What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 626: Chapter 626: Earth’s Master Chef

At present, Alice and Xia Libing undeniably have the most understanding of the “mutant creatures” characteristics and Xiang Kun’s mutation.

Xia Libing is now giving a “lecture” to Fang Pingfang and others, and naturally, Alice is the one giving the lecture to the little fatty girl, Tang Baona, Yang Zhen’er, and Xiao Pingguo at home.

With the front door of the house tightly closed, Tang Baona and the three others were sitting on the sofa in the living room. The coffee table originally placed in front of the sofa was moved to the side of the TV cabinet. The co-manifested Alice stood on it, pointing and gesticulating at the images on the TV next to it, passionately explaining the situation of the “mutant creatures” and Xiang Kun’s “Super Sensory Item System”.

However, compared to Xia Libing’s lecture at the research base with Fang Pingfang’s group, Alice’s lecture here is much more vague and abstract. The characteristics of many “mutant creatures” are mentioned only very broadly, only describing their abilities and what they can do.

If considering levels of trust, undoubtedly, people like Nana, Guo, Zhen’er, and the little fatty girl here trust Xiang Kun immensely, way more than Dr. Fang’s research team. But, because they needed to provide them with enough “imagination space”, unlike Fang Pingfang and the others who will be starting their research and experiments from concrete physical samples in the future, many details were not explained in detail and were generalized with simple descriptions.

On the contrary, in the introduction of the “Super Sensory Item System”, not a word was mentioned in Xia Libing’s group. But Alice introduced it as the main focus here.

Because for them, the development and expansion of abilities must be based on the “Super Sensory Item System”, this is what they truly need to understand.

Of course, Alice’s introduction of the “Super Sensory Item System” was still rather abstract, but luckily since she understands the universally common logical paths and different cognitive structures that each person has when connecting to the “Super Sensory Item System”, she knew how to describe it to let them understand and comprehend it just right without collapsing their existing model.

In addition to verbal descriptions, Alice also created many animation special effects and virtual reality images as auxiliary explanations.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The video she prepared for Xia Libing to use to introduce “mutant creatures” to Fang Pingfang and her group was exquisitely produced. Zhou Rui and Ye Chong, who had some understanding of video production and special effects, were secretly amazed. They speculated on the time and production cost that might be needed. The video that Alice used to give her lecture to Tang Baona and others is technically even better than the top Hollywood animated films. It is rich in details and plot, and even includes various cute sound effects and dubbing. Even without Alice’s commentary, the video alone felt like watching an animated blockbuster.

At least the little fatty girl held her cheeks in her hands and watched it with great interest – she has rarely been interested in animated films in recent half a year.

Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er were also engrossed in it. After all, these related to their peculiar feelings during this period of time and answered many of their questions.

As for Xiao Pingguo, even though she cannot see with her eyes, she has direct contact with Alice for information transmission. The meanings expressed by the video pictures will not be problematic for her to understand. Alice was even able to translate the information accordingly during the conversion process, enabling Xiao Pingguo to “see” in a more perfect way.

As the instructional video came to an end, Alice gave a general summary:

“…In short, all of our superpowers, various special contact, are all related to this system. This system was created by the boss! …”

The little fatty girl, who had been engrossed in watching, suddenly sat straight, her eyes gleaming and her expression excited, “I understand! Magic was created by Uncle Bald!”

Xiao Pingguo also murmured: “So, ‘Barbie Warrior’… even the whole world where Barbie Warrior resides was created by Uncle Xiang?”

Yang Zhen’er touched her chin and said: “So our superpowers are like the dishes cooked by Brother Xiang. We sit around the table for dinner and can help ourselves with whatever we want to eat, but each person has different preferences, so what we eat and in what order are all different. Alice is the maid who is responsible for serving the dishes, hehe. Uh, that’s not quite right. Well, changing the metaphor, it should be like the game developed by Brother Xiang, we are the players, playing in various ways on it, choosing different roles, different styles of playing, and even developing our own MODs. Xiao Lingdang is the game master, I am the newbie, but I have a special way of playing, I can change skin effects, others don’t have, hehe… ”

Tang Baona also pondered: “So in my case, Xiang Kun is like various musical instruments… no, he should be the basis of various melodies. He is the sound itself? Hey, isn’t this too powerful? It’s hard to compare…”

Little Fatty Girl suddenly said: “Then… since Uncle Bald is so powerful, doesn’t it mean that there are no bad guys who can compete with him?” Surprisingly, her tone had a touch of sorrow.

