Into The Sea

After the sun set, the temperature dropped sharply. Lan Wu rolled down the window and stuck her head out, letting the cool evening breeze brush against her face, her long hair dancing wildly in the wind.

She squinted contentedly, relaxing against the window.

Ji Lingyue glanced at her and casually asked, “Not sleepy anymore?”

“No,” the girl turned her head, her beautiful face bathed in the cool moonlight, but her voice was soft. “We vampires get more energetic at night.”

Ji Lingyue nodded, teasing, “You’re just a little bat.”

Lan Wu blinked, not quite catching the joke, but before she could respond, Ji Lingyue clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Damn it.”

To avoid running into hordes of zombies, Ji Lingyue had been driving along the quiet outskirts of the city, which added a significant detour compared to cutting through the downtown area. As a result, the fuel was running dangerously low.

Lan Wu tilted her head, looking at the fuel gauge. “Why not just find a gas station and fill up?”

“Easier said than done,” Ji Lingyue replied. “Right after the virus outbreak, it might have been possible, but now, most gas stations have probably been looted clean.”

Lan Wu said “Oh,” looking worried. “What should we do?”

Hearing this, Ji Lingyue couldn’t help but glance at her. “Why are you worried? Shouldn’t you be happy if we run out of gas?”

“Why would I be happy?”

“If we lose the car, your sister will have an easier time catching up, and you can go home.”

“But don’t you want to go home too? And isn’t your mom waiting for you?”

Ji Lingyue paused, gripping the steering wheel. “You…”

Lan Wu sighed, crossing her arms. “I know you only captured me to protect yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you properly. Once you get home, you’ll let me go, right?”

After a moment of silence, Ji Lingyue looked ahead. “Maybe.”

Although she wasn’t holding out much hope, she still drove closer to the city center, eventually finding an abandoned gas station outside a sprawling residential area.

As she was fiddling with the gas pump, Lan Wu wandered into the adjacent supermarket, found a bag of potato chips on the messy shelves, tore it open, and crunched on one.

It wouldn’t fill her stomach, but it was better than nothing.

Just then, a drop of blood splattered on her hand.

Lan Wu froze, then slowly looked up. A disheveled vampire was hanging upside down from the ceiling, clutching a mangled human corpse—or rather, what was left of one.

“…”

The bag of chips fell to the floor with a soft plop. Lan Wu’s mouth hung open, about to let out a scream of terror, when Ji Lingyue’s voice called from outside. “Lan Wu, let’s go.”

The vampire’s blood-red eyes blinked, then shifted greedily toward the sound. Lan Wu’s heart sank. She turned and ran, shouting, “Get in the car!”

Ji Lingyue frowned. “What?”

“Get in the car—ahh!”

The half-devoured corpse slammed into her back. The reeking vampire used her shoulder like a springboard, launching herself toward Ji Lingyue like a giant bat. Lan Wu stumbled to her feet, panicking. “Run!”

The vampire burst out of the supermarket, shadow slicing through the night, charging toward her at inhuman speed. Ji Lingyue’s eyes widened, she quickly flung open the car door and dove inside.

But the vampire was right behind her. With a punch, it shattered the window and reaching in with sharp claws.

Ji Lingyue shrieked and scrambled away, reaching for her backpack. But the vampire was faster. Before Ji Lingyue could pull out the gun, she seized her leg and dragged her toward the broken window.

Shards of glass ripped through her clothes, and blood gushed from the wounds. As she screamed in pain, the vampire’s eyes glowed with hunger—and it sank its fangs into her calf.

“Ahhhhh!”

Lan Wu’s heart clenched. With strength she didn’t know she had, she charged and ripped the vampire away, hurling her to the ground.

Ji Lingyue lay pale and trembling on the seat, her blood-soaked leg dangling out the window. She whimpered, looking at Lan Wu with tear-filled eyes. “Lan… Lan Wu…”

Lan Wu bit her lip, a surge of anger rising within her.

