Chapter 128: Infinite Cannon Fodder (18)

As time stretched on with no sign of movement from within the room, the expressions of the players waiting outside grew increasingly complex.

“Hasn’t Lingling finished searching yet?” one of them finally broke the silence.

A normal inspection shouldn’t have taken this long—what were NPC Lingling and that Miya doing in there together?

The castle’s rooms had excellent soundproofing; unless something particularly loud occurred, those outside wouldn’t hear any activity inside. Yet, just because they couldn’t hear anything didn’t mean their minds wouldn’t wander. After all, it was clear at a glance that Tong Ling had some sort of connection with Miya. Bringing him into her room alone… who knew what might be going through her head…

Zhuang Wu’s gaze inadvertently shifted towards the silent Bai Bei. At this point, she was genuinely curious about how he would react to the situation unfolding before them.

Bai Bei’s face remained impassive, showing neither anger nor anxiety. However, his lips were pale, and when he lowered his eyes, there was an air of…pity that seemed to emanate from him.

Zhuang Wu knew well that this man wasn’t “normal.” She certainly wouldn’t sympathize with him; rather, she harbored a sense of anticipation, eager to see if Lingling might provoke Bai Bei enough to take action—against Miya, that is.

What could be better than having NPCs at odds with each other? From this perspective alone, Lingling’s promiscuous emotional entanglements truly shone!

Mu Bai, sharing Zhuang Wu’s thoughts, turned to Bai Bei and asked, “Bai Bei, should we knock on the door and ask?”

Zhuang Wu mentally applauded Mu Bai’s action, just about to seize the opportunity for some more provocation when Bai Bei replied, “No need. She’ll come out herself once she’s done searching.”

Bai Bei’s gaze swept over them, his voice betraying no emotion. “If you hadn’t woken her up, she wouldn’t have come here in the first place to help find someone.”

As he spoke, Bai Bei’s eyes lingered briefly on Yuan Ju. “I’ll go downstairs now to prepare Lingling’s meal. You can continue waiting here.”

Once Bai Bei left, Zhuang Wu exhaled a long-held breath. “He actually managed to hold back.”

“Yeah,” Mu Bai marveled. “That man has incredible restraint.”

Not only had Bai Bei endured it all, but he also offered to cook for Lingling. Mu Bai had never seen a beta with such dedication; this was truly beyond belief!

Yuan Ju frowned deeply, not forgetting the way Bai Bei had looked at him. It was clear that man’s attention was fixed on him. “He’s not easily provoked. He doesn’t even get upset seeing his ‘girlfriend’ enter another man’s room. This guy is… even more terrifying than I imagined.”

Mu Bai nodded in agreement. Based solely on Bai Bei’s display of patience, he knew not to underestimate this person!

Tong Ling didn’t truly waste an entire day on Miya. As he tried to get close to her again, she spoke up, “I hate clingy men.”

Tong Ling straightened herself out and looked down at her waist where two distinct handprints were visible. She added, “And I also hate men who don’t know their limits.”

Miya reached out to massage Tong Ling’s waist, but…

Slap! This time, someone swatted away his hand.

“Don’t touch me,” a hint of coldness crept into Tong Ling’s voice. “I’m tired.”

Miya pressed his handsome face against Tong Ling, leaning in close as he cooed, “Lingling, it’s not enough…”

They had spent too little time together. As a virtuous vampire, Miya had finally found the bride he desired; after this brief intimacy, his desires only multiplied.

He wanted her by his side, wanted her to stay with him forever. He pleaded, “Let me embrace you for the first time, Lingling.”

Miya believed human bodies were far too fragile. He feared hurting Tong Ling, so even when being intimate, he dared not exert much force. Despite his caution, he still left marks on her, causing his bride-to-be to grow angry with him.

“The Embrace?” Tong Ling recalled descriptions of vampires from some works she’d read. “Does The Embrace involve draining all my blood?”

Thinking Tong Ling was afraid, Miya hurried to explain. “I won’t let you feel pain. You’ll be my only offspring and companion; my blood will be for your enjoyment alone.”

“No.” Tong Ling rejected him without hesitation. “I don’t want to become a vampire at all.”

“It’s ‘the Blood Race’,” Miya corrected, proud of his identity. “I am a descendant of Prince Wyatt, a noble pure-blood. Among existing vampires, none are stronger than me.”

“I can make you perfect,” Miya continued dreamily. He envisioned their future together—carefully nurturing her as a newly turned vampire. She wouldn’t need to hunt; he would provide her with the finest blood. They could sleep embraced during the day and spend nights doing anything she desired.

“I’m already perfect enough,” Tong Ling repeated, echoing what she had told Medius earlier. She had no interest in becoming a monster. “The flawed one is you, Miya.”