Alice nodded very affirmatively, standing on the coffee table with her hands on her hips as usual: “Yes! We’re invincible!”

“Alice is bragging!” Yang Zhen’er immediately said: “Didn’t Brother Xiang need our help to deal with the monster in the dream before?”

Alice, however, said as if it was a matter of course, and justified: “You, Xiaolingdang, Xiao Pingguo, Nana, and Old Xia, are all part of ‘us’! When I say ‘we’ are invincible, it’s right and proper!”

Yang Zhen’er was taken aback and was… left speechless.

“Moreover, to deal with that monster, the boss had other methods. He could have taken care of it by himself. But to complete it more quickly and prevent uncontrollable losses, the boss had to mobilize everyone to participate and put all their efforts in!” Alice explained.

Tang Baona laughed: “It sounds as if Xiang Kun has ruled the world and become the master of the earth, this feels strange … ”

“Hehe, Brother Xiang is the master of the earth, and we are the guardians of the earth, above all but one…” Yang Zhen’er laughed.

Xiao Pingguo joked: “Sister Zhen’er, according to your saying, it should be… Brother Xiang is Earth’s Master Chef, and then we are Earth’s assistant chefs, Earth’s handymen, Earth’s food deliverers, hahaha.” As she spoke, she couldn’t help laughing and holding her stomach.

Little Fatty Girl also happily said: “Then I want to be the Earth’s gourmet!” Then she hugged the Custard Pie, who was dozing off in the corner of the sofa, and stroked its head: “Custard Pie is the Earth’s gourmet cat! We will eat delicious food everywhere!”

Alice bounced down from the coffee table and then jumped onto the sofa and rolled onto it, hugging the Custard Pie together with the little fatty girl, laughing, “Then, I am the assistant of the Earth’s gourmet! Xiao Lingdang, whatever you want to eat, I can change it for you!”

Tang Baona, sitting on the other side of the little fatty girl, also reached out and rubbed the cat’s head, then asked: “Alice, Old Xia said before that he would go to the meeting with the technical staff from ‘Divine Technology’, and would formally start cooperating research in the future, and even have the official lead. So what about us? Will we also have to assist in the research in the future?”

“No need, what we research is different! What they need to research is fundamentals, what we research is high-level applications! What we research is what we will use ourselves, what they research is what all humans can use.” Alice replied.

“Huh? Is that so, then it sounds like their research is rather significant…” Tang Baona commented.

“Nana, you misunderstand,” Yang Zhen’er corrected promptly, “It’s like Brother Xiang cooked a table full of dishes for us. The researchers are studying where the ingredients for the dishes come from, what consists of the seasoning, and what equipment is used to cook the meal. Once they understand how to grow vegetables, they can grow tons of other vegetables and produce many other seasonings… Still, this feast—for goodness sake—must be eaten while still hot. Therefore, eating is not frowned upon! Alice, is my comparison accurate? Graphic? Vivid?”

Alice, however was taken aback. She instinctively felt that something was off, but wasn’t sure how to correct it, so she instinctively started constructing a “narrative analogy application model”.

“What’s with all the cooking and eating analogies? Can’t you come up with others, Yang Lao San?” Tang Baona jestingly chided.

“Nana, you’re being unjust! It was Xiao Pingguo who first talked about the Master Chef of Earth, then Xiao Lingdang mentioned being a foodie on Earth. Alice even said she wants to be a foodie’s assistant! We all used food comparisons!” Yang Zhen’er asserted defiantly.

Since they all have established a deep connection with the Super-sensory Item System, each of them had exhibited unique manifestations and special sensibilities. They all became well aware of their changes and were clearly observing various phenomena. Day and night they live with Alice, the “real” little girl who magically appears, tweaks noses, massages faces, and shares meals with them. They even fought an indescribable “monster” in a dream with Xiang Kun. Subtly, they all got used to Xiang Kun’s extraordinaryly and the profound bond formed under the special system established by Xiang Kun. Therefore, after Alice’s in-depth explanation and analysis of “mutants” and the “Super Sensory Item System”, they all accepted it very naturally. Even for the points they temporarily could not understand, they all subconsciously sought simpler explanations using their own cognitive systems.

