What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 613: Chapter 613 “We are All Here

After her father had a full check-up at the hospital, confirming that his health was fine, and attending a relative’s wedding with her parents, Tang Baona bought a plane ticket back to Haixi Province.

Not only did she want to return, but Xiang Kun had also called her after a long time, asking her to come back earlier.

Xiang Kun didn’t explain in detail, simply saying: “Nana, come back to Chongyun Village, I need your help.”

After arriving at Jianzhou Airport, she was picked up by the “entire cast” of Chongyun Village: Old Xia, Yang Lao San, Xiao Pingguo, Xiao Lingdang, and even Custard Pie and Golden Flash were there.

Of course, what surprised and delighted her the most was that Alice was also in the GL8 that came to pick her up.

Upon opening the sliding door and seeing Alice in the car, she instantly understood that the “someone you’ll definitely want to see” that Yang Lao San mentioned over the phone before referred to Alice.

Tang Baona knew that Old Xia and Alice were very familiar with each other, they had even entered her dreams together. Xiao Pingguo and Xiao Lingdang were also well-acquainted with Alice. Xiao Pingguo was able to move around freely in Chongyun Village, sometimes even going jogging around the village alone, understanding the surroundings clearer than someone with perfect vision, thanks to Alice’s help. As for Xiao Lingdang, the “good friend” Xiao Luosi she often mentioned was Alice — Alice had been tutoring Xiao Lingdang in her studies all this while.

However, what she didn’t expect was that Yang Lao San also seemed to know Alice well, and Alice had even boldly and openly appeared before everyone, coming to pick her up in the car. She didn’t seem to care about being seen by the passersby in the surrounding parking lots.

To Tang Baona, who had always regarded the “little elf”, Alice, as a big secret, this situation felt quite strange.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Yang Zhen’er, sitting on the side, eagerly watched Tang Baona’s face, seeming to want to see Tang Baona’s surprised expression when she saw Alice.

But much to her disappointment, Nana was only stunned for a moment when she first opened the car door and then got into the car as if it was the most normal thing to do. She sat in the third row, pinched Little Fatty Girl’s chubby cheek on her left, then pinched Alice’s cheek on the right, treating Alice just like a regular little girl who had come to pick her up, very familiar and ordinary.

Yang Zhen’er was persistent, she sat in the second row, closed the car door, and then immediately turned back and blinked at Tang Baona: “Nana, this is Alice, Alice! You know who Alice is, right?”

Tang Baona nodded in surprise, “Of course I know who Alice is. We’ve seen each other a few times these past few days, we’re quite familiar.” She knew Yang Lao San’s mind too well. No matter how surprised she was, she didn’t show it. If she wanted to know anything, she didn’t need to ask, Yang Lao San couldn’t keep secrets and would spill the beans eventually.

As expected, Yang Zhen’er widened her eyes and exclaimed, “How is that possible? Alice has obviously been with us all these days…”

But halfway through her sentence, Yang Zhen’er seemed to remember Alice’s unique abilities. Unlike ordinary people, Alice isn’t limited by spatial distance and might even appear in different places at the same time. So she turned to Alice and curiously asked:

“Alice, can you multiply yourself into many ones? Like Sun Wukong, what was that move? Pulling out a monkey hair and transform it, one into ten, ten into a hundred, making a whole pile of monkeys!”

Alice stared at her, saying angrily, “I’m not a monkey! I don’t have monkey hair!”

Yang Zhen’er giggled, patting Alice’s head, “I meant it as a compliment, saying you’re incredibly powerful! Don’t you know who Sun Wukong is?”

“I know who Sun Wukong is! But I am not a monkey!”

“Alright, alright, our cute little Alice is a girl, not a monkey. Why are you getting upset? When I was a child, I dreamed of being as powerful as Sun Wukong, with three heads and six arms, seventy-two transformations, and the Golden Cudgel, daring to beat even the gods! By the way, does the eight-arm, eight-eye image have anything to do with the three-headed, six-armed one?”

However, the one who picked up on this wasn’t Alice, but Little Fatty Girl. She said, counting on her fingers, “Old Fairy Sister, Barbie Warrior isn’t three-headed and six-armed. It has one head, eight arms, and two legs. It isn’t Sun Wukong; Uncle Bald created it. I was the one who named it.”

She’d recently obtained “decryption permission within limits” from Xiang Kun. Within their small group in Chongyun Village, she didn’t need to be secretive about related matters. She could freely instruct her older sisters on how to “practice magic”, and also ask them about things she was curious about.

