What It's Like Being a Vampire

Halfway through speaking, he was hit in the head, almost dropping the phone. Xia Tianhuo hastily said, “I’ve been kidnapped, the kidnappers want five million US dollars. In cash. Oh, and no calling the police… wait, by ‘no calling the police,’ do you mean the local police here or the police back home?”

Xia Tianhuo’s phone was grabbed by the man wearing the Zhu Bajie’s Mask, who said in heavy-accented Mandarin, “Prepare the money within three days. If you dare to call the police, we’ll kill the hostage.”

The person on the other side of the phone finally spoke, “Where is the handover to take place? If it’s in China, there’s no way to prepare that much US dollars within three days… ”

But before she could finish her sentence, the call was cut off.

Xia Tianhuo hurriedly said, “You didn’t even tell her whether to prepare the ransom in China or abroad, how is she supposed to prepare!?”

“Shut up!” The man in the Zhu Bajie’s Mask smacked his head again.

“Bajie, go and get ready to leave.” The man in the Monk Mask said.

“Alright, Brother Kui… uh, alright, Master.” Zhu Bajie’s Mask slipped up and quickly ducked his neck.

The man in the Monk Mask cursed, immediately took off his mask, and threw it at Zhu Bajie’s Mask, kicked him, and walked out of the room.

The man in the Zhu Bajie’s Mask, who’d been kicked, was unhappy. He looked at Xia Tianhuo tied to the chair, re-stuffed the rag into his mouth, kicked him to the ground along with the chair, helped him up, put a hood on him, and then left satisfied.

Xia Tianhuo nearly had the wind knocked out of him by the kick, but he didn’t have the energy to be angry with the kidnapper at that moment. He was trying to remember what he had just said to Old Xia, wondering if his intended message had been received.

But as things stood, he had no choice but to trust Old Xia.

…

When Xiang Kun hurried back to the house he rented in Chongyun Village, he saw Xia Libing sitting in the living room on the first floor, looking tired. In front of her, one “Napoleon Cake” after another co-manifested, some persisting, others disappearing as new cakes appeared.

Hearing the door being opened and looking back to see Xiang Kun, still barefoot and carrying his shoes and clothes, Xia Libing stopped co-manifesting. All the cakes disappeared, and she was so tired that she almost fell asleep on the spot.

However, after closing her eyes for a second, she quickly opened them, took out her phone, and played a recording for Xiang Kun. It was the recording of Xia Tianhuo’s phone call earlier.

As soon as she received the call from Xia Tianhuo and heard his abrupt shout of “Mom,” Xia Libing immediately sensed something was wrong, and hit the record button, recording the whole conversation.

So aside from the first sentence, the rest of the conversation was recorded. Of course, Xia Libing also filled Xiang Kun in on the content of the first sentence.

After listening to the recording, Xiang Kun naturally understood what Old Xia’s emergency situation was.

However, he didn’t immediately comment, but continued to listen as Old Xia explained the situation:

“Judging from my cousin’s character and usual behavior, he didn’t call my uncle and aunt. Instead, he called, disregarding any shame, and called me ‘Mom’, he must have realized something and thought only I could recognize it and save him.”

Xia Libing played the recording again and said, “He called himself ‘Huohuo’, but his actual nickname is ‘Tiantian’ and he was only called that when he was young. As he got older, he didn’t like people calling him by that nickname. If he just wanted me to know who he was, giving his full name would have been more appropriate. So these two words ‘Huohuo’ probably contain some info he wanted me to know, but it should not be complicated. I am guessing it might mean ‘extremely urgent’. He might have realised through some detail that the kidnappers are very brutal and are likely to kill the hostage, regardless of whether they get the ransom;

“Also, listen to this part where he says ‘a very important matter’ and then mentions ‘we were kidnapped’. Although the word ‘we’ was said quickly and softly, it clearly serves a purpose, possibly hinting that he was not alone when kidnapped, or that the kidnappers and he had met or interacted before;

“He said, ‘I temporarily called you’, which sounds odd. This ‘temporarily’ is likely a clue. Since he dared to use my phone number to pretend to be my aunt, it shows he knew that the kidnappers didn’t know much about him or our family, indicating the kidnapping was likely to be a spur-of-the-moment thing;

“My cousin was kidnapped in Burma and is still there now. However, when the kidnappers made their ransom demand, they only said to prepare the money, but didn’t specify whether the ransom should be delivered in China or Burma, which they might not have thought through before;

“The kidnapper was speaking Mandarin, but with a heavy accent. From the accent, it seems like he is from the Gui Hai region.

