“Why are you asking this?”
The little girl avoided Tang Jizhi’s gaze, looking somewhat guilty.

 

Tang Jizhi found an excuse.
“Because I like the little princess you are right now, not any other one. So I need to make sure.”

 

Little Red Riding Hood lowered her head.

 

“Then let me answer you.”

 

A few seconds later, when she looked up again, her eyes had been completely swallowed by pitch black. The warm, pink room was instantly filled with a sinister, dark aura. Those ink-black eyes stared straight at Tang Jizhi.

 

Tang Jizhi narrowed his eyes and flipped open his picture book.

 

Little Red Riding Hood glanced at him.
“Don’t be nervous. I want to make a deal with you. I won’t attack you.”

 

Tang Jizhi raised an eyebrow.

 

“I am the three-thousand-seven-hundred-and-fiftieth generation of Little Red Riding Hood. You can call me Sanya. That’s the name I chose for myself.”

 

Sanya jumped down from the bed and waved her hand. The television on the wall turned on, playing the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The image froze at the moment when the wolf, disguised as the grandmother, swallowed Little Red Riding Hood.

 

“This is the first generation of Little Red Riding Hood—stupid as a pig,” Sanya said coldly.
“Do you really think the wolf ate her and her grandmother, and then the hunter arrived, cut open the wolf’s belly, and rescued them?”

 

“Isn’t that what happened?”

 

Sanya sneered.
“Do you think the wolf is that easy to kill? And why would the hunter help her for no reason?”

 

“The wolf never ate Little Red Riding Hood. He took a liking to her and wanted to bring her back to his den. When the hunter saw the wolf, he was so frightened that he ran away.”

 

“The first generation of Little Red Riding Hood did not die at the wolf’s hands—she committed suicide.”

 

Her small body was taut.

 

“After she died, the second generation of Little Red Riding Hood was born, and everything started over. The second generation inherited the memories of the first. She tried to resist. She tried to change her fate. But fate cannot be defied. She still died.”

 

“Why should Little Red Riding Hood be the one who dies over and over again? I refuse!”

 

As the three-thousand-seven-hundred-and-fiftieth generation, Sanya turned her head. Her pitch-black pupils were filled with deep hatred.

 

“This time, I control my destiny. I succeeded. So I took control of this territory and became its master. But even so, I’m still trapped in this world. I can’t touch the real human world, and I can’t obtain true freedom.”

 

Tang Jizhi thought for a moment.

 

“Why didn’t you kill the wolf?”

 

After a long silence, Sanya finally said,

 

“In the past, there were no visitors here, and no neighbors either. Grandma no longer recognized me. The hunter disappeared. Only the wolf was left. If I killed the wolf… there would only be me.”

 

Tang Jizhi: “……”

 

So, after each Little Red Riding Hood died, a new one would be born, reincarnating again and again, until this one, who gained powerful abilities and changed her fate.

 

During that time, no outsiders appeared, and there were no other fairy-tale characters such as Snow White or Cinderella. And because being alone was too lonely, she kept the wolf.

 

“Then what about the third generation?”

 

According to Sanya, each new Little Red Riding Hood only appeared after the previous one died. The third generation should have died long ago.

 

“That’s simple. I like the third generation, so I revived her,” Sanya said.
“The first and second were too stupid. But from the fourth generation onward, I didn’t like them either. The third one is just right— not too stupid, but not very smart either. She can live a happier life.”

 

“You like the third generation too, don’t you? So easy to fool.”

 

Sanya giggled. The darkness in her eyes gradually faded, and her eyes returned to clear black and white.

 

Sanya disappeared—or rather, she fell asleep.

 

The three-thousand-seven-hundred-and-fiftieth generation was the final reincarnation, the true main personality. The third generation that she “revived” was a secondary personality. Because the secondary personality was more likable—not blindly kind, easy to coax, and at most a little hot-tempered—she was kept.

 

The blood-red eyes belonged to the third generation when she was angry. She looked frightening, but in fact she was not very dangerous, more like a moody child.

