What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 423: The True Heart of a Hero

Xiang Kun knew that Officer Wang and Officer Zhao’s investigation into the “Eight-Armed, Eight-Eyed Monster” was merely a side task, conducted privately, and wasn’t officially sanctioned.

Without traditional evidence, their investigation would be futile, even if the direction was correct. Moreover, their investigation direction was skewed to begin with. If necessary, Xiang Kun could even subtly influence their investigation through dream manipulation.

So he wasn’t particularly concerned when they used the pretext of consulting on the training of a “Guide bird” to investigate Zhao’s “Golden Flutter”.

Considering the situation their entry into the special investigation team and the information from a few days ago when they accidentally found Mijoe at Zi Huan Mountain and brought him back for “interrogation”, none of these developments surprised Xiang Kun. His real concern was not them, but “Xiao Pingguo,” or more precisely, the state of Xiao Pingguo’s external perception through the senses of “Golden Flutter”.

Saving a “Gambler” from committing suicide wasn’t a big deal in Xiang Kun’s eyes. Xiao Pingguo had used “Golden Flutter” in a clever way. Although Officer Wang and Officer Zhao might find it odd and have some doubts, without substantial evidence, they wouldn’t be able to link this to Xiao Pingguo.

Xiao Pingguo achieved her objectives and concealed herself effectively. But this incident had made Xiang Kun acutely aware of the potential danger of Xiao Pingguo’s external perception through “Golden Flutter”.

After all, the world isn’t all sunshine and roses. There is hidden filth and evil beneath the surface of peaceful daily life, just like the incident Xiao Pingguo thwarted by the lake on the night of the first day.

After that day, Xiang Kun had solemnly instructed Xiao Pingguo to always be cautious about her safety. He compared himself with the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Monster”, a pawn that Xiao Pingguo could manipulate. And “Golden Flutter” was the “hand” she used to play the game.

She needed to remain detached from the game, controlling it from the outside instead of getting involved and risking danger.

Xiang Kun had thought that Xiao Pingguo, given her abilities, would quickly “develop” the ability to guide and invoke illusions of the “Eight-Armed, Eight-Eyed Monster” through “Golden Flutter” alone, effectively distancing herself from the game, thus standing invincible on the chess board.

Accomplishing this would only promote some urban legends without implicating Xiao Pingguo.

But clearly, Xiao Pingguo hadn’t developed the ability to make “Golden Flutter” independently send out summons. While her sensory perceptions coming through “Golden Flutter” were growing stronger and her explorations growing wider.

However, during this period, she was largely sneaking around controlling “Golden Flutter” during the day while her dad was at school, out exploring and observing the world. In the evening, she was usually playing games or recording videos with Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er. Even when she did have time alone, she couldn’t send out “Golden Flutter”. Besides, “Golden Flutter” had grown accustomed to its current lifestyle of roaming during the day and resting at night. Once nighttime came, it was usually lazy.

So, for now, Xiao Pingguo’s explorations of the external world had largely yielded observations of environmental elements and daily, mundane information about people. Any conflicts or disputes she came across were insignificant, and she usually didn’t pay them much attention.

But in a bustling metropolis of several million people, even with the very best law and order, there would always be dark corners, especially at night.

Like tonight, while using “Golden Flutter” to eavesdrop on a conversation between Officer Wang and Officer Zhao, she happened to encounter a suicide attempt taking place next door.

This time there just happened to be Officer Wang and Officer Zhao present. They both happened to be alert individuals who managed to pick up on the “hints” Xiao Pingguo had given through “Golden Flutter”. So the situation was resolved quite perfectly.

But what if Officer Wang and Officer Zhao hadn’t been there? What if Xiao Pingguo hadn’t been able to prevent the man from committing suicide?

This time it was a suicidal gambler they encountered. But what if an innocent child had been in danger instead?

Or what if it had been an even more violent crime?

Xiang Kun, a 30-year-old adult, knows that even though he has what could be considered superpowers, he can’t do everything. He understands that he is powerless before many things in the world.

When faced with a situation where he knows he can help, he will try his best to do so, provided it doesn’t jeopardize the safety of his family and friends. If someone was in immediate danger, he would try his best to save them. But if he fails to save someone, he wouldn’t blame himself too much.

It was just like when he had been involved in the bus crash. In the end, he could only protect one little boy. Although he abhorred the feeling of being unable to help during a crisis, he didn’t dwell on his perceived lack of power. He knew this was the normal state of human life, something he had experienced countless times in his previous thirty years.

But Xiao Pingguo was different from him; she was not yet eighteen and still not an adult.

Despite her congenital blindness, her family had protected her well, and her innocence remained intact; she hadn’t witnessed much wickedness in the world.

Moreover, her father was an associate professor and her uncle a police officer, so their moral standards were higher than Xiang Kun’s.

There were many things that, once known, were hard to ignore. Leaving aside the potential to expose her secrets and incurring personal risks, her current abilities wouldn’t even allow her to deal with most issues.

Just like the man from tonight, if she hadn’t managed to stop him from committing suicide, having to sense the whole process of his death through “Golden Flutter” would certainly have been a significant shock to Xiao Pingguo.

Needless to say, in the dark, somewhere in the city, some more brutal events must be occurring. Given the sensory and flight abilities of “Jin Shanshan”, as well as the increasingly strong connection between “Xiao Pingguo” and it, perceiving these incidents is only a matter of time.