“I have already called and informed my third uncle about the situation. He will decide how to contact the police, whether or not to ask for Interpol’s help, when to tell my aunt and uncle, and how to prepare the ransom. I have also shared my analysis with them. As the kidnappers might continue to contact me on my mobile number, I need to head to Citong to meet with my third uncle and company. Can you take me there? I’m really tired and can’t drive.”

“Okay.” Xiang Kun nodded, quickly taking a shower and changing his clothes, then got into his pickup truck, taking Old Xia out of the village.

Feeling Old Xia, the co-pilot, was about to fall asleep, Xiang Kun quickly said: “Send me the audio recording file. Also, do you know which city in Burma your cousin was kidnapped?”

While Xia Libing was sending the audio recording, she said, “Based on the entry records my third uncle checked and his spending patterns, he arrived in Myitkyina, Burma, yesterday.”

Xiang Kun nodded and, a few seconds later, said: “Check the earliest flight schedule from Jianzhou City to Nande City.” Nande City is a city very close to the Burma border.

Xia Libing was stunned and asked: “Are you going to Burma?”

“Yes, based on your analysis, your cousin should be in danger now. The kidnappers are likely vicious criminals who could possibly tear up the ransom note even after receiving the ransom. Most importantly, he was kidnapped in Burma, the assistance that domestic police can provide is somewhat limited and delayed, which further increases his danger. Since he asked you for help, believing that you have the ability to save him, we should do our best to rescue him,” Xiang Kun said.

Xia Libing said: “I remember you don’t have a passport, and your Blood-drinking Period is the day after tomorrow… Are you planning to enter the country in an unconventional way?”

Yes, Xiang Kun, a country bumpkin, has never been abroad or even to Hong Kong, so he does not have a passport. Although a passport can be obtained quickly nowadays, and a tourist visa for Burma is not hard to get, he does not have the time to apply.

“I should still have about 40 hours until my normal Blood-drinking Period. If everything goes well, I should have enough time. Plus, I can now suppress my violence by sensing your rationality through my ‘Emotion Infused Objects’. It should be no problem to endure it for an additional 20 hours,” Xiang Kun said.

If an unknown person was kidnapped in Burma, or if one of Old Xia’s distant relatives that Xiang Kun did not know was kidnapped, he would not hesitate to lend a helping hand if he could do so with minimum effort. However, he might not be willing to risk his own safety and travel thousands of miles to a foreign country for a rescue mission.

But he had met Xia Tianhuo. His impression of Old Xia’s cousin, who was half a head taller than him, was quite good – a man with a childlike personality. Since Xia Tianhuo had made a veiled plea for help by calling Old Xia’s cell phone with a ransom demand, Old Xia had already implied his deep involvement in this matter, thus, he had no reason to stand by and watch.

Naturally, Xia Libing hadn’t thought that Xiang Kun was going to go to Burma for a rescue. She initially thought to ask for Xiang Kun’s perspective on things, to see if there were any oversight or inappropriate judgement, given that Xiang Kun’s ability of calculation and extrapolation was already superhuman. Even so, knowing that Xiang Kun had made this decision after careful thought and planning, and with a proper plan in place, she nodded and asked:

“Is there anything you need me to do?”

Xiang Kun said: “Keep me informed of any new information you get about your cousin and the kidnappers.”

“Okay.”

Xiang Kun initially wanted to briefly tell Old Xia about his encounter in the northern mountain area of Wushu Mountain that night, but seeing how exhausted and drained she was, he refrained from speaking when she started dozing off within two seconds of him stopping to talk.

