The Cassette Tape Theory / How to Attack a Girl's Soft Spots

"——"

A shadow appeared silently behind Lin, and a pair of scarlet eyes stared at the unsuspecting man's neck.

"Howl!

Lin felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck, followed by an overwhelming feeling of dizziness.

Chapter Six: On Tape Theory

"Huff... huff..."

The exhaled air was so hot it almost burned my trachea, and a dull ache in the back of my neck and the sensation of blood flowing down my face accompanied by a forced feeling of faintness overwhelmed my body.

Lin knelt on the ground, breathing heavily. His body temperature seemed to have risen, making his eyeballs feel as if they were being enveloped and heated.

Two people lay in front of him: the man who had attacked him the first time, and the woman who had attacked him again while he was checking on the unconscious man.

At the last second, he forcefully pulled the woman, teeth and all, from his neck and punched her in the neck, knocking her unconscious.

This is so strange... He's like he's been injected with anesthesia; he's completely weak and his consciousness is clouded...

Is there medicine in this person's teeth?

Lin supported himself on the ground and rested for a while before suppressing the fainting feeling that was almost taking away his ability to think. He slowly climbed up with the help of the wall and looked at the two creatures on the ground that were similar to humans, but were not human.

Wrong...

Lin barely managed to maintain his consciousness as he walked up to the two men and examined their shared features—blood-red pupils, excessively long fingernails, and canine teeth.

Vampire?

But didn't Himeko say that the victims were all tall, slender young women? Why was he attacked?

Thinking of this, Lin examined the two men's necks again and discovered some details.

There were two canine bite marks on the back of their necks.

The problem can be figured out without much sophisticated thinking.

These two people were "infected".

Although it is unknown whether the perpetrator of the serial vampire case was responsible, it is clear that these two were not originally vampires, but their bodies underwent a mutation after being attacked. Their identification documents also prove that they are native residents of Canghai City.

But why didn't Himeko tell him this? Did she want to harm him? Why?

A flood of questions overwhelmed Lin, who covered his forehead, trying his best to stay conscious, but his pupils shrank and dilated uncontrollably, and he was gradually losing control of his body.

He was also... "infected"...

"Tick-tock..."

Blood gathered beneath his body, and at a certain moment, the taut string finally snapped.

"Smack."

The ground embraced the unconscious person, giving them a cold, hard response.

"So let's elevate our thinking to a new level, to the realm of 'Imaginary Space' outside our world. From the perspective of that 'tree,' time is nothing more than data recorded on a magnetic tape."

"'History' is what has been recorded on the tape, and 'future' is what will be presented."

"The content already recorded on the magnetic tape is a stable part with a corresponding material matrix. This content can be retrieved at any time, while the magnetic head responsible for magnetization is magnetizing the unmagnetized part, which is the high-dimensional vacuum of the Quantum Sea, i. e., the future that is ready to be written."

"Okay, let's change our thinking. If we erase the recorded 'history' and remagnetize the high-dimensional vacuum from the beginning, we can record new information... Some people might think this is time reversal, but it is actually the reproduction of the entire 'world,' completely and indiscriminately reproducing the 'world' of 'this moment.' To people outside the 'world,' time is still moving normally, but to those inside the 'world' who have the ability to observe 'magnetization,' time is undoubtedly jumping backward."

"But at the same time, a problem arises: the new world reconstructed from the material information contained in the world is undoubtedly the same as the previous world. The history recorded by the magnetic head will appear exactly as it was, meaning that the general course of history cannot be changed."

"Fine-tuning the read/write head can change the information written down, but... how do you change the part that is magnetized before the read/write head is adjusted?"

My head hurts so much... Why did I think of what was written in that book...?

Lin had a dream. He dreamt of the contents of the first book he saw on the Hyperion, which was placed in the captain's cabin. It was a book without a cover and with simple layout.

What was written there was some very difficult content, involving many theories, but what impressed him most was the "Tape Theory".

