Next to the elevator doors, there was a recess in the wall.
Yu Zhizhi went closer to inspect it. The shape was nearly identical to the key in her hand.
"It should go in here..."
she murmured, inserting the key she had received from the mission.
CLICK.
A crisp sound echoed.
The jade-green key suddenly burst into light.
Above, the floor number on the elevator display began to flash and jump...
This area was spacious compared to the hallway, but being underground, it had no windows or ventilation. Only dim wall sconces cast a mottled red glow.
Yu Zhizhi, holding her oil lamp, took a step closer.
The elevator stopped at the B13 Floor.
The doors opened, revealing a poster of a church inside.
Yu Zhizhi stepped inside, turned around, and watched the doors slowly close.
Her heart gradually rose to her throat.
She watched the numbers jump upward until they finally stopped at B1...
'Still a basement level?'
'Will it be as dangerous as B13?'
Yu Zhizhi was a little worried. The elevator doors slid open slowly. The dark scene she had imagined didn't appear. Instead, she saw a simple but quiet corridor.
The floor was covered with a green, vintage-patterned carpet. To one side was a soft chair with a set of folded clothes on it.
TING-A-LING...
As a small copper bell by the side rang, Yu Zhizhi saw a young woman approaching.
"You're here! Quick, grab the clothes and come with me."
The girl greeted Yu Zhizhi warmly. She had delicate features and many cute little freckles on her cheeks.
"You... Hello."
Yu Zhizhi didn't ask any more questions. She bent down, picked up the folded clothes, and followed.
The girl led her into a room.
The room had no windows and was sparsely furnished with a bunk bed. A few oil paintings hung on the walls, and the floor was covered with a carpet similar to the one by the elevator. It looked like a dormitory.
"This is where we live. Oh, I haven't asked your name yet. I'm Lisa, and you are?"
"My name is Yu Zhizhi."
"Zhi Zhi, you should change into your clothes first. We have to go help in the back kitchen for the banquet tonight."
"Okay..."
Yu Zhizhi changed into the maid's uniform. It was a perfect fit.
Lisa's original form was a deer. She had a fluffy brown tail, and two antlers poked out from her white headband, giving her a lively and playful look.
"It's so great that you're here! I've been living alone for over half a month!"
Lisa said happily,
"My last roommate moved out after she got pregnant. Her Fertility was tested as Zero, but she somehow conceived. Her family immediately sent people to take her back."
"Her family?"
"Yeah! She's the young lady of a prestigious family. Otherwise, she would have been sent to the Female Cave long ago. How would she get the chance to be a maid?"
Yu Zhizhi nodded lightly.
She mostly understood.
This Miss Deer's previous roommate had been taken away by her family because she got pregnant, leaving a vacancy.
'Although I don't know who the new person was supposed to be, since Lisa has mistaken me for her, I'll just pretend to be the newcomer for now.'
'I just need to stay for three days and test positive for pregnancy...'
'If I rush out rashly now, what if they send me back to the B13 Floor?'
"By the way, Duke Bolan is coming to the castle as a guest this weekend. Remember to stay far away from him."
Yu Zhizhi was confused. "Why?"
Lisa replied, "Sometimes, Lord Nade will select some maids to give to him, and other times Duke Bolan personally requests them... None of the females sent to his territory have ever survived."
The two chatted as they walked toward the back kitchen.
Yu Zhizhi learned from Lisa that this was the castle territory of the K family. It covered a vast area, equivalent to a whole city.
And the Lord Nade Lisa mentioned was the current leader of the K family.
Lisa was very talkative and told Yu Zhizhi many things about the Empire.
She assumed Yu Zhizhi was from some remote, smaller country, so she explained everything in great detail.
Things like the secrets rumored to circulate within the Royal Family...
Duke Bolan's strange fetishes...
The monster weapon specially cultivated by the K family...
And so on.
Speaking of the monster, Lisa said while shucking corn, "This monster possesses the strongest spiritual power in the Empire. He was invincible on the battlefield."
"But it's such a pity. Because his spiritual power is too strong, no female could be found to soothe him when he went into a frenzy."
"After that brutal battle two years ago, he was locked up by the K family."
"He's locked up right here in this castle..."
At the mention of this, Yu Zhizhi thought of the wolf on the B13 Floor.
'He was locked up, too.'
'I wonder if he's discovered I've escaped yet?'
'He must be furious. If we meet again, he'll definitely want to bite my head off.'
Yu Zhizhi didn't dare go back.
She lowered her head and washed the vegetables.
The back kitchen was bustling with staff. She and Lisa helped pluck and wash vegetables in a corner, working until very late before carrying their meals back to the two-person dorm.
Three "leisurely" days passed peacefully.
Finally, on the evening of the third day, the system's notification arrived for Yu Zhizhi.
"BEEP! Congratulations, Host, pregnancy detected! As a first-time bonus, the gestation period has been accelerated. Prepare to give birth to your cubs in three days!"
'I'm pregnant?!'
Yu Zhizhi couldn't help but touch her belly.
She had just drawn the curtain around her bunk.
'I... once the cubs are born, how am I supposed to raise them?'
She was just a maid right now.
'I heard that a Tutu can have many in one litter. If I have a lot and can't take care of them, will I have to send all the cubs to the B13 Floor?'
System: "Once a Beast cub of the Empire is born, it will emit its innate scent. Its blood-related clan will quickly find it. The Host does not need to worry about raising it."
System: "Beast cubs born to a female can perfectly inherit their family's powerful Strength and bloodline. Any clan will place great importance on them."
'That's good...'
Yu Zhizhi focused on her pregnancy and prepared for labor. A Tutu's pregnancy normally lasts a month, but because she was in a novice protection period, her first birth was accelerated to seven days (one time only).
On this day, she specifically took a day off.
She was alone in the dormitory.
She carefully drew the bed curtain, making sure it was completely sealed, then propped herself up with a pillow and waited nervously on the bed.
Yu Zhizhi suddenly remembered that her novice gift pack included a Painless Instant Birth Pill.
She took it out without hesitation.
The Elixir looked like a chocolate bean on the outside. She swallowed it, and a bitter taste spread in her throat.
Soon, her belly started to react.
Yu Zhizhi closed her eyes, her hands clenching the blanket tightly...
One minute later.
System: "BEEP! Congratulations, Host, on a successful birth! You have been awarded 300 points! For giving birth to four wolf cubs, you receive an additional 400 points!"
System: "The Good Pregnancy Mall is now open. The Host may exchange points for items at any time."
System: "Friendly reminder: 500 points are needed for the next upgrade!"
'That's... it? I'm done giving birth?'
Yu Zhizhi had barely felt a thing.
She looked under the blanket at four beautiful, crystal-clear wolf eggs. The silhouettes of wolf ears were faintly visible inside the shells...
—They really are wolf cubs!
She had given birth to four wolf cubs!