Prior to significantly enhancing her ability to hear, smell and other sensory abilities through “Object Sensing”, and even before she could expand her perception through “Jin Shanshan”, “Xiao Pingguo’s” life was always full of caution. From an early age, she has been sensible, knowing not to cause inconvenience for her father, her uncle, or the people around her. She’s always tried to keep her expectations for anything low in order not to be a burden to others.

However, the “Object Sensing” and “Jin Shanshan” that Xiang Kun brought about drastically changed this situation. Her understanding of the environment was greatly enhanced, so much so that she could feel the vastness of heaven and earth like a bird, flying freely as she wishes. And from a young age, she wished more than once to be a bird, freely flying, witnessing the beautiful scenery of the world. Although she can’t see it now, she has been able to truly experience it.

Not only that, but she has made connections with beings from another world, another dimension, and can “summon” them to help her, as if she had superpowers.

Initially, she was apprehensive and worried about these powers, about the “monsters” she sensed, and about facing the unknown. But with Xiang Kun’s robust endorsement, and her rapidly advancing sensory abilities, and having stopped crimes and helped others in actual cases, she has come to fully accept these powers and even actively “embraced” this system.

Such an “Xiao Pingguo” would have a great motivation to further “develop” the related abilities of the “Super Sensory Item System”, and a firm determination to use her abilities to help others.

She will not back down because of witnessing the ugliness she hadn’t known before, nor will she despair because of frequent failures to help. She will feel fear, scare, anger, blame, but still insists on continuing.

She will force herself to become stronger, to gain more power, to establish a deeper connection with the “Super Sensory Item System,” to “develop” more powers, in order to better help others.

At the same time, she worries about whether her actions would reveal Xiang Kun’s secrets, and whether they might bring danger to Xiang Kun, her father, her uncle, and other friends and relatives. She would, therefore, pressure herself even more to help others in a safer way and constantly drain her own intelligent mind.

The process will be painful, but she can persist, because her inherently tenacious character and spirit will become even stronger through this process.

She is the kind of person who, despite being in darkness, can bring light to others.

She has a “true heroic heart” that is even stronger than Xiang Kun’s.

This is the result that Xiang Kun concluded after sensing “Xiao Pingguo’s” emotional reactions to the “suicide incident,” combining with the cognitive model he previously established for “Xiao Pingguo”, and making a lot of simulations and hypothetical reasoning.

This is not the result he wanted to see.

Although this may not necessarily be what will inevitably happen in reality, according to the conditions set in the reasoning, there is a high probability of it happening.

In comparison, Xiang Kun is a more selfish person. He doesn’t want “Xiao Pingguo” to live so hard. He doesn’t want her to experience such pain, at least not so early.

She is only seventeen.

Seventeen should be a time of brilliance and joy.

But he also knows that his guidance needs to be tactful, “Xiao Pingguo” is intelligent and sensitive, the persuasion can’t be too direct.

If she’s directly restricted from using “Jin Shanshan” to sense the outside world, or forbidden to intervene in anything sensed, even though she would certainly obediently agree, this would plant a seed in her heart, making her unconsciously strive in that direction even more. Additionally, she’d worry more about causing problems or nuisances for Xiang Kun, and put more pressure on herself when trying hard.

Therefore, Xiang Kun’s method is positive guidance.

He first affirmed “Xiao Pingguo’s” and “Jin Shanshan’s” actions of saving people, praised “Xiao Pingguo’s” cleverness and “Jin Shanshan’s” agility, and then pointed out the shortcomings and potential risks of her plan from a technical perspective.

Although Xiang Kun didn’t say it directly, smart “Xiao Pingguo” soon realized that implementing these actions through “Jin Shanshan” would actually put “Jin Shanshan” in danger.

So, the direction of the discussion turned to how to help “Jin Shanshan” enhance its self-protection ability, and how to let “Jin Shanshan” have the ability to summon the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed monster” or other “emotion-based monsters” without “Xiao Pingguo” being present.

At the end of the discussion, Xiang Kun told “Xiao Pingguo” that he had an idea that might help “Jin Shanshan” improve.

“Didn’t I return to West Sea with Sister Nana, Sister Xiao Bing, and Sister Zhen’er today? I am in Jianzhou now, and I will go to Tongshi Town tomorrow to deal with our rabbit meat restaurant and the game matters, and I will stay for some time. You can arrange some time during this weekend or next weekend to come over and visit with Professor Li. The environment here is pretty good, and the Wushu Mountain Scenic Area is just next door. Of course, most importantly, you can bring ‘Jin Shanshan’ along, and I can try to enhance its self-protection ability. Um, I will call Professor Li tomorrow and invite him directly.”

“Ok, got it!” Xiao Pingguo said excitedly and expectantly, then she remembered something else and quickly asked, “Should I see Officer Wang and Officer Zhao?”

“Either way, as you wish.” Xiang Kun said.

“Hmm, for safety sake, I will only let ‘Jin Shanshan’ fly in the neighbourhood and nearby parks for the time being, and not fly far.” Xiao Pingguo hesitated, then added.

In the hotel room, standing by the window and looking out at the night view, Xiang Kun finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled when he heard these words.