What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 586: Chapter 586: A Grand Show (Middle-Lower Part)

Bolts of lightning, incessant and vigorous, seemed as if they were trying to bring heaven and earth closer.

In the spark of electricity, the thick layer of clouds swirling in the sky, appeared to be brewing an endless energy capable of devouring everything.

On the ground, within the forest, various plants were undergoing bizarre and exaggerated changes, baring their fangs and claws, seeming as alive, demonstrating their equally violent vitality to the raging lightning.

Being in the eye of the lightning storm, Mr. Liang was experiencing and witnessing these scenes, his emotions gradually transitioning from shock to confusion and bewilderment.

After all, he had already felt that the faint halo around him allowed him to stay steadily in the center of the lightning storm. The violent lightning that seemed to tear everything apart and annihilate everything would not come close to him or hit him. Xiang Kun was merely “demonstrating” all this to him.

But this heaven and earth, these mountains and forests, all these scenes, all these strangenesses, gave him a sense of being in a different world.

If it weren’t for looking up and seeing Xiang Kun still floating in the sky, with electricity dancing behind his head, Mr. Liang’s first reaction to this situation would probably have been that he had traveled through time.

It’s only been a little over a year since Xiang Kun transformed into a “Blood-eating Creature”?

Are there only a few other “Blood-eating Creatures” that Xiang Kun has consumed, as recorded in his documents?

How did he do it without seeming to have mutated any special organs?

Did he secretly swallow a Thunder God?

Mr. Liang couldn’t help but look at the plants that had taken on grotesque forms. When he entered the mountain in the afternoon and arrived at this area, these trees, grasses, and shrubs looked quite normal. Their sudden transformation into something like enlightened beings surely had something to do with Xiang Kun’s actions.

Looking back, the bizarre thunderstorms that happened earlier on Wushu Mountain and the lightning storms that appeared on Zi Huan Mountain and Chongyun Mountain all shared a common feature: they all occurred in the mountains.

So, is the lightning storm induced by Xiang Kun really related to the mountains?

But what’s the connection? He still couldn’t imagine.

The number of “Blood-eating Creatures” he has seen, studied, and learned about from the information left by Academician Shen is already in three digits. With so many “Blood-eating Creatures”, various different types of transformations and mutations, none of them can help him understand what Xiang Kun is doing now, and the strange phenomena he is showing.

Special abilities that come from mutations are not magic. Even illusions and hypnosis require information to be transmitted through various sensory channels. There must be a method and path for it to be implemented.

If Xiang Kun had simply emitted an electric arc or an instantaneous high-voltage electric shock, he could have roughly guessed the ability that Xiang Kun had mutated and evolved, the possible formation method, and the structural principles.

But now… The changing of colors in heaven and earth, the rising of winds and clouds, and the flashing of lightning seem like the end days are upon us. What appears to be the scene of a different world should not be something a single organism can trigger.

…

The discharges of electricity between clouds and the ground gradually stopped. Although there was still electricity flickering in the clouds and the distant rumbling of thunder in the sky, compared to the world-destroying lightning storm just now, it can already be said to have returned to “calm”.

Xiang Kun fell back to the ground from the sky. The “electric long hair” behind his head also disappeared. He seemed to look the same as before, just a slightly stronger normal human male.

Bean-sized raindrops fell from the sky, making a crackling sound when hitting the surrounding leaves and branches. But neither Xiang Kun nor Mr. Liang seemed to mind.

“How… How did you accomplish that?” Mr. Liang couldn’t help but ask.

Although he knew that by asking this question, the image of him as a controller who knew everything about Xiang Kun and knew more about the secrets of “Blood-eating Creatures” that he had demonstrated before would utterly collapse. But from the moment Xiang Kun flew up into the sky and the lightning storm arrived, he knew he could never establish that image in front of Xiang Kun again.

“You’ll find out in time,” Xiang Kun said. “Now, let’s first discuss the issue of the ‘Ultimate Predator’ you were talking about.”

Upon hearing this, Mr. Liang said, “Although just now… that scene was astonishing, and being able to borrow the power of heaven and earth is very strong. But don’t forget what I told you before, the ‘Ultimate Predator’ exists in everyone’s body, whether it’s a ‘Blood-eating Creature’ or a normal organism. As long as there are carbon-containing compounds in your body, there’s a great chance it can control life and death. This isn’t a matter of brute force, but it’s a field we are yet to know. It might even know that we’re discussing it now, we just haven’t figured out what its mode of operation is.”

Although the ability Xiang Kun demonstrated, making Mr. Liang realize that he is not his match. He has taken a different path of mutation and evolution, and it was shocking and astounding. But Mr. Liang still firmly believes that to break through the control of the “Ultimate Predator”, his path is still the most promising.

