What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 605: Chapter 605: Strange Things

“Xiang Kun needs our help.”

For some reason, upon hearing Old Xia’s somewhat vague sentence, Yang Zhen’er excitedly sprang to her feet. Images of different battlefields, different enemies and different combat situations flashed through her mind!

All these thoughts merged into a single voice: I knew it!

Of course, she didn’t stop to work out exactly what she had predicted. For she knew that the notion of “help” in Old Xia’s sentence wasn’t along the lines of “Xiang Kun is short of money, let’s pitch in some,” “Xiang Kun was beaten, let’s help him by beating back,” or “Xiang Kun is heartbroken, let’s cheer him up.”

Consider who’s in this car. There’s Xiao Lingdang, a little friend who’s just finished first grade. There’s Xiao Pingguo, a blind girl still under eighteen. There’s Alice, a half-real, half-illusionary being from another dimension, like a Crispy Pig’s Elbow. And lastly, there’s her, a pretty, sweet, smart girl who nevertheless can’t fight.

After Alice appeared and they all assembled in this car, she was sure that Old Xia’s words represented the situation she’d theorized!

The door to a new world is opening to her. Even though she wasn’t sure of how she could help or what her illusionary powers could do, if Old Xia said that Brother Chef needed their help, she must be useful to him!

Her time, “Yang Zhen’er’s moment”, was finally about to arrive!

Like Yang Zhen’er, Xiao Pingguo too, shown an expression of intensity, her eyes filled with tension, excitement and uncontainable anticipation.

Long ago, she realized that Xiang Kun was extraordinary. But back then, she guessed: Uncle Xiang is a bridge between this world and another. He can communicate with creatures from that other world through items he gave and methods he taught, ask them for help, and allow them to manifest in this world.

But now, as her contact with Alice became more intimate and synchronized, as her relationship with Xiao Lingdang grew closer, as she gained more understanding of Xiao Luobo, Golden Flashes, and Custard Pie, and as more and more truths were deliberately or inadvertently revealed to her, she revised her judgment.

She knew now that Uncle Xiang is not just the path to the other world, not just their communication bridge with organisms from those other worlds, but also the boss of those life forms, existences, and even that world!

Xiao Pingguo also clearly understood her peculiarity. Although she’s unable to “see” objects or “look” at things normally like most people, she can “see” what most people can, and also “see” what they can’t. Her sensory range and area of exploration had long exceeded those of normal humans.

Not to mention, taking advantage of her sensory bond with Flash, her various senses obtained from Alice, as well as her ability to communicate with beings from another dimension, another world, and summon them to prevent crimes.

She could even perceive the motion state of all water within a certain range.

The current Xiao Pingguo no longer had her former inferiority complex. She even harbored the notion that “with great power comes great responsibility”, and often daydreamed about leading the summoned creatures from that other world, large or small, to fight against evil forces and criminals.

Of course, as per Uncle Xiang’s repeated reminders, she has always been very cautious, not even daring to reveal her talents to her father for safety’s sake.

Only in Chongyun Village, when she was with Old Xia and Xiao Lingdang, could she let herself go and not keep things under wraps.

But now, upon hearing Old Xia’s words, she knew that the moment of battle might be coming!

She was finally about to be able to use her abilities to her heart’s content!

Or perhaps, the door to that other world would open, and the eight-armed eight-eyed giant would truly come to this world to punish evil, just like at the lakeside once upon a time, or in Myitkyina.

Xiao Pingguo closed her fists tightly, her eyes shining with excitement.

As for Liu Shiling, who was sitting next to her in the second row, upon hearing Old Xia’s words, furrowed her brows. Her first reaction was to feel her neck for the hood of her clothes, only to realize that she was not wearing her hooded garment that day, nor was she wearing the Dingling Magic Robe given to her by the ancient fairy.

