What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 548: Rubber Man

“I have superpowers?”

Yang Zhen’er, holding her mobile phone, was in a state of shocked.

On the other end of the phone, Xiang Kun continued, “Tell me, where did you get that eraser that seems to hang in the air?”

“I saw it at Director Zhang’s company yesterday and asked their administrative staff for it,” Yang Zhen’er answered instinctively.

“Why did you choose that eraser?” Xiang Kun asked again.

“Because… it looked round and fun.”

“Did you play with it for a long time yesterday?”

“Well, probably around one or two hours?”

“Now, sense the eraser without touching it! Where is it? Tell me quickly, one, two, three, go!” Xiang Kun sped up his speech, speaking in an overwhelmingly harsh tone.

“It’s… it’s in the right pocket of my jacket… What? Can I really feel it?” As Yang Zhen’er said this, she reached into her jacket pocket in surprise and touch the eraser. What surprised her wasn’t that the eraser was there, but the feeling she just had.

When Xiang Kun was pressuring her with rapid-fire questions just now, she didn’t try to recall where she put the eraser, but was instead urged by Xiang Kun to “sense” it. She was shocked to find that there seemed to be a vague yet real connection between her and the eraser, as though the eraser was a pebble in her shoe that she could feel directly through the sole of her foot – of course, in reality, the eraser was in her jacket pocket and she wouldn’t be able to feel it physically.

“So… I have a connection with this eraser?” Yang Zhen’er held the eraser in one hand and the phone in the other, hesitating.

Xiang Kun said, “Old Three, congratulations, you’re now a superhuman, the Rubber Man!”

Yang Zhen’er wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, “Rubber Man my foot! I’d rather be called the Pipixia!”

“So… you mean, last night the eraser hovering in front of Xiao Lingdang’s forehead was my ‘superpower’? When Yang Zhen’er said this, she found it strange that she actually felt natural talking about “superpowers” like it was a given. Something wasn’t right.

“It’s not just the eraser. Old Three, you need to explore more about things around you, observe details that you didn’t pay attention to before, sense it with your heart, but don’t forget why you start.” Xiang Kun spoke in the tone of a spiritual guide with ambiguous language.

“Wait, what’s going on? Why are you so sure that I would have a connection with the eraser? It doesn’t make sense. This feeling, it seems like the connection I have with coins…Chef Xiang, did you set this all up? Are Xiao Lingdang, Nana, Old Xia, Little Apple’s amazing coin skills all related to you? Is it all this kind of connection?” Yang Zhen’er asked, one question after another.

Xiang Kun said, “Old Three, don’t you already know?”

“Ah? Know what?” Yang Zhen’er was somewhat confused.

“About the secret organization. Don’t you know? I don’t care, but you have to keep it confidential, no leakage!” Xiang Kun spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Wait, what secret organization, there’s really a secret organization?”

“Quiet down, remember to keep it secret.” Xiang Kun said seriously.

“Oh.” Yang Zhen’er responded subconsciously.

Then Xiang Kun spoke a few more words and hung up.

Looking at her phone, Yang Zhen’er frowned and thought it over, feeling that something was wrong. Was Chef Xiang messing around, or was he seriously explaining to her?

Just as she was organizing her thoughts, Liu Shiling, who was sitting opposite her, suddenly said, “Sister Xian, the food is here. Stop thinking and eat first. If the food gets cold, it won’t be delicious.”

“Huh?” Only then did Yang Zhen’er realize that the food had arrived: “Ah, ok, let’s eat first, let’s eat first!”

Halfway through the meal, she remembered something else. She told the Little Fatty Girl to eat first while she moved to a seat inside against the wall, and dialed Xiang Kun’s number again.

“Chef Xiang, I almost forgot to tell you, I found out last night that Nana was having a conversation with the air! I’m a bit worried, do you know what’s going on?” Yang Zhen’er asked. Actually, what she wanted to say last was “is this your doing?”.

Xiang Kun said, “Don’t worry, Nana is fine. You don’t trust Nana, or you don’t trust me? That’s it, go eat, take care of Xiao Lingdang, don’t let her eat too much fried food. Bye, remember to keep it a secret.”

Yang Zhen’er looked at the phone and exasperatedly said, “What do you mean by I don’t trust Nana, and don’t trust you? I will trust you, my foot!”

