What It's Like Being a Vampire

These blood-eating creatures, who had transformed from humans and declared themselves the “Blood Clan”, satisfied their blood-drinking needs with human blood from the very beginning, and developed various characteristics for “hunting” and “influencing” ordinary humans through this mutation.

Although this type of “Blood Clan” was scarce, in the early days, they thrived among the European aristocracy, affecting many people through their traits and abilities, and even groomed a group of followers who touched the core of power in Europe.

However, in the early days, let alone banding together into an organization, they even viciously fought and wrestled each other, dragging ordinary people and various national forces under their control into their conflicts.

But after certain events occurred, these “Blood Clan” members were scared into hiding in the shadows, becoming widely despised by the upper echelons of Europe who knew of their existence, turning them into social pariahs.

Only after that did the “Red Rose” appear.

These “Blood Clan” members, considering human blood their nobility and heritage, were only willing to accept the blood of mutated “Blood-eating Creatures” when facing their limits.

Of course, this posed a problem: when they reach their limit, how can they find a suitable “Blood Source” to satisfy their needs?

Most of the time, they used despicable methods to lure humans who’ve transformed into “Blood-eating Creatures” for various reasons to the “holy land of the Blood Clan” and “birthplace of vampires” in Europe to “explore” and seek answers to what was happening to them.

When these people arrived in Slovakia or other places arranged by the Blood Clan in Europe, they would use special methods to identify them as “Blood-eating Creatures” and then contact them secretly.

These foreign human “Blood-eating Creatures” were the “Blood Sources” of so-called pure-blooded “Blood Clan” members in “Red Rose”.

However, due to various considerations, the relevant “propaganda” and “bait” covertly circulated by the “Red Rose” doesn’t provide much real information about the “Blood Clan”, nor does it directly mention the true characteristics of the “Blood Clan”. Most of it is widespread guidance and spread of beautified and mystified traditional vampire legends, with the emphasis on the “birthplace of the Blood Clan.”

So, few people who really turned into “Blood-eating Creatures” were attracted by that information and found their way to them.

Relatively speaking, their “fishing” was more effective before the advent of the internet. In recent decades, despite increasing convenience in transportation and information dissemination, the number of true “Blood-eating Creatures” who seek their roots in Europe has been dwindling.

And out of fear of certain strong “Blood-eating Creatures,” the “Blood Clan” members of the “Red Rose” dare not leave their hiding places even more.

But the limits will eventually come, and without the blood of the suitable “Blood-eating Creatures” as a “Blood Source”, they will still return to dust.

Thus, it became an agreement among the “Red Rose” clan to provide each other as “Blood Sources” in the event they were not able to obtain a “Blood Source” when the limits came.

This led to the members of the “Red Rose” constantly devising ways to outlive one another, to delay their limits as much as possible.

Almost all the so-called pureblood “Blood Clan” members of the “Red Rose” found a common way to delay their lives – to induce extended sleep with a reduced amount of blood-drinking and to extend this sleep period to form a long- no-blood-needed sleep phase.

However, these pieces of information were given to Mr. Liang by an old man, he himself had never met anyone from the “Red Rose”.

The old man who told him this information held severe contempt and disgust for the organization “Red Rose”, and influenced by him, he had held the same attitude.

Now that he has met John, his attitude has not changed in the slightest.

Once in the car, Mr. Liang, who was no longer wearing the helmet that made him invisible, played with the white porcelain knife he had seized, looked at John who was squatting in the corner of the carriage, and asked in English: “You came to China to find Guo Tianxiang? He was fooled into being your ‘Blood Source’?”

John raised his head to look at Mr. Liang, his frightening face and pitch-black eyes were unreadable. His initial instinct was to deny, but upon realizing that the other party knew about “Red Rose” and had relatively negative views, he decided to tell the truth considering his current situation.

“Yes, I came to find Guo Tianxiang. According to our agreement, he should have contacted us last October, but he didn’t…” John said carefully.

