茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Xiang Kun lay on the ground for a little over ten minutes, only pulling himself up reluctantly after he had almost fully recovered.

Soft rain and snow began to drift down from the sky, significantly dropping the temperature, but somehow, compared to the raging lightning storm just now, this snowfall felt unexpectedly warm and comforting.

An untamed smile was still tugging at Xiang Kun’s lips.

That “flight” of slightly more than a minute, could arguably be described as the most thrilling and exhilarating experience of his life since his mutation…no, since coming of age…no, that’s not right either. It was in fact the most thrilling experience of his entire life.

The process of triggering a lightning storm, flying through the thunder and lightning, nearly losing control in the high altitude, having his attention highly focused, and constantly responding in a split second, gave him the ultimate pleasure amidst the extreme danger of immediate life and death and the sense of accomplishment of conquering the sky and lightning.

Be it men or women, old or young, Xiang Kun felt that the yearning for flight was etched into their genes.

Even before being mutated, Xiang Kun, who was acrophobic, had fantasized about having the ability to fly.

Xiang Kun had never imagined that the ability to fly without relying on any external tools could be so exhilarating.

In addition to flying, that slight over a minute experience allowed him to regrow his long-lost ‘hair’. Of course, Xiang kun was well aware that this stuff, by strict definition, was no longer the same as the regular hair.

Compared to ‘hair’, they were more like a functional organ that could help him gather and control the surrounding charges, thus controlling the direction and speed of flight.

However, evidently, they could only appear when in a specific electric field environment, powered by sufficient electricity. When they appeared, Xiang Kun could perceive them clearly, using them to a certain extent to control the surrounding charges, slightly controlling the direction.

But after the large-scale cloud discharge came to an end, and the ‘electric power’ around him was basically exhausted, the hair directly vanished.

Now Xiang Kun couldn’t perceive its existence either; they did not retract into his skull but completely vanished.

During his last ‘test flight’, he couldn’t control or perceive the light group that gathered around him like a shadow. But now, he could slightly modify and control the faint aura around him through his ‘hair’. This was very likely a functional organ that his body had evolved to meet the ‘demands’ raised during exercise instruction after the recent blood mutation, aiming to achieve the ability of ‘Electric Mastery Flight’.

Xiang Kun rubbed his still bald head with regret. While he didn’t have time to think and didn’t even consider it while flying, now he inevitably daydreamed about whether there might be a way to keep that hair. He didn’t need them to be over a meter long; 2-3 cm would suffice.

Barefoot, Xiang Kun pondered amidst the snowfall, walking back home.

Since the goal of this experiment had been achieved, there was naturally no need to stick around any longer.

Walking through the forest, looking at the dying fire in the distant rain and snow, and recalling the cataclysmic lightning storm just now, Xiang Kun couldn’t help furrowing his brows.

Obviously, the sudden lightning storm, along with the massive explosive discharges between the ground and the clouds, was triggered by him.

But honestly, he was still clueless as to how he managed to do it.

All he did was sense the changes in the atmospheric electric field, perceive the movement tendencies of charges between the clouds and the ground, seize the opportunity, and then fling himself into the sky with all his might.

The subsequent ‘charging’ was more akin to a cellphone landing directly on a wireless charging pedestal, where he merely passively accepted and accumulated the charges. But as to how he accumulated them, he hadn’t the faintest clue.

It was like a surfer riding the waves suddenly discovering the waves had turned into a tsunami.

He was utterly baffled too!

In conclusion, Xiang Kun believed that all this was caused due to his inadequate understanding and control over his abilities.

When he got back, he’d have to look up more articles and information, figure out why these short-term, high-intensity thunderstorms occurred. Then, he could deduce his possible role and the impact he may have made using that principle.

He was a bit relieved that his experiment took place in this uninhabited mountainous area. Otherwise, even if it was just in the suburbs, let alone in the middle of the city, innocent people may get caught up in it.

Xiang Kun would dare not fly in populated areas until he clearly understood how he had triggered such a large-scale lightning storm.

He wasn’t worried about anyone noticing his activities. In the deep woods, especially at night, he held the upper hand. His exceptional vision, coupled with a night-vision mode and an infrared thermal imaging mode, and other superior senses enabled him to always anticipate other creatures, and his senses could even detect machinery.

For example, an airplane had passed by in the distance just a while ago. Though it was very far away, he had noticed it and quickly assessed the probability of its passengers discovering him.

Given the angle and visibility conditions at the time, Xiang Kun had a faint glow emitting from him as he flew. He appeared brighter at times and darker at others, but the visibility was poor due to the distance and the difference in altitude. The thunderstorm had obscured most of the view in that direction which made it extremely unlikely that he could be spotted with the naked eye.

Even if someone had noticed, they wouldn’t be able to distinguish what it was.

Only if someone happened to capture him with the right equipment and later examined and enlarged the image in detail could they possibly discover it.

Even then, they would probably only see a strangely-shaped “flying object”. Given how his hair was tight and spread out back then, if someone was to discover it, they’d likely guess it was a “flying squid” rather than a human.

