What It's Like Being a Vampire

His name was John Cavendish, from Slovakia. His purpose in coming to China was Guo Tianxiang.

Visiting Myitkyina was merely in passing after hearing about the “collective hallucination event of the Eight-Armed Giant.” He wanted to investigate it.

But after meeting Zhao Feng, Wang De’an, and others, he realized that the situation wasn’t something he could meddle with, and that he had to leave.

The reason he could locate this place so accurately was because of the white porcelain knife in Guo Tianxiang’s possession. Or more accurately, something inside that knife. On October 9th of last year in the wee hours, it signaled their position to the people back in Slovakia.

This white porcelain knife was given to Guo Tianxiang by them when he was in Slovakia several years ago.

When they first received feedback from the knife, they were thrilled because they thought Guo Tianxiang’s “hunt” succeeded. This would signify a substantial improvement in Guo Tianxiang’s blood quality.

But they quickly realized something was off. They were no longer able to sense the substance inside Guo Tianxiang’s white porcelain knife. Moreover, afterward, Guo Tianxiang never contacted them again, which was completely contrary to their expectations.

This could only mean that either something had happened to Guo Tianxiang, or he had betrayed them.

Actually, calling it a betrayal wasn’t quite accurate. They never really considered Guo Tianxiang one of their own. If he discovered their true intentions, severing ties would be a logical choice.

Both scenarios were plausible.

But they inherently feared the mysterious eastern nation of China. Some among them had had bad experiences there that left deep impressions.

So they were hesitant to step foot on this land until it was absolutely necessary.

But now, months have passed, and it was indeed a time of “necessity.”

John perambulated around this open land for quite some time. Certain that the item inside Guo Tianxiang’s white porcelain knife was used here and that this was where the connection was irrevocably severed, but unable to find any useful clues due to the considerable time passed.

He found some small, seemingly insignificant objects, but they obviously did not belong to Guo Tianxiang or any suspicious person. Neither were there any clear signs of digging or burying.

After lingering around the open land for over an hour, John left reluctantly.

On his way back, by observing the surrounding terrain, he determined that Guo Tianxiang appearing here was not by chance but a careful choice.

This location was not very far from the city, yet it was overlooked and had fewer passersby. There were also no locals living here.

There was a golf course and a botanical garden nearby which entertained some tourists and workers during the daytime, but at night, it was mostly deserted.

The place where the small porcelain knife had its “reaction” was hidden from view by a cliff at the base of a mountain, visibly perceptible only from the distant highway on one side. Without any lighting, at night, and from such a distance, nobody would have witnessed what transpired there.

Did Guo Tianxiang intentionally pick this location to bring his “prey” and act?

What happened subsequently?

On his way back, John spotted a small, old grocery store. The shopkeeper, a balding old man with sparse white hair, sat at the door, listening to a pocket-sized radio.

When the shopkeeper saw John approaching, he greeted him cheerfully, “Ohayo~, no, I mean… Hao Ayo~! Hao Ayo~, sir, what can I offer you?”

John removed his sunglasses and made eye contact with the shopkeeper. But when he opened his mouth, the words weren’t in English or Chinese. Instead, they were a series of nonsensical syllables that sounded like thoughtful murmurs.

The grocery store’s shopkeeper listened to those meaningless syllables attentively, occasionally nodding as though he understood.

After a while, the boss also started to murmur in the same tone.

This kind of exchange lasted for a few minutes, with John putting on his sunglasses and leaving the grocery store, and the boss continuing to listen to the radio as if the exchange had never happened. It was all very natural.

John obtained some information from the boss in his own way, but unfortunately, it was all useless information. The boss usually kept his store open late into the night, but he couldn’t remember if any individuals matching Guo Tianxiang’s description had passed by his store from the evening of October 8th to the early morning of October 9th. After all, too much time had passed.

John went along, using the same method to ask the roadside stores, especially those with surveillance cameras capable of capturing the entrance.