“Did Guo Tianxiang find you in Slovakia on his own?”

“We approached him when he came to Slovakia to find the cause of his body changes.”

“Why didn’t you just drink his blood? Isn’t that your usual method? Or was his quality not good enough?”

John hesitated for a moment, but answered, “No, his quality is strong, the strongest we’ve seen in twenty years, so… Old Earl hoped he could become even stronger, at least one more stage of transformation. In this way, he could satisfy the Old Earl’s blood source requirements when he reaches his limits…”

“Oh? Do you think he would return after his evolution?”

“He stayed in Slovakia for a few months, we taught him a lot of things, he trusts us very much, and believes that we can teach him the secret of immortality.”

“The ‘phase’ you mentioned refers to having devoured the blood of a ‘Blood-eating Creature’ once and undergone a complete mutation, right? Which phase was Guo Tianxiang in when he went to Slovakia?” Mr. Liang asked again.

Although he referred to the “mutant” differently, John understood Mr. Liang’s point. He dared not conceal anything and continued, “The first phase.”

Mr. Liang nodded slightly and asked, “So, what clues have you found so far?”

“No clues, I can only confirm that Guo Tianxiang has disappeared. I haven’t found out exactly where he went.”

“Tell me about your actions and investigations since entering the country.”

“After sneaking into your country from the border, I hitchhiked to Liucheng, and then…” John quickly outlined his search route.

“You decided he was last seen in Liucheng before his disappearance, so you went straight to Liucheng after entering the country? How did you know this?” Mr. Liang asked.

John hesitated for a moment, appearing a bit nervous, then hurriedly said, “I didn’t know where he had disappeared. He mentioned before that he often went to Liucheng, so I decided to…”

Mr. Liang interrupted him, “If you entered the country from Burma intending to go to Yangcheng, a detour to Liucheng would take quite a bit of extra time. Wouldn’t it be more normal to prioritize checking his usual place of residence if you’re trying to locate a missing person? What did he tell you he goes to Liucheng often for? Is Liucheng special to him? Does he spend more time there than in Yangcheng?”

John swallowed hard, hesitating whether to craft more falsehoods to cover his tracks. But one lie would need two or even more to cover up. He wasn’t sure whether he could make up quick falsehoods to hold up before this formidable figure who was obviously not easily fooled and appeared to be growing suspicious of him.

The truth? That would mean severing his chances of returning to Slovakia and breaking off all contact and interests with the ‘Red Rose’ there.

Mr. Liang chuckled eerily. His already deep and raspy voice took on an even stranger tone, the metallic grinding within it growing harsher: “If you had obediently followed my driver, Old Xie, out of the bar like a good boy when I asked you to, and let us ensure that you hadn’t committed any illegal acts within our borders, our usual course of action would be to deport you back to your country. But unfortunately, you chose not to communicate in a friendly and proper manner and displayed an unfriendly behavior. Therefore, I’ll have to handle the relevant affairs, and we won’t be following any conventional procedures, do you understand?”

John was left speechless, an internal cry welled up inside him: Even as a regular human, there was no way he could go along with a burly man in a suit with a face full of scars! Besides, even if they did “deport” him, he had no country to return to! Not only was he without an identity in China, but he was also stateless in Slovakia!

But he knew this was not the time for defense, and he quickly pleaded, “My lord! I truly bear no ill will towards your country and its citizens! I’m only seeking Guo Tianxiang. This ‘criminal’, with so many lives on his hands, is also a threat to your people. We’re helping you by taking him away!” In his urgency, he referred to Mr. Liang as “my lord”.

Mr. Liang didn’t respond to him but continued, “From Yangcheng to Peng City, it typically takes about two hours. If you can provide adequate information to satisfy me before we arrive, I am willing to give you a chance to live.”

Mr. Liang didn’t say what would happen if he was “unsatisfied”, but John understood instantly. And so, he quickly pointed at the small porcelain knife in Mr. Liang’s hand and said, “I used this to sense where Guo Tianxiang had been. We gave him a knife before he left Slovakia. That knife was used in Liucheng. After that, we lost contact, so we know that he should have been in Liucheng before he disappeared.”

