"Nice to meet you. Let me introduce myself first."
Extinguishing her cigarette butt on the table, the woman pulled a business card out of her suit pocket and placed it on the table.
Realizing this woman was far from ordinary, Li Muhhan walked over to stand beside Xia Yue, facing the woman as if confronting a formidable enemy.
"My name is Lin Zed, affiliated with the Huaxia National Special Management Bureau, dedicated to containing those 'special groups' that do not belong to humanity."
When mentioning the special groups, Lin Ze glanced at Xia Yue.
"You probably already know the true identity of the young lady beside you. I am her guarantor, so her causing such a huge commotion last night has really put me in a difficult spot. If I can't handle it properly, I'm going to be in deep trouble."
"What happened yesterday was my doing. It has nothing to do with her."
Li Muhhan stepped in front of Xia Yue.
Lin Ze leaned back in her chair, studying Li Muhhan closely for a moment before her face broke into that same unshakable, composed smile.
"I know it was you. Originally, we weren't sure who the other target was, but walking into this apartment made it clear. This place is reeking of a heavy scent—the scent of a Demon."
Xia Yue suddenly raised her hand, and five blood-red Spikes materialized out of thin air.
The Spikes hovered all around Lin Ze, ready to pierce the woman's body at the slightest flick of Xia Yue's fingers.
"Hiss—"
Lin Ze drew in a breath.
Looking at the blood Spikes mere inches away, she couldn't help but shake her head and sigh.
"I'm your guarantor. Do you vampires all bite the hand that feeds you?"
"What do you want with him?"
Xia Yue did not retract the Spikes. By now, her hair was beginning to turn white, clearly posturing for a fight.
"Don't get excited. I'm just here to investigate. Whether he's a Demon or whatever else doesn't really matter. The most important thing is for me to ensure whether he poses a threat to humans."
"He doesn't."
Xia Yue said firmly.
"Cutie, you don't get to decide that. Collecting those shattered corpses last night kept me busy the entire night, you know."
Lin Ze looked over at Li Muhhan.
"Can you tell me—are you a primordial Demon, or a human who was possessed?"
"...At least according to my memories, I should be human," Li Muhhan said.
Lin Ze nodded, then stood up and walked right up to Li Muhhan.
Just as Xia Yue was about to say something, Li Muhhan raised a hand and shook his head at her.
He could tell that this woman named Lin Ze held no real malice toward him, and she even seemed to have done Xia Yue a favor. Rather than letting them clash here, it was better to first see what Lin Ze wanted.
"Good boy, so sensible."
Seeing Li Muhhan stop Xia Yue, Lin Ze smiled faintly, then raised her hand, took off her glove, and pressed it against Li Muhhan's chest.
Li Muhhan didn't move at all, quietly letting the other person feel his heartbeat.
"This power..."
Lin Ze frowned slightly, causing Li Muhhan to swallow nervously.
A moment later, however, Lin Ze's expression shifted back to that detached smile.
"Tell me, what did that Demon say to you? Are you still standing on humanity's side?"
Lin Ze looked into Li Muhhan's eyes and asked.
"...He barely said a few words to me. Am I even still human now?"
"Unfortunately, no."
Finally tiring of the standoff, Lin Ze sighed and said,
"I can give you a choice: join the Special Management Bureau, and use your power properly to protect humanity and your country. That way, you can conditionally keep your current life. Need me to remind you? You killed ten people."
At that moment, Li Muhhan finally felt a touch of harsh reality.
The reality of having killed someone.
He had killed people; the police should have been the ones coming for him. But instead, it was an organization called the Special Management Bureau.
And to non-humans, this organization was essentially the police.
If he refused to accept this proposal, what awaited him naturally would be endless pursuit, and judging by the tricks this woman had just pulled off, she was far from an ordinary person.
"Let me remind you of something else, too: the young master you offended is no ordinary person. His father is the boss of the Zhao Group. Without our protection, he might not let you go."
Lin Ze opened a plastic bag, picked up a piece of bread, and began to eat.
She chewed as she spoke.
"Of course, the vampire by your side certainly wouldn't give him a second thought. But if she harms a human because of you, the Special Management Bureau will also list her as a target for extermination. Are you willing to let her meet that end?"
"I'll give you three days to think about it."
