What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 636: Chapter 636: Old Xia’s Demand

Chongyun Village, at the animal husbandry research base established by Xiang Kun and Xia Libing.

As diverse illusions of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant appeared all over the world, Xia Libing was leading a research team, headed by Fang Pingfang, watching the live global simulation video produced by Alice.

It wasn’t just that all electronic devices and cameras in areas where the illusions of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant appeared had stopped working. Even if they could work and film under Alice’s sole control, it was impossible to capture those various giant illusions. Therefore, to display those situations on the screen, Alice had to simulate corresponding images.

Of course, such real-time multi-frame simulation could not entirely align with reality. It simply integrated the general image of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion into the real environment, with many details directly blurred by mist.

Even so, watching these images on the video and knowing that these scenes were actually happening with only less than a three-minute delay, people with some knowledge of video effects production like Zhou Rui and Ye Chong couldn’t help but exclaim in astonishment. They felt that the technical support behind Miss Xia was terrifying, drastically beyond their imagination. If these resources were used to enter the film industry, they could probably start mass producing special effects blockbusters and advance the film industry by another generation.

However, what they didn’t know was that this was already a somewhat subpar performance by Alice because her attention was mainly elsewhere, such as the co-manifestation around Tang Baona, Little Fatty Girl, and the others in Pengcheng City. She was further responsible for planning the flight route and controlling the flight details for several thousand “Super Coins” to converge in the Central Pacific. Although she could do many things at once and command vast resources, there was still a priority and subjective inclination.

Anyway, as Old Xia had said, they only needed to provide Fang Pingfang, Zhou Rui, and the others with a general understanding of the current situation around the world. There was no need for high-quality imaging; it wasn’t as if they were there to watch a movie.

Upon seeing a pale blue spherical lightning appearing above the illusion of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant on the screen, flying out at high speed, and then switching to the world map to mark the locations where the different giant illusions appeared, with light points starting to head toward the Pacific, Zhou Rui couldn’t help but raise his hand to ask a question.

Xia Libing, who was sitting next to the screen, nodded and motioned for Zhou Rui to speak, so he asked, “Dr. Xia, what are those lightning spheres?”

When they first met, they referred to Xia Libing as “Miss Xia.” However, Mijoe had a sudden allergy attack and difficulty breathing recently, which was seemingly life-threatening. Xia Libing arrived in time and made Mijoe’s condition drastically improve in just over two minutes. In less than five minutes, Mijoe had fully recovered. Moreover, Xia Libing accurately identified Mijoe’s allergen and the time when she first became allergic, and further stated that she had completely eradicated the issue.

They didn’t verify whether Mijoe’s allergy problem had been completely eradicated or not, but Xia Libing’s entire “treatment” process was too fantastical. They did not see her use any equipment; there was no first aid technique. She performed a few-second checkup, murmured something under her breath, and placed her left hand on Mijoe’s neck. As a result, Mijoe’s symptoms quickly eased, her breathing became smooth, and her complexion improved, which was incredibly miraculous.

If they had seen this a while ago, they might wonder if Mijoe had recovered on her own at this time, unrelated to Xia Libing. But after spending some time with Xia Libing, seeing daily data on the variated creatures, getting “popular science” knowledge about the abilities of the mutated creatures from her, and seeing the extraordinary abilities of a mutated little bird named “Small Mantou” with their own eyes, all they needed now was a little psychological scaffolding to quickly accept what she was demonstrating.

Since their initial contact with Xia Libing’s professional and educational background, they naturally started calling her “Dr. Xia.”

Answering Zhou Rui’s question, Xia Libing, as always, was concise: “It’s a ‘weapon’ designed to deal with the ‘Ultimate Predator’ in Antarctica.”

Naturally, she knew that the center of those “sphere-like lightning” were the co-manifested “Super Coins,” but there was no need to explain this information to them yet, nor was it possible to do so.

With some anticipation, Mijoe asked, “Weapon? Why did this weapon appear after those eight-armed giant illusions? Is there a direct relationship?”

“Yes.” Xia Libing answered.

Mijoe did not further question. They had spent some time understanding the basic information about “mutated creatures” with Xia Libing and knew her style. She would give detailed introductions to information she could disclose, but no matter how much they asked, she would not share the information she was unwilling, or unable to disclose.