 

In other words, the more times a “fairy-tale character” had reincarnated, the stronger they were.

 

Therefore, Snow White, who had reincarnated more than eight thousand times, was probably the strongest among all the Grimm-themed characters.

 

From Little Red Riding Hood and Prince Murris in the coffin, it could be seen that this Snow White did not share Little Red Riding Hood’s habit of reviving other personalities.

 

“I’ve told you everything. Now it’s your turn to agree, right?”

 

Little Red Riding Hood put her hands on her hips, suddenly feeling that she had suffered a loss by telling Tang Jizhi everything.

 

This outsider was really too sly.

 

Tang Jizhi couldn’t help reaching out and pinching the little girl’s chubby cheek. It was soft and bouncy, and felt very good.

 

Little Red Riding Hood lifted her head blankly. It was probably the first time anyone had pinched her face like that, and she didn’t react at all.

 

“All right. Since the little princess is so honest and adorable, I’ll agree,” Tang Jizhi said with a smile.
A Little Red Riding Hood who came to him on her own—there was no reason to refuse.

 

Barrage comments:

 

【I’m new here. What is the picture book used for again?】
【Devil Vine, Guagua, and Big Yellow all work for Tang Jizhi. That clearly means they acknowledge him as their master. Is Little Red Riding Hood walking into a trap?】
【Every time Tang Jizhi talks like this I get goosebumps. I want to report him for luring minors!】
【We almost got fooled by Little Red Riding Hood. That blackened version is so powerful—shouldn’t she have asked how Tang Jizhi would take her out instead? She just spilled everything. After so many reincarnations, how is she still not smarter?】
【Great summary above. Poor girl, that’s tragic—hahahahaha.】
【She wants to leave so badly. When she realizes she’s become Tang Jizhi’s “pet,” she’s going to cry, won’t she?】

 

…

 

Tang Jizhi now found the little girl cute no matter how he looked at her.

 

Little Red Riding Hood felt her scalp go numb under his gaze. She vaguely felt like she had boarded a pirate ship—something was wrong, but she couldn’t tell exactly what.

 

Tang Jizhi was the first outsider to enter this world with “pets.” So when he left, he would definitely be able to take his “pets” with him. Bringing her along should be possible too.

 

As long as he survived in this world.

 

Unable to figure it out, she touched her cheek. The warmth of Tang Jizhi’s fingers still lingered there. She puffed up her cheeks.

 

“You’re being rude! You’re not allowed to pinch my face!”

 

Tang Jizhi pulled over a cartoon chair and sat down. He casually picked up a frog-shaped plush toy. The moment he touched it, the toy suddenly croaked and jumped away, startling him.

 

“Ribbit.”

 

The frog toy hopped back into the pile of toys.

 

“Who told you to touch my things?”
Little Red Riding Hood burst into laughter when she saw the rare look of fright on Tang Jizhi’s face.

 

Tang Jizhi sighed. When he looked at those toys again, his gaze had changed.

 

Little Red Riding Hood hopped over, took off her red hood, turned it inside out, and held it up to Tang Jizhi.

 

With a cute smile, she said, “Deal made. A contract must be sworn. Here—you need to give one drop of blood.”

 

“Afraid I’ll go back on my word?”

 

“Hmph!”

 

“No need to go through so much trouble,” Tang Jizhi said.

 

“?”

 

He took out the picture book and opened it.

 

“My little pets live in here.”

 

Little Red Riding Hood tried to be reserved, but curiosity and excitement got the better of her. She leaned closer and stared at the pages.

 

“They… live inside this?”

 

Guagua was the first to respond. It shook its two tiny green leaves and politely greeted her, following its master’s instructions.

 

“Hello.”

 

Little Red Riding Hood had not noticed Guagua before—it was simply too small.

 

Now that she saw the little plant dancing on the page, her eyes widened slightly.

 

Tang Jizhi smiled and flipped to a blank page. Light from above shone down on him gently.

 

“Do you want to go in and take a look?”

