36. Demons and Wishes

“Fifteen years ago, on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the Ghost Gate opened at midnight.

Within the pitch-black research institute, a researcher dressed in a white lab coat stealthily hid in the blind spot of the stairwell surveillance. He tightly held a test tube in his hand, his wrist trembling uncontrollably due to nervousness.

The Institute of Supernatural Abilities was tightly regulated, and it wouldn’t be long before the next patrol personnel arrived. Time was running out for Chai Jian.

Sweat beads the size of soybeans rolled down his forehead. Chai Jian swallowed his saliva, glanced at the nearby surveillance, and then looked down at the test tube in his hand. Gritting his teeth, he unscrewed the reagent.

A faint bloody scent wafted through the air.

With things having come to this point, Chai Jian had no way to retreat.

Behind his glasses, a pair of murky eyes sparkled with fervor. Chai Jian bit his finger, using the blood he had painstakingly stolen and the test tube, he drew a stroke on the ground.

…

As one of the few human researchers in the Institute of Supernatural Abilities, Chai Jian had been involved in supernatural research for over twenty years, overseeing numerous research projects, both successful and unsuccessful.

Among these projects, the one that saddened Chai Jian the most was a project he had participated in a long, long time ago when he was still an intern—the Human Transformation Plan.

As the name implied, the Human Transformation Plan aimed to transform ordinary humans into individuals with supernatural abilities.

At that time, the management of the institute was still lax, allowing such morally questionable and dangerous projects to pass the review. Chai Jian’s mentor even let an intern like him handle relevant documents.

Later on, as expected, the experiment went out of control and deviated from its intended course. Someone violated the rules and conducted human experiments, causing a serious accident. Only then did the central authority react and urgently halt the project.

Soon after, all the data related to the Human Transformation Plan was destroyed, and the relevant records were sealed. The researchers involved in the project underwent memory modifications.

However, Chai Jian, an insignificant intern, happened to evade it all by sheer coincidence.

For all these years, Chai Jian never gave up on his research into human transformation. Instead of calling it “transformation,” he preferred to refer to it as “evolution.”

They all appear as humans, so why is it that only a small portion of people have longer lifespans and stronger abilities, earning the title of supernatural beings, while the majority of ordinary humans don’t even have the right to understand the truth of the world?”

Chai Jian firmly believed that supernatural abilities were the result of evolution, and that humans, too, could evolve.

His relentless pursuit over the past twenty years gradually turned into an obsession.

From an ordinary intern to a senior researcher, Chai Jian’s methods became increasingly extreme.

Not long ago, his involvement in using supernaturals for live experiments was exposed, and the institute had already begun investigating him. Once they found evidence, he would have no way out.

Due to his status as a researcher, the Special Administration Bureau personnel couldn’t directly intervene. However, Chai Jian knew they were secretly watching him. If he showed even a hint of attempting to escape, they would apprehend him and send him directly to the department for violations.

Chai Jian had only one chance left.

After all these years, he had exhausted all means trying to discover a method for human evolution. Now, he could only pin his hopes on the very “supernaturals” he despised.

The wound on his fingertip no longer bled. With sweaty hands, Chai Jian made up his mind. He pulled out a scalpel from his pocket and deeply cut his own arm.

The hot blood mixed with the stolen blood sample, forming a complete magic circle in front of Chai Jian.

Stained with blood, his pristine white lab coat, Chai Jian stared intently at the bloody and mysterious totem on the ground, chanting under his breath.

One second, two seconds…

The chaotic sound of Chai Jian’s heartbeat echoed in the silent corridor.

As time passed minute by minute, just as Chai Jian’s strained mind was about to collapse, a faint light appeared.

The empty test tube fell as Chai Jian’s trembling hands gripped the scalpel, aiming it at the increasingly radiant magic circle. His expression on his face appeared both fearful and excited, ultimately distorted and ugly under the ethereal blue light.

First, a pair of closed enormous bat wings emerged.

Chai Jian stared at the incredibly familiar bat wings before him, his heartbeat almost ceasing.

Thin yet powerful wings slowly unfolded, revealing a young boy with closed eyes within.

The boy had a pair of goat horns on his head, and a slender tail hung down behind him.

“…I succeeded,” Chai Jian murmured, his mind going blank for an instant before his gaze grew increasingly mad.

For twenty years, he had made no progress in his research on human evolution. But with just one attempt, he had summoned the legendary demon!

The demon had disappeared a century ago, and Chai Jian stumbled upon the summoning magic circle while browsing through ancient texts at the institute. It had been a desperate move, but he never expected it to succeed! He had finally achieved success!