“Oh?” Mr. Liang looked down at the small porcelain knife in his hand. During his earlier examination, he was certain that this wasn’t any kind of electronic device. In other words, they weren’t using GPS or similar technology to pinpoint locations.

Mr. Liang noticed a mechanism at the end of the handle, which was very stealthily and cleverly concealed. When he pressed down hard, some green liquid flowed from the handle into the long, narrow groove reserved for blood.

When the green liquid filled the groove, it didn’t spill out, as if enclosed by a membrane and trapped inside the groove.

Mr. Liang held the small white porcelain knife, now marked with a strip of bright green, beneath his wide nostrils and sniffed, then extended his tiny fur-covered tongue and licked at the green liquid.

In an instant, the green liquid retracted into the knife handle as if shocked. The smooth white blade of the knife showed no trace of it, left clean and dry.

Mr. Liang gave a sinister chuckle and, looking at the small porcelain knife, said, “It’s still alive!”

He then directly dismantled the mechanism at the rear of the handle and tried to pour out the liquid from within. But the green liquid seemed to be “afraid”, bunched up inside, refusing to come out.

Mr. Liang laid the small porcelain knife on his thigh. He then began manipulating his right index finger with his left hand, and in no time, his index finger had been elongated and shaped into the form of a spoon or hook.

Using this manipulated finger, Mr. Liang quickly scraped out the green substance contained in the knife handle and then… he ate it.

Watching Mr. Liang slowly chewing the green substance, John’s eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape. He had expected the green matter to be unable to escape or resist in any way, but he hadn’t anticipated this terrifying being to deal with it so directly!

After chewing for a while, Mr. Liang turned to the stunned John, and in his characteristic voice, asked, “It’s only part of it?”

John was taken aback for a moment before understanding what Mr. Liang was asking. He urgently answered, “That is ‘Sacred Blood’… No, it is part of Count Joel… part of Old Joel’s ‘prosthesis’… It can suppress the healing speed of wounds of other ‘Blood Clan’, ‘Blood Beasts’, weakening their strength and stamina, making them easier to control. Thus, it is beneficial for dealing with other ‘Blood Clan’, ‘Blood Beasts’. However, this ‘Sacred Blood’ needs to be fed with blood periodically to maintain its activity, and once separated from Old Joel, it can only survive for up to three years. As it is fed with blood or contacts other creature’s blood, regardless of the distance, Old Joel can sense it and knows what creature’s blood it has contacted…”

He noticed that “Mr. Liang” did not appear to swallow, yet the green liquid disappeared as though it was absorbed simply by chewing.

Upon hearing his explanation, “Mr. Liang” sneered, saying, “You of the ‘Bloodline Vampires’, don’t you claim to only drink human blood, only the blood of other ‘blood clan’ and ‘Blood Descendant’? This old Joel, has he not consumed the blood of other ‘things’?”

John naturally knew what he meant. He chuckled awkwardly, whispering, “As you said, struggling to survive… donkeys in distress, oftentimes, do not have the luxury of picking and choosing.”

After witnessing the violent devouring of part of Old Joel’s “prosthetic” by “Mr. Liang”, John completely let loose, spilling all the information he knew about the “Red Rose” and Guo Tianxiang.

Therefore, upon arrival at Peng City, “Mr. Liang” learned that the “Red Rose” now only had five “Bloodline Vampires” remaining, including John. The shortest conversion time was over thirty years ago, and the longest-lived had even undergone a transformation over two hundred years ago—although he had spent 80% of the time in deep sleep, while the rest was spent hiding in darkness. Plus, this two hundred-year-old “Old Blood Clan” had reached the stage’s limiting point, if an appropriate “Blood Source” is not found, he could only face the “Final Judgment”, then before perishing, the other “Bloodline Vampires” will share his blood for recycling.

