What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 631: Chapter 631: Striking from Barbie (Part 2)

At the time when various illusions of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant were appearing all around the world, the temporary agencies that some countries had specifically set up to deal with the “Antarctica Crisis” noticed through satellite imagery that the monster’s expansion rate on Antarctica began to accelerate dramatically.

As the black matter grotesquely congealed and expanded in every direction, the temperature in Antarctica also experienced drastic changes. It first dropped significantly and then rapidly rose again, with the heat source identified as the area beneath the monster that was covering most of the glaciers.

If this trend continues, Antarctica’s glaciers and ice cap will begin to melt rapidly, exerting an enormous impact on coastal areas and global climates.

Although the scope of the black monster is expanding rapidly, reaching hundreds of thousands of square kilometers so far. Compared to the surface area of over ten million square kilometers that Antarctica spans, there is still a long way to go before it??s equal. It is unquestionable that control at such a scale already creates regional effects.

The impact of an event of such scale on Antarctica would inevitably bring global consequences.

Moreover, to date, no one knows exactly what the black monster is, how it appeared, what its intentions are, how big it will become, what kind of effects it might have on Earth’s ecosystem, or what kind of damage it might cause to the human habitat.

All attempts to approach Antarctica have been proven unfeasible. Regardless if by ship or aircraft, they lose control as soon as they enter a certain region. This makes it utterly impossible to collect samples for research, leaving only remote methods such as optical image data and the analysis of changes in the composition of the surrounding seawater and air. The lack of reliable information makes preparing for the worst the only option.

While the high-level members of the “Antarctic Crisis Response Departments” of numerous countries were conducting an emergency online conference to discuss how to handle the pressing situation, they received news that after countless illusions of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant appeared and affected a large number of people globally, a large number of objects resembling ball-shaped lightning began converging on the Pacific Ocean’s center from those areas.

It’s evident that these objects resembling ball-shaped lightning are connected to the illusions of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant that had appeared in various places around the world, and that their convergence towards the center of the Pacific Ocean is not a coincidence. Despite some of these places being coastal, these objects still traverse entire continents to reach the Pacific.

The altitude of these objects when in flight is over three thousand meters, and although their speed varies, even at their slowest, they are still moving at over 250 kilometers per hour.

Therefore, while the public’s attention is fixated on the illusions of the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant, the high-ranking officials of each country are trained on the cluster of “ball-shaped lightning” objects in the center of the Pacific Ocean.

Almost every country’s representative is privately contacting the person in charge on China’s side to inquire about more information regarding the “ball-shaped lightning” objects. This is because China had issued a danger warning two days ago regarding the South Pacific Ocean area. That area is located between the central Pacific, where the “ball-shaped lightning” objects are converging, and Antarctica.

Undoubtedly, China knows something.

…

Pengcheng City.

Inside the secret data center located beneath “Brilliant Fortune Building”, where Mr. Liang resides.

He has just completed his online meeting with Senior Leader and Old He. They currently are watching the news while discussing the same issues they had addressed in their meeting.

“Those ‘unidentified flying objects’ converging towards the Pacific Ocean center, they’re Xiang Kun’s doing, aren’t they?” Old He asked. “The illusion of the eight-armed, eight-eyed Giant definitely has something to do with him, the ‘unidentified flying objects’ were launched from the locations where the Giant’s illusions appeared.”

Mr. Liang, who appeared to be a typical young man, was seated at a bar counter that was recently added to the underground data center. While pouring tea for Old He, he responded, “Didn’t you meet Xiang Kun a couple of days ago? Didn’t he tell you then?”

Old He shook his head: “He only mentioned that he would start dealing with the ‘Ultimate Predator’ today. But as for details about how he would do it, those he did not mention. He merely instructed me to alert our military to avoid a narrow strip of ocean between the South Pacific and Antarctica. He said that in one day, or at most three, the ‘Antarctica Crisis’ could be resolved, the ‘Ultimate Predator’ completely dealt with.”