Suddenly, a chill ran through Chai Jian’s heart. He snapped back to reality and met the gaze of a pair of crimson vertical pupils.

Chai Jian shuddered.

The icy gaze reminded him of the owner of the blood sample he had stolen, the vampire child he despised the most.

The demon boy stared at the insignificant human before him and tilted his head slightly, a smile forming at the corner of his mouth. He asked, “Was it you who summoned me?”

“It was me!”

The appearance of the demon was captured by the surveillance cameras, and suddenly, alarm bells rang throughout the institute.

Alternating flashes of red lights accompanied the distant clamor of voices. Excitedly, Chai Jian exclaimed, “I summoned you! According to the contract, the summoned demon must fulfill the summoner’s wish!”

The demon smiled at him, neither confirming nor denying.

Security personnel would soon arrive, and Chai Jian’s heart raced faster. His feverish mind left no room for further thoughts, and he blurted out, “I want power!… I want to possess power surpassing everyone else! I want to be a true rUriel! I want to establish a new order!”

In these four consecutive sentences, Chai Jian failed to realize that his initial desire to escape from the institute had changed.

…

In the Special Management Zone of the institute.

Yan Ling, lying on the bed as stiff as a corpse, suddenly opened his eyes.

Someone had used his blood.

Vampires were sensitive to blood, especially considering Yan Ling’s atavism.

Yan Ling distinctly sensed that someone had used his blood to summon something.

Being of atavistic bloodline, whatever was summoned by his blood couldn’t possibly be benign.

The alarm in the institute quickly reached Yan Ling’s room.

Yan Ling stared at the pale ceiling in silence for a moment, then closed his eyes.

The next second, the person on the bed disappeared without a trace.

Contrary to Chai Jian’s expectations, no one stormed up the stairs to arrest him as the instigator who released the demon. The demon boy had long erected a barrier, isolating those who tried to disturb his meal.

When Yan Ling arrived at the staircase, the boy was sitting on the handrail, enjoying his first meal after awakening from a long slumber.

His pristine face was smeared with blood, and the boy swung his legs happily. He held a still-beating heart in his hands, bringing it to his lips. With a slight opening of his crimson lips, his sharp fangs tore into the steaming flesh and blood.

“You’ve arrived,” the boy displayed an innocent smile.

Yan Ling glanced at the person lying on the ground, his heart ripped out. As expected, it was the researcher who “accidentally” cut his wrist while delivering food yesterday.

The man widened his eyes, seemingly unable to comprehend why the demon had killed him.

“Although it was your blood that summoned me, this man wanted to monopolize the right to have his wishes fulfilled,” the boy chuckled, tilting his head. “How shameless of him, don’t you think?”

As soon as the words fell, the half-eaten heart rolled down the stairs, silently. The boy, stealthily, crawled behind Yan Ling.

“You smell so good…” The boy’s voice was light and sweet, like a cold serpent wrapping itself around Yan Ling, spitting out its forked tongue, tempting him to bite into the apple of Eden. “What do you desire? Whatever wish you have, I can make it come true for you.”

The chilly breath brushing against Yan Ling’s neck made him furrow his brow. Without waiting for the boy’s reaction, Yan Ling reached back and grabbed the person’s throat, forcefully throwing the self-absorbed boy to the ground.

“Noisy.” Blood-colored eyes filled with misty haze, Yan Ling stared at the boy as if looking at lifeless objects. He tightened his fingers and his other hand unhesitatingly reached for the wings behind the boy.

Perhaps because the demon was summoned by his blood, Yan Ling immediately noticed that the boy’s bat wings were identical to his own.

Imitation without taste.

The provocation to the dignity of the vampire prince compelled Yan Ling to tear off these bothersome wings without hesitation.

A dislocated sound echoed from the boy’s neck, but his eyes became increasingly intrigued. Their two pairs of crimson eyes met, and the boy narrowed his eyes. Just as Yan Ling’s hand was empty, a gust of wind came from behind. In the instant he sidestepped to dodge, the boy used his bat wings to smash the ground, causing it to crack.

“Roy Kate, the prince of the vampires,” the boy smirked maliciously, slowly revealing Yan Ling’s background. “Almost killed his own mother at birth, resented by his father, feared by everyone… Ah, what an impressive role you played. It turns out you’re just a pitiful nobody that no one wants.”

Yan Ling’s expression grew colder.

A pair of large bat wings stretched out from behind him. In the moment the wings slightly closed, Yan Ling swiftly appeared in front of the boy, using one wing to fan the boy towards the wall of the stairwell. The boy passed through the wall and fell straight into the lobby.

