Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Little Red Riding Hood Identity Rules, Rule One: The Red Hoodie represents your identity. You must never take it off, or everyone will forget you!

Little Red Riding Hood Identity Rules, Rule Nine: When you return home, do not push the door open and enter directly. You must stand outside and shout “I’m home” three times. Mother will come open the door for you herself.

Wei Sen was not wearing the Red Hoodie, but she had followed Rule Nine and called Mother out to open the door. So in Mother’s eyes, she was both Little Red Riding Hood and not Little Red Riding Hood.

“Yes, Mother. I am Little Red Riding Hood,” Wei Sen answered.

“Kekekeke…” Mother laughed, the curve of her smile stretching even wider.

Wei Sen smiled at the person before her and asked in return, “Mother, don’t you recognize me?”

“Are you really Little Red Riding Hood?” A cold, eerie light glimmered in Mother’s eyes.

“Yes,” Wei Sen answered firmly.

“Kekekeke…” Mother’s shoulders shook. The wavering candlelight cast her face deathly pale as her lips moved and she said, “Little Red Riding Hood, you’re finally home.”

With that, Mother opened the fence gate for her.

///Ding~ (Beginner Tip) Host Identity Cognition Anomaly detected. Please confirm your identity within eight hours, or you will permanently fall into a Chaos State!///

Wei Sen heard the electronic voice in her mind.

It seemed she still had not become the true Little Red Riding Hood.

Perhaps it was because she was missing a Red Hoodie. She had to find a way to become the real Little Red Riding Hood within eight hours, or she would completely lose her sanity and be trapped forever in this Eerie World!

Now that the moon in the sky had returned to normal, the Wolf in the forest would be drawn by the blue flowers and head toward Grandmother’s Cabin.

And the original Little Red Riding Hood inside the cabin would be eaten by the Wolf.

At that moment, Wei Sen had appeared in front of the Red House and used the Little Red Riding Hood Identity Rules to make Mother open the door. Before a new Little Red Riding Hood could appear, she had successfully exploited a loophole and become Little Red Riding Hood in Mother’s eyes. However, that identity was not acknowledged by the Eerie World.

So if she could not become the Little Red Riding Hood recognized by the Eerie World within eight hours, then once those eight hours were up and she fell into a Chaos State, this world would produce a new “Grandmother” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” Then she would truly have no hope left…

“Come in quickly,” Mother said. Her mouth opened and closed, but the voice did not seem to come from her mouth.

“Mm.”

Wei Sen had no other choice right now. She could only find a way to become the true Little Red Riding Hood as soon as possible!

But at least in Mother’s eyes, she was Little Red Riding Hood now. So no matter how strange Mother’s behavior was, she probably would not hurt Wei Sen as long as Wei Sen did not violate the Little Red Riding Hood Identity Rules.

Wei Sen followed Mother into the house.

The furnishings inside were also very simple. The first floor held the living room, dining room, and kitchen. The second floor held Mother’s room and Little Red Riding Hood’s room.

In the center of the first floor stood a wooden spinning wheel wound with coil after coil of red thread. On the sofa lay half of an unfinished Red Hoodie.

“Mother, I need a new Red Hoodie,” Wei Sen said.

Based on Rule One of the Little Red Riding Hood Identity Rules, the Red Hoodie was most likely the key item she needed to become the Little Red Riding Hood recognized by the Eerie World.

“Oh, darling, I’m sorry. I’m still knitting your Red Hoodie. It won’t be finished until tomorrow morning.”

Wei Sen looked at the clock in the living room. It was exactly midnight. If she waited until tomorrow morning to put on the Red Hoodie, there would still be time.

But by then, if the Red Hoodie was not the key to becoming Little Red Riding Hood, she probably would not have enough time left to search for another method.

Mother handed the candlestick to Wei Sen and said, “Darling, go back to your room and sleep for now. Remember, you must lock your door from the inside at night. I won’t knock on your door. No matter what sounds you hear, do not open it.”

“Can I sleep a little later?” Wei Sen looked around the room, wanting to search it first.

“No.” Mother’s expression turned sinister.

Refusing Mother at a time like this was probably not a good idea.

