What It's Like Being a Vampire

At the same time that Old Xia woke up from the dream, Xiang Kun naturally ended his perception of Old Xia’s dreamland.

His second time perceiving Old Xia’s dream, just as he had anticipated, was quite fruitful.

Previously, he knew that there could be some kind of mutual link, mutual “calling” between “super sensory contact items” and “emotion infused items”, which was proven by both Little Apple and Liu Shiling.

But he had yet to fully grasp the specific ways they were linked and the principles behind it. In the dream just now, though, Old Xia clearly showed him how to utilize the two to jointly summon Xiang Kun’s abilities and, in the dream, craft a Napoleon cake and a crispy pig’s elbow.

To use an inappropriate metaphor, the dreams provoked by the “emotion infused” items were like an operating system, initially directly connected to Xiang Kun, relying on the functions provided by Xiang Kun to support their operation.

Old Xia, who was originally just a user, found a way right after experiencing his first dream: in his dreams, he introduced the special projections of those three “super-connected” (super sensory contact item) coins, turning from a “user” into a “developer”.

The three “super-connected” coins were like a server with three processors, directly supporting Old Xia’s dreams and liberating Xiang Kun in the process, allowing him to wander through the dream from other viewpoints. Although, fundamentally speaking, those three “processors” still needed Xiang Kun to provide more basic and underlying support, their existence still ultimately relied on Xiang Kun.

What Old Xia “developed” were the projections of the three coins in the dream—they were like an interface, a HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) tailored for Old Xia’s dreams, allowing Old Xia to manipulate them in the dream, granting him much more autonomy in the dream.

Old Xia successfully used this method to link the ability of the “super-connected objects” and the “Emotion Infused Objects”.

The dream Liu Shiling had previously was likely created in a similar way..

However, Old Xia took over only after “developing” the power of the “super-connected object” inside the dream, while Liu ShiLing directly triggered the dream herself; Old Xia consciously controlled the “super-connected object” during his “lucid dream”, while Liu Shiling’s actions were instinctive and subconscious.

While Old Xia’s ability to invoke the projections of the three “super-connected” coins to edit dreams may seem to only allow her to make a cake or change into a pig’s elbow in a dream, it helped Xiang Kun further understand the connection between the “super-connected objects” and “Emotion Infused Objects” and their special associations.

Moreover, Xiang Kun could use the “Emotion Infused Objects” to actively enter and guide other people’s dreams. He could now basically confirm that he could create Napoleon Cakes or Crispy Pig’s Elbows in other people’s dreams based on the “derivatives” that Old Xia created earlier from these two objects.

Although it seemed meaningless to create these two dishes in someone else’s dream, Xiang Kun knew that this was just the beginning.

If he could “edit dreams” in other people’s dreams triggered by the “Black Circle Graffiti” using the method of Old Xia, he might be able to control other people’s dreams and understand the cognitive information under the “pseudo super sensory state” through these two dream projections.

That was the most important thing he gained.

Furthermore, besides gaining a new understanding of the relation between the “super-connected objects” and the “Emotion Infused Objects” from Old Xia’s dreams and discovering new ways to “edit dreams”, earlier on, when he was deciding to investigate the big building with the aid of the control bead, Xiang Kun also had some new insights.

The streets were hardly peopled on New Year’s Eve; virtually no shops were open, and only the occasional patrol car passed by.

Riding his electric bike home, Xiang Kun had some twenty-odd ball beads, four coins, and two little stones that he was carrying with him come out of his pocket, evenly arranged between his outer coat and his long-sleeve T-shirt. They then began to interact with each other and shape the environment around him, creating a magnetic field for him.

Xiang Kun did not continue to turn the handlebar of his electric bike. He simply held it steady and began to remotely control his electric bike via the magnetic field created by his “super-connected objects”.

His bike used a Hall Effect throttle for speed control. The simple principle was that there is a magnet inside the throttle and a Hall Effect sensor that measures the strength of the magnetic field. When the handle is turned, the magnet turns with it. The Hall Effect sensor senses the magnetic field and sends a signal to the controller which then controls the motor speed, thereby affecting the propulsion of the bike.

Initially, Xiang Kun directly controlled the electric bicycle’s speed by manipulating magnetic fields to influence the Hall Effect sensor. Then, he tried to bypass the Hall Effect sensor by simulating circuit signals directly applied to the controller.

He had a fair idea of how to do this operation while in a “super sensory state”.

However, after Little Fatty Girl “developed” the “group collaboration” mode of these “super-connected objects”, he realised this operation could be executed without entering the “super sensory state”.

So, resting both hands on the handlebar just for steadiness, he controlled the motor speed with just his mind, hence controlling the pace of the electric bike. He could apply the same method to control brakes.

Moreover, Xiang Kun found that when he created this magnetic field to control his electric car, his instinctive ability to observe his surroundings and collect sensory information had also improved.

