

“Bai Tang, you… this is what you’re serving me for dinner?”

Looking at the overturned iron plate and the burst eyeballs rolling everywhere, the red-eyed girl narrowed her eyes into a dangerous curve, her voice icy cold.

Bai Tang’s right eye flickered with static.

A moment later, the Eye of Truth updated the identity information of the girl before her.