Sheng Mian didn’t want to keep arguing with Cheng Liye. “Let go. The game isn’t over yet; don’t interfere with my progress.”
Cheng Liye didn’t budge an inch, maintaining his domineering stance. “If you don’t agree to date me, I’m not letting you go.”
If he let her go now, she would undoubtedly head straight back to mingle with that Alpha, Shen Zhilin. The thought of being a nameless bystander while they hung out made him incredibly frustrated.
“You’re a bandit!” she snapped.
Seeing the genuine unhappiness on her face, Cheng Liye finally compromised a little. “Fine, if you won’t agree now, at least stay away from Shen Zhilin. I hate seeing you two stuck together every day.”
Sheng Mian laughed in spite of herself. This arrogant, overbearing idiot was actually trying to control her friendships. “Does who I befriend have anything to do with you?”
“Befriend?” Cheng Liye repeated the word with a mocking lilt. “Is it just ‘friendship’? Or have you shifted your affections and fallen for her?”
Sheng Mian’s face turned beet-red instantly, looking as though she were about to explode from rage. She barked out a “You’re insane!” and shoved the caught-off-guard Cheng Liye aside as she bolted.
In Cheng Liye’s eyes, her reaction looked like a guilty admission. He muttered a low curse, “Damn it, it really is like that.”
Vampires didn’t just have superior night vision; they were also incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, he had flashed right in front of her.
Sheng Mian’s eyes widened, and she swallowed nervously. She looked back at where they had been standing, it was at least fifteen meters away. Yet, he had appeared before her almost instantaneously. She looked up at him; in the darkness, his eyes glowed a vivid, eerie crimson, like two lit lanterns.
Sheng Mian felt her blood run cold. “You really are the vampire.”
Crap, crap, crap. Alarm bells went off in her head. she frantically tried to think of how to use her cards to escape, but the more she thought, the more useless they seemed. With a vampire’s speed, even if she used all three “Freeze” cards for fifteen seconds of head start, where could she possibly hide?
As Cheng Liye leaned in closer, Sheng Mian threw caution to the wind and activated her card: One, Two, Three, Freeze!
Cheng Liye’s pupils twitched strangely as his entire body locked up. He had been about to coax her not to be afraid, but in the next second, he watched her sprint away. She couldn’t afford to get caught; the game had just started, and she wasn’t done playing yet.
The wind whistled past her ears. Sheng Mian never knew she could run so fast. But five seconds passed in a heartbeat. As she rounded a corner, she slammed right into Cheng Liye’s chest. Clutching her throbbing nose, she groaned, “Damn, what are you made of? You’re like a brick wall!”
“Why are you running?” Cheng Liye’s voice drifted over her with an eerie, distorted lilt. At some point, his canines had become sharp and elongated. He looked exactly like a predatory vampire now, the kind that made one’s skin crawl and heart skip a beat.
Sheng Mian froze him again and ran once more, screaming for help in her mind.
Cheng Liye’s blood was boiling. This effortless game of cat-and-mouse had ignited him completely. The predatory instincts of the vampire role were taking over. He relished this resistance where the outcome was already decided, and a craving for fresh blood began to flood his brain.
This time, his “shimmer” was even faster. Sheng Mian skidded to a halt just in time to avoid another collision. Cheng Liye stared down at his prey, savoring her last-ditch efforts while uncontrollably inhaling her scent.
The human reason in his eyes had vanished. Sheng Mian was reminded of the look a large predator has when hunting, his gaze was exactly the same. Her blood felt like it was turning to ice. Her legs were shaking, but she forced herself to keep backing away.
Cheng Liye pulled his lips back into a smile, meant to be comforting, but it only made him look more terrifying. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll turn you. I won’t let you die so easily.”
Sheng Mian instinctively covered her neck. Cheng Liye’s strength was far superior to hers; he pinned her down with effortless ease. She couldn’t resist at all. His icy breath brushed against her skin, making the hair on her neck stand on end. She could hear the distinct sound of him swallowing.
He controlled his strength. The pale, soft neck before him was so tempting; one bite was all it would take to taste that wonderful blood. He gulped, trying to keep his savagery from scaring her too much. He tried to be gentle as his teeth grazed her skin.
“No, stop please,” Sheng Mian whimpered, tears pricking her eyes. Primal terror made her breath hitch, and her cries for help came out as raspy whispers. The cold, sharp fangs had already touched her neck. In another second, they would pierce her skin.
Swish!
A sword flashing with a chilling silver light streaked through the air, piercing Cheng Liye’s shoulder. He let out a pained grunt, his gaze instantly turning more violent as he glared toward the source of the attack.
A long-haired girl stepped out from the shadows. With a flick of her wrist, the sword flew back into her hand. The moment the blade left his body, Cheng Liye gasped in pain.
Blood began to flow from the wound. Sheng Mian saw her savior and felt a surge of hope. “Yi Chi!”
But before she could move, Cheng Liye yanked her back. Yi Chi’s brow furrowed, her sword leveled at him. “Let her go.”
Cheng Liye scoffed, ignoring Yi Chi as he tightened his grip on Sheng Mian.
The sword seemed to be specifically designed for vampires. The wound on his shoulder wouldn’t heal; instead, it sizzled and smoked, with blood continuously vaporizing as it leaked out.
Cheng Liye tried to press his hand over the wound to stop the bleeding. Seizing the moment he loosened his grip, Sheng Mian used her final One, Two, Three, Freeze! card, locking him in place.
Five seconds was more than enough for her to reach Yi Chi’s side.
“Go, quickly! I’ll handle him,” Yi Chi urged.
