Cooking in the Monster Sanctuary - Chapter 1 - Part 2

“Aren’t you afraid?” Ling Xi looked at her suspiciously. “Even if you’re a formal researcher, seeing my head fall off for the first time would be shocking.”

“Why should I be afraid? The shelter is a government institution, part of the national machinery.” Lin Yu stated seriously. “Roughly speaking, I am a woman of the state.”

The boy looked puzzled.

“By the way, I don’t know your ID number yet.”

Lin Yu took out a crumpled “Employee Handbook” from her canvas bag and said, “Let me check… According to this, if I know your ID number, I can find relevant information in the official website’s employee portal.”

“159, doll.”

Ling Xi lifted his gaze slightly, his pupils resembling dull black obsidian, and lacking a certain liveliness.

Lin Yu nodded, “Oh, no wonder you’re so handsome.”

The compliment arrived unexpectedly. The boy blinked his eyes hurriedly, and his ears reddening uncomfortably. Then, the woman beside him said, “I heard that this place contains over a hundred types of supernatural beings, so why is the living area so empty?”

“Those who can be active on this level are D and C-grade creatures with high self-awareness, capable of integrating into the human world normally. Most of them possess privileges to live outside the shelter.” He lowered his eyes, “Therefore, those who choose to stay here are like lazy worms, rarely moving.”

Lin Yu: ?

Am I scolding myself?

She understood with an “oh.”

Ranked by danger level from highest to lowest, the containment subjects were divided into S, A, B, C, and D grades, with B grade and above being potentially threatening to society.

In the living area, there were facilities for leisure and exercise, and everyone had their own independent room. Not to mention the nutritious meals, all provided without cost. It was a paradise for homebodies. Once they settled in, they were too lazy to move.

However, they chose to become ordinary employees in the human world, working from nine to five, which was quite idealistic.

Perhaps she lacks ideals herself, come to think of it.

Ling Xi’s expression froze, and he continued, “Moreover, only a few are approved to live on this level. Most of the individuals confined here are either ruthless killers or lack self-awareness. They can only be kept on the sixth basement floor. Someone of your rank wouldn’t have access there. As far as I know, only senior researchers, special task forces, and management have permission to go down there.”

The containment facility was strictly hierarchical. Service staff like chefs and janitors had very limited access and could only move around the living area. Above them came the security team, researchers, special task forces, and management.

Lin Yu blinked her eyes, repeating thoughtfully, “Special task forces?”

Ling Xi sneered coldly, answering without hesitation, “They’re a bunch of lunatics too.”

Her perplexed expression prompted him to add lazily, “The special task force is made up of elite humans and containment creatures. They handle high-risk incidents that the security team can’t control. I’ve seen a few members, and without exception, they’re all weirdos. Notably, because harmless containment subjects lack offensive power, the supernatural members of the special task force are selected from the sixth basement floor. Just pick one, and they could tear you apart. However, those guys are elusive and rarely show up here. Otherwise, I’d be annoyed to death.”

“Alright…”

Lin Yu was about to say something but held back her words.

Before she could speak again, a burst of singing suddenly came from behind them.

The pure and magnetic voice of a young man flowed like a clear spring breeze when carried by the air conditioning, as if it had just touched the tip of her ears. He sang using a tenor opera style, with a rich and silky tone that exuded an innate sense of high-class opera.

However, why? Was he singing “Today is a Good Day”!

And it was sung passionately and with deep emotion, deliberately elongating each syllable, soaring the melodious notes as if they reached the heavens.

It was as strange as having both Sichuan pickled vegetables and a steak tartare in the mouth at the same time.

Ling Xi’s expression turned cold, and he gave a disdainful look to the woman behind him. Lin Yu, following his gaze, saw a young man with an eccentric appearance.

He was tall, his pale blue skin clinging to his skeletal structure, and his golden hair was messy, resembling untrimmed branches. His elongated eyes were a dim red, like they were immersed in wet blood. His facial features were delicate, his expression stern, and he wore a medieval aristocratic tailcoat that emphasized his slim and graceful figure, giving off an air of cold arrogance.

No wonder!

Why did this foreign guy with a cold appearance have a pink heart-shaped hairpin on his head? Moreover, he was holding a cardboard standee of a female cartoon character! On it was written in bold letters, “Welcome to the Qichuan Comic Exhibition Center, come and play with Kesuzi!” Is he sure he didn’t just take this from the convention floor?

The man cast a cold glance at Ling Xi and asked in an indifferent tone, “Newcomer?”

This attitude and tone, paired with the cardboard standee he held tightly, felt so mismatched. Can’t you please not force this persona onto yourself!

Ling Xi’s eyes dripped with disdain as he retorted, “Number 32, creepy otaku with a blood fetish.”

The man looked at him sideways and retorted, “A dead face that can be split and used as a doll.”

“Blood fetish” refers to vampires, right?

Lin Yu sorted out her jumbled thoughts and managed to smile, “Hello, I’m Lin Yu.”

Seeing the lack of response, she added in an attempt to ease the atmosphere, “Kesuzi is really cute.”

As if a spark had fallen onto a prairie, it ignited a wildfire.

A bright color flashed within the youth’s initially gloomy eyes. He approached her at almost the speed of light, “Not ‘cute,’ but super-duper universe-level explosively cute! Do you also watch ‘Kesuzi’s Leisurely Daily Life’?”

“If you continue laughing, your mouth might just split open! Is it really fine to completely abandon that original icy image?”

She had initially thought that the red pupils of the other person resembled smudged bloodstains. However, now it seems that a sweet red strawberry jam would be a more fitting comparison, don’t you think?

Lin Yu nodded with some effort and instinctively took a step back. “Did you just return from the comic exhibition?”

He grinned widely and proudly displayed the towering Kesuzi stand, nearly as tall as a person. “Absolutely! I was cosplaying as the Vampire Count. Does it resemble the character?”

Realizing something a bit later, he muttered to himself, “Wait, I think I actually am a vampire.”