Into The Sea

Under the scorching sun, heat waves rolled across the horizon, distorting the landscape. A small black dot gradually appeared in the distance, and a shambling figure wandering aimlessly through the fields seemed to hear something. It turned its rotting face toward the road and began staggering in that direction.

In the next moment, a black SUV sped past, slamming into the zombie and scattering its remains. Blood and decaying flesh exploded, splattering across half the car window. Ji Lingyue frowned in disgust and activated the windshield wipers, scrubbing the gore away just enough to see the road ahead.

Since last night, she had been driving continuously for seven hours. Her fingers were stiff, her legs numb, and her head was starting to spin. But the fear of being caught by Lan Yuan kept her from relaxing for even a moment.

However, with such intense sunlight and such a great distance, even a vampire like Lan Yuan shouldn’t be able to catch up anytime soon.

Ji Lingyue pursed her lips and glanced through the rearview mirror at the vampire huddled in the back seat. From the moment the first rays of sunlight pierced the clouds and fell on the car window, Lan Wu had been screaming and wailing, desperately crying out for help. Ji Lingyue had no choice but to cover all the rear windows and find a sheet to cover her body before she calmed down.

Now, the girl was curled up quietly under the sheet, not making a sound. It made her feel a little uneasy.

Ji Lingyue refocused on the road. A distant outline of buildings shimmered on the horizon. If she wasn’t mistaken, that should be Linping City.

Hmm… they could rest there for a while.

Half an hour later, the car rolled to a stop in front of a suburban supermarket. Ji Lingyue stretched her legs and turned to call out, “Lan Wu, let’s go.”

No movement.

Ji Lingyue frowned and poked her through the sheet. “Lan Wu?”

There was still no response.

Her expression shifted, an uneasy feeling creeping in. She reached out and pulled back the sheet.

Beneath it was Lan Wu’s pale, sleeping face.

The vampire even had her mouth slightly open, her soft lips looking rosy and plump.

Ji Lingyue was speechless.

Really now? While she nearly drove herself into the ground, this one had been enjoying a nice nap.

Did she even realize she was technically a hostage?

Ji Lingyue stared at her for a moment, then spat out two words: “Activate.”

Click.

The collar snapped tight. Lan Wu yelped and shot upright, panicked, frantically grabbing at her neck.

“Stop.”

The silver device instantly released. Lan Wu gasped for breath, her eyes wide with shock and anger. “Take this off!”

Ji Lingyue stepped out of the car and snapped open an umbrella. “Let’s go.”

Lan Wu: “I don’t—”

“Activate.”

The vampire shuddered and started wailing, clutching at her neck. When Ji Lingyue said “Stop,” she slid off the seat, tears in her eyes, but trying to be brave. “Fine, fine, I’m coming.”

Ji Lingyue shoved the umbrella into her hands. “Sleeping with your mouth open will make you ugly.”

Lan Wu sniffled. “Huh?”

But Ji Lingyue just smiled and walked toward the supermarket. Lan Wu hurried after her, holding the umbrella.

Once inside, the cool air hit them, and Lan Wu wiped her tears, trying to think of a way to get Ji Lingyue to remove the collar. Just then, her stomach growled loudly.

The sound was especially loud in the quiet supermarket. The person in front paused and turned around. “Hungry?”

Lan Wu nodded quickly, cautiously grabbing her sleeve. “Yes.”

Ji Lingyue smiled. “There’s duck blood in the cold storage room to the west. Go eat it.”

“…”

Lan Wu was silent for a moment, then said, “Are you kidding me? I don’t eat duck blood.”

“Blood is blood. What’s the difference?”

“There’s a huge difference! Lamb and beef are both meat, but they don’t taste the same, do they?”

“Even if they don’t taste the same, it doesn’t stop me from eating both.”

“Well, I’m not you,” Lan Wu said, widening her eyes and arguing reasonably. “If I eat the wrong kind of blood, I’ll get diarrhea. So, I absolutely refuse to eat anything but human blood!”

“Stop being picky…”

“No!”

Ji Lingyue’s face turned cold. “Then starve.”

She turned to leave. Lan Wu froze, and her temper flared. She bared her fangs and claws and lunged at her.

“Activate.”

The vampire froze mid-air and crashed to the ground, howling as she clutched her neck.