Sensing the confusion in Li Muhhan's eyes, Lin Ze moved to stand up, but the Spikes were still lingering around her. She smiled as she looked at Xia Yue.
"I haven't even settled accounts with you about your adoptive parents yet. What, you still want to make me angry?"
At the mention of her adoptive parents, Xia Yue's body froze instantly.
Then, she slowly closed her eyes. Her hair turned back to black, and the Spikes gradually vanished.
"Rest assured, I'm not a bad person. Arguably, the Special Management Bureau is the best destination for someone like you right now."
With that, the woman wiped her hands with a tissue from the table and walked toward the door.
"Think about it. Think it over carefully."
She closed the door behind her and left.
Left in the room, Xia Yue and Li Muhhan remained silent.
Li Muhhan sat down in a chair, staring continuously at his own hands. The thought that these very hands had snuffed out ten lives last night sent a shiver through him.
Xia Yue wanted to offer a few words of comfort, but Li Muhhan suddenly looked up and flashed a goofy smile at her.
"It's fine. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. There'll be a way."
"You really are a... fool."
Actually, Li Muhhan's personality had always been like this. No matter how heavy the blow he suffered, he could always pick himself up.
This wasn't because he had a wonderful childhood or the guidance of mentors and friends.
On the contrary, his upbringing could be described as cruel as hell.
Even now, Li Muhhan could still feel the Demons inside the theater of his heart watching him with predatory gazes.
They would love to see Li Muhhan become disheartened and sink into despair, for that would allow them to claim this body all the sooner.
"It's just that I probably can't be considered human anymore. It's a bit of a shame, really."
Li Muhhan smiled and scratched his head.
Suddenly remembering something, Xia Yue reached out, grabbed Li Muhhan's wrist, and stared straight into his eyes.
"I'm taking you to see something."
Without waiting for Li Muhhan to object, Xia Yue forcefully yanked his hand and pulled him toward the window.
"Close your eyes."
"Huh? Why should I—"
"Don't ask. Close your eyes."
Gazing into Xia Yue's crystal-clear eyes illuminated by the moonlight, Li Muhhan felt a slight stir in his chest. He felt his heartbeat quicken, and then he slowly closed his eyes.
Suddenly, a sensation of weightlessness washed over him. Li Muhhan felt Xia Yue drag him as they leaped out of the window.
The world fell completely silent, with only the howling wind whistling past his ears, as if time itself had frozen in that moment.
Holding Xia Yue's slightly chilled hand, Li Muhhan felt completely at peace. He even had the leisure to ponder the question of a vampire's body temperature.
"You can open your eyes now."
How much time had passed? Perhaps a long while, perhaps just a fleeting instant—Xia Yue's voice rang softly in Li Muhhan's ear.
Enduring the fierce cold wind, Li Muhhan slowly opened his eyes.
He was stunned by the sight before him.
At this moment, he was being held by Xia Yue as the two of them floated high above the entire city. Beneath their feet were sparkling lights and rivers of traffic.
Myriad households and their lights lay below them, and in the distance, the sea merged with the city's port, its dark waves rolling in the night.
This was Li Muhhan's first time overlooking the city from such a perspective. Having grown up in an orphanage, he had never even left Tianhai City, let alone ridden in an airplane.
Xia Yue said nothing, only holding him tightly so he wouldn't fall.
Gradually, Li Muhhan understood what Xia Yue meant.
Examining this city—or this world—from another angle was not necessarily an uninteresting thing to do.
Just like what Xia Yue was doing right now: she was a vampire, yet she was living life the human way.
Then, as a human, why couldn't Li Muhhan live out his days as a "monster"?
"The scenery here is better than the top floor of a luxury hotel, right?"
Li Muhhan was slightly startled before he understood what Xia Yue was implying. She still remembered Gu Ruoxi's Moments post that she had inadvertently seen last time—compared to this, the top floor of a luxury hotel was instantly rendered worthless.
"Consider this a gift for taking me in. Of course, I know this is far from enough, but..."
Xia Yue looked at Li Muhhan with a smile. Before she could finish speaking, Li Muhhan had already pulled her tightly into his arms.
"Thank you."
Li Muhhan hugged Xia Yue's petite and slightly chilled body back fiercely.
Being a monster didn't seem so bad after all.
***
At the very top of the Tianhai City television tower.
