What It’s Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 22: The Taste of Fresh Blood

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

The quiet streets that once seemed to be “asleep” were filled with different kinds of chatter, sounds of televisions, and cell phones within the buildings. Many people were not asleep yet.

The streets that once seemed to be empty were filled with small animals and insects crawling and moving about in every corner and drain.

The sounds that required Xiang Kun to focus to hear a few days ago came naturally. These sounds and scents were registered in his “database” and became the basis of analyzing his surroundings.

Compared to the sense of hearing, the sense of smell made him feel more foreign. It was the first time he had smelled most of the smells.

He wanted to confirm the sources of the smells and label them so he could “enter” them into his “database”.

Every grown-up had their own “database” for their senses of smell and hearing. That was the so-called experience. For example, if one suddenly smelled a bad egg within a group of people, one would know that someone had farted. If one heard footsteps from upstairs, one could tell if the person was wearing high heels, slippers, or was bare-footed.

Meanwhile, after Xiang Kun’s sensory organs improved tremendously, he needed to “update” his “database”. After this update, the improvements to his sensory organs could be useful.

…

Xiang Kun suddenly stopped and went towards the corner of the street in the east.

It was already 11:47 PM. Some streets were still busy at this time, but some were empty.

The region he was in was a relatively quiet region. There were very few shops and residences. Moreover, many old houses were empty. Therefore, after 10 PM, there were very few people, and one could only see motorcycles for food deliveries occasionally.

Xiang Kun had initially planned to walk to that area. The quieter the surroundings, the more sensitive his senses. After eliminating the distracting noises in cities, he could undergo better targeted training.

However, he was hesitating now because he had smelled something—blood. It was very likely to be human blood.

After the attack on the couple a few days ago, and especially since his sense of smell had improved greatly, he could identify the difference between human blood, rabbit blood, and chicken blood.

However, he could not confirm if the smell of blood that was coming from a distance away was definitely human blood.

If it was human blood, then something would have happened at that place, right?

Xiang Kun did not want to get involved in any incidents again. Just a few days ago, the incident had happened underneath his window. Moreover, the victims were people he knew, so he could not sit back and do nothing.

But now…

If something happened in that direction, he could just change his direction. If he did not know what had happened, it was not counted as leaving someone in the lurch, right?

Moreover, perhaps there was nobody injured and bleeding anyway; he might have gotten the smell of human blood wrong. It could also be a minor injury from someone who had fallen down.

As he thought about that, he took a few steps in the opposite direction. However, after two seconds, he gave a long sigh and rushed towards the direction of the source of human blood.

He knew that if he did not head over to investigate, the mystery of what had happened at that place would bother him continuously, and he probably would not be able to forget it for a few months. It was not because he felt guilty for not saving someone, but rather because of curiosity…

…

The source of the smell was less than 40 meters away from Xiang Kun. He rushed across the road and saw a figure lying in a pile of trash.

It was really a human?

Xiang Kun did not have the time to feel satisfied for correctly deducing human blood. He immediately whipped out his cell phone and dialled 110. Meanwhile, while looking around, he walked towards the person slowly.

However, based on Xiang Kun’s analysis, the culprit was no longer nearby.

After a short while, the police arrived, followed by an ambulance. As the person who discovered the scene and reported it, Xiang Kun was interviewed by the police.

The police checked Xiang Kun’s identity, and after asking him how he discovered the person, the police told Xiang Kun to wait for a moment.

After a while, a police officer arrived. Xiang Kun took a look and realized that it was a familiar face—he was the one in charge of the incident with the couple and had taken Xiang Kun’s statement. He was Officer Chen.

Officer Chen clearly recognized Xiang Kun. He could not help it because his features were too distinct.

“You recognize the victim? How could you let the culprit escape?” Based on Officer Chen’s judgement, although the culprit had a weapon, Xiang Kun should be able to put up a fight.

Xiang Kun quickly said, “I don’t recognize the victim. I merely passed by and heard something, so I came to take a look…”

Officer Chen asked, “Where were you headed so late at night?”

Xiang Kun replied, “Sigh, I was going to Wealthy Street to have some barbeque.”

“You are still living in Huawen Street? You walked over? That’s a little far, right?” asked Officer Chen in a strange tone.

“I have nothing to do at night anyway and I am not rushing for time, so I decided to walk as a form of exercise,” replied Xiang Kun.

Officer Chen nodded and asked about the entire process again. However, he asked Xiang Kun in much more detail than the officer earlier on.

In fact, Xiang Kun had not heard anything. When he first smelled the blood, the culprit should have already been gone. Or else, based on Xiang Kun’s sense of hearing, he definitely would have heard something.

However, if he did not make up the story, he could not explain why he had ended up there. The location was indeed very remote, and he had no reason for ending up there. Unless he said that he had stopped to pee.

This time, Officer Chen did not bring Xiang Kun back to the police station to take his statement. After interviewing him, Officer Chen left a number and told Xiang Kun, “We may need your help for the investigation and will contact you through a phone call. If you recall anything, you can also call me at this number.”

Xiang Kun nodded and was about to leave.

As he was answering Officer Chen’s questions, he noticed that the police officers had gone over to the ATM across the road to check. With his sense of hearing, he heard the conversation between the officers and knew that the victim had withdrawn money from the ATM before he was attacked. The culprit could have followed the victim since then.

Xiang Kun initially planned to walk back using his original path. However, after taking a few steps, he had a change in plan and wanted to try something out.