7 As Long As The Other Side Is Bad Enough, Even Vampires Can Be Good People

# Chapter 7: As Long As Your Enemies Are Evil Enough, Even a Vampire Can Be a Good Person

"A-Cha! A-Cha, are you okay? Still alive? If you're alive, make a sound!"

At the blazing "accident scene" of Morland Village, the dust-covered Leading Pigeon picked himself up from the ground, feeling the world spin around him.

This was definitely a mild concussion.

The symptoms were exactly the same as last time when he was trying to chat up a girl on the playground and got "accidentally" hit in the head by a flying soccer ball!

Damn, this experience was way too realistic?

His first reaction was to call out for his two brothers. When the explosion happened, he thought he saw the unlucky Coo-Coo Chicken, who was closest, get blasted away?

Sigh, he'd probably already croaked and turned into roast chicken.

But the reality was a bit better than Ge Bao had imagined.

Coo-Coo Chicken wasn't dead yet. The violent explosion had thrown him right into the wooden door of a house across the village street.

His waist felt like it was about to break, but at least he was alive—just hit with [Blindness] and [Deafness] debuffs, lying on the ground groaning and unable to get up for a while.

The best off was A-Cha.

That lucky bastard had been far away at the time, using broken sign language to chat up Maxim, and when the village warehouse exploded before their eyes, Maxim had tackled him to the ground. He didn't even lose a single hair.

But the scene before the four of them was absolutely horrific.

Morland Village only had this one street. The warehouse at the east end had been blown open by the witch hunters' alchemical bombs. The substance inside, similar to "alchemist's fire," had ignited violently, quickly setting the surrounding buildings ablaze. The most insane part was that burning villagers kept screaming and charging out of the warehouse.

But there was no saving them.

They'd been doused with some kind of oil, and most collapsed into the fire after just a few thrashing steps.

Logically, no matter how terrifying a scene in a game was, it was just a story and a cutscene to the players. But the three college students were in a "game" that was far too real. The shocking sight left them frozen in place, wanting to help but completely at a loss.

A-Cha tried to rush forward but Maxim held him down firmly. With a fire like this, anyone who got close would be burned.

The innocent young players really couldn't understand why the witch hunters had locked the villagers in the warehouse, or why they'd detonate the bomb in their own hiding spot.

But Maxim had heard of such things before.

He got up from the ground and said to A-Cha in a voice full of hatred and disgust:

"The witch hunters judged this village to be a gathering place for vampire worshippers and sentenced these villagers to 'death by fire.' Those madmen locked the innocent people in the warehouse, apparently planning to execute them after killing Lord Murphy.

But we won.

So the witch hunters, knowing they had no way out, chose to die together with everyone.

How despicable!"

Maxim explained in detail, but unfortunately the illiterate little players couldn't understand his Transian. Still, from Maxim's sad and angry expression, they could roughly guess the sequence of events.

Especially when the burning warehouse wall collapsed, revealing the still-burning skeleton of a witch hunter. Leading Pigeon immediately erupted in righteous fury:

"Damn! If you're fighting, fight! Killing vampires is one thing, but killing civilians? What the hell is that? These witch hunters are disgusting! What's the difference between them and those damn little bastards who should burn in hell?"

"I think this scene is a bit too much."

A-Cha turned his head away uncomfortably and said quietly:

"Do they have to make it this realistic? Couldn't they just use a few textures and call it done? If everything's like this, there's no way this game passes review even after testing is complete."

"Uh, I can't see anything right now."

The temporarily blinded Spicy Coo-Coo Chicken sat to the side, catching his breath. He said softly:

"But from your descriptions, I feel like being blind right now isn't such a bad thing. Amitabha, this is really too tragic."

Maxim himself had been born in a similar village. Seeing this tragedy, he could no longer hold back. He stepped forward, knelt before the silent burning scene, and began to pray quietly.

The most darkly ironic thing was that even though the villagers had been slaughtered by the Old Faith's witch hunters, he was still using the Old Faith's prayers.

There was no choice. Vampires had no gods or churches of their own, so vampire worshippers could only use the scriptures of a religion that had vanished ten years ago to honor the dead. Humanity's other faith was far away in the northern kingdom of Nordtov, and the Winter Wolf Church's teachings had never been able to spread in Transia, a land completely incompatible with their way of life.