But before she could react, the vampire pounced on her, pinning her to the ground. The stronger vampire slashed at Lan Wu, leaving deep wounds that healed almost instantly but still caused her immense pain. Lan Wu’s pupils narrowed into slits as she writhed in agony.

After another deep gash, Lan Wu let out a fierce roar and snapped the vampire’s arm. The adult vampire howled in rage, stomping on Lan Wu’s leg and throwing her against the wall.

Crash.

Lan Wu groaned, covered in dust. When she looked up again, she found that the vampire had already recovered and was forcibly tearing off the side door of the car.

Inside, Ji Lingyue screamed in terror.

Ignoring the searing pain, Lan Wu limped forward. “Get away from her!”

The vampire, halfway inside, suddenly jerked as a gunshot rang out from within. She let out a pained howl and staggered back—blood gushing from a silver bullet lodged in her shoulder.

Lan Wu took the opportunity to pounce, tackling the vampire to the ground. The vampire’s shoulder was bleeding profusely, a silver bullet embedded in the wound. Lan Wu gritted her teeth, pressing down on the injury despite the burning pain. “You… you bit her…”

The vampire finally spoke: “Let go… I’ll… I’ll share a leg with you…”

Lan Wu blinked, then burst into laughter. “Share? She’s mine. All of her!”

While Lan Wu was distracted, the vampire suddenly threw her off. Lan Wu scrambled to grab the vampire’s leg, refusing to let go even as she was kicked repeatedly. “You’re not getting away!”

“Are you crazy?!”

“You’re the crazy one! Your whole family is crazy!”

Ji Lingyue, dragging her bloody leg, climbed out of the car, she saw the two vampires rolling on the ground. She raised the gun with trembling hands, struggling to aim. “Lan Wu!”

Distracted, Lan Wu took a claw to the stomach, curling up in pain. The vampire kicked her and climbed to her feet. But before she could escape, a bullet struck her leg, and she collapsed.

The vampire turned, fear in her eyes as she saw Ji Lingyue approaching. “Wait… wait…”

Bang!

The bullet pierced her skull, and the vampire fell lifeless to the ground.

Ji Lingyue gasped for breath, her eyes still red. After a moment, she lowered the gun and turned to Lan Wu. “Ugh…”

Lan Wu’s injuries hadn’t fully healed, and her face was covered in dirt, making her look like a disheveled stray kitten. When she met Ji Lingyue’s gaze, she grinned and opened her arms.

Ji Lingyue choked, dropped the gun, and staggered into her arms, burying her head in her neck.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s over.” She patted the girl’s back soothingly, her voice hoarse. “We probably can’t keep going tonight.”

Ji Lingyue sobbed, looking at the car that had been almost turned into scrap metal, and wiped her tears on her shoulder. “Yeah…”

But it wasn’t safe to stay outside. Lan Wu looked around and quickly spotted a small motel across the road. She picked up Ji Lingyue and limped over.

As soon as she pushed open the slightly ajar door, a rotting face lunged out with a howl. Lan Wu dodged it in disgust, crushed its head without changing her expression, and muttered, “I need to take a good bath.”

She locked the door and continued to carry the person inside, finally finding a clean room. The growls and screams of the undead were shut out, and Ji Lingyue relaxed, only to feel the pain in her leg flare up. “My leg…”

Lan Wu sat on the bed. “Let me see.”

The girl nestled in her arms, obediently sticking out her leg for her to see. As soon as Lan Wu saw the bloody leg, her eyes went wide.

It smells so nice.

Anyway, anyway, this blood has already flowed out. It wouldn’t hurt to lick it, right?

As Lan Wu’s head dipped lower, Ji Lingyue grabbed her hair, both angry and pitiful. “Lan Wu!”

Lan Wu stubbornly kept her head down. “I’m just… being efficient. And if I lick it, it’ll help.”

Ji Lingyue asked suspiciously, “Help how?”

“Vampire saliva stops bleeding, disinfects, and speeds up healing.”

