As a virgin, his dying wish was to touch a woman's breasts. He wasn't asking for anything else.
It was a completely harmless, painfully humble little request. It was enough to bring tears to your eyes.
Kanzaki Rin nodded through her tears, then grabbed the specially made extra-long silver sword and thrust it hard at Fang Cheng's chest.
Fang Cheng dodged in fright and rolled away to put some distance between them. "Holy shit, you have no conscience! We just beat the boss, and now you're trying to kill your teammate?"
Kanzaki Rin pointed her sword at him and snapped, "Do you think this kind of trick is funny? You want to touch my breasts, too? Why don't you just die?!"
She had genuinely thought Fang Cheng was about to die. She'd been frantic with worry, only for that bastard to trick her and make a fool of her.
Fang Cheng brushed the dust off himself and stood up. "I was just joking to lighten the mood. Besides, what's wrong with touching breasts? Isn't that what they're there for?"
For a moment, Kanzaki Rin didn't know how to refute his twisted logic.
Fang Cheng went on, "I even politely asked for your permission, unlike you. You grabbed me without asking last time, and I didn't hold it against you. Of course, even if you had asked, I wouldn't have let you grab me. Men care about their chastity too..."
He stopped halfway through, because Kanzaki Rin's expression was growing colder and her gaze more dangerous. If he kept going, she might not be able to resist charging over and stabbing him.
They'd just worked together to beat the boss. It wouldn't do to start fighting among themselves again.
Fang Cheng walked over to Kuroishi Yuto's corpse and reached deep into his chest until he found the heart.
Nothing mattered more than looting a corpse. Wasn't this why Fang Cheng had followed Kanzaki Rin all the way here and risked his life?
The moment he touched the heart, a warm current surged through his fingers and into his body.
Fang Cheng thought, I touched the heart earlier, too, but nothing happened. Looks like I have to kill someone first.
He wondered whether he had to be the one to kill them.
As the warm current flowed into him, several lines of text appeared in Fang Cheng's vision.
[Energy absorption in progress...]
[Life +1]
[Short-Range Dash +1]
[Steel Blood +1]
[Life Fragment (1/3) +1]
[Blood of Madness (Fragment 1/5) +2]
Fang Cheng was startled by the notifications, then thrilled as if he'd hit the jackpot.
As expected of a Vampire who had devoured one of his own, Kuroishi Yuto had yielded far more from looting his corpse than Yagawa Ryoka had.
Yagawa Ryoka's heart had given Fang Cheng one complete ability, Advanced Olfaction. The rest had been fragments, which hadn't improved his combat power.
Kuroishi Yuto's heart, on the other hand, had given him two complete abilities, one extra life, one Life Fragment, and two Blood of Madness fragments.
To kill Kuroishi Yuto, Fang Cheng had just let Kanzaki Rin stab him through the heart, using up one of his extra lives. The number in his vision had dropped to 1.
Now that he'd looted the corpse, it had risen back to 2. He had two Life Fragments already; one more would let him fuse them into an extra life.
Most important of all, though, was the Steel Blood ability.
This was the ability that had made Fang Cheng and Kanzaki Rin suffer so much: the red crystal. Now it was deeply ingrained in Fang Cheng, like an instinct, and he knew how to use it.
Seeing Fang Cheng look delighted after looting Kuroishi Yuto's corpse, Kanzaki Rin couldn't help frowning.
She was now certain Fang Cheng could survive without drinking blood or devouring his own kind.
But did he have some kind of special interest in corpses? Why did he always look so excited when he looted one?
Fortunately, Fang Cheng soon pulled his hand out of Kuroishi Yuto's chest. If he kept going, Kanzaki Rin would probably have to send him to a psychiatrist.
"Looks like silver weapons really don't bother you."
Kanzaki Rin glanced at Fang Cheng's chest. His fatal wound had completely healed, leaving his skin smooth and taut, with no sign he'd ever been hurt.