During his nocturnal travels, Xiang Kun also took the opportunity to sense the location of the bone — the medium he had established super sensory contact with. It was still in the Qinling uninhabited area. Judging by its previous movements, it was still heading outwards but its pace was slow. Perhaps it’s carrying too many items retrieved from the mountain, which was slowing down its movement. The area was challenging to travel through; not everyone could overlook the terrain like Xiang Kun, plowing a path better than a boar, and climbing trees better than a monkey.

He sensed the rabbit wood carving again but got no feedback. Obviously, these people still rigidly adhered to the strategy of distancing themselves from it when sleeping.

Xiang Kun wasn’t worried that they might research the woodcarving once it was taken away.

Even if Divine Technology had a vampire possessing similar abilities, based on Xiang Kun’s research on these contacted items, the possibility of them detecting him through these items was slim. In fact, he would rather they tried, because, according to his knowledge, in the sensory systems he established through various “super sensory contacts” and “emotion-infused” objects, he had absolute control. If they had similar perceptive capabilities and probed using his items, it would instead give Xiang Kun the opportunity to counter-probe. The ones who would be exposed first would certainly be them.

Compared to the woodcarving and the bone, Xiang Kun was more concerned that those who were behind “Divine Technology” knew about the mutants and vampires. They might resort to other societal methods to seek out relevant information once they deduced that the mutant creatures in the Qinling mountainous region were taken out by another vampire from human society.

Thus, he revisited and went over the entire process of how he went to the Qinling uninhabited area and how he left.

The car he took to the small town was a private car he found near the station on-the-spot. He paid in cash, so it was unlikely to leave any clue;

When he arrived at the small town, he didn’t stay overnight, so there was no record of his identity;

He went into a hotel in the small town, pretended to go to the restroom, and collected various information with his extraordinary senses. Throughout this process, he made sure not to expose his front face to surveillance cameras;

When he went into the mountains, he walked. He didn’t pass through any of the entrances of the scenic areas, and he wasn’t seen by anyone;

Due to his physical characteristics, he wouldn’t leave behind any biological materials;

The clothes that he tore in the mountain were brought back with him. The footprints left behind and traces of his fight with the mutated spider were also likely destroyed due to the heavy rain washing over them for several days.

Of course, it couldn’t rule out some “fish that slipped through the net”. After all, he didn’t handle footprint by footprint. It was practically impossible to do so.

Small pieces or fibers of torn clothing might have been left behind, but the possibility of them being found was next to nothing.

Even if these traces were discovered, it’d be very hard to link them back to him, unless someone was already suspicious of him, only then those fragments of evidence could be used to verify their suspicions.

But considering the modus operandi of Divine Technology, which he had observed recently, he still needed to be cautious.

Who knew, they might have other unconventional methods to track down “suspects”. Without knowing their methods, no matter how meticulously Xiang Kun thought it through, it was impossible to guess what they could do or to what extent they could reach.

So, after the “Bone” exited the Qinling Uninhabited Area and arrived at its final destination, Xiang Kun would attempt to investigate, looking for a way to “infiltrate” once the position was finalized. Knowing oneself and the enemy is the only way to fight ceaselessly.

Of course, self-preservation is paramount.

On a night trail, Xiang Kun, who had been running suddenly, came to a halt as if sensing something, and looked up at the night sky.

Star City.

Liu Shiling was drawing in her room, a task assigned by her kindergarten teacher to depict winter as they see it.

Liu Shiling had started drawing after dinner. She had done five drawings so far but was unsatisfied with all of them, balling them up, tearing them out, and tossing them into the trash can.

She simply couldn’t focus on her drawing. It wasn’t that she was distracted or unwilling to complete her homework. Instead, her dad, who she hadn’t seen for nearly a month, had just come home and was now in a heated argument with her mom. The disagreement was escalating, and their voices were getting louder.

Although her mom had told her to stay in her room and draw, not to come out until she was done, she really couldn’t continue. Even with her door closed, she could clearly hear the sounds of the quarrel outside.

The coin in her other hand, which wasn’t holding the pencil, was spinning rapidly between her fingers but without its usual steadiness. It seemed like it could fall onto the floor at any moment.

With a roar of rage, followed by the sound of a glass shattering, Liu Shiling, who was startled, simply couldn’t bear it any longer. Clutching that coin, she dashed out of her room, stood in front of her father who was still furious, spread her arms wide and shouted, “Don’t you dare yell at mom!”

The dark-skinned middle-aged man, who began to spurt out profanities, choked them back upon seeing his daughter.

However, Shiling’s mom scolded, “Who told you to come out? Go back to your room! This is adults’ business, none of yours! Stop meddling!” Her voice broke a little as she spoke.

Liu Shiling looked up at her mother’s angry and flushed face, bit her lower lip, and finally, with her head down, went back to her room.

The quarrel continued outside, but the voices seemed slightly lower. Liu Shiling knew that it wasn’t the intensity of the quarrel that had lessened, but rather they had moved to the balcony.