Yan Ling descended, looking down at the boy lying in a pile of rubble, his icy gaze as if he was looking at an ant.

He had no desire to waste words with him. He cut his own wrist with a flick of his finger, and the flowing blood coalesced into a long sword, the blade crimson, pointing directly at the demon.

The boy struggled to prop himself up, his face devoid of fear but filled with a hint of mockery. He whispered softly, “…I have captured your wish.”

“Who would have thought that the esteemed prince of the vampires would have such a ridiculous desire,” the boy mouthed under Yan Ling’s indifferent gaze. “I… wish they weren’t afraid of me.”

Barely audible murmurs reverberated in Yan Ling’s ears as the boy’s smile widened. “Roy, my pitiful child, a tool despised and exploited since birth. No one wants you to live, not even yourself… Why resist anymore? Life is nothing but suffering. It’s better to let me free you.”

Yan Ling’s gaze unknowingly began to scatter, his cold palm climbing up his wrist, and the blood sword slowly lost pressure as the boy approached him closely. “…The atavistic bloodline has elevated you to the highest position. Whether it’s humans or your own kind, they all fear you. The arrogance in your blood makes you disdain those ants…”

“But Roy, aren’t you still longing for something?”

“Hoping that someone would discover you, not as the prince of the vampire clan, not as the esteemed descendant of the ancient bloodline, but as you, the soul that you have already abandoned.”

“Are you willing to be confined in the research institute, cooperating with those foolish humans, and eventually growing up to be their puppet clan leader, governing the vampire clan?”

“Are you content to live aimlessly, without joy or sorrow, just like your ancestors buried in the ground?”

“… You are even worse off than your ancestors. Their slumber was their own choice, but what about you? Do you think that after they have squeezed the last bit of value from you, the Control Center will allow you to continue to exist? They will find new candidates to replace the vampire clan that you have worked so hard to manage, and you, who have lost your purpose, will only be driven back to the vampire graveyard, where you will rest forever.”

The venomous words led people astray, and a cold hand quietly touched Yan Ling’s chest.

“Roy, come with me. I will fulfill your wishes and take you to a place where no one fears you. There, you will no longer be a monster in need of confinement. You can truly be yourself, and there will be people who sincerely love you. Isn’t that a good world?”

The corners of the demon’s mouth gradually curved upward. The prey had already fallen into the trap. As long as this young vampire before him showed even the slightest hint of agreement, the contract would be established.

After a century of the gates of hell being closed, the boy would never let go of such a great source of replenishment like the ancient bloodline.

Just as the demon boy eagerly licked his lips, a gust of wind passed by. Yan Ling calmly looked at the boy who was leaning against him, showing no signs of being deceived in his eyes.

“Clang!” Two sounds echoed as the two goat horns on the demon boy’s head fell onto the marble floor.

Yan Ling lightly smiled at the astonished boy. “… So much for being such a formidable character. It turns out you’re nothing more than this.”

“How is this possible? How did you wake up so quickly?!”

The boy wanted to say something else, but Yan Ling had lost interest in listening. Without waiting for the boy to say more, he pierced the boy’s chest with a sword.

With indifference, Yan Ling watched as the boy’s blood-red vertical pupils gradually lost their luster. He raised his hand and dispelled the barrier set up by the demon.

The research institute and the people secretly monitoring Chai Jian arrived late. Faced with the fallen body and the chaotic hall, everyone’s fearful gaze immediately turned towards Yan Ling, whose fingertips were dripping with blood.

Gazing indifferently at the faces that had been filled with dread towards him for over a decade, Yan Ling wiped off the blood splattered on his cheek. He was about to speak when suddenly his heart contracted, as if being squeezed by a hand, intense pain spread throughout his chest.

With a slightly cold expression, Yan Ling reformed the blood sword he had withdrawn. People in the distance, unsure of the situation, raised their guns and shouted at Yan Ling, “Don’t move!”

The motionless boy lying on the ground had his chest soaked in blood. From inside to outside, Yan Ling’s heart also cracked open.

As his arteries ruptured and his skin split, staining his snowy white shirt with blood, Yan Ling swung his sword towards the boy’s head. However, what was faster than his sword was a specially made gun from not far away.

The wound on his chest fully formed, identical to the one on the boy’s body. Yan Ling knelt down on the ground, facing the motionless boy, and the boy, who had ceased to breathe, gently moved his fingers.

…

“Prince Kate was afflicted by the backlash of the demon’s contract, transferring a part of the wound. Amidst the pain, he did not hear the warnings from the staff. He realized that the demon had not truly died and wanted to finish it off, but he didn’t have the chance.”

