What It's Like Being a Vampire

Xiang Kun had a chat with Yang Jie’s younger brother, Yang Zhuo, and discovered that this young man, who had just started his first year of university, actually admired him quite a bit.

This kind of admiration, as sensed and judged by Xiang Kun, couldn’t be faked.

Furthermore, he had found a portion of the video that bystanders had taken of Xiang Kun when he accidentally encountered and apprehended a wanted criminal in the street – it didn’t capture him taking down the criminal, but it did capture him sitting in a police car.

With Zhang Qian’s help, he guessed, Yang Zhuo should have researched pretty much all the public information about him.

Through understanding Yang Zhuo’s cognitive model, Xiang Kun guessed that he probably felt like he had “discovered a very powerful person that nobody else knows about”. As for the sense of admiration, it came from the fact that Xiang Kun could do a lot that Yang Zhuo wanted to do but couldn’t, like easily deducing all sorts of information from observation, guessing what other people were thinking, and having strong “physical power”, capable of “doing the right thing” when needed, and so on.

Put simply, Yang Zhuo had idealized Xiang Kun into the person he wanted to become, the person he wanted to learn from.

For most people, in such a situation, spending some time with the subject of their idealization would naturally dissolve the idolized image, and the sense of admiration would disappear.

However, after their chat, Xiang Kun found that the direction Yang Zhuo had idealized him in… was all correct.

In fact, Xiang Kun was much stronger than Yang Zhuo had imagined.

So, at dinner today, after seeing Xiang Kun demonstrate his somewhat incredible observation and analysis skills, Yang Zhuo really did have a strong impulse to learn from Xiang Kun.

After guessing his thoughts, Xiang Kun felt helpless; he couldn’t teach his skills, especially the theories he had just shown were nonsense. Although he had continuous guided training, his own cognitive system, and thinking methods, the foundation was his mutated, evolved body and brain.

It’s like when he gets out of a 911GT2RS on the race track and a young fan beside him, his eyes star-struck, asks: “How can I drive at those speeds?”

All he can say is, “Turn when you should turn, step on the gas on a straight. Well, first of all, you need a 911GT2RS.”

Although what Xiang Kun drives is not a 911GT2RS, it’s a spaceship disguised as a car.

How can he teach this?

However, the moment this thought crossed his mind, Xiang Kun realized he could come up with several plans on how to train and improve someone else’s observational and reasoning skills.

He can now establish cognitive models for anything. Previously, he had even created a cognitive model based on a song, which allowed him to find the best way for him to perform the song as quickly as possible.

He discovered that if he wanted to train a particular skill now – singing, playing instruments, shooting, etc. He could collect data and information, analyze the ability, establish a cognitive model, and then use that model to dictate how he should train and improve his ability – which is exactly what he did when he tried to master the “Electric Mastery Flight”.

Of course, he can’t apply his own ability cognitive model to Yang Zhuo or anyone else, but he can use the cognitive model of others to establish a model suitable for their abilities, to guide and aid them in their training.

Xiang Kun quickly realized the feasibility of this plan. Hence, while having a conversation with Yang Zhuo, he began asking him some questions to construct a sensory and reasoning training model specifically tailored to him.

“Observational ability and cognitive ability complement each other. The latter instructs the former on what to do, and the level at which the former is completed determines the results of the latter’s computations. Without knowledge of psychology and plenty of practice and trials, and without enough daily accumulation and experience, it is hard to know what to pay attention to and what information to collect during observation. It is also difficult to understand the significance of the information observed and collected,”

Xiang Kun asked the focused Yang Zhuo, “For instance, do you know any habitual movements of your sister?”

Yang Zhuo pondered before answering, “When she is thinking, she likes to adjust her glasses. Also, when she’s shocked or embarrassed, she tends to do the same gesture.”

Xiang Kun nodded and said, “See, that’s the result of your observation and summary. Now, whenever you see your sister performing this action, you can collect this information and use it to determine whether she is shocked, embarrassed, or deep in thought.

“For example, when you watch someone, you notice their subtle expressions and minor actions when telling the truth and when lying. After a summary, when you observe again, you know which details to pay special attention to. It’s a process of systematic learning, then observing, analyzing, summarizing, repeating the process, and through continuous iteration, the accuracy of your judgment increases.”

“You can check out the content related to the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), learn some psychology, and observe more in daily life. At first, don’t observe strangers, but those you often see. You can also watch daily recorded videos, such as birthday parties, friend gatherings, and observe others’ facial expressions and body changes in a relaxed state.”