As Miya’s anger began to rise, Tong Ling placed her warm palm against his chest.

“You have no heartbeat; your body is ice-cold,” Tong Ling said slowly. “You can live forever, but you need to drink blood. Do you fear sunlight? Can you enjoy fine food? Can you possess a human’s warmth?”

Tong Ling held Mya’s hand, placing his icy red-blooded vampire palm against her chest. “Can you feel my temperature and heartbeat? These are signs of human life. If I were to become like you—a vampire—then as a human, I would die.”

“Do you wish for me to die?” Tong Ling gazed at Mya, her voice deepening. “Mya, you wouldn’t let me die.”

Feeling Tong Ling’s strong heartbeat, Mya couldn’t resist leaning closer, pressing his ear against her chest.

How could he bear to let such vibrant life lose its warmth? Mya wrapped his arms around Tong Ling’s slender waist, his eyes filled with both longing and helplessness. “You know I can’t resist you.”

“Alright, that’s enough. Once you’ve had your fill, step away,” Tong Ling said, her expression shifting instantly as she pushed on Mya’s head. “What happened to not being clingy? This mushiness is annoying me to death.”

“Who’s being mushy…” Mya began, then paused. Realizing that arguing would mean losing contact with Tong Ling, he thickened his skin and declared, “Everything I said before was dogshit—I am clingy! You’re not getting rid of me now!”

“Medius is far more obedient than you,” Tong Ling chided softly. “If I’d known you were like this, I wouldn’t have bothered visiting.”

Miya ground his teeth. “And here you are, still bringing up that dead fish in front of me! Are you trying to provoke me on purpose?”

Tong Ling pulled out her trump card. “I’m so sleepy. You only care about yourself and not at all for me; you must not love me!”

“I do, I…” Miya obediently released her then, sheepishly turning away. “If I didn’t love you, why would I treat you like this…”

Unwilling to let Tong Ling misunderstand him, he tried to compose himself. But when he looked up again, she had nimbly slipped back into her dress.

How did she get dressed so quickly?! Is this woman trying to make a run for it as soon as we’re done?

“Oh right, you still haven’t answered my question.” Tong Ling’s curiosity about vampires continued unabated. “Are you afraid of sunlight?”

“Sunlight can indeed harm me,” Miya replied candidly. “The purer one’s vampire lineage, the greater their resistance to sunlight. On overcast days, we can venture outside freely. Even on sunny days, covering oneself from the sun or leaving promptly will result in only minor injuries—unless someone is bound and exposed directly to sunlight, in which case any vampire would turn to ash.”

Miya gazed out the window, his eyes fixed on the torrential downpour—a weather pattern that danced to his tune.

“Besides sunlight, what else do you fear?” Tong Ling pressed.

“How so?” Miya’s eyebrow quirked ever so slightly. “Are you trying to unearth my weaknesses?”

Tong Ling didn’t flinch from the question. “I want to know who would’ve won in your battle with Medius if I hadn’t intervened.”

“Of course it would have been me!” Miya wouldn’t allow himself to lose to that dead fish. “He couldn’t kill me, but with my regenerative powers, slowly carving away at his flesh, I’d ensure he died before me!”

“To truly end me, one must use a silver weapon to gouge out my entire heart.” A bloody, cruel smile twisted Miya’s face. “They’d have to kill me in a single blow; otherwise… as long as I live, they can forget about escaping.”

Tong Ling pondered this. An undead vampire with such remarkable regeneration abilities was indeed a formidable adversary.

“I can answer all your questions,” Miya continued. “Human food holds little appeal for us. Once blood becomes our staple diet, other sustenance pales in comparison.”

“No wonder you found the wine unpalatable,” Tong Ling observed.

“Not true.” Miya drew Tong Ling into his arms, leaning down to capture her moist lips in a searing kiss. “Any drink tastes exquisite after you’ve sipped from it.”

Miya recalled that cup of wine stolen from him, and his kisses grew more passionate. He continued until the woman in his arms was breathless, her eyes welling with tears, before Miya finally released her, content.

“From now on, you’re not allowed to give what belongs to me to anyone else,” Miya murmured, nuzzling into the crook of Tong Ling’s neck. “It’s mine, and so are you.”

Tong Ling felt like she’d been ensnared by a red-haired hound. This young man wanted to cling to her at any and every opportunity—whether due to the influence of those false memories or because Miya had accepted the “clingy” persona, either way, Tong Ling found herself constantly besieged by this energetic youth.

“I need to inspect the rooms now,” Tong Ling said, kissing the red-haired vampire’s forehead. “Be good; don’t interrupt my work.”