Naturally, Liu Shiling, who had to keep her “magic power” a secret at kindergarten, at school, and even at home, suddenly found an environment for venting. Whenever she had the chance, she’d promote her “magic cognition”, “magic system”, and “magic knowledge” to her sisters. Her chattiness was only second to Alice.

“Why is it called ‘Barbie Warrior’? Xiao Lingdang, do you like Barbie dolls? How about a super-sized Barbie doll for your next birthday?” Yang Zhen’er looked at Little Fatty Girl and smiled.

Little Fatty Girl replied shyly, “It’s not about Barbie dolls. ‘Barbie’ represents the eight arms of ‘Barbie’. It’s pronounced ‘Barbie’ and written as ‘Barbie’, but it isn’t the doll ‘Barbie’. Old Fairy Sister, you’ve already given me so many things. You don’t need to give me a present; just going out for something tasty would be enough.”

“What are you thinking? Brother Xiang, the chef, will certainly make the food for your birthday! He can’t possibly be busy then.” Yang Zhen’er said this, then turned to Alice. “By the way, Alice, when’s your birthday? What present would you like?”

Upon hearing this, Alice sat up straight, her eyes wide as saucers. She was clearly very interested in the topic. “I have several birthdays!”

Tang Baona, sitting in the middle of the third row, was hugging Little Fatty Girl with her left hand and Alice with her right, laughing while listening to the two “kids” chit-chat and laugh with Yang Zhen’er. From time to time, she touched Alice’s shoulder and pinched Little Fatty Girl’s cheek.

Touching Alice, who felt just like a real person, it was hard to imagine that she had evolved from an AI. How had this body appeared out of thin air, and why did it feel so real? It was utterly amazing.

PINching Little Fatty Girl’s cheeks, she suddenly asked, “Huh? Xiao Lingdang, have you lost weight? Your face seems smaller.” The flesh on her cheeks was still soft and bouncy, but it seemed lesser than before.

Liu Shiling paused, then instinctively looked towards Yang Zhen’er, “Old Fairy Sister, is it because you pinch my face all the time that it has gotten smaller?”

Yang Zhen’er, who was leaned back on the seat while chatting with Alice, rushed over and cupped Little Fatty Girl’s face in her hands, squishing it internally as she laughed, “Where has it gotten smaller? It hasn’t! If pinching your face could make it smaller, I’d do it hundreds of times a day!”

Seeing Little Fatty Girl’s lips pout under Yang Zhen’er’s hold, Tang Baona reached out to pinch Yang Zhen’er’s nose as she laughed. Alice joined the “battle group” by standing on her seat, hugging Yang Zhen’er’s neck, and pinching her cheeks.

Apple, sitting on the far side of the second row and armed with a custard pie, didn’t turn around but clearly knew what was going on behind her, laughing so hard her mouth wouldn’t close.

Xia Libing, driving in front, glanced in the rear-view mirror at the noisy bunch in the back, before her gaze fell on the sparkly Golden Cudgel lying against the car’s console, gazing out the windshield at the scenery.

Xia Libing tapped the console lightly with her fingertip, Goldie twinkled and turned around as it noticed Old Xia looking at the open bird cage on the passenger seat. Understanding what was needed, Goldie looked back reluctantly at the windshield, then flapped its wings and landed on the passenger seat before hopping into the birdcage.

After picking up Tang Baona, Xia Libing drove everyone back to Tongshi Town. They went to Youlong Restaurant for lunch and had a chat in a private room until about two o’clock. Then, they took the various food ingredients that You Meng had prepared long ago and returned to Chongyun Village.

These ingredients were already processed at the Youlong Restaurant, so all they needed to do upon returning was to cook them properly and heat up the accompanied seasonings in a pot, or bake them for an appropriate amount of time in the oven. It was a foolproof process. This was what Xiang Kun had asked You Meng to prepare a couple of days ago. It ensured that Old Xia and the others wouldn’t have to resort to fast food or risk making “dark cooking” that might upset their stomachs when they didn’t feel like going to town for meals or feel comfortable enough to crash at Liu Caifu’s for food.

After all, Little Fatty Girl and Apple were still growing, so their nutritional needs had to be met.

Xiang Kun had Old Xia buy quite a few cooking appliances for their kitchen. This way, they could bring back the processed ingredients from Youlong Restaurant and store them in batches in the refrigerator. When needed, they could defrost the required ingredients and put them in the correct cooking appliance for Alice to control. She would not make a mistake in cooking mode, heat, or timing.

