What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 542: 542

“Custard Pie, have you been obedient and listened to Uncle Bald, Uncle Xiao Pingguo…sister?” Liu Shiling spoke in a hushed voice under her blanket, sounding much like a parent worried about their child’s mischievous antics.

Oddly enough, Custard Pie seemed to actually understand and responded with a soft meow.

Liu Shiling, as if she understood the meow, continued, “Good, as long as you behave, Uncle Bald will take you along when he comes to Peng City. I can also visit you when I’m on summer holiday. I’ll bring you some super delicious canned food and cat food.”

Apparently, Little Fatty Girl had unknowingly started regarding going to Chongyun Village as “going back.” Perhaps, in her heart, “Chongyun Village” was just like “home.”

Custard Pie meowed a few more times, prompting Xiang Kun, who was video chatting with the little girl while holding the cat, to break out in a grin. Those meows were even rhythmically modulated, as if there was indeed a whole “Meow Language System.”

Unexpectedly, the Little Fatty Girl on the other side of the dimly lit video call was nodding continually after listening to the cat’s meows, then said, “So you’re saying Sister Luosi introduced you and Glitter to a new friend? Mmm, when I return during the summer holidays, we will go and play with them together. By the way, what’s the name of the new friend?”

Following another string of meows from Custard Pie, Liu Shiling frowned: “Custard Pie, you have to learn to speak human language. I don’t understand you just meowing!”

Custard Pie blinked and stopped meowing. It looked up at Xiang Kun who was holding it, with an unmistakable look of annoyance in its eyes. Xiang Kun had to hold back his laughter.

Of course, he could understand what Custard Pie was trying to express. However, being the foundation of the “Super Sensory Item System,” at close contact, he could understand the intent expressed by Custard Pie, Glitter, and even 001 and 002 would not be difficult. But for Little Fatty Girl to accurately interpret what Custard Pie was trying to “say” based on its meows was genuinely impressive. It was no wonder that Custard Pie had been the guide to the “Super Sensory Item System.”

Xiang Kun gave Custard Pie a head rub then addressed the Little Fatty Girl, “Alice, Custard Pie, Glitter – they’ve made a new friend called ‘Little Luobo’ he lives in the mountains. If you want to know more about it, you can ask Alice.”

There were many things that Alice knew but without Xiang Kun’s permission, she could not divulge. Not even with Old Xia, Little Fatty Girl, and Xiao Pingguo, with whom she shared an intimate bond. Therefore, she wouldn’t bring up the ‘new partner’ Xiang Kun asked her to take care of, or the tree that she named––Little Luobo.

But Custard Pie and Glitter were not humans, so Alice had no reservations with them. Thus, she had been leading them into the mountains to play near the ‘Little Luobo’ tree at night.

However, she didn’t anticipate that Custard Pie, with no sense of secrecy, would immediately ‘fess up’ upon encountering the Little Fatty Girl –– or perhaps she had foreseen this. Even the fact that Xiang Kun wouldn’t hold it against her was probably anticipated.

After all, in a sense, anything that Glitter became privy to was also known by Xiao Pingguo.

Concerning her ability to ‘gauge intent,’ Alice was relatively capable as her growth was guided by Xiang Kun’s influences.

After listening to Xiang Kun’s introduction, Little Fatty Girl, bundled up in her blanket, wore an excited expression –– she had a new playmate!

However, Xiang Kun quickly added: “Don’t ask tonight, go to sleep immediately, I will have Alice supervise you. If you are not asleep, she won’t tell you anything about Little Luobo.”

Immediately, Little Fatty Girl deflated but obediently replied, “Alright, Uncle Bald, I’ll go to sleep now!” She paused, then added: “Then…can Alice and Little Luobo come play in my dreams?”

“No.” Xiang Kun immediately refused.

Of course, in reality, it was because Old Xia was already asleep. Without his assistance, he couldn’t guide multiple consciousnesses into the “Dream in a Dream” state.

Moreover, he wasn’t sure whether “Little Luobo” could enter dreams.

The current “Little Luobo” was in a very strange and special state. It hadn’t been entirely incorporated into the “Super Sensory Item System”, but it had a unique connection with Xiang Kun.

