The Truth of "Me"

So tired... I've been so thirsty and tired ever since that person stopped supplying me blood packs... Hmm?

Theresa tried raising her black-gloved hand high above her head. It was unusually easy, a far cry from the exhaustion she had felt just a few hours earlier, when she was so tired she could barely keep her senses up.

What happened?

At that moment, her taste buds finally awoke from their slumber, and she froze on the spot, in disbelief.

The blood has a sweet and mellow flavor, without any impurities, just like a delicious sweet black tea.

My mouth was filled with the intoxicating taste of blood, my esophagus was moistened, and even my stomach was filled with a warm feeling of life flowing from the body.

This is something that no other blood pack can compare to; it's truly fresh human blood.

However, after learning that she had regained her strength using blood, Theresa felt no joy whatsoever, but was instead overwhelmed by fear.

She drank human blood again.

This means she attacked an innocent person again. She vaguely remembered someone walking towards her when she was almost losing consciousness not long ago, and then she couldn't remember anything else...

The girl collapsed to the ground, utterly distraught, staring at her hands, which trembled from the taste of blood in her mouth.

She... is... a monster...

Elder sister...

"... It seems everything is alright now."

At that moment, an extremely cold voice brought Theresa back to her senses. She looked up in bewilderment and was shocked to see the pure white moon hanging not far away.

The serene moonlight gently falls upon a person's shoulder.

He had a head of not-too-long black hair tied in a short ponytail. His upright posture and simple clothes matched his cold, icy temperament. His black eyes were clean and clear, yet deep down, there was a hazy and chaotic feeling.

"Don't look at me with that boy-meets-girl gaze." The man's voice was calm, like a glass of plain water. Anyone who heard it would think he was a very calm and rational person. "If you can, I hope you can calculate the cost of attacking me and the market price of the blood I donated."

"Ah?"

Theresa was completely bewildered by the man's string of words. Her pretty face was filled with confusion as she looked at him. The man, however, was an exceptionally patient person. Adhering to the principle of never repeating himself, he shut up and looked at her indifferently after he finished speaking.

After a moment, Theresa finally came to her senses and realized what the man meant.

She stared in utter astonishment at the man who knew her identity yet showed no fear. "You... human, why are you giving me your blood?"

"Based on the bottom line of humanitarian concern, we should try our best to coexist peacefully and help each other with humanoid creatures."

"..."

What is this guy saying?

"From a personal perspective, I'm very interested in you and need to investigate some things." The man held up two fingers and added calmly, "From other people's perspective, feeding you blood can reduce the probability of you attacking others."

Theresa herself had a beautiful face with an expressionless, doll-like face; she and the person in front of her were not even of the same species, yet he helped her without hesitation...

"I need you to answer some questions..."

"You have no right to ask questions, human." The vampire girl rejected the man's request without hesitation, but then she stared at him thoughtfully for a moment, put her fingers on her chin, and took a deep breath. "Fine, human, tell me your name."

"Forest."

"Lin? What a strange name." Theresa thought for a moment and decided against calling him by his name, opting to use the human name instead. "Human, I want to make a deal with you."

"..."

"Humans?"

Under Theresa's gaze, the nonchalant man read out a long string of words, "Based on the price of 220 yuan per unit of whole blood, and considering that my average daily blood production rate is 300cc and my physique will accelerate the blood production rate, I can continuously provide you with enough blood to last you a month without harming your health. Moreover, as long as you are willing to cooperate long-term, I have no problem giving you a discount, provided that you can afford the payment."

This guy...

Theresa never expected that the man had come up with a long-term plan to raise vampires so quickly, and it sounded reasonable and unambiguous, with the main point being that money would be exchanged for goods on the spot.

"That's not the deal I'm referring to," Theresa shook her head. "Besides, I'll be leaving this city soon."

"So, what kind of deal do you want?"

"..."

Deep within the vampire girl's eyes flickered a light. Lin couldn't discern what it was yearning for, but he couldn't ignore it. Deep within his soul, there must be a familiar feeling about that light.

She possessed superhuman strength and was a blood-sucking monster, yet Lin chose to save her.

Why?

Yes, why?

He didn't want to deny her instinct to live at that moment and her resolve to refuse to consume human food.

That feeling... it's so familiar.

"Heh, in the end, you are such a weak being, Lin, otherwise you wouldn't have ended up like this."

The man turned around, but didn't see the person who had spoken.

That's true, after all, it's his own voice.

Chapter Fifteen: The Truth of "I"

"Humans, why are human cities brightly lit at night?"

Lin crossed his arms and calmly replied, "Because they are passionate about group activities. Ever since humans were still walking on their hands and feet, they have been lighting campfires at night and gathering together for warmth. This habit, ingrained in their genes, has not been eliminated even now."

The vampire girl gazed at the brightly lit signs in the distance, seemingly understanding but not quite. Her blood-red eyes could not see the light, but they reflected it, like the moon in the sky, which could only reflect the remnants of the sun.

