The moon hung in the sky, the stars hidden behind dark clouds.
Robin paced back and forth in his room. He stopped at a table and picked up a photo frame containing a picture of Sienna Tang. His eyes gleamed with fervent light. "I want her... I need her now... No one can stop me!"
Glaring at the window as darkness fell, Robin gritted his teeth and stormed out of the villa.
His time to act had come!
However, before he could leave the serene villa area, a young man blocked his path.
"Shall we talk?" Leon Chen invited with a smile.
...
Robin was stunned for a moment, unable to comprehend why this person was blocking his way. He quickly smirked coldly. Perfect. This guy who was always around Sienna deserved to die!
Leon secretly gathered his energy, activating his superior reflexes and speed. He wasn't sure what kind of ability Robin had, but his plan was to incapacitate him with a single electric shock.
However, Robin's reaction was completely unexpected. Like a madman, he lunged at Leon without any pretense of friendliness, his smile tinged with bloodlust.
In the blink of an eye, Robin closed the hundred-meter gap.
Leon sidestepped, Robin's punch grazing past him. Leon immediately grabbed Robin, unleashing his full biological electric burst!
What?
Leon was shocked to find that his bio-electric attack had no effect.
In that brief moment, Robin's right fist swept across Leon's face. The pain was excruciating, nearly breaking his jaw.
This guy's strength was formidable.
Before Leon could get up, the sound of something cutting through the air whizzed past him. He rolled to the side, swiftly evading Robin's pursuit. Quickly getting to his feet, he wiped the blood from his mouth.
It hurt.
"Not bad," Robin sneered. "Your blood must taste delicious..."
Suddenly, Robin's dull eyes turned blood red, the crimson glow shining brightly in the night. He opened his mouth, revealing sharp white fangs.
No way! A vampire?!
Leon was dumbfounded. Was this ability to become a vampire?
No wonder he had no bio-electricity and feared sunlight...
Leon swallowed hard. A real-life vampire.
This was not going to be fun.
"Huh? Weird, shouldn't you be pissing yourself and screaming for your mommy, running for your life?" Robin seemed pleased with Leon's amazed look but was irritated by the fire in his eyes.
It made him feel like the prey.
Robin spat in contempt, his figure suddenly disappearing.
Such speed!
Even with his superior reflexes, Leon barely registered Robin's approach, the fangs almost upon him. Leon could only retreat. In vampire form, Robin was far more formidable than expected. His next punch was too fast for Leon to react, causing intense pain in his chest.
After several hits, Robin grabbed Leon by the throat, laughing mockingly.
"Now you're the prey!"
"Screw you." Leon sneered, his body suddenly phasing through Robin like water.
Robin shuddered, never having felt such terror.
He turned to find Leon already attacking. Leon's onslaught was relentless, every punch thrown with full force.
Robin could only take the hits, like a punching bag.
Under the barrage, his body twisted and deformed, unable to retaliate.
The dim light flickered, witnessing this eerie hunt.
With a final blow, Leon sent Robin crashing into some bushes.
After a while, Robin slowly stood up, seemingly unscathed.
"Who are you? How did you pass through me?" Robin demanded in disbelief. "Are you a Saint Hunter?"
Leon realized he had underestimated the situation. Robin had transformed into a Bloodline ability user, and even his enhanced reflexes and speed couldn't keep up.
If Robin wasn't Sienna's friend, Leon would have already used material penetration to kill him.
"Stay away from Sienna," Leon warned, smirking before turning and darting into the woods.
"Running away doesn't make your warning convincing. Your blood is mine tonight," Robin taunted, following him.
When Robin emerged from the woods, he saw Leon pacing by a small artificial lake.
This time, Robin wasn't in a rush. He walked slowly, savoring his prey's desperation. Even though he wasn't a true vampire, his enhanced form exuded elegance and arrogance.
Leon chuckled. "Not fun anymore, huh?"
Robin moved unimaginably fast, Leon barely caught a glimpse before being forced into the water.
Robin stepped into the icy lake, his eyes glowing eerily under the moonlight.
Leaping forward, Leon tackled Robin into the water, the two of them struggling.
But in his vampire form, Robin was no longer human. A single punch sent Leon flying.
Robin brushed off the water, irritated by his ruined form. Even though he was a shut-in, he naturally cared about his appearance in this form. He cursed, "Damn you, trying to be a hero with no skills... I'm going to tear your throat out!"
