What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 408: Arriving at Star City

“Going to Star City?” Xia Libing asked after Xiang Kun finished sending the voice message.

“Yes, that cat might be like ‘Golden Sparkles,’ it might be connected to the ‘Super sensory Item System.’ Of course, the specific form is very different, I need to make direct contact with the cat and check it out,” said Xiang Kun.

At present, although Little Fatty Girl, Xiao Pingguo, and Old Xia are all within his “Super sensory Item System,” they all use the “Super-connected Objects” and “Emotion Infused Objects” to utilize Xiang Kun’s abilities. In turn, they have “developed” all kinds of methods to help Xiang Kun enhance his understanding and application of abilities.

However, fundamentally, their connections with the “Super sensory Item System” are all different, and their ways of using abilities are also entirely different.

If it’s said that the three of them are operating three clients to connect to Xiang Kun, then the operating systems of these three are all entirely different.

However, without a doubt, the way that Little Fatty Girl connects is the closest to the basic application of the “Super-connected Objects,” and it also forms the most complete system – even though she might not completely understand what her system is.

“Am I going too?” Xia Libing asked again.

“Yes, you’re also going, you can take the opportunity to understand the way Xiao Lingdang applies the ‘Super sensory Item System.’ It might help you to better develop ‘Illusion Reality,’” said Xiang Kun. “I’ll book the tickets, you can catch up on some sleep, and I will wake you up when it’s time to leave.”

Xiang Kun and Xia Libing arrived at Star City at 2:30 in the afternoon.

After getting off the station, seeing that the taxi line was crowded, they directly took a bus.

After a few stops, Xiang Kun took Old Xia off the bus to switch buses.

While waiting for the next bus at the bus stop, Xia Libing suddenly turned her head to look at Xiang Kun next to her.

With Xiang Kun’s all-encompassing awareness of his surroundings, of course, he knew what Xia’s questioning gaze meant—she just saw a skinny young man quickly using a clip to snatch a phone from the pocket of a middle-aged man who was getting on the bus nearby. The job was over in the blink of an eye.

After getting the phone, the skinny young man and his accomplice, who initially pushed the middle-aged man onto the bus, immediately left the stream of people getting on the bus and turned to the side.

In today’s world where everyone rarely carries loads of cash, payments are made via mobile phones. Phones are held in their hands most of the time. Even if the phone is stolen, various system locks make it possible only to sell the parts. With real-name systems and surveillance cameras everywhere, pickpockets are finding it increasingly difficult to survive. It’s quite rare to witness a live theft.

Xiang Kun knows that Old Xia understands that his own ability to perceive is much stronger, so he must have noticed too.

So the question being asked by her gaze was whether he was going to do something about it.

Xiang Kun shook his head lightly at Old Xia, meaning that he would do nothing.

Old Xia didn’t say much, even though, according to her judgment, Xiang Kun, when faced with such a situation, would at least call the police. But she also knew that every one of Xiang Kun’s decisions had his reasons, and he probably already had a set plan of action.

Old Xia’s judgment was indeed correct. If it was a normal day and Xiang Kun encountered such an event, he would definitely try to stop it, secretly record a video and call the police, or at the very least yell “Phone theft” and run away, to warn the owner.

But he didn’t do anything now because he not only saw a pickpocket but also several plainclothes police hiding around the bus station.

Yes, this was not just a rare scene of theft, but also an even rarer case of the police closing in on the culprits.

Just one second after Xiang Kun shook his head lightly at Old Xia, several plainclothes policemen who had been watching for a long time immediately went into action. Including the two recently successful pickpockets, all three pickpockets lurking in this station were pressed down on the ground amidst shouts of “Police! Don’t move!”

Another female plainclothes officer stopped the bus that had just closed its door, telling the previous middle-aged victim that his phone had been stolen.

The people waiting for their bus at the station, as well as the passengers on the adjacent bus, all began to clap and cheer after a moment of initial shock and disbelief.

Especially the middle-aged man who had his phone stolen. He was extremely excited and wanted to shake the female officer’s hand, but he seemed a little embarrassed and instead forcefully hugged a chubby male officer next to her in gratitude. If he did lose the phone, not only the value of the phone itself, but the value of the data stored inside it, as well as the time and security costs of changing the phone, would be much more significant.

Seeing this situation, Xia Libing naturally understood why Xiang Kun shook his head.

However, at that time, Xiang Kun gently pulled at her sleeve and then stepped back a few steps, sitting on a bench that had been vacated because everyone had stood up to watch the show.

Seeing Xiang Kun sitting on the bench with his eyes closed as though he was in a state of trance, Xia Libing immediately understood that he was going to enter the “Super Sensory State”.

But why would he need to enter the “Super Sensory State” at this time?

A few seconds later, in the crowd of onlookers nearby, there was suddenly a mixture of cellphone ringtones.

It sounded like five or six cell phones ringing at the same time, but all the sounds were concentrated on one person.

All at once, the onlooker’s eyes were drawn to the source of the sound, which was a flustered man with a backpack. The ringing of the phones was coming from his bag.

