Unfortunately, Xiang Kun did not see the vampire and the girl with dreadlocks in the parking lot's surveillance video. It seems that they most likely did not drive here themselves, but came by plane or high-speed train and then took a ride to the pedestrian street.
Amidst the sympathetic glances and comforting words of the three security guards, Xiang Kun left the parking lot without lingering, intending to drive straight back that night—calling a taxi for a long distance at night was far too expensive, but since he had good stamina, he figured he'd treat it as targeted training...
As for the vampire behind "August's Kasumi" and the female hacker, Xiang Kun is ready to let it go.
He was actually quite disappointed. If he were working for the government and had access to official resources, he believed he could have uncovered the vampire's true identity much sooner.
But there's nothing to be upset about now, since he knows more about the other person than they know about him.
We can try to use this information to investigate the other party's true identity through other means.
He even considered whether he could report the other party to the police if he found out their identity, since judging from their online conversations, there was a high possibility that the other party had murdered someone, and if the police investigated further, they might find something.
However, doing this could, on the one hand, allow us to "observe" how the authorities treat vampires, but on the other hand, if the authorities don't have much information on this beforehand, it might lead them to misjudge the social harm caused by vampires. If they think that vampires are all serial killers who can only drink fresh human blood, then Xiang Kun, the "law-abiding" vampire who obediently drinks animal blood, would be implicated.
When the sample size is insufficient, the public or officials can easily make judgments about the entire population based on a few isolated cases.
If Xiang Kun were in charge of the vampire clan, he would probably stipulate that everyone can only drink animal blood, and then cooperate with the authorities, working hand in hand to develop harmoniously and progress together. Anyone who dares to drink human blood would be dealt with by cooperating with the police and uniting to eliminate them...
Of course, this was just a casual thought. Xiang Kun didn't want to make decisions for anyone, nor did he believe he could. Compared to representing the vampire race, he preferred to quietly integrate into society as a human, unnoticed and unremarkable.
Moreover, he had a vague feeling that the vampire race, or rather all Mutated Creature similar to him, might not be able to form a "group" at all, because they seemed to have an innate desire to attack and devour each other, as if it were a drive and instinct from the depths of their cells and at the genetic level.
As his mind wandered aimlessly, a thought suddenly popped into Xiang Kun's head:
The person crossing the street about a hundred meters away looks vaguely familiar...
He instinctively wanted to turn around and take another look, but suddenly realized something and forcibly controlled his neck, preventing himself from turning his head. This action caused his neck muscles to tense and twist extremely instantly, almost causing a cramp.
Recalling the image he had unconsciously glimpsed in his mind—slicked-back hair, a suit, leather shoes—even though he was far away and even with Xiang Kun's eyesight he couldn't make out the facial features clearly, the overall feeling he got from the person quickly made him match the vampire in the convenience store's surveillance footage who was walking in front of the dreadlocked female hacker.
This guy didn't leave? He's back on the pedestrian street again?
At this distance, Xiang Kun couldn't immediately smell the person's scent, but he didn't dare to approach.
Even though the other person may not have seen him or recognize his appearance, they may still have the same sense of smell as him, especially the special connection that vampires and Mutated Creature should have, which makes their sense of smell even more sensitive to each other's scents.
So Xiang Kun planned to walk away casually, then turn around and come back, trying to observe the other party from a safe distance.
But after Xiang Kun had walked a dozen meters, he noticed through the rearview mirror of a parked car that the man with slicked-back hair and a suit was standing still, staring straight in his direction without moving, after crossing the road.
WHAT? That can't be right. I can't even smell him from this distance, how could he smell me first??
That doesn't make sense. I'm not upwind, and there's almost no wind right now. The smell shouldn't be spreading that fast!
Xiang Kun didn't stop or look back, continuing to walk forward as if nothing had happened.
He had only walked a short distance from the pedestrian street, but he had already scouted the area thoroughly yesterday. Several escape routes and a series of follow-up plans instantly popped into his mind.
However, he still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that the other person was looking in his direction, but probably not at him.
However, after walking down a street and turning a corner, Xiang Kun soon realized that the slick-haired man was following him, based on the reflection in the billboard and the sound of footsteps that pinpointed his location.
They've really got their eyes on me!
How exactly was it exposed?
You locked it in at a glance?
It definitely won't be that fast by smell!
Does he recognize me?
This doesn't make sense!
I spent the entire afternoon completely focused and meticulous, and then spent the evening fabricating countless stories and reviewing countless surveillance footage before I finally saw them on the video and learned what they roughly looked like. But how did they know me?
Xiang Kun suddenly remembered that when he returned to the pedestrian street earlier, he was convinced that the other party must have felt stood up and left in resentment, so he confidently searched for clues among the shops.
But what if that female hacker with dreadlocks was actually still able to remotely control those surveillance devices all along?
For example, in that Western restaurant, he could fool the waiter and other people in the restaurant by pretending to be looking for something, but that behavior would definitely be highly suspicious in the eyes of the vampire and the woman with dreadlocks.
Was it because he saw his unusual behavior on the surveillance footage that the vampire immediately came looking for him?
No wonder they could lock onto me instantly from over a hundred meters away!
So they actually never left the city, and they're not even far from the pedestrian street, still "waiting for prey"?
Holy crap! Is this some kind of underhanded tactic?
Should he run? He was almost 99.9% certain that the slick-haired vampire had ill intentions towards him and most likely wanted to drink his blood.
Based on his usual style of doing things, he would never fight a battle unprepared. When he didn't know anything about the opponent's capabilities or other information, it would be the normal choice to first make a strategic retreat and then plan for the long term.
But now that he had confirmed that the other party had locked onto him, Xiang Kun's previous tension vanished all at once, and he inexplicably entered a state of extreme calm. His senses were constantly collecting information from his surroundings, and his brain was constantly analyzing various possibilities.
He knew that this was actually a state of extreme excitement for both his mind and body, with his physical functions and brain activity reaching their peak.
This is his body telling him that he is ready for battle.
Although the update schedule for this book is unusually long, please don't stay up all night waiting for updates, because even the author doesn't know when an update will be released. Thanks to readers Liang Xining, Qin Weiyong, Youxiao, 20171119145347278, and bloodwalf for their donations.