Watching the light points move on the world map on the screen, continuously converging towards the Central Pacific, Fang Pingfangasked:

“Who will use these ‘weapons’? Mr. Liang? Or Mr. Xiang?”

Xia Libing did not answer, instead, she turned her head to look at the screen.

The world map on the large screen showing the trajectory of light spheres had shifted, transforming into a live outdoor scene.

The screen showed a coastal city experiencing a fierce storm, identifiable as a domestic city by its architecture.

Amidst the roar of rain, two distinct voices could be heard, clearly closer to the recording device.

“Hey, wait a minute, is there a person over there?”

“A person? Let me see? It does look like a person!”

Thus, the people in the conference room, including Fang Pingfang and Zhou Rui, noticed someone standing in the storm not far from the sea, their back to the camera.

Suddenly, the person turned around, raising their right hand high towards the direction of the camera, as if waving.

The next instant, lightning struck, and a bright light flashed.

The screen broadcasted alarmed exclamations of a man and a woman, the camera shaking wildly, startling everyone in the conference room.

Then, a heart-stopping scene emerged on the screen. Lightning gathered behind the person like snakes, lifted off from the ground amidst strikes of lightning, ascending steadily into the sky with a halo of light.

Following this, the screen switched back to the world map. This time, apart from thousands of small lights slowly moving across the globe, there was a colossal light sphere advancing from our country’s coastline toward the Pacific Ocean—this clearly represented the person who had just lifted off into the sky in the thunderstorm, their body aglow and lightning crackling around their head.

This scene was even more stunning than watching Alice’s simulation of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion appearing in the city. Everyone in the conference room stood with mouths agape, at a loss for words. Fang Pingfang was the first to recover, speaking up

“Dr. Xia, is that Mr. Xiang?”

Although the person on the seashore was far away on the screen and distorted by the rainy curtain making it impossible to determine whether they were bald, Fang Pingfang surmised from deduction that it was Xiang Kun. Because when the “Antarctic Crisis” began to escalate, Xia Libing had explicitly told them that Xiang Kun would step in to resolve the issue when the time was ripe.

“Yes,” Xia Libing nodded.

“Mr. Xiang…This is too powerful! This isn’t just some ‘mutant’, he’s more like a Thunder God…” Zhou Rui muttered in awe.

“I don’t even think the Thunder God in movies is this powerful,” Ye Chong shook his head.

The several individuals in the conference room began to discuss loudly. Despite already knowing months ago from the day they first met Xia Libing that Xiang Kun and Mr. Liang were “mutants” with “superpowers,” and that the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion in Myitkyina and strange lightning storms on Chongyun Mountain and Zi Huan Mountain were all connected to Xiang Kun, seeing this video of Xiang Kun controlling terrifying lightning and lifting off from the ground was still utterly shocking. Even though the video quality was not as high-definition as a movie, the visual and psychological impact far exceeded any special effects from a film.

After several minutes of discussion, Xia Libing spoke again: “Once Xiang Kun reaches the center of the Pacific Ocean and encounters those light points, heading to Antarctica, the ‘Ultimate Predator’ will quickly be dealt with. We will disclose some information to let certain individuals know who resolved this crisis. Following this, in the era ‘post-Ultimate Predator’, research related to ‘mutants’ will make key breakthroughs and related results will surge. We will be leading all this. Research and management of ‘mutants’ will operate under the rules and systems we set, ensuring that this change, which overturns thousands of years of human understanding, will not cause a catastrophic impact on the existing social order and will not result in disastrous consequences.”

Xia Libing’s words conveyed unparalleled confidence, as if she was one hundred percent certain about spearheading the study of “mutants” in the era “post-Ultimate Predator”. However, just after witnessing the sight of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion appearing globally, and Xiang Kun “miraculously” flying in the lightning storm, coupled with Xiang Kun’s clear intention to singlehandedly resolve the “Antarctic Crisis”, Fang Pingfang, Zhou Rui, and Mijoe all felt… it seemed only natural.

With such support and such a background… indeed, they could do as they pleased in the research of “mutants”.

Thinking about the basic experiments on some “mutants” that they began to conduct under the direction of Xia Libing, even Fang Pingfang, a researcher who was usually rational and calm, couldn’t help feeling a bit excited and thrilled at the thought of various breakthrough discoveries that might emerge from the “mutants” in the future.

