Into The Sea

The rain poured down harder.

Lan Yuan glanced at the clock on the wall and walked over to the balcony. The raindrops falling from the eaves formed a curtain of water. She reached out her hand, feeling the intensity of the downpour, then squinted as she looked out into the dimly lit streets.

Meng Changge remained kneeling on the floor next to the couch.

“Hey,” she called.

Lan Yuan didn’t turn around. “What?”

“Are you planning to take me with you when you leave?”

“What else?” Lan Yuan pulled out a clean tissue to wipe her hands, casually saying, “You heard it earlier. You’re going to be my blood supply, my blood slave.”

Meng Changge frowned. “Are all vampires as arrogant as you?”

“Arrogant?” Lan Yuan turned her head, a mocking smile on her lips. “You seemed pretty arrogant yourself when you put that collar on me.”

Meng Changge paused, pursing her lips before turning her head away and falling silent. Lan Yuan chuckled and walked over to the bedroom door, knocking. “Lan Wu, are you done talking? It’s time to go.”

As soon as she spoke, a crash came from inside. Lan Yuan frowned, about to burst in, when she heard a panicked voice. “It’s fine, it’s fine! I’m fine! Don’t come in!”

She relaxed, crossing her arms impatiently. “What are you doing in there?”

“N-nothing? Give me ten minutes, I’ll be right out!”

“Alright.”

A moment later, the shadow under the door disappeared. Lan Wu let out a sigh of relief and turned to stick her head out the window.

In her arms, the completely naked girl was still flushed and breathing heavily. The water on the desk had been chilled by the wind, and Ji Lingyue couldn’t help but lift her hips, snuggling closer to Lan Wu, though it didn’t make her much warmer.

A moment later, the vampire closed the window and said thoughtfully, “What fell down earlier… seems to be a… a photo frame.”

Ji Lingyue paused. “A photo frame?”

She turned her head and glanced at the messy windowsill, finally realizing what had fallen after she had accidentally bumped into it. “That was the only printed photo our family ever had together.”

Lan Wu immediately understood what she meant. She put her on the bed and obediently ran back to the window. “I’ll go get it.”

After climbing out, she seemed to remember something and let out a hopeful cry. “When I get back, will you come home with me?”

Ji Lingyue smiled lazily. “We’ll talk about it when you get back.”

Lan Wu gave an OK sign and disappeared from the window. Ji Lingyue couldn’t help but yawn. Just as she was about to get up to take a shower, the vampire’s head popped up again. “Oh, right.”

Ji Lingyue paused. “What?”

“What about your mom?”

The question caught her off guard. Before she could answer, Lan Wu continued, “If she still has some sanity left and isn’t hurting anyone… then maybe we could bring her too. Like you said, if the virus keeps evolving, maybe one day she’ll recover.”

The girl was silent for a while. “Will your sister agree?”

“She…” Lan Wu blinked, her confidence wavering. “She… probably will.”

Ji Lingyue sighed. “Fine. Let’s talk when you get back.”

Lan Wu nodded, whispering, “I’ll be back soon.”

Her figure disappeared from the window again. Ji Lingyue stared blankly for a while, then got out of bed barefoot, grabbed clean clothes, and walked into the bathroom.

Splash…

Cold water droplets continued to fall, and her clothes clung tightly to her skin. Lan Wu landed silently on the waterlogged ground, quickly spotting her target and picking up the photo frame that had fallen face-down on the grass.

The outer glass wasn’t broken, and the photo inside was intact. She let out a sigh of relief, carefully wiped it clean, and tucked it into her clothes. Just as she was about to climb back up, a sudden gust of wind rushed past her.

“!”

The next second, a powerful force slammed her into the wall. The pouring rain blurred her vision as Lan Wu curled up and fell, coughing in pain. A cold silver spear was pressed against her chest.

Her body stiffened. She looked up at the person.

The woman was tall and slender, holding an umbrella, with a large bag slung over her back.

Lan Wu carefully examined the face hidden under the dark umbrella, confirming she had never seen her before, and couldn’t help but whine, “Who are you? Why did you hit me?”

The woman paused, also carefully examining her. “Aren’t you a vampire?”

Lan Wu countered, “Are you a vampire hunter?”

She nodded, then asked, “Where’s Changge?”