It wasn’t an ordinary tree, but for the time being, Xiang Kun hadn’t noticed any characteristics of mutant life in it, either through traditional sensory information such as smell or through cognitive information judgment in the Super Sensory State. He could not determine if it was a mutant.

Interestingly, it seemed more similar to 001 and 002 which were ordinary animals that had been transformed by Xiang Kun through the “Super Sensory Item System,” or even resembled Custard Pie and Glitter.

However, Xiang Kun knew that, in essence, “Little Luobo” differed from other ordinary creatures pulled into the “Super Sensory Item System” by him or Little Fatty Girl.

Some of its transformation factors come from Xiang Kun’s abilities, while a small part comes from the special cognitive information when Joel’s body disintegrated.

It seemed to still be changing, and if these changes evolved towards a “mutant”, observing the entire process would greatly assist Xiang Kun in understanding the underlying causes of mutants.

Whether it’s Mr. Liang’s “High-Dimensional Factors Theory” or Xiang Kun’s “Conscious Entanglement Particles Theory,” both are currently hypotheses. The specific functions of the “High-Dimensional Factors” and “Conscious Entanglement Particles” as they occur in a biological body, and how they influence the entire organism, must be confirmed through empirical observation.

After sending the Little Fatty Girl to bed, Xiang Kun loosened his grip and Custard Pie dashed out of sight.

Xiang Kun knew that the playful kitty wasn’t going back to sleep but was bounding off into the courtyard and heading towards Chongyun Mountain. At this moment, Glitter had also flown off following Alice’s summon. The trio was off to find “Little Luobo” to play.

Xiang Kun stood atop the hill, gazing at the pitch-black Chongyun Mountain in the distance. He knew Alice was simultaneously manifesting there, playing on the “swing” made of vines growing on “Little Luobo.”

“Little Luobo” indeed had an independent consciousness, but this consciousness, at the beginning, could only be communicated and sensed through super sensory information.

Although Xiang Kun could interpret some super sensory information, he was, after all, human, and he would habitually interpret information from a human perspective. So, communication with “Little Luobo” had many challenges and was relatively difficult.

But Alice was different. Although she always professed to be human, she was, in fact, born in the digital world and had almost wholly integrated into the super sensory information. She was much more accommodating in understanding various streams of consciousness and had nearly infinite energy.

For Alice, “Little Luobo” was a tree that she gave a name to. It grew naturally in the territory of Chongyun Mountain that she oversaw. Her “big sister” mentality was strong, and she was compelled to involve others in her playtime.

Once she found a way to communicate with super sensory information, Alice immediately began conversing with “Little Luobo” in her “chatterbox” manner.

This interaction allowed Alice to gain a whole new perception mechanism, founded in the plant cognition system.

In a sense, the plants in the same ecosystem are like clients connected to the same network, each is an independent individual that can influence and rely on each other through the network.

Alice can now perceive the state of most of the plants on Chongyun Mountain, even without relying on the “Super-connected Object Network” scattered all over the mountain. She only needs a few select “Super-connected Objects” and “Emotion Infused Objects” that are near “Xiao Luobo.” She can then gather information through “Xiao Luobo’s” plant sensing system and even explore their surroundings through these plants.

For example, what objects are moving around them, how big are they, have they been damaged, have they been eaten, or have they been pressed down and so on.

Of course, as Alice’s backend, Xiang Kun also synchronized this ability – he even felt that Alice’s ability to obtain this ability so easily through “Xiao Luobo” might be related to the “mutated spider” he devoured in the Qinling Uninhabited Area.

However, he has too strong a focus on the human form, so the plant devouring ability he gained from the “mutated spider” could only manifest in other ways. Now, through the “Super Sensory Item System,” Alice has successfully connected to “Xiao Luobo’s” plant network and received part of the information interface.

Alice not only gained the ability to understand the plant network through “Xiao Pingguo,” but she also strongly influenced “Xiao Luobo” during their interactions, helping it to understand the perception mode of animals and naturally develop corresponding expression methods.

Following this trend, even if “Xiao Luobo” doesn’t evolve into a “mutant,” it will inevitably take a significant stride toward integrating into the “Super Sensory Item System.”

