As dusk fell, the entire city was bathed in a soft, warm golden hue by the setting sun.
Luo Wei admired the sunset and the sea outside the window for a while before turning his gaze back to Helena, who was helping in the kitchen.
"Bring me that knife, please."
"Sure, brother."
Luo Wei's knife skills were swift and precise. He pressed down on the slippery octopus and, with a single cut, severed its head, leaving only eight writhing tentacles on the chopping board.
Helena shivered at the sight.
"Now, bring me the seasoning."
"Okay..."
In no time, a perfectly grilled octopus dish, rich in color, aroma, and flavor, was served on a plate by Luo Wei, who then continued preparing the next dish.
But suddenly, there was silence behind him.
Luo Wei turned around and noticed something odd about Helena's expression.
"Brother... can I... not eat this?"
"Of course, you can."
Luo Wei knew she never liked slimy foods, so this dish wasn't intended for her in the first place.
But even after his response, he could sense her unease. Helena's eyes refused to look at the golden-brown tentacles on the plate.
Luo Wei blinked, finally understanding.
Could this be what they call empathy? Was she imagining herself in the place of those tentacles?
He couldn't help but chuckle and went back to preparing other ingredients.
Luo Wei was making dinner for everyone, not because he found the hotel food unpalatable, but because he wanted to give this rare seaside trip a perfect ending, especially since everyone had managed to gather together.
"Helena! Bring me that thing, and that, and that too!"
"Got it!"
As his little assistant, Helena was indeed very competent. Under Luo Wei's various instructions, bottles, jars, and cooking utensils scattered in different places were all delivered to him in a matter of seconds.
The reason? Helena had six hands.
Watching Helena skillfully assist Luo Wei with her six hands, the hotel manager swallowed hard.
If it weren't for the fact that this gentleman was a friend of the royal family, he would have already reported this to the police and the church...
"Mr. Luo Wei, here's the pot you asked for..."
"Good." Luo Wei gave it a quick check, adjusted the heat, and began stir-frying with vigorous flames.
The hotel manager, having never seen such a cooking method before, didn't dare ask any questions. He nervously glanced at the beautiful girl and the six tentacles emerging from under her skirt before hastily retreating from the kitchen.
"Finally, I don't have to eat those damned potatoes anymore!"
Luo Wei had always been critical of the underwhelming culinary skills and limited ingredient choices in Wignar cuisine...
So today, he decided to showcase his talents and teach Helena a thing or two.
After all, once she learned, she could cook for him in the future.
As a series of novel and exotic dishes were laid out on the table, Evelyn happened to emerge from Annie's room.
"Teacher, are you done talking?"
Luo Wei looked at her, sensing a hint of frustration in her mood.
"Yeah." She sat down on a chair and casually picked up a golden shrimp ball, popping it into her mouth.
"My family is preparing for my father's 80th birthday banquet. He doesn't want to make a big fuss, so he's only invited a few close noble friends. Oh, and he wants me to come back, saying he misses me. It's been years since I last went home. Hmm... this shrimp ball is really good..."
"Are you saying the old duke is turning 80?" Luo Wei chuckled. "Shouldn't it be his 800th or 1,800th birthday instead?"
Evelyn shook her head helplessly. "We have to say that to the public. After all, not many people know that the Abraham family is actually a vampire clan..."
"That's true." Luo Wei nodded. Just as few knew that the Wignar royal family were Anomalous Species, even fewer were aware of the true nature of the Abraham family.
The Abraham family held a prestigious position within the empire, with a permanent seat in the upper house of parliament and a vast territory in the north that was almost like a private kingdom.
Despite the emperors' efforts to centralize power over the generations, the Abraham family had managed to retain their unique status.
This was all thanks to the achievements of their previous family head, the old duke's uncle, General Abraham.
General Abraham had fought alongside Emperor Antius in countless battles, contributing greatly to the expansion of Wignar from a small border state to a vast empire. As a reward, Emperor Antius granted the family their current status and wealth, which had been passed down ever since.
"So, teacher, are you planning to go back?" Luo Wei asked curiously.
Evelyn hadn't stopped eating, her mouth full of golden shrimp balls.
"Mmm... so delicious... Well, to be honest, I haven't decided yet..."
Helena, noticing the nearly empty plate, pouted in dissatisfaction. Dinner hadn't even officially started, and Evelyn was already finishing it all.
"Luo Wei, help me decide. Should I go back or not?"
Evelyn looked at Luo Wei with a troubled expression.
Luo Wei gazed at her, thinking to himself that of course he wanted her to go back, especially since the task had already been assigned.
But out loud, he simply smiled gently. "I hope you follow your heart, teacher. Whatever you decide, I'll support you."
"Honestly, I don't want to go back..." Evelyn rested her chin on her hand. "Even though it's only been fifty years since I left, I really can't stand that place. I don't even want to spend a single second there..."
"Only fifty years..." Although Luo Wei knew that vampires had a different sense of time compared to humans, he was still taken aback by how casually Evelyn mentioned fifty years.
Evelyn continued muttering, "And back then, we had a huge falling out. If I go back now, I really don't know how to face my father and stepmother..."
"Teacher, why did you leave the family back then?" Luo Wei had always been curious about the reason behind her departure.
"Well..."
Evelyn hesitated for a moment, seemingly reluctant to talk about it. But under Luo Wei's gaze, she finally made up her mind.
"Since it's you, I guess it's fine to tell you. But don't think I was being childish or unreasonable, okay?"
Luo Wei nodded gently.
Evelyn sighed. "You're so interested in studying Anomalous Species, so you must know how crazy and ugly they can become when they lose control, right?"
"Of course, I do."
Her emerald-green eyes, like precious gemstones, fixed on him. "Those short-lived Anomalous Species are already terrifying when they go mad. But let me tell you, my family has many ancient beings who have lived for a thousand or even two thousand years."
At this thought, she couldn't hide her disgust, even losing her appetite.
"To outsiders, the Abraham family is a noble and glamorous household. But to me, having grown up there, it felt like a nest of disgusting lunatics, even more unbearable than that mental hospital we visited back then."
Luo Wei silently gazed at her, thinking that Evelyn was truly the odd one out in the family. She preferred the human way of life and was even an extreme aesthete, so even the most mundane daily routines of the family were probably unbearable for her.
However, even as she complained like this, Luo Wei still felt that there was something hidden within her emotions.
He still remembered the time in the old mansion when Evelyn had gone mad, trying to kill him. Back then, she had said something.
"I hate betrayal the most!"
That's why Luo Wei believed there was more to her reasons for leaving the family.
Finally, Evelyn began to murmur, starting to recount her childhood experiences.
"Actually, before I even reached adulthood, let me think... that incident happened over a hundred and fifty years ago. Yes, ever since then, I've wanted to escape..."
A hundred and fifty years ago... not yet an adult...
Luo Wei's lips twitched. Compared to the messy affairs of Evelyn's family...
What he really wanted to know now was Evelyn's actual age...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
