Inside the special forces base in City A, Xue Ji personally took charge of the matters concerning Song Liangpeng and the young girl.
She requested a private room and spoke with the two of them face-to-face.
Xue Ji spoke first, saying, “Hello, I am Xue Ji, the acting person in charge of City A’s special forces.”
“I apologize for frightening you earlier, but there were compelling reasons for our actions. Please understand.” Xue Ji used as gentle a tone as possible.
Song Liangpeng hurriedly waved his hands, “No, no, it’s nothing like that.”
The young girl simply stared at Xue Ji, seemingly mesmerized. She only snapped out of her daze when Song Liangpeng poked her shoulder from the side, realizing her own impropriety.
“Sorry, sorry! You’re just so beautiful, big sister, I was staring without thinking. My name is Mu Panxia!” A bit of color returned to the young girl’s pale face, and she blushed.
Hearing this, Xue Ji merely smiled faintly. At his core, he was still male, so being complimented on his beauty didn’t cause any internal reaction.
“Since there don’t seem to be any issues, please listen to me first.” Xue Ji somehow produced a plate of snacks and placed it in front of the two.
Over the next half hour, Xue Ji explained the true situation currently facing City A to both of them.
Only then did Song Liangpeng realize just how much danger he had been in, and a wave of belated fear washed over him.
Mu Panxia simply patted his shoulder, as if giving him strength.
“What are you afraid of? I’ll protect you!” Mu Panxia declared, sounding like an older sister figure vowing to protect her younger brother.
Seeing Song Liangpeng’s reaction, Xue Ji thought for a moment and decided to ask, “Do you know what happened to your parents?”
Song Liangpeng only remembered that his parents were taken away by the police and never returned, as if they had vanished from the world. Every time he went to the police station to ask, they said it involved a confidential project and couldn’t provide any information.
“Your parents were brainwashed by cultists and are now imprisoned in a special facility. The four cultists performing the ritual around you that time were summoned by them.” Xue Ji informed him about his parents’ situation.
“How… how are they now?” Even though Song Liangpeng resented his parents for joining the cult and even mortgaging their house, he couldn’t help but ask.
“To be honest, they are no longer human. You wouldn’t want to see them as they are now.” Before coming, Xue Ji had specifically gone to check on the two in their cell, inspecting the seals containing the high-risk anomalous entities.
Before the spiritual revival began significantly affecting living beings, those malevolent spirits and demons had already sensed the opportunity for resurgence. They released their minions in advance, seeking to encroach upon the real world. Held in the same place as these two were the Devourer, who continuously consumed and evolved, causing the Calamity Jawbeast disaster, and the dark creature that had parasitized Chaya’s younger brother.
“I’m telling you this because you need to understand that your life can’t return to how it was before.” Xue Ji’s voice turned serious. He needed Song Liangpeng to mentally prepare himself.
Hearing this, Song Liangpeng gradually lowered his head, covering his face with his hands, lost in thought for a long time.
“Even so… I still want to see what they look like now.”
Xue Ji simply pulled up a mere ten-second video and handed his communicator over for Song Liangpeng to watch himself.
“Miss Mu, it’s best if you don’t watch,” Xue Ji advised.
“No, I need to be with him.” Her gaze was unwavering. Xue Ji could see the determination in the young girl’s heart and the deeper, hidden emotions.
Ever since they were children, it was this shy boy who had always protected Mu Panxia.
Mu Panxia’s parents passed away early, and she had relied on her grandmother growing up.
Whether it was when she was bullied by local troublemakers or when she felt utterly alone, during her times of greatest need, it was always the tall, lanky Song Liangpeng who appeared by her side.
After starting high school, while working part-time to support her studies at a relative’s house, she would often think of this tall, thin boy during lonely moments, feeling an impulse to go find him.
But the boy moved away after high school started, and their contact inevitably decreased.
Until half a month ago, when she awakened a B-grade “Life-Saving Fist” ability during the school-organized awakening ceremony. The scholarship from the school finally freed her from the heavy pressures of life.
Later, after hearing about Song Liangpeng’s recent situation, she discussed it with her grandmother and decisive took leave to come see him.
She had awakened an ability now. She wanted to protect him.
She was tired of retreating, tired of always being sheltered behind someone else.
Mu Panxia insisted repeatedly, and eventually, Xue Ji agreed to let them watch together.
The two “beings” in the video were covered in a black, viscous fluid, their facial features completely distorted and misplaced. They knelt as if in pious worship towards nothingness. In the final scene of the video, they stretched their necks unnaturally, their spines protruding grotesquely, pulling other internal organs out with them. Their twisted, boneless hands were clasped tightly in front of their chests, and they chanted prayers incessantly.
The mere ten-second footage was enough to make Song Liangpeng and Mu Panxia retch. In the end, Xue Ji had to cast a minor calming spell to stabilize their mental states.
As they recovered, silence filled the meeting room. Xue Ji simply sat opposite them, calmly drinking sparkling water.
It was Song Liangpeng who broke the silence. When he lifted his head, anger burned in his eyes.
Perhaps someone with his unique nature could only wish for an ordinary life in vain, a life destined to be accompanied by misfortune. Since trying to escape seemed to make it pursue him more fiercely, then he would face it all. He would answer the shadows with his own fury!
“I am ready to raise a blade against them.” Song Liangpeng no longer seemed as withdrawn and despondent as before. Having made his decision, he actually felt a hundred times lighter.
“You are not left with nothing,” Xue Ji said, looking at Mu Panxia.
Song Liangpeng turned to look at the youthful girl with the low ponytail beside him. She responded with a smile and a nod. Perhaps he had been initially driven by rage, but the girl’s smile awakened him to something else.
“Precisely because I am not left with nothing, I must resist them even more. I must make those monsters and demons learn what fear is.”
Song Liangpeng was determined, not just for revenge, but also to protect the person he cherished.
Seeing his reaction, Xue Ji smiled and took out a pre-prepared communicator and a Pioneer candidate interest form.
“Even though you didn’t awaken an ability, a body that can produce vampire antibodies is far from ordinary. Join the Pioneers,” Xue Ji suggested.
“Huh? But don’t the Pioneers require even stronger abilities?” Mu Panxia asked.
“Not exactly. That’s a misunderstanding. In reality, many of those with powerful abilities joined the Pioneers specifically because they weren’t suited for the management and operational structure of the special forces.”
“In other words, the special forces and the Pioneers aren’t in a hierarchy; they are parallel organizations. The special forces are the ‘spearhead,’ the main stabilizing force. The Pioneers are the ‘unconventional troops,’ suited for exploration and pioneering new fronts.”
“So, individuals with unique and unusual talents are the true recruitment targets for the Pioneers.”
Song Liangpeng signed his name without hesitation, as if this was how things were always meant to be, the life he was truly meant to lead.
As he set down the pen, the single greatest variable in the vampire upheaval began its transformation into the Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of all vampires.