However, when he shifted more attention to the surroundings to perceive the environmental information, Xiang Kun discovered that it wasn’t that his hearing, sense of smell, etc., had improved. Rather, it was like he’d received other pieces of information, and his brain automatically supplemented this sensory information, allowing them to become more detailed.

Xiang Kun knew that it was his sixth sense that brought about this enhancement. In his usual state, it was seldom to stimulate this sense so significantly. It required him to enter the “super sensory state” by blocking out other senses to fully utilise this ability.

Without a doubt, he had successfully used the “super-connected object group cooperation to create a magnetic field” method, allowing his sixth sense to work in tandem with his other senses to some degree.

This could be said to have directly expanded his perceptual range.

Then, he suddenly noticed that his vision was different from normal, it was all dark except for some simple lines.

He hadn’t noticed this earlier. He was controlling the electric car steadily, was fully aware of the road conditions and the environment around him, and even the cars and pedestrians at the upcoming intersection were crystal clear to him.

However, when he paid attention to his vision, the enhancement brought about by the sixth sense and its boost to other senses disappeared in an instant.

At the moment his vision returned to normal, Xiang Kun experienced a momentary sense of dizziness, as though he was not quite used to his visual mode.

Just then, he felt something in his heart, sensed the activation of the three “super-connected object” coins, and immediately confirmed that these three coins were the ones he gave to Old Xia.

Then he understood what Old Xia had done and was shocked. His sensory adaptation upon regaining vision and the disruption in the control of the electric car via the “super-connected objects” led to the electric car slamming towards a roadside electricity pole.

Thankfully, Xiang Kun reacted quickly enough, cut off control through the “super-connected object magnetic field”, and applied the brakes with his hands and feet simultaneously.

He was able to stop the car just a few centimetres away from the pole, avoiding a collision.

Xiang Kun didn’t check on his electric car due to another discovery. He learned through the three coins that Old Xia developed a new ability—or rather, it was not a newly developed ability but one that took shape in a dream and was simply not realised by him earlier.

This ability shocked him so much that he couldn’t help but want to try it out immediately.

Xiang Kun looked down at his right hand. Above his semi-clenched right hand, a piece of Napoleon cake appeared out of thin air. It looked exactly like the one he saw in Old Xia’s dream.

Based on sight, smell, weight, and touch, this was a real piece of cake.

Xiang Kun hadn’t expected that Old Xia could bake cakes in their dreams with the three “super-connected object” coins, and, surprisingly, he could even do the same in reality after waking up!

Is this cake an illusion?

Naturally, he recalled the illusion he saw due to the influence of Guo Tian. That illusion was his deepest fear, and his brain would automatically fill in the details regardless of how small. In terms of vision, touch, smell, etc., as long as he thought of it, his brain would complete the details, making it seem extremely real with almost no flaws.

Although Xiang Kun didn’t fully obtain this ability later, he had obtained a similar “co-manifestation” ability. Instead of making the target see the things they imagined based on their emotions, he directly made the target see what he had imagined, albeit at a somewhat lower level of realism.

Xiang Kun couldn’t help but speculate, was he hypnotising himself, telling himself that there was a piece of cake in his hand?

From the ability invoked by the three coins, Xiang Kun quickly realised this wasn’t an illusion, or at least not only an illusion. Their effects were not merely mental or emotional.

The sound of a police siren rang from the side, a police car stopped by the roadside.

“What are you doing here? Did you hit the electricity pole?” a uniformed officer who got out of the car asked.

“I didn’t hit it, just a close call.” Xiang Kun replied, his face bearing an innocent smile. He had already noticed the nearby police car and the officer who was watching him.

The stern-looking middle-aged police officer gave him several looks, asking, “Could you show me your ID card?”

“I’m sorry, officer, but I left my ID card at home. Can I tell you the ID number instead?”

“Okay.” The officer input the ID number and name that Xiang Kun recited, then scanned his face. After confirming his identity, he asked, “Why are you still out on New Year’s Eve?”

“I’m bringing midnight snacks to my friend who is on duty at the hospital,” Xiang Kun said honestly, pointing at the empty food box on the electric scooter.

Hearing this and seeing the food box, the officer’s expression softened considerably, “The one who is working on New Year’s Eve must be going through a tough time.”

“You guys, too,” Xiang Kun added.

The officer gave a small chuckle, gesturing at the cake in Xiang’s right hand, “Why do you have cake in your hands while riding your scooter? Don’t you know that’s dangerous?”

“Oh, my friend gave me this cake to eat when I delivered the midnight snacks. I originally intended to eat it then, but I thought I might as well wait until I get home. So I held it in my hand…” Xiang Kun gave another innocent smile.

The officer asked, puzzled, “Why didn’t you put it in the food box?”

“Ah?” Xiang Kun asked in surprise, then said as if he just realized something, “Right! I can put it in the food box! Why didn’t I think of it?”

“Don’t ride with only one hand. Take care and get home quickly.”

“Yes, I’ll head home now.” Xiang Kun obediently opened the food box and put the cake inside, then said to the officer as he walked back to his car, “Happy New Year, officer.”

