What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 331: Display and Test (Part 1)

Translator: 549690339

When Chu Xiuwen greeted Xiang Kun, he had already noticed Zhou Yiqing in the passenger seat and recognized him as the doctor who had saved the old man at the train station before him on the 29th of Lunar December.

Why was this doctor here, and why was he in the same car with Chu Xiuwen?

Xiang Kun did not doubt whether the doctor was from the same hospital. Back at the train station, he had already concluded that the hospital the doctor worked at was not in Citong City.

Since he was with Chu Xiuwen, he must have been there to see the patient Chu Xiuwen had come to visit at the hospital.

However, judging from the look in the doctor’s eyes when he looked at him in the car, he seemed to have realized something. Xiang Kun quickly thought that, wearing the same coat as he was when he first arrived at the station, along with his figure, it was normal to be noticed.

Xiang Kun was not worried. Even if the doctor felt that he looked familiar, he may not remember that he was the self-proclaimed cardiothoracic surgeon at the train station. Even if he suspected him, he may not go out of his way to look for him.

After all, according to the subsequent online analysis, everyone believed that the young and handsome doctor was the hero who saved the old man. Nobody paid attention to Xiang Kun, who had merely passed by and “butted in,” not even showing his face in the video. The doctor, who had been hailed as a hero, had no motivation to look for him.

Even if the doctor truly obtained his identity from Chu Xiuwen and came to inquire, Xiang Kun could simply deny it.

At that time, he had his hood on, hiding his bald head, and he took off his glasses intentionally. No one could accuse him of being the passerby who “pretended” to be a cardiothoracic surgeon at the hospital just by a coat.

He hadn’t done anything wrong, and the other party would have a hard time getting cooperation from the authorities and mobilizing resources to verify if it was indeed him at the train station.

After getting off the bus, he walked a bit before arriving at the neighborhood where Old Xia was renting.

After confirming that his father’s health condition was fine in the morning, Xiang Kun contacted Old Xia, intending to continue the topic they discussed the previous night – in fact, they had already communicated some discussions and plans via WeChat early in the morning.

Upon entering the house, Xiang Kun noticed that Old Xia’s place had more items.

These included some laboratory supplies like a microscope, common diagnostic and therapeutic instruments like a blood pressure monitor and a stethoscope, and an electronic scale.

“Did you steal these from your hospital?” Xiang Kun joked.

“No, I bought them,” Xia Libing shook her head, then began the examination of Xiang Kun’s various body parameters, following what they had previously agreed upon on WeChat.

The process was fast, and Old Xia examined many details that Xiang Kun couldn’t check himself in detail, like inspecting his oral cavity’s conditions and internal structures with an oral mirror, same with the ears, and nostrils.

To demonstrate his recovery speed after taking damage, Xiang Kun specifically cut a small slit on his index finger with a small knife under Old Xia’s witnessing to his wound’s rapid healing process.

Of course, Old Xia also observed the transformation process of Xiang Kun’s body tissue cells under a microscope.

Under her observation, the transformation process of the tissues didn’t speed up, further strengthening the possibility Xiang Kun had speculated about earlier – the speed of his body tissue transformation had something to do with his instinct and subconscious.

For lunch, Xiang Kun just reheated some leftover food from the fridge for Old Xia, without specifically cooking new dishes. After all, their main focus today was on efficiency and speed as they had to go out to test some other things in the afternoon.

Of course, Old Xia did not fuss over the large bowl of soup made from leftovers, eating heartily and sweating profusely.

Moreover, through her exclusive chopsticks, Xiang Kun perceived her genuine enjoyment of the hodgepodge, showing a solid appetite without being picky.

While watching her eat, Xiang Kun “co-manifested” an ice cream for himself. As he leisurely enjoyed it, he asked, “Old Xia, I have a question. Since you only used to feel emotions when eating delicious food, why not eat more delicacies to evoke a wider range of emotional experiences? Zhen’er mentioned that your typical style in the past was to be unconcerned with food, seemingly only pursuing a simple and quick way of dining. Why is that?”

Old Xia wiped her mouth, and replied, “There’s limited room for extension. I’m afraid of overextending.”

“Oh,” Xiang Kun nodded, immediately understanding what she meant with her simple response.

Old Xia’s meaning was that she had tried similar things in the past but was unable to extend the emotions she felt while eating to other aspects of her life. Furthermore, if she indulged in food, the only method that allowed her to experience emotional fluctuations could be compromised. After all, Dr. Li induced Old Xia to associate extreme hunger, the threat of life, and some other things through extreme measures. Her emotions towards food did not start off as positive.

In the afternoon, they brought some equipment and went to a deserted factory in the suburbs for a series of physical tests.

Old Xia was quite serious, measuring distances on the ground with tools, marking them, making height marks on the entire wall, and weighing the items to be loaded.

With Xiang Kun’s super perceptive abilities, he could ensure that no one was around, and even if someone did come close, he would detect them in advance, preventing accidental discovery.

As per their plan, the things Xiang Kun wanted to test or demonstrate in the afternoon were mainly his strength, explosive power, reaction speed, and so on.

The methods of testing included some that Xiang Kun had done himself in the past, such as short-distance sprinting, maximal vertical jump, and high-intensity strength training under a load. Some were done at Old Xia’s request, such as dodging incoming objects by judging the sound and searching for various items thrown away by Old Xia in the abandoned factory buildings based on smell.

Honestly, even with those tests that Xiang Kun had often done in the past, he felt somewhat different taking them now.

In the past, he always tested himself and worried about being seen by others.

Now, on the other hand, he was demonstrating his specialties to another person for the first time. He had an “audience.”

Although Old Xia as an “audience” was not particularly qualified; even after seeing some of Xiang Kun’s superhuman abilities demonstrated, she showed no surprise or admiration. She maintained a very calm, observer’s, and recorder’s attitude, occasionally offering some opinions or questions, as if she had seen this all before.

No matter what, there’s a significant difference between having an “audience” or not.

While Xiang Kun was mostly rational towards his abilities and mutations, showing an attitude of reverence and inquiry, he could not help but feel a bit smug at his core — he is now fully a superhuman. Not only does he have extraordinary strength, speed, and recovery abilities, but sometimes, he can even fly! Not to mention his foreseeable evolution and expansion in the Dream Realm and Electromagnetic Field Realm — in the future, he could potentially even surpass many superhumans portrayed in fiction.

Rationally, he knew that now was not the time to be complacent. There were still many things about himself and the world he did not understand, such as how his mutation was triggered. There may be stronger mutants or more powerful beings in this world. A single accident could wipe him out in an instant, just like the Owl, the spider, or Guo Tianxiang.

Nonetheless, being able to show someone the progress of his long-term training and guided mutation evolution, and having them acknowledge his badassery, felt rather gratifying.

So, the way Xiang Kun showcased his abilities started to become more aggressive.

He found that his condition was also getting better and better.