When they reached Jianzhou City in the early morning around seven am, Xiang Kun drove Old Xia straight to the bus station, bought her a ticket for the next bus to Citong, said goodbye to her and then headed to the airport.

He bought the ticket for the earliest flight and, while waiting for boarding, he had Alice process the call made to Old Xia, trying to discern the background noise, but it was very quiet, giving him no specific sound to indicate the location.

Then he asked Alice to scour the internet to track Xia Tianhuo’s movements in Myitkyina, Burma, from yesterday, trying to see who he had been in contact with, what services he had used and how his location had changed. He also tried to trace the number that had called Old Xia’s cell phone to see if it would yield any useful information.

At such times, Xiang Kun naturally gave Alice the highest level of authority and freedom. As experience taught him, Alice was invincible on the internet, in the world of data.

He reached a city on the southwest border at noon. Xiang Kun then slipped off the paved road, took off his shoes and, barefooted, headed towards the difficult terrain.

He had done his research earlier and knew which areas cut-off by cliffs and deep mountains were easy to cross the border. Those areas were impassable for ordinary people, but were not obstacles for him, he traversed them with ease.

With his superb senses, he was able to avoid others in the mountains, and quickly entered Burmese territory.

He moved quickly through the mountains, but couldn’t sprint openly on the road after leaving the mountains, so he put on his shoes and hitched a ride.

This time he slightly altered his image for the journey. He didn’t wear glasses, wore a dark cap and looked like an ordinary tourist.

To facilitate tourists, all industries in Burma can accept RMB directly, so Xiang Kun didn’t need to exchange for Myanmar Kyat.

To maintain contact with Old Xia and get Alice’s information support, Xiang Kun enabled international roaming on his phone.

By the time Xiang Kun reached Myitkyina, the city where Xia Tianhuo was last seen before the kidnapping, in the evening, he had received some latest news from Xia.

Xia Tianhuo had decided to go to Myitkyina yesterday to meet a client named Teng Li to discuss some business issues that had arisen. This client happened to be the son of a Burmese tycoon. However, according to the latest news today, Teng Li died in a car accident last night.

Xiang Kun had Alice look up some related news and public discussions on the Burmese internet for him. Some mentioned that when Teng Li left his usual casino last night, he seemed to be accompanied by a hefty man, driving his two-door sports car, and the man was in the passenger seat. However, after the car accident, the hefty man was gone. As a result, some suspected that Teng Li might have been killed by this man who could be some kind of killer, deliberately creating the accident.

Xiang Kun didn’t have to guess the truth of this information because Alice astonishingly obtained surveillance footage from the casino. The truth was that the hefty man who left the casino with Teng Li was none other than Xia Tianhuo.

The two of them seemed to be chatting happily, and it appeared that they hadn’t had any alcohol to drink, as both were fully alert.

From the video at the entrance of the casino, it is noticeable that the young Burmese man, Teng Li, drove quite fast.

Xiang Kun reviewed the pictures of the accident, which occurred on a rather narrow street. Even if Teng Li was reckless, it would be hard for him to drive fast.

In fact, from the pictures, his car had crashed into a wall next to a small open space, the deformity was not serious, under normal circumstances, with the airbags deployed, the person should not have been injured.

Unfortunately, there were many steel tubes used for scaffolding nearby. After the car dispersed the steel pipes, one of them bounced up onto the engine hood, one end propped against the wall. The other end punctured straight through the driver’s compartment and into Teng Li’s head, killing him on the spot.

From the descriptions in the news and the pictures at the scene, it was like a segment from “Final Destination.”

There was no surveillance in the narrow alley, and no witnesses could be found. But from the tire marks at the scene, Teng Li’s car had made an emergency stop just before the exit, then backed up, turned to the vacant lot, and hit the wall straight on, resulting in a tragedy.

Xiang Kun noticed in the accident scene pictures that the passenger door was already open when the body was moved from the front of the car while the driver’s side door was still closed.

