The Sorrow of a Simp

Kanzaki Rin corrected him. "It's not entrapment. It's cooperation!"

"Cooperation?"

"Exactly."

Kanzaki Rin leaned forward slightly, her tone full of persuasion. "We have the same goal. You have to defeat every Vampire to survive, and I want to wipe them out. Rather than passively waiting, we should work together and take the initiative, eliminating them one by one before they grow too strong."

Fang Cheng's mouth twisted. "How is that any different from entrapment? You still want to use me as bait."

"If you insist on putting it that way, sure."

Kanzaki Rin smiled faintly, seemingly confident she could convince him. "But you can't deny that working with me is the best choice. I can provide plenty of help: tracking, locating, equipment, tactical planning, combat support, and handling things afterward. I can even help you deal with official surveillance. Can you manage all that on your own?"

Fang Cheng could almost see Kanzaki Rin cackling as she struck a "KAMI" pose.

He hurriedly raised a hand to stop her. "The rest sounds fine, but forget the combat support!"

Kanzaki Rin defended herself. "I scored a perfect hundred in my combat-support tests."

Fang Cheng burst out laughing. "Was the total score a thousand? Did you get all your teammates and coaches killed?"

Kanzaki Rin's expression darkened. "All I can say is that we didn't have much chemistry. But that can be improved."

Fang Cheng answered with silent mockery.

There was no denying that working with her had major advantages. It might even be the only option he had right now.

But Fang Cheng didn't trust this woman's scruples. If it came down to it, she might sell him out at the first opportunity.

Kanzaki Rin could see that Fang Cheng was hesitating, so she urged him, "I know you don't trust me very much. We can try working together on a limited basis and see how it goes."

When Fang Cheng stayed silent, Kanzaki Rin continued, "I'll give you time to think it over. You don't have to agree right away, but you can't put it off for too long. The remaining Vampires are constantly feeding, growing stronger, and fighting among themselves. Once they've settled on the strongest, you and I won't be able to handle it. I can always hide out at the Disaster Countermeasure Department, but you'll have to face them alone."

Fang Cheng protested, "I could hide out at the Disaster Countermeasure Department too. Didn't you want to take me back there last time? Do they serve meals?"

Kanzaki Rin fell silent, but her expression clearly said, Can't you have a little more ambition?

To be honest, Kanzaki Rin's proposal really tempted Fang Cheng. Whether for his own safety or to collect more Life Fragments, sooner or later he'd have to face the other Vampires.

So why not strike first?

If he waited until they were fully geared before ganking them, it wouldn't be a hunt anymore. It'd be a team effort to feed them kills.

While Fang Cheng was considering it, Kanzaki Rin's phone suddenly rang.

She took it out and saw that Aoki Yusuke was calling.

Kanzaki Rin answered.

"Something up?"

"Kanzaki, where are you?"

"I'm on a classified mission. What is it?"

"Nothing much. The Countermeasure Department has updated some new files. If you want, I can subscribe you to them."

"Thanks. Anything else?"

"That's all. I'll let you get back to it."

After hanging up, Aoki Yusuke stood by the roadside, gazing at the apartment building in the distance. He let out a long breath, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

After Kanzaki Rin ended the call, Fang Cheng asked nosily, "Is that your boyfriend?"

Kanzaki Rin shook her head. "No."

"Then is it your dad?"

Kanzaki Rin said nothing, just fixing him with a silent stare.

"Only your boyfriend or your dad would care that much about where you are and what you're doing."

Fang Cheng leaned back against the sofa. "Let me guess. The person who called you was definitely a guy, and he obviously likes you, but you don't like him and are trying to keep your distance. Am I right?"

Kanzaki Rin kept her expression calm, though she was a little surprised. "How did you guess?"

Fang Cheng crossed his hands and gave her a knowing smile. "You said three sentences to him, and every one was basically asking if he needed something. That proves you don't want to talk to him any more than necessary for work. And if someone can't—or pretends he can't—pick up on such obvious distance, then he's definitely a simp."

At this point, Fang Cheng couldn't help sighing. "Simps have it rough. They give everything and end up with nothing, and even regular loners look down on them. Your personal simp would never guess that his goddess is spending the middle of the night at a single man's home, making physical contact with him while he's naked, and lying to the simp by saying she's on a classified mission. Just thinking about how pitiful he is makes me sad. I hope the color green protects him forever."

Kanzaki Rin nearly rolled her eyes at Fang Cheng. She mocked him, "You wrote me a love letter. Does that make you my simp?"

Fang Cheng wasn't offended. Instead, he laughed. "Simp for one, and you're a dog. Simp for a hundred, and you're a wolf. Simp your way to nine million, and you're the wolf of wolves. Sorry, but I've written at least two hundred love letters since middle school. I'm not a simp. I'm a war wolf. Regular simps are looked down on even by loners."

"Woof, woof, woof!"

A dog barked on the main road outside the apartment, right on cue, as if backing Fang Cheng up.

For a moment, Kanzaki Rin didn't know whether to call him awesome or admire him. He'd truly taken simping to a whole new level.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Aoki Yusuke was standing by the roadside, just about to leave, when a stray dog appeared out of nowhere and started barking furiously at him.

Aoki Yusuke could almost hear the stray dog's barks as a loner's scorn.

Usually so calm and composed, he lost his temper for once and shouted, "Get lost! Get away from me!"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

More stray dogs emerged from the darkness, staring at him with eyes that glowed green.

The green glow made Aoki Yusuke's expression shift. He felt deeply uncomfortable. "Hmph. I'm not going to stoop to the level of a pack of mutts."

He turned and hurried away.

"That's enough. I'm not here to listen to your theories about simps."

Kanzaki Rin tried to steer the conversation back on track. "Are you going to agree to work with me or not?"

"Didn't you say I could think about it?"

"I changed my mind."

"Ha. Women!"

Fang Cheng rubbed his chin, puzzled. "I can't coexist peacefully with the other Vampires, so I have to kill them. What about you? Why are you trying so hard? Do you have a grudge against Vampires?"

Kanzaki Rin refused to answer. "That's personal."

"Trust, trust!"

Fang Cheng pointed a finger at her, then at himself. "Cooperation takes trust. You won't give me anything to go on, and that puts me in a tough spot."

Kanzaki Rin gritted her teeth before answering. "I need to earn merits quickly to make sure I can get a higher position in the Countermeasure Department. Are you satisfied with that answer?"

As soon as she started talking about it, her whole demeanor turned cold and distant, as if she badly wanted to avoid the subject.