“Who?” Lan Wu asked blankly, “Who’s Changge?”

“Don’t play dumb. I know you kidnapped Changge.”

Lan Wu was even more confused. “But I really don’t know her. You’ve got the wrong person.”

The woman frowned, pulling out a black phone. “Isn’t this you?”

Lan Wu looked closely. The palm-sized phone screen displayed a clear photo. The girl in the photo had a cold expression. Even with a control collar on, her eyes were still fierce and violent, as if she would burst out of the screen and bite her at any moment.

“…”

After a moment of silence, Lan Wu pointed to her bruised face. “Do you really think that’s me?”

“Who else?”

Lan Wu exclaimed, “Unfair! I’m just a weak little vampire. How could I possibly capture a vampire hunter? She’d be the one catching me!”

“I never said Changge was a vampire hunter. How did you know that?”

Lan Wu stammered, “I… well, you’re a vampire hunter, so the person you’re looking for should… be, right?”

“You do seem different than before,” the woman mused, puzzled. “You weren’t this… flexible before.”

Lan Wu let out a sigh of relief, quietly getting up. “I’ll take that as a compliment. A flexible little vampire like me couldn’t possibly do anything bad. Since you think you’ve got the wrong person, why don’t you let me go…”

Before she could finish, the woman’s expression turned serious, and the sharp tip of the gun pressed harder against her chest. “Don’t move.”

Lan Wu quickly lay back down, raising her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay! I won’t move!”

“Although I don’t know why you’ve changed your personality, this face is definitely yours,” she said coldly. “Don’t think about being sneaky. Tell me, where’s Changge? If you don’t tell me, don’t blame me for being rough!”

The sound of dripping water stopped. Ji Lingyue walked out of the bathroom, drying her wet hair. “Lan Wu?”

No response.

She paused, looking around the bedroom but not seeing the familiar figure. The window was still wide open, the cold wind rustling the pages of a book.

She hasn’t come back yet?

Frowning, she walked to the window and looked down. The lawn below was empty, and the fallen object was gone. Suspicious, she turned around and quickly walked out of the bedroom and searched the living room. “Lan Wu?”

Lan Yuan, lying on the couch, paused and turned her head. “Isn’t she with you?”

Ji Lingyue’s heart skipped a beat. “She didn’t come out?”

“No.” Realizing that something was wrong, Lan Yuan sat up. “What’s wrong? Is Lan Wu missing?”

“She went downstairs to pick something up, but… she hasn’t come back.”

“When?”

“Twenty minutes ago.”

Lan Yuan jumped to her feet. “Where did she go?”

A few minutes later, the agile vampire climbed down to the ground following Ji Lingyue’s directions, searching around in the rain. “Lan Wu, Lan Wu!”

Several ragged zombies wandering in the rain turned their heads at her voice, but they only glanced at her before shambling away. After searching around the house without success, she returned to her starting point, her hands on her hips, examining the sunken lawn. Suddenly, she noticed an unusual mark.

Ji Lingyue, leaning out the window, saw her squat down and couldn’t help but call out, “What’s wrong?”

Lan Yuan ignored her, groping around on the ground for a moment before standing up and running off in a certain direction.

Ji Lingyue was shocked. “Hey!”

The vampire’s figure quickly disappeared into the rain. Anxious, she paced back and forth, ran out of the bedroom, grabbed her backpack and weapons, and hurried to the front door.

Meng Changge looked at the empty room and asked, “Where’s Lan Yuan?”

“She won’t be back for a while. You can take the chance to escape.” Ji Lingyue grabbed the door handle. “Be careful.”

“Wait, you’re going out?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you going out?”

“To find Lan Wu.”

“Now? Should I remind you what’s in the hallway?”

“What else can I do?” Ji Lingyue turned around sharply, her breathing uneven. “She wouldn’t just disappear for no reason. Something must have happened!”

Meng Changge hesitated for a moment, then stood up, supporting herself on the sofa. “Help me unlock these chains, and I’ll go with you.”

Ji Lingyue was stunned. “Why?”

“I can’t just watch you go to your death. Besides, if a vampire is in trouble, a vampire hunter should be there too.” Meng Changge said thoughtfully, “I have a feeling her disappearance is related to my companions.”