Even though there were places to cook in the base, there were cafeterias and restaurants, and they even had some frozen food in stock, most of their meals were still delivered by the Liu Zhengyi and Liu Gaoshang brothers, driving from the “Youlong Restaurant” in the town, no matter the weather.

They ate lunch directly with their takeout in the conference room, so did Xia Libing. But just as she was halfway through, her phone rang.

Actually, she had already turned her phone to silent mode, and the number of people calling her now should be limited; her cousin, Yang Zhen’er, even knew that she would be busy with the people from “Divine Technology” at the research base, and would generally send WeChat messages or call only after dinner. The fact that her phone was ringing meant that it was an extremely important call, determined by Alice, which required Xia Libing to answer personally.

So Xia Libing stood up and walked out of the conference room before taking out her phone in the corridor and seeing that the caller ID was “Xiang Kun’s mom”.

“Hello, Auntie.” After taking the call, Xia Libing took the initiative to greet her.

“Oh, Xiao Xia, have you eaten yet? Or are you taking a nap? I didn’t wake you up, did I?” Mrs. Xiang sounded a bit embarrassed on the other end; this was her first time calling Xia Libing, and she had intended to identify herself first, but Xia Libing had recognized her as soon as the call was connected.

“I just finished eating. Auntie, have you and Uncle had lunch yet? How’s the weather in Citong?”

“Yes, yes, we just finished too. The weather in Citong is fine, just a little rain… Ah! I saw on the Internet that there are storms and hailstorms in many places… By the way, Xiao Xia, are you in Tongshi Town or Pengcheng now? Did you… witness such a big giant just now?”

“Auntie, I am in Chongyun Village now. We didn’t see that eight-armed, eight-eyed giant, but you don’t need to worry, that giant is just an illusion and won’t affect us in any negative way,” Xia Libing assured her patiently.

Actually, she knew that Mr. and Mrs. Xiang didn’t see the illusion of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant; she guessed they must have learned about the illusion that others witnessed from WeChat Moments or other people afterward.

“It’s good if you didn’t see it, good… Ah! The world is so chaotic and terrifying nowadays, I really don’t know what’s going on. Xiao Xia, it just so happens that Kun is going to Europe on a business trip… We shouldn’t meddle too much in his company affairs, but I always worry a little. Now the planes can’t fly, going abroad requires a lot of transitions… it’s unnecessary to go at this time… I just called Kun, he said everything is fine, everything is going smoothly, but I always feel strange, as if he’s hiding something from me… Xiao Xia, I trust you more, and you and Kun are partners. Could you share with me what is really happening to Kun? Is the situation he needs to handle over there complicated? Will there be any danger?” Mrs. Xiang said worriedly and hesitantly. “Don’t worry, you tell me quietly, I won’t tell Kun if I know. I just want to have some idea.”

Xia Libing was aware that Kun was flying in the sky at the moment, and the call just now was definitely not answered by Kun himself, but Alice must have disguised as Kun to reply—this was planned long ago. Kun needed to have a statement for his parents about taking such a long dormant period. Even if he was on a business trip, occasional calls were necessary; for Alice, who mastered all of Kun’s information and could perfectly emulate his voice tone and speech style, it wasn’t a difficult thing at all.

However, from Mrs. Xiang’s words, it was very clear that Alice, although technically flawless in her imitation, still couldn’t fool Mrs. Xiang’s mystical instinct and thus the phone call was initiated.

“Auntie, please don’t worry, it’s very safe there. No danger will come to Kun. After the New Year, my cousin, Sister Nana, and I may also go over there. We will take pictures and send them to you.” Xia Libing’s tone was soft, but her words were very firm. She knew how to reassure Mrs. Xiang. As for the photos she mentioned that they would send later, she could just ask Alice to generate some.

After calming Mrs. Xiang and finishing the call, Xia Libing didn’t hurry back to the conference room to continue her lunch but stood in the corridor checking WeChat. As expected, she saw the “lunch show” photo that her cousin posted in the chat group. However, that one-pot, mixed dish made from various frozen foods didn’t look very appetizing at all.