So she scratched her head, got out of her seat, and touched the backrest of the driver’s seat, looking at Old Xia and said: “Sister Roast Chicken Wings, I’m ready! But school starts in three days, so we need to hurry up!”

“Well then, Old Xia, what does Xiang Kun need us to do?” Yang Zhen’er joined in: “I’m the oldest, give the dangerous tasks to me first!” She seemed to have already determined that they were going to do some kind of dangerous work, like fighting monsters or battling evil forces.

Looking at the excited state of everyone in the car, Xia Libing nodded and left one sentence: “Everyone sleep early these days.” Then she was the first to get out of the car.

Yang Zhen’er, Liu Shiling, and Xiao Pingguo looked at each other, then turned their gazes to Alice.

Alice simply stood up in the seat, but then her head hit the ceiling, so she had to squat down. Hugging her knees, she said to them: “Don’t worry! The boss will be back soon! Don’t be afraid! We’re invincible!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Alice immediately dissolved and disappeared, startling Yang Zhen’er.

At this point, Old Xia opened the sliding door of the GL8.

Xiao Pingguo and the Little Fatty Girl got off the car first, followed by Yang Zhen’er, who couldn’t help but ask: “What do you mean by sleep early? Is the mission going to be in the early morning? Oh, Old Xia, give us some hints!”

Xia Libing shut the car door, turned to look at her, thought for a moment and said: “Use your imagination.”

“Huh?!”

But Xia Libing didn’t say another word and walked towards the courtyard with Fruit and Fatty Girl.

But Yang Zhen’er knew, however, that Old Xia’s words were not a simple tease—it must hold meaning. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have said it at all.

But what did that mean exactly?

As Yang Zhen’er furrowed her brows and contemplated for a few seconds, her stomach suddenly growled. She rubbed her belly and frowned, “I’m famished…Strange, it’s not long since I had lunch. Even though I didn’t eat much in the box because I was thinking about Alice, I still ate a considerable amount of crispy pig’s knuckle. I even had ice cream on the way back… Ah right, they were all morphed by Alice. As soon as I ate them, they disappeared. Oh man, I am starving! Old Xia, make me some noodles!”

…

New South Wales State Capital, Australia, a grimy and stinky subway tunnel where a tall Chinese man leads two Chinese women forward.

“The subway station here was built in 1960, so it’s nearly 60 years old now and is a bit run-down. A lot of strange things happen here. What I have just told you is nothing compared to the truly weird incidents. In the past, people have even claimed to see mermaids here,” said the young Chinese man at the front, wielding a flashlight as he slowly advanced and explained.

“Mermaids? Like the ones in the sea?” asked the slender, tall girl.

The girl’s name was Ye Zijun. In March of this year, she and her parents were attacked by hooligans during a trip in Myitkyina, a tourist city in Burma. The attackers were thwarted by the sudden appearance of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion. Once back in her homeland, she quit her job to make a documentary about the “eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion”, collecting testimonies from tourists who saw the illusion that night in Myitkyina.

At the beginning, she mainly interviewed domestic tourists who were in Myitkina that day. She then returned to Myitkyina to talk to some locals, and next on her list were interviews with non-Chinese foreign tourists who saw the eight-armed, eight-eyed illusion.

The course of her inquiry went smoothly. Upon learning that she also was a witness of the “eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion” that night and listening to her personal feelings and thoughts about the event, the interviewees – whether Chinese, Burmese, or from other countries – volunteered to help with her project, providing her with all the details she wished.

For a while, two men claiming to be journalists wanted to join her documentary project, promising to help her find sponsors and funding. She agreed readily, knowing that she was new to this kind of work – up to that point, her experience was mainly in making vlogs, with no experience in interviewing or making documentaries. She found the work difficult doing it alone, was paying for it out of her savings, and running into many difficulties. She was more than happy to learn that professionals were willing to assist and guide her.

However, she quickly realized that something was off. The two men seemed to be using her, and her good relationship with the witnesses of the “eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion”, as a chance to ask strange questions unrelated to her documentary, as if conducting an investigation for some other purpose.