Miya’s curled eyelashes fluttered. Despite having shared the most intimate act with his bride already, he still blushed whenever she took the initiative to kiss him. Yet he wouldn’t show this bashfulness openly; instead, he cleared his throat and stepped aside.

“You go ahead with your inspection. There won’t be even the slightest bit of concealment between us.”

Tong Ling wasn’t merely going through the motions with her search. She trusted that Miya hadn’t harmed Chu Yue—in fact, given Miya’s straightforward nature, if he intended to kill someone, he would do it directly rather than hiding behind shadows.

However… Miya’s inaction didn’t mean others wanted him to stay passive.

Tong Ling finished searching the bedroom and walked into the closed bathroom.

This room wasn’t as large as the one Tong Ling had chosen; even the bathroom was much smaller. It lacked a bathtub, containing only basic shower facilities and a standard cabinet for toiletries.

Tong Ling opened the cabinet door. The shriveled corpse inside faced her directly. Its expression appeared calm, suggesting it hadn’t endured significant pain before death.

Following closely behind Tong Ling, Miya reacted swiftly upon seeing the body. His first instinct was to tightly embrace Tong Ling and cover her eyes. He remembered how terrified she was of corpses—just one glimpse yesterday had left her wailing pitifully, utterly uncomposed. His second reaction was to vehemently defend himself: “It’s not me! I would never hide a body!”

“You’re suffocating me,” Tong Ling exclaimed loudly. “Let go, let go! Or I’ll call for help.”

“Are you no longer afraid of corpses?” Miya asked, trying to lead Tong Ling out. “I’ll toss this body aside first so you don’t have to see it.”

“Don’t touch it! This is a crime scene!” Tong Ling tugged at the young man’s slender waist, warning Miya to keep still. “This corpse is perfectly intact, not even bloodied. What do I have to be afraid of?”

Miya only let go when he was sure Tong Ling wasn’t just trying to be brave. Yet though she wasn’t crying, her face had paled.

As he recalled Tong Ling’s previously flushed cheeks, now replaced by this ashen expression, his heart blazed with anger. “Which bastard is framing me?! Lingling, you’ve got to believe in me—I’d never commit murder here where you could find out!”

Tong Ling remained silent.

Such an explanation would give anyone a headache. Ordinary people wouldn’t casually mention something like murder. Can’t Miya think before he speaks?

Tong Ling swiftly ran to the door, flung it open, and called out to the disinterested group waiting outside, “We found Chu Yue—in the restroom!”

No sooner had Tong Ling spoken than Mu Bai and the others completely forgot about what Tong Ling and Miya might have been doing inside the room. Their minds raced straight to Chu Yue.

When they saw the corpse, shriveled as if it were merely a skeleton covered in skin, everyone had the same thought:

Who killed her? Was it Miya? Can we use NPC Lingling to control him now?

The body was so light that Mu Bai easily lifted it out of the cabinet.

What stood out most about this corpse was the complete absence of blood—every drop seemed to have vanished without a trace. The only wounds on the body were two puncture holes in its neck, which immediately suggested a particular creature.

“Vampire,” Zhuang Wu murmured. Through the corpse, he realized that the monster who killed Chu Yue was a vampire. So, was this red-haired youth before them the blood-sucking fiend?

Yuan Ju pondered the weaknesses of vampires while keeping an eye out for any signs of violent reaction from the monster should his true identity be exposed.

Miya didn’t seem bothered by being seen through by these humans. He held Tong Ling’s hand tightly as he said, “It wasn’t me.”

“I wouldn’t leave such crude puncture marks.” Miya looked at the corpse with disgust. “And I certainly wouldn’t bite her myself.”

“I’m not some lowly vampire lacking self-control. Even if I were drinking blood, I would only have my blood slave offer it to me in a container.”

“Ting Ting, I’ve no interest in this woman; I haven’t touched her at all—believe me!”

Mu Bai felt a wave of discomfort wash over him. No interest? Haven’t touched her? he thought. The man’s dead, yet he tries to justify his actions for the sake of another woman. The monster’s words left a sour taste in his mouth.

Footsteps echoed from outside once more. Medius, still recovering from his wounds, approached the door. Upon witnessing the scene within, he swiftly moved towards Tong Ling, his gaze coldly sweeping over Miya. If there was any sudden movement, he wouldn’t hesitate to strike, determined to protect his female from that damned vampire.

Bai Bei entered last, his expression horror-struck as he glanced at the corpse on the floor. His eyes turned towards Tong Ling, concern solidifying into worry. “Lingling, are you alright?”

Regret permeated Bai Bei’s voice. “It’s all my fault—I shouldn’t have let you come inside alone…”