Li Muhhan sat there, staring blankly at the night view beneath his feet. If not for the howling cold wind stinging his cheeks, he might still have felt like he was living in a dream.
As for Xia Yue, she had transformed into her vampire form.
The girl rested closely against Li Muhhan's side, her massive bat wings gently folding to wrap the two of them within.
"Are you still cold?"
"No. But I'm still puzzled. This body of mine was clearly injured so badly—how come after waking up, there isn't the slightest trace of pain?"
Aside from his blood-stained clothes, Li Muhhan woke up without a single trace of injury on his body.
"The Demon's power will repair your body," Xia Yue said.
Li Muhhan touched his own chest.
To his great surprise, his heartbeat was exceptionally slow—so slow it hardly resembled that of a living human.
At that moment, he recalled the explanation of power in his mind earlier.
Within the Myriad Thunder Guiding Slaughter Domain, his regenerative capacity was multiplied tenfold. In other words, his injuries had already been completely healed while he was inside the Domain.
What an immensely convenient ability this was.
"Still, honestly, I really don't want to join any Special Management Bureau."
Xia Yue was slightly startled and opened her mouth to speak, but Li Muhhan had already turned his head to look at her.
A faint residual golden glow of the Demon still lingered in the boy's eyes—a color that represented not hope, but despair.
Yet Li Muhhan showed no fear; instead, he wore an utterly carefree expression.
"Though that woman named Lin Ze spoke very politely, she essentially just wants to tie me up like a dog. It makes things easier for them that way."
Li Muhhan raised his hand, looking at his palm with a self-deprecating smile.
"As for the Demon's power, I don't plan on using it anymore."
Xia Yue did not reply. After all, anomalies targeted by the Special Management Bureau faced only three possible endings:
First, join them, becoming an anomaly regulated by the Bureau while working in its service.
Second, be hunted down directly, eliminating any potential threat to existence forever.
Third, for anomalies that were excessively powerful yet harmless to the world, the Bureau would not obsess excessively over monitoring them.
After all, if an anomaly of that caliber truly wanted to destroy the world, mere monitoring could not effectively stop it.
Li Muhhan looked up at the bright moonlight. Viewed from the top of the tower, it didn't seem any closer to the moon.
"Screw it. I cheated death this time. I came out ahead."
"Maybe this is all my fault. My appearance is what dragged you into all this. I'm truly sorry."
Xia Yue lowered her head, a trace of apology in her eyes.
Li Muhhan turned his head slightly to look at the girl beside him, his gaze softening.
"That's actually great."
Then he pulled Xia Yue directly into his embrace, which stunned her instead.
"Eh? You... what are you doing?"
"Thank you. Truly, thank you. If not for you showing up, I wouldn't have gotten over the shadow of my breakup so quickly. Though saying it like this might sound a bit strange, you really are sent by the heavens to save me."
Xia Yue didn't understand.
Love—that was an emotion she had almost never experienced. Wandering this world for thousands of years, she had never encountered anyone who could make her feel this way.
This had led Xia Yue to mistakenly believe that the Blood Clan were creatures incapable of feeling romantic love.
Yet to this human before her, was love really this important?
If she could learn to love him, would that be the best way to repay him?
At that moment, Xia Yue had no concept of what love was. Believing this was a form of repaying Li Muhhan, she gently wrapped her arms around him in return.
***
At 8:00 PM the next day.
Gu Ruoxi arrived at the hospital ward door, meticulously dressed up, only to be blocked by the bodyguards standing guard outside.
"Do you know who I am?!"
She pointed at the bodyguards and scolded them.
"I am your young master's girlfriend!"
The bodyguards exchanged glances. Even through their dark sunglasses, Gu Ruoxi could see the clear disdain on their faces.
This had never happened before; previously, these bodyguards would bow and scrape before her without a shred of disrespect.
"The young master's girlfriend? Which one?"
"What do you mean 'which one'! Your young master only has one girlfriend, and that's me! Don't you know that?!"
Gu Ruoxi's face turned red with anger, her features looking even more delicate beneath her carefully applied makeup.
"You really think you're someone special?"
A bodyguard mocked with a laugh.
"Our young master just treats you like a toy. You slut, did you really think our young master would ever genuinely love a filthy woman like you?"
"Filthy?! You called me filthy?!"
Gu Ruoxi's eyes bulged with rage.