What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 628: Chapter 628: The Globally Watched Spectacular Scene

Though the young man looked somewhat familiar, Old He didn’t dwell on it. He was confident that he had never seen or knew this young man before – he generally trusted his memory. Perhaps the young man bore some resemblance to someone he knew, hence the sense of deja vu, which was quite common.

Old He’s attention was still on his conversation with Chu Xiuwen. From their previous interaction, he ascertained that Chu Xiuwen knew why Qi Haoguo would invest in Tong Shi and Chong Yun village, and why there had been such significant changes in the span of a year.

Even though he had previously been introduced by Mr. Liang to Xiang Kun as a “mutant,” Old He did not have any specific details about Xiang Kun’s mutations. Meanwhile, during the process of investigating and verifying Xiang Kun’s social information, interpersonal relations, and past experiences, from the data left in the “Divine Technology” database by Mr. Liang and Fang Pingfang’s investigation team, he learnt that Xiang Kun was connected to many special events, most famously the Eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion in Myitkyina.

This naturally provoked Old He’s extreme curiosity. Whether for personal or professional reasons, he wanted to understand how Xiang Kun could create such collective illusions, and produce such miraculous subsequent effects. How could he essentially turn people’s world upside down?

He was well-acquainted with others who were affected by mutants’ hypnosis-like abilities. The effects of such hypnosis could be described as “deception” or “confusion.” Unless the subjects died, they would inevitably wake up. Observers could somewhat discern their state of mind and perceptions.

However, the effect Xiang Kun’s collective illusion brought about was more akin to an “awakening” ability, bringing people out from their preoccupations and desires, and directly influencing the mind and thoughts of people at the cognitive level.

Following Old He’s conversation with Boss Qi, the change in the latter’s cognition was systematic, consistent, and could be explained to others. It didn’t at all resemble someone in a state of hypnotic confusion, but rather seemed like someone who had “seen the light”.

Due to his concerns about the “Ultimate Predator” and related regulations that restricted him, Old He hadn’t directly asked Xiang Kun and Lu Qinliang. Although the technical research restrictions and the dangers of being in-the-know brought about by the “Ultimate Predator” had been lifted, he had temporarily lost contact with Xiang Kun and Lu Qinliang – Xiang Kun had not been in touch since his last communication informing him that the “Ultimate Predator” threat had been “neutralized”.

Moreover, all along, the “non-research center” was primarily responsible for the threat of “mutants” to the country, society, and people, and overseeing the safety of relevant research. It did not directly interfere with the content of the research, so he found it awkward to raise these questions.

“Xiao Chu, what do you think of Mr. Xiang’s research base? Or rather, how much do you know about the research base?” asked Old He.

“It’s not right, Old He, you got it backward, shouldn’t you be the one who is supposed to answer that question? Haven’t you been to the research base every day? I haven’t set foot in there since it was built. If you ask me about Youlong Restaurant, I could talk for hours. But about that research base and laboratories, I’m clueless,” laughed Chu Xiuwen, “But I do know that it’s an internet intelligent breeding research center created by Mr. Xiang and Dr. Xia, with a very advanced concept. It’s definitely a great thing. Even if it doesn’t work out, the infrastructure investments brought in by Mr. Xiang have benefited the village tremendously. Even without talking about other aspects, just the house you and Dr. Fang are living in would not have been able to rent out for so much money, perhaps no one would have even rented it out in the past.”

“I’ve been wondering why Mr. Xiang chose to set the base in Chongyun Village, I heard…” Old He was expecting a reply from Chu Xiuwen when raised that question. He was gearing up to steer the conversation in the direction he’d planned when the young man seated beside them unexpectedly interrupted.

“Hey, old man, judging from your accent, you’re not a local, are you?”

Old He glanced over to confirm that the comment was directed at him, and answered simply: “No.” His one-word reply and his brisk demeanor clearly indicated that he did not wish to chat further.

However, just as Old He was about to continue his previous conversation with Chu Xiuwen, the young man piped up again: “Are you here for vacation or for work?”

Old He’s eyebrows furrowed as he turned back and took a closer look at the young man sitting next to him.

He was of average looks, dark-skinned, but the broadness of his skeletal structure and a relaxed bearing signaled a confident air; an indication of a person who was well-educated and worldly. Conventional wisdom would decree that he should not be so tactless and inconsiderate.