Xiang Kun looked up at the sky squintingly, his face getting wet from the rain, then the twisted-neck trees around him started to “move”. Branches and leaves began to grow, extend and intertwine rapidly above him and Mr. Liang, quickly “weaving” into a high-altitude rain cover.

Although it did not completely isolate the rain, and sparse raindrops continued to fall, it made Mr. Liang, who had again looked up, once again dumbfounded, his mouth agape and his corners stretched to his ears.

“I don’t know,” Xiang Kun suddenly said.

Mr. Liang was taken aback, recalled his gaze from looking at the top of his head, and said to Xiang Kun, “There’s no rush, if you want to know more about the ‘Ultimate Predator’, I can tell you slowly in the future.”

Now, he is more and more satisfied with Xiang Kun. When he previously viewed Xiang Kun’s self research and experiment documents, he considered letting Xiang Kun join the “Divine Technology”, join the “Abnormal Biology Research Center”, and join the special research project established by Academician Shen.

This contact with Xiang Kun, he originally planned to have a series of observations and audits, then step by step let Xiang Kun understand what they are doing, understand the nature of “Blood-eating Creatures”, understand the existence of “Ultimate Predator”, and then begin to contact him to develop a series of plans for “Biological Components” and other departures from the limitations of carbon-based life.

But Xiang Kun’s lightning storm, not only shocked his cognition, but also shattered his plan.

There isn’t much to observe or evaluate anymore, he was utterly confident that Xiang Kun was the most suitable, his successor.

But Xiang Kun gently shook his head: “No, I’m saying that the ‘Ultimate Predator’ would not know what we have done here.”

“You probably don’t understand the terror of the ‘Ultimate Predator’. Forty years ago, it once…”

“I know the ‘Ultimate Predator’s operation method inside other creatures, I know how it ‘monitors’ human’s research on ‘Blood-eating Creatures’, I also know how it decides the life and death of other creatures.” Xiang Kun didn’t wait for Mr. Liang to inquire or doubt, he immediately gave the answer:

“When humans conduct research on ‘Blood-eating Creatures’, they will undoubtedly carry out various experiments. These experiments will trigger unique changes in the ‘Ultimate Predator’s factors left inside the ‘Blood-eating Creatures’, causing it to realize that someone has delved into this field. At that time, it would synthesize specific compounds, via factors in the ‘Blood-eating Creatures’ and other creatures, and rapidly replicate in a short time, forming some specific hormones, macromolecules, and even miniature organs, and affect human consciousness…”

“You mean, the ‘Ultimate Predator’ monitors through the senses of other creatures? How do you know that? As far as I know, your Research Base’s first phase has just been completed and there are only a few experimental equipments and devices.” Mr. Liang asked, actually, what Xiang Kun said was somewhat similar to his research and speculation with Academician Shen.

Xiang Kun replied, “Yes, but not exactly. The ‘Ultimate Predator’ does not directly collect sensory information from other creatures. It probably can’t fully understand the sensory information of humans or other creatures, but it directly influences them at a physiological level through substances synthesized within their bodies, letting the creatures themselves help it make ‘decisions’.”

“For example, if a ‘Blood-eating Creature’ is discovered by some scientific researchers and relevant research and experiments are conducted, triggering the reaction of the ‘Ultimate Predator’s factors left in it. It will then activate the specific factors in all humans within a certain range of that ‘Blood-eating Creature’, causing them to have a special physiological response to that ‘Blood-eating Creature’ and its related information. Then, it will let them think and decide who knows this information, and help the ‘Ultimate Predator’ mark its targets. Then, it can accurately activate the factors in those targets and synthesize a deadly compound to kill them.

“If it is in an ‘awakened’ state, it will be able to actively influence other creatures to spontaneously collect information and make judgments. For instance, if the ‘Ultimate Predator’s’ factors in your body are activated, it won’t steal your sensory information to forward to the ‘Ultimate Predator’, but instead will let you mark me and think about who might know my secret, who you’ve told, and mark them, too. Then, the ‘Ultimate Predator’ will target our specific factors.

“Sometimes, it can even perform more complicated manipulation through the double influence of controlling other ‘Blood-eating Creatures’ to parasitize ‘Blood-eating Creatures’.”

Actually, part of Xiang Kun’s elaboration validated many of Mr. Liang’s speculations, and it corresponds to a lot of the information they knew from him and Academician Shen.

Mr. Liang somewhat believed all this in his heart, but what puzzled him was how Xiang Kun knew it? Despite them having so many resources and much information, the conjectures they could come up with fell far short of Xiang Kun’s claims.