Unfortunately, none of the stores still had surveillance footage from October.

John didn’t stay in Liucheng for long; a few hours later, he found a taxi on the side of the road and headed for another target city – Yangcheng.

In fact, if he wanted to, he could easily stop a luxury car on the road and “persuade” the driver to take him anywhere. However, if the owner of a private car changed their driving plan, they could easily draw the attention of friends, family, or colleagues. Coming up with a temporary reason could still cause additional trouble and complications. Using commercial vehicles was more convenient.

Why didn’t he take the train or plane?

Because John was an illegal immigrant, he didn’t have any legal identification, a situation similar to his previous status in Burma, where he also entered illegally.

Even in Slovakia, he didn’t have any real legal identity.

However, in other places, he could easily get by with a fake ID, or even simply bluff his way through if needed. Having an ID or an identity was not important.

But in China, given the comprehensive real-name system, the widespread connectivity and the omnipresence of cameras, riding public transportation methods such as trains presented many risks. This was also something he was repeatedly advised of before he came here.

If Guo Tianxiang could be contacted, things would be much easier.

Upon arriving in Yangcheng, John headed straight for the building housing Guo Tianxiang’s clinic.

In fact, Guo Tianxiang did not tell them his exact address in Yangcheng, but the material in his small porcelain knife could emit some marks that could be sensed by the same substance, recording its location. Within a certain range, John could find this place by using the same substance in another small porcelain knife in his hand.

After finding the building’s administrator, John easily got him to reveal the floor housing Guo Tianxiang’s clinic and helped him open the door with the keys.

The entire floor where the clinic was located was bought by Guo Tianxiang. So even though he disappeared, the place was just locked, it was not cleaned out.

John also learned from the property manager that the police were investigating Guo Tianxiang. Before the New Year, there were undercover police officers around the building. This month, however, they seemed to have been withdrawn.

This somewhat surprised John and made him wonder whether Guo Tianxiang’s “disappearance” was because he was apprehended by the authorities.

But he quickly ruled out this assumption, considering that if this were the case, there would be no need for the Yangcheng police to keep an eye on this place. Obviously, the police were also looking for Guo Tianxiang.

Since entering China, John had been very careful about his surroundings, very cautious of being noticed, and avoided cameras wherever he could.

He was almost certain that he hadn’t been followed on his way here.

So when he heard the property manager say that he hadn’t seen the police this month, he was slightly relieved and began to search the clinic for clues that might help him determine Guo Tianxiang’s whereabouts.

However, John Cavendish was after all not some bald-headed man, he didn’t have the ability to observe his surroundings beyond the visual field, he could not directly sense all electronic devices.

Therefore, he naturally did not notice that in Guo Tianxiang’s clinic, there were several very concealed miniature cameras cleverly integrated into wall decorations, ceilings, and lamps that were in operation.

His perception and computational abilities regarding sensory information like sound and smell were also quite limited, so he had no idea that not far from the building where he had interacted with the property manager, a young man inside a box truck marked with the “Run Very Fast Delivery Company” logo had noticed him.

“Hey hey, there’s a situation! There’s a situation! Someone’s entered Guo Tianxiang’s clinic!” Inside the box truck, the young man monitoring the screens took off his headphones and vigorously nudged his sleeping coworker.

“Who is that? Undercover police?” The companion who woke from a half-lying position on the car seat asked, rubbing his eyes, not taking it very seriously.

They had been monitoring Guo Tianxiang’s clinic for more than a couple of days now, without any substantial progress. In the past, they could observe undercover police also conducting surveillance. But over the past month, they hadn’t even seen any police. They were guessing when “Mr. Liang” would decide it was time for them to pull out as well.

“Absolutely not!” Said the young man watching the surveillance screen, fiddling with the control panel.

“Are you sure?”

“Hell yeah! It’s a foreigner!”