Did he come to the teahouse with an agenda?

Did he come for me?

Old He was alert to several possibilities and made a few guesses. He responded indirectly with what seemed to be an offhand remark: “Young man, do you like tea?”

“Not really, but an old friend of mine is a big tea fan, so I’m here to get some for him.” The young man said with a smile.

“Are you here for a vacation or a business trip?” Old He promptly threw the question back at him.

The young man shrugged good-naturedly. “I came to find someone. Heh heh, you could say it’s a business trip, I suppose.”

“Did you find the person you’re looking for?”

“Indeed, I did.” The young man grinned. “Of course, I found him.”

During their conversation, a young woman in her twenties ran to the doorway of the teahouse. Poking her head in, she said to Chu Xiuwen, “Brother Chu, Brother Huo is looking for you and asked to see you at the store.”

Seeing it was an employee from the milk tea shop he co-owned with Xia Tianhuo, Chu Xiuwen excused himself to the teahouse owner, and then to Old He. “I co-own a milk tea shop with a friend, just across from here. If you have time, do drop by for a visit. Or we could have a meal sometime soon to continue our chat.”

After Chu Xiuwen left, the female owner of the teahouse received a few WeChat messages. After checking them, she made a short call, then turned to Old He and the young man apologetically, “I’m sorry gentlemen, I have to deliver some tea to an old customer on the pedestrian street, and my staff aren’t available. It’s not far from here. I’ll be back in five minutes…”

“Go ahead, we’ll look after the shop for you. Don’t worry.” Before Old He could respond, the young man chimed in with a smile.

With thanks, the owner quickly packed a bag of tea leaves and rushed out of the door.

Watching as the graceful figure of the shop owner disappeared, Old He felt a sense of unease and became increasingly cautious towards the young man next to him. He hesitated, wondering whether to leave as well.

“Come, let’s try this rock tea. The shop owner said it’s excellent and costs four or five thousand yuan per kilogram.” The young man looked carefree and took a seat where the shop owner had been previously seated. Picking up the boiled water, he prepared to make the tea.

Watching the young man’s hurried actions, Old He finally couldn’t take it anymore. He asked the young man to put down the water jug, taking over: “You’ve never made tea before, have you?”

“That’s true. I’ve actually never tried tea before.” The young man laughed.

“Didn’t you say that you have an old friend who loves tea? You’ve been with him a lot, how could you never have tried tea?” Old He made conversation while making the tea.

“Hehe, in fact, I rarely meet that older brother. The total number of times we’ve met can be counted on two hands.”

“So it seems you’re not very familiar with each other?”

“To me, he’s one of the people I’m most familiar with.” The young man shook his head as if sighing with some emotion, then said naturally, “Old He, do you want to learn about Xiang Kun from Chu Xiuwen? I can tell you what you want to know.”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Upon hearing this, Old He was taken aback and became more cautious, sizing up the young man again.

It was normal for the young man to have heard his earlier conversation with Chu Xiuwen, knowing that his name was “Old He” and that they were discussing “Xiang Kun”. Chu Xiuwen was somewhat well-known in Tongshi Town, so knowing this name was not difficult. But what did it mean for this young man to tell him this while the two of them were alone in the teahouse?

Did this young man know about the research on “mutants”?

What was his purpose?

“You said what I want to know?”

“You want to know what abilities Xiang Kun has, you want to know how Xiang Kun created illusions like the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant, you want to know how these illusions affect people?”

When the young man said this, Old He was shocked and almost jumped up from his seat, staring at him, “Who on earth are you?!”

The number of people who knew this information was very limited. He was aware of each person’s identity and appearance, and the young man in front of him obviously was not one of them.

The young man helplessly shook his head, picked up the cup of tea Old He had made, poured the entire cup of steaming tea into his mouth, squinted his eyes after a few seconds, and then swallowed, smacking his lips, “So this is what tea tastes like? Doesn’t feel as good as cola… or maybe other teas taste better? Old He, how does that Longjing tea you usually drink compare to this?”

Old He paused for two seconds, took another careful look at the young man in front of him, and said uncertainly, “Ah… Liang?”

“Long time no see, Old He.” The young man grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

Old He was stunned once again, his mind still in a bit of chaos, “How come… you’re now… your appearance… your voice…”

The young man lifted his right hand, and his fingers flexed agilely. A layer of special metallic skin filled with patterned luster spread quickly from his forearm, covering his right hand. Then, his hand disappeared from view, his sleeve flapping as if his arm was still there.

