The balcony on the third floor.
Yu Xian lay on the beach chair, wearing sunglasses and enjoying the sunbath.
After carefully weighing the pros and cons, he picked up the phone beside him and dialed his homeroom teacher's number. After a moment, he said, "Miss Chen, it's me, Yu Xian."
Previously, he had applied for a leave of absence, claiming that the factory needed him to manage it.
He had already prepared himself not to return to school, but after learning how powerful the "food of light" ability was, he realized that being a student was a perfect cover.
No vampire would run around in broad daylight.
Even if any vampires suspected him, a simple investigation would clear his name.
After explaining everything to the teacher, Yu Xian confirmed that he would resume school soon. Next Monday, he would once again be a good student growing up in the spring breeze and basking in the sunshine.
Thump!
Just as Yu Xian put down the phone, he suddenly felt his heart beat once.
He immediately pressed his hand to his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief. Wasn't it supposed to beat only once a year, or at least every six months if well-fed?
He had only been in the sun for half a day...
Hiss!
Yu Xian gasped in shock.
The "Light Eater" ability seemed even more powerful than he had imagined.
Thanks to the abundant sunlight, his efficiency in absorbing light was far greater than ordinary vampires' blood-sucking, meaning his "food" was far more abundant. He didn't need half a year or even a year for his heart to beat once—just half a day was enough!
Assuming he could control his heartbeats to twice or once a day, he could gain a minor talent in five to ten days and a major one in a hundred days. Even if a vampire ancestor lived for hundreds of years, Yu Xian estimated he could surpass them in strength within ten years at most.
All he needed to do now was to survive, stay safe, and develop quietly.
...
...
Monday morning.
Wearing his school uniform and carrying a backpack, Yu Xian walked slowly toward Yincheng No. 3 Middle School, basking in the sunlight.
"Yu Xian, is that really you? I thought you were on a leave of absence!" A chubby boy ran up to him excitedly.
It was Zhang Shou, his usual lunch buddy.
Yu Xian smiled. "The issue is resolved, so I'm back to school early."
When he arrived at school, he still needed to submit his re-enrollment application. However, since he had already informed his homeroom teacher, it was basically just a matter of filling out a form.
The two walked slowly to the school gate, chatting sporadically.
"Want some soup dumplings? My treat," Zhang Shou said, his mouth watering as he caught the scent of soup dumplings from a nearby breakfast shop.
Yu Xian shook his head. "I've already had breakfast. You go ahead and eat."
In fact, after transforming into a vampire, he could only eat two things: blood, which was a vampire's staple food, and light, which was a result of his unique ability.
Other foods were edible, but they tasted bland and indigestible.
As a supernatural being, a vampire possessed many special abilities, such as night vision, an acute sense of smell, and rapid self-healing.
Moreover, their physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary humans.
Without using weapons, a vampire could easily overpower a dozen well-trained special forces soldiers.
Yu Xian had only been a vampire for three days, so his body was still gradually strengthening. For now, he could only take on one or two special forces soldiers at a time; facing more would likely result in him getting beaten up.
Just like most vampires, Yu Xian's appearance was becoming increasingly delicate, and his figure was growing slender and graceful.
This was one of the reasons why wild vampires found it hard to hide. Their distinct features, combined with their nocturnal nature and need to feed on blood, made them easy to track with even a little investigation.
If Yu Xian didn't go to school, once his physical traits became too obvious, the vampire clan would surely come looking for him.
However, by choosing to attend school, the situation was different. After all, there were other races with fair skin and slender builds, such as humans who had transformed into elves by consuming the forbidden fruit.
Yu Xian's ears weren't pointed, but he could walk in the sunlight.
He figured the vampires would at most suspect him of being a human-elf hybrid, and wouldn't suspect he was a vampire at all.
As they entered the school, the classroom for Class 3, Grade 12 was on the fifth floor of the teaching building. By the time they reached the fifth floor, Zhang Shou was already slightly out of breath, while Yu Xian looked calm and composed. Zhang Shou, suspicious, asked,
"Yu Xian, have you been secretly working out behind my back?"
"Look over there," Yu Xian said, too lazy to explain, and pointed to the opposite side.
Yincheng No. 3 Middle School was diagonally across from the Superpower Academy, separated by a street. From the fifth floor, they could still see the situation over there.
It seemed like the security at the Superpower Academy had increased, with men in suits patrolling around the perimeter of the wall.
"Those bodyguards? I heard that the vampire princess was attacked not long ago," Zhang Shou said indifferently, as if it had nothing to do with him.
There was an insurmountable gap between ordinary people and those born with supernatural powers.
Although Yincheng No. 3 Middle School and the Superpower Academy are only separated by one street, the students from the two schools rarely interact.
The "Vampire Princess"?
Yu Xian glanced at the Superpower Academy, a thought flickering in his mind—could the blood he had been injected with have been drawn from her?
In fact, due to the proximity of the two schools, even though students rarely paid attention to the affairs of the Superpower Academy, some strange knowledge would inexplicably seep into their school.
At least Yu Xian had no idea who was spreading this information.
However, thanks to these bits of knowledge, he understood that after becoming a supernatural being, one's reproductive ability would significantly decline.
Since the ancestors of vampires, most members of the vampire clan were converted from humans through the "rite of embrace," and the number of vampires born through reproduction was extremely small.
The Superpower Academy has a total of six vampire students, among whom the highest-ranking one is the vampire princess, Nora Rex.
It is said that as a half-breed of a second-generation vampire and a human, she caused great controversy within the vampire clan. Some believed in the "first blood" principle, while others thought her impure bloodline warranted purification. In the end, her father overruled the opposition, protected her, and sent her to study in Yincheng, far from the vampire heartland.
Thanks to her father's high status in the vampire clan, she is known as the "vampire princess" in Yincheng.
"By the way, Lao Zhang, what's the special ability of the vampire princess?" Yu Xian asked as they walked.
Zhang Shou thought for a moment and shook his head. "Forgot. I think I heard some gossip in class that it's something really unique."
"The vampire princess's talent? I know—it's being a Daywalker!" a girl walking ahead turned back to chime in. "That's why she's so controversial among vampires. She's the only one who can walk in the sunlight."
Zhang Shou gave a thumbs-up, teasing, "Chen Ling, when it comes to gossip, I admit you're the [emoji] of our class!"
Daywalker?! Yu Xian's heart skipped a beat. He was now even more certain that the blood he'd been injected with came from Nora. But this also meant his cover as a student might not hold up—what if the vampires suspected that a wild vampire turned with Nora's blood could also walk in the light?