Sheng Mian was pushed away, but she asked worriedly, “Can you do this alone?”
“My role is the Knight, and he’s injured. I have the advantage. Go!”
By then, Cheng Liye had recovered. Sheng Mian didn’t have time for second-guessing and bolted. Cheng Liye tried to give chase, but the movement only tore at his shoulder wound.
Yi Chi charged forward, her blade sweeping through the air with lethal precision. Cheng Liye dodged repeatedly, his attempt at a flying kick being blocked by the flat of her blade. Yi Chi held her ground, the force of his kicks pushing her back inch by inch. She planted her toes, found an opening, and flipped through the air to meet his next strike. Their strength was nearly equal, sending dust swirling through the corridor.
Already injured and having exhausted a great deal of energy, Cheng Liye began to cough violently upon landing, a trail of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Yi Chi didn’t hesitate, swinging her sword once more to press the attack.
Cheng Liye barely managed to dodge the next strike. “Damn it, stop hitting me! Can we just call a truce?” He broke into another fit of coughing.
Yi Chi let out a cold laugh. “Do you think I’m stupid? If I let you go now, how am I supposed to fight you once you’ve recovered?”
The cold blade swept past Cheng Liye’s face, close enough to feel the chill. He breathed a silent sigh of relief that he hadn’t been sliced open.
With a flick of her wrist, Yi Chi aimed the blade directly at his face. His energy nearly spent, Cheng Liye resorted to catching the blade with his bare hands. A sharp, searing pain shot through his palms, accompanied by the sizzling sound of burning flesh as blood flowed down the steel. Yi Chi pressed down with all her might. The sheer force of the blow forced Cheng Liye down onto one knee, his teeth gritted as he desperately held his ground.
The two were locked in a stalemate. Though Cheng Liye was severely wounded, the effort required to wield the heavy sword was rapidly draining Yi Chi’s stamina.
Suddenly, a soft, fleeting chuckle escaped Yi Chi’s lips. The crushing weight on the sword vanished as she withdrew the blade and stood before him.
Cheng Liye looked up, his brow furrowed in confusion. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“You’re at the end of your rope. I can’t be bothered to kill you,” Yi Chi replied, casually wiping the blood from her sword.
Cheng Liye stood up slowly, eyeing her with a mixture of suspicion and disbelief, but he couldn’t detect any hidden motive. Internally, he felt a flicker of gratitude for her mercy, even as he mocked her “womanly” compassion. To let an enemy go right before your eyes was, in his mind, nothing but an invitation for future trouble.
A smirk played on his lips, a flash of irony in his eyes. This fool, she’s just an Omega after all.
The Alpha wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. His palms were a bloody mess, and the wound on his shoulder had gone numb with pain. He winced, his lip twitching, and turned to walk away with slow, measured steps.
He needed to return to the lair to restore his stamina and health points. Now that he knew the identity of one of the Knights, he planned to dispose of Yi Chi the moment he was back to full strength.
Yi Chi ran her fingers along the flat of the blade, her bright eyes watching Cheng Liye’s retreating figure. Suddenly, her lips curled into a sharp smile.
Cheng Liye spun around in disbelief. Protruding from his back was the very sword Yi Chi had just wiped clean. Amidst his look of pure resentment and shock, Yi Chi approached him slowly. She looked down at him, her voice cold and level: “You’re out.”
She wrenched the sword out, pulled out a handkerchief, and meticulously wiped it clean before sheathing it.
The vision before Cheng Liye’s eyes began to fade into black.
A strain of “ending music” chimed, and the words GAME OVER flashed across his screen. Simultaneously, a broadcast echoed in every player’s ears:
Vampire Slain: 1.
Current Standings: 2 Vampires, 7 Commoners, 1 Knight.
Hearing the clear announcement, Sheng Mian breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Cheng Liye hadn’t been a match for Yi Chi after all. She continued to feel her way forward until she reached the end of the corridor, where a heavy iron door covered in complex, mysterious engravings stood tightly shut.
Sheng Mian gave it a push, but it wouldn’t budge. She tried again with more force, and to her surprise, it didn’t let out the creak she had expected. Despite its massive weight, the door opened silently. She glanced around to ensure the coast was clear before slipping inside.
The room was just as gloomy as the hallway. She blinked, trying to adjust to the darkness. Deep within the room, two crimson candles flickered with an eerie, vivid light.
The space wasn’t particularly large, and she could see the far wall clearly. The room was filled with various iron sculptures of a horrific nature. Thick carpet muffled her footsteps as she moved further in.
To her left was a bookshelf. She slid the cabinet door open with a clatter, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Her nose began to itch. Fanning the dust away and holding her breath, she began to rummage through the books.
Rows upon rows of books detailed the history and evolution of vampires and famous figures of their kind. Sheng Mian scanned them quickly until her eyes landed on one title: The Vampire’s Fatal Weakness (Common Sense Every Vampire Should Know).
She pulled it out and flipped through it. The book wasn’t thick. She skimmed the table of contents and turned directly to the page titled “Lethal Weapons Against Vampires.” It provided detailed descriptions of various methods and weapons to kill a vampire, as well as the crafting processes.
The first few methods were too complicated or required hard-to-find materials. Sheng Mian flipped through the pages anxiously, looking for a simpler way while keeping a sharp eye out for the owner of the room. The air was thick with the urgency of a ticking clock, and the sound of her own heartbeat filled her chest.
Finally, she found it: The Commoner’s Method for Slaying a Vampire. Her hands shook with nervous adrenaline. It stated that one needed to find a pure silver object with a sharp point and coat it in garlic juice.