In the conference room, only Qiu Rong and Zhong Lishu remained. They returned to their seats specially arranged for the leaders of the werewolf and vampire clans.

As Zhong Lishu narrated, Qiu Rong remained silent, his gaze fixed on the nameplate of “Roy Kate” on the table.

Zhong Lishu continued, “Prince Kate fell into a coma, and Chai Jian and the demon’s bodies were taken back by the Control Center. At that time, Song Degang, the Director of the Control Center, had recently assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer. Countless pairs of eyes were watching him, not allowing him to make any mistakes. This incident happened to coincide with that, and interestingly enough, the person responsible for destroying the project data of Chai Jian’s mentor back then was also Song Degang. Chai Jian’s fortunate escape is related to Song Degang. Because of this, Song Degang didn’t want to escalate the situation.”

“In one day, Song Degang erased the private experimental data of Chai Jian and fabricated the illusion that he attacked the supernatural beings due to other research. After cleaning up his own tracks, he was afraid that the appearance of the demon would have a negative impact, so he publicly claimed that it was a product of his own experiment, just a deranged supernatural being. Prince Kate, who was already found to be suspicious, was killed on the spot.”

“Just when Song Degang thought everything was handled properly, the demon disappeared that night. Song Degang didn’t dare to make a big fuss about it, and Prince Kate was still in a coma, so he only sent a few trustworthy individuals to pursue.”

“The demon wasn’t caught, but the next day, Song Degang received terrible news from the werewolf clan.”

The werewolf leader, his wife, and their eldest son had all passed away due to an accident.

Qiu Rong closed his eyes, already anticipating what would happen next.

“…Meng Jiadong reported to the Center that it was a car accident, but in reality, Song Degang knew the truth. Isn’t that right?” Qiu Rong asked hoarsely.

“Yes,” Zhong Lishu provided the answer. “Song Degang could tell that the car accident was not simple. Under his questioning, Meng Jiadong revealed the truth. Your brother, Gu Zheng, is the most capable newcomer in the Department of Violation Handling, so Song Degang took a gamble. The heavily injured demon had already been sealed by Gu Zheng. He chose to let the matter go completely and help Meng Jiadong cover up the truth, on the condition that Meng Jiadong would ensure that no one in the werewolf clan mentioned what they saw that night.”

“As a precaution, he intentionally misled Meng Jiadong into thinking that the incident was caused by the vampire clan, and he only helped the vampire clan tie up loose ends due to the pressure from Prince Kate.”

“Meng Jiadong benefited from all of this, and he readily agreed to Song Degang’s request.”

No wonder Qiu Rong had appealed multiple times, but the Center insisted that the deaths of the Gu couple were merely accidents.

The person behind the scenes, wanting to erase the evidence, was the Chief Executive Officer of the Control Center. How could they possibly investigate the truth of that year?

“Song Degang said that initially when you approached the Control Center, he wanted to eliminate you directly, but at that time, you had already assumed the position of clan leader, making it inconvenient to act. Later on, when you saw that the Control Center was not an option, you shifted your attention to the vampire clan, and only then did Song Degang breathe a sigh of relief.”

Qiu Rong leaned back against the chair, his tense shoulders momentarily relaxed. He looked at the name “Roy Kate” and mocked himself, saying, “So I tried to contact the vampire prince through the Control Center, but the message never reached him… and even the so-called invitation letter from the vampire clan later on was arranged by Song Degang, right?”

In this way, Song Degang hid behind the Control Center, watching Qiu Rong prance around like a jumping clown. With just a little manipulation, he could easily provoke conflicts between the two clans. If necessary, he could even use Qiu Rong to give Yan Ling some trouble.

“At the beginning of the blood loss cases in City A, the Control Center indeed suspected the vampire clan. Taking advantage of the werewolf clan’s report and the opportunity of Prince Kate’s genuine invitation to you, Song Degang wanted to employ the same tactics and convey false information between your clans, driving them into complete opposition.”

“However, as soon as the vampire clan’s letter reached your hands, the Control Center realized that the wounds on the victims didn’t match those of the vampire clan. Since this matter had nothing to do with the vampire clan, Song Degang changed his mind and wanted Prince Kate to continue the investigation with his help, without further provoking conflicts between you.”

Song Degang didn’t provoke, but it was Qiu Rong who cursed him and sneaked blood, completely offending his wife.

Author’s note:

Long wait! Extreme deadline, almost killed me QvQ!!

But actually… the content of this chapter’s outline hasn’t been fully written yet… It will continue in the next chapter QvQ!

At this moment, President Yan: Currently a runaway…