What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 635: Chapter 635 I Know This is Me

Liu Shiling hugged her custard pie, glanced at Alice squatting next to her, looked up at Xiao Pingguo in her ultra-cool glasses leaning against the door, and at the shiny, pudgy bird perched on her shoulder. In the kitchen, Tang Baona and Yang Zhen Er were busily preparing a fast-food lunch.

This atmosphere made her feel very happy, safe, and comfortable.

Although her mom, chicken wing sister, and Bald Uncle were not here, she knew her mom was at the company, and since the weather was bad, she wouldn’t typically come back at noon; she knew that chicken wing sister was at Chongyun Village base, leading others in research, and they would meet soon; she knew that Bald Uncle was flying in the sky, sweeping the clouds away, his head buzzing with electricity, on his way to save the world.

As for the thunderstorm outside, the monster lurking in Antarctica, and all the pessimistic and negative comments online, they did not affect her at all.

Anyway, now she didn’t have to go to school for classes, she could attend online classes, plus with Alice and her sisters to explain and tutor her, she had no worries about her studies. In the mid-term exams in November, she was steadily the top of her class. She was also in the top ten in her grade, and now she is the class’s learning committee member.

And studying at home, she not only has her sisters around, can pet the shiny custard pie anytime, can eat snacks, and can always know about Bald Uncle’s situation, and can keep in touch with chicken wing sister.

The most important thing was that at home, she didn’t have to worry about her “magic” being exposed. She could freely discuss it with her sisters, and even freely show off her “magic ability”. She could control chocolate ice cream and Sachima to play together, and even had the “Illusion Magic Robe” that sister fairy had made for her. Even Alice could freely co-manifest and play with her.

For her, this life was simply too joyful.

Life is so beautiful!

The only thing missing was the delicious food made by Bald Uncle.

Liu Shiling rubbed the big head of the custard pie and asked, “Sister Xiao Pingguo, what kind of drink is the custard pie?”

“It needs to laugh. Only when it laughs, you can know,” Xiao Pingguo laughed.

So Alice stretched out her hand to pinch the cheeks of the custard pie: “Smile.”

Custard pie shook off Alice’s hand, grinned, and meowed, really looked like it was smiling.

Xiao Pingguo squatted in front of them, one hand caressing the chubby girl’s face and the other caressing the custard pie’s head, “Of course when the custard pie smiles, it’s still a custard pie right? Haha, it can’t turn into an egg drop soup. A bite of custard pie, a bite of chocolate ice cream, haha.”

Alice shouted by the side, “We also need lemon tea!”

“Mmm, lemon tea is good,” Xiao Pingguo stretched out her hand to rub Alice’s head again.

“Don’t block the doorway, it’s mealtime,” Yang Zhen Er laughed and turned her head to the three people squatting by the kitchen door along with a cat and a bird.

Liu Shiling was planning to come over with Xiao Pingguo to help set the bowls and chopsticks, but due to their previous “dishwashing declaration” and “cooking declaration”, Yang Zhen Er swatted her hand away with an “overbearing” movement, and refused, “Go! Children should look like children, go and watch TV or play games! We’ll call you when the food is ready!”

Xiao Pingguo didn’t think she was a child, so she continued to help with the dishes, while the chubby girl and Alice left the kitchen as told, but they didn’t go to watch TV or play games, instead they stood side by side by the living room window, watching the rain outside.

Liu Shiling asked in a low voice, “Xiao Lo, where has Bald Uncle reached?”

In a soft voice, Alice answered, “He’s above the Pacific Ocean, he’s about to meet with ‘Super Coin’, and then hurry off to Antarctica.” Though she didn’t understand why they had to whisper.

Liu Shiling, who had specifically studied the relevant geographical knowledge previously, knew where the Pacific Ocean and Antarctica were. She asked somewhat hesitantly, “Xiao Lo, is that monster from Antarctica really, really powerful?”

“It is powerful, but the boss is invincible, we are invincible! It’s no match for us!” boasted Alice.

“I know Uncle Bald can defeat it.” Liu Shiling twirled her fingers and asked timidly, “I was asking how powerful is it? How many of me would it take to defeat it?”

At this question, Alice froze for a moment. She tilted her head slightly upwards, her eyes unfocused.

Liu Shiling knew that Alice was calculating. The fact that Alice had to think so long for an answer indicated that compared to the monster from Antarctica, she fell way behind. It would take many, many of her to handle it. If Alice had to spend so long calculating, wouldn’t it take more than 100 of her at least?

Liu Shiling looked out at the hazy curtain of rain outside the window and couldn’t help but feel a bit down. She was simply too weak, her growth was too slow, she couldn’t help Uncle Bald at all.

The monsters Uncle Bald currently had to deal with were far, far superior to her. By the time she had grown stronger, the monsters Uncle Bald would have to face would be even more formidable.