“Mr. Liang” also learned about Guo Tianxiang’s physical characteristics and abilities, noted the location and timing of the small porcelain knife’s effect in Guo Tianxiang’s hand, confirmed that the small porcelain knife indeed injured a “Blood-eating Creatures” at the time, and that Guo Tianxiang’s disappearance was likely related to that “Blood-eating Creature”, perhaps he was counter-killed.

The black RV slowly drove into the lowest floor of a building and entered a fully enclosed parking lot.

That “parking lot” was actually a “repair shop”, with sparse staff working on equipment including drones and modified cars.

The RV was parked directly at the elevator entrance; once the door was open, it lead directly into the elevator and out of sight from the staff.

Of course, when “Mr. Liang” usually returned, he was always invisible when getting out of the car, so it did not matter where he parked. However, this time, there was John who couldn’t go invisible.

Before getting out of the car, “Mr. Liang” looked at the somewhat nervous John and said, “I have a question.”

“Please ask.”

“Every time the ‘Red Rose’ obtains a ‘Blood Source’, they conduct a ceremony to share it. This may not meet everyone’s needs, right? Hasn’t anyone wanted to monopolize it? If they are powerful enough to suppress other members?”

John carefully responded, “In early Europe, the ‘Blood Clan’ were indeed like this, unable to coexist, but after becoming part of the ‘Red Rose’… the thinking is more long-term. Rapid stage transformation, brings substantial short-term gain, but… it also means stricter conditions are required for passing the next stage’s ‘Blood Source’, so… everyone shares resources and warms each other, there is no need to break the rules.”

“Mr. Liang” suddenly realized, “Oh, that makes sense. It’s really about who can live longer, ha! By the way, you seem to think that the incident that occurred in Bucharest over a hundred years ago and the bodily collapse that occurs when one cannot break through the phase limit are both so-called ‘Final Judgments’?”

John was taken aback for a moment, but then nodded.

Then he saw “Mr. Liang” curl his lips into a smile, stretching it to his ears, displaying a “smile” that sent chills down his spine.

But “Mr. Liang” didn’t make further comments on this, nor did he express his judgement, he simply became invisible.

John saw the muscular driver in the suit standing at the elevator entrance, signaling him to get off the car. So, he had no choice but to get out and walk into the elevator.

As the elevator doors were slowly closing, the muscular driver in the suit didn’t come in. It seemed that John was alone in the elevator, yet his instinct told him that “Mr. Liang” was by his side. So, he cautiously asked, “Sir, are you satisfied with the information I’ve provided along the way? If there is anything else you want to know, I can continue to answer. Whether it’s about the ‘Red Rose’ or any information related to the ‘blood clan’… about ‘Blood-eating Creatures’, I still know a lot.”

As expected, Mr. Liang’s voice came from the side: “I am satisfied.”

John breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart didn’t completely calm down because he noticed that from beginning to end, this “terrifying entity” never asked for his name. So he carefully and respectfully said, “Sir, I am John Cavendish. I am willing to become your humble servant. Whether in China or Europe, I can demonstrate my worth. You should be aware of my abilities. In human society, I hold substantial advantages…”

The elevator was swiftly descending. “Mr. Liang” had made no response to Johnʼs pledge of allegiance until the elevator doors opened, and his figure slowly reappeared.

This was a vast space brimming with a sense of technology. Overhead, a swath of lattice lights illuminated various equipment.

“Mr. Liang”, after John had followed in with an astonished expression, suddenly snapped his fingers. A plain wall instantly disappeared, transforming into a transparent glass wall.

Behind the glass was a python, coiled up as if it were sleeping.

The python was as thick as John’s waist with a red flesh lump on its head, which looked quite disgusting.

John immediately recognized that this was a “Blood Beast” or, in the parlance of “Mr. Liang”, a “Blood-eating Creature”.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that the structure before him wasn’t a glass wall but a high-definition screen that projected the image within the enormous room.