“As for the senses, there’s not much to train visually, it depends purely on your subjective habits and memory. As for hearing, occasionally find a relatively quiet semi-enclosed business venue, like a beverage shop or a small restaurant. Close your eyes, listen carefully, document the sound elements you hear, and don’t let exercises drop below half an hour each time. Often, you can hear many subtle sounds, but habitually neglect them. Over time, your brain assumes those details are insignificant, reducing your attention to those sounds. This kind of training can help reactivate your attention to those details…”

On the other side, Zhang Qian sat next to Yang Jie, glancing at Xiang Kun who was deeply engrossed in conversation with Yang Zhuo, and whispered to her friend, “Strange, why does Xiang Kun seem to value your brother so highly? With that guy’s brain, your brother better not be sold by him and still help him count the money…”

“Even if my brother’s sold, he’s not going to fetch much,” Yang Jie whispered back. “The girl sitting next to him is probably his girlfriend.”

Zhang Qian looked at Tang Baona, who was sitting to Xiang Kun’s right, attentively listening to his “instruction” to Yang Zhuo, and whispered, “I don’t think so, it seems that she has a crush on Xiang Kun. Look at them, their bodies are not touching. They don’t seem like an established couple. I guess the person Xiang Kun gave the minion wood carving to is someone else, he may be secretly in love with another person.”

“Who’s this secret crush?” Hearing her last sentence, Yang Zhen Er, who had just returned from the bathroom, curiously asked.

“Nothing much, by the way, I heard Xiang Kun mention that he has an extraordinary friend who holds two master’s degrees in psychiatry and psychology, very smart, and that all Xiang Kun’s knowledge of psychology and micro-expressions have been learned from her. Do you know this friend?” Zhang Qian asked with a smile.

Yang Zhen’Er promptly said, “That must be Old Xia, I of course know her, how come, did Xiang Kun specially mention Old Xia while you guys were eating?”

“That’s right…” Zhang Qian then gave a brief summary of the number guessing game they played three times at the Hunan cuisine restaurant, and repeated some of the things Xiang Kun said. However, she did not mention the A4 paper “magic” that Xiang Kun showed at the bar three months ago.

After hearing her, Yang Zhen’er laughed, “Old Xia is indeed amazing, so is Xiang Kun, they’re both monsters with a built-in computer in their heads. Especially when playing cards with them, I was like an open book, it was terrible!”

“Xiang Kun is really good at cards, he often won when we played together in the dorm…” Zi Cheng, who was originally chatting with Chang Bin, chimed in after hearing their conversation.

Xiang Kun, naturally, could hear their conversation clearly.

Although Yang Zhen’er appeared very amiable, easily striking up conversations with everyone and speaking her mind, he knew that in reality, she was somewhat reserved in front of Zhang Qian and Yang Jie, who she was meeting for the first time.

Just like how she had mentioned “Old Xia”, a “formidable friend” that Xiang Kun talked about, but she didn’t mention her relationship with Old Xia, nor any additional information about him. Even when addressing Xiang Kun, she only used his name without any titles like “Chef Xiang” or “Carpenter Xiang”.

Xiang Kun could guess, that in the minds of Zhang Qian and Yang Jie at this moment, the figure of his good friend and mentor “Old Xia” was probably that of a knowledgeable scholar, above forty or even fifty in age, an expert or physician in mental or psychological studies.

As it approached eleven o’clock, many were showing signs of fatigue, and everyone began preparing to leave.

This time, everyone exchanged WeChat contacts, unlike the past few encounters where no one left their contact information.

Of course, Xiang Kun didn’t think that a brief chat that night could provide much guidance to Yang Zhuo. A regular person needed a lot of accumulation and practice to improve their observation and deduction skills, unlike him who could accelerate his progress by undergoing guided training and subsequent mutation.

Next, he would provide continuous guidance to Yang Zhuo through WeChat and calls. If Yang Zhuo fully believed in him and practiced according to his guidance, he would see some preliminary results in about a month, and the outcomes would show if his cognitive model training method was effective.

If his approach showed evident effect with Yang Zhuo, then it would be applied to his cognitive models for “Emotional Infusion” and “Super Sensory” objects, and then be used to help Xiao Pingguo and Liu Shiling to better “master” the items that were connected to him.

On his way to the parking lot, Xiang Kun looked up at the night sky and said subconsciously: “The wind is coming.”

Hearing this somewhat pretentious and mysterious remark, Tang Baona who was walking beside him laughed: “Master Xiang, have you started observing celestial phenomena at night now?”