On hearing this, his companion perked up, sitting upright on his seat. Through the surveillance monitor, he saw the blonde foreigner inspecting various items in Guo Tianxiang’s clinic. He hastily said, “Hurry up. Inform ‘Mr. Liang.’ We’ve finally made a fucking discovery! We can finally switch places! Dammit, if we stay here any longer, my hemorrhoids are going to flare up!”

“I’ve already sent the surveillance footage to ‘Mr. Liang’,” said the young man in front of the monitor, sounding somewhat excited.

“What’s the story with this foreigner? He didn’t come from abroad just to see Guo Tianxiang for a consultation, did he?”

“There’s something very odd about this foreigner. He was acting very strange when talking to the building’s property manager just now. It’s a shame we don’t have any audio surveillance over there, so we can’t hear what they’re saying. But the property manager was not acting as he usually does. I wonder if he’s been threatened.”

A reply quickly came from “Mr. Liang”, with his distinctive voice, “Avoid contact, maintain level 3 surveillance.”

This order deflated the pair of young men who had been primed for action in the car. The meaning of ‘avoid contact’ is pretty self-explanatory: it means not to initiate contact with the target in any way. As for level 3 surveillance, that means watching from outside the target’s line of sight and maintaining a safe distance.

This practically meant that they were to hold their current position and continue the video surveillance without making any move.

As for whether they should follow the foreigner after he leaves, they’ll have to wait for further instructions.

…

The clues John sought in Guo Tianxiang’s clinic naturally differed from what the police were after. His focus was more on the “Blood Clan” and “Blood Clan-related derivative elements”, trying to find out why Guo Tianxiang had gone to Liucheng and what caused his disappearance.

He knew very well that by last July, Guo Tianxiang had already entered the stage of extreme addiction to blood. Ordinary blood drinking could only temporarily alleviate the hunger, and as time went by, the satisfaction derived from ordinary blood would diminish.

In July, Guo Tianxiang had sought their help through special channels. At the time, their advice was to try to find a “Blood Clan” or a “Blood Beast” that was suitable for blood drinking for “purification and absorption” before January of the following year.

If he could not find one by January, he could come to them in Slovakia. They would help him get past this intermediate stage through their secret methods.

So he knew that whatever made Guo Tianxiang run all the way to Liucheng and utilize the substance within that small porcelain knife must involve the emergence of other “Blood Clan” or “Blood Beasts” suitable for his blood drinking needs.

However, after searching Guo Tianxiang’s clinic for almost an hour, John didn’t find anything and had to leave empty-handed to head to the next location according to the small porcelain knife’s sensation.

When he left the building and walked out onto the street, John noticed a van that had been parked across the street from the building also pull out. However, it quickly disappeared into the distance ahead of him after it drove out of the street. So he didn’t pay it too much attention—after arriving in Yangcheng, he had often seen these type of uniform model, regulation van on the streets. Judging from the English letters on the vehicle, it seemed to be a delivery vehicle.

It wasn’t until after 1 a.m., after checking several locations where Guo Tianxiang had spent a significant amount of time, that John, having not uncovered anything of value, began to feel irritated. He had a gut feeling that their trip to China might end up with them returning empty-handed.

However, he also felt a bit relieved. If Guo Tianxiang was killed while hunting, even if he found the “killer”, there’s a chance he might not stand a chance, and could even end up becoming the prey.

If Guo Tianxiang had achieved some kind of evolution through stage blood drinking, and realized that what they had done to him in Slovakia, and what he had been told was exploitation and deception, he probably wouldn’t obediently follow him back to Slovakia. A bitter struggle was inevitable.

Though finding Guo Tianxiang or other “Blood Clan” members and bringing them back to Slovakia would benefit him the most, he would also be incurring the most significant risk. Anyway, he wasn’t the one who was under pressure or on the brink of death right now. Those old guys are. He had done his best; if he couldn’t find anything, then there’s nothing he could do.

While walking the streets of Yangcheng at night, John was somewhat surprised by the number of people still out and about at this time. All sorts of late-night snack venues, and those nightclubs, were still open.

