Chapter 21

The sight of Vivian cooking in the kitchen was quite surprising to Hao Ren. After all, this girl was a genuine vampire. In movies and TV shows, vampires live like this: red capes, black suits, 20,000 square meter castles by the sea, rows of servants, and vaults full of jewels. They sleep from 6 AM until 8:30 PM, drink a bottle of 1982 blood plasma upon waking, and then invite a bunch of friends to dance until midnight (of course, they call it a ball). Finally, they stand on the balcony with a glass of red wine, being pretentious until dawn before going back to sleep—this is the proper life of a vampire, low-key, luxurious, and full of depth. However, Vivian, this impoverished vampire, is not part of that: she doesn't need to rely on fresh blood to sustain her life, and she can even eat the poorly cooked noodles Hao Ren makes. She can even cook using a human gas stove...

Just thinking about these things is enough to surprise anyone.

But after Vivian brought the dishes to the table, Hao Ren realized he was surprised too early.

Vivian's cooking skills were actually quite good, but the dishes were quite puzzling: there was garlic-flavored eggplant, garlic-sauteed green beans, and garlic-mixed vermicelli. The colors, aromas, and flavors were all excellent, and the entire living room was filled with a strong garlic scent. Hao Ren felt like he was swimming in a sea of garlic. The so-called vampire sat down at the table and casually popped a clove of garlic into her mouth... This eating style would be unbearable even for ordinary people!

Hao Ren and Lili were speechless, then they both looked at Vivian and said in unison, "Are you really a vampire?!"

Vivian immediately straightened up and sat formally, "Please call me a Blood Clan member; this is a very serious issue..."

"Don't be so picky about this now!" Hao Ren said, thinking about how many of his values he still needed to reconstruct. "Do Blood... Clan members not fear garlic? You're practically eating garlic as a meal!"

Vivian looked down at the dishes on the table and then realized, "Oh, you mean this—ordinary Blood Clan members indeed don't like this much, and low-level vampires can even get sick from the smell of garlic. But I don't know why... I'm not afraid of it. When life was toughest, even eating normally was a problem, so who cares about what tastes good or not?"

Hao Ren was speechless and then touched his nose, "I've always wanted to ask, how can a Blood... Clan member be so poor?"

"How should I know? Ever since I can remember, my luck has never been good. When there was no currency, I lost things; when shells were used as currency, I lost shells; when metal coins were used, I lost coins; now I lose banknotes. Finding a job is hard, and doing business is hard. I once decided to be a bad guy and robbed someone, but I felt sorry for her and ended up giving her six pounds..." Vivian spread her hands, her face showing a resigned expression after thousands of years of bad luck. But as she spoke, she suddenly remembered something and started searching her body, pulling out a pair of shiny silver arm rings after a moment. "Actually, I do have some good things. Look at this; even when I was poorest, I didn't sell it. I found it in a small village in Egypt hundreds of years ago. It's a pure silver arm ring that can ward off evil..."

Hao Ren: "..."

Vivian then pulled out a small chain from her collar, with a cross hanging from it. "This one I got near Vatican City. For a while, I lived in Europe. My wallet was stolen, I lost my job, and my place caught fire. I had no money and nowhere to stay, so I had to work in a church to get food. Because I was diligent, the priest gave me this cross, which is said to be blessed by the Pope and can ward off evil..."

"And this, this piece of wood I got from Wutai Mountain a few years ago, given to me by an old Taoist. It can ward off evil..."

"And this amulet, which I got from a group of Vikings hundreds of years ago, after helping them a bit. This amulet is very effective; wearing it can ward off evil..."

"In short, I've concluded a pattern: I will definitely lose money, but since humans started using currency, I won't lose anything I carry... This must be the fault of the great cosmic will!"

Hao Ren silently put down his bowl, pinched his thigh to confirm he wasn't dreaming, and then stared at Vivian, "Repeat it again, are you really a vampire?!"

"I've said it many times, I'm not a vampire, I should be called a Blood... Clan member. But humans often mix this up," Vivian said generously, "Landlord, why are you so fixated on this?"

Hao Ren, with his values shattered, looked at the "vampire" who was wearing all sorts of talismans, wondering where she had hidden all these things in her thin black dress. He felt like he was about to have a heart attack: "You ward off evil? You yourself are the 'evil'! The things you have on you could kill how many vampires!"

"I don't know why," Vivian said confidently, "but I've never been afraid of these things since I was born! And wearing them might dispel my bad luck—dispelling bad luck can also boost my courage."

Lili, like a dog, quickly finished the food in her bowl and then muttered, "As a vampire, wearing a bunch of crosses and amulets to boost your courage, how embarrassing."

This idiot wasn't even surprised! Her focus was truly unique...

In any case, the dinner was finished in a strange atmosphere. Hao Ren had a new understanding of his abnormal tenant, Vivian. She was not only a poor vampire but also one who was not afraid of garlic, silver, crosses, or any kind of evil-warding talismans from around the world. This magical creature even wore at least six pounds of amulets to try to change her bad luck—just think about the weight! You can imagine how many small items she carried...

After dinner, everyone had their own things to do. This temporary "odd couple" welcomed their first day of normal life (previously, they were either fighting or Hao Ren wasn't home). A human landlord (who might be a Time-Space Administration employee), a silly werewolf, a nearly destitute vampire, and a black and white cat named "Roll"—Hao Ren thought it was a miracle that all these residents could live together.

Now, Lili was squatting in the living room watching TV, just like a dog, with "Roll" squatting beside her, looking like sisters. It seemed that the silly werewolf was finally getting used to the cat, though she was still a bit nervous. Whenever "Roll" made a slight movement, Lili would quickly change the channel, but at least she didn't hide behind the sofa like she did yesterday.

Vivian, on the other hand, went out for a walk with great energy. As a nocturnal creature, Vivian's biological clock became active after sunset. She decided to fly to the city to look for a job... Hao Ren slightly understood why this vampire was so poor and couldn't find a job. Why couldn't she adjust her biological clock? Looking for a job in the middle of the night, what kind of brain does she have?

After Vivian transformed into a giant bat and merged into the night, Hao Ren also carried a recliner to the open space outside. This area was sparsely populated, making it abnormally quiet. There was a large open space in front of the small apartment building, which no one had occupied, so it was now considered Hao Ren's "territory." After dinner, Hao Ren decided to come here to enjoy the cool breeze and think about life under the quiet night sky, which was much healthier than the air conditioning inside.

Of course, the main reason was that he really didn't want to be alone with Lili for too long, fearing a drop in his IQ... That silly werewolf was watching dog food commercials; could you believe it? Hao Ren felt that even if he was in his bedroom, separated by a wall, he would lose a third of his intelligence!

The summer nights in northern cities were much cooler than in the south. Hao Ren unfolded his recliner in his usual spot and lay down, listening to the distant human voices and insect chirps blending together, gradually feeling a bit drowsy.

In a half-dream, half-awake state, he felt a different kind of light breeze brush against his face.

This breeze was fresh and cool, completely free of the roughness brought by human activities in modern cities. This breeze instantly woke up Hao Ren, who was almost asleep. He suddenly sat up—then the recliner folded and trapped him.

But he had already noticed the strange situation around him.

Previous page AD starts

Previous page AD ends