What It s Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 592: Chapter 592: Hunting Season (Part 1)

After leaving Chongyun Mountain, Xiang Kun did not return to Chongyun Village first, but went directly with Mr. Liang to the black GMC RV parked by the side of the road outside Chongyun Village.

It wasn’t that time was so pressing that he couldn’t even spare a moment to inform Old Xia, Tang Baona, Xiao Pingguo, and the others. Rather, after guiding them the previous night, he needed to give Nana some time to think and ponder. Past experience had taught Xiang Kun that upon gaining certain special knowledge and being aware of part of the “Super sensory Item System”, it was the best time for them to develop unique system application methods and establish cognitive structures.

At the side of the RV, Mr. Liang opened the back seat sliding door only to find himself feeling a bit embarrassed. This was because there was only one seat in the back — his body was even larger than Xiang Kun’s, so the seat was custom-made. Coupled with a multitude of equipment, the remaining space was not much. He rarely rode with others, so having only one seat was usually sufficient.

But this situation was rather awkward. Xiang Kun was not John, someone who would willingly sit in a corner if asked to.

Would it be right for Mr. Liang himself to sit in a corner? That seemed somewhat disgraceful.

Just as Mr. Liang was considering getting another car, Xiang Kun took the initiative to open the front passenger’s door and sit in, jokingly saying to Mr. Liang below, “I prefer sitting in the front. The view’s better and I don’t get car sick. You can have the ‘throne’ in the back.”

“This…” Mr. Liang faltered, and after thinking for a bit, he didn’t say much more. He simply said to Old Xie in the driver’s seat, “Old Xie, this is Mr. Xiang. Mr. Xiang, if you need anything, just tell Old Xie directly. He is trustworthy.” After this, he got into the back of the car and sat in the only available seat.

After exchanging a simple greeting with Xiang Kun, Old Xie then drove in the direction of Jianzhou City.

On the road, Old Xie couldn’t help but sneak glances at Xiang Kun, the bald man with black-rimmed glasses sitting next to him. He appeared quite ordinary and normal, but Old Xie was very clear that this man was far from ordinary.

Ever since he started driving for Mr. Liang, this was the first time he had seen Mr. Liang invite someone to ride with him so formally. Even Old He had never been in this car before. If they met, it was either Mr. Liang who came over or Old He going to the Brilliant Fortune Building. As for that foreigner last time, he was clearly not “invited”, but captured. Mr. Liang wouldn’t even consider if there was a seat for him in the back – it was entirely possible he was made to kneel for the entire journey.

It was also the first time he heard Mr. Liang say something as polite as “if you need anything, just tell Old Xie directly”. Even when speaking to Old He, Mr. Liang was very direct, never engaging in pleasantries, let alone with anyone else.

Moreover, Mr. Liang didn’t appear physically just now. He was in his invisibility status. But Xiang Kun’s exchange with him was absolutely normal and natural. Old Xie was now able to communicate naturally with an invisible Mr. Liang, but he clearly remembered his shock upon first discovering Mr. Liang’s invisibility. Even after a long time, he would still unconsciously search for where Mr. Liang’s voice was coming from when Mr. Liang spoke in front of him. This instinctive reaction took a long time to change. However, judging from Xiang Kun’s response, he seemed to be rather sure of Mr. Liang’s location, showing no hesitation or searching gaze.

This “Mr. Xiang” was probably a powerful figure on the same level as “Mr. Liang”, a non-human existence that was not of their ordinary world.

Old Xie quickly tagged Xiang Kun in his mind based on his experience.

Of course, he didn’t know that Xiang Kun could actually “see” Mr. Liang. Whether Mr. Liang was invisible or not, the information presented to him was only slightly different. Either through the infrared thermographic vision mode or other sensory information, he could accurately judge Mr. Liang’s position and state.

Xiang Kun glanced at Old Xie beside him and started a casual conversation.

In Old Xie’s view, this was their first meeting. However, in reality, Alice had thoroughly dug up all the information about Old Xie long ago.

Xiang Kun was pretty familiar with not only his past experiences and time at “Divine Technology” after he met Mr. Liang, but also what habits he had when he was alone.

Truth be told, when it came to understanding Old Xie, Xiang Kun, and Alice were far superior to everyone else, even Mr. Liang, and perhaps even Old Xie himself.

Xiang Kun often found himself in situations where others saw him as a stranger, someone they were meeting for the first time. However, he was already familiar with them, having deep knowledge and understanding of their profiles. This happened not only with Old Xie, but with Mr. Liang and Old He from the video as well.

