What It's Like Being a Vampire

For instance, this time, if the kidnap victim was not Xia Tianhuo, someone he had met before; if Xia Tianhuo was not Old Xia’s cousin; if the ransom call for Xia Tianhuo did not directly go to Old Xia’s cell phone; if the person kidnapped in Myitkyina was a foreigner he did not even know and he only heard about it on the internet or the news, he definitely would not have gone all the way to Burma to rescue them.

It was the same now. The unrest in Burma was their own matter, with their local law enforcement and relevant departments to deal with it, and their own “heroes” to step forward.

Considering his Blood-drinking Period was approaching, it was best for him to stay low-profile and get back as fast as possible to drink blood.

But just as he was preparing to continue on his journey and leave Myitkyina, some sensory information he had collected made it impossible for him to ignore what was going on.

The location where he was currently situated was not far from the small restaurant where he had dinner last night, and his instinctive collection of various sensory information around allowed him to perceive that the restaurant owner he met last night, a man from the Gui Hai region, was being attacked, seemingly in grave danger.

Furthermore, he inferred from the auditory information that there were no local police from Myitkyina around, so hoping for local official forces to come to the rescue was virtually impossible.

Therefore, within a moment, he made up his mind – being in a foreign land, he couldn’t ignore the plight of a fellow countryman who had previously shown kindness to him and indirectly helped him.

…

At the entrance of the restaurant where Xiang Kun had dined last night, the owner from Gui Hai region and two of his employees were desperately blocking the door, not letting people outside rush in.

Outside stood seven or eight Burmese people, either shirtless or wearing vests, wielding various types of machetes, homemade spears, and homemade long knives, shouting and screaming, looking extremely terrifying.

The shutter door of the restaurant was not fully closed; only the outer glass door was shut. This door offered little protection against lawless mobs and was easily shattered into pieces by a few strikes with machetes and iron tools.

Seeing the mob rushing in, one of the employees quickly turned back and ran towards the back kitchen, while the other, who didn’t have time to run, could only help the boss block the mob’s advance with chairs from the restaurant.

In the restaurant, there had been a table of local diners eating late-night snacks, who were now terrified and huddled in a corner, daring not make a sound.

The owner was not valiantly standing his ground because he chose not to run away, but rather because the outbreak of violence was too abrupt, and he had no time to react, only being able to instinctively retreat into his restaurant.

Watching helplessly as the employee who ran towards the back kitchen was stabbed by a homemade long knife by one of the mobsters, collapsed and began screaming in pain, the owner himself and the other employee were forced into a corner and could only despair. He felt like his end was near, and the phone call he made back home in the evening could very well turn into his last words to his wife and children.

However, just as these thoughts crossed his mind, the mobsters who barged in, hollering, suddenly fell into disarray. They stopped pursuing the owner and the worker and began to scatter, holding their heads in their hands.

By the time he came back to his senses, he saw a large figure in a navy blue coat and a duck-bill hat, single-handedly lifting one of the mobsters by the throat and slamming him to the ground, before landing a whip kick on the thigh of another mobster, causing him to whirl head over heels and slam into the ground. Looking like he had been struck by a car, the man twitched on the ground in pain, incapable of making any sound.

Within a blink of an eye, the restaurant owner discovered that none of the mobsters who had stormed in were still standing.

The restaurant was littered with bodies lying in all directions. Each person looked worse off than the last. Some had their limbs bent unnaturally, bones protruding through the skin. Others had been thrown against the wall with enough force to leave blood stains, no longer responsive. Then there were those clutching their wounds, crying out in agony. It was as if they all shared a car which was involved in a severe accident.

“Luckily, none hit vital parts. Call an ambulance or take them to a nearby clinic for their wounds.”

Only when the man in the duckbill cap went to examine the injured did the restaurant owner, speaking with a Gui Hai accent, realize who he was. “You’re also Chinese…?” Then he suddenly recognized that the man in the duckbill cap was a fellow countryman who had dined in his restaurant yesterday!

“Wow, brother, it’s you! You’ve saved our lives!!!” said the ecstatic boss, patting the shoulder of the man in the duckbill cap. He then, along with another coworker, helped the injured out of the restaurant, cautiously stepping over a few bodies that resembled corpses.