Ji Lingyue turned around, looking down at her. “Still want to bite me?”

Lan Wu sobbed. “N-no…”

Ji Lingyue finally said, “Stop.” Lan Wu sniffled, getting up from the floor and obediently following Ji Lingyue.

Ji Lingyue glanced at her. “Aren’t you hungry? Why aren’t you eating?”

Lan Wu said, her eyes red, “…I’m not hungry anymore.”

So stubborn.

Ji Lingyue raised a brow but didn’t press. She climbed a disabled escalator to the second floor and made her way to the home goods section in the southwest corner. Lan Wu trailed behind with a pout, then blurted, “Have you been here before?”

“I used to work here.”

“They hired child labor?”

Ji Lingyue threw her bag onto the carpet and climbed onto a bed. “Child labor means under sixteen.”

Lan Wu said “Oh” and stood by the bed, watching her. “Are you going to sleep?”

“What else?”

Her eyes lit up, and she was ready to pounce, but Ji Lingyue snorted, shattering her fantasy. “In five hours, the collar will activate.”

Lan Wu was stunned, not yet reacting when the collar on her neck emitted an electronic voice. “Command received.”

She was shocked. “What? Why? I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“In five hours, the command activates unless I stop it,” Ji Lingyue said, lying down and closing her eyes. “So, if you try to escape while I’m asleep, or if something happens to me… you won’t be better off.”

“You!” Lan Wu clenched her fists, realizing she’d gotten herself into a mess. “Why are you doing this? Didn’t you used to try and get away from me? Why won’t you let go now?”

“Times have changed.” Ji Lingyue murmured, her voice growing softer. “I’m not afraid of you anymore, and…”

After waiting for a long time without hearing the rest, Lan Wu went to the other side and saw that the girl had already closed her eyes, sleeping defenselessly.

Her face flushed with anger. She waved her arms and punched the air.

When she got tired, she sat down, panting, and stared at Ji Lingyue’s face.

What a horrible human.

If only she hadn’t insisted on grabbing her as a blood slave because her blood tasted so good. Now, the tables had turned, and she was the one suffering.

The more Lan Wu thought about it, the more she regretted it. Her stomach rumbled even louder, and a sweet scent wafted into her nose from time to time. She swallowed and looked at the girl’s delicate neck.

There were several pink bandages stuck there, and the sweet smell came from the unhealed wounds.

She stared longingly for a while, then forced herself to look away and curled up on the floor. From her spot, she could just see Ji Lingyue’s sleeping face. She began counting her lashes out of boredom.

Just then, Ji Lingyue murmured something in her sleep, her brows furrowing.

Lan Wu hesitated, then carefully climbed onto the bed and leaned closer to listen.

“Mom…”

Lan Wu blinked. Right, this girl was actually a few months younger than her. Of course she’d miss her mother too..

After a moment of hesitation, she tiptoed onto the bed and put her arm around Ji Lingyue. The girl groaned and snuggled into her arms like a small animal, rubbing her head against her chin.

The sweet scent entered her nose again. Lan Wu resisted the urge to bite and gently patted her back, whispering, “Since I’ve been so obedient… will you let me drink your blood when you wake up?”

Of course, there was no response, only the sound of Ji Lingyue’s steady breathing.

***

“Ugh…”

When Ji Lingyue woke up, her body felt stiff, just stretching lazily was enough to make her joints crack and pop all over. She let out a long sigh and lay still for a few moments before remembering something and turning her head.

Lan Wu wasn’t beside her.

She probably went to find something to eat.

It had only been four hours since she fell asleep. Ji Lingyue got up and washed her face in the nearby bathroom. Then, she wandered around the clothing store.

Before the virus outbreak, all these stylish clothes had been displayed under warm lights like showroom pieces. Now, they were scattered messily on the ground, trampled by countless people in a panic.

Just as she was trying on a pair of soft and comfortable shoes, a loud crash came from downstairs. She startled, quickly grabbed her backpack, and ran to the second-floor railing to look down.

A figure climbed out from under a toppled shelf, stumbling toward the supermarket entrance. Behind them, Lan Wu nimbly gave chase, tackling the person to the ground.

Ji Lingyue shouted, “Lan Wu!”