No sooner had her words landed when a strong gust of wind swept the street, making a cacophonous sound; there was even the sound of broken glass. An advertising placard outside a bar was blown straight down, and almost all people instinctively shrank their necks.

But Xiang Kun, who was standing next to Tang Baona, blocked most of the wind for her.

However, the wind was not consistent, it diminished after a few seconds.

Those who had just heard Xiang Kun’s words, apart from Tang Baona, included Yang Zhen’er and Zhang Qian and Yang Jie who were walking not far away. The latter two looked at Xiang Kun in surprise, their necks retracted.

But Xiang Kun, as if he had forgotten what he had just said, said goodbye to everyone and then got into Chang Bin’s car.

Just like when he was previously guiding the training of other abilities, Xiang Kun would always sense the atmospheric electric field and other nearby electric fields whenever he had free time.

But for now, it seemed that he was only sensitive to the atmospheric electric field. For the other surrounding electric fields, the sensation was very vague, he couldn’t obtain sufficient characteristic information to establish an effective cognitive model. As for the atmospheric electric field, he could only get relatively clear feedback when the weather was changing.

However, Xiang Kun believed that he would make great progress after the next two or three Blood-drinking Periods.

…

On the afternoon of January 2, Xiang Kun walked out of the residential area holding two stacked cardboard boxes and got into the X3 that was waiting for him at the gate.

As soon as Xiang Kun put the boxes into the boot and got into the backseat, Yang Zhen’er, who was in the driver’s seat, couldn’t help but say: “Chef Xiang, I’ve never seen this, the birthday star has to personally pick up the chef?” Tomorrow, January 3, was her birthday. They had made plans with some friends to have dinner at Tang Baona’s place, where the chef would naturally be Chef Xiang Kun.

At her words, Xiang Kun immediately pretended to get out of the car: “Then I’ll put those two boxes back and call a cab myself. Anyway, the stuff inside is either ingredients to cook for you, or your gift. If you don’t want it, I won’t mind.”

Yang Zhen’er quickly locked the car with one button and apologized with a laugh: “Chef Xiang, don’t be mad! I misspoke. Hehe, what’s the gift you’re giving? Don’t forget that you still owe one Christmas gift, that’s two gifts in total.”

Tang Baona, who was in the passenger seat, also said: “Zhen’er has been talking about your gift for months now, always drooling over my wooden carvings.”

Yang Zhen’er gave her a white look: “Who’s drooling!” Then, she glanced at Xiang Kun in the back seat through the rear-view mirror and asked: “Chef Xiang, what have you carved that needs such large boxes? Is it something grand like ‘Horses Galloping’?”

“Of course not, I carved the ‘Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea’,” Xiang Kun said with a smile.

“Ah? Huh? WHAT?!” Yang Zhen’er was first stunned, and then she reacted, snorted and said: “You must be joking. But if you really give me an outdated wooden carving, then I will… I will snatch Nana’s Saber!”

While chatting and joking with Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er in the car, Xiang Kun was also habitually sensing those items he had established “Super Sensory” and “Emotional Infusion” with, since it only needed a thought.

After sensing the bone he left in the spider cave in the uninhabited area of Qinling, Xiang Kun was taken aback because he was sure that the bone had been moved.

However, this couldn’t necessarily confirm that it was moved by people, maybe it was moved by some animals.

Moreover, from the sensation, it seemed the bone hadn’t been moved far, perhaps it was thrown out of the cave.

So, Xiang Kun sensed the rabbit wood carving again, and as he was unloading items in the underground parking lot of the Tang Baona residential area, he finally sensed a wave of surprise with a hint of horror through the rabbit wood carving.

As expected, the cave and the items inside had been discovered by people!

However, for now, it couldn’t confirm whether the people who found those items belonged to “Divine Technology” or were from the same group as the two people he encountered in front of the hotel in the town that day.

But generally, unless they were deliberately seeking death, tourists who went into the mountains had very little chance of getting near that cave, and even if they did, it would be difficult to detect the cave entrance hidden by plants on the cliff, and even more so to get into it.

Even if they adventurously and strenuously entered the cave, it was possible to get the rabbit wood carving, but it was not very likely that they would take away the bone.

The ones who would take away all the bones in the cave were most probably from “Divine Technology” — judging from the way they had painstakingly found and extracted the body of a wild boar from the mountains, it was their style of doing things.

But whether it was them or not, he would have to confirm it later at night.

However, as long as the bone was in the hands of someone from “Divine Technology”, he would be able to track them down.