"Then what are they doing if they don't sleep?"

"Make a 'beep'."

"What?"

Theresa didn't understand what Lin meant by those two words, but after thinking for a moment, Lin explained, "The necessary activities for the continuation of life."

"Just like me sucking blood?"

Lin pondered for a moment, "Yes."

As the saying goes, "One drop of nectar is worth ten drops of holy water," so doing that kind of thing is indeed like sucking blood, isn't it?

Hearing this Theresa looked at the lights and said, "So that's how it is. I'm not much different from humans after all..."

Although he didn't know how this conclusion was reached, Lin could see Theresa's longing for those sparks of light and laughter. He glanced at the amusement park in the distance, and Theresa's gaze remained fixed on that most joyful direction, so he asked, "Want to go play?"

"Now?" Theresa withdrew the last vestiges of envy from her eyes, her expression indifferent. "No, I'm leaving. I'm leaving this city."

"Why?"

"There's no reason why. You probably wouldn't want a vampire living in your city, would you?"

"The closer one gets to the light of human presence, the harder it is to control oneself, but at the same time, the easier it is to burn oneself. Vampires are such pathetic creatures."

After the vampire girl had seen what she wanted to see, Lin felt the last trace of warmth disappear from her body.

She now seems to have truly become a cold doll, devoid of any vitality.

"The transaction is complete, so it's time to tell you the story of a doll."

"Sister... Sister..."

What is the outside world like?

I asked my grandfather this question, and he kindly told me that the outside world is the world of humans, while my world consists only of this small room filled with books.

If you want to know what the outside world is like, go read a book.

So from the book, I saw a sky full of stars, dazzling glaciers, and a rushing ocean... magnificent and beautiful. I realized that the world is so big, much, much bigger than that room.

But there is no place for me in the outside world.

Grandpa needs me, so he makes me drink my sister's blood every two weeks. At that time, my sister will wake up, and when I see her smile, I understand that this is the meaning of my life.

Only here do I feel needed.

But I still want to see with my own eyes the blue sky as clear as water and the sea as magnificent as the blue sky.

"Sister... Sister..."

I must have been naive, and so was my sister.

We escaped from the cage, but the Bird in a Cage, which had lived in the cage since it was a baby, already had deformed wings. Even if it broke free from the cage, it would not be able to fly freely.

How could the little humanity left remain in this inhuman body?

I hate this world; it's nothing like the gentle world described in books.

I love this world; even though it's not kind, it still allows my deformed self to survive...

"It turns out, just like the book says, the sky has no end."

The girl finally revealed a faint smile, and she stretched out her hand as if to touch the sky.

Even if you stand on tiptoe and stick out your fingers, you can't touch the ceiling, no matter how high you jump.

It's so... wonderful.

How wonderful it would be if time could end here.

How wonderful it would be if Theresa's life story could end here...

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted into the air, and the sky seemed closer to her.

She looked down and found a pair of large hands holding her waist and lifting her up.

"Human, what are you doing?" Theresa kicked her legs, her face slightly flushed as she looked down at the man who had lifted her up. "Put me down!"

"The sky has an end."

Lin ignored her struggles and instead stood on tiptoe, lifting Theresa even higher with greater force.

"See?"

She swayed, trying to get down, but in the next second, she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye.

Theresa abruptly stopped struggling. Her crimson eyes shimmered in the trailing light. The beautiful scene made her stop all movement, gazing longingly at the beam of light that parted the night sky.

Meteor.

It was a shooting star from an unknown distance; no one knew it would fall at this moment, burning and illuminating its own trajectory.

The girl stared blankly as the shooting star disappeared into the night. Her hands hung at her sides, and she looked up at the sky again.

So close.

Even though I was just lifted up, it felt like I could pluck stars from the sky.

"Does the sky have an end...?"

She didn't know who she was asking.

The answer she received was Lin's calm and composed voice.

"Meteors are gifts that fall from the ends of the sky to the world."

"Is that so... that's really disappointing." Theresa smiled dejectedly.

"That's right. The outside world is not the idealized world in books. It is very real. Even the seemingly boundless sky will eventually be found by humans." Lin slowly put her down, watching her little feet touch the ground, and then she turned to look at him.

"The ocean has been polluted and has lost its former azure blue."

"The glaciers have melted and are no longer as magnificent as they once were."

"Its beauty is a human lie."

"But..."

Lin tilted his head back, breathing in the dry air to his heart's content, feeling his body connect with the world.

"But it still exists here, and its essence is definitely not a lie."

"Even if the sky has an end, there is a much wider world beyond the sky."

The vampire girl suddenly felt an unprecedented heat ignite within her, pulsating through her cold body, and the "thing" that had been gradually disappearing returned to her body.

She looked at the person in front of her. His tone was not intense, and could even be described as calm, but deep in his eyes, a blazing light was lit.