"Oh? If you call this a monster, then I wouldn't mind having more." Yu Ling couldn't help but chuckle.

However, jokes aside, they cannot obscure the seriousness of this incident.

Long, long ago, when the original owner was still living among humans and in a superior position, the seeds of this hidden danger had already been sown.

Human ancestors were very dissatisfied with the existence of vampires, believing it to be completely unfair. Apart from being unable to see sunlight, vampires possess not only immense power and handsome appearances, but also immortality, which is something humans desperately crave.

And what about humans? Only one in tens of thousands possessed special abilities—the priests of the current Holy See. Back then, they weren't as powerful as they are now, and they couldn't even kill vampires.

No human is willing to serve the vampires. They secretly plot to overthrow them, research ways to counter their powers, and crave their immortality.

During the rise of humanity, they had almost achieved the first two goals. The original owner led the remaining vampires into seclusion, but forgot that those who remained on the battlefield might not have died completely.

Alvin was one of them.

His heart was broken, and he stared directly at the sunlight, yet he stubbornly survived on the blood fed to him by his fallen comrades. He was taken away by the Pope of the Papacy at the time and secretly imprisoned.

Eric never heard anything about what happened after that, and he didn't know what Alvin had gone through. But this former vampire, this long-lived immortal, seemed to have reached some kind of agreement with the Church, attempting to fulfill the third wish of humanity's ancestors and grant humanity immortality as well.

They devoted themselves to research, capturing a large number of homeless people to use as experimental subjects. After many years, they not only failed, but also created a group of light-fearing and bloodthirsty monsters.

Failure did not deter them. At Alvin's suggestion, the next pope began to target the priests. After achieving some success, they were short of funds and turned their attention to the nobles who were nearing their end, exchanging money for their lives.

“I was very ill at the time, and my father traded a lot of his wealth for a potion. In the end, I became what you see now.” Eric’s expression was pained.

He is an artificial vampire transformed from a human, who has experienced the pain of eternal youth, the loneliness of losing loved ones one after another, and the torment of a monstrous bloodlust. He can only barely control himself by using the dormant magic circle drawn by Rubis.

Yu Ling loosened her grip on Eric's face and patted his head reassuringly. He continued to float and sway, seemingly engaged in a very intense brainstorming session.

However... well, Yu Ling was secretly complaining to the system about this hidden plot.

[He's so pitiful. I never expected that Alvin, who seemed so kind as to invite you to dinner, would be so wicked behind your back, using people for experiments!] The system labeled Alvin as a villain.

"I have reservations, but they at least succeeded a little bit. I remember when they possessed Chen Xiaoqing, her potion almost destroyed the world."

Yu Ling was very open-minded about those who were not of her kind. She thought the trees were more sturdy, standing there motionless and extremely safe, but they were easy to cut down.

After conspiring with the system for a long time, Yu Ling made a final decision: first, to exclude all the opinions given by the system, and then to secretly investigate how the so-called experiment of the Holy See was going. After all, the information Eric gave was based on his past experiences and was outdated.

Yu Ling's thinking is correct. The Vatican's experiments, which have been conducted for so long, must have made extraordinary progress with Alvin's help. A potion that can turn a dying person into a vampire, even if it has any side effects, will definitely drive ordinary people mad.

All of this is a crisis for both vampires and humans.

"Vampires once bestowed upon humans power and lifespan long, long ago."

That was a story passed down among vampires when the original owner was a child. Yu Ling was trying to explain it to Eric and find a solution, while also taking on a handyman as a subordinate.

"The Blood Emperor's innate ability is infection. Humans bitten by him will gradually transform into the lowest-ranking vampires. Since he was betrayed by these 'infected' offspring, he has explicitly forbidden anything that attempts to change the status of humans."

Bringing up these backstory stories is essentially useless; it's just a way to convince the other party of what you're about to say.

Yu Ling floated back and talked to Eric about the method of balancing forces. She asked to take a bite to see what this undying blood was and whether she could analyze it to help him.

What followed was a conversation between Yu Ling and Eric that deeply shocked him.

Eric never imagined that he would one day be free from this damned vampire instinct, the kind that's even stronger than that of vampires.

By the way, he was hungry now, and Yu Ling looked delicious. Based on past experience, he should find a blood bag to eat from, or go back to the coffin to sleep.

But now he's only interested in how to get rid of those disgusting things. Unlike vampires, this artificial vampire doesn't find blood tasty; it still tastes like rust.

"Then what should I do?" Eric's eyes gleamed with an unusual light: "Although it sounds strange to ask a child for help, I'm willing to trust you, and besides, you're different from Alvin. You're much cuter."

Yu Ling's eyes widened. Putting aside the age of her own soul, even the original owner she possessed was someone Eric could never reach! Who are you calling a child?!

She added, "Although my abilities are weak, don't worry, I will absolutely not take advantage of you... uh, I will absolutely not let you down!"

Yu Ling used a lot of sweet talk to deceive her new follower, making him so poor he had no clothes to wear. Then, she transformed into her true form, becoming a swarm of small bats that surrounded Eric, taking a bite out of every part of him they could. (Shh, don't write about the parts he shouldn't bite!)

Yu Ling took a closer look, and oh my god, it tasted like expired cough syrup!

But perhaps because of its attractive appearance, it actually tastes a bit sweet.

After transforming back into human form, Yu Ling couldn't help but turn her back and, in a blind spot, take out the sapphire and... spit out Eric's blood with the expired cough syrup. The sapphire instantly turned black, while simultaneously emitting a faint glow.

At this moment, Yu Ling didn't have time to pay attention to the changes in the gems. She listed the problems one by one, referencing the vampires' condition as a standard:

"Your current state is like that of a corpse that still has thoughts, or rather, one that has just died and whose body is about to decay." Because the blood of a completely dead human smells foul. Don't ask, the original owner drank it.