 

“Sure.”
Her eyes sparkled, completely bewitched by his gentle expression.

 

“Put your hand on it.”

 

Tang Jizhi felt a little nervous. He was not sure whether the picture book could absorb Little Red Riding Hood.

 

The picture book had never taken in a human before. But—strictly speaking—Little Red Riding Hood was not really human. She was a fictional character in a story, so…

 

In the next second, her vision blurred.

 

Little Red Riding Hood suddenly sensed something was wrong. Her eyes turned pitch black as Sanya appeared, letting out an angry scream.

 

But it was too late.

 

Her entire body was sucked into the page.

 

The picture book trembled violently. Black mist spilled out from the page, enveloping the whole book.

 

The scene reminded Tang Jizhi of the mutated red ants on the Monster Island. Because the ants resisted too strongly and could not be refined, they had ultimately been devoured as nourishment for the book.

 

His heart skipped a beat.

 

At that moment, five vines burst out from the Devil Vine page and began absorbing the black mist. When they finished, Tang Jizhi could clearly hear satisfied belches.

 

Even Guagua, the Teng Snake, and the fox-eared beast—who usually stayed inside the book because it had no combat ability—were frantically absorbing the mist.

 

The book shook for a full minute before finally becoming still.

 

Only then did Tang Jizhi realize something felt wrong.

 

He slowly raised his head.

 

For once, his scalp actually went numb.

 

The room was filled with many kinds of dolls. At this moment, every doll—whether lying, sitting, or sprawled out—had stood up. Their eyes all turned toward him, surrounding him tightly.

 

Tang Jizhi: “……”

 

His heartbeat sped up slightly.

 

He bent down to pick up the picture book. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that as he bent over, the dolls’ heads tilted in perfect unison.

 

It was extremely creepy.

 

Fortunately, they made no other moves. His tension gradually eased.

 

The text on the first page had changed:

 

Name: Magical Picture Book
Energy: 10
Drawing uses: 3
Magical creatures: 5
Virtual characters: 1

 

A new line had appeared.

 

He flipped to the Devil Vine page:

 

Name: Devil Vine
Feeding count: 12
Status: Dormant
Rank: A
Task: Upgrade Devil Vine to S-rank within one month. If the deadline is missed, it will be devoured as nourishment.
Tip: It has been eating too much and leveling up too fast. Please feed it properly.

 

Then the Teng Snake and Guagua:

 

Name: Teng Snake
Feeding count: 5
Status: Dormant
Rank: A
Task: Completed
Tip: …It’s time to lose some weight.

 

Guagua’s information did not change. The fox-eared beast had no rank and did not display information.

 

The Vermilion Bird, which Tang Jizhi had drawn himself, also changed:

 

Name: Divine Beast – Vermilion Bird
Feeding count: 1
Status: Dormant
Rank: S+
Task: Remove the curse on the Vermilion Bird within two days. If the deadline is missed, it will be sent back to its original world.
Tip: It eats too little. Please treat everyone fairly and do not abuse it.

 

Tang Jizhi: “……”

 

The book said the Vermilion Bird was cursed. It had shown no such reaction before. Was this because of Little Red Riding Hood? Or was the Vermilion Bird already cursed when Snow White gave it to him?

 

With those doubts, he flipped to the next page.

 

Little Red Riding Hood was sitting inside the picture. She was conscious, looking around in confusion. When she saw Tang Jizhi, her eyes lit up, her lips trembled, and she burst into tears.

 

Tang Jizhi ignored her for the moment and looked at the red text above:

 

Name: Little Red Riding Hood
Feeding count: Unknown
Status: Awake
Rank: C–S
Task: Take her out of this theme within ten days. If the deadline is missed, she will be devoured as nourishment.
Tip: Raising her is dangerous. Think carefully. It is recommended that you do not complete this task. Devour her after ten days for nourishment. Devouring a brand-new virtual character is extremely beneficial.

 

Tang Jizhi: “……”

 

The picture book had swallowed one Little Red Riding Hood and produced two urgent tasks.