“Are you suggesting that it has not been ‘awakened’ now, and we have not conducted any experiments to trigger the reactions of the specific factors left in our bodies by it, so it won’t know what we are discussing and doing here?” Mr. Liang asked, he thought that Xiang Kun’s ‘awakened state’ was the same as what Academician Shen had described as the ‘sensitive state’. Xiang Kun actually seemed to understand the ‘Ultimate Predator’ quite thoroughly.

Xiang Kun said, “No, it has already been ‘awakened’ now.”

Mr. Liang didn’t expect Xiang Kun to say this, his mouth agape in surprise.

Xiang Kun spread his hands, implying Mr. Liang to look around: “This place can help us block the effect of the ‘Ultimate Predator’. Mr. Liang, you once told me that you think the thing that causes us, i.e., the other creatures, to mutate into ‘Blood-eating Creatures’ is a kind of high-dimensional factor. I also have my own theory or guess, I call this mutation-causing substance ‘Consciousness Entanglement Particles’. As its name implies, it has a direct relationship with our consciousness.”

Xiang Kun extended a finger, and spoke slowly: “Consciousness is the sole reason for us to make the ‘Consciousness Entanglement Particles’ or ‘High-Dimensional Factors’ have an effect in this world.

“Mr. Liang, all creatures possess consciousness. Humans have consciousness, birds, beasts, other animals have consciousness, even flowers, grasses, trees, bacteria, viruses and so on, all have consciousness. However, their consciousness is too simple to be almost zero when judged by regular human perception. But if it exceeds the regular human perception, it is too complicated for ordinary people to understand.

“The ‘Ultimate Predator’ is no exception, it also needs to control the ‘High-Dimensional Factors’ with its consciousness. I’ve found a way to capture the consciousness of the ‘Ultimate Predator’, but its existence, which is fragmented and scattered everywhere, gives it a distributed network structure of consciousness under normal circumstances. I cannot carry out a one-time sweep. It must generate concentrated and intense conscious reactions voluntarily for it to be truly effective.”

“To cause its consciousness to voluntarily make a sufficiently strong centralized reaction, I believe it’s most likely to occur when it carries out iterative ingestion, or as you say, ‘Phase Transition’.”

Hearing this, Mr. Liang suddenly said, “Did you purposely lure me here?”

Xiang Kun frankly admitted, “Yes, I need your help.”

Mr. Liang nodded thoughtfully, “You need to undergo a sufficiently high-level phase transition to meet the ‘hunting’ requirements of the ‘Ultimate Predator’. Therefore, you need a ‘high level’ blood source to help you pass the high-level phase transition. And I, am the most suitable blood source. Are… Are you sure this method will work?”

For a moment, Mr. Liang felt desolate and melancholy, with a tinge of conflict and struggle. If Xiang Kun just wanted to devour him to pass the phase limit, even if he couldn’t defeat Xiang Kun, even if he was restrained in his characteristics, even if he was struck by lightning into charred ashes, he would absolutely fight to the end.

But if Xiang Kun’s goal was to solve the ‘Ultimate Predator’s’ shackles on all creatures, he couldn’t help but hesitate a bit, because this was one of his goals.

He did not think Xiang Kun was deceiving him into sacrificing himself, because Xiang Kun had already demonstrated that he has the ability to overpower him thoroughly. Through investigating Xiang Kun’s history, social relationships, and various information, he did not think Xiang Kun was a selfish and treacherous man.

Just when he was struggling with whether or not to sacrifice himself, thinking about whether or not Xiang Kun could take up enough responsibility if he were gone, if he could keep the secret department of ‘Divine Technology’ running, if he could get along with Old He, or if they were all eaten by the ‘Ultimate Predator,’ what should they do, Xiang Kun smiled and said,

“Mr. Liang, you’ve misunderstood. The one who needs to undergo a higher level phase transition is not me, it’s you.”

Mr. Liang was startled, saying without thinking, “No, you can’t…”

Xiang Kun gave a bitter smile, “I’m not asking you to devour me, I have other ways to help you undergo a phase transition.”

With that, he clapped his hands.

In the distance, various Twisted Neck Trees began to sway again, all falling to the side, revealing a pathway. The green road beneath was lined with rising mounds of dirt which was moving rapidly, as if a gigantic worm was tunneling underground.

When the raised slope of earth arrived in front of Mr. Liang, it continued to grow larger, and then the earth cracked open to reveal a spherical object tightly wrapped in roots, with a large number of tiny beads clinging to it.

Xiang Kun waved his hand, and all the beads rose into the air. The roots opened to the side, revealing an extremely weak and terrified ‘mutated big bird’ inside.

He had also put in quite a bit of effort these past few days to bring this creature from the neighboring province’s forests and hide it here.