He started to loosen up, looking for a relatively quiet bar for a drink.

Although they were incapable of eating normally after transforming into the “Blood Clan”, someone had long ago discovered and passed down a method that enabled them to drink alcohol normally. However, they could only drink red wine, as the person who first discovered this technique had a deep fondness for red wine.

Guo Tianxiang had studied this method when he visited Slovakia. He wasn’t sure if he’d been successful in mastering it.

In the bar, John took a sip of red wine and frowned slightly – the taste was somewhat different than he expected.

He called over the bartender and spoke a few words. The latter went blank for a moment, then opened a new bottle of wine.

John was somewhat satisfied this time. After a small sip, he turned his gaze to the young girls in the bar. He licked his lips, considering if he should find a female companion here, or perhaps drink some blood before leaving? He hadn’t tasted the blood of local girls here, and wondered if it was different from the blood of the Asian girls in Europe.

Since his arrival in China, John, who had encountered smooth sailing all along, slowly let go of his initial cautious, vigilance and nervousness. He felt the older fellows had exaggerated things – there was no need to be so concerned. China was such a vast country and their capabilities allowed them to blend into crowded places without raising alarm, as long as they weren’t causing a ruckus. It was just like their time in Europe, moving freely around London, Paris and Rome, as long as they kept a low profile and maintained secrecy.

He was slightly annoyed, feeling that if the old guys had dispatched him to China the moment they noticed the unusual feedback from the small porcelain knife, the chances of finding traces of Guo Tianxiang or those responsible for his disappearance would have been much higher.

Furthermore, had the old guys not been so timid and sent another person to accompany him, his confidence and safety would have been significantly improved.

Their abilities were perfectly suited to operate in crowded places and to stay hidden in bustling cities. China, with its populous cities and high urbanization rate, was the most ideal place for them to exercise their abilities.

While he was thinking thus, a tall girl who seemed to be his type walked into the bar and sat at the counter not far from him, accompanied by a quite handsome man.

With a slight smile curving his lips, John picked up his glass and walked towards them.

But just as he got up, he frowned. A burly man donning a black suit with plenty of scars resembling earthworm tracks on his broad face had stepped next to him, blocking his path.

“Excuse me, could I have a word with you outside?” The suitor was polite in his words but firm in his tone.

John’s frown deepened. He knew this man was not the bar’s security personnel – he had observed all the staff upon entering the bar. This burly man had just walked into the bar and had directly approached him. He’d come in the bar just for John.

John made eye contact with him, not answering his question but spoke a few syllables in a peculiar tone.

The man in suit looked dazed, his muscles relaxed. He nodded and opened his mouth to say something.

But the moment he opened his mouth, his body jerked violently, as if he had been electrocuted, cried out in pain, drawing the attention of people around in the bar.

John, too, was taken aback. He instantly understood what happened, turned a blind eye to the man now sitting paralyzed on the ground and quickly left the bar.

By the time John had left, the scar-faced man in the suit regained his senses, shook his head and got up from the ground. He took out a spare headset from his pocket and replaced it and heard a rasping, deep metallic voice echo in his ears:

“Old Xie, wait for me in the car.”

Old Xie didn’t utter a word. He silently walked out of the bar under the watchful eyes of the puzzled guests and the bar’s security.

The bouncers of the bar, although not much smaller than him, inexplicably felt less imposing standing in front of him. They didn’t dare to obstruct or question him, subconsciously moved aside, and watched him leave the bar.

After leaving the bar, Old Xie got into a massive black GMC motorhome parked in the parking lot and waited in the driver’s seat for further instructions.

He knew that he had fallen for the scheme of that blonde Caucasian in the bar. However, this was expected, so he was neither regretful nor fearful.

He also didn’t bother to track down the whereabouts of the blonde Caucasian. He didn’t care. He knew regardless of where the man ran or what abilities he possessed, he could never escape.

Because the one who would deal with that man, was “Mr. Liang”.