The plainclothes officers also noticed the man. Seeing him turn around and try to run, they immediately surrounded him and, with the assistance of the nearby public, successfully pinned him to the ground.

When they opened the backpack, everyone saw several different types of mobile phones. What was strange though, was that even though all these phones were switched off, they were all ringing loudly.

When the man was pinned down, these phones stopped ringing.

After inspecting the contents of the backpack, the plainclothes officer was certain that this person was an accomplice of the three thieves from earlier, someone they previously missed and didn’t notice.

What they didn’t expect, however, was that the phones in the man’s backpack would start ringing just as he was trying to sneak away.

Xia Libing looked back to see Xiang Kun opening his eyes and standing up from the bench, looking towards a bus that was about to enter the station. “The bus is here, let’s go,” he said.

Xia Libing noticed that Xiang Kun had earlier clenched his hand tightly and several tungsten steel beads had floated up from the ground and went into his hand, before he tucked them into his pocket.

It was therefore clear that Xiang Kun was responsible for the simultaneous ringing of the phones in the evader’s backpack.

Xia Libing had seen before how Xiang Kun could control “super-connected objects” to interfere with mobile phone signals, disrupt their use, and perform some crude operations such as adjusting the volume and making the ringtone sound.

And judging by what just happened, Xiang Kun had probably realized before the plainclothes officer had even started or even before they had taken action, that the suspect with the backpack would be overlooked. So he had quietly arranged the “super-connected” beads for manipulation in advance.

However, Xia Libing still had a question: “Can a switched off phone also be made to ring?”

“Yes, as long as the battery isn’t removed, it can. Of course, if the battery is removed, it’s not impossible, it’s just a bit more trouble. Specifically, the operation is…” Xiang Kun whispered to Old Xia, explaining the principles of how it works and how he uses his abilities to make it happen.

After generally understanding, Xia Libing said thoughtfully, “Is this the practical application of the concept of a ‘parasitic environment’?”

Xiang Kun shook his head slightly, “No, this is still a direct operation, it’s not the concept of ‘parasitism’. If it were ‘parasitism’, I should have influenced the police in advance to notice the overlooked suspect, or directly influenced the suspect to surrender himself. Moreover, this influence would be continuous. In the future, when I want to influence other things, I could do it again through them.”

“Wouldn’t the ‘parameters’ involved be too many?”

“For me now, of course it’s too much, so I have to choose.”

There were no seats on the bus, so the two of them stood at the back door engaged in a quiet discussion.

They were close to Little Fat Girl’s house, only a few stops away.

Before booking tickets to come here, Xiang Kun had called Shiling’s Mom. He told her that he was going to Star City to play with a friend and would drop by to visit. He then inquired about where they were staying and agreed on the approximate time of arrival.

Early this morning, after exchanging voice messages with Xiang Kun, Little Fat Girl rolled around restlessly in bed, unable to sleep until 6 a.m. when her mother woke her up for breakfast.

She was unable to sleep earlier because she was worried about the state of “Custard Pie”. Later, knowing that Xiang Kun and Xia Libing were coming to Star City she couldn’t sleep because of her excited anticipation.

Although “Custard Pie” was still lying inactive on the couch, Little Fat Girl was no longer worried. After all, as soon as “Uncle Bald” arrived, he would definitely solve the problem.

Moreover, “Uncle Bald” said he would treat her to delicious food!

She could also meet “Chicken Wing Sister”, who is capable of “magic” and is quite powerful!

This had her in a state of excitement all morning, always looking as if she just might start jumping up and down with joy. When she greeted her friends at the kindergarten, her voice was a bit dreamy and unusually cheerful. Almost everyone could feel her joy.

However, this mood did not last long as she was exhausted from not sleeping much the previous night. So she fell asleep several times during morning lessons, even managing to doze off while leaning against the girl in front of her during dance practice.

The little girl she was leaning against seemed quite pleased, delighting in it.

After a full nap during lunch break and a short nap in the afternoon, Liu Shiling was full of energy when school was over.

On seeing the three people waiting for her outside the school gate, which arranged in a stepped pattern according to their heights, Liu Shiling sprinted out, shrieking “Uncle Bald!” and then broke out into peals of laughter.

As Little Fat Girl ran over, Xiang Kun caught her, lifted her up high, then gently put her down, lightly pinching her cheeks and laughed, “You seem to have lost weight, right?”

Little Fat Girl nodded her head seriously, “Because snacks are always shared with ‘Custard Pie’, it’s grown so fat, and I have shrunk from hunger.”

Xiang Kun laughed and patted her head.

Shiling’s Mom, standing nearby, mercilessly exposed the truth, “‘Custard Pie’s’ snacks are separately bought, okay? And have you forgotten how much weight you put on at the beginning of the school year compared to last term?”

Liu Shiling pretended not to hear her mother’s words and reached out to hold Xia Libing’s hand, “Chicken Wing Sister, you’re so tall! Your hair is so pretty! Your eyes are pretty! Your nose is also pretty…”