“Is this… your pet, sir?” John asked.

“This is your chance. If you can kill it, not only will I let you live, but I will also allow you to drink its blood.” As “Mr. Liang” spoke, he snapped his fingers again, causing the wall to rise and then threw John in.

To his surprise, behind that screen-adorned wall, is where the giant python truly resided.

John screamed and tried to run back, but the wall had already fallen back into place, trapping him inside.

“Mr. Liang,” with his giant eye devoid of eyelids or eye whites, looked coldly at John in the screen beating on the wall, pleading, utterly indifferent.

He knew that this member of the “Red Rose” was not a match for the “mutated Python”. John’s “opportunity” was virtually nonexistent.

He despised these brutes who, since the mutation, made a meal of human blood and prided themselves as refined and noble.

He knew that these beings, given free rein and an undetected presence, would indulge in slaughter, deceit, and manipulation of other humans for fun, regardless of whether they needed to drink blood.

What disgusted him the most was their preference for easy shortcuts. They took advantage of weaker beings and lacked even a shred of courage to confront the causes that could dismantle, fade, and destroy them. Instead, they languished and waited for decay in the darkness.

Such characters were of no help to his “cause”.

They were hardly “Predators” or even run-of-the-mill “Blood-eating Creatures”. They were barely “Blood Sources” that supplemented the nutrition of the “Blood-eating Creatures” he kept captive. He supposed that was some form of utility.

Inside the windowless sealed room, after pleading for a while, John suddenly closed his mouth and slowly turned around.

The giant python had awakened. The red lump on its forehead appeared even more red, as if blood was about to burst from it at any moment.

Its large snake eyes stared at John as it slowly raised its body. Then the upper half of its body slowly split open, like a person tearing open their own clothes, unveiling a larger bloody mouth with five sharp, hook-like tentacles protruding from it.

John was terrified. He stared at the snake’s eye and began to whisper strange syllables.

The python, ready to pounce, “paused” for a moment, providing John with an opportunity to dodge the deadly attack.

But when the python’s attack failed, it adjusted its body and started to circle around again. Its tail began to participate in the attack, attempting to trip or wrap him up.

However, each time those tentacles, the tail, or the python’s mouth were about to reach John, they would pause for a moment, allowing him to barely dodge.

Luckily, the room was spacious enough for him to maneuver around.

John’s abilities were better suited to dealing with humans, regardless of nationality, and had some impact on primates like apes. However, for other animals, especially cold-blooded or visually impaired ones, whether mutants or not, the effects were greatly reduced.

Like with this python, even if he succeeded, it could only cause a momentary pause. It would soon recover, and there was even a chance of failure.

However, once the initial eye contact and hypnotism began, even if the python closed its eyes, the effect would continue.

John, completely focused on the python, felt truly desperate. Even though he hasn’t been touched or hurt by the python, he knew very well that if he still had the small porcelain knife in his hand and the green liquid inside, he might have a 5% chance of killing it. But now… he was like walking on a tightrope with no end, just one hypnotic hesitation not working, and it would be GG, a predestined outcome.

After several failed assaults due to the impact, the python seemed to understand why it was affected. Two tentacles from its chest lunged at its eyes, blinding itself.

Seeing this, John was shocked. He knew that he could not even dodge now because snakes don’t need their eyes to hunt!

He quickly turned and ran towards the partition wall, shouting with a whimper, “Sir! Are you looking for the Eight-Armed Giant that appeared in Myitkyina? I can help you find it! I really can!”

The partition wall was opened, and John tumbled out. Behind him, the python that had gouged out its eyes charged wildly forward but was held back by jets of gas from nozzles that had extended from either side and was locked back in the room.

John, who was back in the massive space, looked up at “Mr. Liang” standing near a control panel. His body trembled slightly, and he gasped for breath. He felt as if he had woken from a dream.

His gaze involuntarily fell on the ugly rabbit wood carving that “Mr. Liang” was toying with in his hand, and a chill ran through him.