With that thought, Wei Sen nodded slightly. “All right. I’ll go to sleep now. What about you?”

“I’ll keep knitting the Red Hoodie,” Mother said, walking toward the sofa. She picked up the unfinished half of the Red Hoodie and continued knitting. Her movements were so practiced that they seemed overly mechanical.
If she put on the Red Hoodie her mother had given her, would her flesh and face fuse with it the way Little Red Riding Hood’s had?

Wei Sen shook her head. Losing her face was still better than losing her life.

As she thought, Wei Sen carried the candlestick upstairs.

The layout of this wooden cabin was very similar to Grandmother’s Cabin, except it had a few more rooms.

When she reached the corridor, she stopped. There were two rooms now, one on the left and one on the right. Which one should she choose?

If she chose wrong, what consequences would she face?

///Ding~ (Newbie Hint) Reminder to the Host: please choose the correct room. If you choose wrong, Mother will enter a Berserk State, and no one can guarantee your safety!///

Wei Sen was still carrying the bamboo basket, with the sharp axe inside.

If Mother went berserk, she honestly wouldn’t mind chopping her up.

But if Mother was gone, no one would knit the Red Hoodie for her, and that would still leave her with a dead end.

With that in mind, Wei Sen carefully examined the two wooden doors in front of her.

The door on the left was clean and bare, with nothing on it.

Hanging on the door to the right was a decoration made of dried red mushrooms strung together with red cord.

Wei Sen lifted the candlestick and studied the mushrooms closely.

They were fly agarics, also known as toadstools. Though poisonous, they were considered lucky charms, symbols of fortune and longevity.

In Germanic legend, they were regarded as divine mushrooms with the power to predict the future.

As for the Germanic peoples, during the Roman Empire, the Romans had classed them together with the Celts and Slavs as the three great barbarian groups of Europe. They were also one of the representative ethnic groups of modern Europeans.

Her memory was excellent. She could recall almost everything from any book she had read carefully even once.

As for information on fly agarics, she remembered reading it in… some library. It seemed there had been someone beside her at the time.

Who was that person?

Which library had it been?

Why couldn’t she remember anything about those memories no matter how hard she tried?!

Wei Sen rubbed her forehead, forcing the feeling down.

If she tried too desperately to recall it, her thoughts would instead fall into an extremely chaotic state.

Wei Sen took a deep breath and looked again at the two doors before her. Then she decisively chose the undecorated door on the left.

Fly agarics were poisonous. Mother would never hang them on her daughter’s door.

And since they symbolized longevity, they were more likely to be hung by an older person as a sign of good fortune.

So Little Red Riding Hood’s room should be on the left.

Wei Sen opened the door and went inside. Candlelight illuminated the room.

The room was decorated very warmly, but the one strange thing was that the bed was much smaller than normal. No adult could fit on it. Only a child under one and a half meters tall could sleep there.

Too much had happened today, and she had walked for far too long. Wei Sen was exhausted, so she decided to sleep first and continue searching for clues in the morning.

She tried lying down, but could only curl up on the bed.

Still, it didn’t matter. Drowsiness swept over her. She was truly too tired, and after blowing out the candle, she quickly fell asleep.

She didn’t know how long she had slept when, in a daze, Wei Sen heard someone knocking on the door.

“Little Red Riding Hood, your new clothes are ready. Come try them on and see if they fit.”

Mother’s voice came from outside the door.

Wei Sen groggily sat up.

If she could verify sooner whether putting on the Red Hoodie would confirm her identity, that would be good too.

But the moment that thought appeared, a chill ran down Wei Sen’s spine.

Wait!

When she came back, Mother had told her to remember to lock the door from the inside at night. Mother would not come knocking, and no matter what sound she heard, she must not open the door!

So the one outside was not Mother!

Thinking this, Wei Sen lay back down again.

“Little Red Riding Hood, isn’t the Red Hoodie your favorite?! Hurry up and try it on!”

“Little Red Riding Hood, if you don’t open the door, Mommy’s coming in!”

Wei Sen pulled the blanket over her head. Not because she was scared, but because-

It was so noisy! She just wanted to sleep in peace!