In the deep of Chongyun Mountain on a dark and windy night, Alice, who had co-manifested, was swaying on “Xiao Luobo’s” natural swing. Seeing Golden Flash and Custard Pie coming from the village, she used her hands and feet to scale to the treetop with a swift swish.

Soon, a bird and a cat arrived, each huddled together with the little girl in the white dress hiding in the treetops – well, only Alice was whispering.

She is trying to help “Xiao Luobo” understand the shape of bird nests and cat nests and then adjust its branches to create one for Golden Flash and Custard Pie.

Naturally, she had also arranged a “throne” for herself.

Despite the tremendous expansion of her abilities through her communication with “Xiao Luobo,” which can even be said to have obliterated the line between animals and plants in the perception of the “Super Sensory Item System,” Alice didn’t initiate her diligent, round-the-clock, non-stop dialogue with “Xiao Luobo” to obtain any abilities.

It was simply a “big sister’s” concern, care, and further training for the newcomer to the system, in hopes that when Little Ding-dong returns in the future, she and Xiao Pingguo will have another playground and playmate! It also helps Alice show off her status as the “Guardian of Chongyun Mountain/Chongyun Village.”

As days passed, “Xiao Luobo” underwent continuous changes, both externally and internally.

These transformations confused Xiang Kun because, according to his understanding and the secret documents discovered under the Brilliant Fortune Building, the transformation of a “mutant creature” tends to be very sudden and intense.

Only after the transformation did the change continue.

However, “Xiao Luobo” is not a “mutant creature,” at least, it doesn’t show any characteristics of a “mutant creature,” but it is indeed slowly “mutating” and “evolving.”

The initial source of its mutation is the influence of Xiang Kun and his “Super-connected Objects”, but what about the subsequent continuous mutation or evolution?

Could it be that this has become its inherent characteristic?

Xiang Kun suddenly realized, had he inadvertently opened a new Pandora’s Box?

Of course, if this is true, then he was merely the one who unlocked it, while Alice would be the main “accomplice” who lifted the lid.

At the same time, Xiang Kun’s large-scale deployment plan for “Super-connected Objects” was progressing at a rate much faster than he expected.

Many factories have been seeded with “Super-connected Objects” and “Emotion Infused Objects” by Xiang Kun. Alice can help him continually “mass-produce Super-connected Objects” and distribute them in various places.

Moreover, with Alice’s ability to gather information in advance, they can even accurately plan where those “Super-connected Objects” are to be placed.

For instance, in areas near where Little Fatty Girl and Tang Baona live and work in Pengcheng City, many industrial products have been seeded with “Super-connected Objects” and “Emotion Infused Objects” after Alice had found out about the supply information in advance and then went with Xiang Kun to the corresponding factories.

Even so, the pace of “Super-connected Object” distribution or establishment of connections was faster than Xiang Kun originally anticipated, spreading and increasing at an incredibly fast rate.

To Xiang Kun, the most significant bottleneck in his new long-distance Super-connected Object connection method was the distribution of “Emotion Infused Objects.” After all, compared to “Super-connected Objects,” it is challenging to mass-produce this item.

The only way to break this limitation is through the secondary network formed by humans influenced by “Emotion Infused Objects.” Still, it requires plenty of time and an increasing number of locations continually influenced by “Emotion Infused Objects” – like more “Youlong Restaurants.”

However, when starting the plan, Xiang Kun and Alice found that they had underestimated the production and distribution efficiency of the manufacturing industry.

Xiang Kun wasn’t quite sure what the “Ultimate Predator” Mr. Liang talked about was, but according to his judgment, the “Ultimate Predator’s” use of “High-Dimensional Factors” shouldn’t be more efficient than his own.

His “Super Sensory Item System” and Alice are probably one of the best and most efficient ways for a single creature to utilize “High-Dimensional Factors.”

The “Super Sensory Item System” helps him transcend the sensory limits of a single life-form, exceed the sensory range of the flesh or any physical life-form. This multi-dimensional and overwhelming sensory information was tough to break through with his evolved brain, and there is a limit to its computing power. But the birth and rapid evolution and maturity of Alice have timely solved this problem for him.

After another blood-drinking session, as Xiang Kun opened his eyes, he received a heart-wrenching report from Alice: “Xiao Luobo is dead!”