Although Uncle Bald would become more and more powerful and definitely able to cope with all kinds of monsters, when would she be able to fight alongside Uncle Bald?

In the living room, Yang Zhen’er turned on the light, meaning Little Fatty Girl could see her own worried face reflected on the window.

She recalled what Uncle Bald had said to her privately before he had set off a few days ago.

At that time, Uncle Bald had thoroughly reviewed her mid-term report card—of course, her grades were excellent, and Uncle Bald gave her plenty of praise.

Following that, Uncle Bald started explaining the “magic” she had already mastered, guided her on the directions she could develop in, and what textbook knowledge she needed to better master “magic”. However, they only discussed this for a short while before they moved on to talk about her QQ friends, Da Lu and Xiao Mei, her drawings, and fun anecdotes from her playtimes.

In the end, Uncle Bald told her, “Xiao Lingdang, treat ‘magic’ as your hobby. Don’t get too stressed, you’re already doing a great job. Let Uncle Bald handle saving the world, you just need to enjoy yourself.”

Little Fatty Girl knew Uncle Bald’s instructions were out of fear that she would be overly consumed by “magic”, which would affect her studies, or if “magic” spun out of control and she ended up being disciplinarian by her mother.

“Magic” was definitely her hobby, but it was more than just that.

She knew that Uncle Bald’s comments boiled down to the fact that she was just too weak and could only use “magic” to play.

However, something Uncle Bald said at the end really made her happy:

“If there’s a really urgent or dangerous situation that even Alice and Old Xia can’t handle, you can tell your Sister Nana and ask her to help stir up your emotions through her songs. Then, you can try to sense all the ‘magic coins’ I’ve given you, just like when you went back home to Qing Mountain Village. At that time, I would know.”

Uncle Bald told her that during the time he was not around, he would be in a deep slumber and wouldn’t normally be aware of events in the outside world. However, Xiao Lingdang’s rage could wake him up. Even though he wouldn’t truly awaken, he had other ways of intervening.

This made Liu Shiling feel both very proud and secure.

Of course, regarding her “magic” not being powerful enough, too weak to be of any assistance, unable to fight monsters…she still needed to worry.

Alice at her side suddenly gave a light gasp, “I have calculated it!”

Looking at Alice’s bright eyes fixed on her, Liu Shiling couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious, afraid that Alice might blurt out a string of numbers she hadn’t learned yet.

Unexpectedly, Alice said, “Xiao Lingdang, you’re invincible! No monster can defeat you!”

Liu Shiling froze for two seconds, then widened her eyes at her, “Xiao Luosi, you’re buttering me up!”

“I’m not!”

Yang Zhen Er, who had just brought out a pot of beef-ball wonton dumpling soup, sat down at the table and looked at the two little ones standing by the window. She asked Tang Baona curiously, “What’s wrong with them? Are they fighting?”

Without looking up from ladling soup into Little Fatty Girl and Xiao Pingguo’s bowls, Tang Baona dismissed the idea, “Impossible, Alice will argue only with you, not with her beloved Sister Lingdang.”

However, Yang Zhen Er proudly declared, “That’s because Alice and I have a good relationship! Xiao Pingguo, Alice, Xiao Lingdang, come eat.”

By the window, Alice and Little Fatty Girl turned around simultaneously and responded with an “okay” before they continued their stare-off. Alice declared, “Xiao Lingdang, if you’re fighting monsters, I will be there. If I’m there, then Old Xia, Sister Nana, Zhen’er, Xiao Pingguo, Custard Pie, Shiny Gold, Little Radish, 001, 002, Barbie Warrior, and Minion Soldier… everyone will show up. The boss will definitely appear as well!”

“But…But what I mean is just me alone,” Little Fatty Girl emphasized, raising one plump white finger.

At the dining table, Yang Zhen Er asked Tang Baona and Xiao Pingguo, who were already seated, “What are they arguing about?”

Xiao Pingguo laughed, “They’re discussing their ‘combat power’.”

By the window, Alice confidently addressed Little Fatty Girl’s question, “Exactly, if you’re part of the calculation, we have to consider all of us, the boss included! Because we belong together, we all got our abilities from the boss, so no matter when and against what monster, we fight together! When the boss went to Antarctica, he used abilities created by you! If the boss saves the world, it means we saved the world! If the boss is invincible, so are we!”

After speaking, Alice wore a smug expression. She had just made every effort to calculate Liu Shiling’s individual abilities and the power of the ‘Ultimate Predator’ after it manifests in Antarctica and try out various hypotheticals. Realizing the solution while computational resources drained more and more brought her an “aha” moment.

Alice thought this explanation was simply perfect. It was not only logically flawless, but also spared Xiao Lingdang from feeling disheartened, and allowed for the triumphant proclamation of invincibility!

