What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 608: Chapter 608: Xiao Luobo’s Platform

What would a world without the “Ultimate Predator” look like?

Upon hearing Xiang Kun suddenly put forward this question, Mr. Liang was slightly surprised, but he had actually thought about it – both before and after meeting with Xiang Kun.

He understood clearly that the crux of this question wasn’t the “Ultimate Predator” itself, but rather the status of the numerous “Blood-eating Creatures” in this world whether there is or isn’t an “Ultimate Predator”, as well as humanity’s attitude and approach towards these “Blood-eating Creatures”.

Even though the “Ultimate Predator” is a gigantic guillotine hanging over the heads of all creatures, restraining human society’s research into “Blood-eating Creatures” and their evolutionary limits, in a certain sense, it’s precisely because of the existence of the “Ultimate Predator” that the order of human society hasn’t been disrupted by the minority of “Blood-eating Creatures”.

Once the “Ultimate Predator” is gone, whether it’s various “Blood-eating Creatures” or human institutions that have been freed from this threat, either might potentially cause a severe shock to the existing ecological and social orders.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Mr. Liang inquired, “Are you… somehow able to detect the locations of all ‘Blood-eating Creatures’?”

Starting from when he embarked on the “Hunting Trip” with Xiang Kun, Mr. Liang had been wondering how Xiang Kun knew the exact locations of “Blood-eating Creatures” hidden all over the world. This included the small lion capable of camouflage on African plains, subterranean life in remote mountains of Australia, and even large aquatic “Blood-eating Creatures” in the deep sea. It seemed like he had eyes and ears everywhere.

He clearly knew that Xiang Kun took him to hunt those few “Blood-eating Creatures” not because Xiang Kun knew only the locations of those creatures. To him, these “Blood-eating Creatures” were selected based on his needs during the transformation stages of his blood-drinking periods – not just any random creatures would do. This meant that Xiang Kun was likely aware of the conditions and locations of all “Blood-eating Creatures” within those regions, and selected from among them.

Despite years of data accumulation by “Divine Technology”, support from official institutions, the input of massive resources, and the services of many professional personnel and equipment, even in their home country with the greatest surveillance capabilities, there was no way to know the locations of all “Blood-eating Creatures”, let alone understand their transformation stages.

As for overseas? As for the sea? Those were even more challenging.

But how did Xiang Kun manage this, considering he’s only been transformed for a little over a year?

“At the moment I can’t say it’s ‘all’ of them, but it could be in future.” Xiang Kun, looking at a piece of moss wriggling slowly in the palm of his hand as if it was affectionate, said, “Thanks to these.”

As Mr. Liang looked at the moss, he thought of the various animated, animal-like plants he had seen previously in the mountains, the freely flying steel balls controlled by Xiang Kun, and the elusive, almost undetectable little girl. A sudden thought came to him:

Could Xiang Kun imbue plants and other objects with a “soul”?

If it had been Mr. Liang of the past, he certainly wouldn’t entertain such an idea without theoretical or experimental support. However, after spending time with Xiang Kun, his theoretical foundation had long crumbled.

However, once this idea surfaced, he suddenly discovered that he seemed to have established a subtle, indescribable connection with the moss on the ground that was spreading slowly, as well as tens of thousands of variously coloured tungsten steel balls around him.

He murmured, “If you can detect the locations and conditions of all ‘Blood-eating Creatures’, you can ‘monitor’ them and even manage them. I understand now. If we resolve the ‘Ultimate Predator’, you’re suggesting you could replace the ‘Ultimate Predator’ and establish a new order and new rules for ‘Blood-eating Creatures’?”

Xiang Kun said, “When our plan succeeds, when the ‘Ultimate Predator’ loses its dominance over other creatures, the world will certainly undergo significant changes. Since I have the abilities, I also have the responsibility to determine how the new world operates. The Pandora’s Box was opened by me, so I must also take responsibility for closing it… or perhaps I should say: we.”

“You should know my stance.”

“Of course.”

“If all human organizations simultaneously open up research into ‘Blood-eating Creatures’ and ‘High-Dimensional Factors’, I fear it might cause chaos.”