After making two calls, it seemed like Chef Xiang had said a lot and given many answers, but when she thought about it carefully, it seemed like none of her questions had been answered.

But for some reason, Yang Zhen’er found that her previously uneasy heart had suddenly calmed down.

It was strange, even though she felt that Xiang Kun was spouting nonsense and was tricking her, after making those two calls, she actually felt more at ease. Could this be a case of Stockholm Syndrome from being tricked?

Eating absentmindedly, Yang Zhen’er pondered Xiang Kun’s words and couldn’t help but allow her imagination to run wild:

Maybe Xiang Kun was telling the truth and her previous guess about the secret organization was spot on!

Xiang Kun was responsible for training and recruiting superhuman members, and she and Nana were both candidates under assessment!

“Rubber Man”… doesn’t sound so bad?

Wait, didn’t Xiang Kun and Nana meet through a blind date? Brother Bin and Sister Han set them up. Could they also be peripheral staff of the organization?

Then what about Old Xia? She met Xiang Kun because she invited him to play cards. Could it be that Old Xia isn’t part of the “secret organization”? She doesn’t have superpowers?

The more Yang Zhen’er thought, the more confused she became, finding it difficult to get her thoughts in order. She bit her chopsticks in distress and took out the round eraser from her pocket. She held it in her hand and looked at it closely, wondering if she could control it over a distance, even moving it a millimeter would be fine.

Although she could clearly feel a faint connection between herself and the eraser, similar to a subtle invisible thread being pulled. No matter how much she tried to use her consciousness, the eraser remained motionless – as if the invisible thread was too thin to transmit her power.

Yang Zhen Er suddenly raised her head and looked at the Little Fatty Girl: “Xiao Lingdang, you’re laughing at me!”

“I’m not. I’m just eating!” Xiao Lingdang responded, burying her head into her food, her cheeks bulging with every bite.

“Are you thinking that Sister Immortal is too childish?” Yang Zhen Er squinted and asked.

Liu Shiling frantically shook her head.

“Then are you thinking that Sister Immortal is too weak?” Yang Zhen Er asked again.

Liu Shiling quickly continued to shake her head.

“Isn’t Xiao Lingdang a truthful child?”

Liu Shiling instinctively shook her head, but after two shakes, she realized that wasn’t right and thought to nod, but after two nods she felt slightly embarrassed, so she was unsure whether to nod or shake her head. All she could do was stare at Yang Zhen Er with wide eyes, still chewing on her food, at a loss.

Fearing that Little Fatty Girl would start crying again, Yang Zhen Er chuckled softly, “Sister Immortal is just teasing you. Our Xiao Lingdang is the most obedient and adorable child in the world. Take your time to eat, slowly chew, don’t chock. Here, let sister give you a bowl of mushroom soup~”

After putting Xiao Lingdang to bed for a nap, Yang Zhen Er once again started researching her eraser. She set it among a dozen identical erasers she had purchased from the administrative department of Zhang Qian’s company, including the “Lucky Coin” that Xiang Kun had given her, and a pile of ordinary one-yuan coins – to which she had made sure were from the same year and mint.

Yang Zhen Er figured that regardless of whether Brother Xiang was making fun of her, she undoubtedly had a unique feeling towards the eraser and coin. There had to be some sort of secret involved!

Once she figures out the distinctions between regular coins and the “Lucky Coin”, regular erasers and “Real Eraser”, and the connections between the “Lucky Coin” and the “Real Eraser”, she would then perhaps understand the secrets behind Little Fatty Girl, Nana, Brother Xiang, Old Xia, and Little Apple!

If there truly is a secret organization, then I, Yang Zhen Er, am definitely a member of it!

Of course, what Yang Zhen Er wasn’t aware of was that when she incidentally mastered the trick of “Flying Coin Into Cup”, she had already stepped halfway into the “Super Sensory Item System”.

However, compared to Little Fatty Girl, Old Xia, and Little Apple, and even Tang Baona who discovered it a bit earlier, Yang Zhen Er’s connection method with the “Super-connected Object” coin is particularly unusual; a kind of connection which seems faint and hazy and happens intermittently.

This connection began to strengthen as Yang Zhen Er played various coin games under the influence of Xiao Lingdang, and became more solid and intimate.

But Yang Zhen Er’s connection with the “super-connected objects” remains extraordinarily special, like if others use steel wire or carbon fiber rope for linking two objects, or for the brittle ones, use hemp rope, but she seems to use glue instead.