Hearing Alice’s words, Liu Shiling paused for a moment, then remembered the time she went back to Qing Mountain Village with her grandmother. Even though it was just her and Custard Pie at that time, Alice had been with her in all sorts of ways, helping her address numerous difficulties and dangers until Sister Roasted Chicken Wings came to pick her up personally…

Then, there was that time in the village when she, Xiao Pingguo, Sister Roasted Chicken Wings, and Alice fought against the giant bird monster. Uncle Bald wasn’t there, but the few of them worked together and defeated the monster…

When she helped Uncle Bald fend off the monster in his dream, and fell into darkness, beautiful sister’s song resounded, and then Sister Roasted Chicken Wings came into the dream to rescue her. She indeed didn’t need to fight all by herself…

Yes! They are indeed a team, they are together!

If Uncle Bald becomes stronger, they naturally become stronger too. She might not be strong enough on her own, but with Alice, Sister Pingguo, Beautiful Sister, Sister Roasted Chicken Wings, and Old Fairy Sister together, they are invincible!

Because they have Uncle Bald behind them, and Uncle Bald is invincible!

Finally accepting Alice’s explanation, Liu Shiling contentedly sat at the table and happily started eating beef-ball wonton dumpling soup.

But when she bit into a meatball, she was scalded. She opened her mouth and gasped, “Hot! Hot! Hot!”

Yang Zhen Er quickly got up to fetch a bottle of mineral water. Tang Baona shook her head in amusement and held out her hand for Little Fatty Girl to spit out the half-eaten meatball, “Slow down, the meatballs are really hot. You should eat the wontons first, then the dumplings, and save the meatballs for last.”

Although she couldn’t eat real food, Alice, who was still sitting at the table with the rest, with bowls and dishes laid out in front of her, was eating her co-manifested ice cream while satisfyingly watching Little Fatty Girl, whose mood had lightened.

She recalled what the boss had entrusted to her last night:

“Alice, take good care of them.”

“Understood, boss!”

She didn’t need to ask who “they” referred to, because she had always been protecting “them” in real time. But after Xiang Kun dealt with the “Ultimate Predator,” he would fall into a temporary transformative sleep. During this period, she would have more decision-making power and need to exhibit more proactive behavior.

As the boss had said, her “power is greater, and so are her responsibilities.”

“If you run into any problems or uncertainties, consult with Old Xia.”

“Understood, boss!”

“After I occupy the high-dimensional factors of the ‘Ultimate Predator,’ there should be a significant enhancement to our ‘Super Sensory Item System’. At that time, I will leave the ‘Super Coin’ to you. You may be able to rely on it to gain the ability to condense a ‘mutant creature body.’ I authorize you to construct your body before I wake up. You can think in advance about what you want to condense into because, for the time being, you only have one chance. Think carefully.”

“I’ve already decided what I want to change into!” she said without hesitation.

She knew this ability differed from “Illusion Reality.” It was the true creation of a body that could always exist at the reality level. Moreover, it possessed the feature of “high-dimensional factors,” making it a natural “mutant.” Although this “mutant” differed from Mr. Liang, it was not a separate entity but was built from the “materials” separated from Xiao Luobo’s ability platform. But for Alice, who existed on top of the “Super Sensory Item System,” such a body and independent existence were no different, as her consciousness still resided above the system.

“Oh? What does the body you want to condense look like?” Xiang Kun was also curious. He didn’t bother second-guessing Alice’s thoughts because he could simply ask her directly.

Then Alice, through the holographic image, showed him the body she wished to condense.

“An infant? You want to start from scratch and experience a person’s growth process? The body you want to condense — do you want it to start from the very beginning, to grow up and develop?”

“Exactly!”

As she spoke, the infant in the holographic image started to change bit by bit, growing up until it was five or six, six or seven years old. Its appearance was almost no different from how she looked now — or in other words, like Little Old Xia!

Then, Little Old Xia continued to grow, turning into a young girl. It truly resembled Old Xia in many ways, but with a naïve smile on her face, twin tails in her hair, and dressed in Yang Lao San’s style. At a glance, one could easily differentiate her from the “Real Old Xia.”

Seeing Alice’s body condensing plan, Xiang Kun laughed till he almost fell over, but he was still curious: “Why did you choose this design?”

“I didn’t make a design. This is just me!” Alice’s answer was straightforward: “I know this is me.”

Hearing her words, Xiang Kun touched her head and said, “I see, then just do as you planned. And remember… the things I instructed you.”

Around the dining table, Alice, who was eating ice cream, squinted her eyes in mirth.

Don’t worry, boss!n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The rain was pouring, and the wind was blowing outside. It was dusky and dark, but inside the house, it was peaceful and cozy, like two different worlds.