Then she looked down at the silver sword in her hand.
After finding her dagger too short when fighting Yagawa Ryoka, Kanzaki Rin had specifically commissioned this extra-long silver sword. She'd also had an onmyoji from the Countermeasure Department bless it and a priest soak it in holy water.
It had worked very well. One strike had taken down Kuroishi Yuto, a Vampire who had devoured one of his own.
But it had no effect on Fang Cheng.
"I guess I'm just pretty resistant to silver weapons."
Fang Cheng made up an excuse. He had considered drawing a clear line between himself and Vampires and simply passing himself off as someone with superpowers.
But after reading the information Kanzaki Rin had given him, he'd completely abandoned that idea and become even more determined to pretend to be a Vampire.
There were naturally occurring people with superpowers in this world, but even the strongest could only do things like move a piece of paper from a distance.
All superpowered individuals, including Kanzaki Rin, had been trained by the government, and every one of them had a detailed file.
If Fang Cheng suddenly appeared as a superpowered individual with an immortal body, despite never having been trained by the government, his value would be self-evident. He'd be worth at least several thousand times more than a Vampire.
Fang Cheng wasn't afraid of being taken apart for study, but his freedom would certainly be severely restricted. Besides, he didn't trust the Area 11 government to have any scruples.
So it was better to pretend to be a Vampire. Even if his identity was exposed, he wouldn't attract too much attention.
When Fang Cheng wouldn't give her a straight answer, Kanzaki Rin didn't press him. Their partnership was growing stronger, and she didn't want to ruin this hard-won progress.
Their teamwork had proven extremely beneficial. They'd already taken down a second Vampire.
Neither of them could have beaten Kuroishi Yuto alone.
At last, the tension that had kept Kanzaki Rin on edge eased, and even a faint smile appeared on her face.
She could practically see the credit for their victory beckoning to her.
But Kanzaki Rin's expression soon froze when she saw the car in pieces and the destroyed Rapid Condensation Machine.
"We're done for. We'll have to pay for it."
Kanzaki Rin muttered under her breath.
Fang Cheng asked curiously, "Didn't you buy these?"
She shot him a look. "You think you can get this stuff just by having money?"
Never mind the two Rapid Condensation Machines. You couldn't even buy a Small Desktop Laser Device on the open market. It was specialized military equipment.
Kanzaki Rin had only been able to borrow it from the Countermeasure Department because of her credit for dealing with Yagawa Ryoka last time. If it was damaged, she'd have to pay for it.
Fortunately, only one machine had been damaged. If all the equipment had been destroyed, she'd have taken a serious financial hit.
Fang Cheng waved a hand grandly. "Money is just an external possession. You can't bring it with you when you're born, and you can't take it with you when you die. What matters most is that no one got hurt."
Kanzaki Rin glared at him. "Then will you pay for it?"
Fang Cheng thought about it, then nodded. "Sure!"
Kanzaki Rin looked surprised. Was this cheapskate actually willing to pay?
Fang Cheng rummaged around in his tattered pocket and pulled out a fifty-cent coin. He solemnly pressed it into Kanzaki Rin's hand. "This is my food money for the day. I'm entrusting it to you. Don't let my kindness go to waste."
Kanzaki Rin crumpled Fang Cheng's kindness into a ball and threw it at him. "Get lost!"
Then she clutched her head and crouched on the ground. "Ugh... I shouldn't have expected anything from a bastard like you!"
Her head was pounding. They'd won the fight, so why did she feel like her heart was bleeding?
Fang Cheng picked up the fifty-cent coin and tucked it back into his pocket. "Are you tired? Want me to carry you back?"
Kanzaki Rin answered in a muffled voice, "No!"
"Then carry me back. I'm exhausted."
As soon as he said it, Fang Cheng collapsed against Kanzaki Rin.
Thanks to Takitani Moene, My Poor Self 555, Taste Turtle Operation, and Be Careful Not to Get Worked Up for the donations. (*^▽^*)
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