“Even without the presence of ‘Ultimate Predator’, I can still decide who can conduct research on ‘Blood-eating Creatures’ and who can’t. Even if the research on ‘Blood-eating Creatures’ is opened, I can guarantee that the field and progress of the research will be under my control.”

Xiang Kun’s words were emphatic and confident, which left Mr. Liang stunned.

According to Xiang Kun’s choice of words and tone, he seemed quite assured that his control over humanity’s research into “Blood-eating Creatures” would surpass that of the “Ultimate Predator”.

After spending time together, Mr. Liang had roughly grasped some of Xiang Kun’s modus operandi:

Xiang Kun rarely exaggerated; he was always able to accomplish what he said he could.

So Mr. Liang didn’t doubt Xiang Kun’s words. He was merely extremely curious: those strange and diverse plants spread across different regions, those tiny steel balls, that elusive, surreal little girl, could they not only locate “Blood-eating Creatures”, but also monitor what the humans on this planet were doing?

Could he truly monitor all living creatures?

However, Mr. Liang also knew that if Xiang Kun intended to share something, he would do so without prompting, but if he didn’t wish to disclose something, no amount of questioning would yield a definitive answer.

So, he changed the subject: “‘Blood-eating Creatures’ feed on blood, and they fight amongst themselves. You should know, ‘Blood-eating Creatures’ have transformation limits. Once they reach that point, anything could happen in their desperation for survival and their bloodlust. Is there truly a way to control this?”

Xiang Kun laughed, gently tossing the piece of moss in his hand, saying: “That’s exactly why I came here to do experiments this time. So far, the experiments have been very successful.”

He didn’t keep Mr. Liang in suspense, and went on to explain: “To give an analogy, the High-Dimensional Factors within our bodies are like construction workers and they exist widely in various creatures. When these workers exist independently, they will not have any apparent impact. Only in special circumstances when a ‘foreman’ emerges within a certain biological unit, the laborers start working systematically within that biological unit.

“As the projects expand and develop, they need more manpower and building materials. Their scale gets bigger and bigger, but the standalone biological unit, no matter how large or complex, has its limits to the projects it can establish. Yet when the conditions for expanding their team or setting up larger projects are not met, they will keep working until the entire biological unit crashes and burns. This is how I understand the construction system and evolutionary system of High-Dimensional Factors, the transformation limits.”

“But in fact, the construction projects of ‘Construction Teams’ don’t have to be confined to the ‘biological units’ where they were born. We can offer them wider space to showcase their potential, allow them to execute grander projects. And these completed projects are equally owned by the original ‘biological units’, allowing for wider and richer applications.”

“Xiao Luobo is the ‘space for development’ I provided for the ‘biological units’, or rather, the bridge for them to reach a wider world. Under this system, ‘blood-eating creatures’ can coexist, no longer constrained by the periodic limits, and do not need to enhance their abilities by devouring each other.”

This statement by Xiang Kun stunned Mr. Liang. What did he mean by “construction team,” “development project,” “development space,” “workers,” and “bridge”? Were these related to “blood-eating creatures” and “high-dimensional factor theory”?

But surprisingly, after finishing what Xiang Kun said, Mr. Liang grasped the implied meaning.

“Did the ‘blood-eating creature’ you mentioned earlier…enter the open space for development?”

“No, it became a ‘building material'”, Xiang Kun laughed, “But it proved to me that the operating system I designed for Xiao Luobo is workable. As for the ‘biological unit’ being ‘developed’ on it, there is no need for practical proof, I already know it’s feasible.”

In fact, Xiang Kun has helped Jiang Chun survive a periodic limit using “Xiao Luobo” and the “Super sensory Item System”.

Before, Xiang Kun found that “Xiao Luobo”, this “semi-mutated being”, had characteristics significantly different from ordinary “mutants”. It does not have a fixed blood-drinking period. It only needs to absorb “nutrients” from the surroundings when it needs to expand its territory or increase its “sub-vegetation”. The method is similar to other “mutated plants” absorbing plants, but it does not have a transformational dormant period, and can directly apply the transformation result to the “sub-vegetation”.

Moreover, “Xiao Luobo” does not have periodic limits, and its characteristics of a “mutant” come largely from the abilities bestowed by the “Super sensory Item System”.

