"The Beloved of the Evil Dragon"
Jiu Tianjiang
On the weekend, Yu Xiaoxiao arrived home at 8:30 in the evening.
Pushing open the wooden gate, the quiet courtyard filled with potted plants was as peaceful as ever.
The sparse stars and faint moon shone above her head as she stood at the door, holding a large stack of documents.
She was going to tutor a middle school student tomorrow, her first time doing such work, and she was a bit nervous.
Opening the door, the housecat stood at the doorway, continuously meowing. She glanced at the empty food bowl beside it, all the cat food was gone.
"I'm back." Yu Xiaoxiao crouched down and caressed the cat's head.
It rubbed against her affectionately, meowing non-stop, perhaps it was hungry or it missed her.
Turning on the lights, Yu Xiaoxiao placed several documents on the coffee table. The house was not large, and the grey sofa was strewn with books, with a black laptop in the corner.
She took out a plastic box from under the coffee table, which still had half a can of cat food left.
It should last for another two weeks.
After preparing food and water for the cat, Yu Xiaoxiao opened her laptop, entered the password, and accessed the desktop system.
A new email notification appeared at the bottom.
Drinking some water, she clicked on the email, and the computer screen suddenly went black.
"..."
She almost choked on her water, "So unlucky? Is it infected with a virus?"
Yu Xiaoxiao had worked a day as a temporary worker in a fast food restaurant, her legs were sore. She sat on the carpet feeling exhausted, staring at the black screen, thinking - "I have to spend money to repair the computer again."
Ever since her mother's accident, she had taken on several jobs at the same time.
The family's savings were almost depleted, and the large medical expenses, even with medical insurance, were not something an ordinary family could afford.
Yu Xiaoxiao knew that the temporary jobs she had now were just a drop in the bucket.
But fortunately, her mother's condition had stabilized, and the only thing left was to cover the monthly hospitalization fee of 10,000 yuan. She sighed softly, it was much less compared to the treatment cost, but where was she going to get that kind of money?
Suddenly, the computer lit up again.
Yu Xiaoxiao looked up and saw a silver cosmic vortex slowly rotating on the screen.
One line of text gradually appeared.
"Dear Yu Xiaoxiao, congratulations on your job opportunity at the capital of Calia, here is your personal information."
Name: Yu Xiaoxiao
Gender: Female
Age: 18
School: First-year Foreign Language Department, South China University
Position: Culinary Chef
Monthly Salary: 20,000
Working Hours: Two dishes a day, 9 am and 9 pm
Probation Period: Three months
Note: After the probation period, the monthly salary is 50,000
Yu Xiaoxiao stared blankly at these few lines of golden text. After about ten seconds, the text gradually dissipated and re-solidified into a sentence—regarding this internship, your choice is [accept] or [reject].
She bit her left thumb nail and absent-mindedly clicked "accept."
The screen exploded into a burst of fireworks as if it had come alive.
"Miss Yu, hello. I'm Luo Ke, the steward of Wangdu. I'm glad you took on this job. Next, I will explain the precautions for you."
"Ase Planet is one of the four major planets in Baihe Galaxy, with a history of 80 billion years."
"Life on the planet began 20 billion years ago and has now developed into a super planet, possessing the most powerful military, economic, and magical power in Baihe Galaxy."
"Ase Planet is currently ruled by the Imperial Empire, called the Kalia Empire. The Imperial capital is located in the east, with a deep cultural heritage, good public order, and open-mindedness. The people are warm and welcoming, never discriminating against outsiders."
"And the location of your work—"
The old man in the computer smiled kindly and said, "In the underground city of Wangdu. The person you will serve is the most fearsome among our Kalia Empire—"
Yu Xiaoxiao: "..."
Fearsome? What's fearsome, just finish what you're saying.
"Ah, the highly respected Third Prince."
Baihe Galaxy, Ase Planet, Kalia Empire? Is this a dream? Or did she encounter a pyramid scheme organization?
But in her impression, the jobs offered to deceive female college students by pyramid scheme organizations were very down-to-earth.
Of course, the high salary was also consistent.
But how could this old man with white hair say such things so seriously—could it be that he escaped from a mental hospital?
"The entrance to the underground city is already connected to your bedroom. Just open the cabinet door, and you can go to your workplace. It's very convenient."
"I will send you the recipe later, please cook the dishes according to the preferences listed. Our Third Prince is great in every aspect, but his temper is a bit peculiar. If you encounter any accidents during work, we will take care of your mother's later life until her life comes to an end."
“Wait.” Yu Xiaoxiao found the key point in his words. “What do you mean by accidents that might occur during work?”
Luo Ke's face still wore a gentle smile, and he said softly, "Don't worry, our Third Prince is usually absolutely safe. Only during special times—"
"I will tell you the details after you start working, okay? I hope you can be on time at nine o'clock, without being late, okay?"
"I—" Yu Xiaoxiao just wanted to say something, and the computer screen darkened.
She quickly clicked the mouse, and the screen slowly lit up again.
The desktop wallpaper was a landscape painting she had used for many years.
Yu Xiaoxiao casually opened a few web pages, and logged into the communication software she usually used, everything was normal.
