What It's Like Being a Vampire

After cautiously traversing through the forest for nearly an hour and carefully checking the ground and surroundings for traces, Xiang Kun could not find anything that could be conclusively linked to the “peculiar smell”.

However, since he could distinctly smell it, there must be some traces left behind.

Xiang Kun stopped in his tracks, closed his eyes, and began to reconstruct the scenario he had just observed in the nearby area, complementing the visual with auditory and olfactory information.

He even started trying to use Xiao Pingguo’s unique mode of perception, relying solely on the sense of smell to construct the environment.

Though he hasn’t completely mastered her cognitive model and couldn’t always build cognitive models in her way—a sporadic success and failure situation—he was extremely sensitive to the peculiar smell, sensitive enough to exclude any interference from other sensory information. Thus, building a cognitive model in Xiao Pingguo’s way in his brain this time yielded good results.

A few minutes later, Xiang Kun opened his eyes, retreated a few steps, slung the compound bow he was holding back onto his body, put away the arrow, and then hugged a tree to spring up to a branch in two seconds, moving as deftly as a monkey.

Xiang Kun looked around, then plucked off a leaf from a tree, brought it close to his nose, took a deep whiff, tore it open to observe its texture, and then licked the torn part.

After a moment, he stuffed the torn leaf into a pocket of his cargo pants, plucked a few more leaves, and hopped down the tree.

Following the smell, Xiang Kun walked for a bit and picked some more leaves, wildflowers, and weeds. Before plucking them, he took out his phone and took a picture.

At first glance, these leaves, grass, and flowers didn’t appear special, but Xiang Kun was now very sure that they were the source of the peculiar smell— or rather, it came from various plants around him.

What intrigued him was that the peculiar smell only came from one part of these plants, such as a portion of a branch, or a few stalks in a bunch of grass, or a few flowers from several.

That’s why Kun initially thought that the smell was left behind as the mutant organism passed by. He also suspected that the creature wasn’t far, or there might be leftover food scraps or remnants of a fight.

If not for using Xiao Pingguo’s sensory model to reconstruct the surrounding environment based on this unique smell, he might not have discovered this so quickly.

After all, the smell was incredibly faint, not as if it comes directly from these plants. And those plants still emitted normal odors.

Xiang Kun had wondered if there were mutant plants, but judging from his, the Giant Owl’s, and Guo Tianxiang’s examples, fresh blood was the most crucial and indispensable “food” for mutants like them. Still, plants did not have blood.

However, it now seemed that lacking blood did not mean they could not “suck blood”; mutants were perhaps not limited to animals.

But these mutant plants were very strange. Not the whole plant, but just a tiny part. Could it be that only a small section has mutated? Xiang Kun did not believe that within such a small range, so many mutant plants could appear simultaneously.

He thought these plants were most likely “parasitic” extensions of some other plant that leached onto other plants, much like his “super sensory contact” and “emotionally infused” items.

As for their purpose, it could be sensory, or something else.

Thinking about the videos of the boar carcasses that Host Xue had posted on the internet and the news after the bodies of Host Xue and others were discovered, Xiang Kun speculated:

The mutant plant probably “hunts” by disguising itself as ordinary plant fruit through some method. It lets boars and humans consume it “by mistake”, inducing hallucinations or incapacitating them.

Didn’t the news report say that the three hosts, including Host Xue, might have accidentally eaten some poisonous wild fruit that caused hallucinations, resulting in them eventually dying from cold and hunger? They even abandoned all their gear, making it difficult for rescue workers to find them.

Recalling Host Xue’s video where he discovered the dead wild boar, not only was the survival expert who was with him baffled, but Xiang Kun also sought traces of other animals or humans previously. However, if the “killer” was a plant, many situations could be explained.

But from the video footage and around the boar’s corpse, there were no obvious or strange plants detected.

Could it be that the mutated plants can also “move”?