He speculated that Xia Tianhuo was taken away by the kidnappers at this site after the accident.

Xiang Kun arrived at the scene of the accident, quickly observing it. Although the car involved in the accident was already removed, there were still many traces visible.

However, Xiang Kun didn’t stay there for long and promptly left. He noticed many robust young Burmese men, like him, observing and wandering about, obviously in search of something. With policemen checking tourists’ IDs and one even noticing him, Xiang Kun was able to lose him by using the landscape.

It seemed that even without the Xia Family filing a police report, the Burmese police and some local forces were already in action.

That being the case, his investigation might become more difficult.

According to the information Alice collected and what he observed in Mengtamarila, Xia Tianhuo was probably just caught in the aftermath of something unlucky.

The kidnappers’ real target was likely not him, but Teng Li, the deceased driver, and the son of a Burmese tycoon.

Xia Tianhuo’s arrival in Mengtamarila was a last-minute decision yesterday, and his meeting with Teng Li wasn’t preplanned. His presence in Teng Li’s car, in that alley, couldn’t have been predicted before last night.

And the choice to take action in that alley was clearly a well-thought-out and pre-scouted move.

It was secluded and empty, and the terrain was conducive for the operation. By blocking both ends of the alley, escape was impossible. And since it was a route Teng Li often took after leaving the casino, it was clear the kidnappers were targeting him.

In Mengtamarila, Xiang Kun seemingly was wandering aimlessly, but in fact, he was using his superior sense of hearing and smell to search for Xia Tianhuo, while also listening for Mandarin with the Gui Hai accent, trying to find trace of the kidnappers.

Alice was also utilizing her specialties, searching through available surveillance footage trying to locate the car that took Xia Tianhuo away.

From a timing perspective, the accident happened around 12:50 last night, and the kidnappers called Old Xia at around 4:11 in the morning, a difference of about three hours.

This means that the location where Xia Tianhuo was taken should not be more than three hours’ drive from the alley.

However, according to Xiang Kun’s speculation, since their intended kidnap target unexpectedly died, they made a temporary decision to abduct Tianhuo. Therefore, upon reaching the location, they would not have made a decision quickly. Thus, the actual distance is certainly far less than a three-hour drive.

Xiang Kun deduced that the kidnappers last night likely remained in Mengtamarila, with a chance that they might have reached a neighboring city.

However, this could only limit their location to where they were when they called Old Xia last night. After half a day, they may have moved elsewhere.

As far as Xiang Kun was concerned, as long as he found a clue, a connection, he could use his various methods to infer Xia Tianhuo’s and the kidnappers’ current location.

If he could find the place where Xia Tianhuo was kidnapped last night, even if they were no longer there, it would greatly assist his tracking.

Around nine o’clock in the evening, Xiang Kun walked into a small roadside restaurant, pretending to be a backpacker. After ordering a few dishes, he chatted with the owner in the Guai Hai accent of Mandarin that he was mimicking.

Just now, Xiang Kun had discovered through auditory information searches that the owner of this small restaurant was his compatriot, and he spoke both the Gui Hai accented Mandarin and part of the Gui Hai dialect.

Of course, this owner was not the kidnapper who had spoken to Old Xia.

However, Xiang Kun still planned to gain some information through him.

The owner didn’t need to go to the kitchen himself, there was a chef looking after it, so when Xiang Kun started to chat with him, he did not refuse. After all, Xiang Kun was not only a compatriot but also a fellow Guai Hai native, and moreover, he spoke with tact, always managing to hit the owner’s sweet spot, making the owner talkative and causing him to speak so much that he couldn’t stop.

Xiang Kun actually didn’t know how to speak the Gui Hai dialect. He was just simply mimicking the accent, so when the owner was enjoying the conversation and occasionally spoke a few phrases in pure Gui Hai dialect, Xiang Kun was unable to understand it.

But it didn’t matter if he didn’t understand. Xiang Kun could directly contact the context and the owner’s personality, facial expression state to make deductions, make the right responses, and even naturally handle it with the Gui Hai dialect he had just learned.