This inspired Ye Zijun’s suspicion, and she began to concoct excuses to distance herself from the men. However, unexpectedly, they took the initiative to leave to cover other assignments. They even introduced her to a contact at their media outlet who would continue to provide financial support and additional production help. The contact advised Ye Zijun to hire one or two assistants to accompany her, and assured her they would reimburse her for the related expenses.

While in Burma, she hired Mao Qiang, the Burmese teenager who rescued her during the attack, as an assistant and guide. After returning to China, she hired an additional assistant before heading to Europe and the Australia for further interviews.

Her assistant Xiao Ding, is the curly-haired girl currently holding the camera and following them.

The girl, wearing khaki work pants and a denim jacket, has curling hair dyed pink and is relatively plump. She is very efficient and is good at shooting, and can speak decent English and basic Japanese. Over time, she has proven to be an excellent right-hand woman to Ye Zijun, making their cooperation very enjoyable.

Xiao Ding was previously cooperating with a famous live-streaming influencer to make outdoor exploration videos and live streams about paranormal events, while presenting them as travel vlogs or normal tourist experiences.

However, during one of their shoots, she and her partner encountered a true “paranormal event.” After that ordeal, her co-anchor was too scared to film this kind of live-stream anymore and began working at a bar. However, Xiao Ding remained determined to continue shooting related content.

Before meeting Ye Zijun, Xiao Ding was planning to independently investigate and document the backstory of the Myitkyina’s eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

For her, being an assistant to Ye Zijun, even if it meant working for free, was worth it because it’s something she wanted to pursue in the first place.

For their Australian trip, they planned on interviewing several people who had also witnessed the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion in Myitkyina, and also secured the cooperation of a local international student as a translator and guide.

They completed their interviews the day before yesterday, and the Chinese student, currently walking in front of them, told them about a strange event that took place in an abandoned subway tunnel. The bizarre event piqued their curiosity, and they decided to come and investigate it themselves, shoot a footage and maybe come across an unexpected surprise.

The Chinese boy in the lead laughed, “Not the mermaids found in the sea. These ones aren’t pretty at all and they have four legs. They are very terrifying.”

“Perhaps someone saw a large lizard?” suggested Ye Zijun.

When they visited one of their interviewees recently, they saw a giant lizard, at least a meter or even two meters long, crawl past the backyard. Zijun almost screamed out in fear at the sight.

“Perhaps.” The Chinese boy chuckled.

Before long, he lit up a side door in the passage with his flashlight, “Here we are, it’s over there.”

Ye Zijun and Xiao Ding shared a look, re-enforced their spirits, and quickly followed.

After he pushed open the door and strode in, they found themselves walking through a narrow corridor which led to a fairly large room. The flashlight illuminated several exposed ducts on the side. The room was filled with the stench of decay, causing Ye Zijun to raise her collar to cover her nose.

“You said you heard someone crying here, right, and also all sorts of strange sounds?” asked Ye Zijun. “I don’t hear any crying now and neither any odd noises. Are we not at the right place yet?”

The Chinese boy in front stopped in his tracks, turned off his flashlight, and stammered, “Haven’t you… noticed anything strange?”

“Strange things?” Zijun let go of her collar, flashing her flashlight at the boy’s back with one hand, and gripping her stun gun in her pocket with the other. Having spent several days with him, she and Xiao Ding found him to be reliable. Nevertheless, they had both planned an escape strategy, which included calling for help if necessary and a response plan for emergencies.

“Yes, strange things.” said the Chinese student, turning around. His voice was cold, “For instance, me.”

The faces of Ye Zijun and Xiao Ding were hit simultaneously by the direct light from the handheld flashlight, and the light mounted on the the camera platform. All over his face were small mushroom-like growths, and his eye sockets were dark and hallow. In them, something resembling moss was rapidly spreading throughout.