The three little players remained silent.

"Did you see that?"

Murphy's voice came from behind them.

The vampire looked at the evil, maddening scene before him, his mood also heavy. For the players, this was just a game, but for Murphy, all of this was real.

Leveraging the emotion of the moment, framed by the firelight before them, Murphy half-truthfully drawled in a low voice to the players:

"Things like this happen every day in this brutal and barbaric world, but others turn a blind eye! The fallen have immersed themselves in the dreams of desire, power, and war, saying nothing about the real suffering that life endures.

This is why I summoned you, warriors from another world.

This is the great plan I want to prepare and execute.

If we join forces, perhaps we can turn all of this around!

I firmly believe this!

Your strength combined with my wisdom—together we can create a world where tragedies like this no longer happen."

Murphy stood before the blazing fire, his back to the three little players like those resolute protagonist NPCs. After a few seconds of silence, he turned to face them and said:

"This walk toward the light really shouldn't be undertaken by a vampire, yet no one else was willing to step up! This world has always lacked true heroes, so they have to make do with me, a bloodkind.

Brave warriors.

Are you willing to help me?

After witnessing brutality, ignorance, and darkness firsthand, are you willing to join me in this great plan?"

"This is the perfect moment for a quest prompt to pop up."

Leading Pigeon turned to his two brothers and muttered a complaint. The two nodded in agreement, but the next second, Ge Bao stood up resolutely and grasped Murphy's outstretched hand.

He said in a sincere tone:

"Of course, we righteous ones will not turn a blind eye to such dark evil. Lord Murphy, we remnants of another world will board your ship to a beautiful new world today!"

"Damn! Do you have to get this into character? How are you even better at acting than me? Want to switch and be the NPC instead?"

Murphy's face showed a look of deep emotion, but inside he was thoroughly annoyed.

How is this guy still a chuunibyou?

Sure, you look all righteous, but don't think I don't recognize you're riffing on Kamen Rider and Whitebeard! Don't let my young, handsome appearance fool you—this old uncle was a hardcore otaku before transmigrating too.

"Good."

Murphy suppressed his overwhelming urge to rant, withdrew his hand, and said to the three little players before him:

"Then our cause begins now! I am very weak right now, and my servant also needs rest. I'll leave it to you to search the village for any survivors—perhaps they can join our cause.

You brave warriors will need money to buy fitting armor and weapons, so I hope you can collect any unclaimed currency as operating funds for our organization.

I know this sounds a bit vulgar.

But a righteous cause always needs practical support—we can't fill our stomachs with ideals."

"Tsk, this NPC is a real talent."

A-Cha'en winked at Ge Bao and Coo-Coo Chicken and said:

"Making looting sound so nice—this guy's a pragmatist. Hey, not like those cliché NPCs who are out of touch with reality.

That's good."

"Let's go, let's go loot."

Leading Pigeon shrugged. He and A-Cha'en each took one side, supporting Coo-Coo Chicken, who hadn't recovered from the shock-induced blindness, as they headed into the village, leaving only Murphy and Maxim behind.

"Leave the searching to my warriors. You should rest too."

Murphy sat down on a fallen door plank and said to Maxim, who had finished his prayer:

"You need to learn to communicate with my warriors too. They're all very good people—warm-hearted and tireless. If you need anything, you can tell them, and they'll do their best to find it for you.

Of course, dealing with them requires payment.

That's a tradition in their warrior world. Not paying them will make them see you as an enemy."

"But I have no money."

Maxim looked a bit embarrassed.

A defective blood servant like him was lucky to have food to eat. Even they themselves were Lord Jade's private property—what would they need money for? To recruit troops and rebel?

But Murphy shook his head and explained:

"It's not just money. They're interested in everything we have here—apparently, they have a serious collecting obsession. You can pay them with physical items, anything will do. Of course, coins, weapons, and armor are their favorites.

If you can get them handsome warhorses or some rare, valuable treasures as rewards, they'll be even happier and see you as a closer, more trustworthy person."

"Sounds a lot like mercenaries—the same contempt for death, the same heartlessness. Emotion or sorrow can't sway their actions; they only fight for profit."

