What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 594: Chapter 594: Hunting Season (Middle and Bottom)

This was Mr. Liang’s second time to witness the illusion of the eight-armed, eight-eyed monster. Even though he still found it striking, he was no longer as shocked and dominated by fear, plunging into floods of memories as he was the first time. Instead, it felt more like a rebaptism, allowing him to more clearly identify and confront his fear.

This time, he was able to scrutinize the details of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant, as well as the surroundings, even observe the expression and state of the native in the distance and attempt to communicate with his many unmanned drones to survey the area.

As expected, images from all of his drone cameras were gone, and contact with most was lost.

However, seeing the native’s shocked and scared posture, kneeling on the ground, mouth wide open and looking up at the sky, he could guess the extent of the native’s fear.

Mr. Liang could understand it in his heart. Anyone – even an “extreme” human like a “blood-eating creature” – would probably be scared if they suddenly saw a creature with eight arms, eight eyes and gigantic like a mountain appear before them, their cognition would temporarily fall into chaos and panic.

Especially for the natives of tribes living in the African savannah.

What Mr. Liang did not know was that what the indigenous man kneeling on the ground saw was vastly different from his own perception.

To the native man, the eight-armed, eight-eyed monster that appeared was many times larger than what Mr. Liang saw. From his perspective, the monster occupied half of the sky, each eye gazing down and illuminating the earth like a hazy sun. His body almost filled the space between the sky and the earth, distorting and deforming the entire space.

Accompanied by drumming sounds that seemed to beat in rhythm with his heart, and distant and elusive humming, the whole world, the entire sky and earth, the entire scene, was filled with an indescribable sense of grandeur and sanctity, bringing tears to the native man’s eyes without him even realizing.

He has identified and experienced his deepest fear – that originating in body changes, unknown mysteries, inexplicable bloodthirsty impulses, ostracization from his tribe, and confusion about the future.

Originally, he had unintentionally noticed some unusual odors and traces, and then followed them. After trekking tirelessly for two days and nights, not for hunting, but instinctively searching, to see if he could find someone like him, or the source of everything that was happening to him.

Then, by mere chance, he witnessed Xiang Kun and his group hunting the “little lion.”

By the time he managed to come close using disguise, the little lion was already fleeing. He was genuinely dumbstruck by the speed of the little lion – a speed he was certainly unable to match.

Then the little lion’s roar that affected herds of land animals and birds, the “blackening” of its whole body, the spraying of black mist, the faster running and blending into the lion pack along with its coat and body shape changes, all left him awestruck.

Of course, what puzzled him even more was who or what was the little lion facing with all those maneuvers.

He saw the bald Asian man near the jeep in the distance, but he appeared to be doing nothing while so far away. Why did the little lion seem to be battling the air fiercely?

What was it afraid of?

Then, the bald man finally moved, taking out a piece of something unknown, and poised to throw it.

Then he saw the object that seemed like meat being launched and moving in a strange way, constantly accelerating, going directly towards the little lion’s location.

But halfway through, the object disappeared, and in the next instant, half of the lion cub was blown to pieces.

He was absolutely terrified. Even though he had lived in a tribe since he was young, he was not unfamiliar with firearms, cars, and aircraft. But although those things also had great power, they were not as strange and inexplicable as this.

How did that thing, which seemed like a piece of meat, disappear without a trace halfway? And how did it end up explosively decimating the little lion in the distance?

Later, he saw a peculiar humanoid shape suddenly appear beside the half-destroyed little lion. The humanoid’s wings could be retracted into its back, and its strange skin patterns and facial features were like the demons in legends.

Could it be… the piece of meat that the bald man just threw had transformed into this demon? Was it responsible for exploding the little lion?

The thought that just by tossing a piece of meat could create such a terrifying demon, made him shudder. What kind of being was that bald man?

This idea makes his heart tremble, and he was almost frightened into losing his camouflage ability.

So, when the bald man drove up in his jeep to the half-destroyed lion cub and suddenly stared in his direction, he felt his heart stop, even dare not breathe.