“That area had plenty of ships before. It’s easy for us to handle our country’s ships, but what about those from other countries? Will they all obediently clear the area?” Mr. Liang said.

Old He took a sip of his tea, savored it, and slowly responded: “Once we have disseminated the relevant warning messages to all countries and all ships possibly passing through the area, whether they heed the warning or not isn’t up to us. After all, we can’t determine for certain exactly what will happen. If some country is willing to risk it and challenge us, we don’t have a way around that, right?”

Mr. Liang looked at Old He.

Old He looked at Mr. Liang.

After staring at each other for a couple of seconds, both of them started laughing.

After a while, Old He asked, “Ah Liang, what do you think…what are the odds for Xiang Kun this time?”

Mr. Liang smiled and replied, “He’s obviously 100% certain, is this even debatable? Old He, during the online meeting earlier, didn’t you assure the leader that things were under control? Why are you questioning it now?”

An exasperated Old He responded, “Could I have said otherwise? It’s not like you don’t understand, considering the current situation. This isn’t merely a matter of one country or region’s safety, but potentially the survival of all humanity. Since Xiang Kun refuses to show himself, if I didn’t take responsibility and vouch for the situation, how could I make others feel at ease?”

In order to avoid a strategic miscalculation by the government, Xiang Kun had informed Old He to report some rough details to high-ranking officials at the beginning of November, promising that he would handle the matter.

And a few days ago, when it was determined that the body of the “Ultimate Predator” at Antarctica was almost fully formed, Xiang Kun again notified them and gave instructions on some things to be cautious about presently and in the future.

The senior leader naturally hoped to directly contact Xiang Kun to clarify the situation but Xiang Kun was not willing to surface. He stated that Mr. Liang had his full authorization to deal with the situation. Mr. Liang, who himself was somewhat socially anxious, delegated full authority to Old He.

They couldn’t force a direct conversation with the elusive Xiang Kun since they were all relying on him to “save the world”. As Mr. Liang was easy to find and had resumed his “human form”, not being as terrifying as before, he was dragged by Old He to report to the senior leader in the recent period.

Fortunately, the senior leader was a reasonable person. After several interactions, Mr. Liang became more accustomed to it.

“Relax, Xiang Kun told me before that the ‘Ultimate Predator’, which was barely hanging on, has now decided to take its own life by completely materializing at Antarctica. There’s no difficulty in dealing with the ‘Ultimate Predator’; the only thing that needs to be considered is how to deal with it in a way that minimizes the impact on the ecosystem and the Earth’s environment, as well as the phase transition issues that will arise after its extermination,” Mr. Liang said.

Old He nodded: “You have a lot of confidence in Xiang Kun.”

“Don’t you?” Mr. Liang responded with a smile, “If you had seen him in action, you would have as much faith in him as I do. Was the lightning storm in the outlying areas last week terrifying? Xiang Kun can effortlessly create a lightning storm ten times as strong. Now think about those things converging towards the Pacific Ocean center and the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion that we just saw in Pengcheng.”

When the “Giant’s illusion” appeared worldwide some time ago, Mr. Liang and Old He had gone outside to see it for themselves; they too saw the Giant’s illusion in their own ways.

“We’re fortunate to have him on our side,” Old He sighed.

Actually, up to now, he still doesn’t have a specific, systemic understanding of Xiang Kun’s abilities. But he had immense trust in Mr. Liang, and given Mr. Liang’s almost “fanatical” admiration for Xiang Kun’s abilities, he felt confident enough to vouch for him.

“Yeah, we’re lucky,” Mr. Liang smiled. They could sit here now and have idle chats, anxiously waiting for the ‘Antarctic crisis’ to be resolved. For some time, they had not experienced the fear of the apocalypse typical to ordinary people. All of that stemmed from their understanding of Xiang Kun’s abilities.