Why did I suddenly think of that inexplicable book at this moment?

"Are you awake?"

A chilling coldness that penetrated to the very soul surged into his brain. Lin rolled over and half-squatted on the ground, his muscles tense. He immediately spotted a figure standing not far away.

"..."

Lin narrowed his eyes; the two incredibly heavy black pistols tucked at the other man's waist were enough to put him on guard.

The clouds dispersed, and a beam of moonlight illuminated the other person's dark hair.

Lin was stunned.

A head of silver-white braids swayed gently outside her off-shoulder coat, and her blue eyes, more flawless than moonlight, quietly gazed at the stunned man. Her black and white dress and white thigh-high stockings made her look as cold and aloof as the embodiment of the bright moon.

"Kai..."

Lin opened his mouth, uttered a single word, and then stopped. His expression changed, and he placed his hand on his neck in confusion, wondering why he had uttered such a strange word.

The girl with silver-white braids didn't notice Lin's unusual behavior, thinking it was normal for him to react this way after being attacked, "Are you alright? Is anything bothering you?"

"... Who are you?" Lin remained vigilant. The time and place the other party appeared... wait, the location?

Lin then noticed that he was no longer in the alley, but on the roof of a building.

A cold wind howled, but the distant sounds of nighttime commotion dispelled the chill. He looked the girl up and down again.

It doesn't have overly long nails or sharp teeth, and its eye color is normal; it's not a vampire.

The girl clearly noticed Lin's undisguised gaze upon her. A fleeting look of shame crossed her face as she whispered an apology to Lin, "I'm sorry for making you run into this."

"... Did you do this?"

"In a sense, yes... but I'll take care of all this soon..."

The girl's lips parted slightly as she murmured something, her clear blue eyes filled with a resolute look, as if she had made up her mind.

"What exactly happened? Tell me."

Lin took a step forward, but the other person quickly stepped back, then shook her head at Lin. Her braided hair and black overcoat billowed in the wind. "If you're alright now, hurry home. Don't go out at night for a while. It'll be over soon..."

After saying that, she turned to leave, and Lin Jiebing watched her departing figure with indifferent eyes.

And at that very moment...

"Ouch! My neck hurts so much!"

The black-haired man suddenly clutched his own neck and screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

This action immediately made the girl stop in her tracks. She rushed to his side with concern and helped him up, saying, "What's wrong? Let me see."

"Ouch! It hurts! My neck is going to break! Ahhh..."

"You... you must be alright..."

"Ah! I need a 170cm tall, white-haired, braided, pretty older sister to hug me!"

"..."

Chapter Seven: How to Attack a Girl's Soft Spots

"If you have nothing else to say..."

"Wow!"

"What is it now!"

"This time it's the head, my head hurts so much, it feels like it's going to split open..."

The white-haired girl watched the man in front of her, both angry and amused, as he rolled on the ground, clutching his head and screaming more desperately than a three-year-old getting a shot.

He shouted, louder than anyone else, but his face was completely expressionless, like a frozen, expressionless face.

She was someone who couldn't just sit idly by and ignore others. No matter how fake Lin's act was, if it were real, she wouldn't dare to just let him go.

"What... what exactly do you want?" Helpless, she could only sigh at the man's exaggerated acting.

"That's easy to say." The white-haired girl stared dumbfounded at Lin, whose tone had suddenly changed. Lin casually turned over and got up, dusting off his clothes. "Tell me what exactly is going on now. It would be best if you could explain in detail what those 'vampires' are, how they were born, and what role you played in this 'serial vampire case'."

"..."

This matter is the white-haired girl's bottom line. Once it is mentioned, her eyes change. Her originally clear and kind blue eyes are now sharp and hard. She gently bites her pink lower lip and looks at the calm Lin.

Until...

"Gurgle..."

Lin was stunned for a moment, and then he saw the white-haired girl blush, cover her stomach and lower her head.