Although Xiang Kun was curious about Yang Zhen Er’s approach towards the “Super Sensory Item System”, he had no intentions of intervening, preferring to let her develop naturally.

But when Yang Zhen Er started to get interested in other round things apart from the coin, Alice notices something unusual through the monitoring of Super Sensory Information.

Especially after Yang Zhen Er took the eraser from the “Sky Serpent Entertainment” and toyed with it for a while, Alice ingeniously detected through Super Sensory Information that Yang Zhen Er seemed to extend an unrefined “interface” to the eraser via a virtual connection with the “Super Sensory Item System”.

Immediately after reporting to Xiang Kun and getting his approval, Alice directly influenced Yang Zhen Er’s super sensory state through the “super-connected objects,” helping her complete the “interface” and connect the eraser to the “super sensory item system.”

Then, in the “super sensory item system”, this eraser had a connection similar to the “super-connected objects,” albeit with a lesser degree of connection and influence.

Xiang Kun referred to the state of the eraser as a “secondary super-connected object.”

He then entered the “super sensory state” and linked with the eraser through the “super-connected objects”, elevating the eraser from a “secondary super-connected object” to a “super-connected object” without understanding its physical parameters and specifics.

Because of this, on that night, as Yang Zhen Er and the Little Fatty Girl were playing a game of eraser collisions, Liu Shiling was able to control the “super-connected object” eraser for a short time through her “super-connected object” coin, due to her strong influence.

As for Yang Zhen Er… although in theory, her connection with the “super-connected object” eraser was stronger as she was the one who brought the eraser into the “super sensory item system”, her degree of control over the eraser was very minimal, far from the Little Fatty Girl’s level of control.

It was a bit like she had bought a small car with her own money, but didn’t have a license nor knew how to drive. All she could do was sit in the car, listen to the music, and appreciate the comfy seats. Meanwhile, the race car driver Little Fatty Girl was zooming around and drifting everywhere in her car.

It appeared that the first ability developed by “Yang Lae San” after entering the “super sensory item system” was as muddled as her connection with the system. It seemed to be of no significant use to either Xiang Kun or herself.

However, as soon as he discovered this ability and learned that Alice had secretly assisted her in establishing the “secondary super-connected object” connection, Xiang Kun immediately realized that this ability was a godsend for him!

Yang Lao San established the “secondary super-connected object” connection without Xiang Kun’s participation. It was all Alice’s doing.

Alice obtained all related data about the eraser’s manufacturer from the internet, and went through the information about the full process from the eraser’s design to production. She controlled other “super-connected objects” alongside Yang Zhen Er’s unsuspecting “interface”, to establish a “secondary super-connected object” connection.

This meant that, without Xiang Kun’s participation, Alice could potentially make a wider range, mass, and fully automated connection of “super-connected objects” through the “super sensory item system” and the existing “super-connected object network”.

By then, Xiang Kun would only need to “approve” the large number of “secondary super-connected objects” associated by Alice while in the “super sensory state” to upgrade these “secondary super-connected objects” to “super-connected object”.

This was crucial for the current Xiang Kun, who was eager to widely distribute and link “super-connected objects”, and establish a global “super-connected object network”.

Of course, as of now, the ability to connect “secondary super-connected objects”, which Yang Lao San had unconsciously developed with Alice’s assistance, wasn’t ready for direct application. It wasn’t giving Alice full automatic linking capability. Yang Lao San still needed to keep developing and perfect her skills, so that Alice could summarize and extract the necessary super sensory information to establish a stable association.

Actually, the scene where Yang Lao San nosily watched Old Xia and Alice converse in the void the night before was deliberately arranged by Xiang Kun, Old Xia, and Alice.

Through this method, they were gradually revealing part of the “truth” to Yang Zhen Er and Tang Baona, and indirectly stimulating Yang Zhen Er to “develop” related abilities.

Both Xiang Kun and Old Xia believed that Yang Zhen Er’s unrestricted imagination might be unreliable in other circumstances, but it was likely to be an advantage and a talent in developing abilities in the “super sensory item system”.

Apart from keeping a close watch on the growth of Yang Lao San, Nana, and Little Fatty Girl in the “super sensory item system”, Xiang Kun and Alice were also monitoring another area in Peng City.

Beneath the Brilliant Fortune Building, a fierce fight was underway.