Light Axe's furious hammer blow missed. To the Alien Species, Light Axe's movements were agonizingly slow, like playing with a clumsy ape. This surge of superiority brought immediate, brutal disaster.
Despite his slowness, Light Axe was an elite warrior chosen from thousands of Vampires, and his vast combat experience compensated for his deficiencies. The missed hammer hadn't even finished its swing when Light Axe forcibly twisted his body, bringing the reverse side of the hammer—a square iron spike—crashing into the center of the Alien Species' chest. A sickeningly clear sound—the complete tearing and crushing of tendons and bone—rang out.
Struck by this heavy blow, the Alien Species instantly collapsed, convulsing. Light Axe seized the advantage, yanked the hammer out, and smashed it heavily onto the creature's chest again. The entire sternum caved in. The Alien Species twitched violently before falling completely still.
Relieved, Light Axe tucked the massive hammer aside and, out of habit, squatted down to check his kill. This ingrained habit of inspecting spoils sometimes yielded unexpected gains, and even Vampires needed money to sustain a comfortable existence in the human world.
He squatted down, first observing the creature's repulsive form, then dipped his finger into the fluid oozing from the broken chest. He brought it to his nose, sniffing carefully. A pungent, ammonia-like odor instantly assaulted his senses, inducing a wave of nausea. After violently shaking his hand and fighting off the urge to vomit, he spat at the corpse.
"Dirty, disgusting monster!"
He stood, unwilling to look at the body any longer. That smell was truly unbearable.
In that very instant he turned his back, the Alien Species, which had been perfectly still, resurrected with terrifying speed, pouncing on the unprepared Light Axe.
The movement behind him caught Light Axe's attention. He spun around, but it was too late. The creature was airborne, already on him, giving him no time to evade. Light Axe managed only to cross his arms, bracing against the creature's body to create a sliver of space.
The Alien Species wrapped around him like an enormous old ape climbing a tree. Its five fingers, like iron talons, gripped Light Axe's back, embedding deeply into the flesh and threatening to crush his scapulae. Simultaneously, its mandibles opened, its petal-like tongue twisting like a snake, dripping saliva—a horrific sight. The monster was impatient.
Light Axe was gripped by pure terror. He pushed back with all his might, trying to dislodge the creature. It was useless. The Alien Species was utterly tenacious. Its chest wall was already broken; its internal organs brushed against Light Axe's arm as he pushed, yet it remained latched on, desperately stretching its neck. In its struggle, it completely tore the scapula free of the underlying muscles—a pain beyond human endurance.
In this frenzy of predation, the prey failed to escape.
The Alien Species achieved its goal, clamping its tongue onto Light Axe's neck. Its mouthparts closed, injecting venom while simultaneously tearing the artery. Blood rushed into the creature's body.
Light Axe felt his strength drain away. He sank to his knees, his weakened body unable to stop the feeding. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, his savior arrived.
Weilian, his darling, rushed in. Her view was obscured by the position, only seeing the Alien Species covering Light Axe, who was still weakly struggling. Realizing the urgency, Weilian opened fire on the creature.
The Alien Species, having drunk its fill, roared and released its prey. It disappeared in a few agile leaps through the kitchen exit.
Weilian immediately ran to Light Axe, helping him up. She looked at the catastrophic wounds on his back with true heartache. "Darling, how are you?"
Light Axe's voice was weak. "My back, my back is hurt."
As Weilian began tending to his back, Light Axe subtly adjusted his sparse clothing, covering the small, inconspicuous wound on his neck.
A brutal, desperate fight raged downstairs, while upstairs, a very different, passionate entanglement was unfolding.
The Vampire Girl dragged Zhou Yi into an empty compartment, immediately crowding him against the wall. She rose onto her toes, pressing her body to his, and placed his large hands firmly on her slender waist, guiding him to move slowly against her.
Zhou Yi was surprised by her aggressive initiative, yet her technique was clumsy. Her kiss was more of a desperate, teeth-filled bite than a tender gesture, and her movements were stiff. He soon took the lead, guiding her instead. She was clearly a little one, still learning.
Recognizing her inexperience, Zhou Yi pulled her tighter against him. The girl's cold Vampire skin was overwhelmed by the heat radiating from his body, and she softened in his embrace.
Zhou Yi's touch was deliberately careful. Every precise movement of his fingers caused the girl's body to tremble as if she were being electrocuted, stirring a profound pity in Zhou Yi's heart. Her pale face was now dusted with a hazy blush—a new, thrilling beauty she had never experienced.
The Vampire Girl broke free just long enough to stroke Zhou Yi's face with her slender fingers, gazing at him as if he were her most prized possession. Her sky-blue eyes were filled with thick, honey-like tenderness and deep affection. She leaned into his shoulder and whispered, lowering her voice:
"You are mine. Forever mine."
In the next moment, she revealed her sharp fangs and forcefully bit his neck.
She intended to grant him immortality, making him her own kind so he would stay by her side forever, protecting and doting on her. The newly awakened, slightly rebellious Vampire Girl was making the most important, desperate decision of her young life.
As a Vampire, she had hunted before, and she knew the sensation of her fangs tearing through human flesh. But this was different.
Her fangs were meeting resistance—not flesh, but something like soft metal with a delicate texture. She couldn't penetrate his skin. She distinctly felt her fangs dulling slightly.
Dazed, she pulled back, checked her lower teeth, then tried again in a different spot. This strange confusion and fierce stubbornness genuinely moved Zhou Yi, who understood her intent. Doesn't this silly Vampire realize something is wrong?
He stroked her hair, but the rebellious braids felt coarse under his touch. His expression was a slight frown, but his movements remained steady and gentle.
Feeling his calming presence, the girl stopped her strenuous biting and looked up, her eyes watery with confusion and grievance, like a child denied a toy. "Why can't I bite through?"
Zhou Yi reached out, gently pinching her exposed fangs, his fingertip rubbing the sharp tip, sending a delicious, ticklish sensation through her.
"Why do you want to turn me into a Vampire, my girl?" Zhou Yi's voice was soft, yet it made her body tremble.
She looked at him timidly, like a child caught misbehaving, then lowered her head, explaining her fear: "I like the feeling of you protecting me. I want you to always be by my side."
"Why do you think that way?" Zhou Yi pressed, wanting to understand her deep-seated fear.
"Because I am an anomaly among Vampires!" she confessed.
She was the offspring of a pureblood and a mixed-blood. After her pureblood father died in a clan struggle, she and her mother were left to struggle. When her mother was eventually killed by other Vampires, the girl found herself stateless: rejected by the purebloods and unable to gain acceptance among the mixed-bloods. She had suffered a lifetime of discrimination.
Fortunately, she was strong enough to survive. Her only safe haven was this blood nest—a Hell to humans, but a paradise to her. Here, she could feed freely without the risk of hunting humans or the degradation of selling herself for blood. The occasional bullying, like the fellows Zhou Yi had beaten, was manageable.
Zhou Yi's appearance was extraordinary. Since her mother's death, she hadn't known kindness. She had chosen a rebellious path to survive, but she received warmth from this strange human—a warmth she desperately wanted to keep. She knew that at dawn, they would separate. So, she chose the most permanent way to protect the goodness she had found.
Listening to her tragic self-disclosure, Zhou Yi continued to stroke her head, his movements becoming more reserved. He pitied her deeply. He didn't know what destiny he could possibly offer a Vampire girl trapped in such a cruel world.