As they were lifting the casualties onto a small truck parked nearby, four people with long sticks, machetes, and covered faces walked down the road, swaggering.

They glanced at the smashed restaurant, looked up at the signboard containing Chinese characters, directed their attention towards the people getting into the truck, hollered a few words in Burmese, and were coming towards them.

The restaurant owner’s heart, which had just begun to relax, skipped a beat. Before he could say or do anything, the man in the duckbill cap stepped forward and punched one of the oncoming thugs right in the face.

The thug didn’t have time to react or make any sound. His head tilted, body froze, and he fell – as if delivering his face right into the punch.

The man in the duckbill cap followed his punch with a high kick to the groin of another thug wielding a metal stick. The thug doubled over and bounced slightly before falling to the ground, silenced.

The restaurant owner watched the man in the duckbill cap take down two thugs seemingly without breaking a sweat. The one-two punch and kick reminded him of the sound of butchering meat—swift and clean.

After watching the man in the duckbill cap effortlessly take down two of their friends, the remaining thugs turned tail.

The man in the duckbill cap, however, did not give chase. Instead, he turned back and suggested, “Given what’s happening in Myitkyina tonight, it doesn’t seem like things will quieten down soon. You should either call the police or our embassy. And I suggest you find a safe place to hide tonight. By the way, do you know what’s going on here? Everything was fine last night? How did it turn into such a mess tonight?”

“I have no idea! At noon, I heard that some big boss’s son was killed in a car accident. Apart from the police, this boss seems to have a lot of big shots helping him to find out who killed his son. Many people gathered in the afternoon, but I didn’t expect such a big incident… and among the people who came to my shop, I’ve seen one who lives nearby. He doesn’t appear to be associated with those bigshots… I don’t understand why this is happening…” The restaurant owner seemed to remember something, then whispered, “Brother, are you… a military man?”

Last night, when he first saw the man in the duckbill cap, he thought he was just a well-built guy who probably worked out a lot. But watching him beat those armed thugs with such ease today, a phrase popped into his mind— “killing skills.”

Having read those urban novels recommended by his WeChat, he always found them far-fetched. He himself was no stranger to fights and knew that even trained people would tremble in such situations. No matter how skilled you are, you’re no match for a kitchen knife, especially when facing a mob armed with long weapons.

However, this fellow from Gui Hai was definitely not ordinary. He must be a “tough guy” who’d been through a lot.

The man in the duckbill cap neither confirmed nor denied it, just waved his hand, urging him to drive off.

“Bro, what’s your name? Leave me your contact. I’ll treat you to a drink back in China!” As the man in the duckbill cap was about to leave, the restaurant owner anxiously asked.

Of course, the man in the duckbill cap was Xiang Kun. Hearing the restaurant owner, he almost responded, “I’m Chinese,” but ended up simply waving his hand without saying anything.

Xiang Kun had been a bit harsh in the restaurant earlier. If it had been a normal situation back in China, he would have subdued those thugs in a more restrained and “reasonable” manner. Even if they got equally hurt, his actions would have been more subtle, appearing more “reasonable”.

But his blood-drinking period was approaching. He was already feeling the hunger for blood, and it was nighttime, driving higher his tendency for frenzy and violent impulsiveness. Although he was able to stay rational through intermittent connection to Old Xia’s “similar emotions”, his actions were still somewhat influenced.

Later on the roadside, it was the same against those two thugs. If not for his deliberate restraint, those two would have been beaten worse, and the other two would have had no opportunity to escape.

After rescuing the restaurant owner, Xiang Kun did not immediately leave Myitkyina. Not long after, he rescued a Chinese couple that were being attacked by thugs.

According to the restaurant owner and various sensory information collected from around, Xiang Kun found out that there were several forces fighting each other in Myitkyina through some information he heard.

The major conflict erupted between the local forces, including Wu Lun, and some factions from the Gui Hai region.

Even though the former were local big shots, the latter were also powerful figures. Without official intervention, the Gui Hai people did not lose out in Myitkyina.

However, when the disorder occurred, the attention of the officials and police in Myitkyina were all drawn towards the conflict between the major powers. Instead, those who usually only made petty thefts, under the incitement of others, began to attack Chinese shops, businesses, and even tourists visiting Myitkyina, resulting in many people being attacked.