Or could they have attacked in other ways, such as long vines or roots extending to “drink blood”? Would they then leave after they were done?

Xiang Kun speculated on the possible attack methods of the mutated plant, including the wound on the boar; how was it made?

For Xiang Kun at this point, his main concern remained the threat of powerful physical attacks.

For example, when he had realized Guo Tianxiang was following him, if he had smelt guns on Guo Tianxiang, he would have definitely run away regardless of the costs incurred.

He carefully walked a certain distance, picking almost all the plants with a “special smell” that he could perceive. The easy-to-carry ones were tucked into the pockets of his cargo pants, while the majority were crushed by hand and discarded on the ground.

Xiang Kun checked the pocket where he first stored the leaves he had picked. He realized a wildflower was missing. Touching the base of the pocket, he felt some fine grey dust.

The dust was fine and dry. Xiang Kun examined it, and a slight breeze blew it away.

This grey dust was not much different from the dust form of his own body tissues. This suggested that parts of the plant came from a creature that had mutated like Xiang Kun.

However, other plants with the same “special smell” did not turn gray, clearly showing they had a different structure for the mutant organism.

Xiang Kun speculated that the wildflower could have been “planted” by the mutant plant, while the other plant parts were “influenced” by it through other methods.

After nightfall, Xiang Kun sat cross-legged on a large rock on the hillside of a low mountain. He put his compound bow and arrow bag aside and removed his shoes and socks. He alternated between night vision mode and infrared imaging mode to observe his surroundings. Meanwhile, his sense of hearing and smell were operating at their maximum, collecting all sorts of “movements”.

After sunset, all bodily functions and senses were stronger than during the day. Combined with the relative quietness of the night, sounds were easier to detect. Therefore, Xiang Kun believed he could detect wild animals or mutants trying to approach him in advance.

Although based on the “special smelling” leaves and branches he found, he could have already been discovered by the mutant plant. However, he was not too worried as, after assessing all known situations, he believed he could handle the way the mutant plant “hunts”.

Moreover, what was most important was that he didn’t believe this mutant plant would have a high “IQ”, if it had any at all.

While the giant owl showed a significant increase in intelligence after mutation, it still fell short compared to humans, not to mention plants that don’t even have a brain.

Xiang Kun even started considering, if he “subdued” the mutant plant, how would he bring it back? Or should he “deal” with it right here?

But how do you deal with a plant? It doesn’t have blood. Should he directly “juice” it? Or due to mutation, did it no longer have the physical form of a plant, but had acquired some animal characteristics?

For instance, it no longer needed to absorb nutrients from the soil through roots, so it could “run” all over the place?

For instance, it might no longer engage in photosynthesis, and even start to avoid light and seek darkness?

What might be the direction of its mutation and evolution as a plant?

What form would it take now?

A tree that can wriggle anywhere?

Or a large mass of oddly shaped branches?

What abilities might it possess?

And if Xiang Kun ‘absorbs’ this mutant plant, what powers can he gain?

Would he be able to ‘graft’ parts onto various plants?

The more he thought about it, the more eager Xiang Kun became, even excited. He could hardly wait to see the mutant plant. As for the possible dangers, he was well prepared.

Xiang Kun felt that he had got rid of so many ‘branches’ of the mutant plant along the way, regardless of whether these ‘branches’ had the ability to sense and inspect, it should have noticed.

Just like the objects he establishes ‘Super sensory contact’ with, although they can only be located and directed, and can’t sense the actual situation nearby. If they suddenly lose contact and he can’t feel them, he will definitely guess what happened to the objects. Just like how the coin and the A4 paper at Little Fatty Girl’s place sensed a decrease in induction, he could realize the same.

Even if plants aren’t as smart as humans, they won’t be unaware of this sensing ability.

Moreover, Xiang Kun purposefully left a few ‘branches’ around him untreated, intending for the mutant plant to more accurately lock onto his location.