Of course, Xia Libing knew that Yang Zhen’er’s intention was not to show off that pot of food, but rather the people sitting around the dining table waving to the camera, including Tang Baona, Xiao Pingguo, Xiao Lingdang, and even Alice.

There was no doubt that this was the result of Alice adding herself into the picture and modifying it after the photo was taken.

Her cousin was trying to tempt her to come to Pengcheng and meet them as soon as possible.

She thought for a moment and sent a panda swaying left and right while walking emoji to the group chat.

Then she picked up the Bluetooth headset and put it on, asking, “Alice, where’s Xiang Kun?”

Alice’s voice echoed in the earbud, giving a coordinate location, then showing on her phone the movement of a light point on the world map, marking Xiang Kun’s movement status. They even went on to make a simulated picture of Xiang Kun flying in the sky, with electric sparks dancing behind his head and lit circles flickering all over him, looking like a movie poster.

Xia Libing thought back to last night when Xiang Kun made his final arrangements with her.

“Old Xia, you’ll have to work hard on the ‘mutant’ research, keep the pace, don’t let them step too far ahead, out of control. You also decide on the overall control level of ‘mutants’ worldwide. Let Alice and Xiao Luobo carry out the specifics.”

“Zero Zero One, Zero Zero Two have now expanded their species to seventy percent of the cities and mountainous regions in East Asia and Southeast Asia. There’s quite a bit in Africa too. There are aquatic species groups made up of Zero Zero Three, Zero Zero Four, Zero Zero Five, which will also gradually expand. Even if I’m in a dormant period, I can still assist Alice in continuing to link the super-connected objects, so the whole ‘Super sensory Item System’ won’t stall.”

“Also, if there’s an urgent matter, you can wake my consciousness through Xiao Lingdang. You should know the specifics. I’ll also try to wake myself up, and communicate with you through dreamland or emotion-infused objects.”

In fact, Xia Libing already knew what Xiang Kun had to explain. After all, since the final dealing plan for the ‘Ultimate predator’ was devised, she was one of the participants. With Alice constantly acting as a mediator, she had a clear understanding of Xiang Kun’s thoughts.

However, after listening to Xiang Kun’s instruction, she suddenly had a whim and proposed a request: “I want to touch your head.”

Hearing this request, Xiang Kun was taken aback for several seconds, and then, with a bitter laugh, he slightly bowed in front of her, extending his head over.

As soon as Xia Libing’s hand landed on Xiang Kun’s bald head, her eyes narrowed, and then the corners of her mouth lifted, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.

Since Xiang Kun had held her ponytail last time, every time she saw his bald head, she would also have an itching heart and want to reach out and touch it. Sometimes when she was eating cake with Xiao Lingdang, if Xiang Kun happened to be there, she would also want to pia some cream onto him. Even when she was bathing, she would occasionally wonder, “What does Xiang Kun’s head feel like when he shampooed it?”

These ideas and thoughts weren’t very strong, so she didn’t actually act on them. But she knew that this was a very unusual feeling for her because it was similar to the feelings she had before her birthday’s behavior choices, and might be related to her emotions.

Originally, she wanted to wait until Xiang Kun dealt with the ‘Ultimate Predator’ issue before having a detailed discussion with him, but she did not expect that dealing with the ‘Ultimate Predator’ there was actually a part2 plan. This time Xiang Kun might disappear for several years, so she wanted to confirm a few of her guesses on this last night.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Now, her guess was confirmed. Touching Xiang Kun’s bald head generated the same happiness and joy she had felt on her last birthday when she had a cake fight with everyone.

But this time, it was not due to Xiang Kun’s emotional assimilation, the emotion originated from herself.

She wasn’t sure what the connection was, why touching Xiang Kun’s bald head would trigger this emotion, but undoubtedly it was a major breakthrough. While Xiang Kun was in deep slumber, she could slowly research the reasons and find the source.

At the sound of her laughter, Xiang Kun, too surprised, lifted his head and looked her in the eye. After meeting her gaze, he also laughed happily.

Seemingly, Xiang Kun had been emotionally assimilated by her.

As the two stared and laughed at each other, Alice requested co-manifestation. After she co-manifested, however, she stood on Xiang Kun’s shoulder, squatting down and chuckling, and reached out to touch his bald head too.

Alice was then caught by Xiang Kun and nestled under his arm.