Xiang Kun had already connected to the “Super sensory Item System” through “Xiao Luobo,” and had even found a way to expand his own abilities to some extent through the Super sensory Item System. Even though his understanding of Xiang Kun’s powers was only the tip of the iceberg, gleaned from the “hunting trip” a few months ago, Mr. Liang was sure that Xiang Kun’s strength far exceeded that of an ordinary mutant. Even the “Ultimate Predator,” no matter how much it struggled or created a stir in Antarctica after being stripped of its powerful widespread specific factor, would not pose a real threat to Xiang Kun.

However, Mr. Liang was not entirely complacent and at ease. He was not worried about Xiang Kun’s battle with the “Ultimate Predator.” But as Xiang Kun said earlier, resolving the “Ultimate Predator” was the easy part; the interim transformation that would follow was the real trouble.

Being a mutant himself, he had undergone many interim transformations. He knew clearly that whenever a mutant underwent an interim transformation, it was at its most vulnerable and defenseless. Xiang Kun was now in the process of absorbing the “Ultimate Predator,” a much larger entity than himself. The gap was too wide, and the transformation would require a lot of time. The chance of him losing control was not out of the realm of possibilities.

If Xiang Kun lost control…

On the other hand, if he stayed in his current dormant state, would he be attacked by other mutants or people with ulterior motives?

Knowing that Xiang Kun was leaving for Antarctica to deal with the “Ultimate Predator” personally, Mr. Liang proposed these concerns and asked if he could provide some support personnel to stand guard during the transformation. However, Xiang Kun assured him it was unnecessary. He didn’t elaborate further on whether he would handle it himself or if he had found a safe place for the transformation. He simply said, “All trouble comes from within, there are no external threats.”

But considering Xiang Kun’s past arrangements, he was prepared for a long period of dormancy without revival.

“Ah Liang, go home once the situation in Antarctica is settled,” Old He suddenly said.

Mr. Liang was startled, then nodded, saying, “I understand.”

Old He took another sip of tea and slowly said, “Once the matter in Antarctica is resolved, it will be our turn to get busy.”

“Isn’t Miss Xia and Dr. Fang there? They are more proficient in research,” he replied.

“They need rest, but you don’t,” Old He quipped.

Mr. Liang was taken aback, pointing at Old He and laughing, “Well said, well said.”

…

On the eastern coast of a city.

Due to a recent surge in sea levels, the coastal residents had been evacuated to higher ground.

The flooding wasn’t very severe; it merely hid the beaches and submerged the coastal roads, reaching the levels usually seen during low tide. However, considering the increasingly harsh weather and the deteriorating situation in Antarctica, the residents were relocated for safety and would return once the situation improved.

In a normal scenario, the area would be deserted. But, defying logic, a few people were filming on the top floor of a famous resort near the coastline.

“Just now, we saw those eight-armed, eight-eyed giants in the city center; they seem to be heading towards the sea. We’re at the seaside now, which means if they’re real, we should be able to see their gigantic footprints…” a girl in a raincoat was giving a commentary on a rooftop, instructing the cameraman to adjust the lens towards the sea.

They were not TV reporters – they were independent journalists.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

What kind of content was hot right now? Of course, the Antarctic monster was first in line, followed by videos and analytics on severe weather.

They didn’t have the resources to get firsthand information on the former, and there were too many people covering the latter. When the eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion appeared around the world today, they saw an opportunity and arrived here stealthily in the storm to shoot footage.

“How’s it looking over there?,” she asked the cameraman.

“Say more, there is not enough content… Wait, is that a person over there?” The cameraman walked a few steps and aimed the lens in another direction.

“A person? Let me see! It looks like it!”

Just as she thought of how to integrate the man who appeared in the heavy storm into her video, the man seemed to look back at them.

Next, he raised his hand and struck a peculiar pose.

The next moment, a bolt of lightning struck the ground.