He believed that, regardless of whether the mutant recognized Xiang Kun as one of its own, it would come and investigate personally.

Xiang Kun wasn’t very sure if the Infrared thermographic vision mode he received from Guo Tianxiang could see the abnormalities of the mutant plant. After all, he had tried using this mode before but failed to distinguish the ‘branches’ with ‘special smells’ from other plant parts.

So, at night, Xiang Kun always focused on the smell and sounds.

If there really was a movable plant, it would definitely make some noise and cause some commotion while moving, and these sounds and movements would surely be unique.

As for the smell, it goes without saying. Since all the ‘branches’ it left behind could be sensed by Xiang Kun for the ‘special scent’ of the mutant, the main body of the plant would definitely have a strong smell.

But what surprised Xiang Kun was that the first abnormality he noticed was still through his vision, and it was with the infrared imaging mode.

At around three in the morning, Xiang Kun spotted a blue spot moving rapidly towards him among various small red spots scattered around the distant woods. He spotted this while activating his infrared vision mode, sitting on a huge rock.

It’s finally fucking here!

Xiang Kun was slightly excited, even more eager and thrilled than his first blind date.

The mutant plant seemed to have undergone considerable changes. Looking at its form and speed of movement, it was more like an animal than a plant.

Xiang Kun didn’t make any movements, but watched the blue spot intently as it moved toward him.

However, as the distance closed, Xiang Kun, with his superb vision, night vision and infrared imaging capabilities, thought something was not quite right after switching between several vision modes.

Because of the fast-approaching “blue spot,” he could roughly estimate its size which was only equivalent to a normal face basin. Its mode of movement was strange, sometimes crawling on the ground, other times seeming to leap and “throw” itself forward.

What on earth is this weird thing?

The more Xiang Kun watched, the more puzzled he became. Slowly, he extended his left hand to reach for the compound bow beside him.

When it was almost at the foot of the mountain, under the infrared imaging mode, the “blue spot” stopped moving.

Xiang Kun frowned, wondering what it was up to. It didn’t look like it was preparing to attack from there. After all, it didn’t have a mortar…

Just as he was puzzled, Xiang Kun suddenly discovered that the “blue spot” quickly shifted to the left of his position. After moving for a while, it stopped, moved to the right, returned to its original position, stopped and continued to the right.

Xiang Kun was utterly confused. What was it doing?

After moving to the right for a while, the “blue spot” changed direction and began to move in the opposite direction at high speed as if it was about to leave.

Xiang Kun was taken aback. Before he could think more, he grabbed the compound bow with his left hand, took out two arrows from the quiver with his right hand – one held in his mouth, the other in his hand, and ran barefoot down the mountainside—In the mountains, he could run faster barefoot than with shoes, and he could also deal with various complex terrains more efficiently. Of course, even with his current physical condition, his feet would become bloody after running not too far, and he could only endure the pain and wait for it to heal itself.

Xiang Kun sprinted down from the hillside, leaping most of the distance due to his rich experience in “hill rushing”. He had already planned the fastest downhill route, having specially stepped on the point and observed in the afternoon. Therefore, his speed down the hill was incredibly fast.

But the “blue spot” moved as quickly, darting rapidly through the woods.

After rushing down the hill, without the advantage of high ground, Xiang Kun’s infrared imaging vision lacked penetration and could not directly lock the target. He had to rely on smell to track it.

He had already smelled the “special scent” of the mutant organism. This smell came from the same source as those he had smelt in the day from the “branches”!

Although he was running at full speed, when he almost reached the location where the “blue spot” had stopped, Xiang Kun began to slow down and switched his vision mode to observe.

Xiang Kun previously thought that if that mutant organism used to be a plant, it wouldn’t be that intelligent. However, this was just speculation and he needed to maintain an appropriate level of caution. After all, it would be one thing to fall into a trap set by a “plant” and lose face, but it would be quite another to lose his life.

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