“Xiang Kun helped me rebuild my body. I not only have a human appearance, but I can still use my ‘biological components’, and my abilities have become more diverse and stronger. I can even use some abilities I didn’t have before…. Doesn’t it feel like a miracle?”

Only then did Old He understand why he’d felt a sense of familiarity when he first saw this young man. He had seen Mr. Liang a few times when he was brought over by Academician Shen for research. The young man’s current appearance and facial features had some resemblance to the half-grown boy back then.

Mr. Liang said with some emotion, “This is what I would have looked like at 25 if I hadn’t mutated. Of course, my actual age is more than 25, but taking on a middle-aged or old age appearance would take more time. I couldn’t wait, so I chose this appearance. I thought, Old He, you could recognize me… Old He, do you think my father would recognize me in my current appearance?”

“Of course…” Old He started to say “of course he can, that’s your father,” but suddenly remembered that after being taken away by Academician Shen, Lu Cheng’an had never seen his son again. Although they had had numerous contacts afterwards, they had never had a face-to-face meeting. In comparison, he was more familiar with Lu Qinliang’s appearance before he completely abandoned his human form.

“Why don’t you go meet him and find out? I believe your father will be very happy.” Old He changed the subject with a smile, “By the way, how did you happen to appear here at this time? Where’s Xiang Kun?”

“I’m here.”

A lazy voice rang out not far away, giving Old He a start. He reflexively looked back, only to see Xiang Kun sitting at a table against the wall nearby—but Xiang Kun had not been in his field of vision the entire time. He hadn’t seen Xiang Kun enter the shop!

Knowing a bit about Mr. Liang’s abilities, Old He immediately realized: Xiang Kun could become invisible!

Xiang Kun smiled at Mr. Liang and said, “Brother Liang, you’re getting sneaky! You bet me that Old He would recognize you within 10 sentences, and yet you show me your name directly. Even then, Old He didn’t recognize you. You finally succeeded in using the ‘Longjing tea’ code. That’s cheating!”

Feeling bitter, Mr. Liang said, “I thought Old He would recognize me at a glance since he has seen my previous appearance. I admit defeat. The patents for the unmanned drone and communication transmission technology from ‘Divine Technology’ can be used for commercial purposes by your ‘QianKun Technology’. You can symbolically give me a little money in return.”

Just now, Old He was uncertain whether the young man was friend or foe, and what his intentions were. Seeing that it was this pair joking around with him, his tight heart also relaxed. He poured himself a cup of hot tea, took a small sip, and said, “It’s good that you two are back. The establishment of the research and investigation team, the initiation of projects, personnel allocation and training, I’ll leave it to you two. By the way, Mr. Xiang, although Miss Xia is very capable, it will be too much for her to preside over the re-establishment of the entire ‘mutant’ research system and the related institutions. Isn’t it better to have more people from the technical team behind you come over? I can arrange positions for them all at the ‘Non-Research Center’ for easier collaboration in the future.”

Xiang Kun knew that Old Xia’s incredibly versatile performance had convinced Old He that there must be a technical team supporting her, and he laughed and said, “It’s okay, she can handle it. As for the research-related matters, leave them all to Xia Libing. As for us… we have other things to consider.”

As he spoke, Xiang Kun’s expression became more solemn, “Old He, have you been paying attention to the unusual weather around the world recently?”

“You mean… there may be big problems behind these weather anomalies?” Old He frowned.

Mr. Liang said, “The ‘Ultimate Predator’ has not been completely killed.”

“But didn’t Xiang Kun say it no longer has the ability to influence other creatures? Hasn’t that ability, that function, been ‘uninstalled’ by you?” Old He asked in surprise.

“That’s right, it can no longer control the life and death of all creatures directly, but it’s prepared to go out with a bang by using another indirect method.” Xiang Kun sighed and paused for a moment, then said, “But don’t worry too much, I’ll handle it. However, this time, I’m afraid it will attract global attention.”

———

I participated in a full subscription benefit activity on WeiDian. You can find a bonus chapter of 7200 words at the end of the catalog. It is a full subscription benefit and can be read directly when opened. It seems to be visible only on the mobile APP at the moment, not the web version, so I regret that I can’t provide the chapter description.