Ai Cao quickly went through the image of the woman in black in her mind once more.

The woman's cheeks were rather thin, but she looked no different from an ordinary middle-aged woman.

But since the system says she's a vampire hunter, she's no longer just an ordinary passerby.

Ai Cao pressed her forehead, feeling that her once-proud intuition had been obscured by the rules of this world.

At first, she did not sense the arrival of the male protagonist, who was a vampire.

Later, she failed to notice the distorted symbols in Lillian's house.

Although she made up for these minor oversights, she could not deny her past mistakes.

The system sighed in her mind and said, "Aicao, don't be too nervous. This world is a mess anyway. Even if we fail to save it, it won't cost you anything."

"Only those with a sensitive mind are good at creating worlds like this, which are related to Western fantasy."

"But your mental strength is only D, which is not even considered an ordinary person."

"I'll let it go this time, but next time I'll filter the worlds again beforehand."

Hearing the system's assurance, Ai Cao thought for a moment and smiled.

“I’m already here,” she said.

Moreover, she had already made contact with Lillian.

Just like Xia Moli from the previous world.

She helped Xia Moli return to her own world, so she will also help Lillian.

Mugwort knows it can do it.

"Okay," the system replied, and then fell silent.

Ai Cao recalled her brief encounter with the woman and decided to put the matter aside for now, waiting until she and the woman were familiar enough before letting her bring it up herself.

She'll ask the woman what she thinks then.

If they never get to know each other... that proves they have different goals, and there's no need to deliberately try to build a good relationship.

Although Artemisia was curious about the future relationship between the hunter and Lillian, that was all in the future.

Lillian, sitting next to her, squeezed her hand.

The mugwort withdrew from her thoughts. Some faint sounds, like the rustling of grass and trees in the wind, enveloped them in a moment of silence.

Artemisia gently squeezed Lillian's hand in return.

They lowered their breathing again. In contrast to their even breathing, the sounds from another corner were too chaotic.

The girls huddled together, shivering, but they all covered their mouths tightly with their hands, and only faint, disordered breathing could be heard from between their fingers.

The mugwort cast a brief glance in that direction.

The noise outside the carriage grew louder.

What was once the faint sound of grass and trees growing has become a giant wave crashing against the rocks.

A dense cacophony of fluttering wings, and the teeth-grinding metallic scraping of the carriages—

Unlike outside the carriage, a stifling silence permeated the dark interior.

The girls huddled together, using the strength of their companionship to fight against the darkness and fear.

Unlike Lillian, who sat silently beside her.

Although Lillian sat next to her, they did not share the fear.

Because neither Lillian nor Artemisia are afraid of this darkness.

If Artemisia could see Lillian's face, she would see only tranquility and peace on the girl's face. Since plunging into this darkness, she seemed to see those distorted strokes and words again.

Did she see "God"?

Lillian couldn't describe what she saw using her past experiences, so she opened her pale blue eyes wide, trying to memorize the darkness with her own eyes.

The whip cracked with a crisp sound.

It's like a pronouncement before the arrival of death's scythe.

The sound of millions of wings flapping outside the carriage paused for a moment.

After a brief silence, they seemed to go berserk, noisily approaching the cramped carriage.

The sounds disappeared again before the girls could even gasp.

The system exclaimed, "Wow, so many people survived this time!"

Artemisia: "?"

She looked at the group of girls who hadn't even met her gaze, and asked, "Were they all supposed to die?"

The system said, "Yes, they scream and are then drained of their life force by the lower-level vampires outside. Only the female protagonist survived in this carriage."

"After that, the vampire hunter and the male protagonist began to become interested in the female protagonist."

Ai Cao thought for a moment and said, "But this time, everyone survived."

The system said, "Yes."

There was no time to mourn the past world line—after all, Ai Cao came here to change the world line.

The swaying carriage came to a stop.

The curtain was lifted by the same riding crop they had seen before. The woman in black looked tired: "We're here. Come out."

The light shone on the girls' bodies and faces inside the carriage.

The woman in black was stunned.

The wrinkles under her eyes seemed to have been smoothed out a bit.

Ai Cao blinked and asked the system, "Did she become a coachman to protect those who were going to become blood slaves?"

Ai Cao continued, "But she met Lillian and realized she couldn't save everyone, so she became a hunter?"

The system yelled, "How did you know that again?!"