She sat in her room for a while, still unable to concentrate on anything, her fingers unconsciously flipping the coin rapidly.

Seemingly making a decision, she held the coin and started packing her things into her red backpack. She put in a few clothes, some origami, a small red flashlight, and a small case for her chopsticks, then left the room with her backpack.

Neither her father nor her mother, who were arguing on the balcony, saw her. She stood in the doorway of her room for a while, then lowered her head, wore the backpack, opened the door and left the house.

She took the elevator downstairs, left the residential building, walked a few hundred meters, and stood on the pedestrian walkway of the deserted road in the middle of the night. Liu Shiling then gradually halted.

Her initial impulse was to leave home temporarily, to escape her parents’ quarrel. The only place she could think of was to go to Uncle Bald.

But when she got here, she suddenly realized she forgot to bring money. How could she take a taxi without money? How could she get to the city where Uncle Bald lived without a car?

Moreover, she didn’t even have a cellphone to contact Uncle Bald.

In this season, at this hour, the temperature in Star City was nearing zero degrees. A gust of cold wind in the night made people involuntarily shrink their necks and stamp their feet. Liu Shiling was only wearing a thin red sweater and red khakis, having forgotten her coat.

She had left the house in full of emotions and hadn’t felt anything. But the moment she stood still, she couldn’t help but shiver with cold, her nose about to start running.

Sniffing, Little Fatty Girl looked back towards the distant apartment complex, hesitating whether or not to go home. Maybe she could sneak back in now. Her parents might still be arguing on the balcony and hadn’t noticed her leaving. She could quietly return to her room, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Wait, didn’t she lock the door when she left? And she needs a card to unlock the front door of her building.

Little Fatty Girl scratched her head, her mind momentarily struggling.

As she hesitated, she suddenly noticed a homeless man with a scruffy beard, wearing a ragged cotton coat, staring at her intensely from the opposite bus stop.

Liu Shiling’s heart started thumping loudly. She remembered her mom’s chilling stories about children taken away by bad guys and her legs felt weak.

Just as she was about to move, low rumblings of thunder filled the sky. She looked up in surprise; there was no change in the night sky above her. She could even see the moon. There was no rain… right?

When Liu Shiling heard thunder in the past, she would feel scared. She wasn’t exactly a brave kid.

But today, she didn’t feel a drop of fear when she heard the thunder. Instead, she was inexplicably curious and wanted to listen to it more clearly.

The thunder rumbled, sounding both far off and near, one peal after another, oddly easing her fears. When she looked at the homeless man across the street again, she was no longer afraid.

In fact, she fancied that there was no malice in the man’s eyes, but was he frightened?

What was he afraid of?

As the rumbling thunder subsided, Liu Shiling looked down at the coin she had been holding all along. She cradled the coin in her loosely closed fist, resting her thumb beneath it and flicked the coin up with a ‘ding’.

She often played this game in kindergarten where the coin would fly up about two to three centimeters and then fall onto the back of her hand. Other children would guess which side showed up when the coin landed. She usually won.

However, this time, after the coin flew up, it kept climbing higher and higher into the air.

Liu Shiling looked up, squinting her eyes at the coin which soared higher and higher until it appeared as a speck before it stopped. A cheerful smile spread across her face.

She turned her gaze to the homeless man across the street and pointed to the sky, calling loudly, “Uncle! Uncle! Look!”

“Ah!?… Ah!!!” However, to Liu Shiling’s surprise, the moment she looked at him, the homeless man screamed and ran off. He stumbled haphazardly down the street as if he had seen something terrifying.

Liu Shiling, whose attention had been focused on the coin, noticed too late that all the streetlights around her had been fluctuating and the lights closest to her showed the most significant changes.

The drunken homeless man at that distance wouldn’t be able to see the coin in her hand. He only saw the strange little girl in a red coat and backpack, surrounded by flickering streetlights, making an odd thumbs-up gesture, looking up to the sky before turning to him with a creepy smile.

Recalling “true stories” he heard in his youth, the homeless man couldn’t contain his fear and ran away in blind panic.

Liu Shiling watched the man’s retreating figure until he disappeared around the street corner, and as she turned to look at the coin hovering in the air, it suddenly fell before her.

As Liu Shiling bent down to pick up the coin, she heard a voice screaming behind her, “Liu Shiling!!!”

She instinctively shrunk her neck and looked back, her head lowered and legs crossed, like a quail pulled from the water, pondering how to apologize to her mother to mitigate her wrath.

But her mother, who had run towards her at the speed of an athlete, kneeled on the ground, pulling her into a crushing hug, crying and saying, “Baby, I’m sorry. Mommy was wrong. Please don’t leave me, Mommy won’t scold you anymore…”

Liu Shiling, who was racking her brains for an apology, burst into tears and cried, “Mommy, I’m sorry! I won’t do it again… sniff… Ah! I just swallowed my snot, Mommy, I’m so cold…”