Because Xiang Kun’s mimicked accent sounded very authentic and his responses were spot on, the owner completely considered Xiang Kun to be his fellow Guai Hai native, without any doubts.

The information that Xiang Kun probed from the owner was about where the people from Gui Hai in Mengtamarila were gathering. The owner had been in Burma for ten years and naturally had a good understanding of the situation of his compatriots and fellow natives.

Of course, those kidnappers might not be people who had been making a living in Burma for a long time, perhaps they didn’t enter Burma or Mengtamarila until not long ago.

But Chinese people have a feature, they like to stick together when they go out, find friends, find support, and the starting point is usually fellow natives and relatives.

Xiang Kun found out which Gui Hai people were running restaurants in Mengtamarila, which Gui Hai people were operating engineering businesses, and who were running businesses in the gray areas.

Recently, due to Burma’s relatively lax policies, many people from home have come to Mengtamarila to run some underground online casinos or live broadcasts that play close to the edge, moving some of the gray industries, which have been severely cracked down upon at home, out here, forming a circle of interests.

In general, the conversation with the restaurant’s owner was quite fruitful. Xiang Kun endured eating quite a lot of food with the help of the stone in his stomach.

After leaving the restaurant, Alice’s search also yielded some results, presenting four potential suspect vehicles’ video screenshots, three of which were vans and one was a minivan.

Alice’s work efficiency was so strong that it made Xiang Kun suspect, because he was well aware that the server resources he had allocated to Alice were not enough to support such a large data processing capacity.

But now was not the time to consider those issues, he decided to focus on finding Xia Tianhuo first.

Xiang Kun went to where the restaurant owner mentioned, a settlement area in Mengtamarila where Gui Hai people without legal status resided. The owner had warned him not to go to those places. While those people were also fellow natives, they were more ruthless than the locals when it came to harmful practices or tricking their fellow natives out of money.

However, for Xiang Kun, that was exactly the place he wanted to focus his search on.

After reaching that area, it wasn’t long before a young man with a dark complexion, wearing thong sandals, came up to him, speaking in heavily accented Gui Hai Mandarin, “Handsome! Are you Chinese? Come, come, come with me. We have some fun stuff here. It’s cheap and safe! Although it might look crappy on the outside, the inside is really well-furnished! Baccarat, Texas Hold’em—whatever game you want, we have it! We even have beautiful girls to accompany you!”

Just as Xiang Kun was going to start a conversation, the young man was pulled away by a companion from the side, allowing him to leave.

After they had walked a long way, Xiang Kun heard the man who had pulled the young man away mutter in a low voice, “That guy is obviously not to be messed with. It’s clear that he’s not here to play. Recently, the wind has been blowing in the wrong direction, be careful.”

This remark actually made Xiang Kun alert. So, he slightly hunched his back, making his observations of the surroundings more covert and himself look more sneaky and cautious. He also started to try to avoid the obvious lookout points in the street.

Xiang Kun didn’t immediately check out those underground casinos because, in his judgment, those who are involved in shady activities related to ill-gotten money are in themselves very profitable and have numerous connections with local forces, and are therefore less likely to directly participate in actions that would tip the table.

While passing through an area filled with various auto repair shops, Xiang Kun conducted a focused investigation because he found that this was a suitable place to handle the vehicles used in criminal activities and prepare the vehicles to be used for criminal activities. Plus, quite a large deal of the conversations within the auto repair shops here was in either the Gui Hai dialect or Mandarin with a Gui Hai accent.

After standing in a dark corner on the street for over twenty minutes, Xiang Kun had not been able to find any useful information through sensory information search, so he continued to walk deeper.

Just as Xiang Kun was about to leave the area after exploring almost the whole of it and thinking that he had followed the wrong direction, he made a discovery at a waste collection station not far from the myriad repair shops.

In Xiang Kun’s sensory information search, although Xia Tianhuo was not there, some of Xia Tianhuo’s scent had been left behind, so it could be conjectured that this was a transfer station used by the kidnappers. They might have even been here yesterday when they called Old Xia.