Of course, the more important point is that they were all together. If only one person was aware of the power of the system Xiang Kun created, and Xiang Kun was not around, they might feel quite lost or unreal. But now with so many people together, they felt a sense of belonging, trust, and safety. They believed that the system connected them together, making them feel extraordinarily grounded.

However, after the fun and laughter, it was time for parting — the holiday was over and first grade student Liu Shiling had to return to school.

Of course, the parting was supposed to be short-lived. According to the plan, Tang Baona would have to go to Pengcheng City not long after. Then Old Xia would bring Xiao Pingguo. They were planning to go to the headquarters of the secret department of Divine Technology, the Brilliant Fortune Building.

By then, Xiang Kun should have returned and definitely would have come to Pengcheng City to meet up.

As for Liu Shiling’s return to Pengcheng City, Yang Zhen’er would naturally accompany her, along with Custard Pie.

On the plane, noticing her young travel companion looking somewhat low spirited, Yang Zhen’er asked, “Little Lingdang, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Liu Shiling shook her head, her little brows furrowed slightly.

Yang Zhen’er, putting an arm around her shoulder, gently pinched her cheek and asked, “Are you not happy about having to go back to school? It’s okay, after school we can all play ‘the game’. I’ll get you a very, very, very beautiful and impressive magic robe!”

Looking upward, Liu Shiling replied with some distress, “Uncle Bald is too powerful.”

“Huh?” Yang Zhen’er was momentarily dumbfounded. She couldn’t understand why this would be a cause for concern. According to Alice’s explanation, Xiang Kun was the origin and foundation of all their abilities. He is the cornerstone of the entire ability system. The stronger Xiang Kun, the sounder the system and therefore, the stronger they would become. This was a good thing, so what was the little Lingdang worrying about? Did she aspire to outdo her Uncle Bald?

Seeing the confusion on Yang Zhen’er’s face, Liu Shiling shook her head, sighed, turned away, and stared at the increasingly gloomy sky outside the window.

…

In contrast to Alice’s playful and lighthearted explanation process, in a conference room beneath the research base, Xia Libing’s presentation was far more solemn.

The surplus of information continuously challenged the cognition of Fang Pingfang, Zhou Rui, Zhao Feng and others. Even Mijoe, who knew of the existence of “mutants” and had even dealt with a humanoid “mutant”, felt as though her worldview was being reshaped.

Especially when they learned about the “Ultimate Predator”, a “mutant” that nearly existed within all organisms in a “divided” form, and hence could control life and death and even guide and manipulate behavioral responses in organisms, they felt a sort of revulsion that was hard to accept.

Although Xia Libing’s postgraduate major was in psychology and psychiatry and she lacked the indepth knowledge in biological research compared to professionals like Fang Pingfang and Zhou Rui, she had the trust of Xiang Kun, the assistance of Alice, and a wealth of information on “mutants”. In addition, she was well-acquainted with the characters and habits of Fang Pingfang and the others, so she firmly grasped the rhythm of the entire exchange from the very beginning.

After watching the explanatory videos, summarizing, and answering their questions, Xia Libing essentially established her position as the leader in the conference room. Even Fang Pingfang was quite convinced by her words.

So when Old He arrived on the last flight at about 10 pm to Tongshi Town and met them at the private room of Youlong Restaurant, he found that the people of Divine Technology and Xia Libing seemed to have become a team that had been working together for a long time, right?

Whether it was Fang Pingfang, Zhou Rui, Mijoe, Ye Chong who originated from technical backgrounds, Li Shibao, Gao Shu from security and field services, or Zhao Feng and Wang De’an whom he personally recruited into the secret department of Divine Technology, they all instinctively looked at Xia Libing deferentially.

So on the way to the “Research Base” in Chongyun Village for a brief meeting to explain the position of the Abnormal Biology Research Center after a quick dinner and greetings, Old He found an opportunity to ask Zhao Feng privately, “Why do you all seem to trust Miss Xia so much? Did you know her before?”

Hearing this, Zhao Feng seemed stunned, “Old He… Wasn’t it you who told us to find Miss Xia and follow her arrangements?”

“Indeed I did say that…” Old He felt a little embarrassed, unsure how to express his thoughts.

Zhao Feng seemed to understand, then asked, “Miss Xia is really impressive, especially in her knowledge of ‘mutants’. Old He, who exactly is she?”

“Mutants?”

“Oh, it’s also called ‘blood-sucking creatures’. Miss Xia said it’s now uniformly referred to as ‘mutants’.”