No virus...
She murmured, "Cream, did you hear what the old man said just now?"
"Meow—" The orange cat, who was eating, raised its head and called out, licking its lips, then buried its round face back into the small white bowl.
The sound of it biting and crunching on cat food filled the room.
Yu Xiaoxiao no longer paid attention to the information in front of her. She immediately got up and walked towards the bedroom, pushed the door open, and stared at the white wardrobe next to the bed.
She took a deep breath and suddenly opened the cabinet door, only to find that there was a pitch-black passage inside.
Looking down, it seemed bottomless.
"..."
Her brain experienced a momentary pause, and she immediately closed the cabinet door, shocked, and covered her face with her hands.
She had used this cabinet for more than ten years!
Could it be that she had an illusion today!
Yes, yes, it must be because she has been too busy and under too much pressure lately, which caused her to hallucinate.
What Ase Planet, Kalia Empire, these nonsensical things—if she were to talk about them, she would definitely be taken to a mental hospital.
But the passage she saw just now was too real.
Yu Xiaoxiao took a few deep breaths, and she once again opened the cabinet door, and the passage was still there.
Is it a hallucination or is it real? She picked up the flashlight on the bedside table and shone it over.
She had lived in this house for nineteen years, and every part of the house was extremely familiar to her, especially her own bedroom.
Yuxiaoxiao decided to go downstairs and take a look.
But as soon as she lifted her foot, a light blue barrier appeared in front of her, blocking the passage directly.
【Warning! No entry outside working hours!】 The white prompt font was very large, and it disappeared after flashing for a few seconds. Yuxiaoxiao stood in front of the cabinet for a moment before turning around and throwing herself onto the bed, burying her head in the pillow.
There were less than five minutes left until nine o'clock in the evening.
The chubby orange cat, which had finished eating its cat food, jumped onto the bed and used its small paws to press on Yuxiaoxiao's back.
Despite the soft bed, she felt wide awake, even though she usually fell asleep as soon as she lay down.
"Ding! Working hours have arrived, please go to the underground city, Miss Yu," a sweet electronic female voice appeared in her ears.
The underground city.
Yuxiaoxiao sat up, still holding the receiver, and the light blue barrier in the cabinet had disappeared.
The orange cat looked at her curiously.
A cook, isn't that just cooking? They have a small restaurant at home and she also helps out in the kitchen on weekends.
But ever since her mother fell ill, the small restaurant had been temporarily closed.
Yuxiaoxiao cautiously walked into the cabinet.
It felt like the cabinet was much larger than before, unsure if it was an illusion.
Looking at the wooden staircase below, she slowly stepped onto it.
The staircase was long and straight down, and even when Yuxiaoxiao shone the flashlight, she couldn't see far. It was eerily quiet, the only sound being the slow movements of her descending.
Creak... Creak...
Yuxiaoxiao's heart was trembling with nervousness.
She stopped halfway, lifted her head, and saw the light coming from the bedroom above.
But it was already very blurry.
Like a light from another world, shining into her pitch-black pupils, she subconsciously rubbed her eyes.
At this point, she felt as though she was standing at a crossroads between light and darkness.
Yuxiaoxiao had an inkling that where the steps were leading her was going to overturn her life.
The girl gripped the flashlight, and the soft off-white skirt suddenly fluttered in the wind.
She shuddered and immediately grabbed the wooden railing.
"Xiaoxiao."
A very cute voice came from below.
"The Third Prince has woken up, and he didn't mention the delayed dinner, but has been reading ancient books."
"We have to hurry."
"Who are you..."
Yuxiaoxiao tried to widen her eyes and looked in the direction of where the flashlight was shining, and a green slime appeared.
It was about the height of a person's knee, a sticky lump with a lot of elasticity.
Its round black eyes were also sizing up Yuxiaoxiao with curiosity, and then it suddenly laughed happily:
"Xiaoxiao, you look so delicious. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to start drooling. In the Kaliya Empire, eating people is illegal. However, the Third Prince is an exception."
"…"
I'm sorry for the interruption.
Yuxiaoxiao wanted to leave, but the slime had already latched on to her.
It reached out and grabbed her little finger.
"Don't be afraid. As long as you can make delicious food, the Third Prince probably won't eat you."
"I think there may be some misunderstanding."
Yuxiaoxiao was pulled by the slime to continue walking down, despite her whole body resisting, she couldn't shake off its hold.
"In fact, I can't cook. I made a mistake yesterday, can I talk to Mr. Rocco again?"
Yuxiaoxiao dared not work in a place like this.
An ogre?
Her legs instantly turned to jelly.
If it wasn't for the slime blocking her, she might have rolled straight down from there.
"This kind of thing cannot be regretted.
"Mr. Roko is very busy, and he specifically instructed me to take care of you."
"Don't worry, you just need to come to the kitchen with me now."
"After cooking, you can leave, and I'll help you deliver. Let's finish dinner quickly so you can rest sooner."
"After saying so much, I haven't told you my name yet. I am the only living creature in the dungeon besides the Third Prince. Because I'm sticky and hard to eat, the Third Prince named me 'Xiao Er'. Isn't that a great name?"
"......"