Lan Wu froze mid-movement and looked back. The woman she was pinning down took the opportunity to pull out a dagger and stabbed it into her chest.

“Ah…”

She cried out in pain, pulling out the dagger with a shudder.

Furious, she chased after the fleeing woman again. Seeing the situation was bad, Ji Lingyue ran down the escalator. “Lan Wu, come back!”

The two of them rushed out of the supermarket, followed by the sound of crashing. Ji Lingyue arrived just in time to see Lan Wu dragging the woman back into the shadows, her hands pinning the woman’s head and shoulders as she leaned down to bite.

“Lan Wu!”

Ji Lingyue froze. This was the first time she truly saw what it looked like when a vampire fed. It was shockingly intimate, like lovers whispering at the ear, cheeks brushing… like a pair of entwined lovebirds.

A strange anger flared in her chest.

She clenched her fist and said coldly, “Activate.”

The vampire’s body stiffened at once and collapsed to the side. The woman scrambled away on hands and knees, looked up in panic, locked eyes with Ji Lingyue, then turned and ran into the scorching sunlight.

“Ugh…”

Lan Wu reached out helplessly, tears welling up in her eyes.

“What are you crying about?” Ji Lingyue said “Stop”, roughly pulled her up, and walked through the supermarket towards the back door. “Someone saw us. We need to go.”

To her surprise, Lan Wu didn’t resist. She followed obediently, head bowed, not saying a word.

Something felt wrong.

Ji Lingyue glanced back and saw the vampire’s face was blank, but her big eyes were streaming with tears.

Ji Lingyue paused.

The air between them went still. The only sound was Lan Wu’s soft, muffled sobs.

After a long time, Ji Lingyue opened her mouth and said softly, “Don’t cry…”

Lan Wu didn’t respond. Her wet lashes clumped together, making her look heartbreakingly pitiful.

“I’m sorry,” Ji Lingyue said softly, biting her lip. “I shouldn’t have yelled. I… I don’t know what came over me. I just got so angry…”

Ji Lingyue hesitated, then said, “You’re hungry, right? I’ll let you drink my blood.”

She held out her arm, her voice softening. “Just… please don’t cry anymore, okay?”

Lan Wu blinked, her gaze falling on Ji Lingyue’s pale wrist, the blue veins faintly visible beneath the skin, carrying that sweet, irresistible scent.

After a moment, she sniffled. “I want to drink from your neck.”

Ji Lingyue chuckled, walking over and lifting her hair. “What difference does it make?”

Lan Wu pouted. “There’s a big difference…”

She buried her face in Ji Lingyue’s neck, about to bite down, when Ji Lingyue suddenly grabbed her ear. “Wait.”

Ji Lingyue said calmly, “Rinse your mouth first. I don’t want anyone else’s blood near mine.”

Such a clean freak.

Lan Wu wrinkled her nose but obediently went to the restroom to rinse her mouth. When she returned, she eagerly pressed Ji Lingyue against the wall and bit down.

“Mmm…” Ji Lingyue let out a low moan as the sharp canines pierced her skin. Her hand reached up and gently cradled Lan Wu’s head.

The electronic voice sounded again: “Command deactivated.”

Freed from the threat of the collar, Lan Wu grew bolder. Her hands, once resting politely at Ji Lingyue’s waist, slipped under her shirt and wandered upward.

Remembering how pitiful Lan Wu had looked earlier, Ji Lingyue tried to tolerate it.

“Ah…”

Lan Wu swallowed a few mouthfuls of blood, letting out a satisfied hum. Her hands wandered up to Ji Lingyue’s chest, squeezing lightly.

Ji Lingyue tolerated it for a moment before finally smacking Lan Wu’s forehead. “Enough. Haven’t you had enough?”

Lan Wu, knowing when to stop, licked her lips and said, “Your blood tastes better than hers.”

“Blood is blood. Don’t start that nonsense again,” Ji Lingyue said, feeling lightheaded. She leaned against Lan Wu to rest. “Back when you fed… did you just bite anyone you saw?”

“Of course not. I used to have an assistant who carried a refrigerated case with fresh blood bags. If I got hungry, I could just take one out and drink.”

Ji Lingyue nodded, feeling exhausted. “We’ve wasted too much time today. We need to move.”

Lan Wu: “Okay.”

“Then take your hands off me.”