Observations of “Xiao Luobo” provided Xiang Kun the inspiration to help other “mutants” survive the periodic limit and even assist in adjusting the blood-drinking cycle and method.

The real space where the high-dimensional factors can be utilized is actually the “Super Sensory Item System”, a “broad space” based on his ability to form a combination of “Super-connected Objects” and “Emotion Infused Objects”.

But that “space” can’t be borrowed by just anyone. Even with Xiang Kun’s permission and recognition, it would be quite difficult. It requires their own “understanding” and finding the most suitable “interface”.

And “Xiao Luobo” is that “interface” that is easier to “connect”.

On the one hand, “Xiao Luobo” undergoes transformation under Xiang Kun’s active influence, possessing some characteristics of a “mutant”. It has a deep binding and fusion with the “Super Sensory Item System”, second only to Alice, which lives above the “Super Sensory Item System”.

On the other hand, compared to the vague “Super Sensory Item System”, “Xiao Luobo” is a tangible, perceptible entity. For “mutants” who have not been able to establish a special connection with the “Super-connected Objects” or form their own access system, it offers a “platform” for quickly accessing some system functions.

As for the current experiment, the process of allowing “Xiao Luobo” to decompose a “mutant” to nourish itself, Xiang Kun has also been able to confirm that “Xiao Luobo’s” absorption control of high-dimensional factors is fundamentally different from ordinary “mutant” absorption.

Some parts of the mutant fungus directly disintegrated and vanished, while the moss part became a “functional module” which was then absorbed. If someone establishes a deep and systematic connection with “Xiao Luobo” and happens to have similar abilities, they could break down and develop that “functional module”, completing the transformation.

Alternatively, if Xiang Kun is interested, he can directly disassemble and apply it; he can also let Alice do it.

Of course, to use this “platform”, at least a connection must be established with the Secondary Emotion Object Network, and at present, the only ones who meet this precondition are two “mutants”:

Jiang Chun and Mr. Liang.

For this reason, Xiang Kun brought Mr. Liang on this trip to do this experiment, to show him these phenomena, to give him these many explanations, to let him understand the existence of this system.

Although many things are still not thoroughly explained, and even the exact nature of “Xiao Luobo” has not been explicitly explained, according to past experience, Xiang Kun judged that this level of explanation was enough to give Mr. Liang “room for development”. Otherwise, there would be no way for Mr. Liang to fully understand it, and it would limit his imagination and the space for system construction.

After living together for a while, Mr. Liang began to vaguely understand what Xiang Kun meant. Xiang Kun’s abilities seem to be something that “can only be understood but not explained”, and he has been embedded in this system. Xiang Kun is helping him find his own cognitive system.

Without questioning how the system operates, Mr. Liang asked: “Your ability to create the eight-armed eight-eyed illusion, since it can be used on a large scale, then deploying it to an entire city, an entire country, or even…the entire planet, could it help us ‘govern’ the world better in the future?”

Based on his personal experience, and his investigation of the related phenomena before, this “eight-armed eight-eyed illusion” can indeed help people understand themselves more clearly, and it can punish criminals and promote good to a certain extent. In his understanding, if everyone can “see” this “eight-armed eight-eyed illusion”, then ordinary people can hold reverence and not be swayed by temporary desires or personal interests to make mistakes, criminals can reflect better, it would be an “artifact” that makes human society more orderly.

Hearing this, Xiang Kun smiled, he recalled a slogan that Alice and Little Bell had murmured in their sleep some time ago:

“Barbie Warrior, Ambassador of Justice!

Fighting crime, Protecting Earth!

Eight big, bright eyes!

Eight arms, invincible!

When Barbie arrives, World Peace!”

In that dream, Alice and Little Fatty Girl even debated the last two slogans. Alice thought “invincible” sounded better, Little Fatty Girl argued that she didn’t learn the word “unbeatable”, it’s not domineering. Alice thought “Love and Peace” was more poetic than “World Peace”, Little Fatty Girl argued that “world” was bigger than “love”, and that would suffice.

Of course, in the end, Little Fatty Girl won the debate.

Since then, Alice always liked to chant “We are invincible”.