Had he been discovered?!

Watching the bald man draw out another unknown piece of meat and prepare to throw it, he rushed to break his disguise and surrendered immediately.

He knew that he would not be able to run away, and there was even less of a chance that he could win in a fight. The terrifying humanoid demon was still standing beside the bald Asian man. If he threw out another piece of meat and created a new one… he was a little worried that these demons, created from meat, as they appeared, would have to kill and eat something before they could return.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Afterwards, he heard that astoundingly beautiful drumming and humming, lifted his bewildered head to see a paper plane flying towards him, and the sky suddenly darkened. He saw an image that directly assaulted his senses and soul, the likes of which he had never seen before.

After the eight-armed, eight-eyed monster disappeared, and everything returned to peace, the native man looked around in a daze. There was no trace of the bald man and his demon follower. Only a paper plane at his feet told him that everything that had just happened was real.

He carefully held the paper plane in his hand, stood up from the ground, held it over his head, and observed the strange circles on the paper under the sun, his mind in turmoil.

He was no longer confused.

…

Xiang Kun drove the jeep, with the “mutated Lion Cub,” bound by a metal net rope and thrown in the back seat, across the savannah.

Although Xiang Kun had also deployed and transformed some “Super-connected Objects” in Africa, they were mainly located in cities or human residential areas. So the “mutated Lion Cub” was only observed and recorded in the “Mutated Creatures” database by Alice after it sneaked into the NGO’s wildlife conservation camp.

As for the native man, he likely lived far from the city and towns without recent exposure to newer electronic devices or industrial products. Thus, he wasn’t in Alice’s database, and Xiang Kun had no idea of his existence beforehand.

After locating him nearby, Xiang Kun surmised that he had no intention of attacking. His handling of the unknown “human mutated creature” was straightforward – just subject him to the fear projection of the Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Wood Carving.

Heinous people like Guo Tianxiang, John, and Joel, who’re ruthless and had killed countless people, would immediately exhibit a noticeable response to the fear projection. At that point, he could deduce whether to let them self-destruct or eliminate them personally.

If the man proved to be normal without any wicked deeds, Xiang Kun had no plans to harm him – he would simply leave him be. Of course, if it were inside the country, he would have Alice monitor the man to ensure he doesn’t consume human blood or deviate from the righteous path. Who knows, Old He or Mr. Liang might evaluate him, he might even qualify to be a “researcher”.

Given the native man’s reaction to the Eight-armed, Eight-eyed illusion and the fear projection, it was clear he wasn’t malicious, so Xiang Kun and Mr. Liang simply left him be.

The current Xiang Kun wasn’t worried about revealing his identity, thanks to Alice’s existence. She could limit any information intended for mass dissemination, and inform him beforehand.

She didn’t just monitor the internet, every form of information dissemination relying on electronic equipment fell under Alice and the Super Sensory Item System’s control.

That said, Xiang Kun was somewhat hypocritical.

The native man had undoubtedly killed many wild beasts, be it for survival, to drink blood, or purely to showcase his power. From the “Mutated Lion Cub’s” perspective, its frequent attempts to lure humans to their deaths mirrored the native man’s actions. However, in Xiang Kun’s judgment, the “Mutated Lion Cub” had a “kill” label, while the native man had an “observe” one.

At the end of the day, it was as Xiang Kun had instructed Alice – one’s actions depended on where their allegiances lie. His and Mr. Liang’s were both firmly on the side of humanity, despite both being mutants.

Thus for them, eating other “mutated creatures” was acceptable, but consuming humans was forbidden. As for certain “human mutated creatures”, they were no longer considered human once they started preying on humans.

Though they never discussed it, Xiang Kun and Mr. Liang shared this same value system.

Xiang Kun parked his jeep atop a hill with a beautiful view and looked towards the setting sun. He then turned and told the invisible Mr. Liang, “Let’s get it over with here.”

“Why here?” The deep, husky voice of Mr. Liang echoed.