The conflict between the local forces and the Gui Hai people likely started because Teng Li, the son of a “Big Boss”, was killed.

But as Xiang Kun found out from the ‘Dream in A Dream’ sequence of the man at the waste disposal station, “Brother Kui” and others weren’t allied with the law-abiding Gui Hai business owner or the Gui Hai groups dealing in grey businesses in Myitkyina. They were just marginal figures without any status, otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken the risky job of kidnapping the “Big Boss’s” son.

But, the one instructing “Brother Kui” was Wu Lun, the leader of the biggest local force. This guy seemed to want to muddy the waters and put the blame on the Gui Hai people in Myitkyina, didn’t he?

As for how these underground forces fight, what grievances they have, and what the outcome might be, Xiang Kun didn’t care one bit, nor did he want to get involved.

But, now that a bunch of opportunists were attacking the ordinary Chinese businessmen and tourists, it was hard for Xiang Kun to keep his rage in check.

If he left Myitkyina right now, Xiang Kun would feel frustrated. His sensing ability was strong. He knew too much about the tragedies that were happening or about to happen.

But if he continued to intervene, even though he could hold back for the first few times, if he had to intervene a few more times, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to suppress his violent urges, and he would go on a “killing spree” in Myitkyina.

Previously, he could be cautious about whether he was being monitored or if there were electronic devices like mobile phone cameras pointing at him. But if he truly let go and acted ruthlessly, then he could almost not guarantee that he wouldn’t expose himself.

First, control the “Super-connected Objects” to paralyze all electronic devices in the area of action?

That is an option, but the disturbance would be too great.

Moreover, even though he wasn’t pressured when dealing with those thugs wielding cold weapons and could crush them with just his strength, speed, and reaction, he was only one person after all. He could help only a limited number of people, and it might even escalate the scale of the riot.

So after quickly thinking for a few seconds, Xiang Kun decided to attempt another “creating a big disturbance” scheme.

He found a secluded place to squat and threw the dozens of “Super-connected Objects” he had on him out into the street. He subtly controlled them, spreading the balls around the street.

Xiang Kun entered a “Super Sensory State”, beginning to draw out the fear emotion projection from the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Wood Carving”.

Yes, his “big disturbance” scheme was to directly use the fear emotion projection from the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Wood Carving” and influence the entirety of Myitkyina!

Even though he knew that his control of emotional projection under the “Super Sensory State” with the “Super-connected Objects” matrix had greatly strengthened compared to during the Spring Festival, nevertheless, it was still impossible for him to have the fear emotion projection of the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Wood Carving” affect an entire city.

Let alone an entire city, he couldn’t even influence a single block.

Unless he was given a blood-drinking period to prepare in advance, in which he’d spread the “Super-connected Objects” out across the city, and then he might conduct a trial.

However, now, Xiang Kun was trying a middle-ground solution where he could induce fear emotion projection over a wide area.

That was to say, under the “Super Sensory State”, those dozen “Super-connected Objects” balls that he had thrown out, in this region, were collectively linked together and he started the fear emotion projection of the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Wood Carving” in this cluster.

Then, he would move these “Super-connected Objects” and thereby move the entire emotional projection “field”.

As the “field” moved, people who were brought within its range would be affected.

The tungsten steel balls hidden by the roadside, moving stealthily on ground corners in the night, would not provoke any attention amid the chaos.

At noon, aboard “Brother Kui’s” ship, under the influence of the fear emotion projection of the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Wood Carving”, a ferocious fight broke out abruptly.

Now, in riot-hit Myitkyina, Xiang Kun knew that the emotional projection of the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Wood Carving” could bring about a strong “Cease War” effect.

Of course, the ordinary people who were not involved in the riot may suffer some effects, but he believed that compared with the effects of saving lives and suppressing the riot, these minor influences were acceptable.

Moreover, this course of action enabled Xiang Kun to shift his focus onto the emotional projection, reducing the unrest and violence brought about by the blood-drinking impulse.

He also vaguely realized that this large-scale emotional projection could potentially cause uncontrollable continuous impacts in the entire area. But upon weighing multiple schemes, he finally decided to go with this method.

And also, he was not planning on moving and projecting the emotional field over all of Myitkyina. He would only move to those areas where ordinary Chinese and tourists were being attacked by rioters, which was in fact not a large area.