After gaining the authority to co-manifest within a room autonomously, Alice could even handle the whole process of taking the ingredients out of the refrigerator, defrosting them, and putting them into the cooking appliances.

Xiang Kun didn’t expect that the best “chef” when he wasn’t around would be Alice.

When they returned to Chongyun Village and were moving the ingredients from the car into the house, Tang Baona took the opportunity to ask Old Xia in a low voice, “When will Xiang Kun be back?”

Old Xia shook her head: “I don’t know.”

“Do you know…what kind of ‘help’ he was referring to when he said he ‘needed help’?” Tang Baona continued to ask.

Both Old Xia and Alice had mentioned to her in dreams that Xiang Kun needed help, so Tang Baona believed Old Xia should know something about it. Any other matter, she might have been able to resist asking, but this one was making her so curious that she could barely hold back. And she had a feeling that the “help” Xiang Kun mentioned was something that would be needed in the next day or two.

Because according to what Old Xia and Alice had explained earlier, the “help” Xiang Kun needed was from all of them, even including Xiao Lingdang. And Xiao Lingdang was going back to Peng City for school in a couple days after her extended vacation, neither Xiang Kun nor Old Xia had notified Shiling’s mom about keeping Xiao Lingdang longer or asked the school for an extension of leave.

The fact that he had called to tell her to return today must also have a reason.

As soon as she finished asking this question, Tang Baona noticed that Yang Zhen’er, Apple, Little Fatty Girl, and Alice, who had just moved the stuff in, were all standing on the side, looking at Old Xia just like her, seemingly waiting for her response too.

Of course, Xia Libing knew about Xiang Kun’s specific plan, as did Alice, because both of them were extremely important executors of the plan and key elements of it.

Originally, when Xiang Kun first formulated the plan, he only scheduled it for himself and Alice, but later found some loopholes, and so he added Old Xia.

As Xiang Kun deepened his understanding of the “Ultimate Predator” through the analysis of “Super Sensory Information,” the plan was continuously revised, updated, and improved. He included Old Xia, Tang Baona, Little Fatty Girl and others in the plan, while ensuring their safety.

In this way, they could truly mobilize the power of the entire “Super Sensory Item System” and significantly increase the success rate of the plan.

Xiang Kun has actually been slowly revealing his special nature and his ability system to Tang Baona, Apple, and Yang Zhen’er. Alice’s open co-manifestation is the most representative behaviour.

From the degree of trust, everyone here is absolutely reliable.

With Alice’s protection, they can also ensure that they will not be affected by the “Ultimate Predator.”

But Xia Libing also knew that it wasn’t possible to explain Xiang Kun’s plan to them in brief, and they didn’t need to understand the specific details of the plan’s execution. According to Xiang Kun, the less they knew about the specific details, the more likely the plan might succeed.

So Xia Libing paused for a few seconds before saying, “All I can tell you is that the help Xiang Kun needs is related to all living beings, and the areas involved are globally widespread.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhen’er subconsciously blurted out, “So…we’re supposed to help brother Xiang save the world?”

“We are going to save the world!” Alice raised her fists excitedly above her head. She loved shouting slogans like this as she saw what Xiang Kun and they were doing was “saving the world”. Hence, she shouted out confidently and vigorously.

Apple also had a beaming smile on her face, nodding vigorously with her fists clenched, “Mhm, save the world.”

Liu Shiling didn’t join in the chorus, though. However, her eyes were glowing, and her lips were tightly pressed in a determined expression. She pulled the hood of her clothing over her head, and then tugged lightly at the drawstring.

Tang Baona watched with amusement at the childish behavior and the over-the-top slogans of the group. However, she also found the situation fitting strangely well as she herself believed in what Old Xia had said.

After all, they had witnessed too many amazing things in the past few months. The very existence of Alice, who was standing right beside them and interacting with them, was the most incredible thing yet.

If Old Xia were to say now that Xiang Kun actually came from Krypton, was a superhero from another world, or a descendant of a god, they wouldn’t be surprised at all. They would accept it as a natural fact.

While they were having dinner in the evening, Xia Libing’s phone suddenly vibrated. Before she could pick it up, Alice, who was gnawing on a pork knuckle, exclaimed excitedly, “It’s the boss! The plan is about to start!”

Subsequently, everyone at the dinner table turned their eyes towards Xia Libing’s phone.

Xia Libing simply put her phone in the middle of the table and turned on the speakerphone.

“Old Xia.” Xiang Kun’s voice rang out.

“We’re all here.” Responded Xia Libing.