"...Let's change the subject then." Lin sighed and looked at the bustling night market not far away. "Let's start with your name."

The white-haired girl's bright eyes shone brightly, outshining even the moon. She nodded solemnly to Lin in the wind. "My name is Kallen. And you, stranger?"

"My name is Lin, it's nice to meet you, Kallen."

"Mmm... This is so delicious! It's so soft! Don't you want some?"

Lin leaned against the glass window of the clothing store, glanced at the mannequins inside, and then examined the injuries on his arms and neck.

It wasn't too deep, just a superficial wound, but that woman's bite must have been a vampire's special ability, almost rendering him unable to resist.

According to the white-haired girl sitting on the bench next to him, who was stuffing herself with a bunch of snacks from a night market... who is Kallen, he pulled out the vampire's tooth in time, preventing the "toxin" inside from infecting him, so he only fell into a coma instead of becoming a new vampire.

As for the two vampires, she said they were temporarily incapacitated and locked up in a certain place. She would have the relevant personnel find that place after everything was over.

Lin lowered his sleeve to cover the gruesome wound on his hand, and glanced at the white-haired girl who looked completely different from before. Her silver-white braids bounced happily, and her mouth was covered with food scraps as she savored the food she had bought.

Of course, it was Lin who paid for it. He was given an identity in the World Bubble, and there would be corresponding "materials" to correct his identity.

Previously, Kallen was like a valiant, upright, and straightforward warrior, but now she's more like a cute and innocent ordinary foodie girl, provided you ignore the pistol she's hiding in her coat.

"Mmm! This cotton candy is so sweet!" Kallen took a bite of the cloud-like cotton candy, her eyes sparkling as she said to Lin standing beside her, "You've gone to so much trouble, aren't you going to try some?"

"...Then let's give it a try." Lin also wanted to eat something. Although the interrogation room provided three meals a day, it was still far inferior to Rita's cooking. He even had the idea of cooking a meal himself to satisfy his taste buds.

Why didn't he ever think of cooking for himself? He must have been spoiled by Rita...

Lin picked up the marshmallow and took a bite. The overly sweet taste made him frown. He didn't really like sweets, and this marshmallow was far too sweet.

"You... you..."

Kallen stared at him in shock, her eyes darting back and forth between the bite marks she had made on the marshmallow and the bite marks Lin had made.

Doesn't this guy... mind at all? She meant, "Do you want to try some other things you haven't eaten yet?" Why is he putting something she's already eaten in his mouth?

"What?" Lin casually stuffed the cotton candy back into her hand, and Kallen, seeing that he didn't care at all, was too embarrassed to say anything.

After all, if she cares about this, it seems like she's being petty, especially since the other person paid for it...

"No, it's nothing." She could only hold the cotton candy in her hand, feeling conflicted about whether to eat it or not.

"Let's continue what we were saying." Lin crossed his arms and waved his right hand at Kallen. "You know a lot about vampires, so you should know how they came to be, right?"

"Um..."

Lin and Kallen discussed it on their way to buy late-night snacks. To repay Lin for the meal, Kallen was willing to tell him some information that didn't involve anything that couldn't be said. As for what couldn't be said, that was entirely up to Kallen to define.

"Those who call themselves vampires are actually just humans." Kallen said seriously as she picked up a skewer of grilled squid and stuffed it into her mouth. "They have a miniature organism injected into their bodies. That organism manipulates their bodies, enhances their physical functions to a certain extent, and makes them extremely thirsty for blood. And in the process of attacking others, that organism will enter the bodies of new victims."

This is pretty much in line with Lin's guess, so now it's time to get to the core points.

"So what role are you playing?"

Lin pointed to the coat in which the gun was hidden.

"A vampire hunter?"

Then he pointed to her face.

"The instigator?"

Finally, he lowered his hand, his cold gaze looking down with a captivating light.

"Or are you a rational vampire?"

"..."