 

One was to lift the Vermilion Bird’s curse within two days.
The other was to leave this theme within ten days.

 

Whether on Monster Island or in the Grimm Fairy Tale world, the system had only required him to survive, without giving specific tasks.

 

So…

 

What exactly counted as completing the survival objective of this theme and leaving it?

 

He rubbed his brow. His head hurt a little.

 

Then he released Little Red Riding Hood.

 

With tears all over her face, she ran over and threw herself into his arms, hugging his waist and sobbing softly.

 

As she did so, all the dolls surrounding him retreated and returned to their original positions.

 

“I think you’re like my daddy,” she said through sobs.

 

Tang Jizhi: “……”

 

No.

 

“Daddy.”
She sniffed and looked up at him.

 

“You have to take me away from this horrible place. I’ll be very good and very obedient. Okay?”

 

Tang Jizhi looked at her with the weary eyes of a man who had seen too much of life.

 

Who would have thought he would become a father at such a young age? Being called Daddy and Mommy by the Devil Vine was already bad enough.

 

“First of all, don’t call me Daddy,” he said.

 

“Why?”
Her little brows knitted together in sadness.

 

“Don’t you like me?”

 

Tang Jizhi sighed, just about to speak, when the aura in his arms suddenly changed.

 

She pushed him away violently and shouted at him in rage:

 

“Tang Jizhi, you liar! You outsiders really are all the same! I was actually stupid enough to believe you!”

 

Sanya had appeared.

 

Tang Jizhi: “……”

 

“I’m going to eat you!”

 

However, she could not move. Invisible rules bound her and prevented her from harming Tang Jizhi in any way.

 

“If I can’t touch you, then I’ll eat everyone else instead!”

 

She spread her arms. Thick black mist burst from her body, and the entire building began to twist visibly—

 

At the critical moment, Tang Jizhi swiftly pulled out the picture book and absorbed her back inside.

 

Everything stopped.

 

He quietly let out a breath.

 

Before Sanya could speak, Tang Jizhi lowered his eyes and said coldly,

 

“If you don’t calm down right now, don’t blame me for erasing you completely and ending the reincarnation of Little Red Riding Hood.”

 

Inside the picture, Sanya froze.

 

She saw the indifference and chill in Tang Jizhi’s eyes.

 

“First, I didn’t lie to you,” he said calmly.
“Your deal was that I would take you out. This is how I take you out.”

 

“Second, this is the only way I have to take you out. Whether you like it or not, if you want to leave this world, you will eventually enter the picture book—unless you decide you don’t want to leave.”

 

“Third, I can promise you that as long as you do not commit any evil acts, I will not restrict your freedom. After leaving here, you can do whatever you want.”

 

“Fourth, if you calm down now and think it through, then please release the third-generation Little Red Riding Hood.”

 

After speaking, Tang Jizhi waited quietly.

 

Sanya was a ticking time bomb. If he wanted to use Little Red Riding Hood, he had to temporarily defuse that bomb.

 

“You win.”

 

Sanya raised her head and gave him a sinister look.

 

“Remember this—I will never let you be my daddy! Don’t even think about taking advantage of me!”

 

She closed her eyes.

 

When she opened them again, the third-generation Little Red Riding Hood returned.

 

“Daddy…”
The little girl looked uncomfortable.

 

Remembering Sanya’s words, Tang Jizhi accepted the sweet “Daddy” with a smile this time.

 

At least this Little Red Riding Hood was cuter.

 

He released her, patted her head, and asked,

 

“Do you know about Sanya’s existence?”

 

The little girl nodded.

 

“Can you communicate with her?”

 

She shook her head and frowned slightly.

 

“I can’t find her, but she can find me… Daddy, Sanya is very nice. She’s the best generation of Little Red Riding Hood.”

 

Tang Jizhi neither confirmed nor denied it.

 

Now that Sanya was dealt with, it was time to deal with the tasks.

 

He took out the Vermilion Bird and asked about the curse.

