Chapter 104 A Message From Afar

Before departing, Hao Ren and the others took care of two important things. First, Hao Ren broadcast the news of the crashed spaceship discovered in the Dream Plane throughout the cosmos. Second, Vivian sent out a large number of bat couriers to contact her old friends. As of now, there's still no activity regarding the crashed spaceship. All they know is that several civilizations have found the most likely accident reports and are currently contacting the business associations behind those reports. Meanwhile, Vivian's bat couriers have long since reached their destinations.

However, this old-timer vampire, whose talent points were completely misallocated, is now fully immersed in the blissful life of domesticity (for her, waking up every morning to face a kitchen full of food is indeed quite blissful). Three whole days passed without her remembering the matter at all. If Hao Ren hadn't suddenly inquired about it this morning, she probably would have completely forgotten about it until the next Spring Festival.

Hao Ren was curious about the state of connection between Vivian and those little bats. Ever since the group traveled to another world nearly a month ago, those little bats had been acting independently. Judging from the fact that Vivian only remembered her bat swarm after being reminded, it seemed she and her bat swarm were completely separated. And these summoned creatures created with blood mist seemed to have an unimaginable level of self-sufficiency in this situation.

Vivian was busy preparing breakfast for everyone in the kitchen. Hearing Hao Ren bring up the topic of the bat swarm, she excitedly explained, "This is my specialty. Many younger vampires asked me for advice back in the day, but no one ever learned it. The summoned bats I create are different from theirs. The things they summon have no intelligence at all. Even if they fuse fragments of their own will into the summoned creatures, it only extends the activity time of those little things by a week or so. But mine are different. The bats I summon can think for themselves and live their own lives. When I directly control them with my mind, they are my clones. After I stop mentally controlling them, they immediately become like real creatures that can act on their own. And no matter how long they act independently, as long as I re-establish a mental connection, they can fuse with my thoughts again without any resistance. I'm an expert in blood magic summoning."

Hao Ren looked at Vivian strangely. "Won't you give yourself a split personality by doing this?"

"No, how many troublesome thoughts can a bat have?" Vivian shook her head. "Besides, they are extensions of my thoughts. Even if they think independently, they won't think too complicatedly. When they return, it's just like gaining a memory. If I had to say... well, occasionally there will be some minor troubles, because if those little bats are active for too long, they also need to consume extra energy. And to consume extra energy, they have to eat something, and they eat everything..."

Vivian couldn't go on any further, her face twitching oddly as she recalled some particularly shocking memories.

Hao Ren, after a little thought, didn't dare continue discussing the topic. He quickly waved his hand and told Vivian to get down to business. "You should continue contacting your bat swarm and see how many have found people."

Vivian nodded, continuing to cook vegetable soup while confirming the news with her bats, who had already arrived throughout Eurasia. Except for two or three unlucky ones who had been sent to the wrong address and were now struggling to fly back, all the other bats had successfully reached their destinations. And indeed, some had found those reclusive old guys. After confirming which bats had successfully found people, Vivian began to greet those old acquaintances whom she hadn't contacted for decades or even centuries.

However, this didn't affect her work. She was still working efficiently, cooking and stir-frying in one go. It was as if this vampire had evolved an extra brain specifically for housework. Probably even if the roof collapsed at this moment, it wouldn't stop her from putting cilantro in the pot...

Seeing that there was nothing for him to do in the kitchen, Hao Ren returned to the living room to continue watching the morning news, pondering what he should do in the next few days while waiting for breakfast. Nangong Wuyue looked at her watch and, realizing that it was time to "treat Dou Dou's cold," carried the little mermaid into the kitchen. "Sister Vivian, are you busy? Perfect timing – can you help me boil water for Dou Dou?"

Vivian was multitasking, cooking and making long-distance calls at the same time. Hearing this, she didn't even raise her head. "Sure, put her there. Oh, don't use the rice cooker, just put Dou Dou in her original pot. I have a more accurate grasp of the heat than the rice cooker."

Nangong Wuyue placed Dou Dou, pot and all, on the stove and left the kitchen. Vivian lit the fire, chuckled, and gently tapped the little fish's head, then poured sesame oil into the pot according to the treatment plan. As the water temperature rose, Dou Dou comfortably exhaled a long breath, swimming slowly in the water with her belly up.

But Vivian frowned slightly because she had contacted a distant "old friend," and that person did indeed know some information related to the Day of Return.

Through a bat clone far away as an intermediary, a female voice clearly echoed in her mind, low and somewhat gloomy: "...You haven't cared about your clan's affairs for too long. Many families haven't been peaceful in recent years. The 'Day of Return' you mentioned has already dragged the vampires into it..."

Vivian lowered her eyes, stirring the vegetable soup in the pot while talking with a certain "old friend": "Don't tell me even you have been harassed by those ignorant juniors. Are you also counting on the 'Day of Return'?"

"Indeed, someone came to find me. That little girl Hespera and people from the Lucas family have been here, even werewolves from the Aiben family. They probably think that old guys like me who survived from the mythological era know more secrets than they do—but I refused," the gloomy voice said unhurriedly in Vivian's mind. "It's too dangerous. They don't know the true power of the Demon Hunters. Even if the Demon Hunters are weak now, they are not something they can deal with. The current Demon Hunters can't compare to the God-Slaying heroes of the past, but the little guys jumping around now aren't the old bones of the mythological era either. Once they fight, they won't get any benefit."

The corners of Vivian's mouth turned up slightly. "Heh, you really are... always putting self-preservation first, just like in the old days."

"Tit for tat. We both survived from the mythological era. Those who couldn't protect themselves are dead."

"Don't 'tit for tat' me. From the beginning, I was never interested in your squabbles. You're different from me, that weathercock who runs away as soon as things look bad," Vivian's voice was a little teasing, but not too malicious. "You're not interested in the 'Day of Return'?"

"Interested, how could I not be interested?" the voice chuckled hoarsely. This voice made one involuntarily imagine a gloomy face flickering in the dim candlelight. "After all, it's news passed down from the sirens. They are even more mysterious than the Demon Hunters. Who knows how much they know? If the Day of Return is real, wouldn't you be tempted?"

"Not really," Vivian chuckled dryly, casually sprinkling a handful of green onions into Dou Dou's pot. "Sometimes when you broaden your horizons, you'll realize that the things you used to care about were really petty. Competing for power and influence in such a small place as Earth... it's too narrow-minded."

"What do you mean?"

"You were once a 'god' living in the sky. Have you ever really looked up at the stars?"

The voice was silent for a moment. "...You've been studying the stars for thousands of years. Back then, everyone laughed at you. Now even humans know how to fly to other stars, but almost all of those old guys who laughed at you are dead... so maybe you're right. But what's the point? We've already missed that era. Now more people are just thinking about how to survive. A race that doesn't even have the opportunity to speak out publicly doesn't have the right to look up and yearn for the stars."

These words silenced both of them. Finally, Vivian ended this ultra-long-range mental conversation. "I'm tired. We'll talk again next time if we have the chance. The first few pieces of information you provided were very useful. I'll go to Europe with my friends to find you."

"If you're coming, I hope you'll be careful to hide yourselves. This area hasn't been very peaceful in recent years. I don't want a group of Demon Hunters knocking on my door."

Vivian smiled confidently. "Don't worry—I've dealt with Demon Hunters for no shorter time than you have."

"Then I wish you peace, Countess."

"And I wish you peace, Hespera."