Maxim summed it up, and Murphy was satisfied with the analogy. He said:

"They are mercenaries from another world! Pure, profit-driven yet fair. When they're kind, they rival the most selfless angels; when they're evil, they make even the demons of hell shudder. I'm glad they're on our side now.

Enough about them.

I'll rest a bit, and then we'll discuss how to continue toward the Midnight Hunters' camp."

With that, he closed his eyes, feigning a nap, but was actually checking the rewards for the beginner tutorial quest:

[Beginner Tutorial Quest (3/6): Basic Combat Test (Completed).

Rewards: Test Invite Code +5, Game Forum Feature Unlocked.

Developer's Note: The forum is not just a place to share all kinds of gossip and troubles over tea; it's also a gathering spot for cute little players to share their feelings.

They need a forum just as adventurers need a tavern. Now, you have your own tavern—use it well.]

[Beginner Tutorial Quest (4/6): Advanced Combat Test. Command test personnel in a qualified real battle. Requirements: Eliminate or repel the enemy while keeping personnel losses within one-fifth of current strength.

Victory Condition: Current personnel count is 15. Losing more than 3 people results in quest failure.

Rewards: Test Invite Code +5, New Feature Unlocked, bonus rewards based on quest completion.

Developer's Note: With such adorable little players, can you bear to use them as cannon fodder? Well, it's not impossible, but at this stage, it's recommended you allocate every precious resource wisely. In other words, you must first learn my fine-tuned micro-management before you can enjoy the thrill of a glorious A-move.]

"Is this quest difficulty setting for real? How does the gap between three and four feel like a whole world apart! Are you forcing me to switch from role-playing to being an RTS player?"

"Should I gouge out my own eyes right now and complete the class change?"

Murphy silently cursed in his mind.

But the reward was still tempting.

Beneath his character card, he spotted the newly unlocked game forum function. Touching it with his consciousness, like moving a void mouse cursor, caused a flood of light to flicker before his eyes. Then, within the translucent glow, a web-like window materialized—the sensation was just like sitting at a computer desk, surfing the internet.

This was the forum's main body.

To be honest, it was pretty barebones, but it had the essential features: private messages, posting, discussion groups, and so on.

Murphy deftly checked his account info and saw his ID—not Ravnos Murphy Lasombra, but a meaningless [Alpha].

This reminded him of when the test plan administrator system first activated. During the initial guidance mission, the content description had also referred to him as "Alpha."

"What does this title even mean?"

Murphy pondered but found no answer. He continued browsing his account info, which showed he had been granted sole administrator authority over this forum.

Just like how, in his interactions with the players, he was the sole administrator of this "game" under testing.

"Maybe I could try forcing players to go offline? Use that to occasionally flaunt my authority as a permissions dog."

This slightly wicked thought popped into Murphy's mind, making the unlucky vampire eager to try it out. Then he turned his gaze to this unusually simple yet not-so-simple forum.

No posts had been made yet, since the function had just unlocked. But from the forum's displayed member count of [10/15], he could tell that the five test invitation codes he'd just obtained were already circulating among the players' world in ways he couldn't fathom, searching for suitable testers.

Speaking of which, what exactly were the criteria for this weird thing to select players?

Was it really just luck?

Murphy mulled over these questions, planning to surf the web and drop a post to ease his tense and bewildered mood. But before he could act, an abrupt gunshot made him spring to his feet. Beside him, Maxim gripped his sword nervously.

The people in this village were probably all killed by the witch hunters.

Where did the gunshot come from?

More importantly, had his adorable little players already been offed?

Damn!

Daring to kill my cute little players! You've got some nerve!

Ps:

Thanks to brother "Newbie Village Chief Taipal" for the alliance leader's tip. The five bonus chapters will be released together when the novel goes on sale—promise! Love you all~ Also, please try to read up to the latest chapter daily, bro. The follow-up read data directly affects subsequent recommendations. During the new book period, it's more important than anything else.

As for how many chapters I'll release when it goes on sale, it'll definitely be a lot. But it depends on my stockpile and the pre-sale data. Can't help it—this industry is getting more and more competitive. Even a tentacle monster has to eat and support a family, right?