The girl frowned even more. “Really?”

Lan Wu nodded eagerly. “Of course.”

“Then why didn’t you do it before?”

Lan Wu blinked, stammering. “Before… I felt… it wasn’t necessary.”

Ji Lingyue was speechless.

She finally knew how little Lan Wu had valued her before.

But now was not the time to be angry. She sighed and closed her eyes numbly. “Then lick it.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the pants below her knee were torn to shreds. Lan Wu carefully examined her wound, which was nearly ten centimeters long, with the flesh turned out and blood gushing out, and there were two deep holes.

I have never bitten her that hard…

The strong appetite that had just been so strong seemed to be suppressed by this hideous wound. She gently licked the edges of the wound, trying to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible.

Ji Lingyue let out a soft moan, feeling a strange numbness replace the pain. She looked down to see Lan Wu’s serious expression as her pink tongue carefully cleaned the blood.

After a while, she whispered, “Lan Wu.”

Lan Wu responded vaguely, “What is it?”

“That vampire earlier… you couldn’t beat her?”

Lan Wu paused, thinking Ji Lingyue was criticizing her. She lifted her head, annoye. “She started eating human flesh, and it looks like she ate a lot. I’m hungry every day, of course I can’t beat her.”

“Eating human flesh?” Ji Lingyue was shocked. “Vampires eat humans?”

“Some vampires have that habit,” Lan Wu said, tilting her head in disgust, “But noble vampires don’t eat humans, like me, I only drink blood.”

Ji Lingyue chuckled. “And that’s something to be proud of?”

Lan Wu leaned in, pretending to scare her. “If I ate humans, you’d know why it’s something to be proud of.”

Ji Lingyue tilted her head. “I already know. Didn’t you say it yourself? I’m all yours.”

Huh?

Lan Wu froze, and after a long time, she realized what she was saying, and her heart jumped. “You… you heard that? I was just arguing with her! I don’t eat humans! Really, I don’t!”

Under her nervous gaze, the girl cracked a smile and laughed out loud. “Why are you so easy to tease?”

Lan Wu’s eyes widened, staring blankly at her.

“Alright, keep going,” Ji Lingyue said, her laughter subsiding. She lifted her leg onto Lan Wu’s lap, her voice soft. “It hurts…”

“…”

Lan Wu looked at her, then at her leg, then back at her. Suddenly, she took a deep breath and pounced, tickling Ji Lingyue’s sides. “You’ve got guts, teasing me like that!”

Ji Lingyue squirmed, laughing uncontrollably. “Don’t! Agh—stop! Lan Wu! Hahaha—!”

After their playful tussle, the two of them ended up pressed close together. Lan Wu looked down at Ji Lingyue, her eyes sparkling. Ji Lingyue’s face was flushed, and when she met Lan Wu’s gaze, she suddenly leaned up and kissed her.

Lan Wu froze, staring at her. Ji Lingyue’s face turned even redder, and she awkwardly looked away. “What are you staring at? It’s just…”

Before she could finish, Lan Wu cupped her chin and kissed her deeply, their tongues tangling as they shared sweet, wet breaths.

“Mmm…”

Ji Lingyue’s lashes fluttered, her hands clutching Lan Wu’s back.

“Ha… ha…”

Their heavy breaths filled the dim room. When they finally pulled apart, Lan Wu leaned in for another kiss, but Ji Lingyue stopped her. “Wait… wait…”

Ji Lingyue caught her breath, her eyes still red. “You smell terrible.”

Lan Wu:?

Just as her heart was about to break, Ji Lingyue added, “It’s that vampire’s stench. I want to wash it off.”

Lan Wu’s heartbreak paused, and she grinned. “Me too!” She picked Ji Lingyue up and headed for the bathroom. “Let’s shower together.”

“It’s cold water.”

“That’s fine. I don’t mind the cold.”

“I do.”

“Then I’ll hold you while we shower.”

“You’re colder than the water.”

“…Sorry. Guess that’s just part of being a vampire.”