It was a peculiar feeling, like he had activated a cheat code. He could access everyone’s attributes, inventory, friend list, chat logs, quest logs, and achievements, while they couldn’t see all his information.

Honestly, this feeling… was pretty damn cool.

…

Their destination this time was a prairie situated between two African countries, Kempaniya and Tanzania. As for the exact location, they would have to decide upon arrival.

If it were just Xiang Kun, he’d undoubtedly just catch a flight.

Given Alice’s presence, obtaining a visa and going through both entrance and exit immigration were easy. He could alter and delete records as he pleased, so there was no need to worry about leaving any trace for people to investigate. Moreover, the only domestic institution that could potentially monitor him was now “one of his own”. Outside of China, he believed that nothing on Earth could keep tabs on him except perhaps the “Ultimate Predator” or similar entities. But even the “Ultimate Predator”, after being discovered by him, would be kept at arm’s length.

Given the previous incident with the “mutated big bird”, Xiang Kun was confident that the “Ultimate Predator” would not dare to make any move on his aircraft in the near future.

But now, since Mr. Liang was also going to Africa with him, they couldn’t take a commercial flight. Mr. Liang was bigger than him and although he could become invisible and hide on the plane, Old He would definitely not approve of such action. The guidelines specifically for “Human Blood-eating Biological Researchers” explicitly forbade this.

Then again, Mr. Liang didn’t need to do that. Be it on land, at sea, or in air, “Divine Technology” had their own means of transport.

Xiang Kun and Mr. Liang took a cargo plane directly to the outskirts of Kempaniya’s capital, Robi City. Locals from the “Divine Technology” designated contact point then secretly picked them up in a vehicle.

Once they were done preparing their equipment at the contact point, Xiang Kun directly asked for a jeep. Carrying an invisible Mr. Liang, they set off for the savannah.

“Didn’t you tell me to bring underwater equipment? Why does it look like we’re not heading towards the sea?” asked Mr. Liang who was squeezed in the back seat. It was Xiang Kun’s comment that led him to bring a large number of “Biological Components” suitable for use in water. And these “Biological Components” were not light. They took the cargo plane and used trucks for land transport to ensure hassle-free cross-border transportation of the various “Biological Components” and related equipment.

At that moment, several drones were flying over their heads, one of which was carrying Mr. Liang’s “Biological Components”. Although the control over drones wasn’t very strict in the African wilderness, it wasn’t like China, where they could have full control over every situation. Of course, what Mr. Liang didn’t know was that with Xiang Kun there, there was no way these drones could be detected, monitored, or influenced by other electronic devices.

“You’ll know when we get there,” Xiang Kun said without further explanation, continuing to drive the car.

On the African continent, Xiang Kun had far fewer “Super-connected Objects” deployed than in China. With Xiao Luobo being limited by its growth ceiling, even though its seeds had been planted in the African savannah, there were still very few that had actually grown, thus they could not be relied upon as the main support.

Fortunately, China can now be considered the world’s factory, providing various industrial and electronic products to the whole world, including Africa.

Just like the jeep Xiang Kun was driving, which contained a few of his “super-connected objects”, enabling him to establish connections.

And everywhere around him, as long as there were human settlements, there were more or less “super-connected objects”. This allows the entire African continent to be under his “Super Sensory Item System.” Although this network had many holes, and the overall density was low, it still existed, didn’t it?

While driving, Xiang Kun would intermittently pull out a bunch of tungsten steel balls from a bag by his side and seemingly casually toss them to the side.

However, the moment those balls left his hand, they zipped out in all directions like insects that had just been released.

Seeing this, Mr. Liang, who was in the back, immediately thought of the countless tiny balls that had wrapped the “mutated big bird” up into an iron ball, leaving it with no room for resistance. At that time, he wondered how he would cope if Xiang Kun employed the same method to deal with him.

If he had prior knowledge, he might be able to manage it by constructing a sufficiently strong “biological component” mech to resist and prevent those balls from penetrating. But considering that Xiang Kun could also control electricity, any counter measure would be futile. Especially when considering the situation of the “mutated big bird,” the strength of a regular “biological component” mech would likely not withstand the combined attack of those countless balls and the Twisted Neck Tree.

Mr. Liang couldn’t help but ask, “Xiang Kun, how do these balls fly, and how do you control them? I examined them carefully before. They look like the ballheads of ballpoint pens with a diameter of 0.5, they’re so small that it would be very difficult to arrange any mechanical structure…”

Xiang Kun replied, “Mr. Liang, it is not that I do not trust you, but you need to understand these things and all of these through your own intuition. You must follow your instincts and build your own framework and system. This way, you can maximize your capabilities. If I directly tell you everything I know, and what I feel, it might instead become a shackle for you. My perception system, my perceptual dimensions are much larger than yours or anyone else’s. Without the same perceptual dimension, you cannot truly understand. You have to build a methodology and apply it within a framework that you can understand in order to connect your senses.”

