Using teleportation magic, Shirley managed to temporarily escape the crisis, but the situation did not improve.

As the endgame approached, Tiffany would become increasingly relentless in her pursuit and would not let her go as before.

Shirley wasn’t sure if she could survive until the last moment, so she could only take one step at a time.

Looking around, the place where she had teleported was still a vampire maid’s room, the decoration was slightly different, but the overall arrangement was the same.

"I’ll rest here for a bit..."

Thinking that, Shirley sat down on the bed.

In her opinion, if she didn’t know Tiffany's location, it meant the chances of encountering the adversary when leaving or hiding in the room were the same.

It was better to rest a bit and prepare for the upcoming chase.

She lay down on the bed.

"Ah!!!"

A sudden scream seemed to come from right next to Shirley, causing her to jump out of bed and step back several paces.

“W-Who are you!?" Shirley exclaimed, not knowing where the sound had come from.

She then looked at the pillow on the bed and saw a small figure emerging from a small opening.

"Is that... Zoe?"

Seeing the small figure with a slight expression of pain, Shirley felt a bit embarrassed.

Although it was an accident, she had indeed hurt the other person.

"Ah... yes... it’s me. Sorry, Shirley, I scared you."

Despite being the one hurt, Zoe adjusted her slightly disheveled clothes and bowed to Shirley.

"No, no, I’m the one who’s sorry. I didn’t know you were hiding in the pillow. I’m really sorry..." Shirley hurriedly said.

"That’s not it. I knew someone entered the room, but I didn’t come out to warn you. It was my fault."

"How can you say that? We’re playing hide and seek. Not revealing our position is the right thing to do."

"But I really did scare you. I’m sorry."

"I should be the one apologizing. I must have hurt you."

...

Seeing that the conversation was dragging on, Shirley decided to change the subject.

"By the way, do you know if there are any other people left besides us?"

Upon hearing the question, Zoe shook her head with a somber expression and said, "We must be the last two. My sister and I heard other people’s screams, and my sister was just eliminated recently..."

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Zoe’s voice faltered as she said this.

Seeing this, Shirley rushed to Zoe, knelt beside her, gently holding Zoe’s small hand and looking at her with a determined gaze.

"Don’t worry. We’ll survive until the end!"

“Shirley…”

Upon hearing this, Zoe could no longer control her emotions and threw herself into Shirley's arms, beginning to cry.

Shirley gently patted Zoe’s head with a finger and whispered, “Don’t cry. I’ll protect you..."

"Oh, really? Then I’m looking forward to seeing how you’ll do that!"

Without any warning, Tiffany’s voice came from above them.

Looking up, Shirley saw only half of Tiffany’s body emerging from the ceiling, a smile on her face.

Seeing the weak, helpless, and pitiful Zoe, a strong sense of responsibility arose in her heart.

She grabbed Zoe and ran out of the room as fast as she could.

"Trying to run away? Where do you think you can go?"

Laughing maniacally, Tiffany flew through the air, chasing them with outstretched claws.

The doors of the corridors passed quickly, they turned corners, climbed stairs...

Even using all their strength, the distance between them and Tiffany continued to shrink.

Wiping her tears, Zoe looked at Shirley's determined face, feeling Tiffany’s rapid approach.

She had already made a decision.

She smiled, with a sweet smile like an angel’s.

The familiar cold returned, and Shirley knew she wouldn’t have a chance to survive until the end.

So, the only thing she could do was to sacrifice herself to buy time and allow Zoe to escape.

As for the reason...

Who knows?

Maybe just because Zoe was cute.

However, at that moment, Shirley felt a force in her palm, and Zoe slipped out of her hand.

"You..."

Shirley was shocked for a moment and looked at Zoe, who was smiling.

"I can’t keep holding you back." Zoe said, as a bright white light shone from her hand.

From the white light emerged a gentle yet powerful force that pushed Shirley's body out.

"You must survive until the end..."

Only this soft voice echoed in Shirley's ears.

"Zoe!"

In the air, Shirley tried to call Zoe, but the only response was a cry of agony.

Zoe’s scream echoed through the corridors, bringing tears to Shirley's eyes.

In any case, with Zoe’s hope on her back, she had to survive!

However, as she turned to escape, Tiffany’s pale face was already right in front of her.

"It looks like I won’t be able to escape..." Shirley sighed in resignation, with a relieved look on her face.

"I’m glad you understand the situation now!"

Tiffany was still smiling, speaking in her characteristic cheerful tone.

Feeling Tiffany’s cold hand passing over her face, Shirley knew that the game of hide and seek had come to an end.

The outcome was evident.

With Tiffany’s almost cheating abilities, no one could resist, and everyone had been captured by her.

There had been a total of nine "tests."

Although Shirley had reached the end of the first one, she didn’t know what kind of assessment she would receive.

She could only try harder in the next "tests"!

Thinking that, Shirley decided to go back and see how Zoe was doing.

But Tiffany, still cheerful, continued, "So, it’s time for the punishment!"

"Punishment?" Shirley was surprised. "You didn’t mention there would be a punishment."

"Such a naive girl!" Tiffany smiled, completely ignoring the fact that they were "children". "Why do you think those people I captured earlier screamed?"

A very bad feeling arose, and Shirley had her suspicions, but tried to hide her doubts, as the screams she heard were indeed of a terribly cruel punishment.

Swallowing hard, Shirley tried to stay firm. "I’m not afraid of you. Bring it on!"

"Hehe, truly courageous!"

Tiffany’s body transformed again into a shadow, this time completely enveloping Shirley with a special method.

"What... what are you doing..."

Shirley's voice trembled as her body floated in the air, wrapped in Tiffany’s shadow.

The strange cold sensation moved over her body.

From her face to her neck and from there into her clothes.

"Hey... you... don’t be so cruel..."

The cold sensation was indescribable, it felt colder than ice cream but with a penetrating feeling inside her body.

Wait!

Penetrating inside the body?

In her mind, the lamentable screams of those little friends reappeared, and in an instant, Shirley realized what Tiffany’s punishment was.

But now it was too late.

"Stop! That... is not allowed there!"

"No... I can’t... If this continues, I’ll——"

In the indescribable screams, only the anguished sound from before echoed through the corridors.