Water splashed, the night tearing apart.
A crimson flash appeared before Leon, but in the next moment, Robin's expression froze... genuinely froze. His body stiffened, his legs immobilized by ice.
What's happening?
As Robin regained his senses, the entire artificial lake was frozen over.
Leon stood up from the water, blowing on his hands, frost falling from them. "Didn't expect the control of cold and ice to come in handy now."
"Saving someone is harder than killing someone..." Leon sighed, dragging the frozen Robin ashore.
While Robin was still unconscious, Leon began scanning.
At the back of his neck, Leon found the source of abnormal energy.
Using his watch's function, he extracted the ability chip. Unlike the previous round chips, this one was unusually small and a dark red color.
Expecting something exciting from this "Bloodline Nobility" transformation ability, Leon was met with a mechanical voice: "No matching data, load failed!"
"What's going on?" This was the first time Leon had encountered such a situation, leaving him bewildered.
When in doubt, Leon's habit was to ask Lina.
"Found an ability but it failed to load?" Lina sounded more surprised than Leon.
Leon nodded. "Yeah."
"That's impossible," Lina thought for a moment. "Put the chip on your watch's gear, and I'll receive the information."
Leon did as instructed.
"Please be patient; I need some time," Lina's voice was sweet.
The approaching November weather was already cooling down. Having just emerged from the water, Leon felt chilly all over. He called for someone to pick up Robin and then left the place. He feared Robin might discover something. With his mental state, it would only worsen, but hopefully, he wouldn't end up in a mental hospital.
Leon sneezed several times. It was ironic that, despite controlling cold and ice, he was sensitive to the cold.
"Leon, are you feeling unwell?" Lina asked with concern.
"No, how's it going?" Leon sniffed.
"Oh, how did you find the ability?"
"It was parasitic, so I took it," Leon chuckled.
"Ah, no wonder..."
"Is there a problem with this ability?" Leon was puzzled, hoping the cool-sounding ability wasn't unusable.
Lina explained, "This is called the 'Blood Clan' in the Heavenly Realm, a parasitic chip developed by a certain organization. It's not an ability."
"What do you mean?" Leon sensed trouble.
"It means it's something outdated, used to change a person's temperament, language, and physical abilities."
Leon frowned. "How did this end up on Earth?"
Lina hesitated before replying, "It was probably used by someone from the Heavenly Realm for research in the mortal world. Production of these chips ceased in the C64 year. In mortal years, that's several thousand years ago."
Leon felt a headache. The Blood Clan? Used for human research thousands of years ago? "So we're really just ants to you, right?"
"It's inevitable. Your world is still in the three-dimensional phase, dabbling in the fourth dimension," Lina said cheerfully.
Leon was speechless. The feeling of being a lab rat was unsettling, and the worst part was knowing he was the only one aware of this reality. It was frustrating.
"The infamous vampires were created by you guys out of boredom. That's shameless," Leon resigned himself, even more eager to enter the Heavenly Realm. "So what now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Can't we remove these Blood Clan chips? Didn't the Heavenly Realm find a solution?" Leon patiently explained.
Lina's response was helpless, "Those were developed by other organizations before the treaty was established. The Heavenly Realm doesn't pursue it. As for the remaining Blood Clan in the mortal world, dear Leon, you can freely hunt them." She completely misunderstood Leon's question.
"Freely hunt," Leon sighed, feeling like a lab rat indeed.
Leon coughed, his head spinning.
"Leon, you don't sound well," Lina remarked with concern.
"Knowing the notorious vampires were created by you guys doesn't sit well," Leon laughed weakly.
"It was some organizations, not us," Lina retorted with a hint of pride.
Leon felt dizzy. Being a shut-in had left him physically weak, and a cold bath wasn't helping. Trying to stay conscious, Leon asked, "So I can't use this ability? Why did my watch detect it?"
"It's probably because the chips use the same resonant energy. Leon, you can use this ability, but I need to report to the princess. I think I can modify the chip parameters so it can be loaded into your watch."
The wonders of the Heavenly Realm left Leon thoroughly impressed.
Leon's head grew heavier, as if filled with lead, and his consciousness began to blur. His nose wouldn't stop running.
Damn, why do I feel so awful?
Leon sat under a streetlight, contemplating calling his dorm mates to come get him.
In his current state, he doubted he could make it back to H university without collapsing on the way. He fumbled for his phone, managed to dial a number, and then drifted into unconsciousness.