The officer gave him a nod, “Happy New Year to you too.”

Back on the road with his electric scooter, Xiang Kun was still shocked. The officer could see the cake in his hand!

At that moment, he didn’t directly look at the officer’s eyes and didn’t actively influence the officer with something like “projection co-manifestation”. Could it be that the cake in his hand acted like his “Emotional Assimilation”, causing a passive, area-type effect?

Did I hypnotize myself into believing I had a piece of cake in my hand, and also hypnotize others into believing the same?

Xiang Kun thought it over and didn’t think that was the case. Judging from the abilities invoked by the coins, it shouldn’t be purely a mental-level influence.

But what could it be? It couldn’t be a real cake, could it?

Obviously, that was also impossible. Even without stopping to check, he already knew that the cake in the food box had disappeared – completely without a trace.

Although he hasn’t tried it yet, he knew that in addition to “co-manifesting” a Napoleon cake, he could also “co-manifest” a crispy pig’s elbow—the two food items Xiao Xia manifested in her dream.

He couldn’t ‘co-manifest’ anything else yet.

Although this object was ‘co-manifested’ using his ability through “super-connected objects”, he still couldn’t figure out exactly how it was done.

So far, he knew that “super-connected objects” could cause changes in the magnetic field of the environment, create a small-scale magnetic field, and control and utilize this magnetic field for certain operations. But clearly, this “co-manifestation” ability to bring dream objects into reality acquired from Xia, was different from what he had previously done with the “super-connected objects”.

To be honest, Xiang was quite excited when he thought that Xia might gain some cognizance—just like Xiao Pingguo and Liu Shiling did after discovering the particular characteristics of their “super sensory contact” and “emotion infused” items, and even developing certain abilities. After all, Xia is arguably the smartest person he knows.

But previously, his rational mind also told him that precisely because Xia was very intelligent and had a high IQ, she would likely trace back to the root of the peculiar characteristics in the “super-connected” and “emotion infused” objects, and seek the reasons behind these supernatural phenomena, hence, pursuing the principles.

If that was the case, she would always be skeptical and have difficulty self-constructing a system of understanding like Liu Shiling and Xiao Pingguo did, thereby integrating into Xiang Kun’s Super Sensory Item System.

He initially thought that the ability to project into a dream using three “super-connected” coins shown by Xia in the dream just now, making him aware of a certain connection and conversion method between “super-connected objects” and “emotion-infused objects”, was already quite a breakthrough.

But he had underestimated Xia—she had trumped him again after waking up from her dream.

It was as if he had given her a few server CPUs from his warehouse, only for her to return him a Gundam not long after…

Xiang Kun speculated that the key to this ability to “co-manifest” dream objects in reality was in the dream itself.

Xia probably also knew that she could accept the existence of various characteristics and ignore many unreasonable points while using them because she was in a dream and influenced by “emotion infused” objects. In reality, Xia would adapt a more rigorous style that was more in line with her usual behavior.

No, Xia probably knew there was something off about the coins he gave her, so she would actively request coins when she was in Tongshi Town. Even during the first dream, she realized the potential effects of coin projection. So when they met again, she asked for more coins!

She had already planned and designed related experiments in reality!

As he thought about it, Xiang Kun felt that the three “super-connected” coins from Xia were continually connecting and invoking his abilities.

Whether it was Xiao Pingguo, Liu Shiling, or Xia now, he could actually sense when they used an item with which they had established contact to invoke his abilities. He could even forcibly interrupt or shield this.

However, most of the time, this feeling of invocation was quite faint if he didn’t pay attention. Only at certain special moments, such as when a new ability appears or the way of invoking abilities changes, would he clearly feel it.

But now he was particularly focused on the situation of the three coins, so he was fully aware of every invocation.

Now he could imagine Xia in the duty room, ceaselessly “co-manifesting” cakes and pig’s elbows.

Is Xia studying the ability or simply “drawing water from a mirage*” because she woke up hungry after sleeping?

Wait, can “co-manifested” items be eaten?

Suddenly curious, Xiang Kun sped up and headed home, planning to “co-manifest” a crispy pig’s elbow and try it out when he got home.

Inside a certain duty room at the Third Hospital.

Xia Libing, who was slumped on the table, suddenly lifted her head, a printed A4-sized material stuck to her cheek.

She peeled off the paper, wiped her mouth, and as her groggy eyes began to regain their clarity, she tried to recall her previous state while checking the time on her phone, estimating how long she was unconscious.

It was probably around 30 – 35 minutes.

At that time, her brain was extremely tired, even a bit dizzy, as if she had been pulling back-to-back all-nighters, lacking sleep, and experiencing motion sickness.

Looking at the three coins that were still clutched in her palm, which had turned slightly red probably due to her clutching them too tightly for so long, she speculated that “co-manifesting” the “Napoleon Cake” and “Crispy Pig’s Elbow” required the subconscious part of her brain to operate at a high speed. After attempting too many times, her brain must have forcibly shut down her consciousness for self-protection, causing her to pass out.