On the journey to Africa after Mr. Liang finished devouring the “mutated big bird,” Xiang Kun had confirmed that Mr. Liang had established contact with the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Wood Carving’s” Secondary Emotion Object Network, so he was essentially considered a “friend.”

This is why he talked about “feeling”, “connecting”, “building thought and system” with Mr. Liang, as Mr. Liang was also a “developer” within the system now and a unique “mutant” developer at that – much more powerful than Jiang Chun.

Of course, in comparison, Jiang Chun’s integration with the “super sensory item system” was much deeper.

Mr. Liang pondered over Xiang Kun’s words thoughtfully.

A few hours later, when the jeep halted, Mr. Liang turned his attention without needing a prompt from Xiang Kun, to a little lion hidden among the bushes off in the distance, its color almost blending in with the grass, it was difficult to differentiate.

With his own way of identifying “blood-eating creatures”, he was certain that the small lion with its big eyes, adorable looking, and the size of a medium-sized dog was a “blood-eating creature.”

Xiang Kun considered this lion to be the next “blood source” he needed to replenish?

Under normal understanding, as his stage-by-stage transformations increased, the conditions for his “blood source” would become increasingly stringent. Now, the “blood source” he needed to consume would have to be an existence with many more stage transformations than the “mutated big bird.” So, it should not be as harmless as it first appeared.

Seeing the little lion stealthily and clumsily moving through the grass, Xiang Kun, who had dismounted and was in invisible state said to Mr. Liang: “Don’t be fooled by its small size and pet-like appearance. Half a month ago, it played the victim and got rescued by an NGO’s wildlife organization, where it was painstakingly cared for. However, within less than three days, it seized the opportunity to slaughter every single living being in the camp and driving all the wild animals insane. The investigators initially thought the carnage was the doing of a few adult lions. This creature has tasted human blood, it’s a serial killer, and its attack on that wildlife organization camp was not its first.”

By the time he got to the last sentence, there was a chilly undertone to his voice.

Mr. Liang would have liked to ask, “how did you know all of that?” However, seeing the little lion that had begun to retreat slowly, as if preparing to run, he temporarily set the question aside, controlling his drone to deliver the “biological components”, and began hunting the small lion.

The “mutated little lion” initially tried to lure Xiang Kun by acting adorable, but it quickly became aware of Mr. Liang’s presence and perceived the danger. As a result, it immediately turned and ran decisively.

Its speed far exceeded that of an ordinary lion, so much so there seemed to be after-images trailing it.

However, no matter how fast it was, it could never outrun Mr. Liang, because Mr. Liang, who had already connected to the “biological components”… could fly.

Although Mr. Liang was also in an invisible state in the air, his attack still provoked the little lion’s alertness.

The little lion changed its running direction in a near-physically impossible manner, causing Mr. Liang, who thought he had estimated its position well, to miss his mark and nearly crash to the ground.

However, after dodging the attack, the little lion did not continue to run, but instead turned back and roared at the spot where Mr. Liang had launched his attack from.

The roar was peculiar, it sounded like a beast trying to roar while its mouth was covered.

But after the roar, the entire savannah seemed to come alive, all sorts of animals began to surface, vultures in the sky and falcons began to gather, resembling a group of fighter planes preparing for an attack.

Just as Mr. Liang regained his position, he noticed the little lion’s light grey fur undergoing severe changes as if it was covered with a layer of black granite, its body swelling in size, becoming full of sharp angles. In the sunlight, it looked like a finely crafted stone sculpture.

It opened its mouth and roared at Mr. Liang’s position again, but this time, no sound came out – or to be more precise, no sound that a normal person could hear – Xiang Kun was able to clearly capture its roar from afar.

Though Mr. Liang’s hearing was not as sharp as Xiang Kun’s, he instantly understood that the lion was locating his position through soundwaves.

As expected, the next moment, a large number of falcons and other birds swooped towards his position.

Mr. Liang, who could even handle the “mutated big bird,” naturally was not concerned about these ordinary birds. However, at the same time, the little lion with its polished black glow began to pounce towards him. It had sprouted two additional pairs of limbs from its back that resembled human hands, but with only four fingers each!

Not far off, Xiang Kun, leaning against the jeep, was observing idly. But seeing this, he couldn’t help but think:

I should never let Xiao Lingdang see this thing, otherwise, her custard pie drawing style in her dreams will begin to deviate again.