 

The little girl looked unhappily at the bird. If it weren’t for this stupid bird, her long hair wouldn’t have been burned.

 

“I didn’t do it. I don’t cast curses,” she said indifferently.
“It was probably Sister Snow White. Cursing is what she’s best at.”

 

Her expression then became serious.

 

“Daddy, you must remember—if Sister Snow White asks for your name, you must never tell her.”

 

“Once she knows your name, she can curse you at any time.”

 

She said with some malicious delight,

 

“Murris and Francisco were cursed by her and buried underground. They can’t see daylight and will never rise again.”

 

“They deserved it,” she wrinkled her nose.

 

“Sister Snow White was very kind. But her stepmother wanted to kill her out of jealousy for her beauty. Murris saved her. Later, Murris was provoked by Francisco and believed Snow White was impure… so he suffocated her alive in a crystal coffin.”

 

“So in this generation, Sister Snow White buried them underground. The coffin Murris sleeps in is Snow White’s crystal coffin.”

 

“Although Sister Snow White has her eye on you, you don’t need to worry,” the little girl patted her chest proudly.
“My relationship with her is pretty good. As long as I’m here, I won’t let her hurt you, Daddy.”

 

“Good. Tomorrow, we’ll go visit Snow White,” Tang Jizhi said thoughtfully.
“We’ll ask her to lift the curse on Little Beauty.”

 

Little Red Riding Hood’s face changed.

 

“But… Sister Snow White never lifts curses. Daddy, it’s just a bird. Can we ignore it?”

 

“No,” Tang Jizhi said gently.

 

Her small, delicate face scrunched up unhappily, and she glared at the Vermilion Bird.

 

Tang Jizhi glanced at the time on the wall.

 

“It’s late. The little princess should go to sleep.”

 

She loved being called a little princess. Her eyes curved like crescents, and she jumped onto the bed, pulling up the quilt obediently.

 

“Daddy, sleep with me.”

 

Tang Jizhi: “……”

 

He accepted his fate.

 

After finally coaxing her to sleep, Tang Jizhi carefully freed his sleeve from her little hand and quietly left the room, heading downstairs to the second floor.

 

The first thing he saw was the shattered door of Room No. 1.

 

He raised an eyebrow.

 

What had happened on the second floor while he was on the third?

 

“B-Brother Tang…”

 

A voice came from the stairwell. Tang Jizhi turned around and saw Du Ziqian. It was as if Du Ziqian had just seen his savior.

 

“You’re… all right, right?” Du Ziqian asked worriedly.

 

“I’m fine,” Tang Jizhi replied.
“What’s wrong with you?”

 

Du Ziqian swallowed.

 

“Brother Tang… could you try to persuade Mr. Lan?”

 

Tang Jizhi: “?”

 

He followed Du Ziqian downstairs into the living room.

 

There, he saw three human-shaped bundles—Liu Zhongyuan, Lou Yu, and Zhang Liang.

 

They were tightly tied up with nylon rope, hands and feet bound together, their faces filled with despair.

 

“I’ve told you everything I know! Really! If I’ve hidden anything, may I be struck by lightning!”

 

Liu Zhongyuan’s face was swollen and bruised like a pig’s head.

 

“It wasn’t my fault!”
Lou Yu cried his eyes out.

 

“I only did what Liu Zhongyuan told me to do. I really didn’t mean it…”

 

Zhang Liang was the toughest of the three. He said nothing, staring venomously at Lan Tong.

 

“Hah. Go on, kill us. Kill all of us. After that, you’ll be next. Do you really think that just because you can beat the three of us, you’ll be able to survive safely in this world?”

 

Lan Tong sat on the sofa.

 

Faced with their accusations, curses, and confessions, his expression did not change at all. His gaze was as cold and emotionless as ever—until—

 

“Huh? What’s going on here?”

 

Tang Jizhi looked completely confused.

 

The eyes of the three men suddenly lit up.

 

For some reason, the moment they saw Tang Jizhi, they felt hope had arrived.

 

“Brother Tang, save us!!!”