“The view’s nice, the field of vision unobstructed. When you’re sleeping, I can enjoy the scenery.” Xiang Kun joked.

Of course, Xiang Kun chose this location for Mr. Liang to consume blood not for its view, but because it was one of the rare outdoor areas covered by a Super-Connected Object – Xiao Luobo’s “Seed Source” or “Bridgehead” on the African savannah. Many plants within a two to three square kilometer area were offspring of Xiao Luobo and mixed with normal vegetation, making them hard to spot. When Xiao Luobo breaks its growth limit, it could quickly extend to the entire African grasslands and jungles using these “bridgeheads” as bases.

Now, with the Super-Connected Tungsten Steel Beads that Xiang Kun had sowed here, an area under his and Alice’s control was formed, where they could detect any creatures that entered beforehand, and utilize the Super Sensory Item System when needed.

Here, Xiang Kun could ensure Mr. Liang’s blood consumption and phase transformations were fail-safe. If necessary, he could even manipulate the weather on a large scale.

“Want a bite?” After becoming visible, Mr. Liang dragged the “Mutated Lion Cub” from the backseat onto the ground, joking with Xiang Kun.

Xiang Kun grinned, “Thanks, but no thanks. Doesn’t look too appetizing. I’ll let you handle it.”

The “Mutated Lion Cub”, which had almost completely healed, obviously sensed the impending danger from their conversation. It struggled fiercely in the metallic net, mimicking a human baby’s cries of despair.

What it didn’t understand was that such mimicry only increased Xiang Kun and Mr. Liang’s revulsion, fueling their desires to finish it off, because they knew precisely what those voices suggested.

…

A day after leaving the savannah of Kempaniya, Xiang Kun and Mr. Liang traveled by plane, freighter, plane, and finally a fishing boat, to reach a part of the Bay of Bengal in the northern Indian Ocean.

Standing on the fishing boat’s deck, looking at the tranquil blue water, Mr. Liang voiced his confusion, “We’re quite close to Burma here. Could’ve come here first before heading to Africa, right?”

Xiang Kun shook his head, “There’s an order to it. Africa first, then here.”

Instantly, Mr. Liang understood – had he devoured the marine “blood-eating creatures” first, the lion in Africa would’ve been unable to aid his phase transformation. Xiang Kun had calculated even these nuances based on his step-by-step evolution. Such a calculation required not just an understanding of his condition, but also the situation of blood-eating creatures in Africa and under the sea.

At Xiang Kun’s request, Mr. Liang equipped himself with underwater survival and movement biological components, and they both dove into the water.

Although he had grown accustomed to the bizarre abilities of Xiang Kun, Mr. Liang was still stunned when he saw Xiang Kun strip down and dive directly into the water. Xiang Kun moved effortlessly underwater and needed no air, like a creature meant to live in the sea. Mr. Liang struggled to grasp how Xiang Kun could evolve so much in just over a year. Most perplexingly, how did he manage to retain a human appearance despite possessing such abilities and characteristics?

As for the hundreds of Tungsten Steel Beads of various sizes shadowing Xiang Kun underwater, Mr Liang found it less shocking.

Xiang Kun had told him to build a cognitive system based on his observations and sensations, but he felt his original cognitive system about to collapse from the influx of new information, despite Xiang Kun praising his High-Dimensional Factors theory.

As he swam underwater, following Xiang Kun, Mr. Liang thought he was fast enough thanks to the specialized biological components he had, but he was still left behind. To him, it seemed as if Xiang Kun was not swimming but was being carried by the water.

At first, Mr. Liang could keep up, but soon began to tire. Suddenly, he felt as if the water around him became alive, pushing him along like countless hands passing him towards Xiang Kun’s direction.

Was Xiang Kun controlling the water?

This realization left Mr. Liang even more astonished.

However, he didn’t get chance to truly comprehend Xiang Kun’s water-manipulating ability. As they dove deeper with Xiang Kun, the biological component helmet providing him with night vision brought a colossal creature into view.